Chicago!

What good timing...  Brent had to "recert" this year so he could continue to work (yes, that's new -- if he'd graduated a year earlier his license would have been good for a lifetime, but as it stands, he has to do this every 10 yrs until he retires.)  Anyway, his test was only offered 2 times per year, once in AZ and the other in Chicago, so he had planned to take this test a while ago.  Then the school calendar came out and his test coincided with fall break, so instead of a couple trip, we made a family trip.  The kids were totally excited when we told them we were all going to Chicago.

 

We left early the morning right after Bish's bday and drove to Chicago.  We started with the most important things -- American Girl and Lego.  The girls had a lunch reservation at American Girl and did some shopping for the dolls -- Laney needed glasses to match Vay and she needed her hair done.  During this time, the boys were next door in the Lego store.  (If Daddy took pictures I'll add them later bc I don't have any photos from Lego shopping.)

(AHA!!!  Daddy took a couple of pictures.)

 

The "best" story about going to Chicago was the parking issue -- our SUV large enough to hold the 6 of us was too large for the underground parking garage at WaterTower Place.  And most parking garages were INCREDIBLY tight.  6'4 was a no and 6'7 was a fit BUT JUST BARELY!!!  Brent wondered if he should let some air out of the tires so we could park.  Even in the 6'7 garages I physically ducked when driving under the cross members, lights, pipes, signs, etc.  Most often as we entered I would hang my head out of my window and watch us pass under the clearance sign with only an inch or two to spare.

So we finally parked and made it in for lunch with our "girls."  Emma was a good sport to bring her doll and "play" with Vay.

The next day while Brent was testing I took the kids to the hotel pool then we all got ready to meet some friends at our favorite Chicago pizzeria.  After eating, most of the fam was tired, but Em and I headed to Michigan Ave for a little shopping.  We hit Nordstrom Rack and H&M and popped into a new shop (since our last visit about 3yrs earlier), TopShop.  Sadly Filene's Basment was either closed or had moved.

Since we had limited time in the city, we tried to do some things we hadn't done before.  So the next morning we got ready and headed to the Museum of Science and Industry.  Brent picked the things we did for this trip and as usual did a great job.  We arrived, parked (barely!), and tried to see as much as we could.  The first area was a farming type area with giant equipment and a huge load of poo describing how much manure a cow produces.  The kids loved it all - especially the giant equipment that they could sit in and pretend to drive.  Took me back to my childhood when I would sit on my great grandfather's John Deer in the shed and pretend to drive it.  : )

Then Daddy picked the U Boat tour.  It was really fascinating.  This was a real U boat from the war.  We didn't have as much time as we'd haveliked to see all the other stuff around and associated with the story of this boat and the missions to capture it, so I'm sure we'll have to go back -- and soon since we ended up purchasing a membership bc it was less costly than one day tickets for all of us.

Emma and Bennett "drove" the sub after the tour.  It's really great to see the kids enjoy one another - just a perk of family time. 

Our last family trip to Chicago had been in 2007 when Vay was just a baby.  I took Em to the American girl luncheon and Brent took Bennett to the Lego store where he bought his first Lego - the Star Wars X-Wing fighter that I put together for him bc he was just a little guy.  On that trip Brent took Bennett and Vay to the top of the John Hancock while the girls were at Am. Girl, so we decided to forego a trip to the JH this time.  BUT I was able to get this picture of my big girl with the John Hancock bldg.  The museum had an area similar to Legoland's mini-land.  It was great to see the town like that.  And it was also helpful during our fabulous architectural boat tour of the town to have seen some of the buildings here in this mock up.

Chicago fun really wears you out!

 So, on our last day, we packed up, checked out and went to the pier for the architectural boat tour.  The weather was wonderful - not too cold, not too windy, and the sun was shining.

The city is beautiful and I totally recommend this tour if you are ever in Chicago.