Chicago in May

We enjoyed a wonderful family trip in Chicago during the last weekend of May. We got to spend most of our time with Callie and Brian Hill!

The week before going to Chicago, I helped landscape the church with the youth.

I also did playgroup with some friends. We toured the historical society at the county fairgrounds. The boys got to see old fashioned buggies and climb aboard some train cars and train engine. 

Then, we headed off on Friday afternoon, May 29 to Chicago for our 3rd family trip there. It took us about 7 hours. Jeremy used rope to make a holder for our kindle so that the boys could watch movies during the drive. Genius.

On Saturday morning, Jeremy and Brian played basketball at the church. Callie and I attempted to go to the beach with the kids. Here is our car piled with little people!

The beach was rainy, so we fed ducks and came back to the house. Tanner had a great time playing with the girls. They were so good at sharing their toys with our boys.

When the daddies came back from basketball, we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It is free and super beautiful!! I felt like I was walking in a golden book about zoos or the zoo from Lady and the Tramp because of the classic architecture.

Tiger.

Watching the gibbons with the Hills.

The rain was very pretty while we were at the zoo. A little chilly at times, but very refreshing.

Lunch in the cafeteria.

The zoo had a cool jungle gym exhibit. We spent about an hour there.

The Beaver was part of the jungle gym exhibit. It was my first time seeing a beaver up close. He was so cute!!

After the zoo, we headed to the Art Museum (Art Institute of Chicago). We had one hour before it closed. Our kids were sleeping, so the Hills stayed in the car while Jeremy and I blazed through the museum. On the museum map, we found a cool self guided tour that tells you what to see in exactly one hour! It was perfect. We got a great workout speed-walking from place to place. This is definitely the best way to see an art museum! And it was especially nice to enjoy everything without little people pulling and whining at our legs. Thank you Callie and Brian!

I lost Jeremy while we were speeding through the Greek/Roman pottery to the next painting. I found him several paces back staring at a vase. Wide-eyed, he said, "800 BC? When Jesus was on earth, these pots were old! And somehow they are still in perfect condition. How did they do that?" Needless to say, we marveled at the pottery for several minutes longer than our "tour" allowed. We couldn't help ourselves. 

Our view leaving the museum. I love the character of this city!

For dinner, we got Chicago deep dish pizzas. Man, I can't believe I've been missing out on pizza like this my whole life. It is so yummy! We've gotten it every time we've been in Chicago, and it is definitely my favorite type of pizza.

The kids had a fun time playing their own restaurant games together while we waited for dinner. They ended up piling under the table and taking a bunch of the table supplies with them, haha. 

When we got back to the house, Callie had some adorable books to read to the kids for bedtime.

The next morning was Sunday. Before church, we went on an architectural tour. This was a definite highlight of the weekend. 

We rode on a boat along the Chicago river through the city. Just a few minutes into the tour, Jeremy leaned over to me and said, "I had no idea I was so interested in all of this stuff!" We really enjoyed it and learned a lot of Chicago history, which is what I've been wanting to know more about ever since our first drive through the city. Thank you to Callie for recommending the tour and for babysitting the boys so we could go! 

When the tour was over, we raced back to the Hill house and went to church. After church, we drove home and made it home before it was too late.

We had such a fabulous time in Chicago! I love it more and more each time we go!! And it was an extra fun treat to see our boys get along so well with the girls. Thank you Callie and Brian for letting us invade your house for the weekend!!