TODAY: CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS “SKATE WITH THE GREATS” FOR CHARITY 1/16 AT MB FINANCIAL PARK

ChiIL Mama's ChiIL Picks List:    THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWK ALUMNI ASSOCIATION TEAMS UP WITH MB FINANCIAL PARK TO PRESENT “SKATE WITH THE GREATS” SATURDAY, JAN. 16 Proceeds To Benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities®  of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana MB Financial Park at Rosemont has partnered with the Chicago Blackhawk Alumni Association to present the fourth annual “Skate with the Greats” Saturday, Jan. 16 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at MB Financial Park at Rosemont. Proceeds from the event will benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana (RMHC®-CNI). “Skate with the Greats” will offer hockey fans the opportunity to meet current Chicago Blackhawk players Trevor Van Riemsdyk and Andrew Desjardins as well as legendary Chicago Blackhawk alumni including the great Denis Savard, who will be on-site at MB Financial Park signing autographs. Attendees can also meet and skate amongst other Chicago Blackhawk alumni including Cliff Koroll, Eric Daze, Troy Murray, Murray Bannerman, Phil Russell, Brian Noonan, Grant Mulvey, Reggie Kerr, Dave Mackey, Peter Marsh, Reid Simpson, and Steve Konoryd (players subject to change).  “We are grateful to the Blackhawk Alumni Association for their continued support and dedication to Ronald McDonald House Charities and thrilled to partner with them again on this year’s Skate with the Greats event,” said Holly Buckendahl, CEO of RMHC-CNI. “Skate with the Greats is such a unique opportunity and makes the perfect holiday gift for hockey fans of all ages.” “The winter season is always an exciting time of year for Rosemont with the fun activities offered at FROZEMONT in MB Financial Park,” said Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens. “We are excited to team up with the Chicago Blackhawk Alumni Association to add “Skate with the Greats” to the Park’s winter programming and raise money for such a great organization.” Tickets to “Skate with the Greats” can be purchased online at www.RonaldHouseChicago.org/skatewiththegreats. Adult tickets are available for $150 each and $100 tickets are available for children ages 12 or younger. A special family four-pack of tickets is available for $450, with each additional ticket available for $100. Each ticket will provide attendees a 30-minute skating session on the MB Financial Park ice rink. Tickets will also allow access to a 30-minute autograph session at Kings Bowl. A silent auction, offering exclusive items including Chicago Blackhawks memorabilia and experiences, will also be offered at a site to be determined. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. When ordering tickets, fans will be able to indicate their preferred time frames for ice skating and autographs by selecting a session number. Session number details can be found below. Each session is limited to 125 registrants. “Skate with the Greats” overall attendance is limited to 500 attendees. Guests may bring their own skates, but free skate rentals will also be available at MB Financial Park. Session 1                                            2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Ice Skating                                   3 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.  Autograph Session          Session 2 2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Autograph Session 3 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.  On Ice Session 3 2:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. On Ice                   3:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.  Autograph Session          Session 4 2:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. Autograph Session 3:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. On Ice In order to ensure participation from all event attendees, “Skate with the Greats” guests are limited to one autograph and one photograph from each legend and current Chicago Blackhawk player.                                                                         About The Village of Rosemont, Illinois: Rosemont, Illinois, Chicagoland’s business and entertainment suburb, is conveniently located five minutes from O’Hare Airport and twenty minutes from Chicago’s downtown. Rosemont is home to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, a wide variety of hotel and dining options, the Allstate Arena, the Rosemont Theatre, and a host of entertainment and retail venues. Rosemont continues to grow and evolve based on the new vision of Mayor Bradley A. Stephens. MB Financial Park at Rosemont features an array of great dining and entertainment options. For more information, visit www.Rosemont.com. About The MB Financial Park at Rosemont: MB Financial Park at Rosemont is a 200,000 square-foot entertainment and dining complex whose 10 venues offer upscale international cuisine, live music and comedy, state-of-the-art film, bowling and more. Conveniently located near O’Hare International Airport, MB Financial Park at Rosemont is easily accessible from Chicago as well as the suburbs. The address is 5501 Park Place, a new looping street situated west of River Road between Bryn Mawr and Balmoral Avenues.  A 20-minute drive from Chicago’s Loop, MB Financial Park at Rosemont is walking distance from the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, the CTA Blue Line Rosemont station and Rosemont Theatre. Convenient parking is available. For more information visit www.mbparkatrosemont.com. About Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana: RMHC-CNI is an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to care for families of children with complex medical needs by providing a ‘home away from home’ while their child is being treated in the hospital.  Every night, 153 families heal together because of the comfort, compassion and community at five area Ronald McDonald Houses® and three Ronald McDonald Family Rooms®.  That’s 43,000 nights each year where RMHC-CNI families are able to stay close to their child, helping them to heal faster and saving them over $7 million in hotel costs.  We are located near Advocate Children's Hospital, Loyola University Medical Center, University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Edward Hospital in Naperville and Central DuPage Hospital.  For more information visit RonaldHouseChicago.org. RMHC-CNI is an approved BBB Accredited Business and holds a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator. Stay connected - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram.

Meeting Bobby Hull & Stan Bowman/ Blackhawks Shutout Blues Photo Feature #OriginalPhotos #ParkPoints #ChicagoParks

Earlier this month we had an EPIC win from Chicago Park District and their new Park Points Program.  We won 4 tickets to see the Chicago Blackhawks Vs. The St. Louis Blues, and a meet and greet with Blackhawks Vice President/General Manager, Stan Bowman! 

Our game seats were phenomenal--14th row behind the goal ($180 seats) and even better--The Blackhawks WON 4-0 in a rare SHUTOUT!  It was also a momentous occasion marking the 1,000th game for Center, Michal Handzus, and the 700th NHL win for Coach Quenneville! 



HAWKS WIN!!!!

We even got an xtra bonus meet up with uber famous Blackhawks alum, Bobby Hull!!!!  I have rarely seen my huge hockey fan husband soooo excited. He was like a little kid at Christmas.  





Check out our slideshow here for our full set of behind the scenes & game shots.  We've included our favorites at the bottom of this feature as well. You may have already seen our live Tweets/FB updates/Instagram shots during the game. If not, click the links & check it out.



We were sooooooo stoked to win the tickets. My husband is a huge, lifelong Blackhawks fan and I've dug them since I moved to Chicago in 1990. Our 10 & 13 year olds have grown up loving The Blackhawks too. "Back in the day" before we were double Stanley Cup Champs and everyone and their mothers wanted Hawks tickets, we'd get $10 day of game seat all the time. 

Don't get me wrong... We're thrilled to have an excellent hockey team now and never thought they'd bring home the cup TWICE in our lifetimes after such a loooooong dry spell. But the downside is, now we're pretty muchly priced out of the games and tickets are impossible to get, so we were extra happy to win 4.  

Even when the Blackhawks lost all the time, we were diehard fans and loved to come to live games. Now we watch as many as possible on TV and are still huge fans, but we're mostly relegated to loudly cheering them on from the comforts of our couch. After the first goal the kids were so funny. They cheered wildly then commented that being at the LIVE game was like hearing Dad amplified 21,000+ times... every cheer, groan, and player directive they usually just hear yelled at the TV by 1, was echoed by an excited United Center FULL of fans. Powerful stuff! 

Our Park Points ticket win was an even sweeter victory, since we thought we'd lost.  I bid all 900 of my Park Points on the game and was watching it till nearly 1am, when I was still winning with 15 minutes to go.  With nothing left to bid, I went to bed with my fingers crossed & awoke to find we'd been outbid by 75 points and lost it.  We were bummed out, but accepting. Then we got an awesome e-mail: 

Congratulations! Due to an ineligible bid for the Park Points™ Meet the VP/GM of the Blackhawks Experience we have disqualified the highest bid. As the second highest bidder for this experience, you have been declared the winner. 

The first place bidders had cheated... and got caught and disqualified, making us the winners. Woo hoo!!

Everyone at The United Center was incredibly friendly and great to us! We all got goodie bags with bobble heads, programs, and hats. And Stan Bowman signed photos for us and gave us a grand tour of the box where he watches the games.  

As a location sound engineer, my husband works loads of the Bulls & Bears games interviews for all the major sports networks, which is cool, but he hasn't gotten called yet for what he'd really love to work... The Blackhawks.





Sage (10) told Stan Bowman that one of her favorite players is Swede, Johnny Oduya, but she got shy and wussed out on doing her announcer voice for Stan. She has this hilarious way of belting out "JOHNNY ODUUUUUUU YAH." that just kills us.  Stan said Oduyah is one of his 8 year old son's favorites too! Sage also wishes he didn't trade "Buff Dude" (Dustin Bufuglein), another of her favs. 

It was sweet to see behind the scenes and get to shoot some photos in the VP/GM lair. We felt pretty VIP. When we first meet Stan Bowman, Bobby Hull just happened to be passing by and my husband did a 180 spin and said "Excuse me sir, can I just shake your hand." He grinned, in his charismatic way, and not only shook Dug's hand, but offered to stop and pose for a few family photos with us and Stan, too!!  Ah the memories.

We also got to hold and try on one of the championship rings and check out the diamonds up close. I never realized the main staff got them too, and could personalize them. Our escort, Annie, Director of Youth Hockey, got her young daughter's name on hers. Super cool!

LIVE TWEET: Tradition! Ice cream during 2nd intermission. #ChicagoBlackhawks#atthawks #ImAtTheGame Thanks a zillion for the ticket win Chicago Park District. We're huge, lifelong fans of the park district & The Blackhawks!

We're more than happy to spread the word about the Park Points Program and encourage everyone to check it out and sign up here. So many times, special experiences like this are only available to the rich, connected or media. But The Park Points Program makes it possible for ANYONE to WIN. This program is incredible and it's easy to join up. Like we need more incentive to get out and enjoy the Chicago Park District!

We're already huge fans of the parks, with a daughter on the Chicago Comets competitive gymnastics team via Avondale Park Gymnastics Center. Our son went to pre-school at CPD Brands Park and our kids have grown up taking numerous classes like pottery, soccer, hockey, ice skating, nature camp, swimming and more. They've also grown up enjoying special events through the parks since birth. 

LIVE Tweet/Instagram/FB:

Epic WIN. Woo hoo! Rock star seats for Chicago Blackhawks Thanks a zillion Chicago Park District

WIN BLACKHAWKS TICKETS & EXPERIENCES: Thanks again Chicago Park District! We WON 4 tickets to the Chicago Blackhawks game tonight and a meet n greet with their GM. Woo hoo! Can't wait. Sooooo stoked! 

Meet n greet with Stan Bowman-- Chicago Blackhawks VP/GM. Thanks ChicagoBlackhawks 1MFans & Chicago Park District!!! The Park Points program rocks!

We're happy humans indeed! Thanks for the rockstar seats and the ticket win Chicago Park District. We're waaaaay beyond stoked to be here! #atthawks #ChicagoBlackhawks #ImAtTheShow

 #Blackhawks #atthawks #ImAtTheGame "Keep your head on a swivel & get the puck to the net." Can you tell we listen to a lotta Eddie O?!

#GOAL 2 to 0 @Blackhawks !!  #ImAtTheGame #ChicagoBlackhawks#ChicagoParkdistrict #atthawks

Anyone else call 'em shovel girls or is it just me?  #ChicagoBlackhawks#atthawks #ImAtTheGame

My husband and I have had a running bit for the last 18 years, where he vocally ogles the Ice Crew, just to mess with me, and I say "Get the girls some pants before they freeze." Then I counter with feminist rants about why the girls should make more than $50 a game and comp tickets to be drooled over by a gazillion drunk hockey fans. I also tell him we should get Magic Mike lookin' Ice Boys in G-strings to go with the "Shovel Girls", instead of the full jumpsuit wearin' shovel guys.  Who's with me, women?!  Am I right or what? DH tells me the players are all the hot guys on ice action we girls get, and he's got a point. They are pretty hot... but all that padding... Doesn't seem like a fair deal to me on the eye candy front! 



When my daughter Sage was 5, some of The Shovel Girl Barbies signed a photo for her and excitedly chirped about her being a future Ice Crew Girl. She told them she'd rather be a goalie. That's my girl!!  Check it out here.

Best Game of the Season!

Thanks a zillion for the tickets & meet n greet, Chicago Park District. We had a blast and are truly grateful, honored, and excited that we were there, up close, for such a stellar game. You rock!

We back you #Blackhawks #atthawks #ImAtTheGame. You made our day ChicagoPark District! Thanks for the ticket win for one of the best games of the season!!

4 to nothin' #Blackhawks shutout??!! #ImAtTheGame#ChicagoBlackhawks #atthawks

Our Favorite Shots From The Night:

Pre-Halloween 2013 #Halloween #PumpkinCarving

It's raining and we're still in the midst of jerry-rigging a narwhal for the boy out of a huge dog toy lizard tail, a knit skull cap, thread, wire, hot glue & a grey thrift dress.   Aaaaand we've got to find yellow grease paint for Miss Sage's Pansage face.   We've got the green makeup, & her costume's complete, so we're more than half way there.

Gotta catch 'em all... Pansage/Sage

Oh yeah, we're all going as the walking wounded too.   Sage landed full force on her right knee out of a flip in team practice and has been on crutches all week.   Fun fun... trick or treating with crutches in a downpour.   Dug's back got twingey this morning, cleaning up pumpkin guts & cardboard.   My left knee has been swollen & painful for some unknown reason, and Dugan fell and wrenched his left shoulder.   Oh joy.



At least our pumpkins look pretty sweet!
And as you can see, we had a fun family time carving 'em up.   We love the creativity Halloween inspires and we're all about DIY.   









































































The kids are big fans of Disney's animated series, Gravity Falls, so the last 2 years they've carved watermelons (ala Summerween from the show) in addition to pumpkins.   This year Sagezilla (who can be very Mabel at times) made hers a "puking pumpkin" with excellent use of the watermelon guts.   

 

I've carved a zillion pumpkins over the years and even won a contest as a kid, with my Christmas caroler pumpkin (complete with ear muffs!)   This year I made a first attempt at skinning the veggie and designing with the inner layer.   Here's my creation.  Go Blackhawks!