Family "Vacation" - Lake Geneva, WI

The kids are really into water parks lately, so we decided to do Lake Geneva for our family "vacation" this year and stayed at the Timber Ridge Lodge! 

We started out Day #1 with a picnic and play at Little Foot Playground in Fontana! It was super hot, but the girls were troopers.

Afterward, he headed to the hotel where we were able to check in early! We headed straight for the water park. It was rainy out, so we were limited to the indoor pools only. Luckily this didn't bother the girls a bit, and gave us something to look forward to the next day! Didn't take a ton of photos by the pool, but ice cream cookie sandwiches are ALWAYS a must for us! :)

We relaxed for a bit in the hotel, then headed to Next Door Pub for dinner! The pizza was amazing!!

Then it was back to the hotel for some time in the arcade and bed! The girls had lots of fun sleeping together (for the first time) on the pull out sofa!

The next day we headed to Safari Lake Geneva for a super fun ride to pet and feed various animals! Jemma was a little unsure of the whole thing, but Jade loved it!

Afterward, we headed back to the hotel for round 2 at the water park! We decided to use a life jacket for Jemma, it made things a lot less stressful! :)

That evening we headed to downtown Lake Geneva for dinner at a family favorite, Sprecher's, and a walk by the water!

On our last day, we started out the morning with playing at a local park! We had a small scare that the girls stepped in poison ivy while playing hide and seek, so we hurried back to the hotel to get cleaned off before heading to our next activity!

Next up was pony rides and a small petting zoo at the Dan Patch Stables, conveniently located right by our hotel! The girls both enjoyed the pony rides!

We spent the rest of the day at the water park, and then headed back to Fontana for dinner at Gordy's! 

On the way back we decided to drive the rest of the way around the Lake, and stopped for ice cream at Dip in the Bay in Williams Bay!

The trip concluded with a final trip to the arcade where the girls were able to redeem their 1300+ tickets! ;) 

Such a fun trip and very special memories made as a family! :)

Strawberry Picking

We had a great time (some more than others) picking strawberries this week at a cute little family farm called Heider's Berry Farm!

Jade was an amazing strawberry picker this year! She knew exactly which ones to pick, and actually spent significantly more time picking than eating! :)

Jemma on the other hand, did not enjoy the feeling of the straw through her sandals, nor did she enjoy the warmth of the strawberry upon tasting! ;)

Jade and Grammy!

Jade, finally tasting one after all her hard work!

It was HOT, and the girls were quite warm by the end! But, it was worth it!! Everyone has been really enjoying the strawberries this week!

Parks, Parks & More Parks

We hit 10 parks last week and 2 yesterday (Monday)!! The girls are really having a blast with it! Here is a quick recap!

9. Three Meadows 

 10. Pembroke Commons

11. Hobson Grove (could not find a sign) :(

12. Olesen Farm Park

13. Pembroke Park

 14. Timber Creek Park 

15. Wildflower Park

 16. Buttonwood Park

17. East Greens 

18. Central Park

19. Yorkshire Manor


20. Huntington Commons

Today we picked strawberries and tomorrow we're off to Lake Geneva for a mini family vacation!! (More posts coming!)

Starting Summer

We have been enjoying the start of summer to the fullest, and really taking advantage of these days with nowhere to be!! 

Unfortunately, Jade's bestie across the street (Sophie) and her family moved back to Michigan. Both girls were super bummed, but are excited to be Pen Pals!

First day of "summer" we had our first family outing to Whalon Lake for a walk and picking flowers!! The girls were pretty excited to also see a family of baby geese, a snake and a turtle!

We had a super fun visit with Grammy and Grampy! They wore the kids out completely with countless rounds of hide and seek and playing in the yard!

Both girls absolutely love exploring new parks, so I thought it would be fun to try to visit every park in Naperville, with a playground (there are over 50)! We got off to a great start this week, visiting 8 parks!

1. Columbia Commons Park

2. Eagle Park

 

 3. Winding Creek Park

4. Arbor Way Park

5. Springfield Park

 

 6. Old Farm Park

7. University Heights (our neighborhood park)

8. Old Sawmill Park