Medieval Times!

A quick trip to the Schaumburg Castle made for a great way to celebrate some birthdays.   Ticket prices could create some sticker shock....but the food and show are fantastic and we found some online discounts without much searching.  We got the kids a flag with our knights colors to wave as he fought.    I'll just let the pictures tell the story.  :D

We talked to this man before the show.  He's been a falconer at Medieval Times for 22 years.  The falcon is clearly ready for his close up.

Since the castle doors open 75 minutes before the show starts there is plenty of time for some photos....and places to take them.  There is also a bar and some souvenir shops.  You can buy tickets for a torture museum as well but we didn't. 

The "Bill of Fare" is a full 3 course meal.  There is SO Much FOOD! All of it delicious  The dessert was ice cream which would never be my first choice....but still delicious.  

She ate her dragon blood soup (tastes like tomato) and was very excited about her half chicken.  

The show starts as the meal is served.   The horses are phenomenal.

The master of horse did an amazing show.  This horse did some really cool footwork and at the end bowed to the queen.

Knights (3 for the east, 3 for the west) are presenting to the Queen.  Each section is assigned a knight to cheer for (and his 2 friends although "don't get carried away")  They do some lance tricks (capture rings, etc) and the horses run through some "formations" to start things off.  

Ready for the joust.  The "dress" helmets were way fun!

Before the joust netting is dropped in front of the crowd.  Wood splinters everywhere.  

After each joust the knights found hand to hand on the ground.  Sometimes with swords but also with other weapons.  It was fun to see the sparks.  But this was my least favorite part. I can't imagine the strength required though to lift the weapons which were clearly metal and to move around in that sand. 

We had a great time enjoying the dinner and show!  I think we all might have had different favorites but it was well worth the trip to see it.  

Hotel Reviews: Townplace Suites

So we have 4 kids.  Did you know it is a pain in the neck to get a hotel room that will comfortably sleep a family of 6?  Sure we could get 2 hotel rooms....and we have....also a pain in the neck.

We recently spent a couple nights in Schaumburg, IL and we stayed at this "Towneplace suites by Marriot."  They could have raised prices a bit and done some updating and deep cleaning but it was comfortable and clean enough to not give me the eebies jeebies.  Most importantly we had SPACE!  We could have been comfortable there for a week long vacation.  But it was great for the 2 nights we stayed there. 

The hotel was actually 3 buildings and each building was a keyed entry which made everything feel nice and secure.  

Here's the sweet deal.  See those 2 doors.  Those are BOTH bedrooms...with a queen bed in each. 
Shane and I took the one on the right which was clearly intended as the "master" with more space and a big desk.  How many hotel suites has one bedroom with 2 beds...I never understood that.  Do we put all the kids in there and kip on the couch?  Do we share with the little kids?  This made sense!  

We even had a full kitchen.  "fridge, stove/oven, sink, dishwasher, and table service in the cabinets, and a coffee maker).  Since we weren't staying long AND a hot breakfast was included we never used any of it....but man that makes a big difference if we are staying somewhere for an extended length of time.

"Master" bedroom.  Queen size bed.  Desk, dresser, and closet.  Very comfortable.

Second bedroom was smaller but still had a queen bed.  By some miracle Aiden and Maverick shared this without any problems.  

The couch folded out and was supposed to sleep 2....but it wasn't that big.  Lyrick took the fold out couch and Griffin lined up couch cushions on the floor and used it as a bed.  The front desk gave us all the extra sheets/blankets that we asked for and it was absolutely perfect. 

This isn't a hotel I'd heard of before but will certainly search for in the future. 

Scotland Bound!

This blog seems to be a little bit all over the place....but so is life around here....so for your reading pleasure.  WE'RE GOING TO SCOTLAND! 

Shane and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary in 2020!  And since we've been dreaming of going to Scotland for a few years, we've decided that 2020 is the year to do it.  Of course, we got married in December and December isn't a great time to go to Scotland....so we're going in May.

This is how its gonna go....roughly...

We will land in Glasgow and spend 2 nights there.  After picking up a rental car we'll drive to Stirling on our way to stay in Glencoe for 2 nights to do some "munroe bagging." (or not quite munroe bagging depending on our training till then and the weather)  Then another drive to the Isle of Skye for a 2 night stay.  When we leave Skye, we'll visit Loch Ness (and take the next infamous picture of Nessie I'm sure) and Urquhart Castle on our way to 3 nights in Inverness.  We're making a quick overnight stop in Pitlochry on our way to Edinburgh where we'll have 2 nights before we fly out.

Yes is a whirlwind trip.  But its also important to remember that Scotland is just a little smaller than Maine.

Why Scotland?  Well first "Why not?"  We love 17th-19th century history.  I particularly enjoy British history.  Shane likes castles and swords and all that goes with them.  We love Outlander and Harry Potter and can visit scenes from the movies and tv show.  There are cities to explore and countryside to hike.  And views to get lost in.  There is good food, whiskey, tea shops and music. They speak a version of English we hope to be able to understand.  I think it will be an amazing place to see and a great place to make new friends.

We have a countdown....and as of today we have just under 9  months.  I think this is going to feel just as long as 9 months of pregnancy!  :D

Yarn Crawl 2019 and Knitting Bags

Last week, my mom and I took Lyrick, Abby (Lyrick's friend), and Delaney and Dannae (my neices) to an overnight yarn crawl.  Whats a yarn crawl you say?  Well, its like a bar crawl, but with more yarn and no beer (seriously, not one drink even outnumbered 2 to 1 by little girls).  It was not supposed to be that way but life happens and we decided 1) we could help dear friends and family out AND 2) have a good time AND 3) take our little beginner knitters to check out some yarn shops.  And you know what...we did all those things.  And it was awesome! 

Its our yarn crawl crew at breakfast on the second day.  :D  Still smiling!

We went on a walk along the Ohio River....but it was HOT so the walk was short and we found an ice cream shop instead.  (No photos of ice cream-we had to eat fast)

Supper time after a day of yarn shopping.  :D

Because I knew we were going to several shops.  And the girls were on a limited budget and I wasn't buying them all.  the.  things, I made them a scavenger hunt.  They had things to find at each shop.  This is the photo from when they found "Sheep" and could check it off the list.  They also found extra soft yarn.  Knitting needles. Crochet Hooks, yarn that matched thier outfit....and so much more.  It was so much fun!  In 3 of the 4 shops the owners/employees/other knitters were encouraging and helpful.  It made for a great experience.

I made each of the girls a knitting bag....but for the trip I filled it with snacks.  Cause snacks make every roadtrip better.
I made all 4 bags with a yard of the floral fabric and a 5 pack of fat quarters.  And I have enough floral for another-but I"m out of fat quarters.  Wait for it and I'll do a tutorial...gotta find one more fat quarter.  :