Day 5: Relaxation in Gurnee, IL

It was so great to sleep in a nice comfortable bed and wake up when I wanted to—not to the sound of an alarm at 7 in the morning. We didn’t have to rush to get ready and pack up the car. It was wonderful.

For what I’m deeming a relaxing day, we sure did fill the time. Loren’s niece Kristi and her three sons, Tyler (6), Logan (2), and Caden (3 months) came over to visit. We had met all of them—minus Caden because he was still in his mommy’s belly—last Thanksgiving. It only took the boys a few minutes to warm up to us again and we were all laughing and having a good time.

We decided to go to the Rain Forest Café at the Gurnee Mills Mall. Ironically enough, it feels as humid as a rain forest outside. But the trip to the mall turned out to be a day of fun. The Rain Forest Café is always a cool place to go to. While their food is overpriced, the atmosphere is so fun. And it’s always so cute to watch how kids react to the gorilla beating its chest or the elephant moving its trunk.





Logan and Tyler showed me all around, paying special attention to the fish tanks. We found Nemo’s and Dory’s and even a puffer fish. Also, across the way from the restaurant, there was a reptile safari place. A girl was standing in the doorway holding some type of albino boa. Everyone got a chance to touch Banana—that was its name!

We tooled around at the mall for a little bit more. It’s amazing the little things that kids find interesting. But after we said goodbye, Loren, my mom, and I were back on our way to Loren’s to relax a bit before seeing other friends. We did stop at Oberweis—a very yummy ice cream store—on the way home! That was kind of our dinner.

We moseyed around the house for a bit and all of us even laid down for a bit. By the time we looked at the clock, we realized we were going to be late for the birthday part we had been invited to.

We quickly wrapped our presents and hurried over to Chris, Christine, and Brandon's house. We weren’t greeted by the birthday boy because he was a little cranky from being locked in his room all day, but once he came out, he was glad to see his presents. Spunk, their 10-year old cat, loved the little mice I gave him! And in honor of his birthday, we had delicious pumpkin spice cupcakes that Christine made.



At their beautiful house, we played a few rounds of Bananagrams—a Scrabble-like game where you play on your own but with other people. My mom won every round. So instead of having our butts beat for the rest of the night. We brought out a new game: Catchphrase. Games like that are always good for a few laughs!



On our way out of their neighborhood, we saw two deer eating some grass in the empty lots. It must be so cool to have deer living in your backyard! Also, this past day has been great for my much needed kitty therapy. It’s been weird not having a cat living with me (I’ve had one for as long as I can remember). But Loren’s cat Jinxy is very playful and energetic. He may not let me hold him for long, but he loves to get his belly rubbed. And Spunky was a giant mushball who had a lot of fun playing with my feet.

Well, it’s time for bed now because we have a day of driving ahead of us tomorrow. Here we come Cleveland.