Chicago Weekend

Mr. Sweet Pea and I headed to Chicago over the weekend for our friend’s wedding. Jeff is 44, nice as can be, and just never could meet “the one.” He found Lisa, his perfect match, on Match.com. We are so happy that Jeff and Lisa met through the Internet and our now happily married. Mr. SP and Jeff go back to high school where they were gaming buddies. I won’t bore you with the games that they played. (You might not be bored, but I sure will be.)

We left bright and early on Friday morning on the 5:20 am flight to Charlotte. We had a short layover in Charlotte and were in Chicago by 9 am. I wanted to visit the Field Museum to take pictures to use for school. I would love to be able to take my classes on a field trip to this museum. If you are in Chicago, I would highly recommend visiting this museum.

I’m standing by replicas of fossils of early horses. Isn’t it neat that the earliest horse was the size of a cat?

We never imagined that traffic would be bad at 2 pm, but it was. It took us an hour to go less than 14 miles. Mr. SP was reminded that he doesn’t miss Chicago life at all!

Jeff and Lisa were kind enough to invite us to the rehearsal dinner. It was at a local tavern which must be a hot spot for the locals on a Friday night. It was packed! I can see why because I loved bar atmosphere and the food was great. I dressed up because that’s what we do in the south for a rehearsal dinner, but things were a bit more casual up north!

Here’s the happy couple!

Saturday morning we met Jeff and his brother Jim for breakfast. Jim completely remodeled this house on his own. I love his yard! His house is in a neighborhood full of beautiful old homes. I’m sure that he could sell his home in a hearbeat based on the work that he’s done, plus the beautiful architecture of the neighborhood. (La Grange is the area if you are familiar with Chicago.)


This was an open outside porch that Jim is converting to a library. Isn’t the woodwork spectacular?

Here’s Jim in his his workshop. I couldn’t believe how neat it was.

We went to downtown La Grange for breakfast. Close to the restaurant was this florist and I had to take a picture since we share a name. PEA was my monogram before I was married. That’s why I’m Sweet Pea!

The wedding was at 3 pm in a beautiful old Lutheran church.

Our friend, John, lives in Oregan. We really enjoyed hanging out with him all weekend. We rarely get to see him. His wife stayed home with their children. John is also one of the gaming group.


Congratulation to Jeff and Lisa!

The reception was held at the Brookfield Zoo and we were told to catch a shuttle at the south gate at 6 pm. Wedding guests were invited to tour the zoo before catching the shuttle.

It was freezing cold, so we made our first stop at the Primate house because the exhibit was inside. I could watch the Gorillas for hours! Here’s a sweet mama with her baby.

The wedding party arrived for pictures. The Apatasaurus in the background moved his head, tail, and he made noises. The kids must love him!



Doesn’t everyone go to the zoo dressed like this?

Finally! The tram arrived. I really needed a drink by then. I’m sitting beside our friend, Doug. I hadn’t seen him since he visited us about 10 years ago. He is so funny!

The tram took us to a cocktail party at the underwater dolphin exhibit. I didn’t take any pictures there, but it was really fun to eat, drink, socialize and watch the dolphins swim by the window.

On to the reception! We got back on the tram and headed to a restaurant at the zoo for the reception.

And they lived happily ever after!!!

The pictures stop here. After dinner I hit the dance floor and didn’t stop until it was over. I haven’t had that much fun in a long, long time! Mr. SP joined me for one slow song.

It took us most of the day on Sunday to get home. We had a four hour layover in Charlotte. I’m glad that I don’t have to fly often because it wears me out!

Jeff and Lisa are now honeymooning in Maui and will go to Kauai later in the week. I hope that they have a great time. We are hoping that they’ll visit us soon so that we can get to know Lisa. Jeff has gone on bike riding vacations with us in the past and I think that the four of us could do a trip together and have a great time. Maybe next summer.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my exciting weekend. It’s always nice to go somewhere, but to me it’s is always nice to get back home, too.