MILES OF SMILES: Spring Break 2015

We had Spring Break the last week in March and went to Chicago for a couple of days. Here we are taking off from home with my favorite people.

It was Ryland's first time to really take advantage of the DVD player in the van.
So nice!

Our first stop was the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). It is the second tallest building in North America. Approximately 25,000 people enter the building each day.

We rode the elevator to the 103rd floor, called the Skydeck, where we could look out and see Chicago.

On one side of the Skydeck there are glass ledge boxes that extend out over 4 feet from the building. I went out on one with the boys. It was a little strange to look down and see the city. The boys were a little tentative to step out onto the glass, and Ryland wanted to be held, but I think they thought it was pretty cool. David wasn't going anywhere near those boxes...serious fear of heights.

Then we headed to the Shedd Aquarium, where we dropped a small fortune to get in with this crew.

I think the highlight was the 4D movie we attended while there.

That evening David did a session at the Chicago temple while we all hung out at the hotel. And I was able to do a session the following morning.

On day two, we spent some time at a park near the temple, where the boys played, ran wild, and slowed down to watch the ducks.

Luke

Porter

David and Luke

Caden

Ryland

When they were good and hungry we headed to lunch. It was so fun to eat at some of our favorite places. The oldest 3 don't remember when we lived in Chicago, but they now have good memories of some of the best food around.

Our last stop was the Chicago Botanical Gardens. Oh, how we love this place. We spent so much time here with our family when we lived in Chicago. It is a little piece of heaven on earth. We have never been able to walk the gardens without peace and tranquility filling our souls. It is this wonderful haven in all the hustle and bustle of Chicago. It is one of our most favorite places on earth. I only wish we had gone at a time when everything was in bloom. Even so, we didn't want to leave, and were filled up by the time we did.

We didn't take many pictures as things were still waiting to sprout, but we did get one of the boys pushing me in the stroller.