We arrived just before 3pm Chicago time and decided to walk down our block to Lakeshore Drive and go see Lake Michigan and the harbor. It was fun talking to the boys about which boats were their favorite and they had the cutest little playground with pretend boats to play on.
It was time to head to the house and get situated now that my brother and sister-in-law arrived from the airport. The house was stunning! I could have lived on this front patio. We took the basement with the kids in a room with twin beds and Scott and I on a pull-out couch. Dinner was just down the street at a fun place called Rocks Lakeview where it was half-off burger night. Yum!
Thursday morning we woke up and got ready to head out to the Lincoln Park Zoo, but it was stormy. So, we flip-flopped our plans and went to the Museum of Science and Industry first after french toast made at the house.
The boys loved the museum! From the trains to the tornado they got to walk through and the submarine, there was so much to see and do. We even saw a 30 minute movie on a huge round screen about the Pacific Ocean. Evan got a plasma ball to bring home from Uncle Eric and Aunt Ana and he's obsessed with it!
We walked from the museum to Bar Louie for lunch and then made our game plan to get to the Lincoln Park Zoo for the rest of the afternoon. The weather had cleared up and it was seriously toasty outside. Like 94 degrees toasty...
Everyone was exhausted, especially after those high temps walking around the zoo. We picked up some pizza slices and garlic knots for the boys at a place right by the house and waited to order carry out from a really good BBQ place for later. It was Harry Pottery movie night! We popped popcorn on the stove and walked the Prisoner of Azkaban on Amazon in the basement together. Sean loved it!
Friday morning we had pancakes at the house before heading out to the Willis Tower to do the Skydeck when it opened. We took the bus downtown and the ledge on the skydeck was so cool! We only had 90 seconds to take pictures so there wasn't much time to really look down and think about how high we were. I love how the family pictures turned out!
We walked to Millenium Park after the Willis Tower and met up with Eric's friend, Brent and his two daughters to play at the fountain. This fountain was amazing! Sean went right in, while Evan took a bit to warm up to the idea of getting wet. I think he sat long enough and realized how hot it was. The faces changed on the two towers frequently and then would spit water out of their mouth. We went over to the Bean and got hot dogs for a quick lunch on the go, took the obligatory Bean pictures, and let the kids play at the new play structure for a while before we were all too hot to stay outside much longer.
We took a Lyft over to the Field Museum to escape the heat and see Sue! Sean was sure to make it to the Egypt exhibit and Evan was all about the Bug exhibit. Both boys even held some giant cockroach - gross! We walked over to Lou Malnati's for some authentic deep-dish pizza and beers. It was a fun day, but man were we tired and ready to head back to the house!
Saturday morning was another breakfast at home with eggs, bacon, and leftover pancakes/french toast before we went over to the Shedd Museum. Scott and I got in free with our teacher I.D.'s, which was a nice break in cost. The museum is so nice! We saw a 4-D movie about sharks and watched the dolphin show. Evan loved touching the stingrays and was busy counting how many he touched - he claims 100! Sean, on the other hand, loved looking at the octopus and the sharks.
It was time to head out for lunch and a walk down the Magnificent Mile, to which Sean had been patiently waiting for the Lego Store. We ate at FoodLife, which was a food hall inside the Water Tower Mall where the Lego Store is. Lunch was yummy and it was shopping time!
At 4pm, we went on an Architecture River Cruise, which was really nice! Again, with the heat advisory all weekend it was unbelievably hot on the top of the boat, but halfway through dark clouds rolled in with a refreshing breeze and it was actually quite pleasant...until it started to downpour for the last 20 minutes of the boat ride. Oh well! We enjoyed it while we could.
My parents, brother, and sister-in-law opted to stay out after the boat cruise to walk the riverwalk and grab a drink. My family went back up the Magnificent Mile to Dylan's Candy Bar before catching the bus home. We ordered a carry-out from Rocks Lakeview for dinner at the house and when everyone rejoined us, we stayed up to watch Angels and Demons (getting ready for Rome!). It was a super late night up, but worth it.
Sunday morning we grabbed breakfast out in Lincoln Park and dropped our postcards off. Then it was time to hit the road and head home! We had such a great time with family in Chicago despite the crazy heat wave. Can't wait to make more memories somewhere else next year!
