Spring Break in Chicago

During spring break the week before last, we spent a few days in Chicago. It was so much fun! The kids were really at a great age to go, and they had just as much fun staying in the hotel as they did getting out and seeing the sights.

On Monday, our first day in the Windy City, it was very warm and sunny, so we headed straight to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was awesome! It is a free zoo, so you only have to pay to park. We saw some great animals...polar bears, silver back apes, rhinos, and a giraffe, to name a few. We also happened to hit the zoo around feeding time, so the animals were fairly active, which was nice because we got to see a lot of different movement and hear them make some great sounds.

Tuesday was Lauryn's birthday, and the peak of the day was spent at American Girl Place. To even things out for the boys, we also hit the Disney Store, where Kaden spent a LONG time in front of a full wall display of everything Cars. Then, because Troy was so patient with all of us, we went to Niketown, a must see for Troy every time we go to Chicago.

Wednesday was cold and rainy, which made it the perfect day to head to Shedd's Aquarium and spend the day indoors. We checked out early and went straight there as we had heard it could be a long wait to get in. When we got there, the line was already down the fifty steps to the entrance and back along the sidewalk to the Field Museum. We had been patiently standing in line for about five minutes when a nice lady behind us said, "Oh, you have a stroller; you can do to the accessible entrance on the other side." Well...the accessible entrance wait is about a third of the time. We only waited about 35 minutes, which was short. We then spent a long, relaxing day wandering around the exhibits, and we ended with their Fantasea show, which features dolphins, Beluga whales, penguins, and even a red tailed hawk. Kaden especially loved the aquarium as he loves "darks" (sharks), and even wants to be one for Halloween. (Anyone know where you find a shark costume???) He was also disappointed, though, because he had been hoping to see a "Macawoni Penguin", otherwise known as a Macaroni Penguin. Greyson, our Mr. Content, who had been not so content to be pushed around the city for two days, was very chill at Shedd's. It was a great way to wrap up our vacation!

To wrap up this post, I thought I'd leave you with a few Chi-town quotes:
Kaden (when arriving at the hotel room): "So dis is we new home? Where do we put our shoes?"

Kaden (while walking down Michigan Ave.): "I mahd."
Kate: "Why are you mad, honey?"
Kaden: "Tuz I want to doh to the dity."
Kate: "We did go to the city...this is the city."
Kaden: "Oh...dis is it, huh?"

Yes, you may have noticed that many of our funniest quotes are from Kaden. What can I say? He has a unique perspective on life.