girls weekend in chicago

i spent the weekend in chicago with my college roomies heidi, sarah, and kaylee. sarah is the first of us to turn 30 (last month actually), so we decided to do a girls weekend in chicago to celebrate. i hadn't been to chicago since 2004 when thatcher and i went, so i was excited to get back there! heidi and sarah spent the night at my house thursday night, so we could get to the airport bright and early friday morning. our flight arrived in chicago at 9:30am and kaylee was waiting for us there (she flew in from lincoln about a half hour earlier). we took the train to our hotel and they let us check in early, which was nice. we dropped off our bags and headed out for some exploring. our hotel was less than a mile from millennium park, so we started there. the park had not yet been built last time i was there, so it was fun to see. we enjoyed the statues, fountains, and of course the famous bean! 

we were all getting hungry, so we found a cute little cafe across the street to have lunch. after lunch, we made our way down michigan avenue to the magnificent mile where all the shops are. 

we went into a bunch of stores, but no one bought much (the sales tax makes it a lot less tempting). we decided to stop at ghiradelli for some ice cream. yum! 

we bought tickets for a 3:30 architecture tour on the chicago river. the tour was awesome...it was such a beautiful day and a fun way to see the city. we learned all sorts of stuff about the history of the buildings, which was cool. definitely worth it! 

after the tour, we went to a few more shops, then went to get some deep dish pizza for dinner (when in rome, right?...). we went to giordono's, which was packed, but we snagged a table in the bar area and had drinks and apps while we waited for our table to be ready. the pizza was soooooo good. it said it was "stuffed" deep dish, which i assumed meant stuffed crust, but no....the entire pizza was stuffed with cheese. we were so full after barely 2 pieces if that gives you an idea. so delicious! 

by the time dinner was done, it was about 8pm. we decided to head back to the hotel, so preggo could rest. the girls contemplated going out on the town, but sitting around and catching up in our jammies won out. i know, we are awesome. we were pooped from all the walking, though! i took this shot on our walk back. 

saturday morning we slept til after 8:00 (which is a huge luxury for this mama). we got ready, then headed out to get some breakfast. after breakfast, the girls wanted to get manicures, so we found a place on michigan ave. then we caught a bus and headed to navy pier. it was super crowded, but fun. we bought tickets to go on the ferris wheel and then noticed the sign said no riding if you are pregnant (pshhh!), so we covered my belly with a cardigan over my arm and i went anyway. i know, i'm such a rebel. haha. the ferris wheel goes like 5 mph, so i thought it was a silly rule. while we were on the ride, enjoying the awesome views, we witnessed a super cute proposal down on the ground. about a dozen people were each holding up a letter that spelled out "iris, will you marry me?" when we got back down to the ground, we were able to see the couple at the top, who were waving and everyone cheered. it was adorable! 

we grabbed lunch at a tavern on the pier and then walked over the beach. it was such a gorgeous day again! i could have stayed there all day! 

soon it was time to bus back to the hotel to get ready for our night out. dinner and then seeing the book of mormon! dinner was delicious and way too much food once again. then we headed to the theater for the show. sarah had already seen it once, but she wanted to see it again (we let her choose for her birthday) and it did not disappoint. have you seen it? seriously such a riot and the singing/dancing was amazing as well. 

it was such a fun night! we were certainly out later saturday night than friday night :) we made it back to the hotel safely after successfully avoiding some creepy thugs who were hitting on us at the train station. nice. 

sunday morning we had to get up early to take the train to the airport for our flight home. all in all, it was such a fun weekend! i've never really done a girls destination weekend like that, so it was such a treat! i missed thatcher and azalea, but i was so thankful that i didn't ever have to worry because they were having a fun daddy-daughter weekend. there's talk about doing some sort of trip next summer or fall after heidi and i turn 30, but we shall see!