Day 1: We had some minor health set backs but decided that they couldn't stop us from our road trip to see family in Chicago as our end of summer finale! And it was SO worth it!!! :) We have now proven to ourselves that our children can survive a road trip longer than 12 hrs (which has never been attempted by us). 16 hr champions they are!
We stopped at some neat places. We took lunch breaks in towns that had splash pads and let the kiddos cool off and run around. Here we are in Little Rock having dinner at a restaurant called All Aboard where our dinner was delivered by model trains! A memory for sure!
Day 2: We stopped in St. Louis to visit this amazing Cathedral. The kids had never been in a Cathedral like this before. My siblings and I have been pulled through cathedrals and museums all our lives, and somewhere along the way, I learned to love them. I hope these experiences will help to capture their imaginations and set their souls on fire!
My photos could not do the art and architecture of this Cathedral justice. Bless my heart, I tried!
It was a great opportunity to stop and pray to thank God for our safe travel, pray for our loved ones, and show the boys the universality of the Church. We stopped to talk about how no matter where we go in the world, the Church will always be our home.
Somebody always ends up cropped out of these pictures. I need a real camera! (hint hint B!)
Here is the Arch! My first time seeing it! St. Louis also has an amazing downtown city park with water features for the kids. We passed an hour cooling off and running around again and having a grand time!
Day 3: We arrived in Chicago late in the evening and stayed at the home of Bronius' cousins, Jeff & Elena. We visited the Brookfield Zoo with them the next day! Here are some of the boys' second cousins, Vintonas, Vidas and Svaja (in stroller) :)
Here she is!
They had so many great things for young children to explore at the zoo.
That evening we were hosted by Bronius brother and sister in law Kazys & Ramune, who are also Milo's godparents, at their home for a lovely outdoor meal. We stayed four nights with them and had a wonderful time together! (I hope they feel the same...) ;) The boys loved the adventure of sleeping in a basement!
The boys are watching for fireflies in their gorgeous backyard!
Day 4: Breakfast of champions, I mean cousins! Mantas made it into this photograph, our oldest cousin on the Motekaitis side. :)
The Motekaitis family's gorgeous backyard in the morning. The boys loved running to the garden to grab herbs for their Aunt and Uncle as they prepared meals.
We visited the Downers Grove Arboretum which had amazing lego exhibits, many play structures, a lovely maze and a creek - where we spent most of our time!
On this evening we ate at the Grand Duke's, a Lithuanian restaurant, and enjoyed so many of our favorite dishes! Thank you to Senele for treating us from afar!
Day 5: We enjoyed a trip to downtown Chicago! We wanted to see so much more but time was limited...and it was unseasonably hot! But we loved what we got to do (with kids in tow). Here we are at Maggie Daley park in the center of downtown, near Millenial Park. The kids had a blast discovering all the play structures and water features!
And the BEAN. Of course, the bean! It provided us some lovely shade :)
We enjoyed a river cruise through the downtown as we learned the history of the architecture of the city. This was by far my favorite part! Later we enjoyed pizza at Giordano's and gelato!
Day 6: We made a trip to Indiana Dunes State Park where we got to test the waters of Lake Michigan. Brrrrr! But so much fun! We spent ALL day here.
Mantas was happy to pretend to be a lifeguard! :)
Me with Elena, Ramune and Svaja.
Day 7: Departure day. :( Mantas drove the boys around the block once! They thought it was awesome!
We said goodbye to Tete Ramune at her store, she sent us with some treats. We love her and how she feeds us!
On the way home we stopped in Springfield, Oklahoma and enjoyed some authentic English pasties for dinner which we got to enjoy on this double decker bus!
Later that evening we arrived in Dallas and needed to make a stop at the Rainforest Cafe for a final fun family dinner. It was such a great trip, we are so thankful to have had the time together with our family in Chicago and with one another!
