Scott had a conference in Chicago last week/weekend so we decided to make a family trip out of it and all head up there to spend some time with friends. We drove up Wednesday and got back yesterday afternoon, which means we spent today alternating between taking it easy and catching up on our normal routine of school, gym, errands, chores, etc. It also means the girls crashed early tonight and that I will likely be doing the same!
Chicago is definitely "our kind of town," largely because it is home to some of our favorite people. We are so fortunate to have friends who think nothing of having a family of 4 invade their home for 5 days. It was such a fun and relaxing visit -- even with three kids under the age of 4 and 4 adults all inhabiting the same space. Our friends in Chicago are so easy to be with that we really do feel at home every time we visit them. And it's so nice to get to catch up face-to-face since it can be difficult to find time to do so over the phone or e-mail. We miss the Calin-Jageman's a lot and will probably be planning more trips to Chicago in the near future to see them again!
Our drive to and from Chicago was pretty uneventful. Merrill managed to get in a nap both ways, while Millie waited until the last 20 minutes of each ride before falling asleep. Ah well, no harm done. There was lots of singing, coloring, book reading, and sight seeing along the way.
The girls were pretty good at sleeping at opposite times
It had been about a year and a half since we had last seen the Calin-Jageman's so the kids were a little shy at first, but it didn't take long for them to all warm up to each other again. Once they started playing together they didn't stop for the next 5 days!
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| getting ready for bed our first night |
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| books with Aunt Irina |
Millie was SO excited for her first sleepover -- just look at that face! Unfortunately, they lasted about 5 minutes together. It was a late night for all the kids and Tavi was just too tired to engage in the giggling and story-telling that Millie was itching to do. He kindly asked to sleep somewhere else. Millie was a little heartbroken at first, but she eventually fell asleep with good ol' mom. Maybe next time they will both be ready for a sleep over ...
all was forgiven the next morning :)
Thursday morning Bob and I had the task of entertaining the kids. The weather wasn't the greatest -- on the cool side -- so we took the kids to Monkey Island, an indoor "playground" filled with huge bounce houses and a great big jungle gym. Apparently Thursday morning at opening was the time to go because we had the ENTIRE place to ourselves for the first hour or so. Even then, there were only a couple of other families there so it was easy to keep track of the kids. I don't know if I could have handled that place at a peak time, so I was very happy! So were the kids :). Merrill was hesitant at first, but after a while she got right in there with the big kids!
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| this was about as much "bouncing" as Merrill did... |
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| this is how she felt about the whole thing after that |
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| a fake-out -- she just sat down at the bottom of the slide, but it was a start |
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| ah ... there's that smile! |
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| nothing could stop her now! |
Millie and Tavi had no reservations about any of it -- at all! They climbed the tallest slides, crawled through the smallest places, ran from end to end of the building and had a blast doing it all!
Millie fearlessly climbed up this slide by herself and flew down!
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| Millie didn't fake this one -- she went down that slide all by herself! |
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| Tavi taking a quick break |
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| taking a snack break with a little fruit leather -- a special treat! |
Friday Bob and Irina both had to teach, so Scott and I met up with another friend who was also in town for the conference (well, she and the kids tagged along with her husband who was attending the conference). We headed downtown and took the girls (4 of them -- Millie and Merrill and Mira and Becca, twin two-year-olds) to the Aquarium. The girls loved the penguin play area and the Beluga Whales.
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| checking out the penguins |
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| walking like a penguin :) |
sliding like penguins
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| dressing like a penguin |
exploring sea creatures
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| beluga whale |
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| taking a break at lunch looking out over Lake Michigan |
Friday night Scott and I were able to go to dinner and then to his company party at the conference while Bob and Irina watched the kids. Scott and I had a fabulous dinner at
Russian Tea Time downtown. Who knew Russian food was so good?! I had a layered vegetable stew that was amazing and Scott had an equally good beef stroganoff. After dinner we headed to the Hilton for Scott's company party. There we got to see a few more friends from graduate school (including the father of the twins we had spent the morning with) and I got to meet some of Scott's co-workers and clients. The party had a "Chicago gangster" theme, so we got to bring feather boas and hats back to the kids to play with. The kids had a great time with Bob and Irina and they even managed to get all three kids to sleep at a
very reasonable time! It couldn't have been a better night!
Saturday we finally all had some time to just hang out together. Bob got up and made pancakes for the kids and then he and Scott headed out to some local record stores for International Record Day where they were both able to add to their vinyl collections while Irina and I stayed back and played with the kids. Once the dads got home, it was our turn to go out and do some shopping :). Irina is a great shopping buddy! That night it was Scott's and my turn to watch the kids while Bob and Irina went to a faculty appreciation dinner at their University. I am happy to say that we ALSO got all three kids to sleep at a very reasonable time with no upsets :).
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| making pancakes |
Sunday morning it was up and back to the car for the drive to St. Louis. We can't thank the Calin-Jageman's enough for just a wonderful visit and we hope they are able to head down our way soon so that we can return the favor (before we head back up there again!). What a great way to spend 5 days :).
