Happy Summer!

So, as I was perusing Sean & Britt's blog, as I do from time to time for baby updates - I noticed that the last time our blog was updated was 3 months ago! That is not cool at all! In my defense, however, not a whole lot goes on out of the ordinary around here. Just a whole lotta daily livin'; you know, work, housework, schoolwork, laundry, meal prep, baths, play dates etc.

We have managed to fit in a few adventures though - you had to know! We went hiking at Devil's Lake, WI on the 5th of July and hit a trail described as "steep and difficult". But, my daring children wanted to give it a try, so what the hay, eh? We were about half way up and my Seattle diva pipes up with "pheww! I am SO gonna need a Starbucks after this!". That's my girl!

My birthday weekend netted a bit of fun: a family fun day at Fort McCoy, then a party at some friends' house (that's them below - Mark & Sherri), then back to the Lake for paddleboating. In classic Kathie fashion - I tried something new. Now, if you've never done it, I recommed putting yourself into a very heavy velcro suit, then jumping up against a velcro wall. It doesn't hurt - it's way too funny, because when you break free, you fall, then have to attempt to get up on a bouncy surface in a heavy suit. You can't tell from the picture, but I scored about 3 feet up the wall - possibly a world record. Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't stop laughing!

Zen travelers have trouble

Our vacation to California was fantastic, but had some, how shall I say it?, traveling hiccups. We started by nearly missing our plane in Minneapolis (mom read wrong boarding pass), then in Phoenix we were still sitting on the plane, needed to travel the entire length of the airport and the next plane was scheduled to board in 7 minutes. But, we ran at super-sonic speed (with the aid of moving sidewalks - I love those things!) and miraculously made it.

Then, on the way home - no trouble until we got to Minneapolis. Somehow the parking slip got stuck inbetween two of Aleah's books and we ended up dumping backpacks to try and find it. And, as we were driving home, got lost, nearly ran out of gas, drove for over an hour and were still in Minneapolis. At one point, we were laughing uproarously about what was going to happen next. When we rolled into a gas station on fumes, we asked for directions "to Wisconsin".

The vacation was filled with all our favorites - street fair, children's museum, football, cooking with Grandma (strawberry jam this time), the Living Desert, and of course, tons of swimming!

Spring aka "Mud Season" has sprung!

So, taxes are done (finally) and the snow boots are put away - wait! don't put them away just yet, you'll need them for the mud! As the snow melted (fortunately not too fast - no flooding), we were left with gunky mud. But, at two weeks before Spring, we finally got a snow with snowman makin' snow! Pretty sure we are done with the snow now though. And, now that Spring is here, Aleah is wondering where the flowers are. She is constantly looking for "signs of Spring". "Look Mom! a robin, that's a sign of Spring!" Can't you just hear her saying it?

Fall in Wisconsin

Hi Everyone!

Tomorrow is the first day of winter, but you'd have a hard time sellin' that around here! We had a gorgeous early October (I think it is a gentle reminder of the beauty of this place, so you can remember something nice, long about February when snow shoveling would readily be given up in favor of a root canal! - it's tough!)

We had a great time celebrating Halloween (will the REAL Hannah Montana please stand up?), classic fall activities like a tour of the cranberry bogs and a several mile corn maze. And, of course, Aleah's birthday. She celebrated with some of her pals at the Fort McCoy bowling alley.

Then came the first snow - yeah!! And, look at it now! Our mailbox is not really short - it is just easily accessible when there is 2 1/2 feet of snow to climb up on! We are looking forward to a trip to Washington for Christmas, but it is snowing there too! Can't seem to get away from it :-)

Monkey Kick-off challenge

Nicholas's personal best is 4371 meters. Can you do better?

Post your comment here if you do!

http://www.miniclip.com/games/monkey-kick-off/en/

More from our adventure...

Leave it to kids to find a way to make nearly everything fun. On our way out of town, Jill, Marcus and the girls were on their way to the coast, so they came by. Check out these hilarious pictures of "mattress smashing"...

I couldn't go east without stopping in my favorite town on the planet, Missoula, of course! We met up with my friend Mike, hiked part way up to the "M" and picked up a souvenier at a former hangout called "Food for Thought", which, if I ever get the nerve to open my own cafe, this is the place I envision in my dreams. It is, in a word, blissful.

South Dakota, I am starting to think, is a very well kept secret. They have it all - the gorgeous black hills, tons of history, hiking, cool places to explore (like the second longest cave in North America - Jewel cave which we went into), and, of course, Wall Drug. No trip through SD is complete without a visit to that place. We also enjoyed a bit of mini-golf. Check out the "rule breaker"! Also, we went to an awesome laser light show at the Crazy Horse monument. The picture isn't very good, and the 5 or so that Aleah took on her camera from Auntie, didn't turn out at all.

And, if they ever claim that the trip was grueling.... I've got proof to the contrary :-)

What a TRIP!!

Phew!! The last 6-8 weeks have been such a whirlwind of activity, our heads are still spinning! We left DuPont on August 26th on our "adventure" - and for the next 5 days we "toured America" :-) My Dad asked me if I thought I needed an atlas (which in all practicality would've been smart), but I said, "I don't think so, we are just going to get on I-90 and turn right, that oughta do it" And, for the most part, that's what we did. We detoured into South Dakota via the southern route to Custer for a tour around Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore, but other than that, we saw nearly every rest stop between North Bend and Sparta, WI! (And many "side of the roads" mere minutes after rest stops, in between!) As you can see above, brilliant Auntie Tanya gave each of the kids their own camera to document their trip. The results are hilarious and I'll post those another day.

The camera was on a funky setting, so you'll just have to take my word that we went through Idaho (no, we didn't just hop over!). But, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are represented and became a fun game to look for the "Welcome to..." sign.

The most significant event of the trip was something that was becoming a near "regular" occurance, and that was.... another lost tooth! I was starting to think I was going to have to puree everything, but he has only lost one since. But, how cool is it to lose a tooth at Mt. Rushmore? We were in the snack bar when it came out. Nick will likely remember that to tell his kids someday - he was pretty proud.

VERY shortly after we arrived in Wisconsin (2 days to be precise), Nick started school. As always, I took a picture on the first day. This is outside our temporary housing. It was also LeLe's first day - they were both pretty excited and have adapted well and quickly to their new schools. They both already have a big gang of pals.

You all know how big of a decision this was, and I do not know the right words to express my deep gratitude to all of you who "kicked it around" with me. There were many factors, logistics and Pros and cons to consider to make a decision like this. I believe in my heart that this is the right decision for us, and I appreciate all of you for your support and trust in me to do what is best for my family. It is hard though; we miss you all and can't wait to see you - SOON!! When I post next, it will be a bit of what we've seen here, and you may consider a trip at this time of year - it is gorgeous!

Lots of love, K