We didn't have much planned over Christmas break and weren't going to see any family, so we decided to plan a fun weekend trip to Chicago since the kids and I had never been. The 5 hour drive was a cinch and we lucked out with awesome weather! We went December 20-22 and it was the perfect way to kick of our Christmas week.
First Stop: Giordano's for some classic Chicago style deep dish pizza!
We had to wait about 45 minutes for the deep dish to be cooked, but we didn't mind, we weren't in much of a hurry and we weren't going to leave the Windy City without trying a slice or two.
Wes is my squishiest cuddle bug and I love how he will smoosh up with me to take a picture without hesitation. He makes me so happy!
The kids and I loved this delicious new wonder, but I don't think anyone but dad finished more than one piece!
After lunch we headed to the University of Chicago to check out some fun things around there that our friends, the Bagwells, suggested we check out.
First we headed to Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House. If we would have planned ahead we could have caught a tour, but we would have had to wait too long and I think Brian and I were more excited about it than the kids. So we looked around outside and checked out the shop and went on our way.
It was pretty cool from the outside and I look forward to going in some day!
Next we went into the Economics building to check out a Nobel Prize display. It took us a hot minute to find it, but we made our way and had fun checking it out.
Best Dad just explaining the Nobel Prize to the kids...or whoever would listen.
Afterwards we just walked around campus and enjoyed the beauty of it. We wanted to climb the bell tower of the Rockerfeller Chapel behind us, but it was closed so we couldn't. But after a short walk around campus we were ready to head to the center of the city!
After getting settled in our hotel we headed out on foot and went straight to Macy's to see Santa because Christmas was in a week and the kids still hadn't had a chance to let the big man know what they wanted! We couldn't help but enjoy the sights along the way-
The boys were such good sports to take turns pushing Eve! It's kinda funny because Brian thought for a minute that we didn't need to bring the stroller for Eve...but our weekend would have literally been ruined without it.
Luckily she has the best dad ever and he would do anything for her and probably would have carried her on his shoulders the whole time if we hadn't brought the stroller. Good thing we didn't have to worry about it.
Waiting in line to see Santa was fun and they were so patient while we waited.
It was finally our turn to see the big man and Thad wasn't quite as comfortable as Eve and Wes, but he managed and we got some cute pictures-
Wes asking for an Xbox and something else.
Eve asking for a water proof Elsa crown (not sure why she wanted that so badly).
And Thad not looking Santa in the eyes saying that he wanted a Nintendo Switch.
Luckily Thad wasn't too shy to join in on the hug!!
Santa visit 2018: Success
The Chicago Bean was the next stop on our list and we had a blast checking it out!
It was so fun to see all the Christmas stuff out around town and a huge reason I wanted to go in the first place, to get me in to the Christmas spirit (apparently freezing weather and snow in Ohio isn't good enough for me).
After the Bean we headed over to Maggie Dailey Park so we could ice skate, but they were shutting down soon for an hour to do the Zamboni, so we decided to get dinner and come back after the break...Wes was not too happy about it-
Ice skating was the #1 thing the kids were looking forward to and Wes just wanted to do it right then. Luckily he recovered with some dinner from Jimmy John's and our quick walk back to the ribbon!
I do have to say that Thad and Dad were by far the most successful skaters that night. None of the kids had ever been before and a hilly ribbon wasn't a great beginners spot, but they all loved it even though Brian and I had to be by Wes and Eve every moment...There's a reason I didn't get many pics on the ice!
I do have to say that Eve was the cutest little button in her tiny skates and death grip on the railing!
These two cuties just giving a mom a break while dad took a lap or two with Thad. Love them!
Such a fun night at Maggie Dailey Ice Ribbon!
We didn't have to start too early the next day, so we enjoyed a yummy breakfast at the hotel and some hot chocolate in our room before we left to get on the subway to make our way towards the Field Museum.
The subway is always a fun experience and our kids hadn't done it for years, so it was fun to watch the awe in their faces about trains running underground. My first time ever riding one was in St. Petersburg, Russia and I remember how cool it was every time I ride!
Could you just eat Wes' squishy face, or what?!
After a bit of a walk with some great views...
We made it to the Field Museum!
It was a much colder day so we were happy spend a big chunk of it inside exploring all the wonderful things they had to show-
And this is just the lobby, people!
We found out real quick that our kiddos would fit in perfectly to the Wild Animals section!
Maybe dad would too...?
The dinosaur section was pretty impressive-
And we were so excited that we made just a few days after their newest exhibit of Sue the T-Rex opened up. It is the most complete T-rex skeleton ever discovered!
Cutest baby dinos I ever did see-
And here's Brian just being the best guy ever, hauling the stroller up and down stairs loaded with all our stuff. No complaints, just doing what he's gotta do!
One of the last things we checked out was this Maori meeting house that came directly from New Zealand! It was really cool and we had a great time learning more about the Maori people.
I think Wes was getting a little touchy touchy with the touch screen and wasn't too happy when we got after him about it and his fits are just funny and cute and I won't be able to document them for much longer, so enjoy while you can.
You're welcome.
And Eve made a best little Maori friend and it was also adorable-
After a fun day at the museum we made our way back through the city...
To try out the Nutella Cafe that we ran across the day before and found out there is only one in New York and one in Chicago! We LOVE Nutella at our house and couldn't pass it up.
(Eve just snoozing in that stroller we are SO GLAD we brought!)
We have to say that the cafe was cuter than the food was good, but it was still a fun stop! It's kind of like they didn't put any effort into what they were putting the Nutella on because Nutella can make just about anything taste good. The hot chocolate was quite tasty, though it didn't taste like Nutella, so we were over all happy campers!
We finished our day out walking through a German Christmas Market before heading back to the hotel for dinner from Portillo's and to watch It's a Wonderful Life.
Of course we loved all the Christmas-ness on our way back!
And Wes' red ears were worth documenting! He didn't know if they were hot or cold, but we all got a good chuckle about it.
On our last day in Chicago we drove up to Lincoln Park after we checked out of our hotel to check out the zoo and conservatory that we had heard great things about-
This was such a fun part of the city and even though the zoo was kind of a bust (surprise surprise) we loved being surrounded by the city and the conservatory just exceeded all our expectations!
I mean, look at this gorgeousness!!!!
The whole thing was full of amazing plants and flowers and we were just in awe.
The poinsettia and trains display for Christmas was especially perfect for the time of year-
Then we walked through the Fern room and got matched up with the best guide that place has!
I can't remember what her name is, but she knew so much and was so great with our kids-
We had such fun time learning random facts about different plants from all over the world, I can't wait to go back!
We had to make our way back through the zoo to our car and luckily the polar bear was out to bid us farewell-
What a wonderful trip we had in such a wonderful city! I know there will be many trips to this fun place during our years in the mid-west and can't wait to experience it all!
