Good morning!

We are back from our trip to Lake Geneva and by making it Thursday to Saturday, we got a mini weekend at home as well!

The last time we went to Lake Geneva was back in February of this year when snow covered the ground. So you couldn’t quite distinguish between the lake and the surrounding snow. It just looked like one big massive field.

And, well, this trip, we never actually MADE it to see Lake Geneva.

We stayed at the Grand Geneva and they’ve got a tiny lake on their property. And there was so much to do within the property that we never actually left until the day we checked out.

But it was the perfect weekend trip for our little family. We all came back feeling relaxed and so happy to have had that time together.

Let’s recap the whole weekend!

Friday

We checked in on Thursday, but didn’t do much except for happy hour and Uber Eats-ing Mod Pizza for dinner.

On Friday morning, we had breakfast and then did some pumpkin painting. Ishu was real interested in painting the pumpkin gray. He started out with all the colors, but we ended up with a gray pumpkin after all that mixing. Which was perfect and exactly what he wanted.

I’m not one of those people that hovers over my kid, wanting his artwork to turn out a certain way. Because, let’s face it, I am definitely not great in the creativity department. So it’s real easy for me to take a step back and let him have at it.

“Oh, you wanna put the eyeball in the butt area? GO FOR IT.”

One of my strengths comes from one of my weaknesses. HA.

After pumpkin painting, we went for a walk around the property. Ankur and Ishu continued to scooter around the lake while I went back inside and cozied up next to the fire for a work meeting.

The two of them then went to a “Build-A-Buddy” workshop. Where Ishu built a pink hippo. And named him Hip. And then proceeded to carry him everywhere for the remainder of the trip.

We had lunch at the cafe near the lobby. (Well, Ankur and I had lunch. Ishu had rainbow ice cream).

And then, later in the evening, we went back to the Geneva Club for happy hour and chess by the fire.

We originally had plans to go on a Haunted Hayride but it was real cold and started raining in the evening so we nixed those plans in favor of hanging out in the Geneva Club, watching Curious George and The Office. And eating cake pops.

Cake pops and rainbow ice cream all in one day.

Needless to say, he crashed quickly (and we followed shortly after).

Saturday

We checked out of the hotel and made our way over to Safari Lake Geneva. We made reservations online when we knew we’d be here. And it was worth every single penny.

Ishu had the best time feeding the llamas. But he also enjoyed feeding the camels and the deers. We weren’t brave enough to feed the bison or the ostrich. But it was fun watching them come up to the car, their breath fogging up our windows.

Ishu is such a little animal guy. He wanted to get out and pet all the animals.

Fortunately for mama, we had to stay in the car ’til the very end. Where we could get out and pet a donkey and a pig and a baby llama. Which Ishu was really happy about. He would have stayed there all day if we let him.

We got back in the car and he was asleep in minutes.

And then Ankur and I had a nice, peaceful drive home. I got to listen to some podcasts while Ankur also nodded off. And then when we got back to Chicago, we decided to drive to Wicker Park and go to Small Cheval for a late lunch.

On Saturday night, after Ishu fell asleep, Ankur and I watched The Redeem Team and I read a bit of this book. And then fell asleep SO WELL in our own bed.

Sunday

We were happy to have a day at home before heading into the work week. The three of us had breakfast at home and then bundled up to go to FallFest at the zoo.

Ishu loved going on the rides. The mini ferris wheel, the rocking sports car, and the carousel. (Which he calls the “Carris Wheel” to rhyme with ‘ferris wheel’).

And I just loved being outside under ALL THOSE FALL COLORS. It is beautiful out there right now and I can’t get enough of all the oranges and yellows and greens. I freaking love October.

When we got home, he took a short nap while Ankur and I watched a few episodes of She-Hulk. The rest of the evening, we stayed inside, watched TV, played with Legos, and Portaled with the family.

I made pasta in the Instant Pot for dinner (the only way I’ll be making pasta from here on out) and now we’ve got leftovers for lunches. I love when that happens.

Now we’re heading into a new week. Ishu’s got a bit of a cough from our eventful weekend so I’m keeping him home today. I feel so fortunate that I have the ability to do that with this job I’ve got.

If you need us, we’ll be snuggled up on the couch watching all the Curious George and Daniel Tiger episodes.

Happy Monday!