​Summer is in full swing and the Messy Mommies love heading to the lake with our messy families! Last week I called Holly, my sister-in-law and fellow Messy Mommy blogger, Holly and shared that we were headed to the lake. I asked Holly if she and my niece Eleanora wanted to join us to kick off the summer at the lake. Holly quickly said yes and my twins, Sophia and Stella were so excited that Eleanora was coming along. 
 
My parent’s lake house is a couple of hours outside of Chicago near Starved Rock and is the perfect place to disconnect from devices and have fun with the kids. We run on lake time and the kids’ focus is on spending as much time at the beach, pool, or down at the dock as possible! We agree with our messy kids and try to plan easy summertime meals so we can be outside!

​The weather was cloudy but the girls didn’t care! Eleanora had received a giant unicorn float for her birthday which we blew up. Holly was a champ and walked the unicorn down the hill to the beach as we drove over. Thunder clapped in the distance and the lifeguard wouldn’t let us swim so we did relay races with the unicorn floats. 

Suddenly the sky darkened and we jumped in the car with the unicorn hanging out the back. Rain poured down as we dashed back to the cabin. We got soaked as we sprinted inside but the girls didn’t care. They pulled out Twister, Candy Land and other board games. The rain eventually stopped and we headed down to the dock for fishing. ​

​Stella, Sophia, and Eleanora kept grandpa jumping as the fish were biting! The girls would scream with excitement over every bluegill they pulled from the lake. I screamed as I tried to help my dad take the fish off the hooks and the fish flipped around. The bluegills were so little but the girls didn’t care. They loved it all. I loved that they were having a blast outside with their grandpa. Once the girls collectively caught 16 fish Holly and I decided it was time to go up to make dinner.

Lake time means easy summer meals and we try to be a bit healthy when we can to combat all the s'mores! The Messy Mommies are excited to try out the new salads from Taylor Farms. We had reached out to Taylor Farms on social media and shared that we loved their salads and were excited for the new salad kits. Taylor Farms so kindly shared the new chopped kits with us to try out! I love bacon and was excited to try the Maple Bourbon Bacon salad! Taylor Farms had me at bacon. 

The Taylor Farms Maple Bourbon Bacon chopped kit includes romaine lettuce, broccoli, red and savoy cabbage, green onion, carrots, uncured smoky bacon, golden almonds with a maple-bourbon vinaigrette. 

I loved the smoky bacon and the golden honey almonds added a great, sweet crunch to the salad! The Taylor Farms Maple Bourbon Bacon chopped kit was so easy to toss together for a quick, easy summer dinner. We served the delicious salad along side the sweet potato medallions and chicken sausage. We also diced some of the sweet potatoes and toped the Taylor Farms Maple Bourbon Bacon salad with the sweet potatoes. This was a perfect summer lake meal!

We also love that the Taylor Farms Maple Bourbon Bacon chopped kit is 100% free from artificial ingredients! You will love this salad and the maple-bourbon vinaigrette is so good too! The new Taylor Farms Maple Bourbon Bacon chopped kits are hitting stores in the Chicagoland area! Huge thanks to Taylor Farms for sharing the new Taylor Farms chopped kits with the Messy Mommies in the City!

Try the Taylor Farms Maple Bourbon Bacon chopped kit today for the perfect easy summer dinner! You will have a wonderful dinner and more time for family summer fun like unicorn relay races! 

​Meg 

P.S. Check out more on Taylor Farms - we love companies that make a positive difference and give back! See Bruce's comments below!
"From an early age my mom and dad, Joanne and Ted Taylor, ingrained in me the imperative of leaving the world a better place. One of the greatest pleasures of our success since I started Taylor Fresh Foods, has been the opportunities afforded to us to make a positive impact on a larger scale.” 
– Bruce Taylor, Founder and CEO.

We wait all winter and it feels like it will never be hot out again and then bam… ITS HERE! 

Summers have definitely changed now that my kids are older.  I promised myself that this year I am going to make a determined attempt to get my kids to do some of the things we used to do together as a family.  It is so hard to coordinate work and school schedules and everyone's plans that we forget to make time to do things that makes mom happy!!

We have always loved festivals during the summer, and living in Joliet every weekend some church or organization is having a fest somewhere.  I have given my children 3 weekend dates that I demand they open up just for us!!  Each fest holds special memories for me and I hope my girls! And, darn it they are going with me this year!!

One of our favorite fests is Taste of Joliet @TasteofJoliet!  Taste of Joliet is held at ATI Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium.  It is always held at the end of June, this year it is the weekend of June 22, 2018.  I have so many memories of the carnivals and the bands – wow the bands!  We would get there early to find  a spot on the field and put our blankets down.  The girls would always need an elephant ear immediately!  Luckily, it always seemed our blanket was near the beer tent!  What a coincidence!  After a quick snack and beverages we would head over to the carnival. One of the best parts of this fest is that you can not walk 5 feet without seeing someone you knew, friends from gradeschool, an old work friend or ever a cousin you haven’t seen in ages!! 
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On to the carnival! We would purchase a weekend bracelet and the girls would ride every ride a million times. There always seems to be one ride that they just loved and would go on it again and again. Funny thing is I offered to buy them each a weekend bracelet this year …. the looks I got! I guess at 21, 19, and 17 that is no longer enticing!  

​This year it is all about the music and the food.  So, after researching the bands I found out that Chase Rice and Brothers Osburne @brothersosborne will be playing on Saturday, now that excited my girls!   I am looking forward to not having to chase them around the carnival and I am missing not having to chase them around the carnival! Time is flying by fast - we need to make more family memories!

Food… So many options, form corn on the cob from the Joliet Firefighters, to a porkchop on a stick from Annabelles.  The festive atmosphere makes everything taste like heaven!!  There is something for everyone from veggies, to Mexican to sweets to pizza!  If you leave here hungry it is your own fault!!

I have an image in my head for #TOJ18 of sitting on the blanket listening to music and eating some great local food, my girls are all there laughing and we are having a great time!  The sun is shining, the drinks are cold and friends stop by the blanket to visit. It is a perfect summer day!!
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Next weekend, come on over to Joliet with your family and check out the Taste of Joliet! You will make memories to last a life time! Be sure to stop by our blanket and say hi! And, I know you will have a perfect summer day too!

​Kim

​Taste of Joliet Hours and Admission 
Taste of Joliet Purchase Tickets
Taste of Joliet Parking & Other Maps