HO HO HO……It’s Santa at Gurnee Mills!

It’s that time of year again….our annual visit to see Santa! We have always visited the Santa at Gurnee Mills, they do a nice job with Santa’s village and Santa himself. This year did not disappoint!

We arrived at the mall on Friday afternoon. We parked near Entry B and walked to the Information Booth to ask were we could find Santa. Jessie at the Info Booth was very friendly and told us that we could visit Santa near the Food Court behind the carousel. As we made our way to Santa’s Village we were approached several times by people handing out Hershey’s Bliss chocolates. The chocolates were so good that we walked around a bit and ate more chocolate before we actually went to see Santa! I also noticed that Gurnee Mills will be open at midnight on Thanksgiving – what a great time to do some holiday shopping while the kids are in bed!

We found Santa! As we walked up to Santa’s village we were greeted right away by Santa’s helper. My kids ran up to Santa holding their gift lists, they were very excited! Santa was very welcoming and got out of his chair to greet us with a big smile. He looked at their lists and asked questions about their list and if they were good throughout the year. Santa’s helper told me we could get a professional picture if we wanted, take our own pictures or just visit with Santa. The photographer told me the price of the pictures and I took a flyer listing the different packages available. I chose the $24.99 package that included one 5x7 and four 3.5x5’s. The photographer took several pictures of the kids with Santa and we chose the best one. She printed the pictures right away, only took a few minutes. During the short waiting time, the kids talked with Santa some more.Then it was time to go, there were other children waiting to see Santa as well. The kids promised to leave some cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve. We really had a nice visit this year and look forward to next year.

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Kids love to play and use their imagination. Pretending they are adults, driving cars, taking care of babies, cooking and more. The Round Lake Park District Children’s Neighborhood Museum is the perfect spot to bring your kids to let their imaginations take over.

Admission is only $5.00/child (no charge for adults) – and there are certain days and times when admission is free. The museum is in the Round Lake Park District building. It is set-up as a town with a lot to do. The town has many different spots to stop at including a grocery store, a fire station, a gas station with cars, a gym with tot-sized workout equipment , a construction site and much more. There is also a great area for toddlers where soft mats are set-up for tumbling.
Our first stop was the pizza stand. My daughter Reese pretended she was making pizza for us and serving us, this followed up with a visit to the grocery store. There were a couple play cash registers and shopping carts to make the experience realistic for the kids. Next Reese drove one of the cars to the gas station where she filled up her tank and washed her windshield.

The spot we spent the most time was in the workout area. There is a mini stationary bike, treadmill and workout bench set-up. Reese loved pretending in this area. There was also a big tree house with a slide in this area as well. Throughout the different areas in the museum were posters hung informing the kids about what the area was about. For example, in the grocery store there was a poster explaining what a farmer does and how they grow food that we buy and by the big fire truck there was a poster explaining what a fireman does.

One area we didn’t spend any time at but definitely plan to on our next visit was the stage. While we were there, we saw several kids using the dress-up clothes there and putting on little plays – so fun for the kids!

Before we left, we heard that there is also the Prairie Grass Nature Museum at the Round Lake Park District, it is in the building across the street so we decided to check that out before leaving. The Nature Museum has a mock trail that brings you on a walk through nature where the kids can see wildlife and learn about it as well. There were real snakes, rabbits and guinea pigs. There were also some stations set-up where the kids had the opportunity to color nature pages and do other fun activities.

Both museums were entertaining and a lot of fun for kids. It is a great spot to hit as the weather gets colder to get you out of the house and keep the kids amused and using their imagination. We will definitely be back there this winter.

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This is the best show I’ve seen at the Marriott Theatre besides Les Miz! I had only seen the more recent film version on TV and now wondered why I had waited so long to see it live. I laughed. I cried during “I Know Where I’ve Been” and honestly, I could hardly sit still in my seat – the music was so much fun and the dancing was inspiring. I was kind of wishing it was a sing-a-long version and we’d all get up and dance and sing like Mamma Mia. Songs such as “Welcome to the 60’s” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat” are so much fun; hubby, Steve really liked it too!
We were discussing on the way back to the car that it wasn’t that long ago (in my lifetime) that issues such as integration were a struggle in our nation. This show offers great discussion afterwards besides the tunes continuing to run through your head. Ross Lehman was great as Edna Turnblad and it was fun to hear the young girls behind me at intermission talking about that they figured out he was a man. Ross will be playing Tevye in Marriott Theatre’s upcoming Fiddler on the Roof in February 2010. It was cool to see some favorite performers such as Bernie Yvon (he was the Pharaoh in Joseph…) playing Corny Collins and he will be Harold Hill in Marriott Theatre’s upcoming The Music Man at the end of next season. I like that I’m watching some of these actors every few months.

Every year when our renewal comes up for our Marriott Theatre subscription, we wonder if we should budget for it again. However, it’s a great value basically getting one ticket free with each subscription for the year. It’s close to home, no cost for parking and we see awesome (and sometimes familiar) talent. And I get 20% off in the gift shop and it’s an awesome gift shop!

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Something I look forward to every fall is going to pick apples with the whole family. We get to Apple Holler at 9:00 a.m. and some of the grandkids that are there are already playing out in front of the orchards for awhile while we wait for the others to arrive. They really enjoy climbing on the hay, going thru the hay tunnels, and going thru the crazy corn maze. They play non-stop until the entire family arrives and we all take pictures around the pumpkins and in front of a poster that measures how much they have grown within the year. Then we go past the country store & gift shop, at least the rest of the family does, Grandma has to take a peek in it to see what items they have. I love to look at all of the fall decorations and items they have because I love fall!Before we head into the orchards we stop to see the farm animals and also watch the antics of the goats crossing a suspended bridge. We pass a lot of beautiful flowers, scarecrows, and a popcorn and apple cider stand. Apple Holler also has wagons for rent but you can bring your own and believe me you will want one because the bag of apples weighs about 25 pounds. There are 30 varieties of apples and picking is August thru early November. But it is best to check the website or call ahead to see which apples are ready for picking when you are planning your outing.
As the family proceeds into the orchard we follow the signs to look for our favorite apples. On the way we try many other kinds. It seems like every year I discover a new favorite apple this way. The grandkids help by putting the apples into the bags. It is great to see the grandkid's get so excited about apples and not fast food or candy.

In the middle of the orchard there is a resting/play area that we all gather around. The kids all run up and down the circle of haystacks and the adults sit and chat awhile. We all wave to the people that are going by in a hayride. Every year we ask someone walking by to take a family picture of the group of us. As we go back on our way to the exit we make sure that our bags are completely filled and after checking out we buy some freshly made kettle popcorn. We take a couple more pictures around the fall decorations before we leave.

Everything about this day is always so perfect that I wonder why I haven’t gone to a breakfast or a dinner play that they have here at Apple Holler. The restaurant this morning was very busy and smelled very good! Next year I am coming earlier to have breakfast here. It is amazing all the different activities they have here at Apple Holler and not just apple picking. You can check this out by going on their website.The hours are: 10:00-6:00 Saturday & Sunday 10:00-4:00 Monday thru Friday.
The address and phone number: 5006 S. Sylvania Ave. Sturtevant, WI
1-800-238-3629

A bag of apples(2 couples to a bag) $40.00
Parking if you don’t park on the street for free: $5.00
Going out for lunch after: $30.00
Family Memories Priceless

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