After our trip to Nauvoo we made our way to Chicago. I grew up in Naperville, IL and it was a natural choice for a visit b/c my Dad and stepmom live there. Not only would we get to spend time with family, but the kids would have a chance to take in some of the excellent sights of the city.

Saturday we went to Brookfield Zoo, and went there via train. Even though now my boys are train experts in Seoul, the train ride to the zoo was a pretty novel thing and they loved it! (and they don't have double-decker trains in korea, that i've found yet)



If you haven't been to Brookfield Zoo, you should make sure to stop if you're in the area. It's clean, user and kid-friendly, and huge! We didn't have time to make it through the whole thing, but they boys loved it. Here we are in their giant indoor gorilla/monkey area.


And here's dan with a giant pretzel!

Big brother loves to help, little brother wants out!


Grandpa Bob, Grandma Corrie and Cade

Alex gives up on getting out and goes to sleep

Posing for the camera


Sunday we went to church and had a stress free hang out with family day.
Monday my dad had to work, but Corrie came with us to the Museum of Science and Industry. This was always my favorite museum growing up, and though it was nothing like I remember, it was still a GREAT museum.
Here's Dan and Cade with a Zephyr inside the museum


This is a projector screen that you stand in front of and based on your position the little beads poured off of you like they would in real life.

Circus area



This is the U-505 submarine, inside the museum. This thing is gigantic! There was a little video that showed how they built this exhibit, basically building the walls and display area around the submarine after it had been brought in. It was a definite must-see part of the museum and we wished we had paid a few extra dollars to take the tour inside the sub.

They had a children's area called the Idea Factory. The boys would've been fine if we had spent the whole time there. Everything was scientific in nature, but more importantly there were balls and water to be played with. They had a blast.



In the agriculture section there were several tractors and combines to climb aboard.


And of course, there was another train. What would my boys' life be without trains?


Monday night we asked the grandparents to become babysitters and Dan and I were able to go to dinner and a movie. We went to my first ever Brazilian Steakhouse at Chamagaucha's. It was honestly one of the best dinners I have ever had. They actually just opened up a Brazilian Steakhouse close to us in Seoul, so we're hoping to make a stop there soon. After dinner we saw Inception, which was an amazing movie.

We had a great visit with the grandparents and with Chicago. One more stop in Cincinnati and then we were on our way to Korea!