Where to begin???

I've been MIA for a while and have SO MUCH to write about. I will have to break it up into several posts so that people don't have to wade through something that bores them! Last I posted we were heading out to Chicago and then on to Wisconsin. We had THE BEST TIME!!! Paul had a conference on Wednesday and Thursday, so the kids and I just jet-setted around Chicago. It was a blast being with just my two older kids. When we arrived at the airport and I realized I had no diapers, sippy cups, car seats, or strollers...I was in heaven!! What a different traveling experience. I was so sad to leave Max and Nora home, but excited to have this time with Ella and Jack. The plane ride was uneventful, and I read almost my whole book -New Moon - Not as good a Twilight, but I wanted to know the story. It was a dilemma though because what was I going to read on the way home? I remedied that situation and bought The Kite Runner at the airport. Anyway, we arrived in Chicago and got all cozy in our hotel room. It was fun to take more time than usual to tuck the older kids in. They were beat, but excited to be on our trip. I just sat there and sang to them while rubbing their feet and scratching their backs. I truly enjoyed it. Our first morning we got up and headed to the Shedd Aquarium! Ella and Jack at the Entrance - right now they have a big Komodo Dragon exhibit The kids loved the bottle nose dolphins! This one was so friendly and came right up to us and was singing some dolphin songs to us!I'm sorry, but isn't he the most adorable guy ever?!!! I'm so sad his red hair is getting so dark!

Looking through the bottom of the dolphin tank. Sorry about the flash glare!
Ella waiting patiently for the dolphin show to start. Isn't the view out to Lake Michigan awesome?
We met Paul for some good pizza at a place where the kids could write on the walls! I'm ashamed to say that I can't remember the name of the place. Could it be Gino's? Anyone who knows Chicago can set me straight!
We finished off the night on Navy Pier! Me and my cutie pies with the Hancock tower in the background!
Paul and the kids with the opposite view - Lake Michigan (am I lucky or what? Look how cute Paul is, and of course those two smileys!)

We took the kids up on the big Ferris Wheel on the Pier. We had to talk Jack into it, but he ended up enjoying himself. Did I enjoy it? Not so much! This picture is me trying to fake how "wowed" I was by the experience. The view was great, but I am realizing that in my old age I do not like heights AT ALL. I didn't get sick, but I had MAJOR anxiety. It was weird because I didn't even anticipate feeling that way. It wasn't until we were on the upswing that I started to get nervous. Needless to say, that was my last experience on a Ferris wheel.

Thursday morning we hit the Hershey store, the Lego store, the Hello Kitty store, the Disney store, and the American Girl store. I don't know what I was thinking about missing a picture with Jack in front of the Lego Darth Vader! After all those visits, all we bought was a treat at the Hershey store, a $10 Lego set for Jack, a $10 Hello kitty activity set for Ella, a $7 peter pan figurine set for Max, and a $2.99 princess ball for Nora. Pretty good restraint if I do say so myself. It's just a good thing Dad was in a conference or the damage would have been much worse. I'm the mean one who doesn't have a problem saying "NO!" The one thing I could have gotten talked into was every book in the American girl store. I didn't even buy one, but now I have a lot on my list for Christmas etc.

After lunch, we met Paul and headed on the 4 hour drive to La Crosse, Wisconsin. I'll document that part of the Journey on tomorrows post! One quick thing though, we had a rental car and they upgraded us to the new GMC Acadia? Anyway, we got all sorts of comments and people asking us if we liked it. It was great, but for me with four kids I need a bit more trunk space and perhaps a bench seat in the middle row instead of two buckets. Anyway, it was decked out with leather, XM radio, navigation, and the kids favorite... a DVD player. Jack even said, "Mom, I sure wish we could keep this cool car!" I guess the crowded, cluttered, boring minivan just isn't stacking up!