Today we began our trip back home. We left Wendy's house around 10:30 CST and drove most of the way across Ohio. Including a 20 minute delay due to traffic and a 20 minute stop for lunch, gas, and a bathroom break, it took us a little over 5 hours to get here, which translated to 6 hours according to the clock since we lost an hour when we returned to EST time zone. The kids did not want to leave. They were begging me to have a little more time with their cousins or to return next week. Um no, I am not driving this far again that soon. As we were driving and Nadia kept asking me "how much longer?" I reminded her of her desire to return next week, and she then said that maybe once a year would be a better idea. We shall see. It was great to spend time with them, and also do some sightseeing in Chicago. Oliver asked me at one point if the "Fighi kids" (my other sister's last name is Towfighi) could also join us at Aunt Wendy's house. They love time spent with their cousins!
On Tuesday morning Drayton took his kids to the hospital to visit Wendy. When they got back we had lunch and then I took all seven kids to the science museum. With our ASTC membership they allowed six of us to get in free so we only had to pay for 2 kids. This museum is only one mile from their home, and I was able to find free parking not too far from the museum. Everyone enjoyed the museum. We were there for almost five hours, and the kids would have liked to have stayed longer! I was planning to visit Wendy at the hospital after eating dinner with Drayton and the kids, but it turned out that Wendy was discharged around 6:00pm. I brought her home from the hospital. She still had a fever and a headache, but they switched her from antibiotics via IV to oral antibiotics. Her pressure headache was still bothering her when we left this morning, but she woke up fever free today which hopefully means she is on the mend.
Rachel came down with the stomach bug that Nadia had on Monday, so she stayed home with Wendy on Wednesday while I took the other six kids to the Field Museum and Adler Planetarium. Our membership would have gotten us into both museums for free, but we would have had to pay to enter four of the exhibits that required an additional ticket at the Field Museum. However the Field Museum let all seven of us in for free (even the special exhibits) because Wendy's family has a membership there. We did three of the four special exhibits (skipped the one about Tattoos). Oliver was scared in the underground exhibit (it was sort of like the movie "Honey, I shrunk the kids" where we seemed very small compared to various insects and other things that are actually very small in real life. The room for young children was closed; we didn't know it is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but the kids still had a great time. We could have stayed longer, but instead we walked past the Shedd Aquarium to the Adler Planetarium. Similar to our experience at the Field Museum,
Wendy's family had a membership at another museum that meant all seven of us could get in free plus see as many planetarium shows as we wanted to see. With our ASTC membership we would have gotten in free but would have had to pay to see any shows. We picked two planetarium shows. Everyone stayed awake during the first one which touched on the Earth, our moon, Mars, the asteroid belt, Jupiter, and Saturn. The two four-year-olds fell asleep part way through the second planetarium show called "The 9th Planet." That show was one of the highlights of the trip for Ian. It focused on why Pluto is not considered to be a planet by many astronomers as well as why they believer there IS a ninth planet in our solar system even farther out than Pluto. Both shows were excellent reviews of things we had studied in Astronomy the past three months. The room for young kids was open at the planetarium, and we spent quite a bit of time there. Ian and Adam loved driving the remote control rovers.
This morning I enjoyed playing Taboo with Susie, Adam, Ian, and Nadia. I enjoy word games much more than Chutes and Ladders or Memory, which I played with Rachel and Grace at one point during our time there.
During the past six days the kids and I visited seven museums and one zoo, and we got into all of them for free. Nadia was truly disappointed when she found out we weren't going to any museums today, but they did have time to play with cousins this morning in Chicago and second cousins in Ohio this evening. They were able to burn off some energy running around with their dog in the backyard, which was very helpful after having been cooped up in a van for 6+ hours. I had originally intended to stop at a science museum in Indiana on our way home, but that was scratched when our plans changed. We *could* visit another museum in Cleveland tomorrow for free, but I think instead we'll take a free factory tour of a baseball bat factory in PA that we'll pass on our way home. I'm sure Paul will be glad to see us again, and the kids keep talking about how much they miss their guinea pigs. I am sure Paul will also be glad to be relieved of the duty of taking care of the guinea pigs. He learned that it is not fun cleaning their cage out. I've already known that since December. I am very thankful for this spring break vacation we have taken and for the gracious hospitality of Wendy, Drayton, Sam, and Heather.
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