Spring Break in Chicago

My original plan for our family spring break was to go somewhere warm.  But I waited way too long to find flights and with the price increases for last minute flights I just couldn't justify spending that much money for travel.  This limited our choice to a location that was easy to drive to.

I have been to Chicago many times since it was only a little over an hour from my hometown.  But the kids have never been.  So that is how we decided on Chicago for our spring break.

Chicago here we come...

We stayed at the Embassy Suites in downtown Chicago.  This was a great choice!  The rooms were very nice and clean.  They had a huge free breakfast every morning.  They also had free drinks and appetizers every night.  The pool was probably a little too small for the size of the hotel.  But the kids didn't care.  If you ask them what their favorite part of the trip was, they would say swimming at the hotel.  They said this last year too when we went to Puerto Rico.  Next year we should probably just stay at the local Holiday Inn Express and have them swim all day.

The location was perfect too.  We could walk to several restaurants.  We probably could have walked to the museums too but we like the convenience of driving with the little ones.

The first day we arrived we went to Willis Tower, third tallest building in the world (formerly known as the Sears Tower).  This was the longest line we waited in the entire trip.  But we bought a City Pass while we were there.  This was the best advice of the trip and I would highly recommend this to anyone going to Chicago to see the museums.  What is a City Pass?  It is like a fast pass at Disney World.  It lets you skip all the long lines to get into the museums.  And they were very, very long.  It was  really good to see all of the museums so packed.

Kaitlyn and Jackson waiting to go up Willis Tower

They had no fear looking down.

Kaitlyn on the sky deck

I am the only scared one.

I can't believe the kids were not scared to walk out on the sky deck. My knees were shaking.  That night we ate pizza from Lou Malnati's. I just love Chicago deep dish pizza.  We ended the night with some swimming in the pool.

The next day we went to Shedd Aquarium. The other great advice I got was to get there early.  If you didn't and did not have a City Pass I bet you had to wait about 2 hours to get in.  We were second in line getting there 10 minutes before it opened and having a City Pass.  This was Kaitlyn's favorite museum.  She has said for a few years now that she wants to be a dolphin trainer so she loved watching the dolphins.

Looking at the fish

Waiting for the dolphin show

That evening we went to the American Girl Doll store.  Actually this was probably Kaitlyn's highlight of the trip.  If you have never been, it is quite an experience.  Ryan took the boys into Lego World first and then met up with us in the store.  He couldn't believe that they had lines to get the doll's hair done.  I don't think many men would wait to even have their own hair done.

2 little gymnasts

The boys at the lego store.

We ate at Rainforest Cafe that night.  Our kids are usually not the best in restaurants.  They are always on the go.  But they were perfect that night.  It was such a nice family meal out!

Enjoying a meal out!

Next up was the Field Museum.  Once again the kid's loved this place!  It is a huge museum with so many different exhibitions.  Kaitlyn and Jackson were fighting like brothers and sisters at this point so I took Jackson around and Ryan took Kaitlyn and Nathan.  This worked out great.  Jackson could lead the way and go at his own pace.

I had a great time with my little man.

Kaitlyn and Nathan enjoying time with Daddy.

That night Ryan got a migraine headache. The plan was to go to Navy Pier but we decided to just stay at the hotel.  This ended up being one of the best nights.  The kids got to do lots of swimming and for dinner we ate the free appetizers at the hotel.  I also let the kids have pop which they thought was awesome.  Later the kids made a fort out of the beds at the hotel and were having a blast playing together.  That is what family vacations are really about.

The last day we went to the Museum of Science and Industry.  This was my favorite museum and probably Jackson's and Nathan's too.  It made me realize that I picked the right field for my career.  All that science stuff gets me so excited.

My little cutie astronaut

So many cool interactive games at the museum.

At one time, I knew every muscle, bone and organ in the body.  Hopefully I still do....

I just want to eat him up.

I love my little scientists.

We ended the trip by making a quick trip to Navy Pier.  A ride on the Ferris Wheel and some ice cream and then it was off to Grammie and Grandpa's house to get ready for Easter.

On the Ferris Wheel with my loves!

Overall a fantastic spring break with the family!

A quick running update:  There was no running on the trip...but seeing the runners along the lake did make me miss it.  I did run a few miles once we got to LaPorte.  Man it is hilly in my dad's neighborhood. I haven't been this sore in a long time.  Note to self-must do more hill work soon.