Wisconsin Vacation-

We had the best time with our Wisconsin friends during our summer vacation! What a blast... I don't even know where to begin! Well, first thing we would like to thank our hosts - Kristina, Darrell and Arlo :) They are super fabulous! What great friends... they let us stay in their beautiful home, shared their toys, cooked great meals for us and showed us the ropes of living Up North. I think Joe and I could get used to it - you betcha!


We got to visit Wilderness Walk - a very cool petting zoo, took a trip to Bayfield to see Lake Superior, rode the ferry to Madeline Island, and on our last (and only warm day) hung out at the beach. We were also lucky enough to see Kristina's parents at their amazing cabin - INCLUDING "Taco Night with Arlo and Ben." So much fun!!


Ben did great on the 13-hour road trip - even though he didn't sleep for one minute on the way there. We were able to divide the drive both going there (stayed in Madison - where Ben flashed everyone at our hotel) and on the way home (a visit to Chicago - more to come on that).


Thanks to our great friends - hopefully we're still in the running for a group vacation to the beach :) We've submitted our resume and references...

Museum of Transportation

Since our 4th of July weekend didn't go as planned... we decided to have some fun and go to the Train Museum. Ben LOVED it - he remembered going with daddy while I was at a conference in Columbia - so the boys showed me the ropes. I hadn't been since I was a little girl and I loved taking photos of the different trains. I hope to make a collage to hang in Ben's room since he's LOVING trains at the moment. Tim - the last photo is for your Monsanto archives...

Ben's first fireworks

The entire weekend didn't go as planned - it was rainy and overcast so we never made it to Innsbrook. However, it was dry long enough for us to watch the fireworks near our house. In years past Ben slept right through the noise... but this year we "talked them up" the week before and decided to give it a try. He didn't mind them, but didn't love them either. Let's just say the novelty wore off pretty quickly. He did LOVE the glow bracelets from Auntie - so we were glad for those. I know these photos are crazy, but thought I would post anyway!

It's been HOT - the 88 predicted for today sounds like an awesome reprieve - I can only imagine the weather in WI we'll have in a few weeks!!!! So, to beat the heat and get outside, we filled up the backyard pool and had some water fun.

Auntie bought Ben this pool when he was just a little guy - and I think it shrunk - or maybe Ben GREW. Next summer we'll get to pass it on to Miss Maggie, it will be just right for her! This year Ben loved the sprinkler (last year not at all) and he had a great time running from the sprinkler to the pool. So fun!!

Happy Father's Day!

Ben submitted this photo to the local newspaper for a Father's Day Tribute. Ben and Joe were in the paper with this message...

Daddy, you rock! Thanks for playing guitars, cars and trains with me. I love you - Happy Father's Day! Love, Ben

We love you!!

Baby Maggie -

Ben felt very proud holding baby Maggie for the first time last night. Auntie and I kept asking him if he was done or if he wanted to keep holding her... he kept saying "I'm not done." He was very sweet and gentle with her and she seemed perfectly content. What sweet cousins!!

Just Another Wednesday Part 2...

Joe took Wednesday off and we took Ben to his first Circus Flora. It was awesome. Ben got a little squirmy at times, but overall he seemed to really enjoy himself. We had great seats in the third row and it was so fun to see everything so well. Ben loved the puppies the most and hated the loud cracking whip during the horse act (not ON the horses - no worries). My hands were sweating during the high-wire act -- GULP!!

We had lunch at the Boathouse and saw lots of ducks and a turtle swimming in the water. L & J we saw the most amazing bird - black with dark orange & yellow wings - so pretty! THEN we had ice cream near the train station (pic above from after the ice cream - hard to see but he was covered in vanilla goodness).

Joe and I were exhausted after our day... but Ben's classic question (as usual) was "What are we doing next?" I mean, seriously, what MORE could we have done in one day?!