Little House in Chicago: Louisville Road Trip: Sunday

We started Sunday morning with Mass at the gorgeous St. Martin of Tours.

I don't even know where to start talking about this incredible church. From the 26 reverent (and adorable) little altar servers to the Perpetual Adoration Chapel, everything about this church was clearly centered on Christ. I turned to Frank after we left and said, "I think that might be the only parish I've seen that's more awesome than ours."

Frankie was really enjoying shouting through the service (he could hear his echo! What's more exciting?), so he and I spent most of Mass hanging out in the back of the church. I was wearing him in my k'tan when a very sweet woman wearing her baby in a ring sling came over to talk to me. She welcomed me to the church and told me, "This is a very special parish. I don't know why, but it has an unusually high number of big families and families with special needs."

After Mass, at least two other parishioners came up to Frank and me to welcome us. Again with the Louisville friendliness! We loved it, and definitely plan to return to this wonderful church whenever we are in Louisville.

Next we met up with my dear friend Mary Kate and her fiance (plus her sister and brother-in-law!) for brunch. She found a fantastic restaurant called Ditto's with a great Sunday brunch menu and plenty of high chairs for the babies. Our sweet waitress told me all about her one-year-old baby at home and thoughtfully brought out a fruit cup for Frankie—cementing my impression that Louisville has the nicest people. I really enjoyed catching up with Mary Kate, although I'm bummed I forgot to get a picture together. We're looking forward to being back in Louisville in June for her wedding!

Finally, we headed to the place Frank had been dreaming about and looking forward to for months: The Louisville Slugger Museum.

We got to watch the process by which Louisville Slugger bats are made, and we got to hold bats that used to belong to Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle (among others). I don't think I can convey to you the level of Frank's happiness. Let's just say that since we returned from Louisville, he keeps expressing profound regret that he didn't choose to work at the Louisville Slugger Factory instead of becoming a lawyer. ;)

We loved this "Women in baseball" section that reminded us of a moive we love, "A League of Their Own."

Slugger Museum selfie!

There was a fun baseball-themed play area next to batting cages for adults. Frank and the others tested out their swing but I decided not to display my lack of athletic ability.

We tried to get a picture of Frankie on the giant baseball glove, but he was NOT having it:

We tried again later on, after getting him a cute shirt from the gift shop. This was the best we could do, but hey, you guys can see the quote, right? Can you name the movie it's from?

There was also a neat exhibit from the company that makes baseball trading cards. We loved the displays for Major League and Indiana Jones, among many other awesome ones! Frank took pictures of the Beatles display to send to his dad.