Crepeaus Take Chicago

This last weekend we had a fabulous trip to Chi-town. Our dearest sister, Megan, was getting married and we were so excited to celebrate with her. Prepare for a photo dump: 

We woke up at 3:00 AM on Thursday morning and headed to the airport. We had a layover in Denver and then we were on our way to Chicago. I slept most of the way, but Phil and I both woke up just in time to see this out of our window. 

Aerial View

Papa Crepeau picked us up at the airport and drove us to the hotel. We checked-in, dropped our stuff off and then headed out with all the cousins, aunts and uncles to Millenium Park. The walk was fabulous. I couldn't believe how amazing the architecture is in Chicago.

View from Our Hotel

Trump Tower

Old Meets New

Can't Get Enough

Millenium Park was beautiful and I love the Bean. Who knew that something so simple could be so delightful? We were the typical tourists who took tons of pictures.

Love the Reflection

Bean Selfie

Photo Bombed

Seriously Love It...

Reverse Bean Selfie

From Underneath

Across the park from the Bean is a gorgeous amphitheater. We died as we were walking up because one of Phil's aunts said, "Oh no! The Bean exploded!" Luckily not. Between the colors and the architecture, I was in love. 

Exploded Bean

Fall in Chicago

Not Your Everyday Sound System

We had to head back a little early, because we had a dinner scheduled for both the Crepeau and Brennan families. There were plenty of sights to see. I was amazed at the Chicago hospitality. Look at what they even set up for the pigeons. 

Birdie Bonfire

After grabbing our stuff, we headed out for girls bonding time. I'm a big fan of manicures. It was the perfect way to relax after our day of traveling. 

Bright Red

We had a great dinner with the Crepeau and Brennan families at a restaurant called Tango Sur, an Argentinian restaurant close to Megan and Pat's apartment. Unfortunately, the lighting was really low so I didn't get any pictures of the fabulous food. Suffice it to say, I am a big fan of chimichurri. 

We got back to the hotel, super exhausted but died when we looked out our window. The city was so gorgeous at night. Don't you love the Tribune Towers? They lit them up pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month. 

Chicago

We passed out that night. Luckily we got to sleep in a little bit. When Phil and I finally woke up, we wanted to explore the city. We ended up going for a run/walk down to Navy Pier. Lake Michigan is so huge! I literally felt like I was looking out over the ocean. 

Navy Pier

Our Running View

Panoramic View

We spent the rest of the day at the Chicago Field Museum. Phil was loving it because of the dinosaur exhibits. Meet Sue, the most complete T-Rex ever found. Her skull weighs over 600 lbs., so they had to put that in a special exhibit upstairs. 

The Most Complete T-Rex Ever Found

Sue's Skull

We also got to see an amazing Egyptian exhibit. They had tons of real mummies and replicas of pyramids. I was shocked at the sheer amount of artifacts and knowledge that were contained in the museum. It was incredible.

We took the train back to the hotel and quickly got ready for the wedding. After fighting a bit of traffic, we arrived at the venue. Megan, Maarn and Robin did a fabulous job on the flowers. The room looked beautiful. Of course, Robin and I had to take a wedding selfie. 

One of My SILs

Papa Crepeau officiated at the ceremony. Megan and Pat exchanged vows and rings, then Papa performed the ceremony. It was great and everyone was tearing up. Unfortunately, this is the only picture we got with the bride all night. Once the ceremony ended, it was quite a fiesta. Tons of food, lots of music and plenty of dancing. 

The Beautiful Bride

Later on in the evening, they set up a photo booth. John and Phil were some of the first ones to get their picture taken.

Like Father, Like Son

The festivities didn't end until 1:30 AM, but Phil and I left at around midnight. It was quite the affair. Most importantly, Megan and Pat looked incredibly happy. Marriage is truly the best. 

We all slept in on Saturday, attempting to recover from the partying the night before. We had a leisurely breakfast and then walked over to the Art Institute. They had authentic paintings from Monet, Picasso, Pollock and thousands more. Here are some of my favorites. 

Vincent van Gogh

Claude Monet

Loved the Colors

We made sure to stop and see the arms and armor exhibit. Phil loved looking at all the knights' weapons and armor. I, of course, got distracted by the medieval jewelry exhibit.

Look at the Detail!

Luckily my in-laws entertained my Asian obsession. I love Buddha statues, so I was like a kid in a candy store.

Namaste

Almost Stole It for My House

I almost sat down in front of this one to pose just like Buddha, but there were too many people watching me.

Skinny Buddha?

They had a special Byzantine exhibit, where photography was prohibited. Obviously didn't stop me. Don't worry about how off-center the pictures are. I was taking hip shots so people wouldn't see me. 

I'm Really Good at Centering Pictures

Beautiful

Before we left we also stopped at a paperweight exhibit and the tiny rooms exhibit. This is one of the tiny rooms. It's a very ornate replica of a Roman Catholic church. Look at the stained glass!

The Altar

The Stained Glass

We got a Jackson Pollock print from the gift shop and headed out. I could go back to that museum so many more times. 

Cultured Selfie

Phil and I spent the rest of the day walking the Magnificent Mile and buying souvenirs for the family. Phil almost bought this lovely thing.

My Little Russian

If you're ever in Chicago, Garrett's popcorn is a huge hit. I didn't take any pictures but it's a carmel-cheddar popcorn mix. My family absolutely loved it. Plus, the line went down the block.

As if the popcorn wasn't enough, we couldn't leave Chicago without getting some deep dish pizza. Gino's Pizza didn't disappoint.

One Slice

Pizza Anyone?

Phil was a huge Michael Jordan fan growing up, so we made sure to take a picture of this before we left.

Da Bulls

We left the restaurant extra full and went to Megan's open house. She wanted to make sure that she had a chance to talk to everyone before we left the next day. Such a sweetheart.

Sunday was one of my favorite days of the trip overall. We went to church early that morning. The ward met in a local elementary school, since they don't have a chapel. It definitely brought back memories of my mission. It was incredible to go to a different ward, in a different state, and feel the same spirit. I felt like I was coming home. All my stress melted away. I loved partaking of the sacrament and watching these inner-city deacons perform their priesthood duties. They even had a blind man passing the sacrament. One of the other priesthood holders helped him move from row to row. It brought to mind a powerful metaphor about how we're all spiritually blind in this life and how Christ walks us through each stage of our mortal life. 

The Primary had their program that day and it was a definite winner. We learned all about families and how the Bible is "almost always true." Such a hoot.

The Auditorium/Chapel

Loving the Murals

Marking the Entrance

The Church is True

After church ended, we met Megan and had her give us a tour of her office. Here's the view from the Tribune board room.

NBD

When Megan first started out, she was the coordinator for the high level executives. She's moved up in the world, but we both laughed as we saw what her replacement has done. She had a note that said, "Do Not Answer These Numbers." Apparently some crazy people call the Tribune offices quite regularly. Both numbers say "Crazy Man" next to them. 

Intern Win

The building itself was absolutely gorgeous. Around the entire building, they have mounted in stones from different states and countries from around the world. Phil and I found our home lands.

An Overview

Granite from the SLC Temple

Craters of the Moon Stone

Mama Maarn insisted that we end the trip with Chicago dogs. I'd never seen a hot dog look so fancy before.

Traditional Chicago Dog

Basically, we had an amazing trip. Chicago was wonderful and now our lovely sister is married. Chi-town, I'm sure we'll be back soon.