Off to see the Wizard and Wisconsin

With both of our moms in town for Trey's baptism, my mom and I took a quick trip up north to see my brother Brad in Milwaukee and spent some time in Chicago. Thanks to Rich and his mom for taking such wonderful care of the kids while I was away. They both deserve a vacation after that good deed! Chicago on a very foggy morning.Sears Tower.
This is my favorite building in the city. The shorter section on the right says Chicago Tribune, but I am unsure if the tower is used for the newspaper as well. It is located next to the Chicago River and bridge on Michigan Avenue.Our Hotel. It was located on Delaware Place just 1/2 block from the Magnificent Mile. The American Girl Place store on Chicago Avenue. I had heard so much about this store from friends in Louisville and was excited to check it out. It was huge- three stories, hair salon, cafe and photo studio. A little girl's heaven.My mom bought these Bitty Twin dolls for Brynn and Kaitlyn. This one is for you Sally. When we got off the blue line at Washington, we walked through the theater district and right next to the Ford Theater (Wicked) was Garrett Popcorn Shop. I just about freaked out. I told my mom about it and how you love the stuff. We bought the CarmelCrisp and then bought more at a shop on Michigan Ave (where I took the picture). We tried the Pecan CarmelCrisp there. Good stuff!The Bean. I don't quite get all the hype, but I do think it's original and strange. It is in Millennium Park, one block up from the Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago. I love the huge lions on either side of the stairs. They remind me of the one at the Salt Lake City Capital Building. I have so many favorite painting I saw there, but I narrowed it down to three.Pierre Auguste Renior, Two Sisters. The vivid red hat and other bold colors were breathtaking.
Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. When my mom and I went to Europe after my junior year of high school, this painting was on our travel book. I have always loved it and wanted to see it in person. It is HUGE. About the size of 3 refrigerators sideways. The entire painting is made of small dots except the small child who was done in brushstrokes. Incredible. And who doesn't love American Gothic by Grant Wood. I was thinking of you here Marcie. For dinner we went to Giordano's, a restaurant that my brothers Brad and Jeff had praised as having the best Chicago Style pizza in town. It was one block up from Millennium Park. It took a full 40 minutes to cook because of it size (and we only got the 10 inch!). While I would like to say it was the best pizza ever, I'll say it was the first and only time I'll try it and leave it at that! This is what I was MOST excited for. Seeing Wicked for the first time. Wow! What a show. We were on the 7th row in the middle. You couldn't have asked for better seat. I loved every minute of it and have been humming all the songs since then. I knew the whole story, but still surprised at a few things I hadn't quite figured out. I had been very eager to see Nessa Rose perform because she is the wife of Brad's med school buddies in Milwaukee. She studied theater at BYU and will play the part for a ten month run. Funny part: when we got back to the hotel I got a phone call from my brother in law Andrew who was in Chicago for work and happened to buy tickets that night and sat just rows away from me, but we never saw each other. What a small world!This is my totally illegal photo from Wicked. It shows the dragon above the stage and the map of Oz on the curtain. I snapped it as soon as the show ended. Good thing no one saw because they were cracking down on photogs! I could have lost my handy camera, but it was worth the risk!
Hello Wisconsin! We drove up on Friday afternoon to spend the weekend with Brad. We were his first visitors and we had a great time being with him. He lent us his laptop so we all could watch conference in our hotel and allowed us to have the Internet too. What a sweetie! Brad in his lecture hall. He is a second year medical student at the Medical School of Wisconsin. Enjoying one of Wisconsin's finest things: Knopp's Frozen Custard. The red raspberry was divine! Their license plates do sport: America's Dairyland!Our Sunday Feast. Brad was so excited to use his pots, pans had said it was the first time he had all 4 stove burners on at once. That is big news! While we loved Brad spacious apartment, it was lacking a bit in warmth and comfort, so Brad became as Galinda would say, "Our New Project." While he studied we rummaged through Wal-mart, 2 Targets, a craft store, Marshall's, Kirtland Home, Pier One, Steinmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, Michael's, Linens and Things the mall and Pottery Barn looking for "boy" decor. I'll tell you one thing, just based on the shopping possibilites alone, I could live in Milwaukee. It's a very nice town. And Brad seemed very pleased with our efforts. We looked like Santa himself carrying in all the sacks!Note the new pillow shams, throw pillow and accessories in the book shelf. I picked out the large silver "B". There are also baskets allowing him storage and place to hide all his stuff. Brad and Mom in front of our decorating masterpiece. I loved the picture and topiary we found at Marshall's. Love you Brad. Thanks for being a great host.

Big time thanks to our moms and Rich. It was wonderful to be with you Mom and to make some new memories together and a gigantic thank you to Rich and Mom Jackson. You are the best!

Love you all!