52 Things to Do - #1

So, for Christmas I gave Jason a pack of cards called 52 Things to Do in Chicago (or something like that). On Saturday, we checked one of them off the list: the aquarium!

After Paige’s morning nap, we drove into the city (around 10:30). We had looked up parking in advance so we didn’t have to pay outrageous rates.

Our first family drive into the city, looking at part of the Chicago skyline:

When we drove into downtown, I just couldn’t believe how “big-city” it was. It’s been 20 years since I’ve visited New York, and when we were in CA this summer we didn’t really see LA, so this is much, much bigger than anything I’m used to! We ended up parking about a half-mile from the aquarium, and took the kids in the Beco (Paige) and the double stroller (R and M). I can certainly see now why it’s called the Windy City. The temps weren’t bad, but the wind was cutting.

We had a great time at the aquarium, and that can’t be understated. However, we learned a lot of things we’re going to do next time – like not bring our own food (who knew that was against the rules)?, and remember my SD card for my camera.{So yes, the picture quality in this post is terrible, since I had to use my phone : (   } 

We paid for the basic entrance fee, and that was more than enough to keep our kids’ attention- and ours, for that matter! You’d need a very full day or two to see everything in the aquarium.

Meredith watching a duck and some catfish:

The kids LOVED watching the divers feeding some of the big fish. In fact, they were pretending to be divers feeding fish this morning!

All 3 kids loved this little replica of a canoe near a fake tree – it was supposed to represent all the canoeing people do in the Amazon River.

We saw seahorses, catfish, jellyfish, big turtles, otters, sharks, sea stars, and many more beautiful creatures. We also saw the largest fish from the Amazon, which is 3 ft long. (I don’t remember its name, but it was truly huge.)

We had an awesome time – as evidenced by this miracle here. I think this was the 3rd time in Russell’s life (at least, since he turned one) that he has slept in the car:

One thing down, 51 to go