Saturday, December 26th...TRAIN RIDE!!!
The train ride was great! We left from Jefferson City (thanks to Ann, Blaine and Patrick for seeing us off!) at about 10:30am for an almost 10 hr train adventure, including a 1&1/2 hr layover in StL. The kids loved being able to roam without car seats to confine them. It was a lot less stress for Darran and I, as we were able to read, play with the kids, rest, whatever. We arrived at Union Station in Chicago around 8:45pm. Off to the Embassy Suites (a great, family friendly hotel that allowed all of us to have a bed--no small feat for a family of 6--, a hot breakfast, pool time, and was conveniently located less than 2 blocks from the subway).
Sunday, December 27th..first subway and city bus rides, Museum of Science and Industry, and dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (where Claire lost her first tooth--see previous post)
Sunday, December 27th..first subway and city bus rides, Museum of Science and Industry, and dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (where Claire lost her first tooth--see previous post)
R2D2 mailbox outside the Museum
Christmas trees from around the world
Mom and Jeff were able to spend the day with us as well, so here is the fam near the german submarine exhibit. The Museum of S&I was really one of our favorites. So many things for the kids to do and see and they were at the perfect age for it!
On the city bus, after a long day at the Museum.
Silly brothers at the Rainforest Cafe
Monday, December 28...American Girl and the Lego Store followed by Sears Skydeck and Gino's East Chicago style pizza
Well, we thought this would be a "down" day. Boy were we wrong! We spent a whopping 2+hrs at the American Girl Store (thankfully the boys were allowed to check out Nintendo DS' while the girls shopped..great idea on AG's part!), followed by another 2 hrs at the Lego Store. The kids got money for Christmas with which they could spend at these stores, if they wanted. Boy, did they want to! Emma even got her doll's ears pierced, so she could truly be just like her:-) We then went to the Sears Skydeck. Although the kids loved the Skydeck, Darran and I felt differently. The view of the city was awesome at night...I just didn't need to go out over glass to enjoy it:-) Pizza at Gino's East was fabulous! Thinking about it makes me hungry for more!
Kit Kittredge dolls (Claire's)
Just Like Me dolls (Emma and Suzie Q)
Build your own minifigures...
Darth Vader from Legos
some 1200+ feet above the city
Tuesday, December 29...Field Museum and Adler Planetarium
The Field Museum is such an awesome place! The kids loved the resemblances to things in the Night at the Museum movie. We could have done without the Planetarium, which was a bit disappointing. I'm not sure if it was just too old for our kids or what, but the view from the Planetarium was at least worth the trek there.
View from Adler Planetarium
Wednesday, December 30...Shedd Aquarium and the Art Institute of Chicago
Well, I am sad to say I took no pictures at Shedd. Hard to believe as this is the one place I really wanted to go. However, the crowds were insane here and I just wanted to not lose my children:-) Kids did love what we saw here--octopus swimming, turtles, beluga whales, otters, sea dragons and more. Unfortunately, the crowds got the best of us and we opted to head over to the Art Institute. This is one place that Brendan really wanted to go to. He loves art and was really looking forward to visiting the Art Institute. They had a couple of kids areas, where the the kids were able to build puzzles of sculptures found in the museum, to do rubbings, to try on armory, and more. We spent some time looking at the famous Monets, Picassos and more from the Impressionism gallery, as well as the Miniature Rooms area. All the kids really enjoyed the Art Institute.
Thursday, December 31st...trip back home:-)
Took the train back. So thankful not to be driving, especially since it was snowing along our route home. We were nice and cozy in the train. This is a picture during our stop in StL. We only had about a 45min layover in StL, so we opted to stay on the train. Had the whole car to ourselves!
"Mom was really on this trip" photo
Couple of side notes: Our kids were true city kids...they loved traveling by bus and subway/El. Chicago was beautiful this time of year and the cold really wasn't bad while we were there. Owen couldn't stand seeing the snow all the time without touching it. Probably could've used a day to just find a place to play in it:-) All-in-all a great trip. So glad to know that we can actually take four kids into the big city by ourselves! We've come a long way from our last big family trip to Florida (summer 2005), where we needed lots of extra hands!
