Sock Monkeys, Giant Mirrored Beans, Mustard, and Wrigley Field

 One bonus that I did not think of when I moved to San Tan Valley was the fact that there is a tiny regional airport relatively close by that offers ridiculously cheap fares to other tiny regional airports on the outskirts of other cities. One of these cities is Rockford, Illinois. (I am certain you have heard of Rockford since after all it is the home of the sock monkey. At least it says so on the giant statue of the sock monkey in the airport.) Life as a mom, fabulous as it is, can get a little mundane and I get antsy every so often and get the itch to go somewhere, anywhere. There are two seasons in Phoenix - freaking hot and not that hot, and because of this it is virtually devoid of any traditional indicators of fall. Autumn is my favorite season and is it too much to ask to see a few leaves? The opportunity to tag along with Cheryl and Christopher to Chicago presented itself, so we jumped on it.

 We hopped on a 45 minute train ride to downtown Chicago and spent the day exploring. I can honestly say I did not expect to run into a ten story statue of Marilyn Monroe and her granny panties. Whatever floats your boat Chicago. This would explain the high sales tax.

 Speaking of boats, did you know that downtown Chicago has a beach? Well, sort of; there were a few joggers, but no swimmers. We happen to land in between two winter storms and enjoyed beautiful weather, but I can only imagine how painfully cold the air is coming off Lake Michigan during the winter. But it does add character and beauty to downtown for sure.

 We ordered pizza but got this odd pizza pot pie concoction instead. No complaints here. It was tasty.

 We visited Wrigley Field because it would blasphemous not to if you are married to Wes.  When ever the conversation of "if I had tons of money..."  spending a summer in an RV visiting all the MLB home fields always tops his wish list. It's not baseball season and we were to cheap to shell out the cash for a tour, but at least we got to peak in and get the obligatory photo in front.

 

And this is what a hot dog means in Chicago. Apparently, putting ketchup on a hot dog is profane, but pickle spears, tomatoes, peppers and lots and lots of mustard is totally normal. They are actually on to something..again, tasty.

And yes I did get to see my fall leaves. Gorgeous, don't you think? And there is this odd mirrored bean thing in Millennium Park in the heart of downtown. You can take your picture in the reflection. Of course there is a camera covering your face, but kudos for originality, Chicago.

We arrived back to disappointed kids because of the extreme fun that their Grandparents provided.  A million thanks to them for holding the fort down.

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Oh and lest we forget about my least favorite holiday...this year's Halloween photo is strangely like the past two years, but still I must post.

 Rapunzel and whatever the dress up of the day was for Sophie.. (It was a little skanky for a five year old, but isn't that the true meaning of Halloween?)

 Look out, there are so pro athletes roaming the streets asking for candy.

Candy coma makes it all worth it.