Ahh...vacations, friends and booze. This was a FUN post to write :) Lets start with vacations shall we?
My mommy friend Amy asked...
What is your favorite vacation spot Jen, and why?
I have to admit...I am not a very big traveler. I love the idea of traveling and I can think of a thousand places I would like to go. But in the end, I always have a million excuses not to go somewhere, whether it's time, money, distance, etc. Also...I absolutely HATE flying. H.A.T.E. But, Eric and I certainly weren't going to travel by boat to the Dominican Republic for our honeymoon, so I had to bite the bullet and just take a Tylenol PM and drink a bottle of wine. And boy am I glad I did because our trip to Punta Cana was AMAZING!!! The water is crystal blue, the beaches are clean and not over populated with travelers, the resorts in our area were all beautiful (including the resort specifically for families with kids), and best of all...everything there is all inclusive. In my opinion, that is the way to travel. So...if I had to pick my favorite vacation spot, i would pick Punta Cana. I would love to go back some day and take another picture like this...

But like I said, I absolutely hate to fly. So if I had to pick my favorite vacation spot within driving distance, I would pick Galena, IL. Galena is a gorgeous little town only about 3.5 hours away from us...
They have a fun little downtown area with lots of shopping and cute restaurants...

My brother Adam and SIL Diana got married here a few years ago and I have been in love with the place ever since. In my opinion, the best time to visit Galena is in the fall. The trees are GORGEOUS and you can't beat doing some shopping while sipping on some fresh apple cider :-)
Also, besides Disney what is one place you feel Blake and Addie have to see/visit in their lifetimes?
This is a great question. My Dad and I have said for years that we would love to go to Germany and see some old relatives, but I have always been petrified to go. I feel uncomfortable going anywhere where I can't speak the language. Also, lets not even talk about how long of a flight that is!! But it is our heritage, and I think it would be a once in a lifetime experience to take the kids somewhere like that. And hey, if my Mom (who is an even bigger scaredy cat than me) can travel to Europe countless times for work, I think I could handle it for a vacation :-)
Now, speaking of vacations, my bloggy friend Chelle asked...
If you could have a girls weekend, where would you go, why, and with whom?
AWESOME question Chelle. I think about this a lot lately, since I haven't had a girls trip in years. MANY years. I have a thousand different places I would consider going, and at least 10 different ladies I would like to travel with (my mom, MIL, my SILs, my BFFs, etc.) but the one place my SIL Dana and I have talked about is Napa Valley.
I have never been to California and since I love wine and sunshine...what better place to go? I also hear they have some fabulous Day Spas in the area that we could go to when we are hung over from all the wine drinking. Which leads me to Chelle's next question...
Beer, wine or hard alcohol or none of the above?
Wine. In a glass, out of a box or straight from the bottle...it is my drink of choice :-) I mean obviously...since I would base an entire vacation around wine drinking. Ha!
And if there is one friend I know I could count on to accompany me on a wine vacation, it would be my BFF Linsey who asked...
I want to know exactly how cool you think your friend Linsey is - on a scale of 1 to 10?
You are a solid 11 babe. I love ya! Oh, and if you and I ever plan a girls trip alone (or with Tara) I would say we book tickets for the Twilight Cruise. Just sayin...
So...since I am not a big traveler, I have become a big fan of "Day Trips" lately, especially with the kids. My real life friend Kate asked...
Do you have memberships anywhere? Where do you like to take your kids?
This a good question honey. I don't have any memberships yet, but I am contemplating getting one to the Brookfield Zoo and/or the Shedd Aquarium in the city since there is SO much fun stuff to do there. Oh, and Addie is in love with fish, thanks to Nemo. And as for our playdate, maybe we can check out one of those places together one day? Let me know when you are off for the summer :-)
Well...that concludes my Vacations, Friends and Booze post :-) But stay tuned for Q&A Part III: Books, Books and Music and Q&A Part IV: Being a Stay at Home Mommy (this one is going to be so fun!). Thanks again for all the great questions ladies! If you think of anything else, be sure to ask! I could play this game all day!!