J and J and the Windy City

Today we awoke in South Bend, Indiana. After breakfast we headed over to Notre Dame University. It was so interesting to see this prestigious University that I have heard so much about. We stopped at the football stadium so that the boys in our family could pay homage to the various coaches who were immortalized in life sized statues surrounding the grounds, visited religious symbols of this Catholic school and then drove around the beautiful buildings on the campus.

We then shifted our focus from church history sites to family time. Jonny and Jenny moved to Chicago a year ago, which is closer to Boston but means that they are not as likely to be in Salt Lake when we are there. So when we plotted out our cross country journey, we were ecstatic when we realized that we would pass right through their new territory.
When we arrived in Chicago, Jenny welcomed us in front of their apartment. The kids raced across the lawn and leapt into her arms. We then found Jonny upstairs in their apartment. He was in the kitchen blending watermelon-strawberry smoothies with ginger and lime. Gourmet sandwiches were grilling and fresh corn salad and fruit was waiting to be served on the table. We had the most delicious lunch that we enjoyed with Jonny's good friend from high school, Kimball, and his wife Liz who live upstairs from Jonny and Jenny, along with a friend visiting from Boston, Michael Christensen. Jonny then pulled the best key lime pie out of the freezer. Jonny and Jenny couldn't have impressed us more!

We then headed to Millennium park where the kids waded in a stream that ran through the area, examined the “kidney bean” and played in the fountain.

Afterwards we took the elevators to the top of the Willis Building, formerly the Sears Tower. They recently put in glass bottomed ledges that we inched out upon. Jonny orientated us to the city and Jenny fulfilled the girls' dreams by letting them hold her hand the entire afternoon!

Jonny and Jenny were the perfect hosts. We were sad to leave them, as we continued our journey that evening, but looked forward to our trip back home at the end of the summer when we will stay for a couple of days with them.