snake day.

Snake Day is looked forward to year after year in this house. The boys ask how many more days until Snake Day, and count them down for the last few months. We leave early so we can be there the minute it opens, before the crowd. We spend hours circling around again and again.

While G loves visiting the snakes, he then likes to wander the museum. A, on the other hand, wants to stay in the room with the snakes (and turtles, alligators, lizards, etc.) all day. He doesn't want to leave. Or visit other parts of the museum. This year his recent intense phobia of the dark means he could only go in the bright areas of the museum - which is about 10% of it. He tried, but ended up covering his ears, looking down, and refusing to step deep into the dark hallways full of the exhibits. So we visited a few things (butterflies!), but spent hour upon hour with the snakes! A loves their calm quiet, G likes their silky feel.


So we begin the countdown to the next Snake Day. 364 days to go!

...to long weekends.

I love long holiday weekends with perfect weather. Don't you? This weekend was so busy, but all good busy. And I mean good busy in that I didn't have to touch tomatoes but to make a salad all weekend! ;)


We had family in town, so lots of cleaning and cooking to prepare. And then of course a lot of visiting and catching up!


I had both of my sisters in town on Saturday - at the same time. The three of us haven't been in a room together at the same time in years (my family has 4 siblings living in 4 states). And the boys had some aunt catching up to do.



Sunday was more family time, walks, ice cream and botanical gardens. The boys were happy but exhausted after so much.



So for Monday we knew we needed a laid back day, but wanted to get out in the perfect weather. We headed to Old World Wisconsin, which is one of the largest living history museums in the world (almost 600 acres). So much room to roam!



We walked and wandered and visited all the animals and looked at the gardens and went into each farm. We took tram rides around the farms and through the woods.



We played games and watched wild turkeys. It was a perfect day to be out - pants and fleeces and sunshine and blue skies. I love the cooler air and happy boys who could walk and run and play without worrying about prickly heat, heat rash or sun blisters. SO wonderful!


I'm back to the tomatoes and red raspberries, but that is OK. A little quiet kitchen is good after so much weekend! Happy Tuesday!

friday wanderings.

Today we hit the road to visit a state park about an hour away. We planned to spend the day exploring, playing at the park, climbing the towers and have a picnic. After a long drive we passed the park entrance check in and found ourselves in the middle of yellow buses, full shelter, and at least 100 kids plus supervisors. Day camp field trip. Needless to say, we couldn't stay as there was no room (it is a very small state park, there is only the one play/shelter area). As we drove right on past the park/shelter area, we saw 50 kids marching towards the east tower and 50 kids marching to the west. We didn't want to drive SO LONG for nothing, so we tried to zip quickly to the lookout tower so we could get up for the view before we were swarmed. The kids heading to the west tower had a whole field to cross, so we zipped over, and skipped to the tower steps.

These lookout towers are pretty cool - and - very very high and slatted worn wood and little wood rails at the top. A and I are very afraid of heights and A made it only halfway up the very very high see through wooden steps before heading back down.


Once G and Brice were at the top and waved over, A decided to take one more shot before the huge line of kids in matching t-shirts arrived.


We didn't look up or down and rhythmically stepped to the top. I walked right behind him. He made it! Once on top A and I hugged the center railing while G had no qualms about skipping to the very edge (!). I about passed out, but I surely wasn't going to stand at the bottom for something like a palm sweating world spinning anxiety producing fear of heights. ;)

We looked at the amazing view and took some photos...and when we heard the footsteps below, we hurried down (not wanting to be on the top of a freaky high rickety wooden tower with 25 or so kids). Perfect timing.

We obviously couldn't stay at the state park so we had to find another spot. We ventured right down the highway to try a county park we had not visited in years.


It was fun!


It is a really small park, but nice and quiet and the view is absolutely amazing. We hung out, read all the historical markers, played in the playground, messed around with the GPS, and had a great time.


Did I mention the view was amazing?



From there we kept wandering the rural roads heading back into town slowly but surely. It ended up being a nice day - and I think we will head back to that state park when all the kids are back in school, when we can enjoy it.

Happy Friday!

bowlin'...

The perfect way to spend a hot summer afternoon!

home again, home again...

Oh, what a weekend! We had a four day trip to Minneapolis and we are finally back, exhausted and happy to be home. The boys had a fantastic time, of course. We go every October and have our favorite spots to visit. Exploring a big city with the boys while my husband sits in a conference all day every day means ritual and tradition helps keep us all happy. We balance the crazy loud packed too much stimulation places the boys REALLY want to visit, with nature walks, parks and small neighborhood shops we ALL love returning to.



This trip the boys had a list, and we did it all. LEGO store, aquarium, amusement park rides...hotel pool, favorite restaurants...nature center and hike with new friends, natural toy & craft store, neighborhood parks, and a visit to the best kids bookstore (we think) on the planet. Oh, a bookstore with cats, lizards, spiders, chickens (and I mean chickens out walking around!), chinchillas, birds, ferrets and tons of books...what an amazing place.



We even managed to have enough energy left for a stop by IKEA on the way out of town for some things on our list. A whirlwind few days for sure, and this mama is happy to be home!

outside days.

There are some places we go where we all just feel so calm and happy and grounded. While we spend a lot of time OUTside, some places are just ... more. Devil's Lake is one of our favorite places - it is so beautiful. Due to too much road construction for awhile there, we haven't been as often as we like. Yesterday we headed up for the afternoon. It was a perfect afternoon - not too hot, not too cold, sunny, and with practically empty beaches and trails. The water is even still warm!




My oldest, A, has a hard time living in his skin sometimes - for lack of better words to describe it. But get him outside in a big empty beach, park or forest, and he is happy, relaxed, and focused. He and his brother spent hours in the lake, stacking stones, building rock sculptures, skipping stones and trying to capture little fish in rock rings to observe them. Pure bliss.



Of course we also had a picnic under a big purple tree, went on a hike, looked at the orange leaves falling under some of the trees, collected black walnuts (G is collecting tree seeds/nuts), watched animals and studied plants and moss, looked at of the amazing purple and pink quartzite rocks (created by a glacier 12,000 years ago), and just had a wonderful afternoon.


I know that having something like that in our backyard, far from close together houses, hard pavement and urban busy'ness would be so wonderful for all of us, but especially for A. Some day we hope to move out of town a little for acres and space -


Until then we will always go to find the places that make us feel happy and calm and grounded as often as possible. We are all happiest there, after all.

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living history.

We are lucky to live only 50 miles from the largest living history museum in the US (and one of the largest in the world). Old World Wisconsin is a favorite fall day trip - we like to go when school starts, as we get almost 600 acres pretty much all to ourselves, with full re-enactment staff!


We love to explore - not only visiting each farm and finding out what traditions, crafts, and architecture people brought to Wisconsin in the 1800's from their 'home' countries, but also to have a day out in the sunshine, walking the trails, just being outside in the woods all day long. This time of year we can also see the leaves starting to turn.


This museum has many traditional farms setup - spread out over hundreds of acres. So each farm you visit is a whole experience. Wisconsin was settled by many people - Danish, German, Norwegian, and Finnish, to name a few.


Each farm has a real historical home that has been re-located to this outdoor museum, with stories of the original families who lived there, and each home has someone 'living' there who is busy on the farm...milking the cow, doing the wash, baking pies, working in the full garden, cooking dinner, spinning or weaving, and of course chatting with visitors. My guys love finding out about who lived there, what they slept on, what they ate, and what 'chores' the kids had back then (kids had to work!). ;)


The fun part is of course it is a living history museum - so we get to participate in many things, and not just watch...both boys especially love the blacksmith where they get to fan the flames.


The farms also have animals to visit - cows, chickens, oxen, horses, sheep, and one very big friendly pig.



The museum also has a one room schoolhouse, a town with several shops and a blacksmith, and a town hall full of vintage games and toys. Our favorite there has always been the tops and of course stilts and hoop and stick. We always spend a long time there, so do that last.


This visit we were in the kids activity area at closing time, and the boys were asked to help retire the flag for the day (oh, such excitement!). They took their job very seriously, and helped bring it down, fold, and put away.


While we love love love to walk most of the time, there is a tram to ride between areas - it is almost 600 acres after all - which is always a nice way to chill out and let the boys sit for a few.


One thing that was very different this trip is that in June this museum was hit by a tornado. The tornado flattened hundreds (thousands?) of trees, wiping out big swaths of forest, and damaging some buildings.


While it is amazing that the tornado primarily hit the parking and entrance areas and left most of the historical buildings in tact (and all farm animals survived), it is still quite shocking to drive in and see the damage, even a few months later. We did see photos and video of the damage after the tornado (and the aerial views, wow), but it of course isn't the same as seeing it in person. There were times we just stood with our mouths open at the mountains of broken trees which are still being trucked out - and the boys hugged and climbed on the stump remaining from their favorite tree, where we used to sit and have lunch.


We always learn so much, and not just about the past...

What a wonderful day!