Chicago Trip

We had a great time in Chicago last week. We took Amtrak from Columbus and stayed right downtown. Our first stop was the Cheesecake Factory right underneath the Hancock building.

Our next stop was the top of the Hancock building. We went right at sunset, so we got to see everything in the light, and then in the dark.


Then we stopped at American Girl Place. Callie really wanted a Kit doll, but we told her that might be a good birthday present. Instead, we got her a mini Kit doll. She was pretty excited about it, and insisted on sleeping with it that night. By the next morning, we had forgotten all about it. We must have left it in the bed, because it was gone that night. We figured it was tangled in the sheets and got taken away with the laundry. So, on the last night we went back and bought her another one. The morning we left, we found the original one between the headboard and the wall. So, now she has twins! Of course, she thinks it turned out perfectly.

The next morning we went walking on Michigan Avenue trying to find something for breakfast. They were having a ceremony for Medal of Honor winners, and there were lots of police officers around. One was nice enough to let Connor get on his motorcycle.


Next we headed to the Museum of Science and Industry. There were all kinds of fun things for both the kids and adults to see. They had a really interesting WWII exhibit that featured the first U-boat captured by the Allies.

Callie was a very excited farmer . . .



And a very scary astronaut. Watch out martians!

This is why we were glad we brought the stroller.

After the museum, we met my brother Jason and his girlfriend Roshelle at Navy Pier. The kids did some rides and we got to see some dancing pirates. It must have been "pirate weekend" because there were pirates everywhere!

On Saturday we went to the Field Museum to see Sue.

It turns out it was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which may explain all the pirates were were seeing. The kids got a kick out of making their pirate hats. They spent a lot of time decorating them to make them just right.

Callie took this picture--pretty good for a 3 year-old!




Luckily, Jason and Roshelle knew where we were going and we ended up walking from the Field Museum all the way back to our hotel, with lots of stops along the way.

Jason needed a bike to keep up with these two.

Connor proved that he inherited the Ritzenthaler jumping gene.

We had to leave around noon on Sunday, so we had just a few hours at Shedd Aquarium before he caught the train home. We all had a great time, and Connor was really sad to leave. He insisted that he wanted to move to Chicago immediately.