Chicago - Week 1 - Top 10
10. The flight went fabulously!!
A BIG thanks to Grandpa who allowed us to borrow his ipad for the kids to plug into. And a big thanks to Mitch who has maintained such a fabulous relationship with his daughter that she was content to just sit with him and fall asleep in his arms for the majority of the flight. Yay!!
9. There's no place like Costco!
(Ben is really enjoying that pizza!)
Our first day in Chicago, we stopped by Costco to load up on food. (I was determined to use Mitch's muscles while they were available since I would be unpacking alone.) As soon as we walked in, we both said, "Well this is familiar!" It was exactly the same - until we made it to the back. There was 5 entire isles of liquor, wine, mixers etc.
It was quite impressive. We later discovered, that most grocery stores dedicate at least 2 or 3 major isles to the same products. We are definitely out of Mormon Country! :)
8. Sleeping
One thing I was dreading about this move was that the kids would have to adjust to the new place and area and that getting them to sleep would be a challenge. Not the case at all.
They gladly fall into bed every night and naps just sort of happen throughout the day as we unpack and run around.
I know they aren't in car seats, Andrew. The moving van hadn't delivered them yet. Sue me!... but don't really.
7. The Backyard
We LOVE LOVE LOVE our little apartment. Especially the backyard. It is totally fenced and the locks are too high for Ben to reach, so the kids are safe to run around while I unpack (I keep the sliding door open so I can keep an eye on them, of course, but they have spent hours outside everyday.
6. Built-in Community
(this is our meetinghouse)
On our very first night here, we were on blow-up matresses and had nothing else but our suit cases. That day we received a visit from Spencer, the Elder's Quorum President (who brought a pack-n' play for Lydia to sleep in), a call from the Bishop to invite us to dinner at his place on Sunday, and a call from the Relief Society to make sure we had everything we needed. Spencer stopped back in to check on us the next day and his darling wife brought us dinner. We felt so guilty because they don't own a car, so they walked with thier new baby to deliver teh dinner and the packn play. He happens to also be a city planner, so he drew me a map of all the grocery stores in walking distance and other important stores (all within a half mile of our house). Everyone we've met in the ward has been fantastic!!
Hooray for the gospel!
5. Won't you be my neighbor?
(This is our apartment)
We have fallen in love with this neighborhood. Check out the street we live on.
It is so quiet and beautiful. Right around the corner from our house is Lincoln Square. It is darling. We walk there almost everyday to grab icecream, dinner, or watch the entertainment. There is ALWAYS someone in the sqaure performing or putting on some display.
The square has cafe's restaurants, clothing stores, deli's and bakeries. I'm grateful for the bakeris because none of the grocery stores carry anything that even compares to Grandma Sycamore's bread. Seriously, nothing even comes close. At least we have some good bakeries close by to help us find some alternatives.
4. Speaking of neighbors...
The people who live above us have been as good of neighbors as you could hope for. And much to Benjamin's delight, they have a 3 year old boy named Lucas! They even let me use their internet to do this post. :)
3. Work
Mitch has probably experienced the very most change in his day to day. He has to walk about 15 minutes to get to the train and 10 more once he gets downtown (making it about a 45 minute commute). He leaves around 7am and gets home around 8ish. He was informed that this is close to normal, and to expect the days to be even longer a lot of the time. But he has enjoyed his first few days and we are both very grateful he has a good, steady job right out of school.
Here is a view of his building from the Sear's Tower.
And here is a picture he took from his phone from the office.
2. Movers
I can't forget one of the best perks to the move was having other people do the heavy lifting. Since Mitch was working on the day that our stuff arrived, I was so grateful for the 4 strong men who carried the furniture and boxes inside and placed them where I wanted. While they were loading stuff in, I had to keep my kids out of the way, so I strapped them into their respective "seats", gave them some snacks and turned on a movie on the ipad (thanks again, Dad!!).
The movers were done in about 2 hours. What a blessing!
1. Family
We have felt so blessed to have such kind texts, emails, facebook comments and phone calls from our wonderful families. We miss you all and are so grateful for everything you have done to help us get where we are. We couldn't have EVER done this without you!! We have plenty (and I mean plenty) of airbeds for guests, so if you have an itch to see Chicago, come on out!
