Our niece Brooklyn was baptized on March 8, 2008 (it was also her birthday) and we really wanted to be there to see it happen so we decided to make a family vacation out of it. Before heading to Brooklyn's house we spent a few days in Chicago doing some touristy stuff. We had a ton of fun except for the cold cold cold, did I mention cold, weather and winds that almost took Seth and his stroller away.

March 5, 2008:

We flew into O'hare without any problems. This was Seth's second airplane trip. The plane wasn't full so Seth got his very own seat without us having to pay for it. That's the only way to travel with infants. We stayed outside Chicago in a town called Northbrook, about 20 minutes away. We went to our hotel to get settled and then headed out to be tourists. Our first stop was the Cheesecake Factory in the basement of the John Hancock building. The tables there are pretty close together so you feel like you're dining with the people on either side of you. We got lucky and had some really nice ladies on both sides. One lady was all by herself and just loved Seth. We chatted a bit and she made Seth smile. She left wishing us luck with baby #2. When our check came the waiter told us she had payed $30 towards our dinner. What an awesome way to start our vacation. I tell this story just to let people know how grateful we are for kind and generous people.

Cheesecake Factory

After dinner we headed upstairs to the 94th floor of the John Hancock building where the observation deck is. We here hoping to get there before dark because we've been to the top of the Sears tower when it was dark on a different trip, but it didn't happen. We did do an audio tour which made it more interesting. You can actually feel the building sway.

John Hancock Observatory

March 6, 2008:

Today we started out at the Shedd Aqaurium. It sits right on Lake Michigan so you have some pretty cool views. They have lots of neat sea creatures including dolphins, penguins, sharks and whales.

Shedd Aqauarium

That afternoon we walked over to The Field Museum of Natural History. This building is so massive and so beautiful. It's probably also a really neat museum, but we only had a couple of hours so we had to hurry through it and weren't really able to fully appreciate everything it had to offer.

The Field Museum of Natural History

March 7, 2008:

Today our first stop was The Museum of Science and Industry. This was by far our most favorite. We wished we had the entire day to spend here because it was the most interesting and fun. Of all the museums we'll go back to when we're in Chicago next it's going to be this one.

The Museum of Science and Industry

Our last stop was the Adler Planetarium. It also sits right on Lake Michigan so you have some pretty cool views. This place was alright. The shows are neat but actually walking around isn't that interesting if you've had an elementary eduation because it really is geared towards that age and learing the very basics. It was definately worth walking around once and I bet the observatory is really neat but we didn't pay extra to do that part and it was really windy and starting to storm so I'm not sure it was even open. We did learn that they are planning to do another moon walk in 10 years.

Adler Planetarium

Random Seth Pictures:


March 8, 2008:

We drove over and down to Marion Indiana for Brooklyn's baptism. Ryan and I each gave talks. It was so neat to be included in her special day. Seth's cousins are so sweet to him (Brooklyn for sure and Sariah who just wants to kiss him and rub his head).


March 9, 2008:

We went to church with the cousins and then spent the rest of the day celebrating Sariah and Brooklyn's birthdays. It was lots of fun.

March 10, 2008:

It was time to come home. Seth was a good sport through the whole trip. He spent lots of time in his stroller and car seat and was a pretty happy kid. He did have a rough time with all the time changes, we switched from Mountain, to Central, to Eastern and then lost an hour with daylight savings. He was not getting to bed until midnight or one o'clock because his little internal clock was messed up and then getting up and 7:30 or 8:00. Still he really had fun at the cousins and was fun and easy to be around and take care of. We ended our trip with a stop in Riverton, UT at Rock Creek Pizza. Yum.