Sunday Funday

Typically when we make a trip to Chicago it's around the holidays and we don't do a lot of galavanting.  First because it's freaking frigid in Chicago during winter and second because we are always busy last minute Christmas shopping.

If it had been just me visiting Mandy this time I can guarantee we would have gone shopping multiple times and watched movies, that's it.  But since it was a trip with Dan and all day shopping isn't exactly his jam, we adventured non-stop and it was a blast.  

On Sunday we skipped church because Dan and I NEVER have a Sunday where we aren't responsible for multiple things let alone the option of missing.  So Dan led a devotion for us and then we headed off to the local zoo in Mandy's neighborhood.  

Mandy comes to this zoo on a weekly basis with the boys she nannies.  Our theme for the visit was Dolphins because this zoo has a pod and a show!  That was our first stop. 

See that dolphin up there parallel to the water?!?!

We got a stuffed dolphin at the gift shop to join our buddies at home.  Her name is Aurora. 

After the dolphin show we explored all the other exhibits 

We stopped for treats and pictures.  And got a squished penny.

We rode the carousel.  Obviously. 

We left the zoo when the female parties became hot and cranky and the male party had no idea how to deal with dueling sisters.  

We escaped into a cool dark theater to see Inside Out.  The seats were leather and reclined!  It was the perfect solution for heat induced bad attitudes.  

Now let me just say, Inside Out is an amazing movie.  I cried three times and nearly cried four other times.  And I never cry in movies.  It was cute, funny, and was pure genius for animating the importance of emotion.  As an adult it was such a simple way of showing kids (and adults) that sadness isn't always a bad thing and without it you wouldn't fully understand the importance joy.  Also it was surprisingly good at demonstrating depression and making that disease more visible.  Go see it! 

For dinner we went for Chicago deep dish pizza.  I didn't take a picture because I was too busy shoving my face.  

After dinner we went for a long walk through Mandy's beautiful historic neighborhood, Oak Park, and got ice cream to celebrate National Ice Cream Day!

Wow!  Congrats if you made it this far! Stayed tuned for one last post about our trip.