activities for families

Family Fun at the Medieval Times Chicago Castle

June 14, 2014 by Sandra 4 Comments

Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament took our weekly family day to another level.

We normally spend family day at home doing things like playing games, watching movies, enjoying special food, and planning for David’s Make-A-Wish Disney trip coming up later this year.

We think planning any Disney trip is exciting when we do it together. 🙂

But earlier this month, we decided to visit the Medieval Times Chicago Castle, which actually does resemble a real castle, for family day. I’d only been to Medieval Times on one other occasion with a group of local bloggers, so it was my second visit and Ruben and the kids’ first visit.

What to Expect

The whole Medieval Times experience is unforgettable. From the moment you walk into the castle, it feels like you’re stepping into another time in history. The walls and ceilings are beautifully decorated, and they definitely set the tone for what’s to come.

When you check in, you’re told which color knight you’ll be cheering for, and you’re then seated in a section matching your knight’s color(s).

We sat in the yellow and red section and cheered for the yellow and red knight. Sadly, he didn’t win in the end. 🙁

But he fought nobly and tried.

Food at Medieval Times

You’ve probably already heard. There are no utensils allowed during your Medieval Times meal which is made up of baby dragon (chicken), a spare rib, garlic bread, tomato bisque soup, roasted potato, and a pastry of the castle.

Well, I’m here to tell you that’s absolutely correct.

There are no forks allowed and you’ll get quite messy during your meal. You’ll without a doubt make use of the napkin, wet wipe, and warm wipe (that’s brought to you later on) as you eat of all the deliciousness that’s set before you.

Unless, of course…

You order the vegetarian meal. In that case, you’ll get a fork and appear quite clean and well-mannered while the others in your party eat with their hands. 🙂

DID YOU KNOW? It’s helpful to understand the definition of “Chivalry” before attending Medieval Times. According to Dictionary.com, Chivalry is the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight, including courage, courtesy, generosity, honor, justice, dexterity in arms, and a readiness to help the weak. I think I like the idea of chivalry and what it stands for. Don’t you?

A Family-Friendly Place to Visit

Overall, everyone in my family had a fantastic time at Medieval Times. Elisabeth, my 2-year-old daughter, was a little startled at the beginning of the show, but once she realized it was all fun and entertainment, she enjoyed it.

I’d have to say her favorite parts were the roasted chicken (baby dragon) and being able to see horses gracefully run back and forth right in front of us. We happened to get seats in the front row of our section, and I think that made the experience even better.

We’re all looking forward to the next time we can visit this fun and exciting place. Isaac, my 7-year-old son, keeps asking if he can go again for his birthday next year.

I’m hoping we can make that happen. 😉

Have you ever been to Medieval Times? What was your favorite part?

P.S. You can use the coupon code: 3426CASTLE to get discounted rates at the Chicago (Schaumburg) Castle. This particular code is valid through September 30, 2014.

How to Make Playtime More Fun with Citrus Lane (and a Giveaway!)

December 13, 2013 by Sandra 9 Comments

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Citrus Lane.

For kids, playtime is essential.

I feel like, in my own family, there are times when I have to be very intentional about encouraging my kids to play with toys and games that stimulate their minds. I have to be careful not to allow them to simply gravitate towards screens or other mindless video games when they should be playing offline and not in front of a screen.

An Easy Way to Find Products that Encourage Kids to Play
One fantastic resource for parents when it comes to making playtime more fun and imaginative for little ones is a Citrus Lane subscription box. We recently received our very first subscription box in the mail, and Elisabeth, my almost 2-year-old daughter, absolutely fell in love with the products inside.

My older kids liked the organic chips. 😉

Citrus Lane’s box goodies include toys, books, snacks and personal care products.

As a mom, I couldn’t be happier with the items we received in our box, and I love that Citrus Lane tailored our box for Elisabeth’s age and stage of learning.

Because of this, we ended up with a delightful box of hand-picked items that were right for our baby girl.

Her favorite things to play with are by far the toddler tambourine and the Scrubble bath toy set. She brings these toys to and from the hospital to play with when Ruben and the rest of the kids come to visit David.

She’s very protective of her special toys.

What I Love about Citrus Lane
I’m 100% impressed with the quality of the items we were mailed in our box. I’m guessing this is because Citrus Lane chooses to send products that have actually been recommended by other moms and dads. I love that.

And now for the Giveaway!
ONE very excited reader will win a $25.00 voucher to the Citrus Lane Shop!

Citrus Lane recently launched the Citrus Lane Shop. The Citrus Lane Shop is stocked with the most popular Citrus Lane products. Parents can choose from the very best products by looking at over a million recommendations provided by the Citrus Lane community.

How to Enter the Giveaway

Simply enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. I’ve included options for extra entries, too!

This giveaway will run from now until – December 16th at 12:00am. The giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. The winner will be randomly chosen. I will promptly send the winner an email notifying them that they’ve won, and the winner must respond within 48hrs. of the giveaway’s end, otherwise I will have to draw a new winner.

Enter Below
a Rafflecopter giveaway

What would you purchase from the Citrus Lane shop if you won this voucher?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Citrus Lane. New customers who purchase a subscription will receive $10.00 off their first month with code BLOGPOST. Expires 12/31/2013.

Offer Terms: Discount may only be applied to subscriptions purchased by new Citrus Lane customers. It cannot be applied to gift subscriptions. Subscriptions automatically renew to full retail price, $25 per month. You may cancel anytime.

For more information, visit http://www.citruslane.com.

A Visit to Kuipers Family Farm

November 9, 2013 by Sandra 3 Comments

My family and I had a special time at Kuipers Family Farm thanks to the tickets I received to facilitate this review.

A few weeks ago, we drove to a local family farm and spent the day enjoying pumpkins, fall treats, and so much more.

I took a superabundance of pictures to remember the day. It was great.

Kuipers Family Farm
The farm we visited is named Kuipers Family Farm, and it’s located in Maple Park, Illinois. I could describe everything Kuipers has to offer, but I think it’s best to show you.

Picture Places Everywhere
To start, there are plenty of areas around the farm where you can snap fun pictures to remember your day. Isaac, my six-year-old, is not camera shy and getting to take pictures with all the different displays was fun!

David had to keep his mask on most of the day to protect himself from germs, but he loves to be in pictures when he’s feeling well.

It was cloudy on the day we visited the farm, but we managed to get tons of fantastic pictures anyway.

Fun for Older Kids
At the farm, there’s a looong slide that put grins on the faces of my older kids. This slide is known as “Slide Mountain.”

Seriously, they loved the slide and went down a few times before we had to move onto something else.

A short distance from Slide Mountain is “The Maze” — also known as the corn maze. On this particular day, we decided not to try the corn maze. 😉

Instead, we opted for the beginner maze (perfect for us).

The kids loved it.

And rather than getting lost in a corn maze with five kids, we let them play in corn instead. Corn is so much easier to get out of your shoes and clothes than sand.

Next to the The Maze is Squeelington Park where you can watch pig races (not something you get to see every day) or a cowboy roping show. Show times are posted outside of the park.

If your kids want to test their own roping skills, they can do that too.

Fun Things to do All Around the Farm
My kids also enjoyed playing on the huge tractor tires. If you can believe it, we used to have a tire like this in our backyard when I was a kid. Don’t ask me where my parents got it from. I have no idea. But these huge tires at Kuipers Farm certainly bring back childhood memories.

Next to the tractor tires, you’ll find an actual tractor where kids can use their imagination.

Besides everything I’ve already mentioned, at Kuipers Farm, you can also pass the time tossing bean bags, getting to know farm animals, picking pumpkins and a whole lot more.

We wrapped up our time at Kuipers by searching for the perfect pumpkin and then headed across the way to buy a dozen of their awesome donuts.

Overall, it was a day to remember.

Have you visited a pumpkin patch or family farm this year? Does your family have any Fall traditions?

You can find a coupon to visit Kuipers Family Farm and coupons for corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and farms across the country in my blog post here.

The Wondrous 1893 World’s Fair Exhibit at The Field Museum in Chicago

November 2, 2013 by Sandra 4 Comments

Lately, life has been full of hospital visits and unexpected trips to the ER to get blood transfusions.

If you’re new to reading my blog, I’m not kidding. There hasn’t been a whole lot of fun going on around here — mainly because we have to be careful that my four year old son, David, doesn’t bump his head or get a fever. A bump in the head could mean a ride in the ambulance and a hospital admission. A fever means a hospital admission AND hospital isolation, which is one of the worst things that could happen to you if you’re four years old. When you’re in isolation in the hospital, you aren’t allowed to leave your room, and you aren’t allowed to visit the playroom. It’s terrible.

All that to say, we’ve been living life pretty low key when we’re at home.

However, this week, since David has been fever-free for awhile and his energy level has been up, I decided to plan on making a trip to The Field Museum in Chicago. We had heard about a new exhibit at the museum called, “Opening the Vaults: Wonders of the 1893 World’s Fair.” Then we found out that The Field Museum was born out of the 1893 World’s Fair.

Apparently, if it hadn’t been for the 1893 World’s Fair, The Field Museum would not exist.

I had no idea that was the case. The Field Museum was founded to commemorate the World’s Fair. Now I’m all the more thankful to have been able to visit the fair exhibit because of its history and connection to the museum and the city of Chicago.

1893 World’s Fair Exhibit Highlights
The exhibit itself was amazing, but before I even stepped foot in the exhibit, I installed The Field Museum Tours Mobile App on my phone and had the chance to get a feel for what I’d be experiencing. The mobile app also allowed us to view a spectacular interactive 360 panorama movie of sorts, and it was awesome! Here’s one of the phone screenshots I took of the 360 panorama video.

It’s hard to put into words just what this video is like. I keep telling everyone about it, but you really have to experience it for yourself to get the full effect. The video was wildly popular with my kids, too. They could hardly wait for their turn to experience it…over and over. I love how The Field Museum is using technology to help us understand history!

Besides the app experience, there was a lot more to see in the exhibit itself.

Oh, and if you look up, you’ll see this.

This really is an exhibit for people of all ages.

There’s something for everyone to experience and learn about.

Overall, it was a great day. I’m thankful that we were able to experience the 1893 World’s Fair exhibit as a family, and I’m thankful that it’s a part of Chicago, a city we love a little more with every visit.

Have you ever visited The Field Museum in Chicago? Did you know about the 1893 World’s Fair? Or, what’s your favorite thing about visiting a modern-day fair?

I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, however all content and opinions expressed here are my own.

activities for families

What to Expect

Food at Medieval Times

A Family-Friendly Place to Visit

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