Spring Break!

Finn's school break was the week after Easter, which was also when Xavier was on break.  So Molly came out with the kids Easter night and spent the week showing Iz, Xavier and Finn all that Chicago has to offer.  Seriously, they did EVERYTHING.  Monday, they spent four hours at the zoo followed by a couple more hours at the park by our house.  The highlights of the zoo for the kids were that they saw a bat pee and a monkey pee and poo.  Gross!  Tuesday was the Children's Museum followed by the beach.  Wednesday was the Planetarium. Wednesday night, Lyle also flew in to take part in the fun.  Thursday, was a tour of downtown: the Sears Tower followed by the lego & american girl doll stores, the Marilyn Monroe statue and the architecture boat tour.  And Friday was the Museum of Science and Industry followed by the beach.  It was fantastic!  The kids had fun, were exposed to culture/science, and were utterly EXHAUSTED by the time I got home.  So all I had to do was feed them, put them to bed and have a glass of wine.  And it wasn't all just entertaining the kids.  On Friday night we got a sitter, and the adults had a very nice dinner out.  You know by next year, Lourdes and Sabine will be begging to come along on some of the activities.  We'll have to see if Molly is willing to take on that Herculean task by herself!

The three amigos for the week!

 Loving the park.

I'm sorry, it will never be the Willis Tower to me.

I'm not sure I would have been brave enough to walk out on the see-through ledge.  Kudos to Finn, Isabelle and Xav!

After the Tower, I was able to meet up with the crew at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch.  Going back to work after that was pure torture!

Because the rest of the gang proceeded to check out the lego store..

 and go on a boat tour!

And the final day of fun began with the Museum of Science and Industry, which is probably the best museum in Chicago.

It not only has sweet tractors to drive, but it has a real u-boat!

This picture makes me so excited for Hatteras in July.  The kids are going to have an absolute blast!