Summer Vacation #1

Our first summer vacation was to Chicago and we were minus one Murthy. We were so thankful that Aunt Karri, Uncle Mike, Mikaila, and Makenzi were gracious enough to keep Dhillon so we could have some time with Laela. WOW! We had a blast and I am so glad that we had this time together!

Dropping Dhillon off was pretty tough on me but not him. We went over during the evening. He ate dinner and got ready for bed. I was able to give him his bottle, have a little talk, and then put him down. Seriously...he grabbed his little dog, rolled to his side, and he was out! Love that kid!

The next morning, we were all up and out of the house by 6:30. Our next stop was to drop off Allie Mae. She also did great! Laela and Ro took her in, handed over her food, and off she went!

Next up...breakfast! We had excellent timing getting to the airport, parking, and checking in.

Finally....the airplane! Laela was THRILLED to finally be in the plane and off we went!

When we arrived in Chicago, we got our bags and it is so funny because Laela certainly does her fair share when we travel. If we were pulling bags, then she wanted to pull a bag. If we using a transit card to go through the turnstile and get to the train, then she must do the same! AWESOME! We did not get a car because every time that Ro and I have been, we use the city transportation. We thought we should give L the same experience and just have some fun! We drove our car to the airport, flew in the plane, so now we were due to ride the subway! As you can see from the picture, Laela was a pretty happy girl!

We made it to our hotel, checked out the view, had a snack, and off we went. The first stop was the Children's Musuem at Navy Pier. We hopped on the bus and off we went.  What a fantastic day to visit...I got in free because I am a teacher and Laela got in free because it was the first Sunday of the month.  Too bad Ro was with us...or we wouldn't even had to take out our wallet!  This was a great time for Laela to get out some energy and explore.  Very cool museum!

The next day we left early and hit the subway again! Laela loved learning all the 'rules' about how the subway worked (using the transit card to pay, which direction the train was going, who was driving, waiting behind the blue line, how loud the train is, how crowded the train can get, sharing seats, being patient, not staring at crazies, etc, etc, etc...)

We stopped for a super yumm-o breakfast and then we went to the Chicago Aquarium. We were surprised to see a line out the door when we got there 15 minutes after opening. WOW! Crazy! We made it through the line in not too long and then we were off to the Dora 4-D show about the Rainforest. Very cute, but if you have not been to a 4-D show, beware of the air blowing in the kids faces and possible water and/or bubbles. Laela did great at the show and was very involved and interested!

We also got to sit in on one of the whale/dolphin shows. Ro and I have seen this show in the past and loved it. Again...it was a good show!

Afterwards, there is a water taxi that takes you across the lake to Navy Pier. Of course we had to try water transportation, too!

Laela had a choice to sit in the covered seating in the boat or on the uncovered bench at the front of the boat. She chose the front, but waiting for everyone to board was SOOOOOOOO hot! Oh well. We had a nice time talking and people watching (and SWEATING).

 Once we got to land (Navy Pier) we walked around a little and Laela found a Build A Bear store.  With her birthday money, she chose this blue bear with white stars.  I thought it was very appropriate since our trip was during the 4th of July!  She named her Charli Girl.  :)

 I love this picture of Laela with the Chicago sign!  Sassy!

Once we got back to the room, daddy drink this massive Diet Mt Dew! Tough to keep up with these girls in Chicago.

The next day we woke up bright and early, grabbed breakfast and took the bus to the zoo!  We didn't get many pictures because we didn't stay long.  The beach was very close (within walking distance) and with the heat, we didn't last long. 

 Voila!  We were at the beach and ready.  If L could love at the beach, she would.  The water was a little chilly, but it got better and we had a blast!

 
 On our bus ride back, we jumped off at the stop right by Portillo's Hot Dogs.  Yumm-o!  Ro and I went the last time we were in Chicago and we wanted to go back.  Laela enjoyed herself at the hot dog place too!

 After hotdogs, we headed back to the hotel for a nap.  Yes.  It is only early afternoon and we have been to breakfast, the zoo, the beach, a hot dog joint and back to the hotel...all travelling by bus or FOOT!  Anyway, after nap, we headed to the American Girl store.  I was certain that Laela would love this store and find a doll she might like to have.  Ummmm...No.  She walked all the way through, got to the other side, went to the exit and found this giant Lego Woody!  What a dork!  (Note to self:  no more crazy mile long walks, in and out of city blocks, to get to the doll store!)

We came across a Dave and Busters while we were walking so we stopped for dinner and games.  Believe it or not, we have not taken L here before, so this was a real fun treat for her!  Her favorite game was actually the horse races!  :)  She got a ton of tickets (and thanks to a few teenage strangers who thought that Laela was cute) Laela had a ton more tickets!  She walked out of there with ANOTHER blue bear and a ring pop.

We couldn't end the night quite yet, as this was our last night so we stayed out a little later.  We walked and rode the train.  Then we found a restaurant with smores!  YES!  Our night was now complete!

 These are the bottom of Laela's shoes when we got back to DFW airport.  She wore these sandals any minute that we let her.  They were fairly new so you can tell that we did some walking, but this girl....

 just kept on going.  She insisted on pulling the luggage bag to the car!

I am so glad that we had the opportunity to take Laela to Chicago.  I will never forget this trip and I do not regret anything!  (OH wait!  I wish I would have purchased a pedometer to track the number of miles we walked during the 4 days we were gone.)  :)  I love summer vacations and I can't wait for our next.