The Windy City Lives Up To It's Name.....

Well I made it back safe and sound! We had such a great trip. Here are a few things I learned about Chicago:
1) I was completely under dressed....and not just for the cold! Every person who walked the streets in Chicago looked like a walking magazine cover. Apparently fashion is a must there. I am sure my tennis shoes and wind suit jacket offended most of the people that I passed on the street.
2) 50 degrees in Chicago is WAY different than 50 degrees here. The wind would almost blow you completely over.
3) No one believes in air conditioning. I know this sounds contradictory to point 2 but when you have 5 layers of clothes on to brave the weather outside and you walk in a store, you literally had to shed all your clothes so that you didn't sweat to death. It was unbearably hot in every store. The few taxi's that we rode in were so hot that the windows fogged up.
4) People LOVE to hear southerners talk. We were asked a bazillion times "Where are you from?" and told "I just LOVE your accent!" I had several people tell me they loved my hair too.... maybe no one gets highlights in Chicago....who knows.
5) No one speaks English. Every conversation I heard on the streets was in some other language. Surely not all of those people are tourists. It was neat to hear all the diversity there.
6) There are tulips everywhere. I wasn't aware that tulips could stand the cold but they were on every corner in every single color you could imagine. They were so beautiful.
7) They believe in Starbucks and Walgreen's! Both were on EVERY corner! Worked out great for us.
8) The pizza was unlike any pizza around here. Although it was kinda soupy it was still good.

One thing I can say is although we ate some GREAT food, we didn't gain an ounce on this trip. We walked everywhere we went. It was neat to walk all the streets and look up to see you had walked clear across town. Here are some pics to help give you the full tour!

 A very cold stroll through Magnificent Mile

 Mom and Dad at Navy Pier

 These 3 guys put on a great show for us at Rain forest Cafe

 Everyone told me to be sure to see the "bean" in Chicago. Here it is!

 On the flight to Chicago!

 Emeralds Loop for lunch!

 This was after a 45 minute walk (with luggage) from the train to the hotel. We were give out.

 Our first day on Magnificent Mile. Most of the stores we didn't even walk in because we knew we couldn't quite afford anything from Tiffany's. We found a Charming Charlies the last day and spent two hours shopping in there.

 We went everywhere together. Usually teenagers like to ditch their family to hang with their friends, but Paige stayed with us the entire time. It was so great to spend time all 4 of us.

 Wrigley Building

 This statue of Marilyn was in front of the NBC building. We had to pass by it several times daily. I kid you not, every single time we passed by her SOMEONE was looking up her dress to see if she had underwear on. They were usually snickering and laughing. It was humorous to me so you know we all had to go check it out ourselves. Rest assured Marilyn was fully dressed!

 Here are the tulips! Gorgeous!

 The Jersey Boys were playing.... I sure wish we could have seen them.

 An old cathedral downtown.

 Memorial park.

 Taking a quick break.

 Our whole reason for coming. So proud to be from SJH! These kids did an awesome job. Competition was STIFF but I think 9th in the ENTIRE NATION is still something to brag about.

 Rain forest Cafe

 Freezing but still having a blast.

 Waiting on our flight in Memphis.

 Isn't God's creation beautiful. It was simply amazing to look out the window and see what He has made. Although I will admit flying still isn't on my list of fun things to do, it was an awesome experience. Will I do it again.....possibly but I must admit the entire flight both times I was smiling on the outside and scared to death on the inside. It never got easier for me. Every noise, bump, or drop in altitude we had, I was positive we were about to die.

This little guy was SUPER stoked for his mommy to get home. He gave me one of the best hugs I have ever received and promptly asked what did I bring him. A true man!

With only 2 hours of sleep the night before we came home, once I got home and loved on my 2 guys, I crashed for 4 hours and awoke to Colby saying Mommy please feed me! I was thankful he let me catch a nap.

Highlight of the trip: While in Memorial Park, we saw a girl with a 1.5 foot Mohawk on her head that was blond on one side and black on the other. Instead of just giving her a once over and moving on, my dad....THE TOURIST....walks up to her and says "Can I please take your picture? I am from Mississippi and we have never seen anything like your hair!" Her reply was a hesitant "I guess so..." I quickly walked as fast as I could in the other direction.