Mini-Vacay to Schaumburg

Between Mike's and my schedule's lately, we've had very little time to REALLY invest in our family. So, despite MUCH work that needed to be done at home, we took a much needed mini-family-vacay to Schaumburg, IL - home of IKEA and Legoland! WE packed the car with fresh boxes of crayons, coloring books, snacks, books, and a hilarious game called "Would You Rather?" and hit the road Friday afternoon. After the 4 hour drive, we arrived safely in Schaumburg at the Embassy Suites. It had a kickin' pool, hot tub and sauna, and an even cooler full-service morning breakfast buffet (all you can eat custom-made omlets, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, oatmeal, fruit, and all the other amenities one could ask for)!

I don't think the girls even cared that we were planning on going to IKEA and Legoland - they were ALL ABOUT the swimming pool and hot tub! They had a blast swimming, picking whatever they wanted for breakfast, NOT having to make their beds, working (fighting over) the buttons on the elevator and the keycard, and watching TV and eating popcorn IN BED! And that was all the first night we arrived!

The rest of our trip included a successful and fun trip to IKEA, a trip to Legoland, a REAL movie in a REAL movie theater, Gino's East Pizza and some really great memories! What's not to love about a well-planned road-trip! Here are some pictures from our weekend away!

My girls enjoying the hot tub!

Bella couldn't be happier! There's nothing she likes more than swimming!

1 - 2 - 3 - JUMP!

Faith and the twisty dive

Bella and the twisty dive

Legoland - here we come!

Faith, Bella, and baldy Lego dude

Mike giving President Obama another dollar . . . Faith giving him a hug!

A wizard

Could it be Bacon?

The King and Queen of Legoland

Lego Dragon . . . bigger than a car!

A terrified Faith in the tummy of a lion!

Bella in the lion's mouth . . . she doesn't look as terrified as Faith

We had the chance to watch a 4D movie . . . it was a 3D movie that added a "4th D" by creatively using lights and wind - even snow that fell on us! It was hilarious seeing all the kids reach out and try to touch the things "coming out" of the screen at us!

Daddy and Bella on the Legoland glider ride . . . the faster you pedal, the higher you go!

Mommy and Faith on the ride

Faith concentrating so hard on making her train for the "Lego challenge of the hour"

Having a ball!

Daddy and Bella working hard on their car (I'm pretty sure that Mike had more fun at Legoland than the girls did - it brought him back to his childhood)

Faith with her completed train - it took her almost 40 minutes to build it just right

Measuring up her competition

She won first prize! The Lego block she's holding up is inscribed with the words, "Lego Challenge Winner" she couldn't have been more excited!

Bella racing Mike's pride and joy

Mike and his #1 racer!

After Legoland we went to the actual movie theater to watch Shrek Forever After. After the movie we picked up a pizza at Gino's East and headed back to the hotel for some more swimming!