Places to Go (Vacation) - On the Road Again - Spring Break in Chicago, Part III (the LONG drive home) & Cherish This Day

We spent our last morning of vacation walking the shores of the Lake Katherine. T's new best friend is apparently Murphy the dog.





We hit the road in the late afternoon, intending to drive 5.5 hours to Cleveland. The first few hours or so went relatively well (easy drive, no traffic) until F started projectile vomiting in the car.

After cleaning out the minivan to the best of my ability, I stopped at a rest stop to feed the other children dinner and find a closer hotel in Toledo (thank you Homewood Suites, for amazing service and patience). The rest of a night was a blur as F couldn't even hold water down and I had to keep calling the front desk to replenish our towels and take away nasty linens. P alternated between sadness for her sister's distress and elation that they both could watch TV at 3 am. T slept through it all.

Luckily, by 11 am the next morning, F said she felt well enough to travel (though still not exactly "well").







For our last stop on the way home, we spent a few hours in Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Museum of Art & Natural History (I think they're technically two separate museums, but they share a building and the same admission price).

F still didn't feel great, but she REALLY wanted some time outside the car, so the museum was somewhat of a mixed blessing (i.e. enthusiasm was low). Luckily, the combination of art (especially really cool contemporary art), dinosaurs, and mummies kept the (tired, cranky) children enthralled. Plus, it wasn't crowded at all, which seemed incredible as DC museums are always packed. I wish I would have taken more photos, but we were all rather done by this point.



After fighting non-stop for a week, apparently all these two needed to get along was a giant playpit of dinosaur "bones".











One last group picture before the final 4 hour push home.





We arrived in Arlington around 9 pm and headed straight to the Silver Diner as I had no energy left to cook dinner and none of us felt like eating pizza.

So that was our spring break. Fun, but exhausting. Now we're ready for spring and all the fun that comes with it (hopefully).

If you have a chance, don't forget to check out today's collaborative post on Cherish This Day, lots of gorgeous images this week!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

Places to Go (Vacation) - On the Road Again - Spring Break in Chicago, Part II (downtown Chicago)

After road tripping to the Chicago suburbs, we spent one night at my mom's house and then drove downtown to the Embassy Suites for a mini-vacation in the big city. Because tall buildings are fun ("mom, this is like New York, well sort of").

First stop - The Art Institute, rated the #1 museum in the world according to Trip Advisor (yay for Chicago!!). The Chagall stained glass wall and the miniature rooms fascinated the kids, just like they used to fascinate me when I was their age (nothing like a trip down memory lane).







Lunch at the museum's restaurant. So. Much. Light. I could have stayed forever.







We walked the bridgeway into Millennium Park. Actually, "ran" may be a more appropriate verb.













I have no idea why the giant bean is so fascinating. But it really is so fascinating.





For spring break, P REALLY wanted to shop at Claire's and see Cinderella. We spotted the Claire's on the cab ride back to the hotel and immediately jumped out because best friend necklaces and feather earrings are a necessity (or so I've been told).











Just some shots of hotel room life. The crazy crowded and unnaturally blue pool was too insane to photograph (so. many. children), but the fantastic breakfast buffet coupled with the nightly happy hour made up for everything.









Walk to the Italian Village for dinner. Loved watching T point out everything of interest (basically everything he saw).







Crazy good meal at the Italian Village (who doesn't love a whole restaurant decorated like a foreign town?} Apparently my mom used to have date nights here with my dad, years ago. But this was my first meal at the Village.



Night at the Chagall wall. Chicago is so cool.





Loving these views.











Another day, another museum. I practically lived at the Museum of Science and Industry as a kid. Almost nothing is the same now, but still fun to take the kids to one of my favorite places ever.





The museum had a new exhibit called "the Maze", where you walk through this crazy mirrored world. It's really cool and if it weren't for the crowds, it could almost be scary. Finding your way in a mirrored in world proved much more difficult than expected. We spent a lot of time bumping into ourselves.



P's second wish came true - Cinderella in the theaters (so. much. cheese.). I spent the rest of the trip telling everyone "have courage and be kind", but nobody ever listens to me. On the upside, the theater had a bar, as all theaters should.







And, finally, on our last night, dinner with my aunt, uncle and cousin at Pepe's (home of the stuffed nacho). I let the kids loose with my camera, not many shots came out, but they were really fun to sort through.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY EVERYONE!! I'll post the final set of photos on Friday and then we'll return to ordinary life (and the beginning of soccer season).