SEA >>> CHI

view of downtown from our hotel room

Well, our annual Chicago trip went off without a hitch and we had a brilliant time.  This years trip was extra special because we got to meet our goddaughter, Andromeda, for the 1st time and it was her 1st birthday party!  We arrived Thursday evening and wasted no time, drove straight over (after checking in and dropping off our bags) to Vignette and Lucas's flat and enjoyed great conversation (and vino!) until the wee hours of the morning. 

view from our hotel room

Friday morning was met with much anticipation (and maybe a little grogginess) as we were getting to meet Andi for the very first time.  Since we had arrived so late the night before we didnt not get a chance to meet her face to face.  Our hotel was located in Evenston and it was literally about 2 blocks from a Starbucks so I'm sure you can guess where we wondered off to each morning after breakfast.  Evenston is about 25 minutes north of downtown and it is made up of Northwestern University, lots of old churches and beautiful homes from the early 1900's.  We enjoyed walking around and seeing all the history.  Our room had a view of DT which was pretty cool and a gorgeous old church. 

the lake was just a few blocks from our hotel

Friday was a very busy day of party prep.  While the boys went off to play in the city, Vignette and I spent the entire day cooking and baking for the party with lots of breaks to play with baby while chatting the entire time.  Probably the most fun was getting to play with fondant for Andromeda's personal cake.  Neither of us had ever used it but we are both hooked and cannot wait till we get to use it again! 

our finished product! fun with fondant!

After another very late night we got some much needed Sbux and put on our party hats!  Andromeda's 1st birthday party was a huge success and a ton of fun.  They had a great turn out of friends and family and it is so fun that we actually know many of them now.

Sunday we took the morning to explore around our hotel and see the sights before our photoshoot with the Lammotts (those pictures will be in another post.)  The shoot was a blast and I cannot wait to do another shoot next year!!  Our last day in the city we headed downtown for the morning to do our usual walk down Michigan to window shop and see the city.  After, we headed back to V & L's to hang out for a few hours before catchin our flight back to Seattle.  It was a fun trip with lots of great memories (and photos!)