it was as close as you can get to a tropical vacation... in the Midwest

My family and I just returned from a very fun vacation. Our original plan called for a trip to South Dakota but our oldest really wanted to visit a state that didn't touch Minnesota. The kids stumbled upon a great coupon in their Lunchables boxes and an Illinois vacation was born.

We stayed at the best hotel in the area and it was seriously the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in. The attention to detail was incredible... just check out these fancy public restrooms below:

Note the hand-painted Kohler sink. Here's what the restroom looked like from the outside:

The hotel was designed to resemble a beachside resort - complete with quaint, colorful storefronts, Caribbean music, and the scent of tropical fruit wafting throughout the hotel. The waterpark (a.k.a. beach) at the center of the hotel featured four water slides, a wave pool, and huge play area. There was also an arcade, spa, candy shop, coffee bar, multiple restaurants, craft room, and even a small "Build-A-Bear" workshop area.

I'm telling you, the hotel ROCKED.

Our room had a flat screen television and was beautifully decorated. I loved the coconut lotion and tropical shampoos! There was even a refrigerator hidden in our dresser. The coolest part was the high-tech wrist bands issued at check-in which acted as your room key; they could even be programmed to be used as a credit card if you didn't want to carry cash around (we weren't quite that adventurous).

The cutest thing? The boys wanted to leave their wristbands on when we arrived home. At bedtime Ren said, "When we think about our vacation, at least we can relive it over and over and over again." (Be still, my scrapbooking heart.)

Our hotel was called the Key Lime Cove Water Resort.