Chicago

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I love Chicago.  I spent many happy childhood weekends there visiting family, touring museums, eating pizza, and shopping.  I never tired of the Coal Mine at Museum of Science and Industry, which I still think is one of the coolest museum experiences in the U.S., and I nourished my imagination with Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle.  I saw my first dinosaurs at the Field Museum, and for years I thought the Original and One True Santa Claus could only be visited at the flagship Marshall Field's on State Street.

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So it was with great joy that I took my three daughters to Chicago for the first time last weekend.  We were there for a cousin's baptism and my grandmother's 85th birthday --- big, celebratory occasions, with extensive family present.  My kids loved playing with their second and third cousins, being admired by great-great aunts and uncles, and feeling the abundant love present.

We also took a day to visit the Shedd Aquarium, which is magnificent:

My kids have been to some cool aquariums on the west coast, but the Shedd took the cake.  My oldest attempted to take a picture of "every fish here" with her iPod Touch.  She actually got a few good shots:

Our visit was brief, joyous, and exhausting.  But we'll be back.  Soon.