Chicago, Day 4

 For our last day in Chicago, we started off with breakfast at Lou Mitchell's diner, which was pretty good. We packed up the condo and drove to the Field Museum. C and I were pretty excited to see the Terracotta Warrior exhibit. It was really cool, but there weren't as many warriors as we had hoped. It was still amazing to see them in real life and even cooler to see how they've been pieced back together. It is mind boggling to think of all the work, years, laborers, and planning that went into the tomb and surrounding areas of that emperor. 

 This trip Leah was really eager to see the dinosaurs. She has been pretty interested in them this summer. We got a book from the library before we left, and Leah enjoyed reading about them. She really wanted to see the dinosaur from Jurassic Park that has a collar that puffs up when it is angry and spits venom. We couldn't find the dinosaur at the Field, and it ends up that Steven Spielberg took some creative liberty with that dinosaur, and that it didn't exist the way the movie portrayed. Leah was bummed to learn that. 

 After we left the Field, both girls said they were tired, asked us to turn down the music in the car, and immediately both went to sleep. We stopped at the outlets, had dinner, and got home around 9:30. It was a great trip! 

 After we got home, Leah was thrilled that her doll house came. Even though it was 10 at night, her Daddy helped her set it up and moved it to her room. She (and Juliet) has been playing with it constantly since then. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it gets a little more love than her other American Girl accessories that rarely see the light of day. 

Chicago, Day 3

 We started the day with a yummy breakfast and then set off for the Bean. I really wanted to see this last year, but it was about 100 degrees and we had to walk a mile to the Field Museum, so it didn't happen. I was excited to see it this year, and I think the kids enjoyed it, too. It was really funny to see the selfies sticks and poses that the young-ins were doing. 

 I took a bunch of pictures of our reflections in the bean, and this is the only one that turned out. 

 Me and my girls :)

 We went to Maggie Daley park after, which was a lot of fun for the girls. Personally, the park gave me major anxiety. It was HUGE and crowded, and I was worried about losing a kid. We went man-on-man, which worked, but was still a little over-whelming. I don't know how you could do that park without an adult for every kid. 

 After we played, we went back to the condo and changed into our suits and went back to the lake front. We saw the last 30 minutes of the Air and Water show, which was the perfect amount of time. We saw some cool tricks, then walked down to the beach and played in the lake. Well, Leah swam in the lake, Juliet would dip her feet in, and Chris and I avoided it as much as possible because it was FREEZING. 

 The view was pretty awesome, though. Our condo was close to Sear's Tower (I know it has another name now, but it will always be the Sear's to me).

 Juliet really wanted me to take pictures of her running in and out of the lake. 

We spent our evening at the condo watching Adventures in Babysitting (fitting, as it takes place in Chicago) and eating our left over pizza. Juliet and Leah ate most their cheese-sticks the night before, so we got them dinner from 7-11--hey, it included fresh watermelon! 

Chicago with kids, Day 2

 On our second Day, we went to the Shedd. I love to travel and I love to go to museums. To be honest, since having kids, I often wonder whether we get our moneys worth of most museums/zoos. It can be hard to hold the kids interest and I often feel like I miss out on things because I am carrying someone/bribing someone/making sure someone isn't lost/trampled. The Shedd was the first time that I was like, "I would have paid way more to go there!" We were there for over 5 hours and enjoyed every minute. 

 This turtle was very friendly. He looked like he really wanted a friend. 

 We saw the dolphin and beluga whale show. It was cool, but both Chris and I felt a little uncomfortable and were both thinking of Blackfish during the show. 

 We ate lunch outside and watched the planes fly that were there as part of the Air and Water show. We had a great view. Leah loved looking out!

 Leah was so excited to touch a sting ray. She talked about it often in the days leading up to the trip. Once we were there, she was a little timid and wasn't sure she wanted to be off balance over a pool of sting rays in order to touch one. She touched one, and while she said she wanted to touch more, her body language made it clear that she was ready to move on from the exhibit. 

 Chris touched this giant sting ray.

 One of the coolest things was going under the Coral Reef. There were a ton of sharks and you could see way more fish than you could at the main Coral Reef that is at the enterance. Juliet loved the little i-pads everywhere that let you learn about different fish (or just keep picking new fish to see)

 I love this picture of Leah! 

 After we were done with the Shedd, we walked along the lake shore. We found some ice cream and ate it while sitting by the lake. 

On the way home, we walked into the city to find an address to get an Uber. We found the street our condo is on, and decided just to walk back. 3.5 miles. After walking the Shedd for 5 hours. Chris took turns giving the girls rides on his shoulders. There was a little whining, but we made it. Afterward, we hung out at the condo and ate Chicago style pizza and watched a movie. It was a great day! 

Chicago, Day 1

 On the way into town, we stopped at the Museum of Science and Technology. Leah has been into weather, so she was thrilled to be part of the experiment on vortexes. 

 Juliet is not quite the joiner Leah is when vortexes are concerned, so she stayed back with me and looked cute. 

 Both liked the climbing wall. Leah mastered the entire thing, and Juliet liked jumping on the padding.

 Checking out the baby chicks was also a highlight. Leah was bummed that she couldn't see an actual chick hatch like she did last year. 

 Leah liked posing in the propeller of the airplane until I told her that if it was really on, it would suck her in and chop her to pieces. She jumped out and gave me a dirty look after I told her. 

 At the condo preparing for American Girl. The condo we stayed at was really nice. C's bosses loaned it to us for a long weekend. It was awesome to have extra space and an actual kitchen and table to sit at. 

 Waiting for our Uber. Leah was slightly freaked out by Ubers at first. The first day, she was skeptical and wasn't sure she wanted to take an Uber back to the condo. By the second day, she would walk a few blocks and complain, "Can't we just call an uber?!" It was pretty funny. 

 Eating dinner at American Girl. This year Lea and Grace got to come. We got both their hair done at the store after dinner while we shopped. 

 Poor Juliet got a stomach ache during dinner and was so uncomfortable she didn't eat anything. She shook it off in time to shop, though! 

 In the life size version of the tree house Leah got for her birthday. 

 In Julie's chair

 Juliet with Grace after her hair was done. Grace has been twirled and posed and dropped so many times since then, you can no longer tell we paid to have her hair done. It's worth it, though, because Juliet loves her dolls so much.