Downtown with Friends

Sometimes,the best plan is to just not plan at all. And then at the last minute, be spontaneous. We LOVE spontaneous.

And so we invited our friends Melissa, Jerry, and their son, Davis, to jump on the train and head downtown for an afternoon of fun.

We were actually in Chicago for a summer weekend so we had to make every moment count.

Trying to get myself in more pics so my children actually know what I look like when I'm dead and gone. Morbid perhaps. But really, how often is the mom in the picture? And so that's a goal, even if I have to take it myself. {*says while smiling*}
Ever so sadly, we failed to remember that a lot of restaurants down in the Loop are closed on Sundays, and so, after searching for an eternity, we finally ended up with McDonalds. {*GASP*} Now, you know me. I like McDonald's. But the reality is, it was REALLY hard to bring ourselves to eat there because, well, we like local and there are so many fantastic eateries downtown that it pained us to do a 'chain restaurant' instead of a local dive.

But, our friends were flex. And so we picnic'd ... and climbed ... and walked ... and laughed ... and made our way to ...

The water thingy at Millennium Park. {No idea the actual name.}

And then over to "The Bean" ...

And they had never been. So that was fun.

Jackson joined the Parks family pic:

{When asked later that night what his favorite part of the day was he said Miss Melissa. So I guess it's only fitting that he joined their family photo! Ribs and all.}

And of course, to the lake... Melissa and I concur that we loved that our husbands both love frisbee, because that left the two of us to visit by the lake while they threw it around. And around. And around. And IN.

And resting.

{And I just have to take a minute to say that I love that while Davis is going into 4th grade, he loves his parents and is so affectionate with them. He holds their hands. He snuggles. I just love that and I think that speaks to the depth of his security in their love for him. It is precious to watch.}

And Buckingham Fountain ...

And the whole way home Jerry entertained Jackson on the train. That was such a nice treat for me, leaving me simply to sit on the train and 'people watch.' Oh, I do love people watching. ALWAYS fascinating. NEVER disappointing.

Thanks friends, for joining us at the last second for a fun day OUTSIDE. In our great city! Making memories.

And this last one has to be my favorite of the day. I just love the grins on both dads' faces. Dads are great. They play with their kids and that's so, so fun.