Ava's 3rd Birthday

Today is Ava's actual birthday, but yesterday was her Ariel Party. She spent the better half of the party swimming with her cousin Rylie in the blow up pool and then she came inside for her many costume changes. She had on a bathing suit, a ballerina dress, a regular dress, a princess type dress, and then her Dorothy dress from the Wizard of Oz - and I'm sure after we left she put on some others. Ava is quite the little lady - so sweet! See pictures below. Above: Ava's Ariel cake - notice the very green icing on the edge.

Below: Ava making her wish.

Singing Happy Birthday - now notice where the very green icing on the edge went. She had no idea. The family - green icing and all. This is one of my favorite pictures. This was earlier on in the day with cousin Rylie. They are such good friends and reminds me of me and my cousin Jessa.

Second City

To finish up the night, we headed to Second City - a sketch comedy club where many of the famous comedians like - Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Steve Carell, Tina Fey and so many more started their career. We saw the show, America: All Better. Check out the trailer at http://www.secondcity.com/?id=theatres/chicago/mainstage - we loved the show and had a ton of laughs.

10,000 Steps & Then Some

Our final day in Chicago was another beautiful day and since Kimmie has off on Fridays, she and Sophia joined us as our tour guides through Linkin Park Zoo and Lakeshore Drive. As an added bonus, the Air & Boat show was on Saturday so we got to see (and hear) all the practicing over the water. While we were enjoying all the fly bys - the animals in the zoo seemed to be freaked out by the loud noises. We walked all over - through the zoo, on the lake, and all the way to our hotel. Our dogs were tired by the time we got back to the hotel. Brian and the Gorilla Head - trying to compare sizes. Sophia posing for the camera.Jean & Tom at the beach.Kim & Sophia during our lunch break on Lakeshore Drive - I had my 3rd pulled-pork sandwich (3 days of pulled-pork = yum).The travel team and the Chicago skyline.

Millenium Park

Following the game, Brian, Tom, Jean and I tacked on a little sight seeing and headed to Millenium Park. Millenium Park is filled with music, lots of kids splashing around in a interesting fountain, many scultures, and an enormous-sized bean that acts as a distorted mirror. We have tons of pictures of different ways we could arrange ourselves in the bean reflection - above is just a few.

A Religious Experience

As one of our yearly traditions, we headed to another baseball stadium - Wrigley Field in Chicago to see the Cubs play the Phillies. Our friends & family told us what an amazing field and experience it is, but we didn't think anything could top our favorite - PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

Tom, Jean, Brian and I took the train to the field early so we could soak it all in before the game started at 1:30. And from the moment we stepped off the train at 10:30am - it was like a religious experience. It happened to be a gorgeous sunny day with just the perfect amount of breeze to keep you comfortable. The community of bars surrounding the field invited us in and we began our day bar-hopping while scoping out all the Cubs baseball memorabilia on the walls. After hitting up a few bars, we headed in for batting practice and some exploring of the stadium. Before heading to our seats, we hit up some grub & another drink refill.

The simplicity of the field was what made it so special - little to no advertising, no Jumbo-Tron, no bells and whistles, just the purest of the game right in front of you. Grab a beer, some peanuts and cracker jacks and your day is set.

I will have to add that Brian and I ranked this as one of the best days we have ever had - probably ranks right after our wedding day and we are glad we had good friends join in the fun. And by the way - the Phillies swept the Cubs!

Jean, Tom, Me, and Brian inside Murphy's Bleachers bar. We were one of the first to arrive. Another happening bar we hit before the game.Picture from our seats.The field from our seats.Brian and the Cub's mascot right after the Phillies swept!

Navy Pier Fireworks

Day 1 of our Chicago trip included lots of traveling and schlepping around airplanes, trains, and automobiles. We were famished when we arrived in the city and headed to a local joint to start our vacation with a proper beverage that included alcohol. Later that evening, we strolled down the streets of Chicago to the Navy Pier and caught some pretty fantastic fireworks over Lake Michigan.

Dinner with Chicago Friends

Brian and I headed to Chicago for a little vacation. We went with our good friends from home - Tom & Jean. One of the the benefits of this trip was getting to catch up with my old college roomie Kim who lives there with her husband Ryan and daughter Sophia. This was my first time meeting Sophia and she was such a doll.

Sophia was saying that Aunt Julie was #1.

Phillies With an Old Friend

Adam used to work with Brian and me back in our Dorland days. He has since left Philadelphia and is now a creative director in NYC. Like me and Brian, he met his future wife at work. Adam and Denise recently got engaged and to celebrate, they came down to Philadelphia for a Phillies game. Since Brian and he have been trying to get together for some time, it was a natural place for us to hang out and catch up. The Fightin Phillies lost today - pretty bad, but it was a super fun time nonetheless. Pictured above was in the stadium & us tailgaiting before the game.

Luke & Val

Luke squealed and laughed while being around Val a few weeks ago. He couldn't get enough of her! Val loves our nieces and nephews.