Museum of Science + Industry Chicago

I'm happy, and relieved, to say hubby and I survived our two-night trip to Chicago with both grandsons. We drove up on Wednesday, stopping in Springfield, IL for lunch and Normal, IL for ice cream. Then, after arriving at the Hampton Inn and Suites Bolingbrook around 5:00 PM, the boys swam before dinner.

I had previously decided we would hit a grocery store for dinner, bringing food back to the hotel for a relaxed meal. I knew it would be cheaper and I could insist each boy pick out some vegetables and fruits. Well, as luck would have it, there was an Aldi less than a five-minute drive from the hotel. And the boys actually had fun picking out what they wanted. We had a smorgasbord of deli turkey, American cheese, summer sausage, baby carrots, blueberries, strawberries, and apple sauce. Success!

The next morning, after the included breakfast at the hotel, we headed to the Museum of Science + Industry where the boys had a blast. In addition to enjoying several of the regular hands-on exhibits, we did two of the special experiences, Brick by Brick and 3D Printing.

After seven hours at the museum, we were ready to relax and decided on another in-room dinner. We stopped at Burger King for burgers and Aldi for more fruit and vegetables.

So the first two days of our trip were a complete success. It was on day three, during the drive home, that things fell apart.

I swear Jonah is Jekyll and Hyde. When he's good he's so much fun to be around, sweet and so smart. Then, for no acceptable reason, he becomes rude, disrespectful, mean, and disobedient. And that's the Jonah we got going home. It got so bad at one point that hubby pulled off the highway and I physically pulled Jonah from the car for a timeout. Of course, by the time we got home, I was exhausted from being so annoyed and Jonah acted as if nothing had happened.

But, since being home, we've had a lot of Reya time. And, that quickly, all's right with my world again :)

MSI is filled with exhibits
that encourage close-up
experiences.

In the transportation area, there's a model
train display showing the trip from
Chicago to Seattle.

Learning about tornados.

Part of Brick by Brick was
the opportunity to create your
own design.

The American Eagle roller coaster
at Six Flags Gurnee, IL made
of Lego bricks.

Elliott's brick design.

Jonah watching the creature
he designed using CAD software
being 3D printed.

My creature :)

Almost as cool as 3D printing
was designing a top and then
watching it being imprinted,
assembled, and packaged
in the Toymaker 3000 exhibit. 

Jonah loved the mirror maze
in the Numbers in Nature exhibit.

Just 4-weeks old, our sweet
and beautiful Reya can
now do this!