Spring Break - Chicago Day 2

After our "fancy" breakfast at the hotel we took a cab to the John Hancock Observatory. The kids were thrilled to ride in the "fastest elevator in North America."  There are narrations for both kids and adults with numbered stations so you can learn about what you are seeing around Chicago and the Lakefront (Lake Michigan).

Katherine looking over the Windy City

Nicholas enjoyed finding, then punching in the numbers
and listening to the narration on an iPod touch

And just to embarrass myself, here is a video of K and I skating up there.  Notice I did not say "ice" skating - it was plastic with a thin gel applied on the surface.  The result of the fall - two bruised knees - Ouch!

After checking out of the hotel we went shopping!  Off to the Lego store. 

Nicholas was in in heaven!  "Can I get this one?  Can I get this one?" He loves the Ninjago and Star Wars pieces.  We learned that Lego will replace (via mail) missing pieces, which is great!  Somehow we wound up with a Star Wars Advent Calendar set that was missing Yoda's head - that the most prized piece - how does that happen?!  Anyway, Nicholas finally narrowed his selections down to two then we went to the American Girl Store.

If you know Katherine well you might wonder why - she is not into dolls. Well, she loves cats and Grammy got her a AG kitty last year. We had fun looking at the store and she selected a bathtub set for her cat and some books. If you have daughters we highly recommend the American Girl "Smart Girl's Guides." Topics range from feelings, family, friends, money, self-esteem, hygiene, dating, etc. They are great for starting the conversation on many difficult topics. Anyway by now we were hungry, so found some lunch and then headed home. Must say going during the week was likely the only way we survived and had such a good time, we hate crowds and I'm not sure how well we'd do on the weekend ... A great two days in Chicago! We will return for another adventure.