Fun in Downtown Chicago

Jerrod and Marianne came to visit so we made the trek into Chicago to show them around. Our first stop was Millennium Park. This giant bean is so cool! Check out the skyline and the clouds in it's reflection.

Here, the kids are actually underneath the bean. It's a very interesting structure.

We were also able to go ice skating at Millennium Park. The kids all really enjoyed it. Grayson especially!

Halle wasn't able to keep her balance without assistance. I have to give her credit for her persistence, though. She wanted to skate and really put out a lot of effort to make it happen. She tired quickly but didn't want to stop! By the end of our skating time, she had really improved. I need to give Johnny the award for patience, though. He was so sweet helping Halle around the rink. I'm sure his back was killing him, but as long as she wanted to skate, he was going to hold her up!

Here we are altogether.

With Jerrod and Marianne with us, Johnny and I were able to cruise around a few times by ourselves.

Look at these cute boys!

After skating we took a walk down Michigan Avenue. The Chicago River was still green from the festivities the previous day. It's a tradition to dye the river green for St. Patrick's Day. There was also a huge parade. It does bring an additional 2 million people into the city. We decided not to attempt to hang on to 4 kids in that crowded situation. Sunday in the city was much more relaxing!

I am happy to report that we were able to find a little bit of Texas in downtown Chicago. There is a cool building that has pieces of stone and brick from all over the place. We found a piece of the Alamo. There are also pieces from the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, and other neat places. What a cool idea!

Another great trip to the city. Wish you were here!