A 2 Fer

Jeff and I have officially lived in the Chicago area for over 8 years! Granted, that's split into two different time periods, but I can't believe I've been a mid-westerner for that long!

Two things I've always wanted to do in Chicago, but hadn't done yet, was go to the Lincoln Park Zoo and go to the Lake Michigan beaches from the Chicago side (I'd been there in Michigan). We figured that Krista would enjoy those adventures, too, so a week ago we set out to do something new. The morning was gray, but we figured as long as it didn't rain, we'd still enjoy ourselves.

We started out at Lincoln Park Zoo. It's a completely free zoo that is really comprehensive! Krista had us cracking up right as we got there. The first thing we saw was this lion (below).

Krista's comment - "Is that Lion real???"

No Krista, it's fake...that's why the zoo is free...all the animals are stuffed! We're kidding, but we couldn't stop giggling about the fact she was at the zoo, but thought the first thing we saw was fake. Too funny!


All three kiddos on a hippo statue.


It was so fun for the kids to see the polar bear swimming underwater.


Addie has a love of all things "choo-choo" so really all she'd wanted to do all day was ride the kiddie train. Delaney happily rode along with.


Then, as if on cue, after lunch the sun came out and the crowds started to grow, so we took it as a sign to leave. A quick stop by the car so the kids could change into their bathing suits and we were on our way.

We walked across this bridge...


...and within 3 minutes of walking were settled at the beach.


It was so fun to be in such close proximity. If I had known these past 8 years that the Lincoln Park Zoo was literally across the street from the beach, I think we would have gotten there sooner. In any case, the kids had tons of fun and 90 minutes later we had to drag them to the car crying, whining, and begging to stay for longer.

They had fun trying to body surf...


...and in true Clark child fashion, digging a giant hole in the sand...


...and cooling off in lovely, murky Lake Michigan.


All in all, we had a blast. And it definitely won't be 8 more years until we get back. In fact, I think we're planning another trip to the beach later this month. 90 minutes was certainly not long enough, not when my kids love the beach, any beach, as much as they do.