On Friday we took the kids to the John G. Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago. 
First we drove around for 30 minutes looking for an ATM or cash back, then spent like 45 minutes in traffic before we got there... The kids seemed to really enjoy it for the most part, though Reilly was most just eagar to see the dolphins until we finally did... They liked the penguins, and the turtles, and the Beluga whales, and all the fish. :) Here are some pictures of them in the penguin play area:
We ate lunch out on the terrace with an AMAZING view - here it is, put together from 4 pictures that Jeremy took (click for a larger pic):
After about 3-4 hours we had pretty much seen everything we wanted to. The walk to the downtown area was about a mile, but there was a lot to see, and we mostly enjoyed it. Halfway there we got to enjoy the awesome, newly refurbished Buckingham Fountain.
Jaina was fast asleep, and didn't get to see it.
The kids' favorite part of the day was probably the Crown Fountain. Once we convinced Reilly to walk in the water, he had a blast.
We think he woke up Jaina, and she loved it too. It was a pretty warm day for Chicago, and a little humid, so after our mile hike it felt wonderful.
To see a picture of the Crown Fountain, go here...
We also enjoyed the Kapoor Sculpture (I just found out it's called that - I think we called it the bean sculpture)...
After that we had an early dinner at Giordano's (Chicago style pizza) and the kids did relatively well. At that point we were pretty tired out and started the walk back to our car. We walked closer to the lake shore this time, and it was nice, other than Reilly really needing to go potty, and there not being anywhere for him to go...
The trip back to Oak Brook was a little long, but we went immediately to check out our hotel's indoor pool, and swam with the kids for about 45 minutes before bedtime. They really loved it, and Jeremy was a good sport. (The water still wasn't really warm) Another night of laying there trying to get Reilly to sleep (finally, at like 9:45) without waking up Jaina in the process... But we all slept well after that, so it was nice.
7 comments:
that looks like SO MUCH FUN! i miss living in the midwest, there are so many cool places. that egg or maybe that was the kapoor sculpture thing is cool! and chicago style pizza sounds super yummy!!!!! i love the pic of jaina with the buildings behind her, GREAT picture.
We love that "giant silver jelly bean" as we called it! Ryan tells everyone he knows who is going to Chicago to find it. Haha. It looks like you guys had fun!
I enjoyed reading several of your posts since I've been a little slack/busy lately as always. Well I'm glad to see you having fun. I really love that big round silver thing. You guys have been super busy!
So many fun ideas for our next trip to Chicago!!
Looks like a lot of fun! Water parks are always a big hit with kids once they warm up to the idea of getting wet with their clothes on! How fun, what great memories!
All your "trip" pictures look like so much fun!! That sculpture thing was trippy!
So fun! Glad you guys were able to get away and have such a good time! Your pics brought back memories of our trip last year and gave me some ideas of new things we can do if we go again :)
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