Chicago highlights!

Michael had a work conference in Chicago this month and he asked if we would like to join him. I debated for some time if I'd rather be home alone being a single parent...or drive that many hours in the car with little ones and be in a hotel and off routines etc. But after much debate I decided I'd prefer to have someone to help with the kids in the evenings and I was up for the adventure.

We left Sunday morning, with an important first stop for coffee.
We went to church in Tulsa, ate lunch, then tried to see how far we could get without stopping while the kids napped.

We were headed to St. Louis for our stopping place for the night. Just over 8 hours from OKC.

I started the Divergent series on the way...I quickly realized it was going to be a problem that I didn't get any of the other books. I never know how much I really get to read, traveling with small kids and how many books is realistic to bring. Thankfully, Emily let me borrow her kindle account- I downloaded the kindle app and had access to all of the books. I read all three of the books in the series and The fault in our stars in 6 days. I loved getting to read so much!

We finally got to St. Louis and the kids settled into the doing their favorite hotel things...

Monday morning we ate breakfast and then trekked over to see the arch.
And then drove the rest of the way in to chicago. After we settled in our hotel we walked to dinner.

We had wait a while for dinner, but they let you place your order when you checked in, so your pizza was pretty close to ready by time you were seated. Which was great because it was late and our kids were acting so crazy and we were ready to get out of there!

Tuesday morning Michael had some time before the conference started so he drove us to the Lincoln Park zoo and dropped us off. I had done some research before we left of free things to do in Chicago with toddlers and found lots of things. Their zoo is totally free which was awesome.

We ate lunch at a little cafe at the zoo and while we were eating some people were setting up for an improve story time. We stayed and we were so glad we did. They asked the kids to name an animal and a city- which ended up being a Rhino and New York City- and then they created this whole show about a Rhino in NYC along with improv music on a piano. They had different props and sang. It was so fun and Isabella really loved it.

She loved this little train at the zoo! The zoo was too far to walk to get back to the hotel, so we had to catch a bus. We ended up running to get on it- with two small kids, a stroller, and a bag I was pretty happy when we made it back to the hotel!
The weather was perfect for being outside a lot- in the 70's. Tuesday was the warmest day of the time we were there so that evening when Michael was off we went to the beach. 

It was so strange to look out and see water as far as you could see and look the other way and see a big city.

Benjamin ingested a lot of sand.

Wednesday morning we walked to Millennium park. We checked out the bean and a free story time/play time. There was a bad meltdown while we were there and I wished for a few minutes that we would have stayed home, as we were a far walk from getting back to the hotel. But those kinds of things can happen at home too, and overall I was glad we went on the trip and were able all be together.

 

After much needed naps we walked to the ghiradelli shop for a treat, then back to a playground we had seen on our walk. The kids played for a long time and I talked to a really nice local mom. The playground was completely fenced in with locks on the gates. I asked the mom why that was and she said so kids don't run out into the busy streets and so its not as easy for someone to take a kid.

Michael had a dinner with his consultants that night so we went out to dinner alone and then played in the hotel til bedtime. Not sure what makes empty cabinets so fun, but Benny loved playing in them.

Thursday we played in the hotel, went to a park to play, then met Michael for lunch. Then when he was off work we went to dinner and to Navy Pier. The children's museum there is free on Thursday nights and is really well done.

Our room had a ledge by the window and every time we came back to the room, Isabella would stand on it and say- Do you want to come see the view? We could see all of the downtown buildings, lights of the city, gardens on the roofs around us, rooftop tennis courts, and all kinds of things. She loved looking out.

Friday morning we headed for home. We made it to Joplin, MO and checked in our hotel and went swimming. Then Saturday we just had a little over three hours to get home. We stopped off at the Whale of Catoosa on the way home.

The kids did so great on the long car rides. And while we did not do all of the things Chicago has to offer I thought we did well for traveling with a one year old and three year old. I was also reminded of why traveling is important to me. Walking the streets of Chicago Isabella had lots of questions and commentary. "Why are so many people walking here?" "why is that man yelling and not wearing a shirt?" (he was homeless), "Look mom that man has a shopping car!!" (homeless), "why is it so loud here?", "Why are they shaking that cup with money?" (another homeless person), "Chicago is so nice isn't it Mom!", "Why are they playing music on the street?!" And countless other questions I've now forgotten. And while travel is not easy with little ones, I think its important because you see the world outside of your own little space and see that there are many different ways of living. I'm sure we have driven past countless homeless people in our car but I'm not sure how many she has noticed. She noticed a lot more being out walking and it afforded us the opportunity for conversation about people's needs and what we can do to help people.


Michael is working on a video from the trip I will post when its finished!

The windy city

Michael and I spent our 5th anniversary in Chicago. My trip concerns then were what dress would I pack for our celebratory dinner, what books would I read, what nice restaurant would we go to to celebrate, etc. For this trip I was calculating how many diapers I would need, what snacks and toys would entertain my daughter on the plane and trip, and how I would safely entertain two toddlers. My how things change! But I enjoy traveling, and if it is a free or mostly free trip, then I am most likely up for it.

 We made it there safely and the biggest hurdles: the plane ride, getting our two massive suitcases, two car seats, diaper bags, stroller, two children, etc. out of the airport and into a cab, then all of that into the hotel, went off without a hitch. We got to our hotel and I was so happy to see our room was really big, with plenty of room for the girls to play, we were right across from a huge park, and within walking distance of some great places. I didn't get a ton of great pictures on the trip, as I often had someone in my arms, holding my hand, or was chasing someone and not able to juggle a camera. But here goes...our trip in pictures:

Here we are after taking on the city our first full day, back from the field museum and lunch, and the tired girls were ready to nap. This was our set up, one in the carrier and one in the stroller. Ava was also good to walk and hold my hand or the strap on the side of the stroller, Isabella was not. There was only one moment that consisted of major weeping and gnashing of teeth at the same time with the girls. Sometimes naps went well, sometimes they didn't.

 Another morning, coffee in hand, ready to walk to the Shedd Aquarium.

 We played in Grant Park across the street every day. Mostly Isabella just wanted to push the stroller around. I had meant to look up some activities to do with toddlers but that didn't happen. But this trip reminded me that kids, especially ones at this developmental stage enjoy simple things. Isabella loved pushing the stroller and playing ring around the rosie, and Ava loved finding sticks and stirring flowers and leaves. Isabella's favorite thing was standing on a bridge that had a train track underneath, and watching the trains go by.

 The park was beautiful with lots of cherry trees and other trees and flowers I don't know. I love parks in big cities and their oasis from the noise and traffic.

 The walk through the park would take us over to museum campus and lake Michigan.

 Shortly after this picture was taken isabella ran straight into lake michigan...
Not really, but while it was a beautiful spot by the water and I would have loved to have stayed longer, but there was no barrier to the water and it made me a bit nervous.

 I had forgotten how blue the water is.

At the aquarium, Ava loved the fish, penguins, dolphins, and turtles while Isabella mostly just loved running around like a hooligan.  I realized it was becoming a bit overwhelming for one child and I was getting tired from chasing the other one constantly, so we headed out and enjoyed the quiet outside in the park and more train watching. 

 Thursday night we took a bus (a highlight for the girls) to Navy Pier for dinner and a children's museum there. The museum is free on Thursday nights so it was crazy crowded. We found a toddler play room upstairs that only small children can be in and hung out there the rest of the time. It was an awesome set up and we were able to relax. Isabella loved pulling around this dog on a leash. The hotel also had a great pool on the 8th floor with views of the city all around, and we had fun swimming a few nights.

 Our last night we walked to Millennium Park before going to dinner.

 Isabella was impressed with the bean for a second and then went back to wanting to push the stroller all over the place.

Here is the four of us together.

While the trip was very tiring, we also had fun and made some lasting memories. I learned some things about myself and from Heather and I was proud of us for making the trip. Any time I've traveled in a big city I've been with Michael who navigates the whole time or someone who is local and knows there way around. So I was happy we made it to all the places we wanted to go. We were blessed many times by kind and helpful people, extra empty seats on the plane ride home, and good weather. You can read Heather's account of the trip here.

I've said it many times before I love to travel and I love coming home. I love seeing new places, experiencing different things and cultures, and getting out of the day to day norms and routines. But I also love coming home, my family, and slipping back into the day to day things that make up our life. I missed Michael a lot and having him there to share the little things with, and having a partner in parenting. Isabella has been making up for lost sleep since we've been home and has been happy to play with some of her favorite things. We have a few things on our schedule for this week, but otherwise we will just be playing catch up and enjoying some down time.