Bright green hues and a touch of sunshine...

With so many little angels' wings surrounding Papa, his heart is doing very well. With him needing extra hours of sleep, we were kicked out and decided to spend the afternoon downtown showing off our beautiful city to Christina and Jason, whose visit had been planned before all of the heart drama. So, without further ado...here is some:

Our day began along the Chicago River, where our Irish by blood and our Irish at heart gathered to dump tons of green dye into the waters to begin our St. Paddy's day celebrations. We grabbed a spot on Lower Wacker, where they are still constructing a riverwalk, and grabbed onto the stone walls for a better view...

The crowds were massive, room was available to those who were willing to squeeze in and climb up...not everyone was willing...

Alas, the bright green was unexpectedly florescent. We gazed and oogled as the bright blue sky glared down upon the unusual waters.

My cousin Christina has not been here since Chato and I were married. She right away realized it was too long of a time to have been away.

If it weren't for Christina, I don't think we would have made the trip to see this year's efforts. Years have gone by where we've always intended, but never made the time. The kids loved it, although the festive dress on passersby was quite interesting to see.

Our newest city addition was something I had placed on my TO SEE list, but didn't realize just how large it really was in person! The American Gothic painting by Grand Wood is owned by our own Art Institute of Chicago, but the statue version is very impressive standing alongside our Tribune Tower.

We headed up to get a bigger, brighter view from atop the Hancock Building (thankfully, we haven't heard any news of changing its name, unlike that of our beloved Sears Tower...err...Willis Tower :p ) Aly loved the sights and followed the Davis Schwimmer recorded tracks to learn more about our city.

It was a beautiful day to enjoy the open air walk on the 94th floor.

I love my city! Can't you just breathe it all in?

Christina and Jason enjoyed the weather along the magnificient mile. A little shopping was in order...

...before heading over to lunch at VTK's on Hubbard. We introduced Christina and Jason to excellent thai food. There is not a single thing that can be ordered on their menu that doesn't taste absolutely delicious and SPICY.

A few steps back over to the train station at Lake and State......a swift ride home with a good (new) Chicago book......and back to our neighborhood, where we are used to the sothwest side planes landing just over our heads.