Isn't This Fun? (Road Trip Part 7)

While we were in Wisconsin, we had a reunion with the family that owned the insurance agency with my dad. To read a story about them and our lives growing up together, and to see what this cake is all about, click here and here. This particular day was my very favorite of the whole trip.

Jasper

Recently I did something I swore I'd never do. I got a dog! He's just about the cutest and whitest dog you've ever seen. We named him Jasper. He is a Havanese. I would recommend this breed to anyone. He's very mild-mannered, hypo-allergenic (they have hair, not fur), he doesn't shed at all, and he hardly ever barks. All of us are completely smitten with him and couldn't be happier to have him in our family.

Look at that FACE!

He likes to walk around on two feet. It's pretty adorable.

Crescent Lake (Road Trip Part 6)

Grandpa & Grandma's beach and dock on Crescent Lake...it's a pretty dreamy place. We enjoyed every minute we spent out on the lake.

Grandma Judith

Grandpa

Amber & Josh

Jack & Myah

Kate

All the kiddos. I love Kate and Jack's faces here.

Leer in the kayak

You could hardly get Chloe out of the kayak

She absolutely loves paddling around the lake in it.

It is pretty fun! Me giving Myah a ride.

Little Myah

Myah & Granpda riding in the gator.

Recreating a picture; same kids...different summer.

Animal Sanctuary & Wildwood (Road Trip Part 5)

Finally, we made it to Wisconsin! And that means, fun times with cousins Kate and Jack. The first day we were there, we went to Minocqua and visited an animal sanctuary.

Myah, Chloe, Kate & Jack in front of an eagle's nest.

Mostly, this place rescues owls.

They had several different kinds. Such an interesting animal.

Then we went to Wildwood, which is sort of like a petting zoo but with more wild animals. The kids LOVE this place. We go there every time we go to Wisconsin.

Goats will eat anything. Even Jack's hair.

I love Kate's face...

this face??? Not so much.

Awww!

Alvin, Simon, THeoDoRe! Doo Doo Doodoo DOODOO!

Just kidding. I know these aren't chipmunks. Close enough.

Ok, so these two pictures sadly show the lack of skills that my kids have with animals. Poor bunnies! Give them a break, we've never had pets.

They have the coolest exhibit there. It's a big screened in room that you can go in and there are hundreds of parakeets flying around.

They sell these popsicle sticks that have bird seed stuck to them and the birds will come and land on them and eat the seeds.

So cute!

Well, my kids didn't just learn about birds during our visit to Wildwood. They got a firsthand lesson about the birds AND bees courtesy of the cougars who went all kinds of "National Geographic" right in front of us.

Half Pint (Road Trip Part 4)

My kids have been in to Little House on the Prairie, lately. It started when Chloe chose that book to read for a book club that she has with her friends. We had the best time hosting the book club at our house.

Brielle, Hannah & Chloe

We made whirligigs, which is a toy that kids would have played with in that era.

The girls enjoyed making homemade lemonade, churning butter and eating homemade cornbread as they discussed the book.

Then Chloe had to do a biography for school where she had to dress up like the person. She chose to do Laura Ingalls Wilder (Half Pint). Yes, she was a real person. The TV show "Little House on the Prairie" was based on her life.

Luckily, we have a pioneer dress that fits her.

Well, one day we were at the dentist and I was reading an article in a magazine about a road trip you can take and visit all the places where Laura lived. Three of them were in three of the states that we were already planning to go through anyways. We decided to go to Walnut Grove, Minnesota where the book "On the Banks of Plum Creek" is about. Jason wasn't too keen on seeing ALL the "Laura Ingalls" sites and we decided we would only make him suffer for one day.

Chloe & Myah playing "on the banks of plum creek".

They had a big family festival happening the day we were there complete with a Laura & Nellie Look-Alike Contest. So, since we had a pioneer dress that fit Chloe, I decided to enter her in the contest.

She was shocked when she was chosen to be 1 of 3 finalists out of about 30 girls.

She was paired up with a "Nellie" look-alike and they had to perform a skit together.

They didn't win though. Here is a picture of the "Nellie" and "Laura" that won.

We had a great time touring the little town of Walnut Grove and the museums they had there. That night they had a pageant that we went to, but we were bummed when they announced on the loud speaker that everyone had to evacuate and take cover because there was a huge storm coming. They even had police escorting everyone out. We were told to go to the local school, but we just drove to our hotel which was about 80 miles away and witnessed the most awesome lightning we had ever seen. It was literally like a strobe light for about 2 hours.