Family Fun in...Champaign, Illinois?

Our final destination for our end of the summer trip was Champaign, IL so that my husband could attend a recurrent training course for an aircraft he flies. Now, this is not really your typical family destination. I have never once said, "you know, I have always wanted to take the kids to Champaign for a few days". So I was not terribly excited about it. To tell you the truth, the thought of spending three days there made me a little nervous and sweaty. Not because I am fearful of Champaign or Illinois in general, but because the thought of figuring out how to entertain two kids in a hotel room for three days by myself while my husband was at training did not sound like fun to me, at all, in fact it made me a little grumpy.

The flight there was uneventful and pretty smooth. The kids and I slept most of the way there. I think it took us about 1.5 hours to get there from the Dells, not too bad. The Willard Airport was very nice and we were able to get a free shuttle (Yay, Lance) from our hotel. The hotel we stayed in was the Hawthorne Suites which was surprisingly nice with an indoor pool, free breakfast, and even a free dinner on Wednesday night, who knew?

I did not do very much homework on Champaign before we left, which was a mistake, I should have spent some time figuring out what in the world I was going to do with my two kids. Once we got there, I spent the first evening on my iPad trying to locate something, anything for us to do. I found a park located close by and thought we would check it out the next day. So the following morning, my husband was up and out before the kids and I were out of bed so we were left on our own. We had breakfast and then I found walking directions to the park on my iPhone (seriously what did I do without that thing?) The name of the nearby park was Hessel Park and let me tell you it was fabulous! There were walking paths and grassy areas and two playgrounds. Not to mention, the favorite feature for the kids, a water play area! We played and played until it was time for lunch and then we headed back for some food and a much needed rest time. After Ella's nap we played in the pool until daddy was finished and grabbed some dinner.

Dr. Ella future Veterinarian checking out a chicken

I had also found a "hands on science center" that was not terribly far away from where we were staying so that was our destination for our final day in Champaign. I had to check out of the hotel around 11:00 so my husband set it up for the hotel shuttle to take us to the Orpheum Children's Science Museum and drop us off. The kids and I set off for another adventure in Champaign. The science center turned out to be a fun little excursion. I have been to several children's museum-type activities centers and this was decently put together. They had several different activities for the children to engage in and each one found there favorite very quickly. Ella loved the pretend Veterinarian office and Nolan loved the legos set up on the upper level. When the kids got hungry we walked a couple of blocks to a very nice cafe/coffee shop. Champaign has a really cute downtown area with interesting shops and restaurants, I would have liked to explore a little more, perhaps without the kiddos! We returned to the science museum for a little while after lunch until our shuttle arrived to take us to the airport (my husband had talked someone who worked at the training center into driving their own car to pick us up!). All in all our trip to Champaign was much less painful than I had anticipated and should you ever find yourself there for a couple of days, I would highly recommend both the Orpheum and Hessel Park.

At the end of our trip we flew into our airstrip and pulled right up to our backdoor, thank goodness, because we were one tired family. Our end of the summer trip had been a great success and now it is time to prepare for school. I will continue to teach part-time this year and my little guy will be starting Kindergarten!! Unbelievable.

Ella and Nolan at the Ice Cream Shop laughing at Daddy acting silly

Wisconsin Dells

My husband and I made a deal this year. He wanted to take the family to Oshkosh, I have always wanted to go to the Wisconsin Dells, so he said if we went with him to Oshkosh, we could spend a couple of days at the Dells. We love water parks, even before we had kids we liked to go to water parks together. Our kids both love the water and we swim with them often in our pond and in local pools.

Kalahari from the air

Getting there was a breeze from Oshkosh. The flight was maybe 25 minutes and very smooth the day we left. I thought there would be lots of people from Oshkosh at the Dells, it just seems like a logical vacation extension to me if you are going all the way up there with the family to stop at a water park on the way home. However, the airport was relatively deserted when we arrived. We flew into the Baraboo-Wisconsin Dells Municipal Airport (KDLL), they have very nice facilities and friendly staff. We were able to get a free shuttle to our hotel from there, actually several hotels will send a shuttle out to the airport to pick you up free of charge, which is always a big plus for my husband because he is cheap and never wants to rent a car/pay for transportation. We have walked very far distances to avoid paying for transportation, so I was a little relieved that the shuttle was available because after all "the water parks look so close to the airport" and I was afraid we would be doing some walking.

I spend a great deal of time trying to figure out which water park to stay at. We could have stayed at another hotel and just visited a water park or two, but with an 18 month old (who definitely still needs a daytime nap) and no car, I figured we were better off staying somewhere with a water park attached. I narrowed it down to Kalahari, Great Wolf Lodge, and Wilderness Resort. They were all almost exactly the same price for the days we were staying and the accommodations we needed. I ultimately chose the Kalahari by a process of elimination. We would only be staying for two days and the Wilderness Resort is HUGE with multiple water parks and amusement parks, I did not want to be overwhelmed. We live fairly close to Cincinnati where there is another Great Wolf Lodge resort so I decided to give the Kalahari a try. We were not disappointed at all. We loved the African theme (I am a big sucker for a good theme), the rooms were very comfortable, the staff was friendly, there were restaurants within walking distance, and the water parks were great.

So Big!

Our room was nice, nothing fancy, but nice. We had two beds and a fold out sofa. There was plenty of room for our kids and all of our things. I love when a hotel has a mini fridge, which this one did, it just makes things so much easier. The breakfast buffet was really great and the price was not terrible. We ate there every morning. The Kalahari water parks were so fun, with lots to do for both of our little ones.  If you have a child under three head straight to the back of the indoor water park as soon as you arrive, this was by far the best play area for little ones, with slides just Ella's size, animals that spouted water, and even a mini lazy river that she LOVED (both of my kids loved the mini lazy river and actually played together, which is very rare!) We did not spend a great deal of time outside, Nolan preferred the indoor slides and play areas, but there was plenty to do out there as well. Nolan was tall enough to ride almost every slide, there were only one or two that had a pretty high height requirement. Kalahari also has an indoor "amusement park" with go carts, high ropes course, merry go round, ferris wheel and arcade games. Ella was allowed on the rides for free because she was little and rode the merry go round so many times. Nolan loved the go carts and arcade games!


Our second evening there we decided to go the Buffalo Phil's for dinner which was "just across the street" according to my husband. Well, this "street" was really a four lane highway with no crosswalk, so we did some car dodging with the stroller and made it there safely. Not a very far walk, but I would not recommend to everyone to attempt to cross large highways with little kids all of the time. Buffalo Phil's big claim to fame is the train area where toy trains deliver food directly to your table. Since this was the main reason we had come, we decided to wait an hour for the train section. Really, it was worth the wait, the kids loved the trains and it is a really cool set up, what a great idea for a restaurant! The food was decent too, our family got a whole roasted chicken that came with four sides which was plenty for us! Afterwards we went to the adjacent arcade and play area. The kids had a great time and loved all of the bouncy attractions outside, just remember to bring your socks for the indoor climbing area!


Playing bumper boats

So after three days of fun, we left Kalahari we said bye bye to the water parks and the baby tigers in the lobby (yes real live baby tigers, so cute!) and headed on our way. Our end of the summer trip was almost over, we just had one last stop in Champaign, IL for my husband to do some recurrent training in a twin engine aircraft he flies on the side for another company.

AirVenture 2012, A Near Miss, and Lots of Fun

I wouldn't say that I LOVE to fly. I like the idea of flying, I like the convenience of flying, however, since becoming a mommy, I am a VERY nervous flier.  I used to enjoy flying with my husband, I would often fall asleep, but I enjoyed it. I remember one time while he was still in college. I was visiting him and he needed to do some additional twin engine training so I went along for the ride. I did not know that they were going to be practicing stalls, but I went to sleep in the back seat anyway. I guess I had less fear back then.


So with that being said, I was pretty stressed out about our first trip in the 182 with both kids. Not only were we taking Ella on her first flight in a small aircraft, we were flying into Oshkosh for the AirVenture fly-in. I don't know if anyone has experienced this, but it can been a bit scary. Lots and lots of planes fly into Oshkosh, WI each July for this event and they all converge at one point, putting them in very close proximity to each other.  Flying makes me nervous enough without worrying about another airplane hitting us in mid air.  You know who wasn't worried? Ella, she was ready to go! She loves to play in my husband's airplanes out in the hangar, so when it was time to load up she ran out to the plane, climbed in and said "Go! Go! Go!" We had both of their cars seats secured in the plane, so we strapped them in and took off. Ella and I sat in the back and Nolan rode in the front as daddy's co-pilot.

The flight was only about 2.5 hours (MUCH better than an 8 hour drive) and for the most part was uneventful...until we came to the converging point for the aircraft flying in. I start getting nervous when my husband asked all of us to make sure we are watching for other aircraft, I prefer to ignore the fact that we are flying and try to sleep. So I am watching and asking him lots of questions, we are following all of the directions and getting ready to get in line to land.  We are skimming the bottom of the clouds because the required altitude puts us exactly there, all of a sudden a Cirrus zooms out of the clouds directly above us, MAYBE 50 feet in front of us. I. WAS. TERRIFIED. I have never ever been that close to another plane while in the air before. 50 feet may seem like a lot, but in the air it does not seem like very much. Luckily the Cirrus was going much faster than our 182. I thought I would have a panic attack. Now I have never had one, so I have no idea what it is like, but I started getting dizzy, nauseous, and my limbs went numb, lol! I was a mess. We eventually landed and I regained feeling in my limbs, but it may be a while before I fly into Oshkosh with my two kiddos again.

I was not just worried about the flight, I was worried about all of the walking and dragging two little kids around the expansive area that is Oshkosh AirVenture. I fully envisioned two exhausted kiddos whining and generally being unhappy. I could not have been more wrong! The kids were awesome! They really loved it. There was plenty to keep my 5 year old happy, he loves crafts, so we found the craft tent the first day. They also have an entire area devoted to kids activities. There were bouncy houses and pedal powered airplanes for the kids to try out. We colored t-shirts, flew model airplanes, and tried out flight simulators. The best part was the pilot and mechanic experience areas. They have it set up so that children go through different stations and learn skills needed to be either a pilot or an A&P, my son chose the A&P route because he LOVES building things. Two hours later, he had a metal badge that he riveted himself, a mini propeller that he sanded himself, several posters and some valuable knowledge about airplane engines! Ella enjoyed herself too. She really liked watching the airshow and she thought all of the mini airplanes were hers. When the first airshow started we were lucky enough to find a spot on a bench next to an older gentleman with a WWII veteran hat on. I placed Ella on the bench next to me and she immediately made friends with him. I always say she is an old man magnet because she loves old men, it is too funny. I think they all remind her of grandpa who she adores! She started talking to him and spent most of the show pointing out airplanes to him saying "Wow!" over and over. Eventually she got down in the grass and spun in circles for us, so fun.

A lot of people fly into Oshkosh and camp out, that is exactly what my husband and I did the last time I went with him, but I decided I did not want to camp with two little ones. There are a variety of other options when attending the EAA event such as hotels, bed and breakfasts, and home stays. We decided to do a home stay with a woman that opens up her house to crazy AirVenture attendees every year, My husband had stayed there before with friends. This worked out really well for us, she liked kids, had animals, which my kids love, and was happy to drive us back and forth between her house and the airport which was a huge plus! We did not get much sleep since we were all in one room together (the kids, Lance, and me), but it all worked out just fine, she even had a pack and play set up for Ella!! I found it really funny that Ella would wake up instantly if anyone moved within the bedroom we were all sharing, but somehow she was able to sleep through the entire airshow the second day. I watched other kids cowering under blankets and wearing ear protection while she snoozed away in her stroller as jets blasted overhead, it was amazing. The picture below is of us all wearing our free hats courtesy of Ford. Reminder: don't forget a hat next year, I don't know what we would have done without these, the sun is pretty intense!

All in all, it was a great trip. Despite the scary start and lack of sleep, I might just be persuaded to do it again...in a couple of years.

Home is Where the Airplane Is

So living in a hangar/house has its ups and downs. I always say we live in my husband's dream house, but to me it just looks like a giant metal warehouse. Don't get me wrong, it is really nice inside and very comfortable, I just wish it looked more like a real house from the outside! We did a lot of the work ourselves when we built our house except for the main structure which is a pole barn construction. (Side Note: a pole barn construction house attached to a hangar is not "typical construction" and will therefore be difficult to secure a mortgage on or in our case any type of refinancing-so much for taking advantage of the amazingly low interest rates!!) Our home is located directly in the middle of nowhere, literally, but you cannot beat the view. We live in one of the most beautiful areas of Indiana and we can see the most stunning sunsets from our hangar. When we first built our home, my husband did most of his maintenance and restoration work here, but since his business has grown so much, he has had to move his base of operations to a real airport with a larger hangar. It used to be so nice to have him working at home all of the time, but it is nice to see his business expand too! By far, the best part about living in an airplane hangar has to be that we are able to walk out our door, hop in the plane, and take off anytime we want.