A couple of months ago, Andy and I started talking about taking the boys to Chicago. We thought they’d enjoy the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum. This was our weekend to go, and we couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.
We headed out early Saturday morning to drive down. We endured the dreaded “Are we there yet?” question numerous times. We didn’t resort to using our portable DVD player, and kept the boys entertained with books and looking out the window. We went directly to the Museum Campus when we got into town.
After parking, our first stop was the Field Museum. We had been talking about Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex for a week or so, and the boys were really excited to see it. We walked up the steps to the hall where it is, and I think it was slightly anticlimactic because the hall is ginormous, and Sue looks quite small in that space. But as we got closer, it was more and more impressive.
We then made our way around the museum, often at a fairly rapid pace because the boys can’t completely concentrate for long periods of time! But we saw some pretty awesome stuff, and we’ll just have to go back another time!
After we were done at the Field Museum, we headed over to the Shedd Aquarium. The day before we left for Chicago, I went onto the website and finally read some fine print. Unfortunately, the Oceanarium is closed for the first renovation since it opened (of course it would be now!), so we didn’t get to see the beluga whales or dolphins or penguins. But we were still able to see the sharks, sea turtles, freshwater fish, Amazon River animals, and a 4D movie of “The Polar Express” (condensed into about 15 minutes!). You could smell the hot chocolate, feel the cold air rushing over your face, and feel the tracks rumbling under your seat.
After the movie, it was time to head to the hotel to check in, rest for a bit, and get ready for dinner. We took the boys to the Rainforest Cafe, riding in a taxi to get there (Noah made sure to buckle his seat belt!) because it was raining a bit. Yep, raining on December 12 in Chicago! We had a good dinner, with plenty of entertainment for the boys, including the gorillas with Santa hats on that thump their chest, the fish tank next to our table, and the wait staff coming out from the back yelling “Volcano!” as they carried a towering brownie with a sparkler on the top.
During dinner, Andy and I talked about walking back to our hotel. It was only a half of a mile from the restaurant, and it was pretty mild out. We figured that if it wasn’t raining, it would be fun to walk. When we walked out of the restaurant, it was raining. But it wasn’t raining too hard, so we decided to brave it. We kept telling the boys it was an adventure. Noah complained most of the way back to the hotel, but I really thought it was fun. I love the idea of living in a big city and walking most places. I have a friend in Chicago who doesn’t own a car-how cool! It was a different way for the boys to see the city, and it was good to walk off our dinner!
It was back to the hotel, then, and time to veg out. We didn’t have time to swim then, so we told the boys we could swim in the morning. We all cuddled up to watch the end of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (the Johnny Depp one), then hit the sack.
This morning, Caden decided he didn’t want to swim, so we stayed in the room to shower (me) and take a bath (Caden), while Noah and Andy headed down to the pool for a swim. Caden and I had planned to walk to the Panera around the corner to pick up some breakfast, but by the time we were done getting dressed, Andy and Noah were back from the pool and ready to get showered and dressed to go to breakfast.
After breakfast, it was time to check out, retrieve our car, and drive to Macy’s on State Street to see the animated Christmas windows, the giant tree in the middle of the Walnut Room, and maybe see Santa. We parked our car and then walked along State Street to look at the windows. It was another mild day, almost 50 degrees, and pretty pleasant to be outside, for December, at least!
Since we drove around the block a few times to find a parking structure, we realized we were very close to Millennium Park so after looking at the windows and a stop in a four-story Old Navy, we walked to the park to check out “The Bean.” It’s actually called “Cloud Gate”, but no matter what you call it, it’s pretty darn cool. The boys thought it was cool as well.
From there, we started back to Macy’s, stopping along the way to let the boys ride a bull outside of the Chicago Cultural Center.
At Macy’s, we headed up the escalators to find the toys, Santa, and the giant tree. We found the toys on the 5th floor, but it wasn’t exactly what the boys were hoping for. We also found Santa on the 5th floor, but never saw him, just the line of kids, a city block long, waiting to see him. We decided it was a disaster waiting to happen! So we made our way to Seven on State to eat some lunch, then over to the Walnut Room to see the giant, 45-foot tree. It was really beautiful, and we were a little disappointed we weren’t able to stand close to it to get a good picture of the boys in front of it.
By then we were all starting to get tired and cranky, so we knew it was time to hit the road. But of course we got sidetracked on the way back to the car. Noah was noticing kids with balloon animals and objects and wanted one for himself. We found the guy making them for kids, and stopped to get the boys decked out. Noah wanted a green sword, and the guy offered him a belt and a parrot for his shoulder. 
When the guy asked Caden what he wanted, he said he wanted a sword “with NO belt.” As he said “no belt,” he spread his arms out in front, like when you are doing “Itsy, Bitsy Spider” and the rain “washed the spider out.” It was really funny to see. He was happy with his yellow sword. 
The guy was nice enough to make a tiny turtle for us as well, and then we were on our way. 
It was a great weekend and we’re all tired, but happy. We’re already talking about going back in the summer once the Oceanarium is open at the Shedd Aquarium and when the weather is nicer so we can spend some time walking, playing, and maybe heading up the Sears Tower. For now, we’ll stay close to home, eat at home (it’s really expensive to eat there!), and remember our weekend in the Windy City!