Chicago Fun... Day 2

Our first full day in Chicago was going to be filled with fun!  We were going to head down town to Navy Pier and hang out at the Chicago Children's Museum for most of the day.  What better thing to do as a family than play the day away together!

 

We started out in what I called, "The Box Room".  Lots of cardboard and boxes to do whatever you wished with.  Liam was excited to find his name on one of the pillars... while Kallan just wanted to make letters with all the boxes he found.  Kallan could have stayed in this room for a long time! 

Next, we headed to the "Water Room" where the kids had a blast playing with all the water contraptions!  It is an amazing room!  Liam mainly wanted to play with the water-way and try to block the water from running.  Ainsley was just delighted with all the different water things... especially the water pump that if you pumped hard enough, 
the water would "explode" and ring a bell.

Kallan's favorite part of the water room was the tile wall that you could paint on... of course he just wanted to paint letters on it.  Silly Boy!

After getting wet, we headed to the Dino Dig where the kids enjoyed finding some dinosaur bones.

Liam's favorite part of the museum was the wood working room.  Here, he could create whatever his heart desired.  They even let him use the power tools all by himself which he was so proud of!  He made a hammer (in his hand) and a rocket (on the table behind him) while Kallan worked on making his own bird house.

How tall are you??? 

Ainsley found a secret hide out under a play structure where she enjoyed constructing a maze of pipes.  Kallan found a room with "letter blocks" in it and was giddy with glee! 

"Mama... they have here Letter Blocks too!!!!" 

Our last room of the day was another construction room.  Here, Liam joined another little boy, and together they worked on building a Chicago sky scraper.  They had a blast together and had great plans for their creation.  Daddy and Ainsley worked on a dog house together... it turned out cute too!

After a full day at the museum, the kids wanted to go on the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier before we left.  It was cold, windy, and snowing... but the ferris wheel was running, so we braved the weather and took a quick trip.

It was so cold... and a little scary when we got to the top and the wind was whipping around us, but the views were amazing... and the kids were so excited to be able to go on it!

 

After our day at the Pier, we headed downtown to our hotel and took a walk to a Chicago favorite... Gino's East.  When we were in Chicago about 4 years ago, we met up with some church friends who were then living in Chicago, and they took us to Gino's for "Chicago Style" pizza.  It was amazing... and I must admit... I have been craving it ever since that night!  So it was a must that we went back! 

Gino's is known for people leaving their mark by writing their name anywhere and everywhere in the restaurant.  It's pretty cool when you start looking around. 

And the pizza did not disappoint... oh my... just like I remembered it! 

It is the best... and it made this mama very happy!

On our way back to our hotel, we just happened to pass by the Hershey store and we thought we needed a little chocolate for dessert.  It was such a fun store, and when they literally pour chocolate kisses on you when you walk into the doors, the awesome factor went way up in the kids' eyes! Who wouldn't like this store... not to mention the constant smell of chocolate the entire time you are in there!  Now that is my kind of place to hang out!

What a fun day... a fun, fun, fun, day!