There were many things on our "wish list" when we moved to Chicago but nothing on the list included anything about the actual house we were looking for. The house (of course) needed some bedrooms, more then one bathroom and a functional kitchen. But our "wish list" consisted more of things like - walkable distance to good schools, stores, restaurants and trains. If we were going to take a huge leap of faith, start from scratch, we were going to do it closer to the big city.

Most important factor in finding our house? Being able to walk to the train.

On Columbus Day the kiddos were home from school so we finally had a chance to give the "L" (also written as the "El" "EL" or "L" - all short for elevated) a ride, for the first time.

The "L" took us from our new 'hood to downtown in the blink of the eye. We traded in our acre lot in beautiful Amish country of Ohio for a tiny piece of land by the railroad in Chicago and the kiddos keep pinching themselves asking when our vacation is over. "It feels like we are on vacation and this is all going to end soon." they said with their noses pressed against the L's window. Can't wait for our next day off together in the big city because it really does feel like we are on vacation.