Chicago!

It is such a blessing to be part of a family that really enjoys spending time together. Take for example my trip last weekend to Chicago with three of my favorites -- my sister-in-laws, Lauren and Kayla and my mother-in-law, Lori, who is just "mom" to me now. This was our third annual "girl's weekend" and like past years, we had a blast. It was also nice for me on the heels of the miscarriage to get away for a few days and not have to worry about dishes, diapers and everything at home. Bob came over and stayed with Rob and Liam so they had a fun "guys" weekend too.

Once we got to Chicago, mom planned a ton of fun for us -- shopping (she paid, even nicer :), a {clean} improv comedy show, dinner at tasty restaurants, a Chicago chocolate tour, a trip up the Hancock Tower, pedicures and cupcakes to round out the weekend. We stayed right downtown too which made it even more fun to feel like we were part of the city life. A big highlight for me was brunch with my college room mate and dear friend of almost (!) ten years and her sweet baby, Mae. They live in Chicago and were gracious to come and meet us and spend some quality time together. This was the first I'd gotten to meet Mae even though she is over a year old! 

Overall, we had a lot of laughs and made some great memories together. I'm pretty sure we won't soon forget the 100+ middle school kids showing up at our comedy show! Turned out fine, but we were pretty unsure about them at first. 

I'll let some pictures (yes, I'm really enjoying Instagram on my iPhone!) do the rest of the talking about our weekend. 

Our first shopping afternoon ended with a trip to the Ghiradelli chocolate shop. Definitely a shopping necessity!

Sisters at Argo Tea -- my new favorite place

And with mom

One stop on our chocolate tour -- chocolates made for the Queen of England! 

Another stop -- Chicago's famous Frango chocolates turned into ice cream.

Another chocolate stop -- chocolate filled "bao's" (a Chinese dumpling). Amazing.

And finally, artisan chocolates at Fannie Mae. 

Instagram shot from the top of the Hancock Tower

Outside of Sprinkles cupcakes

It's good to go away, but always better to come home to this sweet face who missed his mama!

Sweetest little girl, Mae! 

One of the beaches on the 30 miles of Chicago shoreline. Yes, I listened to the recordings at the top of the tower!

The view toward Navy Pier

Love these girls, Mae and Ashley!