Things to Do in Sweet Home Chicago

Here's an ongoing list of things to do in the Chicagoland area.  If you know of something I can add, please let me know!  I'm slowly but surely linking the various activities. *Call ahead of visiting anything listed here to check for hours and/or if they're still in business.*

Aurora
Sky Zone

Barrington
Goebbert's Farm & Pumpkin Patch

Bloomingdale
Stratford Square Mall Train, Carousel, Indoor playground

Brookfield
Brookfield Zoo

Buffalo Grove
Rockin' Jump

Carol Stream
Rockin' Jump

Chicago
The 606 (elevated running path/artwork)
Adler Planetarium
Art Institute
Buckingham Fountain
Chicago Cultural Center (Free, great photo ops, free tours at certain times)
Chicago Design Museum
Chicago Riverwalk
Field Museum
Lincoln Park Zoo
Maggie Daley Park
Museum of Science & Industry
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Promontory Point
Shedd Aquarium

Crystal Lake
Chuck E. Cheese's
Monkey Joe's
Pump It Up

Des Plaines
The Choo-Choo (restaurant)

Dundee Township

Jelke Creek Bird Sanctuary

East Dundee
AZoosement Park (Old Santa's Village)

Elgin
Adventure Island indoor water park @The Centre
Hawthorne Hill Nature Center

Elk Grove Village
Fountain Square Park
Jumps N Jiggles
Pirate's Cove Children's Theme Park
Rainbow Falls Water Park

Elmhurst
Sky Zone

Glencoe
Chicago Botanic Garden
Little House of Glencoe

Glenview
Kohl Children's Museum

Gurnee
Gurnee Mills Outlet Mall
Key Lime Cove
Six Flags Great America

Hanover Park
Chuck E. Cheese's

Highland Park
Ravinia Festival

Lake Zurich
Treehouse

Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire Marriott Theater & Children's Playhouse

Lisle
The Morton Arboretum

Maple Park
Kuipers Family Farm

Naperville
The Ball Factory

Niles
Sky High Sports

Northbrook
River Trail Nature Center

Rockford
Carlson Acrtic Ice Arena
Discovery Center Children's Museum
Magic Waters Water Park
Monkey Joe's
Sapora Playworld  More info here
Sinnissippi Park
Skateland
Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum & Gardens

Rockford Things to Do

Roscoe (near Rockford)
Board & Brush (this is for adults only)

Rosemont
MB Financial Park
Rosemont Website
Chicago Wolves hockey

Schaumburg
Bison's Bluff-outdoor playground, discovery area
Jump Zone-inflatable "playground".  Our 4 year old loved this.
Kids Club-it's been said that they often have Groupons available
Legoland Discovery Center - went here with our 5 year old and 2 1/2 year old. They really enjoyed it and we were there longer than I had anticipated.  If your child loves Legos, I think they'll enjoy it.  My kids loved the little ride, the Lego water table area, and the 4D movie theater. I also recommend checking out Groupon before buying tickets, since I probably wouldn't pay more than the Groupon $14 price we paid.  I'd also skip the photo packages; it's not worth it. Ages 2 and under are free.
Pilot Pete's (restaurant) This is a fun, airport/plane-themed restaurant.  We go there with the kids and they love it.  It overlooks the Schaumburg airport.  It's a noisy place (great for kids) and a huge menu.
Pump It Up
Rainforest Cafe (restaurant)
Schaumburg Park District Website
Spring Valley Nature Sanctuary
The Tot Lot-Sch. Park District
The Water Works-indoor waterpark Sch. Park District
Woodfield Mall
Top Golf-It's on the the land by Motorola.  It's great!  Our whole family loved it. 12/2019
Yu Kids Island- indoor playground/play place It's inside Woodfield Mall. Must wear socks.

Skokie
Chuck E. Cheese's
Skokie Exploratorium

South Elgin
Epic Air-it's recommended that small kids go during the designated toddler time

St. Charles
Hickory Knolls Discovery Center

Union
Donley's Wild west Town
Illinois Railway Museum

West Dundee
Randall Oaks Zoo

Wheaton
Cosley Zoo
Mokey Joe's 
Monkey Business
Kids Town


Misc. Northwest Suburban Parks blog

Portillo's Chocolate Cake

Anyone that lives in Chicago knows (or should know) the deliciousness of Portillo’s Chocolate Cake.  It is the BEST chocolate cake anywhere.  Now that I live in Atlanta, not only do I miss the hot dogs and cheese fries (I'm on a personal quest to bring Portillo's to Scenic Hwy.), I also miss the chocolate cake.  I’ve even converted Joe into a lover of Portillo’s chocolate cake.  He requests it when we’re back visiting my family.  He even went on a business trip to Chicago a couple of years ago and had to get some cake while he was in town!  I had seen copycat recipes for quite some time, but I was always a little leery of trying one in fear of it not being anything like Portillo’s cake.  I decided to make one for Sam’s 2^nd birthday.  It was a hit with the three of us and really easy to imitate.  If you like chocolate cake, this is a really close second to the actual, real Portillo’s Chocolate Cake.

Here are a few notes about the recipe.  I didn't have large eggs the day I was baking the cake, so I used 4 medium eggs.  The original recipe I used called for 3 large eggs.  The recipe also called for 2 cans of frosting and I opted to use one.  One was plenty, but if you like a lot of frosting, similar to Portillo's, go with the two cans of frosting.

Copycat Chicago’s Portillo’s Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

1 Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil’s Food Cake Mix (It's important to get the Super Moist kind even if you use another brand.)

3 large eggs (or 4 medium if you don't have large)

1 cup ice cold water

1 cup mayonnaise

1 can creamy Chocolate Frosting (or 2 if you really like frosting. I use one.)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

 Grease 2 9” cake pans.  Beat all ingredients together for 4 minutes until smooth.  This will make the batter creamy and fluffy.  

Pour in pans and bake 30-35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

 Cool on wire rack.  Frost double-layer cake.

Original recipe found here.