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The Sensible Mom

Food, DIY, Chicago Mom Blogger

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vacations

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

KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort Family Adventure #chicago #vacation #staycation #keylimecove #illinois #travel

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!

KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort Family Adventure #chicago #vacation #staycation #keylimecove #illinois #travel

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. 🙂

KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort Family Adventure #chicago #vacation #staycation #keylimecove #illinois #travel

Fun Facts About KeyLime Cove:

  1. It uses a state-of-the-art ozone disinfection system which provides impeccable water quality and clarity.
  2. The pH value of the water is the same as a human teardrop.
  3. Air is refreshed every 20 minutes during the hours of operation.
  4. Pineapple Splash Bucket is 10 feet tall and holds 250 gallons of water.
  5. 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.

KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort Family Adventure #chicago #vacation #staycation #keylimecove #illinois #travel

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.

KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort Family Adventure #chicago #vacation #staycation #keylimecove #illinois #travel

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?


Filed Under: Blessed Seven Vlogs, Family Fun, Reviews, Travel, Videos Tagged With: activities for families, Chicago, vacations, video, YouTube Vlogs

Entertainment for the Whole Family: Raging Waves Waterpark

July 10, 2014 by Sandra 4 Comments


My family and I enjoyed an amazing, fun, free Family Day at Raging Waves Waterpark in exchange for sharing this review. #WelcomeToSummer

Entertainment for the Whole Family at Raging Waves Waterpark #Chicago #Staycation

We make a big deal about “Family Days” around our home.

They are must-do.

Can’t miss.

We’ve got to schedule a Family Day and make it happen at least once a week.

And if it looks like we aren’t going to be able to enjoy family time on our regular “Family Day” of the week, Sunday, then we plan ahead and schedule it for a different day. It’s that important.

Plus, we love this time together, because we realize that our days together are precious. And they’re not guaranteed. In fact, that truth became far too real for me this past year, and I guess that’s part of the reason why I strive to make family time a high priority — every single week.

Raging Waves Waterpark

Most of the time, we spend family days at home. But recently, we were able to experience an unforgettable time together at Raging Waves Waterpark, which happens to be located in the Chicagoland city of Yorkville, Illinois.

raging-waves-lunch

Seven Hours Later…We Barely Scratched the Surface

It was our very first time at Raging Waves, and we can see why it’s Illinois’ Largest Waterpark. Raging Waves is enormous, and it has something for everyone!

The Fun at Raging Waves Includes:

  • 17 Waterslides
  • The Lazy River
  • 1 Wave Pool
  • 2 Huge Kiddie Areas
  • Good Food
  • Sandy Beach Areas
  • A Family-Friendly Show
  • So Much More!

We split most of our time between the two kiddie areas and the wave pool. David and Isaac loved the slides in the kiddie area, and everyone had a blast in the wave pool! We hung out at the shallow end of the wave pool. And that turned to be a good idea, because those waves are powerful and have the ability to knock little ones over. 😉

Entertainment for the Whole Family at Raging Waves Waterpark #Chicago #Staycation

When Fire and Water Make Great Entertainment

Besides everything you can do in the water at Raging Waves, there’s also a new show you can sit down and take in with your family. It’s called “Sinbad and the Search for the Golden Pineapple.” And if you wait to see the last show of the day, you can watch one of the performers be lit on fire before jumping into a giant pool of water.

It’s pretty spectacular.
Entertainment for the Whole Family at Raging Waves Waterpark #Chicago #Staycation

Cleanliness, Friendliness, and Safety

While we were at the park, we had the opportunity to learn more about the people who work there and how they go all out and do their best to make sure that Raging Waves is a clean, friendly, and safe place to be.

As a mom (and germaphobe because I have to be), this made me incredibly happy to hear.

Entertainment for the Whole Family at Raging Waves Waterpark #Chicago #Staycation

Our family day at Raging Waves was awesome. I’m thankful for all the memories made and know that my kids will remember all the fun for a long time to come. 🙂

Have you visited a waterpark this Summer?


Filed Under: Family Fun, Reviews, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, vacations

Disney World: 10 Tips for a Great Family Road Trip

June 19, 2013 by Sandra 4 Comments


A special thanks to MomTV for sponsoring this fun Disney World video!

road trip tips for disney world

Today, I’m sharing 10 tips for a great family road trip to Disney World. With a little planning and these tips, you can be prepared to enjoy a fun family road trip to the happiest place on earth.

Disney World Road Trip Video
I’m bringing these tips to you in a video that I’ve uploaded to YouTube and shared on MomTV.

I hope you enjoy it! 🙂

You can read all of my recent Disney World posts here. I’m currently recapping our most recent trip to Disney World.


Filed Under: Disney World, Travel, Videos Tagged With: disney, tips, vacations, video

Clutter-Busting Challenge: Purse edition

May 22, 2013 by Sandra 4 Comments


cleaning out clutter

I’ve been away from home the past two days and decided to take the clutter-busting challenge on the road with me.

Instead of decluttering my home, as I sat in the backseat of the car on our way to Wisconsin Dells, I decided to go through my brick purse. I confess that I only made a small dent in the contents of my purse, but it’s something.

Here’s what I cleaned out of my purse:

cleaning out purse

I removed old library cards, receipts, a Kohl’s coupon, a Caribou Coffee punch card, and papers I no longer needed.

I’m back home now since we only did an overnight stay at a Great Wolf Lodge. We had a great time, and I’m hoping to share some of our experience with you soon. I’ve never been to a Great Wolf Lodge before and haven’t been to Wisconsin Dells in over 10 years. There’s a million things to do there, and I can’t believe how many water parks there are!

Anyway, tomorrow I’ll get back to work on decluttering my home…just as soon as I’ve finished decluttering my inbox. 😉

Have you cleaned out your purse lately? Are you participating in the clutter-busting challenge?


Filed Under: Organization Tagged With: cleaning, clear out the clutter, homemaking, vacations

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My name is Sandra and I’m the author of this blog. I’m also a Christian, wife, home schooling mom of five, pro blogger, vlogger, and YouTube video creator. It's nice to have you here. Read More…

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We've had lots of great tomato harvests this year We've had lots of great tomato harvests this year but our cucumber harvest was pretty weak. How did your garden grow?

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We're transitioning to eating a more plant-based d We're transitioning to eating a more plant-based diet this year and we love it 😁 I'm slowly losing weight and my whole family is experiencing so many benefits to eating plant-based. I'm sharing about @wayfare_foods plant-based puddings on my blog today. They come in 3 delicious flavors: vanilla, butterscotch and chocolate. I'll post the blog post link in the comments.
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Making dairy-free vegan chocolate chip cookies for Making dairy-free vegan chocolate chip cookies for my family today 😁 We started going to a new doctor and found out that my oldest son is actually allergic to dairy. I don't know why none of his other doctors ever thought to check for the most common types of allergies in him especially since he has struggled with eczema and that's a common symptom when you're allergic to dairy products. Anyway, I'm glad to know for sure now. #delicious #plantbased #vegan #dairyfree #eggfree #cookies #chocolatechip #chocolate #sweets #family #dessert #treat #delish #delicioso #mmm #yum #sweet #baking #allergies #momlife
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Beautiful day at the zoo #familyfun #familytime #o Beautiful day at the zoo #familyfun #familytime #outdoors #family #zoo #simpleliving #spring #funtimes #remember #memories #wisconsin #wisconsindells #outside #fun #momlife #vacation #vacationmode #makingmemories #animals
I'm sharing how we manage our family's screen time I'm sharing how we manage our family's screen time and keep our kids safe online with the Circle Home Plus device and App on the blog today! 😁  Seriously,  there are SO MANY great features about the Circle and it gives you so much power as a parent to keep your kids safe. Check it out! #ad @meetyourcircle @momsmeet #momsmeet #safe #safetyfirst #meetcircle #snoozeonscreentime #digitalparenting #bedtime #screentime #family #power #control #online #internet #router #homelife #giftideas
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Mexican Meatball (Albondigas) Soup is one of my ve Mexican Meatball (Albondigas) Soup is one of my very favorite soups and takes me back to my childhood 😊 Is there a soup that brings back childhood memories for you? #remember #memories #soup #meatballs #meatballsoup #albondigas #albondigassoup #momlife #mexican #inthekitchen #food #foodstagram #eat #eats #dinner #delicious #delicioso #delish #tasty #tastyfood #flavor #yum #mmm #mexicanfood #comida #comidamexicana #childhood
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Homemade m&m cookies 😁 My daughter, Breanna, ma Homemade m&m cookies 😁 My daughter, Breanna, made these for homeschool this week. I found the m&ms on clearance after Christmas hence the red and green 😉 #cookies #homemade #homeschool #homeschooling #baking #inthekitchen #sweet #treats #delicious #delish #delicioso #yum #eatsandtreats #momlife #homeschoollife #home #simpleliving #simplelife #sweets #christmas
I did my taxes this week and I'm so happy to have I did my taxes this week and I'm so happy to have that task done! I was pretty happy to see that we finally didn't owe the State this year and instead we're getting back $1. Lol 😂 I'll take it! I love doing my taxes using @turbotax It's super easy and not intimidating because the TurboTax program is so intuitive and walks you through everything👍 Seriously, I've used TurboTax MANY times and it keeps getting better. Do you use TurboTax? 🤓 Thanks to @influenster for a #complimentary code they sent me to try out #TurboTaxLiveExperts #contest #taxes #momlife #selfemployed #tax #taxtime #turbotax #money #todolist #refund #taxseason #simpleliving #simplelife #breakfast #done #coffee #taxrefund
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