I love that football is back, but it’s a bummer not seeing Devin as much as I do during the summer. Still, Mondays are our off day, so I’m totally locked in on him that day of the week.
It’s cool having him at the games, too. At our home opener back in September, he was in the stands cheering on the Bears. A couple of times on the sidelines, I looked up and saw him in the stands wearing his No. 23 Hester jersey. It made me chuckle. He just cheers when everyone else does. He has no idea what’s going on, but it’s dang cute seeing him up there.
Devin is hitting such a fun age. I’ve wanted to take him to LEGOLAND for a long time, and we finally did it. This place is sensory overload for kids and we had such a blast.
LEGOLAND is huge. Beyond the LEGO sculptures, there are rides and a lot of hands-on LEGO games for kids of all ages. Devin was one of the smaller kids when we were there, but he got right in there and played like a champ with everyone else.
There is an area for little kids called the DUPLO Village. DUPLO bricks are like huge LEGO pieces, so it’s easier for them to build things. They also have big, soft bricks, and Devin was all over those. He even picked up a couple of the bigger, soft bricks and wanted to play football with them. Very cute, but not very smart: We squashed the football idea.
Then we took him to the LEGO Studios where they have a very cool 4D cinema. It’s crazy. It’s a 3D movie, which I think made Devin a little dizzy, but he loved it. Then out of nowhere there is wind, rain and even snow in the cinema. It’s quite a ride, and it was a blast with Devin.
Probably the coolest thing for me was the Miniland area, where there is an actual mini-Chicago made out of LEGOs. It’s made with more than a million LEGO pieces, and I can’t believe how real it looks. It even gets dark and lights come on in all the buildings. I don’t think I’ve seen Devin stand so still for so long. He pointed to the mini-Chicago and said, “Where is house?” but for as many LEGO pieces as there was, it didn’t get all the way up north where we live.
LEGOLAND is in Schaumburg near the Woodfield Mall. It’s not that far away and definitely worth the trip. Devin’s just getting started with LEGOs, so I know we’ll be going back a ton in years to come.
Devin Hester is a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears. Last season, he set the NFL record for return touchdowns.
Where should we go?
If you have any suggestions where I should take lil Devin, let me know at my official facebook page: www.facebook.com/DHest23
