We finally were able to travel to Chicago to visit the newest addition to the Felicelli clan. Marin was born in January but our first travel attempt was thwarted by the midwest weather dumping snow on us. Our second attempt succeeded though.
On the way up we saw some flurries…uh oh. We drove through 3 snow storms on the way. These only lasted a few minutes each but there was one that was almost a whiteout. We were quite surprised and we were hoping that they didn’t last long and that they would not hinder the travel we had to do. Luckily it did not hinder us too much and we had time to stop for DQ and a bit of playtime.
We arrived at Ellen’s shortly after to meet Marin as well. Bryson was excited to see Syler (and Ellen and Marin). Larry arrived not too long after and we talked a bit until Marin woke up and was fed. Bryson and Mya both ransacked the place looking for toys to play with. Bryson got some cool Minecraft toys and Mya got some duplo blocks. Both were played with quite a bit.
We had some cravings for some Chicago pizza so we ordered Giordanos Pizza. To my surprise Bryson only ate a bit of pizza. Guess he is really growing up a Cincinnati boy and not Chicago. I guess you can’t win them all. Maybe he was just tired or not in the mood to eat… We will have to try again to see if he really doesn’t care for Chicago Pizza. After dinner we put the kiddos down to sleep since it was late and got to rest a bit before we went to bed.
The next day Bryson woke me up when he woke up and saw sun light. It was later than usual but still early. Marin slept in and did a great job sleeping! We decided to goto the Museum of Science and Industry for the day. After a bit of breakfast and some Marin watching we headed out to the Museum.
We got there right before Lunch and so we beat the crowd and ate some lunch. Bryson wolfed down a hotdog, mac n cheese, and half a cupcake. All the good healthy stuff. Once we were done we headed towards the coal mine looking at things on the way. Our first stop was the Farming area. Bryson got to ride in a combine and look at some pigs and cows. Mya loved to touch the noses of the cows and pat them, even though they were fake.
Onto the coal mine. Bryson was excited a first but then as we went in he was a bit apprehensive. We went down the elevator to start the tour and during the descent they turned the lights off and then back on and Bryson was not too happy. During the tour he was not really too excited but he calmed down a bit as it went on. Covering his ears at the loud noises and flashing lights. We made it out without too much of a fuss. Marin took it all in stride and slept the whole time.
After that we picked up the strollers and off we went to the weather science area. There was a tornado simulation that was pretty cool but Bryson didn’t really want to do it. He liked some hot air balloons that he got to control its release. He also liked a color house that the colors kept changing. After that it was off to watch a wave simulator. Once we were done with this area we headed off to find the submarine.
On the way we stopped to rest a bit with Marin and Mya (who was not wanting to sleep). We headed to the space area. Bryson was excited to see meteorites and rocket ships. He got to become a astronaut and see a space cow.
After a bit we met back up with Larry, Ellen, and Marin to goto the submarine. Bryson really liked the ‘boat’ from the outside and Mya finally fell asleep. We made our way to the tour starting area. After a bit of waiting we headed on in and Bryson was not a fan of the noises and flashing lights again. Mya and Marin both didn’t make it far so they went out to wait for us to finish. Bryson made it through but wasn’t too impressed .
After that we had a bit of a snack and made our way back out. Bryson wanted to go into the play area for kids so we waited in line while Ellen and Larry watched our stroller. We got to go in and play with a bunch of things but the main attraction for Bryson and Mya was the water table/river to play in. Both came out a bit wet and happy.
We stopped to watch some Rube Goldberg type machine which both liked a lot. Then we headed off to dinner at Davanti Enoteca. It was a pretty good dinner, small portions to share around. Bryson ate a meatball and some spaghetti and Mya ate a bit of everything. Marin decided to get a bit fussy but Bryson helped settle her down by singing ABC’s to her. After a good dinner we headed back home and to bed.
The next day we were to head home. No blizzards here! We made it to Rick, Erin, and Abigail’s house to pick Kizzie up and ended up staying a bit to let Bryson play with Abigail. It ended with Bryson throwing a fit from being so exhausted. We got home and put them to bed and we went to bed being exhausted as well.
Here are some pictures of us with Marin and other stuff:
