Summer Ends Vacation

The last week/end before Ryan and Madelyn headed back to school was spent in Chicago with Ryan's family. We had a great time visiting with Ryan's aunt and cousins and taking in all the sites. We hadn't been to Chicago in eight years, thus not seeing a majority of Ryan's family (The Muhlig side) for that amount of time. It was long overdue. We spent four nights with Ryan's fabulous Aunt Mary and had a chance to see all six of his cousins and their families while we were there. The Rollins' are a very large but close knit family that get together almost every Sunday for dinner. They love to have a good time and it was obvious how much they adored one another.



Madelyn was super excited about going on her first "jetplane" ride.


Madelyn adores Aunt Mary, just like the rest of us.


We took the Metra in to downtown Chicago two days. It was about an hour each trip, depending on how many stops it made.


We did TONS of walking in Chicago. The two little (85lbs and 58lbs) people took advantage of piggy back rides as often as possible.


A quick stop at Buckingham Fountain.


We spent several hours at the Shedd Aquarium.


We took a water taxi to the Pier.


Madelyn enjoyed a carousel ride at the Pier.



We stopped for a few pictures on the Pier.


My SIL, BIL and nephews relaxed while we waited in the train station. I chose to relax with a beer.


We visited the Field Museum where Madelyn loved the hands on kids zone.


We had dinner with a handful of Ryan's cousins.


Madelyn had fun playing with the cousin's kids...would that make them Ryan's twice removed and Madelyn's third removed cousins??





But most of all we enjoyed quality family time and I'm happy to report that we are all still on speaking terms...I think...:)