On Tuesday the Schmidts took me to downtown Chicago to see Christmas lights. Before we saw the lights Annalise's daddy took me to get my picture taken in some fun places.
Here we are with the huge buildings in the background. To the left you can see the Oceanarium which is part of the Shedd Aquarium. Annalise goes there a lot...almost everytime they go downtown. It's really cold out and snowing.
We walked across the "street" and now here we are. Way in the distance you can see Soldier Field where the Bears play. Annalise's daddy is a fan even though they are having a pretty awful season.
Here we are at the Kris Kringle Market in Daley Plaza. They had all sorts of booths selling items and food. We didn't stay long though because the snow was turning to sleet/hail and it was not nice at all outside.
We walked a few blocks to Macys to see the Christmas tree inside and the store windows that are decorated to tell a story.
This is Annalise and I viewing the tree inside. It is in the Walnut Room (a restaurant) but the store has a viewing section on the floor above which is where we are.
We went to another floor and saw all the toys. Annalise really wanted one of these.
After the toys and dinner we went outside to see the windows. This is Annalise's daddy, Ian, Annalise, and Annalise's mommy's friend from highschool Katheryn.
The window story this year was all about what happens to the letters kids write to Santa. There were all sorts of elves and some random robots.
Annalise's mommy insisted that we take a picture here under the Marshall Fields sign since she says she will always think of it as Marshall Fields and not Macys downtown Chicago.
Before we walked back to their car we stopped at the Old Navy which in Chicago is three floors high! Annalise insisted she should ride in the stroller. All of the sudden Annalise's mommy realized that Annalise wasn't complaining at all. That's because she and I were fast asleep!
Here we are in the car again headed 3 hours south to Annalise's Grandma and Grandpa's house in Peoria.
Ahh yes, here we are in the car again. Now we are in Peoria looking at lights. Before all the big huge floats park here for people to look at they are in a lighted parade.
Here we are just before the exit. It is raining and cold yet Annalise's daddy said we needed to get our picture taken.
This is Christmas celebration number 3 at their Grandparents' house.
Annalise got a double doll stroller.
On Christmas Eve we went to Annalise's grandpa's church. He is a pastor. His church is really far away so I got to enjoy another car ride.
Christmas Eve is also Annalise's daddy's birthday. We sang to him and had cake after church so we got to stay up WAY past bedtime!
And you'll never guess where we went after that... oh yeah...it's the car again. Time to drive 3 hours north to Annalise's other Grandma's house. She lives in Schaumburg which is home to Woodfield Mall and very close to a Junie named Andrew
Here we are Christmas morning. Did you know this is our 4th Christmas celebration since I arrived in IL?
Here I am with Annalise's family, her aunt, uncle, and baby cousin.
Here I am at Christmas #5 at Annalise's Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's house. There were a lot of people here.
At the end of the night they have a sing along. Annalise's daddy plays trumpet, her mommy's cousins sing and play violin, her aunt plays piano, and her great aunt sings. Anyone else who wants to join in does as well. They have been doing this since Annalise's mommy was at least Annalise's age. It was cray yet fun!
I was supposed to leave IL today but the snow came again so the Schmidts did not make it to the post office. Annalise's cousins from MD are arriving tomorrow for Christmas #6. Now I get to take part in every Christmas celebration they have before I leave here on Monday.
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