2 Little Chiefs: Spring Break

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Spring Break

My mom had an idea to escape for a few days over Elizabeth's spring break. We had a whole week of no school, dance or swimming and as it ended up speech got cancelled too! It was Wednesday and Elizabeth had declared that she was not a fan of spring break because she missed all of her activities. Her timing was perfect. "How about we go to Chicago? Now, your bags are already packed, Ima is on her way over." Her response was "Let's get moving!"

Slightly blurry, to protect the innocent, but two ladies in the family sleep exactly the same way with an arm over their head!

We tried to keep our shopping even with kid activities. Our first stop was Ikea - my happy place. We tried to check them into the kids play area, but they were booked. We shopped for about 45 minutes and then tried again and they had room for them. The kids were thrilled. They think it is great fun to be dropped off and to get to play. Elizabeth was an awesome big sister and even helped her brother go to the bathroom. I got a few things for Grant's room and other random Ikea items that I just couldn't live without! Next we checked into the hotel and checked out the pool. We did a little shopping at Oak Brook, had dinner at PF Changs and then headed back to swim. In my rushed sneaky packing, I totally forget that Elizabeth loves her goggles and really only puts her head in the water if she has them. She did a lot of back floating and back stroking! Grant was fine in the water as long as he was clinging to someone's hip! Time to get this boy into swim lessons! The kids got to pick out a new friend at Build a Bear. Welcome "Hot Dog" and "Cupcake" to the Pauli family!

Hot Dog getting ready to be stuffed

Checking the stuffing!

Grant picking out Hot Dog's Heart

Giving Cupcake's heart a kiss

Hot Dog gets a bath

Ready to go!

We went to Woodfield mall the next day and they have a great play area for the kids. It was looking like it was going to be a warm afternoon so we headed to Brookfield Zoo. It was a quick trip, but the kids really enjoyed it. The Tropics building with the monkeys has always been my favorite and they did not disappoint. Just ask Grant and he will tell you "monkey spit - not nice!" Luckily, the monkey wasn't spitting at us, just a fellow monkey. We went back to the hotel to swim again and then went to dinner. My mom and I think it was best Mexican food we have ever had, and it wasn't just the margaritas that were good! Uncle Julio's was the name of the restaurant and I think I enjoyed it more than PF's.

On our last day we started with a wonderful breakfast at a nearby restaurant and headed to he DuPage Children's Museum. We were there for over three hours and the kids didn't ask for a snack once - that's how entertained they were. It is not a particularly large museum, but it has so much offer. I think the giant "Light Bright" exhibit was their favorite, but they enjoyed so many other things too! They are the perfect age for children's museums and this one ranks right up there! We ate at McDonalds and headed home with two tired kiddos. Grant took a great nap in the car and Elizabeth happily watched a movie in peace. It was just the mini get away that we needed. Great idea Mom! Thanks for letting us tag along and for letting me drive ;)