Chicago, IL My sister, sister-in-law, and I decided to go downtown Chicago for a girl’s day. Shopping, sightseeing, and eating were all on our list. We hadn’t been downtown together in a few years due to the pandemic. We took the train in so we didn’t have to worry about driving. I forgot how easy…
Gurnee, IL We had Great Wolf Lodge on our radar to take our kids since it is only 15 minutes away. A friend mentioned the Groupon deal for Great Wolf, which significantly decreased the price. Picking a day during the week brought the price down even more. This was an excellent choice for starting winter…
Grayslake, IL Every holiday season I look forward to our tradition of having lunch with Santa at The Vine. Our family started this tradition the year Caden was born and has continued it every year. My sister and her family join us in the fun. The kids run up to Santa and Mrs. Claus and…
Spring Grove, IL In past years we have taken the easy route and bought our real Christmas tree from our local Home Depot. This worked well for us over those years of having small children. However, our children aren’t as small anymore and I was ready to actually cut down our Christmas tree, like I…
Long Grove, IL This year for Thanksgiving morning I wanted to run a Turkey Trot with the boys. They have gained interest in running and I knew if I brought the double stroller we could all complete the 5K race. Thankfully my sister-in-law joined in the fun with us. We started out the morning with…
Grayslake, IL A neighborhood Mom put together a Turkey Trot for anyone in our neighborhood to participate. The older boys had hockey, but Carson and I were able to participate. She made themed race bibs for us and even marked the distances with signs for the 5K. Carson alternated between riding in the stroller, as…
Grayslake, IL The boys have matched costumes each year. This year was no different, even without me influencing them. They decided this year they all wanted to be pirates, but have different costumes. One of my favorite traditions of the year is going to our downtown business trick-or-treat. It is during the day and has…
My youngest and middle children have birthdays a week apart from each other. Each year this allows us to celebrate with one birthday party on a Saturday between their birthdays. This year it was clear the birthday party theme was going to be a skeleton, no matter how much anyone tried to change their mind….
Grayslake, IL One tradition we have been doing since we had kids in our hometown is the Pumpkin Fest. It’s a fun Thrusday night to celebrate Halloween as a family and community, The event is put on through our park district and includes a bag of goodies for each kid. We all enjoy the hayride,…