Chicago

Our KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort Family Adventure

July 8, 2015 by Sandra 6 Comments

I worked in collaboration with KeyLime Cove on this blog post. They provided us with a free one-night stay in a beautiful Toucan Suite, water park passes, and a $50 voucher. We traveled there on our own and provided for everything else (gas, food, desserts, game card, etc…) out of our own pocket. 🙂 #KeyLimeCove

Our family of seven has lived in Illinois nearly all of our lives.

In fact, Ruben, me, and our five kids were all born here…in the same town.

It’s true. 🙂

And because we’ve grown up, lived, and worked in Illinois for so long, we’ve been to many of the places located throughout this fabulous state.

But one place we’d yet to visit was KeyLime Cove — Chicagoland’s largest indoor waterpark resort!

We recently had an opportunity to stay at the resort in one of their beautiful two-bedroom Toucan suites, and we had an amazing time. I vlogged our little trip there and back home, so you can get a feel for what it’s like and also check out the inside of a Toucan suite.

It’s roomy and spacious enough to fit our family of seven.

Here’s our KeyLime Cove Family Adventure Day 1 vlog, which includes a tour of the room:

Here’s our KeyLime Cove Family Adventure Day 2 vlog:

Things We Loved About KeyLime Cove

We can’t wait for another chance to go back to KeyLime Cove and, hopefully, be able to spend at least two or three nights there. My kids didn’t want the fun to end so soon and kept asking if we could stay longer. They loved the whole experience.

We all did. 🙂

Fun Facts About KeyLime Cove:

It uses a state-of-the-art ozone disinfection system which provides impeccable water quality and clarity.

The pH value of the water is the same as a human teardrop.

Air is refreshed every 20 minutes during the hours of operation.

Pineapple Splash Bucket is 10 feet tall and holds 250 gallons of water.

Maximum occupancy of the waterpark is 1,476 guests.

Besides the waterpark, I know they enjoyed spending time at the RipTide Reef Arcade, which happened to have fun rides and games for all of the kids.

Before we headed home on the second day, we took some time to walk around KeyLime Cove and take pictures. I love the fun theming they’ve got going on!

It’s everywhere and really makes you feel like you’re on vacation.

Overall, the KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort turned out to be a place we can’t wait to experience again someday.

And I’m thankful for all the wonderful memories we created there! 🙂

Have you visited a waterpark with your family this summer? Do you have any fun memories of visiting a waterpark as a child?

Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament (Plus a Giveaway for a Family 4-Pack!)

June 25, 2015 by Sandra 10 Comments

Thanks to Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament (Chicago Castle) for partnering with me on this fantastic giveaway. #MedievalSummer

Last year, we experienced the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament show for the first time ever.

It was a fun, exciting, and delicious way to spend an afternoon, and we all loved it! My boys, especially, couldn’t wait for another opportunity to go back. I think they were not only won over by the entertainment (which included watching knights battle and real horses zoom past them), but also by the food and the souvenir swords we couldn’t resist. 🙂

The whole experience was unforgettable.

Visiting the Chicago Castle This Year

We recently had a chance to go back to the Medieval Times Chicago Castle, and this time, I think the kids were even more excited leading up to the day of the show because they knew what to expect.

The Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament show is an experience your family will remember! Visit my blog for details and a fun vlog of our experience at the Chicago Castle! #MedievalSummer

I vlogged our experience, so you can get a real picture of what it’s like to visit Medieval Times. And in case you’re wondering, we brought swords home again — one for each kid this time. 😉

Here’s the vlog:

And now…an Opportunity to Win a Family 4-Pack!

Now that you know more about what an amazing experience a Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament show can be, how about the chance to win a Family 4-Pack of tickets to the Chicago Castle? 🙂

The Chicago Castle is conveniently located in Schaumburg, Illinois.

That’s right! One of my fabulous readers is going to win a Family 4-Pack of tickets to eat dinner, see the show, and experience the excitement for themselves!

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 July 3, 2015 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

Have you ever been to a Medieval Times show?

Fun, Easy and Delicious Mango Snacks (and Mango Tips!)

April 23, 2015 by Sandra 7 Comments

This is a sponsored collaboration with The Motherhood and the National Mango Board. #MakeItMango

I love mango.

It’s the one fruit that brings up fond childhood memories almost every time I eat it. Growing up, I remember eating it often during the summers I spent in Mexico. There, mangos were about a two-minute walk to the nearest neighborhood store.

Or, my family and I would buy pre-sliced and (literally) ready-to-eat mangos from someone selling them at the market, and we’d eat them as we walked, talked, and shopped.

I treasure those memories.

Making Mango Memories with My Kids

My children have never been to Mexico, but I share my stories with them. I’ve told them about how mangos are sold right on the street, and how people buy them to eat right then and there. It’s all very wonderful. 😉

And I recently had a chance to make lasting ‘mango memories’ with my kids at a Kids in the Kitchen cooking class at The Chopping Block in Chicago.

Mango Class at The Chopping Block

The class was awesome!

I took Breanna, Isaac, David, and Elisabeth with me (I’m pretty sure I was the only mom there with four kids. 😉 ), and we had a great time even though Isaac and David didn’t end up liking all of the mango recipes.

The kids learned about different varieties of mangos, how to properly cut a mango, when a mango is ready to eat, and, of course, a few easy snack recipes.

DID YOU KNOW?

Mangos are the world’s most popular fruit and are available year-round, so you can always get your hands on a perfect mango.

Six varieties of mango make up most of what is available in the U.S. Because each variety comes into season at a different time of year, you’ll always find a mango in your produce aisle.

Isaac’s favorite part of any meal is dessert, so he loved the frozen yogurt dipped mango pops.

Elisabeth is like me and loves mango, so she was more than willing to give the different mango snacks a try. 🙂

Mango and Banana Smoothie

We left the class at The Chopping Block happy and excited about eating more mango! The first recipe that we learned in class and tried at home was the mango and banana smoothie.

This smoothie is so delicious and healthy. We used a recipe we brought home from the mango class and only changed one ingredient. Instead of using low-fat milk like the original recipe called for, we used rice milk with fantastic results.

I’ll definitely be making this smoothie again, and I’m looking forward to exploring even more smoothie combinations using mangos!

Vlog of Our Kids in the Kitchen Mango Class Experience

Since I’ve started vlogging twice a week, I decided to vlog about our trip to Chicago for the mango class. It’s a fun family vlog, and if you start watching it here, you can find out exactly how to properly cut a mango! 🙂

Visit mango.org for additional information on mango varieties, availability and recipes.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy mangos?

Six Flags Great America, a Crazy Funnel Dog, and the Peptocopter

November 8, 2014 by Sandra 4 Comments

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to go out on a date with my husband and very attached 2-year-old daughter, Elisabeth.

That’s right.

We’re a party of three on dates at the moment. And while it’s true that Elisabeth is almost 3-years-old, she’s terrified of staying home with anyone except for me or Ruben. So she always comes along whenever Ruben and I get the rare opportunity to go out on a date.

We’ve pretty much always practiced attachment parenting, but we may be taking things to a whole new level these days. 😉

Or maybe, this is just a perk of being the youngest of five. Either way, she enjoys her solo time with mommy and daddy!

Six Flags Great America

I went to Six Flags as a blogger, but only to have a good time and not for anything work related. I’m writing this wrap-up post just to share about our experience. 🙂

And that happened to involve trying a crazy-weird funnel dog and seeing what’s known as the “Peptocopter” in action.

Because Elisabeth was with us, we decided to focus on riding things she’d enjoy (another baby-of-the-family perk!). So we rode the carousel over and over and stuck to going on child-friendly rides. She loved it!

The Frank’N Bacon Funnel Dog

We’ve eaten food at Six Flags in the past and enjoyed the typical amusement park foods offered like chicken tenders, fries, pulled pork sandwiches, and funnel cakes.

But this time was different. WAY different.

This time we tried the Frank’N Bacon Funnel Dog.

And, yes, it looks as crazy as it sounds.

To be completely honest, I knew this particular funnel dog would be one of the most unhealthy foods I’d ever eat in my life. I knew that.

But I still wanted to like it.

Because when you’re indulging in unhealthy food… it usually tastes good! 😉

Um, that was not the case here.

I disliked this funnel dog — a lot.

I think it was the actual hot dog inside that was the unpleasant part of it. It simply didn’t have a good taste to it. Perhaps, if that part of the Frank’N Bacon Funnel Dog had been different, I might have a different opinion.

In case you’re wondering, Ruben felt the same way. An he regretted eating as much of it as he did!

We ended up sharing a funnel cake later that day. And the funnel cake indulgence was much better than the funnel dog. 🙂

The Peptocopter

All this talk of unhealthy food brings me to the Peptocopter: a helicopter that drops off Pepto-Bismol to those who go a little overboard on unhealthy foods and need some quick relief.

And, guys, if you eat an entire Frank’N Bacon Funnel Dog, the Peptocopter might just become your best friend.

If you look closely, you can see the Pepto-Bismol secured to the bottom of the Peptocopter.

Ruben and I watched as the Peptocopter sprang into action and delivered some relief to a waiting Six Flags guest. It was pretty entertaining.

And I think it’s a fun way to tackle overindulgence at an amusement park. 🙂

Our little date turned out great! I even enjoyed the long drive there and back. It gave me and Ruben the chance to have a conversation without constant interruptions.

That was nice. 🙂

Have you been to ever been to Six Flags Great America, tried a Frank’N Bacon Funnel Dog, or had a look at the Peptocopter?