Fancy Park + Fancy Lunch = Fancy Day

Last Friday we were still in the holiday spirit, so the girls and I met Tom downtown to explore the new Maggie Daley Park, which officially opened just a few weeks earlier on December 13, and to have a fancy lunch at the Walnut Room. Since it was the day after New Years, there was no traffic and we zoomed (as the girls like to say) into the city, picked up Tom and found a great parking spot at the Millennium Park Garage. We popped back up right across the street from the entrance to Maggie Daley Park and the Play Garden was within eyesight. Of course Isabelle wanted to go right away, so it was our first stop on that sunny, 31 degree day. Trust me, it felt downright balmy after the weather we've had this week. It was -6 when I woke up this morning.

This park is fancy. We explored the The Harbor play area, then the swings and finally the The Slide Crater which includes two huge towers with slides and a 30 foot suspension bridge to connect them. Isabelle said the bridge was too wobbly for her.  Luckily there were some shorter slides so Isabelle I went down them and ran back up the crater to go down again...and again...and again until I was worn out. Each play area had a sign saying what it was and what ages it was suitable for. Most of the large structures - like the scary tall slides - were for ages 5-12 and the rest were for the under 5 set. The playground is already out of this world, but it is still a work in progress and we can't wait to check it out when it is completely finished. They were working on The Lagoon when we were there.

The Harbor

The Harbor

On the suspension bridge

Above The Slide Crater

HOW COOL IS THIS?!?!

The slides we went on are to the right

It was getting close to lunchtime and we still wanted to check out the Ice Ribbon. I have never seen anything like it!  It's a 20-foot-wide path that wraps a quarter mile around the park. That beats skating around and around a rink any day. We didn't bring our skates, but there were plenty of people out there and the line to rent skates ($12) was pretty long. The Ice Ribbon will remain open until March and then the rock climbing walls will open. It looked like one was done and another was still under construction.  When it's done there will be 19,000 square feet of climbing surface including top rope, sport lead and bouldering. Ah-mazing! I cannot wait to dig out my climbing shoes and try it all out!

The Ice Ribbon with one of the climbing towers on the right

After checking out the Ice Ribbon, we walked across the BP Pedestrian Bridge - formerly known to the locals as the "Bridge to Nowhere" - through Millennium Park and then to Macy's. First stop was the Walnut Room where we found out we should have made a reservation. The wait was about 90 minutes. Not great. We bought some chocolate, checked out the furniture department and finally it was time to dine. We even got a table right under the tree!

What a great start to the new year!

We had a great view of the Christmas tree

Fancy lunch!

The Walnut Room at Macy's

A Midwest Safari (Of Sorts)

First, it's been awhile since my last post and I should probably explain why. It's because we moved to the suburbs and we're still in the process of finding our new home. That means we're in temporary digs and spending as much time as we can out and about. The past week we have seen a lot of animals. I mean a lot.

Last weekend I took the girls to Iowa and during that trip we went to Dyersville to see my grandma. (Also home to the Field of Dreams). After lunch at Breitbach's, one of our favorite restaurants and Iowa's oldest bar and restaurant, we went roading through the countryside. First we drove to the old family farm and checked out the cows. Then we kept driving down the gravel roads, past the fields of corn and the farms full of cows, sheep, pigs, donkeys, mulls and horses. We eventually stopped at another farm and got out of the car for a close-up look at the cows. Isabelle wasn't a fan, Margot was snoozing away, but my grandma was petting the cows. I'm sure the owners of the farm was scratching their heads wondering what we were doing! As you can see, I was a little camera happy.


 

The next day we went to Niabi Zoo in Coal Valley, Illinois with my parents, sister Christine and my cute nephew Parker. We all had fun seeing the animals, riding the train and taking a spin on the carousel. During this trip we timed it right and had a chance to feed the giraffes. Romaine lettuce seems to be their favorite snack. They snatched it right up with their blue tongues. It was a cool experience and worth the $4.

Finally, this weekend was the DuPage County Fair. So today our friends, the Fout family, joined us for an afternoon at the fair. It was just how I imagined. We saw tons of livestock, chickens, rabbits, chicks, bees, camels, turtles, tap dancers and lot of carnival rides - which we stayed away from during this trip, no time! Next year we'll have to map it out a little better, but I think we did pretty well with two 3-year-olds and baby! Speaking of baby, the first aid station had a wonderful, quiet and air-conditioned place to breastfeed. They even had a rocking chair. It was perfect!

Our animal theme is continuing tomorrow with a trip to Cosely Zoo. Isabelle is signed up for Toddler Time at the zoo and Margot and I get to tag along. With the way we're going, Margot's second word might just be cow or duck, but I'm still holding out for Ma Ma.