Chicago Getaway

The weekend of April 28th, I got to present at the International Reading Association Conference in Chicago for MAX Teaching, which was awesome. We decided to make a weekend out of it, so Mom, Dad, Beckett, and I took the early (like really early) train from Mattoon to Chicago.  I wish Shonn could have gone, but he had to work on landscaping.   

So we left at 5:30 a.m. and arrived in Chicago at 9. We went to Shedd Aquarium and got to spend a lot of time with Maria, which was wonderful!  She was an amazing hostess, of course, and we had a great time.  Here are some pictures from our trip!

It started raining just as we began boarding the train.  Beckett slept for about an hour and a half while we made our way north.  We had an easy ride!  Although it was CRAZY early, I'm glad we took that train because we had 1/2-day longer in Chicago.

Shedd Aquarium is amazing - Beckett got to see aquatic life from all over the globe, and he was particularily interested in the stingrays and turtles.  He also liked the glow-in-the-dark blue fish, which you can see in the fourth picture down on the far right.  The sharks were really cool, and Mom and I also loved the sea horses and sea dragons.  (If you click on the picture you can see the individual images more clearly.)  The place was PACKED, and I'm glad we got there early, because when we came out, the entry line snaked around the block.  Yikes.

Maria is the best hostess. Her house is gorgeous and she made all kinds of delicious food for us while we were there. While I presented on Sunday, she spent time with my family and made them feel so at home and welcome.  She is a wonderful friend and person.  And Beckett loved her. (I like how he is following her around in the middle bottom picture.)

At the Children's Museum, Beckett was fascinated with the gears and wheels on the firetruck.  THere is his new bear, Squishy, that Maria got him at the Build-A-Bear Workshop on Navy Pier!

It was a fantastic weekend! I'm very thankful Grammy and Gramps could come - such wonderful memories!