Share the Love: One Last Summer Hurrah at the Chicago Botanic Garden {Ticket Giveaway!}

As August begins its fade into September and the days are still warm and long, we have this beautiful opportunity to enjoy a few last summer hurrahs.

The beach, the gardens, the sunlight, the parts of nature we miss during the long winter freeze are all still upon us even though school has swung back into session for many of our kiddos. {The homeschooled children and I are still very much feeling like we're soaking up summer!}

One of our very favorite summer adventures is heading to the Chicago Botanic Garden; while we love visiting the garden in all seasons, we go each summer especially to visit the Butterflies and Blooms exhibit. 

Words fail me when talking about the Butterflies and Blooms exhibit. So here's our explanation of why you want to make this a last summer hurrah in pictures:

All of this times one hundred!

Just imagine a garden teeming with dozens of varieties of butterflies flying around, dancing through the air.

And sometimes, if you're very still and also a butterfly whisperer {wear vibrant-colored clothing}, they will come up extra close for a little visit.

My youngest son, who is a nature lover at age seven, always takes the laminated sheet showcasing the different butterflies when he enters the exhibit so he can try and find all of the different butterflies pictured before he leaves; I count this as educational summer fun.

Excitingly, too, the exhibit is now in its permanent home at the Regenstein Learning Campus, which you simply must explore in its entirety while you're visiting. {Read about all the fun offerings for families and see pictures of the learning campus here!}

Maybe you need a last hurrah, too, before you're ready to say farewell to summer 2017?

The Chicago Botanic Garden is generously giving away four tickets to the Butterflies and Blooms exhibit in addition to a free parking pass to one of my friends here!
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Disclosure: I am so glad to be a Chicago Botanic Garden Ambassador. In exchange for writing about the garden and its happenings, my family is provided with a season membership so we can keep exploring and sharing!

2014 Holiday Bucket List: Chicago Botanic Garden's Wonderland Express #Giveaway

Each year, my family aims to experience and enjoy life together during the holidays, placing less emphasis on the gift aspect and more on togetherness. This is part one of a series detailing some of our favorite Chicagoland destinations during the 2014 Christmas season. Be sure to scroll down to the end; one of our favorite places is giving away tickets! 

Destination Three: Chicago Botanic Garden's Wonderland Express
No matter your age, the Wonderland Express never gets old, which is why it makes our holiday bucket list again and again, this year being no exception

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Botanic Garden. 

The boys used to enjoy this holiday train exhibit because our youngest was mesmerized by trains and our oldest was interested in the detailed workings of how the trains run. At ages 5 and 7, they now really dig going through the exhibit and identifying the miniature replicas of famous Chicago-area landmarks like Soldier Field, the ferris wheel at Navy Pier and the Willis Tower. And honestly we really like that part, too, because now instead of chasing them through the exhibit as they chase the trains we actually get to see the fine details of the miniature replicas.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Botanic Garden

And they each are sites at which to marvel, each being crafted out of natural materials found in nature like bark, wood, pinecones, stones, etc. It's really quite marvelous. The entire exhibit is beautifully and painstakingly detailed.

Last year we also had our first experience with the Wonderland Express and a teenaged host daughter from Eastern Europe who stayed with us for a month. She also liked it, and we found it was a great place for her to enjoy because so little language is needed to understand the exhibit. She really liked it quite a bit, and it was a great way to introduce someone from abroad to the greatness of Chicago! The Wonderland Express is open now through January 4, 2015. You can buy tickets and see more information on times here.

Would you like to see the Wonderland Express for yourself this year? The Chicago Botanic Garden has graciously provided me with four tickets to keep and four to giveaway! Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions, which are SUPER easy!

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Destination Four: Cuneo Mansion and Gardens Winter Wonderland

A new one on our holiday bucket list this winter, the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens Winter Wonderland promises a relaxed evening with the family as we tour the lighted garden via car. Some days you just need that, especially during the busy holiday season.

This year we plan to hit the wonderland during the week when it's less crowded, and we'll likely do something cheeky like splurge on a hot chocolate or chai for the drive.

Destination Five: Candlelight Service at Immanuel Church on Christmas Eve

If there's one thing we don't miss during the holiday season, it's the Christmas Eve service at Immanuel Church in Gurnee.

We love coming together as a family to sing Christmas songs, and the candlelight is always so beautiful!

This year, Christmas Eve services are as follows; childcare is available for children kindergarten and younger at the first two services.

Please note: I am an ambassador for the Chicago Botanic Garden, and I receive my membership in return for helping families find out what's going on at the garden, which if you've been around here for long know that isn't a hard task at all! We love the garden! All opinions expressed are my own. Also note that I work for Immanuel Church. However, I wouldn't work there if I didn't love it. So there's that. 

Share the Love: How to Sway Your Kindergartener

How do you convince a six year old who wants to go to school for a full day (but can't for numerous reasons) to be happy about leaving his classroom every day at 11:30? 

Easy.

Like this.

If you are local to Chicago, and you're looking to soak up the final days of summer, make a trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden {or perhaps you're like me -- trying to fill long afternoons by blending awesomeness with education for a kindergartener and a preschooler who think every day should be a party ...}

Though the Butterflies and Blooms exhibit, pictured above in the last two pictures, is closed for the season, the outdoor model rail road, also pictured above, is up and chugging along past the landscapes of America, routing past an exploding volcano and gushing geysor. Huge hits, I tell ya. 

And, of course, the gardens are still bursting with beautiful blooms and lots of wildlife that are more than willing to exchange friendship for food -- and, oh, look there's an education opportunity! Don't feed the ducks! God does a great job of providing for them all by Himself -- no matter what that duck tries to tell you, kids!

Disclosure: I am an ambassador for the Chicago Botanic Garden and write several times a year about the awesome things the garden offers for families in exchange for a membership. Why do I do this? Because the garden is a fantastic place for families to enjoy the outdoors and learn about nature through exploration, hands-on activities in the children's garden and exhibits! It's a gem in our very backyard!