FRIENDS, PHOTOGRAPHS, and Birthday FUN! 3/3 30 Day Photo Challenge Day 21

[-Hope-]

You packed a lot into one day! LegoLand looked really cool and I'm glad to see Jace had such a good time

I know, I keep telling everyone that we did a weeks worth of touring in 3 1/2 days!

 

[-Hope-]

I'm going to *try* to fit all of day 3 into one post- I'm ready to wrap this up! We did so much each day though that it's hard to cram it all into a single update... but I'm gonna try!

We slept in a little on our third day. We had breakfast at the hotel restaurant- it was super expensive and not very good. Oh well, live and learn!

After breakfast we waited about 15 minutes for the free hotel shuttle to the Field Museum...

I had really been looking forward to this and so had both of the kids. The main reason we'd come was visible as soon as we entered...

Sue is the most complete T. rex skeleton ever discovered and she was massive!

There is absolutely no way to see everything there is to see in a day, much less the half day we had planned so we had to pick and choose. We saw the Africa and Egypt exhibits, Evolving Planet and Whales (which had an additional entry fee). They were all very cool though Africa and Egypt were a little outdated and rundown. A lot of the hands on exhibits didn't work or were missing pieces! It seemed that the biggest and best exhibits were the ones with corporate sponsors- I guess it costs a lot to keep these things nice but it was a little disheartening.

We had planned to grab an authentic Chicago dog from the hot dog cart outside but it was H-O-T and there were no shady places to sit so we ate in the McDonalds inside the museum.

After several hours at the museum we were ready to move on. It was cool but with so many of the hands on stuff broken the kids were getting bored just looking at stuff, lol. So, we walked through the museum campus- which was beautiful- and grabbed a water taxi to Navy Pier. We'd hoped for some great views of the skyline from Lake Michigan but it was so foggy that day the we couldn't see the buildings at all! Oh well, it was still a nice relaxing ride with a cool breeze after a lot of walking that morning.

The water taxi ran to Navy Pier but we were actually headed to a beach that was near the pier. The plan was to relax at the beach for a few hours and then head back to the pier. Great plan but we had a lot of trouble finding a place to change into our suits (no public bathrooms on the beach) and we were tired, sick of walking and it was just nearly too much. Prodded along by my mom who was insistent that we go to the beach- until she saw that I was about to completely melt down and she finally conceded that we could go back to the hotel to swim and relax and take a cab back to the pier later. It was just at that moment that we finally found a bathroom where we could change. After sitting down for a minute and getting a cold drink from a hot dog vendor I was finally able to calm down and think things through. (This was, thankfully, our last moment of mom induced drama.)

We definitely should have just gone straight back to the hotel after the museum instead of trying to cram in this beach visit for my mom. HOWEVER, it was late enough in the afternoon that I was afraid if we went back at that point that we wouldn't come back out and go to Navy Pier at all. So, we sucked it up and headed back to the beach to try to relax for a bit...

You can see how foggy it was and as a result the lifeguards were only letting people go in ankle deep. After all that we couldn't even swim!! But the water was ice cold and I don't know if I'd have jumped in anyway! It was also kind of dirty and Kya kept finding glass in the water- not from trash left behind but being washed up onto the shore. So, mom and I just laid on our beach towels while the kids waded and played in the sand. It wasn't too bad but we didn't stay long.

We walked back to the pier and the kids stopped along the way to play in a fountain. Good thing they still had their suits on under their clothes...

We used the restrooms at Navy Pier to change into our dry clothes and then we were ready to explore!

(Okay, I think that's enough for one update, I can't fit it all into one post!! I'll come back later to fill you in on Navy Pier!)

 

[SeptemberGirl]

No, it's not too late at all! Kya is 11 and is saving up for another doll right now! She loves them.

We have a friend who still has her dolls from childhood and continues to buy more and has them on display in her living room. Kya says this is proof that she'll *never* be too old for AG dolls.

Thank you ladies for weighing in!!! Emily does play with her bitty baby, so it seems like it will be worth it for her to have a AG!

Okay, so tell me. How do your kids save up for a $90 doll? Mine does do chores and she happily does them but could care LESS about the money. So weird - is she my child at all? Hahahaha! But really, where do they get money - chores, birthdays? I have only one 7 yr old so lots of mom stuff is new to me. She mostly gets books and clothes and Target gift cards for her birthdays, and we buy her clothes with gift cards. We are not a big present family, I am kind of cheap that way, but once a year or so she gets something big - like she got the bitty baby 2 years ago when she was 5.

Back to your trip! Schaumburg - no wonder the cab was so much!!! I love the nice cabbie story - random people enocunters are awesome. We have not been to Legoland, maybe next time we go out there. I have eaten in the Field Museum Mcdonalds! Only been with little kids - masses of little kids at Christmas, so it was running from one thing to the next. I am found of the Musuem of Science and Industry, myself.

The beach - wow, so foggy! Bummed you didn't get a nice day! Navy Pier report next?

 

[-Hope-]

Thank you ladies for weighing in!!! Emily does play with her bitty baby, so it seems like it will be worth it for her to have a AG!

Okay, so tell me. How do your kids save up for a $90 doll? Mine does do chores and she happily does them but could care LESS about the money. So weird - is she my child at all? Hahahaha! But really, where do they get money - chores, birthdays? I have only one 7 yr old so lots of mom stuff is new to me. She mostly gets books and clothes and Target gift cards for her birthdays, and we buy her clothes with gift cards. We are not a big present family, I am kind of cheap that way, but once a year or so she gets something big - like she got the bitty baby 2 years ago when she was 5.

Back to your trip! Schaumburg - no wonder the cab was so much!!! I love the nice cabbie story - random people enocunters are awesome. We have not been to Legoland, maybe next time we go out there. I have eaten in the Field Museum Mcdonalds! Only been with little kids - masses of little kids at Christmas, so it was running from one thing to the next. I am found of the Musuem of Science and Industry, myself.

The beach - wow, so foggy! Bummed you didn't get a nice day! Navy Pier report next?

We give our kids an allowance of $10 per week. It's not technically tied directly to their chores though. We have the philosophy that in a family everyone shares responsibility (according to their own abilities) and everyone shares the bounty. We actually sat down with our family budget with the kids (again, mine are older than yours but we did this at a simpler level when they were younger) and showed them what our income is, what it costs to feed, clothe and shelter our family and what we have left over. We talked about all of our responsibilities and discussed what they thought was a fair portion of our family "bounty" based on their portion of the family responsibilities. However, since that is their fair portion they generally have to buy their own extras with it- even a soda or candy bar when we're out running errands. Occasionally they'll even buy themselves fast food lunch when I want to wait until we get home to eat. They understand that I'm not saying no- I already said yes when I gave them the money, it's just up to them to prioritize how they'll spend it. It's been great for helping them understand that while we have plenty to meet our needs and also some extras that they have to pick and choose what those extras will be. Kya generally likes to save up for big things and the little extras are scarce. Jace is the exact opposite. Once in a while he'll save up though, right now he wants the Lego Millennium Falcon and is being very good about saving.

Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble on...

As for the trip- we looked at all of the info on the different museums and it was definitely a hard choice! We only had time for one and Sue was really the deal breaker for us!

Yep, Navy Pier is up next.

 

[DrMomof3]

Legoland looks really neat! I'm glad you were able to get there and enjoy it.
That's too bad about the museum having a lot of broken things. I would be disappointed. And I can only imagine how tired the kids were after a few hours in a museum!

Amanda

 

[-Hope-]

Legoland looks really neat! I'm glad you were able to get there and enjoy it.
That's too bad about the museum having a lot of broken things. I would be disappointed. And I can only imagine how tired the kids were after a few hours in a museum!

Amanda

Thanks Amanda! It was a bit disappointing at the museum but there were plenty of (corporate sponsored) working exhibits for it to still be enjoyable and worth the cost of admission. They were exhausted but when we finally got to relax at the beach we all got our second wind.

 

[-Hope-]

Okay folks, I had really hoped to have this Chicago portion finished by now... I keep getting sidetracked from my DIS duties by real life!!

I'd last left off when we were heading from our somewhat disappointing but still fun trip to the beach. After the kids played in the fountain for a few minutes we found a restroom and changed out of our wet clothes. (Mom and I had been taking turns all day carrying the backpack with our extra clothes so it wasn't too bad). Once we were changed we were ready to explore Navy Pier!!

The lower level is full of lots of shops, some chains like Build-a-bear and also some little touristy places that sell souvenirs. As always my kids like to try on silly hats and get their pics taken- but these wigs take the cake!

Kya debated about getting a henna tattoo but decided it was too expensive. Finally after walking almost the full length of the pier we found the place we'd been looking for...

I don't know how many of you watched Saturday Night Live in the 70s but it was a staple in our house. This is the place that the Jim Belushi "cheezborger, cheezeborger, no Pepsi, COKE!" skit is based on. We had to try it! We went in and found a seat and I went up to place our order. I did it wrong (you put your own condiments on, don't tell him what you want!) and the guy yelled at me- just like on the skit! It was awesome!

Of course we all had the cheezeborger...

After we finished eating we were ready to head to the upper level of the pier where the carnival rides are located.

I had hoped the kids would ride the giant ferris wheel but it was super foggy and they thought it might be scary to ride when they couldn't see the ground.

What can I say, my kids are not thrill seekers at all. Kya is a bit more-so than Jace though and she loves the swings at carnivals so that was a must for her...

While she did that Jace went to drive the model boats (the kind that use tokens to operate the steering wheel)...

When he finished the boats we stopped to grab some Dippin Dots (an amusement park favorite for my kids)...

We exited through the atrium which was really beautiful...

We caught the free shuttle from Navy Pier to Michigan Avenue and then took a bus back to our hotel. Despite the drama surrounding the beach we'd had a really great day.

Up next... Willis Tower Skydeck, some Chicago pizza and heading home

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

OMG, those wigs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTW, I cannot wait to do some planning for the trip tomorrow, I need a Disney fix!

 

[-Hope-]

btw, i cannot wait to do some planning for the trip tomorrow, i need a disney fix!

metwo!!!!!

 

[Parla]

Love the updates. What a great cab driver. I guess they get nicer the closer you get to the burbs.

 

[-Hope-]

Love the updates. What a great cab driver. I guess they get nicer the closer you get to the burbs.

Yep, the ones in the city were definitely not so friendly- even though I was usually sitting up front with them while mom and the kids were in the back, lol.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Cheezborger! Cheezborger! I used to love that skit That's hilarious you got "yelled at" I wanna go! I'm definitely taking my kids to Chicago now Navy Pier looks like a lot of fun. I can't believe you packed so much into this trip!

 

[-Hope-]

Cheezborger! Cheezborger! I used to love that skit That's hilarious you got "yelled at" I wanna go! I'm definitely taking my kids to Chicago now Navy Pier looks like a lot of fun. I can't believe you packed so much into this trip!

I've never been so excited to be treated rudely in my life! It was definitely a lot for the short amount of time we were there! I'd definitely recommend taking your kids!

 

[-Hope-]

I have lots to report but just haven't gotten to it yet- life is just crazy right now! But not to crazy to make time for what's really important... We had a Disney day today that included lots of trip planning! Stay tuned!

 

[-Hope-]

Oh man, it has been CRAZY busy around here!! I have a ton of RL stuff going on right now (none of it very interesting so I won't bore you with the details) and I have not had time to DIS. I'd really hoped to get the last post from my Chicago trip (I have one or two more) before Karen and I had our Disney day on Wednesday but it just didn't happen. I haven't even had time to upload the pics I took Wednesday onto my computer!

I'm just going to let you guys read about our Parent Trap day on Karen's PTR since it seems like I'm never going to get to it! Instead, I'll fill you in on all the plans Karen and I made while we were drinking our wine (there is a VINEYARD in the movie- wine was obligatory for the authenticity of the day).

So, the girls had their snacks and played while Karen and I talked Disney. We rehashed resorts, park days and dining and it took most of the afternoon.

I know, I know our trip is still a year and a half away but we do have our reasons for wanting to plan what we'll be having for dinner in 2013.

1. Karen needs to make plans for her family trip and since she wants to try new things we have to think about where WE will eat so she can decide where THEY will eat. Make sense? I thought so.
2. We both live on a budget and we needed to know how much to save up. In order to do that we needed to know if it was more cost efficient to get the dining plan or pay for our food OOP.
3. It's just really fun.

So... without further ado, here's what we came up with:

Resort

We're going to do a split stay of 3 nights at POFQ and 2 nights at the Poly. We tossed around the idea of choosing one or the other but decided the split stay makes the most sense for this trip.

When we arrive it will be easier to be at POFQ for the purposes of Karen getting checked in at the expo for the Princess 1/2 marathon since it's closer and is usually a sponsored resort with a bus that goes directly to the expo. It also has the water taxi to DTD which is just a big selling point for both of us.

However, the Poly is a monorail resort with fireworks on the beach. Not to mention the fact that sharing the cost of a room is probably the only way either of us will ever be able to afford a deluxe resort.

So, for all of those reasons we decided a split stay makes the most sense.

Dining Plan or OOP

We looked through menus quite a bit and added up what we thought meals would cost. If we were having no snacks, breakfast in the room, no sodas or desserts and only a few TS meals it still ended up being within about $40 of the dining plan where we'd get tons more food! This is partly because we both have some dietary restrictions but I was still pretty surprised. We decided to go ahead and get the dining plan and then we wouldn't even have to think about it while on our trip- definitely worth 40 bucks.

Parks and Dining

Saturday Feb 23 (remember folks, we're talking 2013). We'll get checked in to POFQ and have some lunch at Sassagoula Floatworks. Then Karen will need to go to the expo to get checked in for the Princess HM. After that we'll go to DTD where we'll shop and grab some dinner at RFC. We both use My Points and will be able to get a gift card for a free meal.

Sunday is the morning of the PHM and I'll go to see Karen off and take pics. While she's running I'll probably pick a spot to explore and take pictures and then I'll meet up with her again at the end and get more pics of her crossing the finish line.

After the race we'll give Karen a chance to go get cleaned up before heading to AK for a late lunch at Tusker House. We don't really have much we want to do at AK but EE is Karen's FAVORITE ride so we'll do that and also try to get some pics. AK is a beautiful park so plenty of picture time will be a must!

For dinner we're going to take advantage of the water taxi and head back to DTD to eat at WGP Express.

Monday we'll start the day off at DHS. We both want to ride TSM first so we'll head straight there at RD and then grab a snack at Starring Rolls for breakfast. RRC and TT are also on the agenda and perhaps the animation studio. Followed by pictures, pictures, pictures!

Neither of us want to skip DHS but it also won't be a full day so that afternoon we'll head to Epcot. We don't want to be on a tight schedule since we're park hopping so we'll do CS lunch at Tangerine Cafe in Morocco and then spend the afternoon/evening enjoying WS WITHOUT KIDS!! There will be pictures. There will be drinks. There will be no whining! Dinner, Illuminations and (of course) margaritas at La Hacienda.

Tuesday will be the day we move to the Poly, hopefully we can do it first thing in the morning so the rest of our day is free to tour. This is our one and only MK day and we'll have breakfast at CP mainly so we can get into the park before RD (for pictures of course).

We'll grab a CS lunch at CHH so we're free to tour at our own pace. Since we won't have kids there will be a lot of rides we'll skip in MK and we won't stay all evening. We'll have dinner at Kona and, depending on our energy level at this point, either take the monorail back to see Wishes in the park or just catch them from the beach. I've never seen them from the beach so that's the way I'm leaning but we'll see how it works out.

Wednesday will be another Epcot day. We'll do RD for this one so we can do Soarin' and TT. FW will be the main focus today (though I'm sure we'll make our way into WS as well) and we'll do lunch at SS and then dinner at GG. I'm VERY excited about dinner- the menu didn't have enough variety for my family but it's perfect for Karen and I.

Thursday we'll head back home, probably fairly early since neither of us want to try to squeeze in a park before leaving- we don't like the rushed feeling of that.

So there you have it folks- yes, we're both a little nuts but we had a fun afternoon and now I know exactly how much I need to save and have plenty of time to do it.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Your plans look great! I like the idea of a split stay. Maybe I missed this earlier in your planning, but are you guys driving or flying?

 

[-Hope-]

Your plans look great! I like the idea of a split stay. Maybe I missed this earlier in your planning, but are you guys driving or flying?

I'm actually not sure if I mentioned this earlier! We are flying! With each of us only needing to buy one ticket it will definitely be more economical to fly than to drive the 17 hours from MO so we're taking advantage of that!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

I had to catch up. I had left off with leaving Kaya at the salon to get her ears pierced!! (Can't imagine I've been busy with a trip in 9 days and surgery at all, right??? )

Legoland looks AMAZING!!! Can you imagine creating all those things with LEGO'S???? I especially liked the "jungle" area! Did you guys ever find the store with 3 floors of clearence?? OMG, I would be so all over that store!!

Loving your Disney plans so far, even though it's 1 1/2 years away. I'll take lots of pics of POFQ for you and let you know how wonderful it is!

 

[-Hope-]

I had to catch up. I had left off with leaving Kaya at the salon to get her ears pierced!! (Can't imagine I've been busy with a trip in 9 days and surgery at all, right??? )

Excuses, excuses! I'm glad the surgery went well though and you'll be all recovered in time for your trip!

Legoland looks AMAZING!!! Can you imagine creating all those things with LEGO'S???? I especially liked the "jungle" area! Did you guys ever find the store with 3 floors of clearence?? OMG, I would be so all over that store!!

Yep, that's the store my mom spent way too much time looking around in... when we go back for our girls only trip though we'll know where it is and be able to shop w/o torturing anyone else.

Loving your Disney plans so far, even though it's 1 1/2 years away. I'll take lots of pics of POFQ for you and let you know how wonderful it is!

Yay! Can't wait to see the pics and hear all about your trip!