My Kind of Town

In the past week I've gone down to the city a couple times and had a blast!  It felt like the old days.

The first time was over the weekend.  I attended a bachelorette party for a good friend who is marrying a great guy, also our friend.  So while I was with a bunch of girls giggling and playing games, Bruce was hanging out with the guys.  Talking about sports, presumably.

After our separate fun times, the guys and girls met up on a party trolley!  We rode all over town, bass thumping, beer cans cracking open, and lots of "Wooooo!" being yelled out the windows.

The trolley stopped to let us out at Chicago's museum campus, just in time to watch the fireworks from Navy Pier.


Chicago skyline from my slightly blurry vision

It was incredible.  The girls then split off from the guys and went dancing at a dueling piano bar.  Afterwards, Bruce and I spent the night at a friend's apartment in Marina Towers, the famous corncob-shaped buildings with a mind-blowing view of the the Chicago River.

How were we able to have such fantastic grown-up adventures when we have an infant, you ask? Well, it was our first time away from Emmie overnight, as a matter of fact.  I knew she was in good hands with her grandparents.  And there was a sense of calm knowing that she was home in her own bed.  That's not to say that I didn't text my mother-in-law several times over the course of the evening!

Then the other day Bruce had a day off, so we took Emmie to Lincoln Park Zoo.  It's free, in the heart of the city, with the lake just to the east and surrounded by acres and acres of luscious park.  It's our favorite - we used to go all the time as a couple when we lived downtown.

Emmie really noticed the flamingos, because they were relatively close and kept squawking.  She liked seeing all the animals, but she was super fascinated by all the other kids around!

We packed a lunch and since Emmie took a long nap on the ride in, we were out most of the day without any issues.  It was nice, being just the three of us.  I've come to really appreciate and not take for granted the times like that we get to have together.