The final day of our 22 day cross country trip was spent at the Flight 93 National Memorial.
Of course, we arrived there well before the memorial was actually completed, but it was still stunning and we spent the entire time there in awe...
in silence, remembering those lost.
It was honestly one of the most moving things I have ever experienced with any of my children.
We walked along, looking at the items left behind by so many visitiors to the site and were just astounded by the love and respect everyone holds for those we lost on September 11th.

I definitely want to return now that the memorial is completed and would recommend it to everyone.

One of our stops along our 22 day cross country trip was in Colorado to visit with dear family friends.
They decided we could not leave Colorado without seeing Garden of the Gods and after arriving, I knew why.
It took our breath away.
The views were just beautiful...
stunning.

We spent at least an hour walking along the beautiful trails, stopping to look at the wild life and the mountain climbers. (which fascinated all of the kids, and adults)

I'm sure we would've stayed much longer enjoying the views, but unfortunately there was a storm rolling in so we cut it short but definitely plan to one day return and pack a picnic lunch.

It felt like we walked for hours and, let me tell you, Pete walks FAST, so we covered a lot of ground in that day and ended our walking tour at the Field Museum.

Although it wasn't one of Will's favorite things to do for the day {read: he hated it and screamed until he fell asleep}, the other kids loved that it reminded them of Night at the Museum. There was a little bit of everything to see and the kids kept wondering when we would run into Teddy Roosevelt, Jedediah or Sacajawea ;)

It felt like we walked for hours and, let me tell you, Pete walks FAST, so we covered a lot of ground in that day and ended our walking tour at the Field Museum.

Although it wasn't one of Will's favorite things to do for the day {read: he hated it and screamed until he fell asleep}, the other kids loved that it reminded them of Night at the Museum. There was a little bit of everything to see and the kids kept wondering when we would run into Teddy Roosevelt, Jedediah or Sacajawea ;)

After our family arrived in Chicago, we met up with my husband's uncle, who happens to be a Chicago native and he led us to Wrigley Square in Millennium Park and the kids were in love.
It was a beautiful spring afternoon, with a light breeze and limited crowds, so we had plenty of time to explore all of the really cool art...

The older kids fell in love with Cloud Gate, affectionately called The Bean by Chicagoans
The coolest part about The Bean is that it doesn't matter where you are, the image you see looks really cool and every picture you take looks even cooler :)

From The Bean, we discovered The Crown Fountain and OMGOSH, I think we hung out there for at least an hour watching Will, our toddler, just giggle, and run, and have the time of his life.

Of course, Will wasn't the only one who took his shoes off and allowed his clothes to become saturated. ALL of the kids had a blast and looking around and seeing how much fun they were having made me wonder just how many kids hang out there in the summer FOR FREE...

I sure was glad school was still in session in Chicago, because it meant my kids had no crowds to fight with and plenty of water to splash in.