We were able to check one of the kids top requests off immediately upon arriving in Chicago as we started off our trip with dinner at the Rainforest Café. All three kids loved it. We looked at all the animatronic animals and sat through 3 "storms" in the restaurant without any ear covering or tears. #success #hesgettingbraver
After a good night's sleep and breakfast in the hotel room, we continued our fun with a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo.
There was a little train as soon as we entered the zoo. One member of the family couldn't resist, so he and Grammie enjoyed a little 3 minute train ride to start the day off right.
There were fun animals to see, various performers to watch, and exhibits to explore. The kids really enjoyed the monkeys and the gorillas. The street juggler was another highlight.
There was also plenty of whining and complaining about being hungry and thirsty, as well as multiple requests for various treats from the zoo. #momsaidno
Strangely, the extreme hunger and thirst dissipated pretty quickly when we found a super fun playground outside the zoo to enjoy while we waited for our table at a nearby restaurant.
The kids had the best time on this playground. Briggs made a little friend that he played with while the girls enjoyed all the different climbing structures.
We ended up having a late lunch at RJ Grunts in Lincoln Park. The food was great (and plentiful), the milkshakes were cold, and no one complained about being hungry when we were done.
After our scrumptious lunch, we took the train downtown to meet Uncle Ethan. Riding "the subway train" was by far the highlight for Briggs's entire week-end. We took the train 4 separate times throughout our week-end and it never lost its thrill. Briggs will tell you all about the blue line and the red line and the green line and seeing the train engineers. He loved the escalators and the trains and the tunnels and the stations. I think his favorite part was seeing a mouse at one of the stations while we were waiting. So much excitement! #justgladitwasntarat
Our trip downtown allowed us to explore Millenium Park (with the big bean) and Maggie Daley park (with the big playground.)
Which of my children do you think put their mouth on the big bean? And can you think of anything grosser than putting your lips right where millions of germy hands have been?
The kids liked the parks, but their favorite part was playing in the splash park area of Maggie Daley park. Both girls got soaking wet while Briggs stayed mostly dry.
And, of course, seeing and playing with Uncle Ethan is always a highlight.
After our huge, late lunch I told the kids we could just have ice cream for dinner. They had to confirm over and over again as they really didn't believe me. #notajoke #icecreamfordinner
We finished off our last day in Chicago on Sunday with another train ride to visit the Field Museum.
The kids enjoyed seeing all the animal dioramas, the dinosaur exhibit, and the gems. Staley also really enjoyed the mummies. We spent a fun couple of hours there before grabbing some Chicago pizza and then heading home.
Thanks, Chicago, for a fun week-end. What a great way to kick off our summer vacation!
