Last Friday, on the first day of this wonderfully unexpected Chicago pre-season spring, my sister, Lizzy, and I took her kids to the Shedd Aquarium for the morning. The Shedd is located on Museum Campus and a visit always begs a moment to stop and stare at my beautiful city. The view from this stretch, with the skyline and the lake, is perfect and one of my absolute favorites.

Chloe (5.5) and Jimmy (3) spent a fun-filled 2 and a half hours darting from exhibit to exhibit, tank to tank, Nemo character to Nemo character. The Shedd was pretty crowded (when is it not?) with tourists and groups of school kids, but there is always plenty to see. I think Jimmy could have stared at the big Caribbean Reef exhibit for hours, talking to the sea turtle in his best surfer dude voice, while Chloe was particularly enamored by the sea horses. Both kids got pretty into the Amazon Rainforest exhibit and I was impressed at how much of the kid-friendly information Chloe was able to read and share with her brother.

The underwater tanks are always a favorite mine, especially the beluga whales. A trip to the aquarium always makes me want to plan a scuba diving trip.