Mount Rainier

Over the weekend, a friend of ours went up to Mount Rainier with us take our family photos for this year's Christmas cards. Riley had so much fun making snowballs and running around in the snow. It was absolutely beautiful up there, and we got some great shots! Can't wait to share them! 

My Sister's Wedding

So the main reason we went out to Chicago was to see my sister get married! She had a lovely ceremony in the beautiful Union Station. After that we went to the French Market down the street for brunch. Later in the day we went to her reception at the Garfield Park Conservatory. What an awesome venue it was! Riley was the life of the party dancing all night long. We had so much fun. Congrats Stefanie and Tim! 

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Family, food and fun!

On our second to last day in Chicago we headed over to my sister'a house for her open house. Riley got to play with her cousin McKayla who is only a week older than her! As we walked to the train back to downtown, Riley jumped in piles of leaves aa we enjoyed looking at the beautiful architecture of some of the houses. I tried to take a family photo of us before leaving Stef's house but she obviously was not having it! By the time we got to the train though, she was really excited. Riley also got her morning hot chocolate ;) what a spoiled little girl!!! 

Chicago

So this past weekend Riley and I flew out to Chicago for my sister's wedding. We met up with my parents and brother at the airport then headed to the hotel. Naturally, we got stuck in the horrendous traffic but we finally made it and settled in. Our first stop was the Rainforest Cafe, where Riley was just so excited to be that she asked to go back every night! 

After that we headed back to the hotel for the night. The next day we got up early, grabbed some Starbucks coffee and hot cocoa next to the hotel - Riley had her own card so she was so excited!- then we started the trek to the American Girl store on Michigan Avenue. It was nice being so close downtown! 

After the American Girl store we got tickets for the Chicago Trolley Hop on Hop off bus and took it around downtown to see the sights. We of course stopped to see the bean, stopped for some cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery, then headed back to the hotel to rest up before dinner. 

We even got a chance to stop at the Chicago Children's Museum - my sister got us free passes (thanks sis!) and it was the most amazing kids museum I've ever been to!