Chicago

Maryn and family were planning on coming for Thanksgiving and spending a few days in Chicago. They weren't afraid of a tornado I guess because they decided to still come! Kreg rented a car and drove 3 hours to pick up Cole, Ellie and Dax and take them back to Chicago. The kids spent the weekend in Chicago with the Edgmons while Ben and I worked on our broken house. 

Maryn and Kreg received a lot of funny looks and comments walking around a big city with 7 kids :)

 They played at the Children's Museum,

 Looked over the city on the Chicago Sky Deck,

 Visited the aquarium,

 And saw the dinosaur at the Field Museum!

 The kids had a blast with their cousins!!

 The city shut down access to our neighborhood for a few days, so Monday night Ben and I drove to Chicago to meet them and take a little break from our tornado mess.

Tuesday we rode the metro to the Museum of Science and Industry:

 Cole's favorite part of the museum was the transportation part with the airplanes and trains so we spent the majority of our time there:

  

 The kids also really liked watching the baby chicks hatch:

Dax was uncharacteristically ornery, so he was banished to the stroller while we there. He eventually fell asleep, which cured his orneriness :)

Ellie was also pretty tired and managed to get someone to hold her for most of the time :)

 

 

We also visited the farm part of the museum. The kids loved the tractors, as usual:

Last stop was to see the submarine:

It was a great day where we were able to forget about our worries and just have fun!

Unfortunately, we had to get back home to our worries. Maryn and crew stayed an extra day though, and lucky Cole got to stay with them. They went to the American Girl Doll Store and the Lego store. Maryn said Cole had fun at the AG store :) He found Saige, his favorite American Girl, and helped pick out a doll for Ellie: Caroline. Maryn was super sweet and got a doll for Ellie since she couldn't stay...and Kam had her for cousin Christmas gift :)

This was such a great trip for us! We really needed it after all of the tornado stress we have been under. The tornado has been more fun than bad for the kids, getting to play with friends every day and then go on a trip with cousins. I have such an amazing sister! Maryn and Kreg were so great to take on 3 extra kids during their vacation, and Kam and Kenz were awesome to take care of our kids for us when were there. The Edgmon girls are the best!! :) Thanks for letting us join you in Chicago!