Double the Love: Chicago Series, Part 3

Chicago Day 3, November 25, 2015

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!

Evan taking a picture of Daddy on his tablet

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Opening Presents and Cards

Since Day 2 was consumed with the Hospital Visit, we had to cram a whole bunch into Day 3 which just happened to be Eric's birthday. After a quick breakfast at the house, we headed to The Museum of Science and Industry. This museum would have been cool on a normal day, but this time of year they have a special exhibit called Christmas around the world and Holiday of Lights. That made it even cooler. I love Christmas so when I found out this was going on, I wanted to experience it. I am not sure if we will ever be back to Chicago this time of year, so we took advantage. The center tree was 45 feet tall and had 30,000 lights on it. I was in awe of this tree and could have looked at it for hours. They had it up on this big pedestal surrounded by Christmas Presents. Amazing. Around the main floor of the museum there were probably another 30-40 trees from different countries that were decorated. I am so glad that we got to see it. I think our favorite section was the Science Storms. We spent the most time in this area learning about Typhoons, Tornadoes, Fire and Wind. We also enjoyed the Transportation Gallery where we got to sit in a Boeing 727 and the Great Train Story which was a huge display of toy trains in all different settings. They even had a mirror maze which was super fun for the boys! We could have spent the whole day there, but we had other things to fit in, so maybe we will go back the next time. I definitely recommend this Museum if you are going to Chicago. Here are some pics from that visit.

Family Shot

The Mother Tree

Some of the other trees

Exploring the Science Storms

Trains

Barge and Trains

Transportation Gallery

The Boeing 727

The boys sitting in the Airplane seats

Transportation Gallery

Eric and his boys

Experiencing the force of Wind

My FAVORITE Pic

Cool shot of the tornado

What a mudslide looks like as it is forming

Family Selfie

A view from the 2nd Floor

We were pretty hungry when we left the MSI and we were surprising the boys with a visit to The Chicago Children's Museum. So we headed to Navy Pier to have some lunch at the Food Court. Eric got his Chicago Hot Dog he had been waiting for. Then, we headed to the Museum. Last year we visited and it was such a huge hit with the boys that we decided to do it again. The first room was different from the last time, they had it set up as a winter wonderland called snow much fun with sleds, fluffy snowballs, padded ice blocks and an imitation skating rink. We spent a lot of time in there until we forced them to move on. They visited the fire station, the building area and of course the Dinosaur Expedition. (Evan's Favorite) One area we didn't visit the last time was the Water Ways which we let Evan do this time. (Alex zonked out) He of course got drenched but had the time of his life doing it.

Another Family Selfie

A nice lady took this one of us

So Excited!

I couldn't resist

Firefighter #1

Firefighter #2

"Snow much fun" area

Evan collecting the snowballs

Building an Ice Tower

Evan and Daddy building away

Alex splashing in the water

HE HAD A BLAST!

SO MUCH FUN

Someone could't make it through

The Museum closed at 5 and I really wanted to go to Millennium Park to see Cloud Gate and the Christmas Tree which was lit the night before. After circling the block three times, we found a spot to park on the street and walked up to the park to see the tree, the ice skating rink and the bean (Cloud Gate). It started to rain, so our time was cut short, but it was worth the stop. We were ready for dinner anyway.

The Tree at Millennium Park

Love this Pic (Eric Williams took this one)

So Pretty

The Tree from afar

Another one of my favorites

Our Family

We snuck one in

Last year when we visited, we found this really cool Family Italian restaurant in Forest Park that was close to where were staying called Jimmy's Place. That was where we had Eric's birthday dinner. Antipasto Salad, Pizza, Fresh Baked Bread and a slice of Oreo Ice Cream pie and a slice of Turtle Ice Cream pie for dessert. Perfect ending to our last night in Chicago and to an amazing day!