Wisconsin trip part 1, to the North Woods!

We had a wonderful trip to Wisconsin in mid-July. Sorry it took me so long to put these pictures up, Grandma!

At the Portland Airport. ready to go!

Watching planes during a long, long layover in Denver. And no, those are not giant sodas, just water. :-)

Cheese curds--we have arrived in Wisconsin!

My grandparents' beautiful lake, and Uncle Kevin's new speedboat.

Aidan ready to go tubing with Ryan. Off they go...Aidan smiling all the while.

Sparklers on the deck.

Next day: Aidan goes tubing solo! He had never done anything like this before, and we were impressed with his willingness to try new things on this trip.

Then Lauren decided to get in on the action, and took a ride with Ryan. She loved it!

Singing around the campfire...the kids LOVED my great Auntie Nancy! Aidan taught everyone his "Bongalo" song from the summer program he's doing this year.

My awesome cousins Quinn and Logan hard at work making money origami.

Floating with Lauren. That dragonfly stayed on my arm for several minutes.

Innertube canoeing.

Lauren having a little quiet time on the dock. Both kids were in their bathing suits almost the whole trip!

Aidan caught a fish. He even put the worms on by himself!

I took Aidan out for ice cream in town one day while Lauren napped.

Amy and Grandma.

Aidan pumping water at my grandparents' community garden plot. We harvest kohlrabi, radishes and lettuce while we were there!

The Meyers' plot in the community garden.

Cute sign in another of the garden plots (the Oneida Village is a local restaurant).

Wisconsin trip part two: Madison to home

We spent a day and a half in Madison on our way home. I had driven through on the way up north but had never had a chance to check it out. We stayed at a hotel right by the Capitol, stumbled upon an art fair when we first arrived, rented bikes, checked out the university and Picnic Point, swam in the hotel pool, did some shopping...we really enjoyed it!


We stopped at Culvers in Stevens Point. The kids did not seem to notice they were eating frozen custard rather than ice cream.


The kids got new shirts at the art fair and then played at the Capitol.

A fountain by State Street--woo hoo!

Famous chairs on the Memorial Union terrace at the University of Wisconsin.

The lake was pretty but so very stinky. People were eating right by it and sunbathing--we think we may have been the only ones to notice. Aidan called it "stinkwater."

Aidan exploring during our picnic at Picnic Point.

Lauren having a mid-picnic nap in the rented bike trailer.

We were able to rent a tagalong for Aidan, too! Just like home...

And flying home. What a great trip! It was very fun to see the kids with so many family members, loving it up with everyone. They did great!

And she's three!

Happy third birthday to Lauren! She had a great day!

Matt and Britta Visit!

Ryan's awesome cousin Matt and his wife Britta visited a couple of weeks ago for a lovely Sunday. We borrowed our neighbors' bikes for them, and the six of us rode bikes all over town. We had a blast, and the kids just loved them. We can't wait to visit them in southern California sometime soon!

Birthday Boy

Now we are six! And it's all about Legos, Legos and more Legos. Two solid days of Lego building. Woo hoo! Here's Aidan in his birthday shirt:
Halfway dressed. Star Wars Legos! So excited! Lauren is looking on.

A little help from Daddy.

Thanks to Great Grandma Audrey for sending along this coloring book for Lauren. She was so happy to have a present, too, and worked on it while AJ did Legos.

Memorial Day Fun

We had a fun, action-packed weekend. Here are some pictures from our visit to Tyee Wine Cellars yesterday. They have a family-friendly Memorial Day celebration with hayrides, music and lots of running around and exploring. Good times! You might recognize Lauren's outfit. She insists on wearing it at every opportunity. I often tell her it's dirty just so she'll wear something else.

we are here

Hi grandmas and other loyal readers! I haven't taken any pictures since returning from California because of accidentally deleting some off my digital camera. I am still dealing with trying to recover those, so in the meantime, no new pictures. To tide you over, here are a few from last month that I had not yet posted. Aidan, Lauren and Aidan's friend had a little muffin sale out in front of our house. Enjoy!

Mama's Getaway

I spent Thursday through Monday in California and got to see a slew of old friends. Nothing like hanging out with people who have known you for a long, long time (a couple of them almost 25 years!)...so much fun. We rented a house in Pajaro Dunes-- it's the brown, angular one in the photos below. I also got to see a few other high school friends and their beautiful kids. It was really nostalgiac to be in my hometown again after almost four years away, but in a good way. I really like it there but also like it here a lot, and I know I won't be able to live there again and that is OK. (I especially enjoy the climate and the plants there--eucalyptus trees, jasmine blooming all over the place, citrus trees, etc.) I was also finally able to scatter the remainder of my dad's ashes while on my trip, which was sad but felt really good at the same time.

I missed Ryan and the kids a lot but had a wonderful time and they all did great at home. Ryan left super early the morning after I got back for the NW Solar Expo in Portland. He'll be back late Friday night and we will finally all get to spend some time together!