This weekend was our first out-of-town sports tournament of the year. First of many. Carter's soccer team played in the Nike Academy College Showcase in Shaumburg, IL. Oh how I love Schaumburg. Our hotel was nestled between IKEA, Lands End, and Woodfield Mall. Heaven, I tell ya. And only 4.47 hours from our house. Not too bad. I actually enjoy day trips that are no more than 5 hours. The kids were really good and I got to listen to my favorite kids movie, Garfield. Cate did not want to watch it but Bennett tricked her into agreeing..."Cate, do you wanna watch the dog and cat movie?" "NO, I want Wow!Wow!Wubzy!" *groans from the backseat* (I told them to blame MauMau for that one) "What if we watch the puppy dogs and baby kittens?" "Oh how I love puppy dogs and kitty cats (seriously, who's dramatic kid is this??)...let's watch that one!!" That Bennett is one brilliant dude. From mile one, I let the kids know where all snacks, drinks, ipods, computers, and DS/games were and after that they were on their own. I was not playing flight attendant this time! Besides, I had better things to do like read People magazine out loud to Scott..who I'm sure appreciated it...not! The highlight of the roadtrip were the toll roads ten minutes from our destination. We were such amateurs at this. Left side is wide open with a sign that says something about an i-pass. The right side had attendants taking the $1 fee. We flew right through the left side waving out the sunroof to all the suckers in the right lanes paying up. Oh yeah, we were high-fiving each other for sticking it to the road tolls...no way were they getting our four quarters (it was literally the only cash we had on us). But then we saw a sign for another toll a few miles up the way. I felt that our original plan worked great and we should stick with what's working. However, Mr. I Never Break The Rules Smallie started feeling bad and going on about how the highways and city needs the toll money to fix/repair/improve blah blah blah. I knew I'd lost him at that point and it was off to the right side of the toll bridge with all of the other honest people. Boo. Hoo. Game over (for now). 
We stayed at the Hyatt Place. It was perfect for our family. Two big rooms, the sectional sofa was perfect to lounge on, 42" flatscreen between both rooms...it even had hook-ups for the xbox. 
Cate was looking out the window into the parking lot of IKEA. Walking distance...hello!!!
We stayed at the Hyatt Place. It was perfect for our family. Two big rooms, the sectional sofa was perfect to lounge on, 42" flatscreen between both rooms...it even had hook-ups for the xbox. Cate was looking out the window into the parking lot of IKEA. Walking distance...hello!!! 
Outside vanity area is really great for family travelers. And for $89/nt, well, mama was one happy lady. 
The pool area got lots of use. Cate swam at least four different times. She loved the "hot pool" but only kept her feet in it...it was very very hot. Carter was doing headstands in it...he's just not normal. 
Carter's first soccer game wasn't until 3:30. This gave me plenty of time to check out IKEA. Everyone wanted to go too *groan*, but I figured they may enjoy it. The store was so much more than I expected. I've only drooled through their catalogs a zillion times, but I wasn't sure how the quality would be. Well, they have full model displays on every bedroom, bathroom, kids room, teens room, study space, office, kitchen, etc. They encourage you to sit on all furniture, lay on the beds, and the kids played on every bed/chair/kitchen/tent they could find. I did buy Cate a pop up tent ($9) and the coolest light for her room. (More on that another time)
Because I brought males with me, I was only allowed to stay 25 minutes....that's about 4.5 hours less than I wanted to, so even though I did make it to IKEA and I did buy a really cool light, the trip was very disappointing for me. I didn't get to wander around from display to display and I never even made it to the top floor and the kitchen stuff. But now that I know how to get there and the good hotel to stay at....I WILL be back....and child/husband free. Amen. 
The boys enjoyed the kids rooms...Brady really liked that chair because the top rolled down and no one knew he was in there.
Woodfield Mall had a nice surprise for me...Baskin Robbins. My very favorite ice cream ever. Ever Ever Ever. Chocolate. Only chocolate. I'm a one flavor girl. We had it twice this weekend and both were wonderful :) 
Cate and Brady obviously loved it too Maybe I should start talking about the actual soccer games. They were cold. Like really really cold. The first game was delayed about 45 minutes, so Scott took Brady and Cate back to the hotel to swim and would come get us after the game. Ben stayed with me because he likes to hang out with the other siblings. So, we froze our butts off to watch SLSG stick it to the Chicago Sockers Academy team. And Carter had the game winning assist...woohoo!
Does this seem ridiculous to anyone else? Every uniform on their team was 1-15 and then here's this huge kid wearing # 69....ick.
Cate did convince her daddy to push her on the swing before they left for the hotel
Bennett and his posse wrestled throughout the entire game.
Scott took Carter and the boys to his 9am Sunday morning game. Cate and I slept in til 9:45. She woke up and immediately got ready for the pool. She had to wait for Scott because I didn't bring a suit (ah, damn). That's probably the comment he made when he walked in after a freezing game and saw her ready to go. He was a good sport and took her down for awhile while I packed the room. We then loaded up the car and headed back to the mall to kill some time before the next game.
Does this seem ridiculous to anyone else? Every uniform on their team was 1-15 and then here's this huge kid wearing # 69....ick.
Cate did convince her daddy to push her on the swing before they left for the hotel 
Bennett and his posse wrestled throughout the entire game. 
Scott took Carter and the boys to his 9am Sunday morning game. Cate and I slept in til 9:45. She woke up and immediately got ready for the pool. She had to wait for Scott because I didn't bring a suit (ah, damn). That's probably the comment he made when he walked in after a freezing game and saw her ready to go. He was a good sport and took her down for awhile while I packed the room. We then loaded up the car and headed back to the mall to kill some time before the next game. 
The sibling posse was back at it for the final game-lots of "YoMama" jokes being told, I'm sure! (From left to right, Bennett is second and Brady is fourth-in blue.)
The 2:15 game wasn't nearly as cold and Cate made an appearance through the entire game. Well, until she got comfy on my lap under a blanket and fell asleep for over an hour. So much for the nap home we were counting on.
Carter's team finished so much better than any of us thought they would. First game 4-2, Second game 4-0, Third game 0-2. Overall, a great soccer weekend.
Carter's team finished so much better than any of us thought they would. First game 4-2, Second game 4-0, Third game 0-2. Overall, a great soccer weekend. The drive home was just as pleasant. We stopped at Cracker Barrel 20 minutes into the trip to make sure we filled their bellies, gassed the car up, and emptied their bladders so they would hopefully fall asleep. It worked. The last 25 minutes the boys got a little slap happy and Cate and Brady were still sleeping so I almost had to beat some butt.
Cate took a nap with her little legs crossed and still wearing her Minnie Mouse flip flops!
Two dorks fixing their hair Bieber Style. Unfortunately, they were caught with seatbelts off...busted!!!!
Cate took a nap with her little legs crossed and still wearing her Minnie Mouse flip flops!Next up:
Memphis in late May for baseball
Rockford in May for Carter's IL State Cup -they go back every weekend til they lose
Kansas City in July for Brady and Ben's baseball
and endless trips to Jacksonville for weekend baseball games.
Our Mission is to agree on, and find time to buy a new vehicle before our next trip. Finding the time should be the most difficult part. Wish I could do it online and have it delivered!
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