Go Cubs Go!

Last weekend we were scheduled to meet my sister and her kids for a kid-friendly weekend in St. Louis. Our hotel rooms were booked, we had a game plan for activities, and I had just started contacting friends to let them know we'd be in town.

And as quickly as that plan came together, it went out the window. The Cubs made it to the World Series and 3 of the games were going to be played over the weekend. In Chicago, our favorite city in the world. I'm not a Cubs fan, but I'm a huge Chicago fan, so even I was excited that they made it to the World Series. Will IS a big Cubs fan, and we started talking about how fun it would be to go up there and be a part of the action.

So Monday afternoon we spent the day researching logistics, and calling in favors. Amazingly, the far-fetched idea became a reality pretty quickly! My sister very generously agreed to cancel our hotels in St. Louis and instead watch the boys in Decatur. My parents were around to help her, and even my little brother agreed to come over from Champaign to lend a hand! We dropped the boys off in Decatur on Friday afternoon, and were in the city by Friday evening in time to grab dinner at Portillo's and meet up with a couple friends for drinks at Fado.

Babies, babies, everywhere...

Loved seeing all the buildings downtown decorated for the Cubs

Even Soldier Field!

Saturday we spent the majority of the day up in Wrigleyville, walking around our old 'hood. So, so much has changed since we left, yet it was all still familiar. We laughed as we walked down Southport looking for a bar to stop into for a drink during the afternoon. All the bars that I remembered frequenting in my early 20's have been replaced by baby boutiques. And of course, we shopped in them. Because we're grown ups now, with 3 kids. It's as though the neighborhood has grown up, too. There were still lots of young post-college kids milling around, but there are now FAR more strollers and baby boutiques and small playgrounds around.

It felt pretty darn foreign to be wearing a Cubs hat...

Where it all began for us...1038 W. Roscoe will always hold a special place in our hearts!

HUGE crowds everywhere

Harry was dressed and ready to go, green apples and all

Who needs a bar when you can shop for over-priced baby clothes?!

Christmas on Eddy- my other former home

 While we were reliving our glory days, the boys were having a great time, too! They spent Saturday at the bakery and Curtis Orchards for some fall fun. Based on the pictures we got throughout the afternoon, I think it's safe to say that they had a great time!

Will tends to cling to a buddy- it appears that Uncle Shaughn won the honors last weekend.

Seka joined the fun, too.

 

We never really intended to actually go to a game while we were in town. Will was watching prices on StubHub all afternoon, but the tickets hadn't dropped to a price that he felt comfortable paying. We met up with our friend Jessica late in the afternoon for lunch and drinks, and had worked our way back over to Clark to wait in line to get into a bar near Wrigley when Will sort of sprung it on me that he bought tickets. It was less than an hour before game time, so I was definitely surprised that he pulled the trigger! It was pretty darn cool to walk into Wrigley for a World Series game. I'll always remember what the older gentleman who scanned our tickets said as we walked in: "welcome to game four of the World Series at Wrigley Field!" He sounded so happy and proud, and you could tell he knew how special it was to be there. It was really hard not to be swept into the emotion of the whole thing.

We all know the outcome of the series, but unfortunately for us we didn't witness a winning game for the Cubs. We still had an amazing time, though! Eddie Vedder walked right past us as we first entered the ballpark, and David Ortiz walked right behind us as we sat in our seats. Our seats were literally in the last row of the section, with standing room only directly behind us, but we had seats! We saw Vince Vaughn sing the 7th Inning Stretch, and we sat next to an older gentlemen who pretended to be keeping score as he watched the game, but instead was much more interested in talking to Will about our boys. We met another lady who had amazing seats right along the 3rd base line. Her husband is a life-long Cubs fan who has had season tickets for 25 years. They live in New Jersey, but flew in for the games, and brought their kids with them to be a part of history. Their youngest son is 17, and he paid $750 out of his own pocket for a standing room only ticket that night. Being the good mom that she is, she gave him her seat so he could watch the game with his dad (and Vince Vaughn, who was sitting right behind them). It was a big deal for everyone who was there. I almost cried several times while I watched so many elderly folks being wheeled up and down the concourse by their loved ones, up way past their bedtime and all wrapped up in their Cubs blankets and scarves. These people have rooted for the Cubs for literally twice as long as I've been alive. It was breaking my heart to think that they might not get to see their team win. Thank goodness the Cubs went on to win it all as I'm not sure my heart could have taken the disappointment of the older generation!

Before we even knew we were going to the game!

With friend Jessica

Even though we bought them from a legit website, it was still a bit nerve-wracking to walk up with no paper ticket

But they worked!

This building was definitely not there when we lived in Wrigleyville

Game on!

We love a good party, and Chicago certainly did not disappoint! It felt good to be spontaneous again, even if our "spontaneous" trip involved several days worth of planning, prepping, organizing, and lots and lots of driving time. In our old world BT (before triplets) we loved spur-of-the-moment vacations. Last weekend reminded me that there is still a little bit of the old us alive and well, even if it takes a bit more foresight to pull it off these days! I am also reminded of how fortunate we are to have family ready and willing to help us out (even on a moment's notice). The boys are lucky to have so many aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who love to spend time with them!

So happy for the city of Chicago, and for so many of my friends and family who are life-long Cubs fans. How incredible it was to be a part of history last weekend. Go Cubs Go. But next year, Go Cardinals!