Medieval Times

A little over a year and a half ago, I wrote this post about surprising Caleb with a trip to Medieval Times. Well, circumstances just so happened to work out that we did it again. :) Tickets are half off from now to the end of October, and we also had Joel Keever's name for birthdays. We knew that Caleb would love to go again ("Transport to Medieval Times" was on his bday list) and Joel would be the perfect age to go for the first time. So, we left at 3:30 after school on a Friday and made it at 7:00 for the 7:30 show. Gotta love that Chicago traffic. :P We planned on staying overnight in Schaumburg and doing some stuff with the boys Saturday morning, too.


Joel and Caleb in front of the castle

Since we got there pretty close to show time, we didn't have as much time to look around when we got there. It was okay, though, because I was getting quite hungry!

The two birthday boys

I would say that the entire arena had probably half of the seats filled. Maybe a little over. It was amazing the difference from the last time we went, which was a Saturday evening!
Another difference from last time we were there is that we had a much better camera. :) It helped...kinda.

If you look past the hand in the foreground, it's the king and all of the knights and squires parading into the arena.

A little story about that hand...or at least the party it was with. Part way through the show, the Lord Chancellor (the announcer, basically) will read off different parties who are there and what they are celebrating. There are lots of birthdays, some anniversaries, some school groups, etc. He read one group's name and announced that they were celebrating a 93rd birthday! Judging from the loud cheering, it was the group in front of us. :)

Another shot of the arena

The yellow knight (the one we were cheering for), suited up and ready for jousting and the final competition. Unfortunately, he lost against his opponent.

We all enjoyed the show, and the food was, once again, excellent. We had the best waitress ever, too! She gave me and Greg each an extra piece of garlic bread (we didn't tell the boys...they were too busy watching the show anyway) and then gave Greg an extra dessert!

Afterwards, since there was a much smaller crowd, we were able to get a picture of the boys with our yellow knight.

After the show, we browsed the gift shops and Caleb was able to go back to the costume area where he wanted to buy something for the madrigal dinner. Back at the hotel, he and Joel tried them on for some pictures.

Awww, aren't they handsome? :)

The very nice hotel clerk left the pool open an extra 45 min. for us so we were able to swim Friday night (well, I actually just sat by the hot tub, but the boys swam). Saturday morning the boys went again after breakfast. Our hotel was pretty close to Woodfield Mall and Greg had seen an REI on our way in, too. We went to REI first (it's a camping/hiking/outdoorsy store, if you haven't heard of it) and spent an hour or so, and then went to Woodfield Mall...more specifically, the Lego Store.

There is a huge giraffe made out of Legos coming out of the front of the building.

Caleb, Albert, and Joel (Albert's eyes moved back and forth)

I took this picture for Janelle...at the entrance to the Lego store, what do they have on display with Albert Einstein's head? Dr. Tooth and his dental hygenist...holding a monstrous toothbrush, no less. You should be proud. :)

Half of the building is the 'Discovery Center,' but we didn't have the time to go through it, plus it cost extra. Instead, we admired all of the elaborate sculptures inside and tried out the Batman and Robin game they had set up. (Just for the record...the boys got to a part they couldn't figure out how to get past...guess who figured it out...that's right...me! It helps to read the onscreen instructions, that's all I can say.) :)

This statue is also at the entrance. We had Caleb and Joel see who could copy him the best.

Pretty sure Joel won.

For lunch, we drove around to a different part of the mall and ate at the Cheesecake Factory. Oh, so very good! We got our slices of cheesecake to go, since we all got pretty full on our meals. I don't have a picture of it, but Greg got the 'Caramel Pecan Turtle' cheesecake.

Joel with his 'Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple' cheesecake. The waitress said it's one of their very best sellers. Pretty sure that's what Greg got last time.

Here is Caleb pondering his 'Godiva Chocolate' cheesecake. I have to tell you, it was so much chocolate that it didn't even appeal to me in the slightest. I think he's wondering here if he should even bother using his fork...

Hmm...nope, I guess not.

Ohhh, and here was the best one of the day...my 'Chocolate Coconut Cream' cheesecake. Don't let the name fool you, the only chocolate was in the crust, which was probably why I loved it SO much. I had mine finished before Greg and I switched drivers, despite my very full tummy.

We made it back to Tremont by 3:00, which was perfect since we had potluck at our house at 5:30. Don't worry, my house was still clean from having rotating potluck at our house that Thursday, two nights before. :) It was a very fun, albeit busy, weekend! Happy belated birthdays, Joel and Caleb! Hope you had fun!