Door County 2013

Our annual camping trip was last weekend.  It was so much fun, and just as I'd predicted last year, this year was our golden year where the kids slept all through the night and Brendan and I just got to sit around the campfire, drink beer, and wait for the stars to come out!  It rained a bit, but was overall really good weather.  It was COLD the first night, we all had on pjs, jeans, coats, sweatshirts, sleeping bags and blankets, and Brendan still said he felt cold.  46 degrees when you're in a tent is really chilly!

We did the usual stuff, throw rocks in the water, walk the trails, go see if the goats were out at Al Johnson's, get breakfast at the White Gull Inn.  We also rented a bike for me, plus a Tagalong bike for Ingrid.  It was so fun!  I was a bit shaky at first but once we got the hang of it, it was super fun.  There are tons of trails to take around the state park, we'll definitely do that next year!

Like I said, the kids passed out right away the first night and slept the whole night.  Brendan and I were actually up before they were Friday morning!  No 3am wake up and driving the park like last year!  No starting the day at 5:30am, the kids slept until 7.  Bliss.  It was really amazing.  Each year is just going to get easier and easier, until they hit puberty when they'll all the sudden start thinking it's lame to go camping.  Or at least that's what happened to me at that age :)

Once again, a great trip with the family.  So glad this is our tradition!

A Nature Walk

It was nice out this weekend so we went over by the botanical gardens to take a nature hike. It was gorgeous! We saw a deer, a turtle sunning on a rock, fish in the lagoon, and a huge frog. The kids thought it was pretty great, although damn Ingrid is a whiner when it comes to walking!! Every five feet she would whine about being tired. Meanwhile, little bro was running along the path like he had all the energy in the world...

Lumberjack Brunch and Other Weekend Goings On.

There's this awesome place my friend's husband works at--Hubbard Park Lodge.  It has the best all you can eat brunch on Sundays, so we decided to go this weekend.  We went last year right about this time of year, too.  It's just so pretty.  You park your car, walk through this tunnel:

And when you come out the other side of the tunnel you're here:

River birds making river bird noises, lots of trees and pretty fall foliage, so peaceful, and right in the city.  Plus, they have homemade donuts.  Yum.

Also this weekend, Otis fits into these adorable pants we bought a long time ago from little reader vintage.  Love them!  Little guy with wooden shoes on them, ric rac trim.  Oh man, cuteness. 

 And...the kitten.  She's a kitten.  She gets into everything.  Do not leave water glasses hanging out anywhere, you do not know whose head will be shoved into the glass to get a lick...



The Week Our Roof Got Redone

Ho boy, this week has been a doozy.  We have had roofers here all week, from 7:30am until sometimes 7pm.  Making noise, a huge mess, listening to the most god awful music at full blast. 

Monday we escaped and headed to the cottage for the day.  It was glorious.  The sun was shining, we went swimming, we ate lunch, we played at the park. 

Tuesday we signed up Ingrid for school (crossing fingers the wait list at our first choice school dwindles away to nothing so we get in soon!) then took a walk to the park.  Another sunny beautiful day we couldn't spend in our own backyard because there is a dumpster full of dangerous roofing materials there.  I stepped on a nail while going to throw the garbage out and am now deathly afraid of what will be left over after they leave...

Wednesday we met with friends at the park.  The kids ran around, the moms drank coffee.  Then we went to Target and spent a fortune and forgot the two things we had gone for.  How does that always happen??  We got new bedding for Ingrid's bed.  Target clearance section, how I love you.  A whole bed set for $30!  Not too shabby.

Yesterday was the best day of all.  We packed snacks and took a nice long walk.  There's a trail that goes along the lake but higher, so you look down on the beach and trees.  Then there's a cross back that goes down to the beach and a trail right by the lake.  It is a good hour long walk through nature and with awesome views of the lake and city.  I wish I'd had my camera, it was so sparkly yesterday!  Otis took a nap while we walked, Ingrid at a snack and just sat back and enjoyed the ride.  We ended up at the park, where we played happily until Ingrid got knocked on her ass...twice...because she walked right behind a girl on a swing.  How many times have I told her you have to walk around the swings?  And how many times has she gotten knocked down?  I felt bad, she really took a hit.  But she's tough, she just popped back up, cried a few tears, and went back to playing.  After the park we went to throw rocks in the water, and as I had my back turned to sit Otis down, Ingrid ran in the lake with all her clothes on.  Hmmm, guess we're going swimming today!  She took off her pants and shoes and just played in the water while I tried to get Otis to stop eating rocks and sand.  We just had the best morning, enjoying being outside, away from the noise, horrible grammar and swearing of the roofers. 

Today should be the last day.  Here's hoping.  And when we buy a house, if it needs a new roof, we're getting it done before we move in. 

Baby Birds

We have two hanging baskets on our porch.  The other day I heard a ton of little cheeps coming from one of them, and when I looked in, sure enough there was a nest of baby birds!

What's funny is that every time I would go water those flowers, a bird would fly out and scare the crap out of me.  EVERY TIME.  I was like man, that bird is crazy!  Why does she like that basket so much?  Now I know, her babies were in there!

I tried to get Ingrid up to see them, but she is totally blind when it comes to looking at things.  She could have a car right in front of her and you'd say look at the car and she'd look up in the sky and say "where?"  No, right in front of you.  She'd look behind her, "where?"  It's so frustrating!

So the past couple days we have been listening to them chirp and cheep and we know it's mama and daddy coming to bring them food.  We can't go anywhere near them while the big birds are there, but when the babies are alone I usually go peek in and see them.  They are so fluffy and, honestly, kind of ugly.  But it's nature!  On my front porch! 

Summer Came With a Vengeance.

Dang!  We never thought summer would come and all the sudden BAM!  Here it is.  Brendan said he saw it was 102 degrees by his work yesterday?  Crazy.  It's usually a lot cooler by the lake and it was still in the high 80s yesterday.  It's 7:30am and 80 right now. 

I don't want to complain because it is better than snow, but I hate heat.  Why can't our summers be breezy and 72?  I really hate sweating before 8am.

Yesterday we got a Slip'n'slide.  And then got home to find there was a broken piece on the hose that made it impossible to hook it up.  Blah.  Ingrid was so happy when Brendan came home and fixed it!

Otis was pretty much naked or in just a diaper all day long.  Favorite part of summer, seeing all those squishy baby parts unearthed!

All the bugs are out, too.  Ingrid is still slightly unsure of them.  They gross her out but she knows they're really not going to hurt her.  So she has to tell herself how cool they are.  "I can be friends with the ants, right Mom?"  We saw this huge dragonfly on our rosebush.  He stayed there forever, sometimes flitting away if we got too close, but always coming back.  We got to really look at him, it was pretty cool. 

Today is supposed to be a scorcher, too, so we're off to find something water related or in the air conditioning.  I would love to just be outside but it's so hard when it just makes everyone sticky and crabby...

Camping with Kids

We are home.  We survived!  It was fun!  But man, am I tired. 

We had a great time.  The weather was beautiful, the kids both slept pretty well, and we just had a good time being together. 

I was so worried about how Ingrid would do at night, but she was great.  She had a hard time getting to sleep the first night, but once she slept, she slept hard.  Until 5am when the sun came up and she was up chattering away to herself, waking us all up.  Sigh...

She did so well, though.  She loved to putter around the campsite and play with sticks, sing songs, dance, and of course, eat.  Marshmallows are the best camp treat! 

Otis was also great.  He hates the car so he was more than happy to get out of it and enjoy the nature.  We layed him on a blanket amidst all the bugs and he just stared at the trees and babbled.  He recently found his feet so most of the time he was just sitting there eating his toes. 

We played at the park, threw rocks in the lake, Brendan took Ingrid for a nice long bike ride through the park, and he took Otis on a couple hikes.  I just enjoyed being outside in the nice weather.  I had packed for cold weather, since a couple of our camping trips we ended up with frigid weather and not enough warm clothes, but this time we had a sunny 80 degree day.  Ingrid ended up swimming in her shorts! 

It was fun to be in this state park.  Brendan has been going there since he was a little kid, so he had lots of fun memories.  We went there for our honeymoon and first wedding anniversary, so we had lots of fun memories of that.  And now we are making our own family memories with our kids.  Yay!

Since this was such a great trip, we are really excited to go camping a lot more this summer.  And thank god we're in Wisconsin, there are a ton of places we can go to without having to drive a long way.  Another reason we're so thankful to be back home!

One thing I did realize is that it is a LOT less relaxing to camp with kids.  A couple sites away from ours was a young couple.  I walked by one afternoon and they were both sitting around the picnic table eating, talking, looking very relaxed.  I realized if I didn't have my kids with me I would have taken naps, slept in past 5am, gone hiking, gone to the drive in theater, and I definitely would have enjoyed nights around the campfire more.  Instead I was constantly yelling at Ingrid not to fall in the fire (which she totally would do, if you know her you know how clumsy she is...) and getting up at the butt crack of dawn, and wanting so badly to take a nap in the sunshine but was denied by a crying baby.  Oh well, we had an amazing time anyway!

Fat Squirrels and Felt Circles

Yesterday we got to see nature at its finest!  We still have a pumpkin we never ended up carving for Halloween and have noticed little chunks missing.  The squirrels in Ann Arbor are FAT so we had an idea of who the culprit might be.  And lo and behold, we looked out our window to see this:

We had a nice time watching.  Ingrid was yelling at him to get away but I reminded her that everyone needs to eat, and why not let him eat a pumpkin we were just going to throw out anyway?

We also played for two hours with felt yesterday.  I wanted to make another garland so we sat down with the felt box and I was overcome with the urge to clean it out (which has never been done before.)  So...piece by teeny piece I went through it and threw away the scraps that were too small for anything.  Along the way I cut out leaves for Ingrid's giraffe to eat.  Then she got out her other animals, so we also made a fish for the penguin and a bone for the dog.  She had so much fun feeding them their felt food!

I got some cute shots of her yesterday.  I have to say it, she's pretty cute.  I can't wait to see what Otis looks like!!

I feel so blessed that this is my life.

A Day at the Beach

Even though it was cloudy and gloomy looking today, we went back to Independance Lake for some nature walks, a picnic, and the splash pad.  We had promised Ingrid we'd go last night, and the first thing out of her mouth this morning was "go to the beach!" 

Honestly it was nice out.  We had some super hot, muggy weather the day before, so mid-60s and breezy felt great.  We walked a little trail, dipped our toes in the lake, then ate lunch and let Ingrid splash around the splash pad.  Brendan had to leave for a conference this afternoon, so we had to make it home for him to pack.  It was just enough time to enjoy being together and enjoy some nature.

As you may be able to tell from these pictures, Ingrid's face still hasn't gone down!  We've given her Benedryl twice daily and nothing--it doesn't seem to bother her, but is she going to puff up every time she gets a mosquito bite?  We live in the midwest, there are mosquitos EVERYWHERE.  Poor kid's not going to do well during summer.

Painting, Picnic, and Puddles.

We got a watercolor book at Target yesterday.  It was funny to watch Ingrid try it.  She's used to regular paints, so watching her figure out how to get the brush wet and then get the paint wet and then try to get the paint on the paper was interesting.  It's so amazing when you can watch their little brains working to unravel a new mystery!  She did well with it, and I like that watercolors seem to be less messy than regular paints. 

After painting we went for another picnic.  This is Ingrid's new favorite thing to do.  We take some snacks and a blanket down to the field, let Cody run around, and enjoy the sun.  The other day I wanted to go home so I stood up and started to take the blanket to fold.  Ingrid yelled at me, "No, Mama!  Lay down!"  I guess she wasn't ready to go home...

Post-picnic was puddle time.  I honestly did not think the puddles would still be there, as it hasn't rained in a few days.  But, down by the lake they hung on.  And Ingrid won't let me bypass them, she has to run straight to them with the look of greatest joy on her face!  I caught a pretty good splash shot here!

Her feet were so gross and dirty when we got home, and I hate to think of what was in that puddle!

In other news, we're packing slowly but surely and should have everything ready to go in a couple weeks.  The first of May cannot come soon enough.  Our 20-something neighbors were having a nice fight all day yesterday, with slamming doors, swear words, and much yelling.  And our other neighbors' washing machine was unbalanced and making the loudest noises above us all day long.  It sucks living in a complex!!    

I'm Going to Miss This.

So we're moving.  We found an apartment by the university and it will be so much better than living in a complex.  I've been so excited by the thought of living near things again, and not having tons of neighbors.  And then Ingrid and I went to the lake today and I realized...I'm gonna miss being able to walk to a big lake and have peace and quiet.

Our apartment complex is on a lake, and there are trails all along the lake and a big grassy field.  No one ever goes out there, strangely, so when we go it's usually just us, totally quiet and peaceful.  We let Cody run around, Ingrid examines rocks and sticks, we hear birds and smell fresh air.  It's great.  For a crappy apartment, the lake part of it is really quite nice.

Anyway, we went today and had a great time.  It was gorgeous out and we took a picnic with us.  Cody even went swimming, which Ingrid thought was hilarious for some reason.  Afterward, Ingrid went down for her nap with no trouble at all.  All that fresh air sure does help with sleep issues!

Gramma's Here!

In just a little while Brendan and I are off to the train station!  We are going to visit friends and family in Milwaukee--without Ingrid!  It's been a year since we've done that, we are so looking forward to it!  My mom came a couple days ago and it's been nice to spend time with her and watch her and Ingrid together.

Gramma came with a silly outfit that actually looked quite cute on Ingrid:

We also took advantage of the sunshine to go splash in mud puddles-one of Ingrid's favorite things to do.  She and Gramma looked around for "treasures" (sticks, rocks and dead leaves!)  They are going to have such a good time while we're gone :)

I ordered a birthday present for Ingrid's birthday already and it came yesterday!  This girl is obsessed with Gabba and there's a woman on etsy that knits little finger puppets of the characters.  Oh my god, they are so adorable!!  I can't wait to see her face when she opens them!

Well, time to go catch a train with my husband!  Yay!!

Wintery Walk

Ingrid got to wear her snowpants for the first time today!  It finally snowed more than a dusting, so we took her and Cody out this morning to walk by the lake.  It is gorgeous and not too cold and really sunny and the snow is all sparkly.  If only winter were like this all the time instead of gray and dreary and slushy...

I also found an old bottle of Ingrid's so she could feed her baby.  My old Cabbage Patch Kid has become one of her favorite toys!  She loves to put the blanket on her and now she loves to feed her a bottle.  We got her a little doll stroller for Christmas, I'm sure she'll love that, too :)