Back to Chicago

Ah, it is good to be home. It's always fun to have a little vacation but isn't it just wonderful to be back home?! We have just returned from our second trip to Chicago during this Spring Break week. We could really get used to this college life - at least all the breaks, Lane isn't really crazy about all the school work. (If you don't know already, Lane is currently getting his master's degree at Purdue University.)

We drove up to Chicago on Tuesday morning. We arrived at the Shedd Aquarium shortly after it opened. First funny story of the trip: it was a little stressful trying to figure out where we should park at the aquarium, but J.D. was asking non-stop questions which just made it overwhelming and impossible for Lane & I to communicate about driving. Lane was explaining something to J.D. and after he had said it twice and received the third "what?" from J.D., he said "J.D. I'm done talking." To which J.D. responded "You're done? But Daddy you're smart."

The Shedd Aquarium is the world's largest indoor aquarium. Yesterday it was packed with people and a lot of fish too. We saw our friends, Griff & Jess Stauffer with their daughter Sophia there. (Check out Jess' blog: tutto a pezzi) I was amazed how many big tanks they had with so many different kinds of sea creatures. My favorite was the sawfish. Very interesting creature! Amazing what God has created! I'm sorry that I didn't get a picture of it to share. The boys enjoyed being able to pet a baby shark and a large boa. Second funny story: Matt was winding down for a nap in the stroller but was having a hard time being distracted by all the animals. So we decided to stop in a semi-quiet, semi-dark area to watch the underwater viewing of the dolphins. And, alas, he was drifting off, when a dolphin swam right by the window. Lane exclaimed "Look at the dolphin!" J.D. exclaimed "A spider!" And then Matt popped up to check out the spider too. Silly boys, we can see spiders any time, but didn't you see that dolphin?!

In the afternoon, we checked into our hotel in downtown Chicago. Once we were in the room, the first thing J.D. asked was "where are the cups like the other hotel?" "Cups?" I ask. "You know, cups to put water in so you can drink it." Oh, I didn't know he was such an expert on what belonged in a hotel room or maybe he was just really thirsty. Matt took the hands-on approach - exploring the entire room, drawers and all. Suppose he didn't want to miss anything exciting that might be hiding.

For dinner, we met Al & Katie at Chicago's Greek Town. (more on how we know Al & Katie on my previous post: Spring Break!) It was so wonderful to see Katie. She had just returned from a two week adventure in New Zealand. We enjoyed catching up with them, while feasting on some tasty Greek food. Katie was previously in the Navy but has just taken the Illinois bar exam and is starting with a law firm at the end of the month. Smart gal! Al is finishing up his residency and will be an Optometrist for the Navy. I just don't even know how to express how great it was to visit with them. Good, good people. I hope we can visit again before we move this summer.

Today, we enjoyed a lazy morning in the hotel. Actually we were all ready to go and starting to get the boys' shoes on, when Lane said "I don't know where we think we are going. It's only 8:30 and the touristy stuff doesn't open until 10." Well maybe we were a little too eager to get going for the day. So the boys watched a bit more cartoons and Moriah & I took a nap. Great morning!

First we went to Sears Tower. It is 110 stories high - the third tallest building in the world. We only got to the 99th floor... What a view! J.D. said the cars looked like toys cars that were moving by themselves. Matt saw a boat out on Lake Michigan and said "My boat!" Everything just looked like a bunch of little toys to them. Another funny story: J.D. & Matt were climbing up on the railings in front of the windows when Matt said, "Daddy careful getting down. Do it like this." He takes care of us well. Moriah even made a friend up there. She's so cute that she attracts a lot of attention. A gal, who was from China, asked if she could take a picture with her and then gave me a Chinese coin as a souvenir for Moriah. It was really sweet.

The trip to Sears Tower took much longer than we had anticipated (small elevator and lots of people waiting for it), so we lost Matt and Moriah to a nap as soon as we got in the mini-van. J.D. really wanted to go on the ferris wheel over at the Navy Pier. He had seen it on Saturday and was disappointed that we couldn't go on it. So we drove by and dropped Lane & J.D. off to go ride the ferris wheel. Parking is outrageous in Chicago and since we'd already paid $25 at the Sears Tower lot, we didn't want to spend another $22 just to go on one ride, so I drove around until they were done. Driving in a big city... hair raising! I hope J.D. appreciated all our efforts.

One last stop before home. We had seen a dairy farm about halfway between Chicago and home, so we thought it would be a good educational stop for the boys. As we were coming up to the exit Matt was getting really excited about "Old MacDonald's Farm" and started singing away. I don't know exactly how he made the connection from dairy farm to McDonald's but we did have to swing by the golden arches afterwards for some chicken nuggets. The important things in a kids life, right? Oh and the dairy farm really was cool. They actually have a really nice museum and bus tour. We enjoyed some yummy ice cream and brought home fresh cheese.

Whew, just two days packed full of lots of fun. It was a good time. The kids never cease to come up with things to amuse us. What a blessing they are!