the kyles take chicago

A couple of weeks ago Dan and I headed off to Chicago to celebrate his grandmother's 90th birthday with his extended family. We spent our first day with his family on Navy Pier in Chicago. We rode the ferris wheel, the carousel, and took a really interesting river ferry tour of the city's architecture. That night, we celebrated Andrew's 15th birthday with a great Italian dinner at an old Chicago restaurant with Marcy's brother, Don, and his wife, Beth.


Marcy and Bruce on the swings

The Kyles in front of the "bean" in Millennium Park

This band was the "entertainment" at the little river cafe where we stopped for a late afternoon drink. They were hilariously terrible - the lead singer was like a washed up smoky lounge singer trying to be a stand-up comedian, the drummer was really feeling the music (at the same time that he was dropping drumsticks), and the bassist played jazz standards while dressed for an 80s rock concert.

The next day we drove to Crown Point, Indiana where Dan's grandmother and several other family members live. We surprised Grandma Sylvia at a local restaurant with a family reunion of over 30 aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. She was stunned speechless, which was fun to see.

The next few days were spent visiting with family members, swimming at the pool and Dunes State Park on Lake Michigan, and helping Sylvia move to a ground floor apartment within her complex, before heading back to Chicago for the trip home.


At the dunes

Classic Andrew, working those eyebrows