Downtown Chicago day

We just spent a great day as a family in downtown Chicago. The day started out at the American Girl Store, which was obviously a highlight for Andrea and Grace. The boys and I quickly walked through it, and then went to look at the rest of Water Tower Place. We were joined there by Karyn Kozak, one of Ken's long time friends from his growing up years. Grace didn't have any of her dolls with her, but had a great time picking out a new hat for herself, as well as some books that she's been wanting to get. 

After lunch at McDonald's we took the subway down to the Art Institute. We spent about an hour taking in some of the incredible paintings at the Institute, but we weren't there simply for the art (although, there were some stunning pieces by Monet, as well some by our favorite contemporary artist, Gerhard Richter-incredible!). Our main reason for going to the Art Institute was to hear a public reading by one of our favorite children's authors, Mo Willems.

This was probably one of the most entertaining and cultural events I've ever been to. Mo came out and began to interact with the crowd of children, parents, teachers and librarians who had come to hear him. The room was full of people who are pretty devoted to him as a writer! Many of the kids brought their own copies of the books he was reading so they could read along with him, and some were able to finish his sentence for him!

He started out reading his latest book, Knuffle Bunny Too. He was extremely animated and entertaining. Afterwards he answered questions, and it was interesting to hear how he answered some questions thoroughly, while giving absolutely no information on others. He is truly an educator, and wants to stimulate learning without just giving the answer. 

After he answered some questions he read a book out loud that has yet to be published, so we were there for the first public reading. It was a delightful book about Elephant and Piggy, some of his favorite characters. We could have listened to him all day.

After getting our book signed by him we stopped by the Chicago Bean in Millenium park, and the got some deep-dish, Chicago style pizza at Edwardo's, one of our favorite restaurants in the city. One of the reasons we like Edwardo's is their whole-grain crust and healthier toppings. Andrea, Grace and I split a pizza topped with spinach, mushrooms and peppers, and loved it!

All in all, a great day with my wonderful wife and incredible kids in the city I grew up in. Who could ask for more!