James and Alisa were still at Youth Conference today, so we had the day open. We decided to take the children to the Art Institute, a truly fantastic museum Kent and I both like. There are so many varied exhibits in the museum, I knew we were would have no problem finding things the children would enjoy doing. After much discussion about whether to drive in or take the train, we opted to drive in and park at the museum, a $25 cost, but we got out right in front and had valet parking.
The Art Institute has a great program for children, a hands-on art creating studio. While Kent walked around and looked at things that interested him, I went with the children to the studio. They had cardboard, feathers, bits of colored paper, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, and pens, plus glue and scissors at tables. We all created wonderful little monsters with bits and bobs. We were there about an hour and then met Kent who took the children for an hour while I wandered around by myself.
Brandt with monster
Blythe with monster and very feathery bird
My with monster
When we met up again, we all went down to the miniature room exhibit. Someone has recreated miniature period rooms, with furniture, wall and window coverings, flooring, and all sorts of tiny details. The kids really liked them. We went around twice and they kept saying, "Mom! I want to live here!"
We made a stop at the museum shop because who can pass by a museum shop and not buy something? Not me. Brandt got a wooden car you can put together, Blythe got a clothing designer sketch pad with templates to create her own outfits, and I got a bookmark, some thank you notes, and a block of note papers.
We went outside to have a bit of lunch in a park. Funnily, the last time we were in Chicago (in 1997), we were there the weekend of the outdoor Blues Festival in the park right next to the museum. This year we happened to be there the same weekend. We didn't go, but we sat in a park south of the museum and watch people. There were some people practicing parkour (urban running, jumping, and climbing), and others enjoying the sunshine. I had suggested we go to a park across the street from the museum to the north, but Kent didn't want to. He was fairly insistent on the park to the south. As a result, we completely missed Millennium Park and its enormous silver bean sculpture. Would have been super fun, but we zigged when we should have zagged. Ah! "For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been!'" Next time.
After our time at the museum, we thought to stop at Navy Pier and wander around. Thing was, by the time we got there, it was super busy, there was no place to park that wasn't another $25, and we couldn't bring ourselves to pay that much more again. The children were antsy to get back to James and Alisa's house, everyone was hungry (we hadn't really had lunch, just snacks I had packed), and we decided to call it a day.
When we got back to James and Alisa's house, Kent mowed the lawn (much to Ethan's delight) and we played around in the backyard. It is lovely at their house, very peaceful, and the temperature was just about perfect. James, Alisa, and Ethan returned from youth conference, and we all went for Chinese food at a very tasty restaurant. We acquitted ourselves well and laughed together a lot. I'm not sure why we don't go to Chicago every year, because James and Alisa made us feel like they were overjoyed to have us with them. Maybe they were.
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