Our new life...: Illinois 2013

So as many of you know, my dad's side of the family lives in Illinois. He is the only one from his family that doesn't live there..so we always try to make an effort to go out there every few years. The last time Steven and I were out there was 4 years ago (before kids). It is quite a different vacation when you take kids on a big trip like that. It was quite the success and I am thankful for my kids who were wonderful and made it pretty easy on us.
Anywho.. we took our two kiddos to Illinois.. My mother, father, and sister came also. The flight to Illinois was a bit of a joke. The kids both did great considering the space we were in. Aubree fell asleep for about 2 hrs.. which would have been great on a 3 hr flight, but it was so stormy that our 3 hr flight ended up being 6.5 hrs flight. What a nightmare! We had to fly to KC and back to St Louis. The kids really did do well the whole time even though it was a lot longer!
We spent all our days with our fabulous relatives who are always soo willing to help us and hang out with us. Our first real day we went to the Science museum with my cousin Sarah and her 3 boys. It was such a blast! They had a fun little discovery area where kids could play with anything.. so they all spent 2 hrs there. Korb also got a chance to do a build a bear and got a dinosaur which he loves (Thanks Grandma!). Tuesday we spent time with the family celebrating my dads birthday..and ended the night at our favorite casino..which was a blast. My Aunt and Uncle are super serious about the slots so its straight business. They ended up winning about $2,000. I also won a little money, and Steven got to spend his money at black jack. Wednesday we spent the day at my uncle's lake..which is always a blast. The kids got to swim and pretty much do whatever we wanted.
Thursday was the Zoo.. which was awesome! The Zoo is free and has more animals then I have ever seen at a Zoo before. They had really cool exhibits. It was soo hot that day and add in the humidity and it killed us! But it was really fun to go to that zoo and see new animals. It was great because most paths had tree's surrounding it so there was tons of shade. Aubree LOVED the penguins and Korb was excited about the elephants.
Friday I was too exhausted from the zoo so I decided to stay at the hotel with the kiddos while everyone else went to Six Flags. I did get the chance to hang out with my Cousin Sarah and her boys at the pool and that was really nice and relaxing.
Saturday was our second lake day filled with 4-wheeling, swimming, fishing, eating, talking, and fireworks. It was soo much fun! Korb was in heaven and Aubree did well also. My Uncle Mike bought a bunch of very fancy fireworks and they put on a show for everyone. It was great.
On the way home (Sunday) both kiddos slept about 2 ish hrs on the flight. Aubree got her very own seat.. so Steven and I were able to relax and read/listen to music.
It was such a great trip! I was nervous taking kids on a plane and such, but it really did turn out well and they were such good travelers. I love seeing the Illinois Shaw's!
Enjoy the pictures..sorry there is sooo many! :)

ON OUR WAY-