We are home! The whirlwind Lego/IKEA vacation has brought us back around to the Christmas morning starting point. It looks like a Lego factory threw up in here. We started Christmas at home, with the kids opening their presents first thing in the morning. Alex and Missy both had a great haul, both getting a bunch of stuff. The Legos (Alex's huge Ninjago set especially), a Skylanders video game, and Missy's American Girl doll were the big scores of the day. Shortly thereafter we headed up to Michigan to visit with the family at the Pinksters. We stayed overnight at the Comfort Inn in Plainwell, which was what we got on Hotwire but a bit ironic I thought, since nobody lives in Palinwell any more we don;t need to stay there. But also strangely, we ran into a guy I know from Zimmer as we were checking in. I walked in as Joe B was finishing up checking in and without missing a beat he says "...and this guy's gonna pay for me." Turns out he was on the way north and decided to stop for the night because it had been snowing most of the day and the roads were getting too bad for him. I was worried about how the roads would be by morning for our drive to Chicago but they were pretty clear. We had another motel I got on Hotwire up in Schaumberg, and for the rest of the day (the 26th) we hit the enormous mall and looked for some bargains. I got a new pair of running shoes, Beth got some face exfoliating stuff, we found some MORE Lego stuff and a couple DVDs. Dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, which we love and never go to since the one in FW closed. On the 28th we hit the Legoland Discovery Center. We'd found some discount tickets online and got in early in the morning. The place was awesome but kind of a zoo. The kids loved the models (they have an entire L-shaped room filled with a model of downtown Chicago, complete with Batman on top of the Hancock tower and Star Wars figures hidden everywhere, like R2-D2 in a garbage truck. Incredible. Plus life-size Lego models of all the Star Wars and Harry Potter characters, Indiana Jones, jungle animals (another room), rides, 4-D movies (we saw both), and a lunchroom with some building areas. Lunch there was a mistake. The kids were overwhelmed by that point, especially Alex, and we waited in line for a long long long time in the super crowded and very noisy room to get a crappy pizza. If we could do it over, we'd go first thing after lunch so we could avoid the cafeteria altogether. And of course, the exit through the gift shop, where we got out easy since we'd bought some Lego stuff at the mall yesterday (that was the deal). After Legoland, the IKEA was just nearby, which we'd thought couldn't be an accident. Beth and I love that place. We spent another couple hours wandering through there, and found something that we needed. No, actually needed. A loft bed for Missy. Her room is so small, there's hardly room to turn around in it; the loft bed would open it up and provide a LOT more space. It was such a good idea we bought it. And it fit in the back of the truck without sticking out, unlike the last IKEA visit. We headed for home after finishing up, and stopped for dinner at the oasis overpass on I-80. I've always wanted to stop and eat at one of those places but I don't recall ever doing it. The kids thought it was fun eating on the overpass with all the cars going by under us. So did I.