The last time Mel and I visited Chicago was when I was about 7 months pregnant with McCanless, so we were very excited to visit with our Haarlow family last week. Unfortunately, the sad event that led us to Chicago was the passing of the matriarch of the family, “Grandma Midge.” She was a remarkable woman and we had the great opportunity to attend a beautiful ceremony that truly honored and celebrated her life. What a wonderfully unique family and what a special time we had!
Sunday morning was an early morning for all of us! We had to be at the Florence Airport by 8 AM.
First flight for Mary Clare…7 months old! She did exceptionally well and didn’t fuss a bit! What a traveler!
First flight for McCanless…4 years old! “Look Mom, we’re in Heaven!” she said as we reached clouds. Later, staring out of the window, she sang the song from Aladdin, “I Can Show You the World.” (The song they sang on the carpet ride!) She was too funny, and loved every minute of it!
Once in Charlotte, McCanless was able to see what a real airport was like! She loves the “moving sidewalks,” as she called them.
She was okay with the layover for a while…
Then she was ready for the flight…
This was just before a completely bored melt-down, but she still managed to smile for the camera! She has become quite the little model for me lately!
McCanless was thrilled to see the stretch limo waiting for us outside of the O’Hare airport in Chicago. Notice the difference in clothing from the above photos in Clt!! Yikes, it was below zero!! (We knew a limo service would be there to pick us up, however, we didn’t expect an actual stretch limo!) What a surprise!
Finally, in Hinsdale with Mimi, Bapa and all of our Haarlow family!! That is cousin Andrew with the girls above. (Hinsdale is a beautiful little city just outside of Chicago.)
McCanless didn’t know what to do with so many cousins around!
Thank goodness cousin John was a sledding (and cold weather) pro and could help McCanless and Andrew with a make shift toddler-friendly “hill.” The other young cousins, who were not as impressed with the snow and ice, were inside playing, while the southern cousins, McCanless and Andrew stayed outside all day!! They couldn’t get enough snow!!
Rosy cheeks and nose!
Making snow cream with Mimi!! Apparently, snow cream is a southern treat! No one knew what it was! I guess the last thing they want to do with all of that snow is eat it! Anything is great with suga and vanilla, I guess!
McCanless, Mel and I took the train into Chicago one day. Mary Clare stayed in the warm with Mimi!
Wow, we’ve never seen cold like this!! Burrr!
Her gloves were wet from making snow balls to throw at Daddy! This was when we had to make a quick detour into the Water Tower mall to get warm and dry!!
We finally made it to the American Girl doll store!! McCanless was mesmerized by all of the dolls! I, of course wanted to go into the Historical Collection that I remember reading all about as a child. But Mel wasn’t impressed, so we ventured up to the top floor where little girls can choose their own doll, matching clothes, and even have lunch together! (Unfortunately, we had already had lunch!)
Getting her new doll’s hair styled!
After taking Daddy through the American Girl store, he made us go to the Mac store! McCanless and I played Dora games while he excitedly chatted “dork” with the Mac associates and played with all of the new gadgets.
We decided to take a taxi back to the train station. It took McCanless about 2 minutes to fall asleep, and she didn’t even have her silky!
Back in beautiful Hinsdale. This was taken just before a train flew by us, completely covering us in snow and nearly blowing us across the other tracks! We were trying to get a few shots and thought the train was slowing to a stop. Apparently, Hinsdale was not a stopping point for that train!
On the road again…
Thank goodness for this play area at O’Hare! Our original flight was canceled because of the snow and was rescheduled for a later time!!
Who knows, now maybe McCanless will want to be a pilot one day!
