Ryans visit

My brother Ryan works for Braun Racing which is a Nascar team and on the 10th there was a race in Joliet IL which is about 30 min from us. He had told me that there wasn't any reason from his job stand point to come out but he had worked it with boss and was able to come out anyway. I wasn't going to complain. He flew in on Wednesday and we had all day Thursday to play. He had never been to downtown Chicago so I figured it was a perfect time for him to see it. I had looked online and debated doing the boat tour but I don't feel that you see that much of the city. Its great for seeing most of the buildings but you don't get the feel of the city. I found one of the companies that does the double decker bus tours. I thought it was funny at first I always chuckle a bit at the tourists sitting on top snapping pictures and I thought of the movie The Breakup with Vince Vaughn where he is a tour guide for a double decker bus company..too funny.

We decided to try it out. It has 18 stops throughout the city and we could get on and off as we pleased. It seemed like a great way for him to really see the city. It was perfect!!! I would recommend it to anybody, and you definitely have to sit on top. The girls loved it, I loved it and I believe Ryan loved it. We saw and learned so much of Chicago. The only downfall was my camera battery died just after we started so I couldn't be one of the tourists I chuckle at. At one point we were at the front of the bus by the guide. He asked Genna what her favorite part of Chicago was she told him riding the school bus. She also loved the fact that he had handed her the mic to hold on to while he walked to the back of the bus. Kami was ticked that he hadn't talked to her. She said to him "Don't you know I'm here too?" Oh, I love my Kami. Kami also started her random humming and the tour guide thought it was really funny and had her hum into the mic. Everyone clapped for her, it was cute. It was a lot of fun.

At the "Bean" in Millenium Park

Friday was the day of the race. Ryan had arranged pit passes for Andrew, Cameron, and Scott. Cameron was as giddy as a kid on Christmas, Andrew was excited and Scott needed some convincing. Apparently Scott didn't realize it was a legit Nascar race and didn't think it was going to be as much fun as they had. His father in law is a huge fan and they had Scott call him to get his opinion, apparently his father in law was incredibly jealous and that convinced Scott it was going to be a fun thing. So funny! They got to wear the headsets that the crews wear and could hear the conversations between the driver and the crew the whole race. They got to meet the drivers, stand out with the teams before the race and were in the center of all the excitement the whole day. They all had a great time and want to go again. Thanks Ryan for doing that for the guys!!!!