Guest Post by Stacia - Staycation Geneva, IL

In case you missed the memo, I'm at the beach all week! Some awesome women have volunteered to keep you company while I'm gone. In honor of summer vacation time, Stacia has written about a staycation in her city! (How about you? Would you like to show off your city to Last Mom On Earth readers? Go ahead and contact me with your guest posting ideas!)

I simply love the town we live in. Geneva, IL, it's a suburb of Chicago, about 30 miles west. It's got so much history and beauty. Our house is right near the downtown area where all the hubbub is. Every year we look forward to the festivals. We don't have to worry about parking because we live so close we can just walk. There's the Swedish Days festival (end of June) that goes on for days proudly celebrating Geneva's Swedish culture, as well as the Festival of the Vine (in September). That's a wine festival where vendors come from all over to show off their wines and local eateries serve their best of the best.

Every year the suburb I live in throws a festival called Midsommer  Festival – Swedish Days and every year something screws with our plans  to attend. Every year. This year was no different but we did our damnest  to get out there and see some of the festival. The rain was our biggest  opponent and then on the final day of Swedish Days there is a parade  and Ava, my 3 year old, came down with a 104ºF fever. Seriously?! But we  still went only because the parade route was only a block from our  house and even though Ava looked completely miserable she so desperately  wanted to go. Don't worry we made sure she didn't infect anyone.


Since we have a newborn son and a three year old to entertain we don't have much in the ole coin purse for big vacations and really... who needs it when you have a town like we have! Swedish Days has the really great, high fat, carnival food, bands rockin' out on the courtyard, vendors selling their hand made crafts and we can't forget the two hour long parade that had the famous Jesse White tumblers and the Shriners zipping around on their mini motorcycles and cars.

Our neighbors live right on the parade route which happens to be right behind our house. They BBQ'd while we sat under their huge oak tree in their front yard and got a front row seat for the parade. The sun was out and hot if you directly in it but it was amazing in the shade. It felt like an all American summer day.

 can't get more American than a hotdog, fruit salad and a cookie

For our family we have all we need for a staycation is right here in our town (splash pads, pools, homemade ice cream, parades, fireworks, restaurants) all of which we can walk to... although I wouldn't poo poo a tropical vacation if someone wants to front the moola for it. Any takers? I didn't think so. Since ya'll are being stingy I'm gonna pop my kid in the baby wrap and take a walk to Starbucks, cause my town is awesome like that. I can WALK to Starbucks!! Oh and that cute little bread store that sells the most amazing brownie cookies. Mmmm.

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Stacia is a mommy blogger of two... a 3 year old drama queen and a 3 week old newborn. When not on maternity leave she's also a full time graphic designer. Life keeps her very busy but she likes to get down to the nitty-gritty and tell it like it is MOTY-style over at Dried on Milk.

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