Vacation

At the beginning of our vacation, we stayed with Mom's family. At some point in the trip, Daddy threatened Gabe with "If you can't be good, I will put you in the trunk." Uncle Matt thought that was a funny phrase so he helped Gabe into the trunk of his car where they installed new speakers.

Grandpa had just gotten a new riding lawnmower the week before we came to visit so he took Gabe on a ride. Gabe was not too happy about it though since he is kind of afraid of loud noises.

After visiting family for about a week, all of us except Claire went to Chicago for a few days. Grandma Connie and Aunt Sam came with us. The first day, we went to the top of the Hancock Observatory. Gabe thought it was really cool to go in the "big building".

We even washed windows once we got to the top.

This is the view of Navy Pier from the Hancock Observatory.

Navy Pier just happened to be our next stop that day and this is the city from the docks of the pier.

We went up in the ferris wheel which Gabe also reports as one of his favorite parts of the trip.

Next, we went on a speedboat ride on Lake Michigan. We got splashed a little and the combination of being wet and the wind was kind of cold but overall, it was a good time.

In the evening, the Chicago Children's Museum had free admission so we stopped there before heading back to our hotel for supper. Gabe's favorite part of the museum was the dinosaur section where he got to dig for fossils.

The second day in Chicago was dedicated to the Field Museum.

The T-rex is Sue, the most complete tyrannosaurus rex skeleton on display. This year marks the 10th anniversary for Sue being at the museum.

Gabe wrestled a crocodile.

But of course, his favorite part was the dinosaurs. He could tell you the name of almost every one of them and wanted his picture taken with his favorites.

The museum had an exhibit where they shrunk you down to 1/100 of your size and showed the stuff you would find underground. This is how big Gabe was in comparison to a penny.

We sat in locust shells and Mom got stuck. Daddy had to help her out.

We went to an evening show at Navy Pier and took these pictures of the city at night afterwards.

The next day at Shedd Aquarium, Gabe got his face painted.

Museum of Science and Industry was our last stop for this trip.

Daddy took our picture with the U-boat that was on display. We later took a guided tour of the inside of the boat.

The last night in Chicago, we took a carriage ride past Lake Michigan. It was a chilly night but seeing Navy Pier and the lake at night was beautiful.