Spring Break Chicago - Day 5

Friday morning, it was time to pack up and head towards home.  Of course, no visit with Grandpa Quincy would be complete without some fun presents.  Peter (aka Commander Stringham) got this cool astronaut outfit.  He was pretty excited to try it on and model it for everyone.

We made one last quick stop at The Fudge Pot (a favorite Chicago stop), and were all disappointed to find that it wasn't open yet.  (You can clearly see Woody's look of consternation.)

We bid the city good-bye,

and with Woody acting as navigator, we headed for Naperville

The back row displaying some of the "goods" they received from Grandpa Quincy, while Samantha voices her displeasure with something that Jonas has done.  (Everyone was pretty excited for the rental van.  All sorts of fun with the stow 'n go, and plenty of space to spread out.)

Things seem to be resolved in the middle row.

We drove just a little ways to Naperville to stop in and see Matt and Anne and their kids.  We had considered the possibility of staying there overnight, but decided to start on our way instead.  (Little Clara having a stomach bug when we got there sort of solidified our plans.)

First, we went with Matt and Charlie on the River Walk.  It was a beautiful day to be outside!

As per our usual, trying to get a decent shot of everyone is impossible.  However, in Amelia's defense in these photos, she had just been whacked in the eye by Woody.

And as per our usual, we decide to move on rather than keep trying for that perfect picture.

There were lots of ducks and geese to feed.  Even Woody tried to get in on the action.  The geese were definitely afraid of him, though.

I was only slightly nervous watching my kids walk on this narrow path so close to the water.

Samantha found a treasure in the river.  Somehow, I missed getting a picture of it.  It was a little statue.  We just tied it up in the bread bag and brought it home.  I have to admit that I kept thinking of the Brady Bunch episode where one of the kids find the little tiki doll on the beach and they have all sorts of bad luck.  (Fortunately, Samantha's statue hasn't seemed to have the same results.)

At the end of the trail, we were rewarded with a great big play ground.  Peter was thrilled.  (Play grounds and parks were kind of a theme for the trip. Most days involved some playtime at a park right behind the house or some other nearby playground.  It kept everyone happy.)

We stopped for lunch and then headed back to the house for an Easter Egg hunt.

The kids were so excited to get to have one since we were missing our neighborhood hunt, and it was especially fun to hunt for eggs with cousins.

Everyone lined up ready to go.

Charlie and Amelia on the run.

The poufy skirts were gifts from Quincy, and of course, made the perfect egg hunting outfits.

We did a little bit of redistribution of eggs/candy and then it was time to load back into the car and drive as far as we could before bedtime.

Spring Break Chicago - Day 4

Once again, we filled our entire day.  We started off with a visit to the planetarium.  There were so many cool things to look at, and lots of interactive stuff for the kids to do.  It was hard to keep them moving along.

Another chance for a 3D movie.  (We've gotten really good at these this week.)

The kids all put on their robes and studied hard in school with Galileo.

The girls all tried the anti-gravity ride.

Shawn ditched out early and went with Quincy to the Cubs opening game.  (Initially, I was going to go too, but the temperatures were quite a bit colder than I was willing to sit in.)

They just bought their tickets off the street when they got there, and ended up with pretty good seats.  (I can't say much about the photos since I wasn't actually there, but I'm posting them anyway.)

While they were at the game, Fran picked the rest of us up from the Planetarium and we went to see a movie.  It was "Mirror, Mirror". ( The story of Snow White with Julia Roberts.)  Everyone seemed to enjoy it and especially loved the fact that we got to have snacks.  (We had sort of missed lunch and everyone was hungry.  Generally, movies don't include individual snacks for everyone!)

Once we were all together again, we had some dinner and then headed to i-cream.  You get to choose the flavor and color of your ice cream and watch them make it.  (The kids loved being able to put the "wrong" color with their flavors.  It is pretty cool, but it kind of messes with your mind when colors and flavors are mixed up like that.)

After enjoying our ice cream, we went back to the house and put the kids to bed.  Then Shawn and I headed to the Hancock Tower Observation Deck.  It was cool to see the night views of the city.

Whew! A busy day.  Just trying to pack it in before heading for home.