Chicago

It was a fun, fantastic and freezing time in Chicago. I think the warmest day was 50 and that was the day we left to come back to CA. Despite the cold, we all had a great time visiting with Roxx and Max (the kitties), oh yeah, and Uncle Paul and Uncle Drew too! If we didn't have 4 dogs, our house would be filled with cats if the boys had their way. Oh my gosh, they loved the cats. The cats didn't necessarily like them all the time but Roxx definitely tolerated more than she should have. Max basically hid under the bed and came out for food.

The boys traveled wonderfully. I worried all for nothing. Traveling to Chicago we got delayed in Las Vegas and spent an extra 2 hours there. That meant that we got into Chicago at midnight and not to the guys house and in bed until 2am. This was the first time we went anywhere without a stroller that involved walking for an extended period of time. I was impressed at how well they did.

We did a lot while we were there. We went to Navy Pier and had lunch, rode the train and went to the Children's Museum the first day. The next day we attempted to go to the Shedd Aquarium but there were too many people there. Later in the afternoon, Andrew joined us and we went to a 3D movie about underwater sea creatures. This had been the first time the boys had been to a movie in a theater let alone a 3D movie. It was hysterical watching their reactions. The following morning we headed out to Lincoln Park Zoo. This zoo was awesome and FREE! If we lived in Chicago I think we would be there every week. I think the boys liked the Sea Lions the best. There was a small train there that they rode and a carousel they went on too. It was a beautiful day at the zoo. The next day Paul woke up early and went and got tickets to the aquarium for us. Thankfully it wasn't as packed as it was the previous day. Later that night we had a campfire at the lake. What were we thinking?! It was so cold and windy! But the boys managed to scarf down a bunch of marshmellows and hot dogs and then we high tailed it back to the house. The next day we headed downtown to Andrew's work. He works at the Pritzker Military Library. I think Curtis could have spent the whole day there. Andrew was gracious enough to give us a tour and introduced us to his co-workers. After that Paul took us to the coolest bowling alley. It was called Lucky Strike. It was the first time the boys had ever bowled. They loved it! Nolan was hysterical because he would do this dance every time he would roll his ball down the alley. The next day was our last day. Paul and Andrew both had to work and we had the morning and early afternoon to ourselves. We took the boys to Grant Park and Millennium Park. It was awesome to be there. Grant Park is the location of where President Obama made his history making speech. We had lunch at the Crown Fountain and walked across the BP Bridge. It was a great end to our fun trip in Chicago.

Many thanks to Paul and Andrew who put us up (and put up with us)!

Here are some pictures from the trip.