Back from the dead

I haven't posted in ages, but it's all because we took a lovely 1 1/2 week vacation to Chicago and Nauvoo. We had such a great time! My sister Angie is a lawyer in Chicago. She works for a huge law firm that's in the second tallest building in the city. She & her husband Hyrum live on the top floor of a 54-story building that is right next to Lake Michigan. I've always heard they have an amazing view, but I was seriously blown away when I saw it myself. The outside walls are just windows, and when you walk in all you can see is water. It is awesome! They were so nice and hospitable. They are both great cooks and made lots of delicious meals and desserts. They, along with Tyler, helped make Mother's Day a nice, relaxing day by cooking and letting me relax. We didn't get to spend a ton of time with them since they had to work (and Hyrum had to fly to Utah for about four days), but it was so great to see them and hang out with them. I'm sorry to say that we didn't take any pictures with them. I tried to get one of the "curly girls" (Angie's the only one in either family with curly hair), but Ada wouldn't cooperate. But she loved them and loved their place! It has a swimming pool and play room that Ada couldn't get enough of.

I feel like we did a lot of stuff there, but there's still so much that we didn't do. We skipped out on most of the museums (I would have loved to visit the art museum) because of Ada, but we got to see lots of cool things. I won't go into too much detail because Tyler will be posting somewhat of a travel log soon, but I have to say that I love that city. It's clean, and there are tulips planted almost everywhere! There are so many things to do and so many huge buildings. There's a nice mix of new and old. The old buildings have some amazing architecture. It was easy to get around. I probably did too much walking since they live in walking distance of so many places, but we were also able to take the train and bus (and a cab). One of my favorite things was seeing Wicked. We got lucky by having my name drawn for tickets, so we spent $25 each to sit on the front row! It was awesome. I had fun doing a little shopping, eating out, and going to a White Sox game. I would definitely go back there!

After spending eight or so days in Chicago, we rented a car and drove to Nauvoo. I'd never been there, so I was pretty excited. Tyler had, but had never seen the temple. We could have spent a lot more time there too. We went in some of the houses and buildings, but Ada didn't last too long. She did love the children's area where she could play with pioneer toys and games. They dressed her in a pioneer bonnet and skirt, and she had a blast! It was a struggle getting her out of there. We drove to Carthage and took turns going through the tour while Ada slept in the car. I'm really glad we went there. I loved Nauvoo and the amazing temple. I wish we could have gone inside. Hopefully we'll get to go back someday.

Overall, Ada behaved very well. The one big exception was the plane ride there. We made the mistake of giving her Benadryl, so she got tired but wouldn't go to sleep. That meant she was not a happy girl. She was good about half the time, but the other half she was screaming and inconsolable. Luckily, everybody on the plane seemed really nice and understanding. She was really good in Illinois except that she wouldn't go to bed earlier than like 11:00 and woke up early every day. But she was a gem on the plane ride home, which made up for everything. We were so grateful for that! It was such a good trip and I miss being there. It's always sad to say goodbye to Angie because I never know when I'll see her again. But it was definitely worth every penny and we have tons of good memories (and pictures!).

Angie and Hyrum's building:

The delicious chocolate mousse pie that took all of us two days to eat:

Swimming in the pool:

Worn out after the Lincoln Park Zoo (which is better than Hogle and FREE!):

Pretty tulips:

"The Bean" at Millennium Park:

Buckingham Fountain:

On the banks of the Mississippi:

Little pioneer girl:

Before the oxen ride:

The beautiful temple:

The graves of Hyrum, Joseph, and Emma:

In front of Carthage Jail: