A group of snowboarders hit the slopes at Four Lake Ski Area in Lisle Thursday.
Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
Kaia Mavradas, 5, of Mount Prospect, wears a party hat and glasses during the New Years Eve-Eve Celebration Sunday at Bristol Court Banquets in Mount Prospect. The Mount Propect Downtown Merchants Association hosted the fifth annual party for all ages.
Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
Natalia Lawitz, of Wauconda, and her son Danny, 2, sled Saturday at the Lakewood Forest Preserve near Wauconda.
JOE LEWNARD/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Evelyn Mosena, 3, of Carol Stream, gets her face painted at the Carol Stream Park District Teeny Weenie New Years Eve Ball Saturday.
Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
John Knoepfle and daughter Nikki and wife Cristina, of Naperville, saw the Yule Log in half after following clues to its location during The Morton Arboretum 35th annual Hunt for the Yule Log Sunday.
Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
Nikki Knoepfle, of Naperville, pours ceremonial wine over the Yule Log during The Morton Arboretum 35th annual Hunt for the Yule Log, Sunday. Knoepfle and her parents, John and Cristina, found the log by following clues to its location on the arboretum grounds.
Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
Four-year-old twins Emily, left, and Abigail Schiltz, of Naperville, meet the Grinch as other kids wait their turn to pose for photos, at Andersons Bookshop in Naperville Friday.
Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com
Noah Walter, 13, Kyle Walter, 15, and Jordan Walter, 21, all of Arlington Heights, get a wild ride on the sled hill at Sunset Meadows Park Friday in Arlington Heights.
Bill Zars/bzars@dailyherald.com
Educator Seleena Kuester performs a ball drop as kids learned about New Years customs from around the world at the Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda Thursday.
Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
Grant Betulius, right, Neuqua Valley High School graduate and current student at the University of Iowa, trains with other former area high school swimmers and possible future Olympians at his alma mater Wednesday during their holiday break.
Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com
Organizer Lora Rampino, of Lake Zurich, holds up a 3-D snowflake made by a volunteer as people banded together to create snowflakes for the kids of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. About 200 people showed up to Concord Banquets in Lake Zurich for the snowflake making effort. An estimated 5000 snowflakes were made.
Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
Richard Ahrens, of East Dundee, waves to travelers on the corner of Rt. 31 and Stone Street in South Elgin on Christmas Day. 20 years ago, Ahrens lived in a home at this corner and found himself bored after his children moved away, so he decided to dress up like Santa and wave to people on the road. He stands out there no matter rain, sleet, or snow for about three hours. People come to take pictures with him, bring him coffee or just honk and say Merry Christmas.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Two horse wearing Santa hats nuzzle at a private barn called Canterfield Farm in West Dundee on Christmas Day. This is the eighth year the horses have worn the hats. Many drivers stop along Route 31 to look and take pictures.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Navy E-3 Parker Forman is reflected in a desk mirror as he talks to family in Utah at Christian Liberty Academy on Christmas Day. Linda and Bob Stack hosted 25 U.S. Navy recruits at the Arlington Heights school who couldnt go home for the holidays. The recruits were fed and used the phone, computer, and table games.
George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
Bin Healy, 5, of Mundelein, celebrates as his grandmother Ann Healy wins a bingo game at the Lake County owned Winchester House nursing home on Christmas Day in Libertyville.
George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
Bob Eckersberg and Marlilee Zuccaro, both of Elmhurst, chat with Santa before lunch was served at the Chicago Marriott Naperville. The Naperville YMCA and Naperville Park District combined forces to offer a Christmas luncheon for senior citizens for the 29th year.
Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
Curtis Bergstrom steps carefully over the edge of a temporary ice rink in County Park in South Elgin Monday. He and neighborhood friend Alex Bowers rode their bikes to the park and spent time sliding on the thin ice. They are both 12 and said the ice cracked as they walked.
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
As a professional news photographer, I always try to avoid taking pictures of the subjects if they are merely lined up left to right and looking at the camera. However, when I saw this scene as I drove down Main Street in Lombard, I just couldnt pass it up.
Scott Sanders/ssanders@dailyherald.com
U.S. Army Spec. Joseph Cappello, of Mount Prospect, is amazed at the crowd after arriving home from Afghanistan on Christmas Eve at the Arlington Heights American Legion Hall Post 208.
Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com