Christmas!

I love Christmas!  I love lights, Christmas villages, candy canes, Christmas trees, and goodies too! I love being able to spend so much relaxing time with my family. I love to see the excitement on the kids' faces when they open cool presents that surprise them. I love everything but waking up at 2:30am with a child who is uber excited and can't fall back asleep...and comes in hour after hour asking if it is ok to get everyone up yet! Oh well, it was fun...and worked itself out as the day progressed.

This year we went small since we were taking the kids to Chicago for a couple days on the 27th and 28th! Here are the pics:

 Kelsey's new bike...finally not a hand-me-down! Thank you, Santa...

 The Lego set Mom and Dad would never buy...again, Thank you, Santa ...

 Spencer couldn't believe it...his very own REAL bow, one he didn't have to make himself...

 Cody was dying for an AirHog remote control helicopter...

 

 A Kindle Fire case for Kelsey...

 Jordan couldn't believe his present!.... Beats headphones!...

 "Look at all this....!"

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And now for Chicago...

We left dark and early on the 4:57am train to Chicago. We got there around 9ish and took the "L" to our hotel. Well, let me explain...we walked to the L....rode a LITTLE ways...then walked to our hotel. Oh well, it was all the experience, and the kids LOVED it. We dropped all our stuff at the hotel (thankfully we got to check in early) and then headed out on the town. First stop...lunch! At the Rainforest Cafe! It was snowing lightly outside, but no one cared.

 Then we shopped...no one in my family likes shopping unless they are in the store of THEIR choice. But we made it. Cody didn't last in our last stop where Jordan tried on more shoes than Cody could stay awake for... "Mom, I'm tired!" "Lay on my shoulder..." and he promptly fell asleep. I sat there forever and let him sleep while Jordan tried to decide what he REALLY wanted to buy with his Christmas money.

We tried to hit Giordano's for dinner-some Chicago style pizza. But the wait was TOO long (one and a half hours). We were supposed to meet up with some friends there but had to cancel. We ordered the pizza and had it delivered to our hotel. It got there shortly after our walk back. The kids LOVED the pizza and loved swimming on the 27th floor (sorry...no pics)

EVERYONE was tuckered out...so we went to bed early and started again the next day. It was BUSY at breakfast but we had a great time. Then headed down to the Museum of Science and Industry. It was crowded and busy and took 45 minutes just to get through the line just to get tickets. It was hot and crowded but we had fun...for about 2 hours. We loved the huge Christmas tree ...

 Happy Anniversary to us...happy 17th!

And we got to see DNA and all sorts of fun things. I couldn't believe that Cody totally was engrossed in the exhibit of babies from conception to birth. I thought he'd give out and leave early...but he stayed clear through week 40. But what he loved the most was the screen where he could dance around and it showed his energy. An Asian woman was showing them about their energy, their Chi, but none of the kids cared much about her...they just loved seeing their energy flow around and around. Jordan was enthralled with the flight simulator...until he paid $10 to do it...hahaha. Kelsey spent a lot of time in the science storm area and Spencer just followed around. But after a couple hours they were ready to be out of the crowds. We took the bus back to the city and walked back to our hotel. We found a little bagel sandwich shop, ate, and headed for Union Station to our train ride home. We left with PLENTY of time which left me time to walk down State Street and see the Christmas windows of Marshall Fields :D

 

 

 It was a fun walk back...we stopped to get popcorn at Garrett's and I actually found a Mrs Field's cookies....I so haven't had a cookie from their in AGES. YUMMY.....

What a fun trip. Yes, it was cold and yes, it was a bit snowy and very overcast....

but tons of fun. The train ride home was long....even had to stop and fix the train. But we got back to 4+ inches of snow...Home Sweet Home! Glad to be back in my own bed!

Merry Christmas one and all!