Three dog night.

End of our vacation

On Saturday morning we left Chicago and headed south to Batesville, IN to visit our old friend Kelly and her family. We don't get to see them often enough, but it is always fun when we get together.

Here are Kelly and Andy.










And here are Kelly and Andy the way Andy would like you to see them!

After sizing each other up for a few minutes, Megan and Nicholas and Kelly's 3 daughters had a great time playing together. When it was bedtime, they all bedded down on the floor in the basement.

We spent the evening catching up with Kelly and her husband, Andy. It's nice to find out what they've been doing since we visited with them last. After a delicious lasagna dinner, the kids presented me with a yummy black-and-orange (for Halloween) birthday cake. It made me feel really special.









We also met Balto, their sweet dog (she's a girl, by the way.)

And, of course, the eight point buck, just back from his appointment with the taxidermist.



Notice how he watches over the kids as they play!








And what is that on Andy's head?

Last day in Chicago!

Today we went to the Adler Planetarium, which was interesting but not nearly as good as the Field Museum. There were still lots of hands on things to do (read: buttons to push!) for Nicholas, but I think Megan was museumed out.






The Night Sky presentation was very good and the building itself is beautiful.













We also got to see the Gemini capsule which was cool,









and both kids liked the remote moon rover.












After the Planetarium, we walked around Millennium Park. The Cloud Gate was the best part. We also saw the Crown Fountain and walked across the BP bridge.











We kept walking until we came to the Chicago River. They say they dye it green for St. Patrick's Day, but it looks pretty green to me already!

Finally, we made our way up to Wrigley Field. The neighborhood around the stadium was pretty, with row houses and a lot of trees.











Our last dinner in Chicago was at Weber Grill. The cook everything on weber grills and I guess they keep the extras over the doorway.











Tomorrow we head to Batesville, IN to visit our old friend Kelly and her family!

Day 3, whew!

So the Field Museum was awesome. Seriously rivals the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
We spent most of the day there.










Of course we saw the famous Sue, the biggest, most complete T. rex ever found.


This is Sue's wishbone.






Some other highlights included the Underground Adventure, where they shrink you down to less than an inch tall and you crawl through tunnels under the soil and see the creatures that live there (and they look really big when you're one inch tall!),












dioramas of every animal imaginable,









the Hall of Dinosaurs,









and the Pawnee lodge.









In the afternoon, we headed to the American Girl Cafe to have tea. It was Kaya's turn to travel with us so she got to attend the cafe.











It's really cute, they have little chairs for the dolls and they bring out a little cup and saucer for her tea.




















Even Nicholas had a good time.

We tried to eat at the cafe at the store in Atlanta earlier this year, but because we had no reservations, we were given the runaround for about 30 minutes, and then told it would be a 1-1 1/2 hour wait. At the time, the cafe was COMPLETELY empty. Needless to say, we ate elsewhere. This time, we took no chances. We made reservations 2 weeks ago. As we were walking in the the cafe in Chicago today, we overheard a woman asking the hostess, "We don't have reservations, do you have room for 2 more?" Naturally, the answer was "Of course!"

Kaya also had to have her hair done. The girl who did it, Tiana, was really nice and gave us tips for keeping her hair looking great.











After the American Girl Store, we went to the Lego store where Nicholas found some new friends.











No dinner tonight as the tea was at 4 pm. Tomorrow the Adler Planetarium (of 3 million dollar projector fame) and then, we'll see what kind of weather we have in the afternoon.

Day 2

We left Lafayette, IN only 40 minutes behind schedule. (Not bad:) Our drive took us through Indiana farmland with big cornfields only 2 hours outside of downtown Chicago.









As you get closer to the city, the scenery becomes much more industrial.









Here was our first good view of the skyline of Chicago.









Our first stop was the Museum of Science and Industry. There was much too much to see in one trip, but we did our best.










The fun mirrors were a big hit!










Waiting for our submarine tour (the U-505).




Looking aft in the sub.







The Smart Home, which was very cool, all environmentally friendly and completely wired for electronic control.









Of course, the kids favorite part of the visit, the gift shop!


See what we got :)







After the museum and a harrowing drive through rush hour traffic, we parked and walked to the Sears Tower (highest building in North America). The views were amazing.









Dinner was classic Chicago deep dish pizza and it was really good. We ate at Pizano's and we highly recommend it (although our waiter wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy).
















By the time we hit the el for our trip back to the hotel, we were all pooped.












Tomorrow is the Field Museum and tea at the American Girl cafe!