Our hotel "Stay-cation"

In December, we had plans to go to a hotel in Schaumburg for the weekend before Christmas. Despite losing Nana the week before, we still went, because she would have wanted Gavin to be able to go.

Gavin LOVES to stay in a hotel, because he loves the pool and loves to sleep in bed with me. And Auntie Clare travels so much that she was able to redeem hotel points and get us a beautiful room at Embassy Suites.

In the pool with Auntie Clare Friday night:

Gavin beat both me and Francis soundly at Battleship:

On Saturday, the Florys came over to hang out with us. We swam in the pool - here are Gavin and Annie:

And Mark and Tim:

We opened Christmas presents with them:

And went to Legoland Discovery Center:

 We all had a great time. Maybe we'll go back next year for a repeat!!

Lego Train show

I am a few weeks behind on this blog. I will get things posted, but they will be late!

We attended the Lego Train Show at Cantigny in December  - we go every year. The amount of Legos involved in staggering, and the scenes the builders create are amazingly detailed.

This year for some reason, the show was the most crowded that we have ever seen it. It was hard to move around. So I didn't get the best pictures, but Gavin had fun!

Train Set

Gavin was super excited to get out his Christmas train set. He's old enough to help put in new batteries using a power screwdriver, too!

All Aboard! Cue hours of entertainment. 

Ball Factory

Gavin was invited to a birthday party at the Ball Factory. We hadn't been there ever, so he was excited to go.

I had heard from other moms that this place is not set up to easily watch multiple kids, and they are absolutely correct. It's hard to see where anyone is. Luckily, Gavin is old enough and sure footed enough in the climbing structures that I don't worry about him getting stuck. :) He ran around with his friends and had a great time.

He loved the room where you shoot nerf balls across the room, and he loved the cars and tractors you can ride on (it's been quite a while since he was able to do this)!

Ball Factory put wrist bands on Gavin and me, but no one checked us when we left. So security left a lot to be desired. My opinion - it's a fun place if you are watching one child OR several older ones (elementary school age). But if you are herding toddlers who need a lot of help climbing or need more supervision, maybe pick a different place to lower your stress. :)

Surprise Snow

Last Wednesday we woke up to an unexpected snow. Unexpected, but not unappreciated! Gavin and I got some great pictures on the walk to school:

Of course, it was gone by Friday...but we know winter has only just begun! There will be lots more snow!

Setting Up Christmas Lights

We started putting up Christmas decorations this weekend. Of course, several strings of lights that we used last year are not working now, so we didn't finish. But we set up a lot, taking advantage of the relatively warm weather.

Just like for Halloween, Gavin got up on the ladder to hang the lights:

The snowman came over in Grandpa Cermak's convertible:

More pictures to follow, as we keep setting up!

Little Handyman

Gavin helped Francis and Grandpa Cermak pull nails out of some old wooden beams. He was very careful!

The sledgehammer is heavier than it looks!

Next it was time to cut up the wood. Francis did most of the maneuvering with the saws, but let Gavin "help." 

Danada Fall Festival

In October we went to the Fall Festival at Danada. Gavin went with his heart set on one goal: seeing Shadow.

Shadow is a guest at the Fall Festival. He and his rider are part of the drill team called Midwest Renegades. They do amazing tricks and Shadow is as gentle as a kitten. Gavin met him two years ago when he petted and brushed him for an hour, and we've come back every year since.

Shadow is 17 years old and used to be a jousting horse at Medieval Times. It seems he was happy to ditch the armor and let his new owner hang off him by one foot, or ride standing up - they are fun to watch!

Shadow's owner, Larissa, is super sweet and let us hang out with her horse for an hour (at least). She and some other riders painted pumpkins - I thought she was going to let Shadow nibble on it, but she gave it to Gavin instead.

Gavin had such an amazing time that he wrote a school assignment on Shadow. The kids had to write about a recent memory. He had to summarize the event in a paragraph with an opening statement, details, and then a closing statement. In second grade, they really start working hard on writing (which Gavin is doing very well at, if I may brag for a second)!

We hope to see you again soon, Shadow!

Sonny Acres Part Two

Here are pictures from our second visit to Sonny Acres. Gavin did a lot of the same things, but still had a great time!

Back on the pony, Spice:

And on the camel:

And the slide: