Go Cubs

One of my most favorite things to do is head up to Chicago to meet Todd at work. We joke that he actually lives there and just visits home. 

I flew up to Chicago to tag along on his last day of work. I love flying on the planes that he is flying. He was working the Kalamazoo, MI flight and was spending the night there. I decided to tag along for that ride. I have always loved Holland. My good friend, Andrea, went to college there at Hope College. She and I worked at a Young Life camp in Minnesota during the summer of 2004. We stayed in touch and she was even a bridesmaid in my wedding. I miss her dearly.

We rented the car and drove the hour over to Holland. I got to shop at my favorite little boutique 

JB & Me. I found some fabulous jeans on sale and great lotion. We went to eat at my favorite brewery, New Holland Brewing. It's so so delicious. Holland is such a quaint town that sits on Lake Michigan. It's so beautiful. I tell ya, I like the south (sometimes) but there's something about this area of the country. People are a little more laid back and there's just this chill factor. It's so refreshing and fun. 

 I met up with Andrea the next morning before catching another flight.

 

Beautiful Lake Michigan or the "beach" as it's called up there. Simply amazing. Andrea had a little cottage on the lake in college. I remember visiting her and sleeping with the windows open. You could hear the waves crashing and it was so peaceful. Todd and I looked at moving to Holland back in 2010. Having a little cottage on the water is something we would love to look into again. It's just so peaceful walking along the water. We were the only ones out there. The kids would love it. 

 

 Todd was flying the 7am flight from Kalamazoo back to Chicago the next morning. I skipped out on his flight, met up with Andrea, and then took the 11 or so flight back to Chicago. He was waiting for me and off on another adventure we went. I saw the Cubs were in town so I grabbed some good tickets and we went to the game. I fell in love with Wrigley. We enjoyed the little restaurants that are by the stadium and the fun street vendors. I found the cutest $3 necklace for Lauren and she was so excited.

 

We went to our favorite German restaurant, Mirabells. When Todd lived in Chicago, this was his favorite little authentic German restaurant. It's so quaint and delicious.

We ended up at the hotel bar that evening for a light dinner. We loved their french onion soup.

 

We had quite the little adventure getting home. Flying home on a Monday after a holiday weekend (the 4th) can be a little difficult. Flights were all full going from Chicago to Atlanta. We needed to be in the ATL to get the kids and our sweet dog. We finally made it hours late and couldn't wait to squeeze our little loves.