What I Did on my Summer Vacation - Part 1

a.k.a. The Nature Edition

We loaded up our "new-to-us" hand-me-down Ford Explorer for her maiden camping voyage! The Explorer had been camping before, but she has spent most of her life living in Chicago. Not only did she move to the country, but now she would be doing what she was made for: off-roading!

We were super excited because several other families from our church's life group would be joining us. There was a little hiccup with our reserved campsite, but we got it straightened out and ended up with a perfectly gorgeous & secluded site with full view of the lake. (We went to Blackhawk Lake; our go-to spot for fabulous family camping!) 

 We ate lots of tasty food & both the little kids and BIG kids made great memories together. My son discovered a love for hiking; I think he wore out my poor dear husband! And the girls renewed their love for tree climbing as there were some great climbers just a stone's throw from our tent.

We haven't spent too much time outside this summer because of the brutal heat that we had experienced. Also, heat exacerbates Sebastian's eczema, so we try to keep him as cool (a.k.a. indoors) as possible. With much of my days spent inside, it makes me especially appreciate amazing summer sunsets. God has a paintbrush that man will never be able to replicate!

Stayed tuned for more editions of WIDOMSV, including the Party Edition and the Wedding Edition!

W is for...

Wednesday! Well, not only that, but for Old World Wisconsin, too! Remember how last week we were on break from school? Well, I planned some fun family activities to build great memories and just plain enjoy our time off. We kicked off the week with a visit to a friend. Then on Tuesday, I took the girls to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. {You can sign up for Movie Time emails here for Classic Cinemas and automatically earn yourself a free popcorn coupon. Obviously, you should wait to sign up until you're prepared to use the coupon.} Our BIG outing of the week was to Old World Wisconsin. We packed a picnic lunch and the weather was perfectly lovely for a day outside. It was so much more than a museum. I guess I would classify it as 'living history'; one of the biggest ones in the world at 576 acres. There were animals roaming about the various houses, people tending gardens, a teacher in the schoolhouse, and characters just going about daily chores. This place was great for all ages. The Husband was really excited to go and I'd have to admit that I was too. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Some of these cast iron stoves were actually lit, so the people 'living' in the house would warn you, in case you had little ones in your group. A lady had just taken some soda bread out of one of the ovens, just as we had arrived.

 

 

Can you tell that I was totally mesmerized by the General Store? I mean...fabric...buttons...yarn!

The girls helping take the wash off the line.

My grandma has a treadle sewing machine just like this one.

I was almost expecting things in the 'exhibits' to be fake, call it "museum mentality". I actually squeezed one of these tomatoes just to be sure.

Check out that cheeeesey smile! I just couldn't help myself to a few little comments here and there. We all loved our week break. I can't wait to plan some fun things for the next one!

A Weekend of Celebrating

October 16th marked our ten year wedding anniversary and this last Saturday was Hubster's birthday, so what to do other than.....celebrate!! It was really amazing the way God provided so many little things for us throughout the weekend, so I'll try to highlight those as I go along.

We dropped the kiddos off with our babysitting service {a.k.a. family - praise God for great families} on Thursday & then acted like wild & free teenagers as we went for dinner {leftover Red Lobster gift card} & cruised the strip. I was able to hit the thrift store where I picked up a dressy black top from Kohls and a pair of brand new jeans from New York & Co. with the price tag still on {$44.95} for just $7.80! I ran into Kohl's and used $10 Kohl's cash that my mother-in-law gave me to purchase a half-price nightie for just $4.31. SWEET! We then waited for some friends of ours to get out of work and invited ourselves over to their place where we enjoyed a late night snack & lots of great conversation. {After staying up a little too long past our bedtime, I was dragging a bit on Friday.} I had a killer headache on our drive, but was blessed by my wonderful hubby who drove the whole way. {God spoke to me through a message I heard during the drive by Nancy Leigh DeMoss on "self-control" out of Titus 2. Everywhere I turn I am hearing the same "message", which is just blowing me away. I'm thinking I might wake up and see some writing on the wall, it is THAT obvious.}

I was wishing that we could have traveled someplace far & exotic, especially as it was our 10 year milestone, but lack of funds dictated our destination. I was still able to plan a lovely weekend stay in Door County. It was right as "off-season" was starting so that meant lower rates for everything. I choose the Lodgings at Pioneer Lane and was blown away at our room. Loved. It. It was more than I expected, with a fireplace, in room whirlpool, plush bedding, a walk-in shower, and a quaint balcony looking out over Ephraim and Lake Michigan. Lots of little details make this place special like hand-painted room number/pictures on each door, Hershey's kisses which were replenished throughout our stay, STASH brand teas, a selection of magazines/games, a DVD player with movies to borrow, free Wi-Fi, and they recycle! A couple of shots...



There are many small towns dotted along the Wisconsin peninsula and we barely skimmed over three of them. The colors were still beautiful, although from what I hear, not as intense as they were a few weeks ago. We walked a lot, explored many different shops, and mostly enjoyed one another's company. Friday night we had a hard time deciding on where to eat {wanted to save our money for Saturday} and God amazingly led us to a restaurant that would be closing the following day, so all the meals were half off! We could hardly believe it! We paid, for our entire meal, what just one entree cost at several nearby restaurants.

Saturday, we shopped til we nearly dropped, rested up in the whirlpool for a bit followed by an afternoon nap, and then splurged on a stellar dinner at T. Ashwell's. It was worth every penny {quite a few of them}! Can't even explain how much we both enjoyed it! We had a reservation, canceled it {we were too tired from the day}, then remade our reservation. I am so thankful that God didn't let us miss it. The restaurant is housed in a converted old home & the hospitality made us feel like we were their guests, as opposed to customers. The food was just out of this world.


Sunday we did a bit more stopping & shopping & then it was back to reality to pick up our children {although I did miss them while we were gone}! We had felt so pampered while we were away that we were both left feeling a little down {post-vacation depression}! I guess that is a sign that we both had a wonderful weekend.

Hope yours was wonderful too!