We spent the day in transit, and wound up at Gramma and Grampa Brooks' house by about 9:30 that evening. We spent Monday and Tuesday relaxing and recovering from the hectic busybusy of the wedding. We went out to dinner with Matt's dad and his ladyfriend on Monday to a good Italian place, then on Tuesday with Gramma, Grampa, and Matt's Uncle Larry and Aunt Debbie. After that dinner, we were dropped off at Matt's mom's house so we could get an early start the next morning.
Jill, cleaning her closets, had found a box full of Matt's old schoolwork and such, and we had a fun time reading little stories he'd written and looking at pictures he'd drawn. Just that morning, Gramma had shown us a picture of Matt at the age of about three or four, and I'd teased him all day about his cute little chubby cheeks. This collection of first or second-grade schoolwork only added to the fun.
Wednesday morning, Jill woke us up early and we headed for the train into Chicago proper. Just outside the train station, we took a bus to a spot near the Field Museum.
The first thing we saw when we entered the museum was Sue, the largest and most complete specimen of Tyrannasaurus rex ever found. As I gaped at the huge skeleton and marvelled at the sheer age of the thing, Matt overheard some woman say to her kids, "I don't see what the big deal is. It doesn't look that big!" Lady, take a look at that ribcage! You wouldn't even be a snack! If you added enamel back to those teeth, they'd be bigger than bananas! Oh, well, there's just no pleasing some people, I guess.
The Field Museum was also hosting a Star Wars exhibit, which we thought was a show, but turned out to be several rooms of production props, costumes, and concept drawings, highlighted by plaques on the walls discussing the elements of myth in the movies. It was interesting, and of course I took a lot of pictures. We could easily have spent the rest of the day in the Field Museum, but we wanted to also take in the Museum of Science and Industry, which Matt had assured me was loads of fun. We took another bus, and wound up stopping for lunch at a little Italian place that turned out to be a real find. Too bad I can't remember the name, now!
The MoSI was hosting an exhibition on the Titanic that would probably have been amazing, but we didn't think we'd have time to see it and any of the rest of the museum. We looked at paintings that seemed to move; gadgets and gizmos galore; a beautiful, enormous fairy castle; a model of the human heart big enough to walk through; the whispering gallery; a ton of hands-on demonstrations; an animated circus; and tons more stuff. We didn't get to appreciate even half the museum, I'm sure. On the way back to the train station, we stopped at the popcorn store for some caramel corn. I was thrilled to learn that they have a website and online ordering. Now I won't have to wait a year and a half to satisfy my cravings!
Thursday we got up a little later, and drove into Chicago instead of taking the train. We parked a couple of blocks from Matt's sister's apartment, and walked about half a mile to Wrigley Field. I've only ever been to one live baseball game before, and never a major league game, and we thought it would be fun. 
We had great seats - close to the field and just a twitch past third base - and a great view of everything. We got there in time to watch the Phillies' batting practice and to have a couple of hot dogs for lunch. Of the five runs scored that game, four of them were home runs! Matt says I got the true "Cubbie" experience - they lost. But the final score was 3-2, so at least they put up a fight! To add to the fun, it was Free T-Shirt Day, so I was handed a t-shirt as we walked into the stadium. That meant I didn't have to pay for a souvenier! Matt bought a program and scorecard, and kept score through the whole game. He teased me later, opening it up to show a grid of mostly gibberish, "Look! You can relive the whole game!"
After the game, we walked back to Rachael's apartment and picked her up, then walked about halfway back to Wrigley Field to have dinner at an Italian restaurant called Leona's. While we were looking over the menu, the worse of my feet surprised me with a charlie horse in the arch. I curled up behind my menu and tried not to make a lot of noise. I wound up being embarrassed anyway, though. I always feel obsessively inadequate around Matt's sister.
Oh, well. The pain subsided after a bit, and retreated a bit further after I took a couple of ibuprofen. I calmed down enough to enjoy dinner, and even laughed as Matt teased his sister by ordering dessert. (Um... No, that probably doesn't make sense. Don't worry about it.)
Friday, courtesy of Matt's brother Evan, we went to the movies to see X-Men. I'd been expecting to enjoy the special effects, but I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy the plot as well. There were enough in-jokes that I caught that I'm sure there were plenty more for avid readers of the comic. ("We actually wear this?" "What would you prefer? Yellow spandex?") I loved it that the "villian" honestly thought he was trying to help, and that the romantic interests didn't all line up neatly and resolve by the end of the movie. I also thought it was nice that the "good guys" didn't all work perfectly together; that they had their quibbles and arguments. I enjoyed the fact that the movie didn't take itself too seriously.
Evan told us after the movie that the guy who played the Toad was the same actor who'd played Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace - and that the scene where he pulls a pipe out of the elevator doors and spins it in his hands was closely choreographed to mimic the light saber duel in TPM. I thought that was funny.
Of course, they left it wide open for a sequel. If they do one, I'll probably go see it.
After the movie, Jill took us back to Matt's grandparents' house, where we relaxed some more and repacked our bags. Matt's cousin Tina came over for dinner to see us, which was nice. Grampa Brooks did some work for a farmer down the road a bit some time ago for free, in return for fresh corn whenever he wants it. He called down to the farm to see if any was in, and then he, Matt, and I drove over to pick up what was probably two or three dozen ears of corn. I love corn, so I was thrilled. I six pieces with dinner, and probably could've had one or two more if I hadn't also had potatoes, ribs, green beans, and fruit salad! We had a good time talking with Tina about her work (she's a jeweler) and all sorts of other things.
Saturday we flew back to D.C., and then drove home. It seems we never get to spend enough time with the family in Chicago, but it was good to get back to our house and to see the cat. Not to mention sleeping in our own bed and showering in our own shower. We weren't as happy to have to do the laundry, though!
Now I'm back at work, and I can't log into my computer. It should have been a simple problem - my password expired while I was gone. I called the sysadmin and she changed it for me. But now it's an hour and a half later, and I still can't get in. I'm logged in as administrator for now, but I won't be able to get my e-mail until she checks it.
Yup. I'm back.
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