Chi-town

Well-we are back from Chicago. (after our flight was delayed an hour AND then another hour wait to get on the runway) We had a really good time. We have friends who live in Schaumberg and this was the weekend of their daughter's first birthday. (Their daughter who is a doll!) After the weekend, they took Monday and Tuesday to hang out with us.

Friday night we hung out for a bit before bed (this is the day our flight arrived). Saturday was the party and we helped decorate the house and set up. There were a lot of people there and lots of delicious foods! Jake's friend "B" is married to "L" who is Filipino. I hope I spelled that right. She is originally from the Phillipines. So of course their daughter is gorgeous with a full head of dark hair, and huge brown eyes. One of the foods they ordered were these delicious eggrolls which contain pork, water chestnuts, carrots, and a slew of other ingredients. You really can't tell what all is in them because it's blended, rolled in the dough and then fried. The party started at 2:00 and I think the last guests left around 9 pm. We hung out at home the rest of the night after cleaning up, talking, and laughing with other friends who were staying the weekend too.

Sunday we went to the Museum of Industry & Science and met up with some friends who used to live in PA. The museum was really interesting and there were so many kid friendly exhibits too. On the other hand-there were many areas which could use a bit of updating. Some of the coolest things we saw: human slices (internal slices of the human body and what everything looks like), fetal development (shows the different stages of life from conception to birth) and the railroad exhibit (complete with a huge-model train display).
For dinner, we went to Edwardo's for some deep dish, Chicago pizza. It was really delicious!

Monday we decided spur of the moment to go to Milwaukee. It was only about an hour and a half drive from "B" & "L"'s home. We figured we'd check out the Miller Brewing Comapny, House of Harley Davidson, Potawatomi Casino, and somewhere get some Wisconsin Cheese. Unfortunately, since it was spur of the moment, we were only able to check out Miller Brewing. It was so fun! We went on the free tour and got 3 free samples of beer at the end. (None for me, of course.) We couldn't believe how big the samples were too. We also got a free pretzels and a Miller can coin bank.

On the way home, we hit up the Mars Cheese Castle to buy some famous Wisconsin Cheese. I picked up some Cheese Fudge. It is really good! After a minor fender bender, and pouring rain, we made it home just in time to pick up the baby. Oh-I forgot to mention our stop at Culvers on the way to Milwaukee. They are famous for their butter burgers and custard. I wish we had some in NY state! Monday night was spent by the fire, playing video games, and getting drunk. (Again, excluding me) I went to bed early only to be woken by Jake who got violently ill around 5 am or so. (Combination of too much Sailor Jerry, Coke, and the Giardiano mix he ate on his sandwich at dinner.) So much of Tuesday was spent recovering. Before our flight back, we all went out to dinner at The Weber Grill. It's pretty much an upscale restaurant where everything they make is grilled/cooked on Weber Grills. The food was delicious although I ate a bit light since we are going to fly out.

Well, that about sums it up. Now, I need to go shopping for a birthday gift for my dad whose birthday is tomorrow. He is seriously hard to shop for! Wish me luck.