Wrapping up Christmas

2008-12-Lindgren Xmas
Originally uploaded by FuzzyKryton

Or maybe we should call it the final unwrapping!

This past weekend we spent with my family and as usual it was a very entertaining weekend! With the snowstorm that was suppose to come through the area, we waited until around lunch on Friday to head out. With the car full and a quick run stop at Arby's for lunch, we were on our way!

Clear roads made for a quiet drive without delays. This was much better than we had anticipated as there was 4-6 inches of snow predicted for the area. We did get some snow, but not nearly as much as we thought we would

When we stopped at my mom's to drop off Darrin's stuff, we found that my Aunt changed her mind AGAIN and actually did drive down for the weekend! So, we did some last minute shopping and then met up with everyone else at my mom's for pizza and munchies. My Aunt's puppy Toby had fun trying to decided who was ok and who he was just going to bark at - John was one he decided he had to bark at. But he also had fun trying to figure out who was going to give him snacks!

Saturday everyone came over to my Uncles, where we were staying, for lunch and gifts. That is when the laughs really started. Granted everyone received many of the gifts that they had on their Christmas lists, but there was also many other special or gag gifts going around!

Socks and Underwear and always part of the gifts each year in our family. But this year there was also pig stuff, bottles of wine and more! There was definitely a theme with most of the gifts that Dessa received... Hanna Montana!

We decided that we need to get the entire family together for Christmas next year if possible! I think it has been 15+ years since we have done Christmas with the entire family - cousins included! Once all of us kids (the cousins) started getting older it was just too hard to get everyone together. Maybe next year we can plan far enough in advance that we can get everyone together in one place for at least one day!

The Holiday Village

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Originally uploaded by FuzzyKryton

As I sit here today trying to decide what to write about, I find myself browsing through holiday pictures and am drawn to the ones of my mom's holiday village that she sets up each year.

This village started about 15+ years ago with just a few houses set up on a small table in our living room. She said that she was going to add one house to the village each year. Each year she would add a building to the was reflective of events of the year, family activities or personalities. But very quickly we realized that adding just ONE house a year would never happen! Each year it was 2-3 houses or more.

Almost all of the houses were lit from the inside with small lights. Finding enough extension cords to plug everything in was always a task. Someone was ahead of the game thought - there were cord designed for just this type of set-up with 6 lights on one cord so it took less outlets and extension cords to light the town.

Her village quickly outgrew it's small table in the living room and she had to find a bigger table. Moving caused other dilemma's - the But she made it work - and still managed to add more to this every growing holiday spectacle!

The newest feature of these houses are "open" windows that feature the inside of the house! Many of the new houses have families sitting around the kitchen table or enjoying time in their own living rooms!

With one more move now complete, she has a bigger living room to work with again! Once again the large table that was home to the village was no longer big enough! The good news - the bay widow in the apartment provided extra "land" space for the growing city!

Yes, we have graduated from a small village to a full blown city. We have now added more trees, people, vehicles, a ski hill it shows no signs of slowing it's growth!

This year as she was working on setting up her city, her neighbor from across the hall had to stop over everyday to see the building progress. With all the buildings, people, trees and everything else that is part of this annual presentation, it usually takes her a few weeks to get everything set up! One of her other friends has already told her that she wants to be there for the town raising next year!

Maybe next year we will manage to actually get a picture of the entire thing - we forgot to do that this year when we were visiting! Might need to get John a good fish-eye lens for his camera!

Worlds Best Brownie Pan

New Brownie Pan
Originally uploaded by FuzzyKryton

Ok, Christmas is finally over! We just got home from Christmas with my family in Rhinelander. Of course the kids got even more stuff...

But I finally got my brownie pan that I have been waiting for! It's the "Edge Brownie Pan" Now middle brownies! They all have at least 2 crunchy edges of them!!! My mom bought me this pan and in the 6 hours that we have been home today, I have already made 2 pans of brownies.

Now, I have not eaten 2 pans of brownies... just baked 2. We actually brought 2/3 of one of the pans over to Nick for plowing our driveway again.

Out trip back home today was not so fun... icy and snow covered roads from Wittenberg the rest of the way back to Green Bay - YUCK! Scary thing was all the other cars that were flying past us as if the roads were clear and dry. It was really nice though knowing that we were not going to have to shovel when we got home! Within a few hours after we got home, Nick was out with the kids clearing everyone's driveways!

Thanks Nick!!

Snowstorm Faith

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Originally uploaded by FuzzyKryton

More snow again! This is officially the 6th snowstorm already this winter! It seems like we will never get a break! I got an early start to work this morning as I had no idea how the roads were going to be. Boy was I glad that I did! Once again it was a half hour drive - no one was moving to fast! But everyone made it to the office today!

That was a good thing! Shortly after we all were at work, we heard that there was a 14 car pile-up on the highway just north of town! This was right where several of my co-workers had just traveled through just a few hours before! Thankfully there were no serious injuries, but the highway was closed for several hours while they cleaned up the mess.

Since John is off work until after the 1st of the year, he was home today and got some really great pictures of the snow and all that fun stuff. He snapped this really col picture of the kittens trying to figure out what all the white stuff was that was out on the back deck. They are strictly indoor cats and have only been tossed out in the snow once or twice - but they didn't stay out too long! Apparently they don't like the cold on their paws!! We have all been so busy in the last few weeks, so no one has had time to tackle shoveling back there! The snow is pretty much higher than the kitties heads! If we don't get it shoveled pretty soon, they are not going to be able to see the trees even!

Nick and Connor spent most of the morning out on the 4-wheeler clearing out all the driveway's in the neighborhood. Connor was loving this as he got to help dad drive the 4-wheeler! Usually the kids all take turns riding on the back while Nick plows, but since all the older kids were in school today, Connor got to spend some good quality time hanging with dad!

On the news tonight they said that our snowfall so far this month is 33.7 inches! The scary thing is that the all-time high record for December is 36.4 inches, set back in 1887! I have no doubt that we will shatter that record this year since they are forecasting 3-4 inches for tonight and tomorrow and then another 4-6 on Friday! I am curious as to what the season snow fall record is because at this rate, I am thinking that we will probably break that record too!

Frozen Adventures at Christmas

Remember, Soap Can Freeze!
Originally uploaded by FuzzyKryton

This past weekend we ventured up north for Christmas with John's family. We should have known that it was going to be an interesting weekend before we even left!

The night before we left, Snowstorm Dawn showed up and dumped 6 inches of snow on us! It took me over a half our to make the usual 10-15 minute drive to work in the morning, at at least the same on the way home! The roads themselves were "fun" most of the way up too.

We had some laundry to do when we got to the apartment and Darrin went out to start the load of jeans...

but he ran into a slight issue....

The laundry soap was frozen!

I guess that happens when the washer and dryer are in the back shed that really is not heated!

So after a quick warming under hot running water, we were back in business!

Between laughing with and at family members, dealing with snow and cold, it was definitely an interesting weekend. But then again, when this group gets together, it always is a fun time! This year we actually outgrew the dining room table and had to set up a separate table so everyone had a place to sit! But it was NOT the kids table - it was just the "other" table.

John and I were sitting at the other table with Darrin, Eric and Hunter so I got the privilege of being the one to feed Hunter. Now, sitting at the other table and offering to feed Hunter proved very beneficial for me - I found that I myself didn't over eat! I had to keep stopping from eating myself to shovel more food into Hunter - who patiently waiting with his mouth open like a little bird!

It was fun to have a young one in the house for Christmas this year - all of John's other Nephew's are in college, then there is Darrin. Having a baby around at the holiday's makes everything even more interesting, especially when Hunter is now at that age where he is trying to get into everything! We missed it but apparently he took a few steps when he was standing in front of Eric who was sitting on the couch. Jim and Jen were not there either so I don't think they believe that he actually did it.

The trip back home was just as interesting as the trip up. The roads from L'Anse to Crystal Falls with snow covered and the blowing snow made seeing a difficult feat at times We were very surprised when we got closer to home. I guess they had some REALLY nasty weather here on Saturday night and Sunday morning. The roads were glare ice Sunday morning which made roads dangerous. In the span of about 2 miles, we saw 9 cars in the ditches and median!

Guess I am glad we waiting until after lunch to start our drive home!

Next weekend also is looking like it will be an interesting drive to my parents!

I'm a winner

Penokie Xmas
Originally uploaded by FuzzyKryton

Today, just before we were leaving for Michigan, the mail lady came by with our mail. In the mail was a small box, with no return address for me. Very weird. Everything that I had ordered for Christmas gifts was already here, with the exception of one, that I knew would not be this...

Hmmm....

So here I sit, in the car, with no sharp cutting instruments, trying to get the tape off this box! Not an easy feat while the car is moving down the snow covered roads

Once I finally get into the box I find all kinds of goodies! Apparently I was selected as once of the winners in the Northwoods Geocaching event that was held in Rhinelander, Minocqua and Boulder Junction over the summer! Included in my prize box was a Boulder Junction travel coffee mug (will come in handy over the weekend since I forgot mine at home!), a few travel bug tags and a really cool geocoin!

WooHoo!!

Knitting surprises!

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Originally uploaded by FuzzyKryton

One of the fun things about knitting is finding out just what a particular yarn looks like when it is knit. Sometime we like what we end up with, other times, we decided that particular yarn would have probably been better suited for a different project.

Darrin picked out this yarn on Sunday for me to do a scarf for a Christmas gift. Now I have one more knitting project to be done before Christmas. Ok, technically this one needs to be finished by this weekend.

I started working on this scarf last night and after a few trial starts I was rolling. (it took me a few tries to figure out how many stitches I needed to cast on to get the scarf the size that I wanted). Once I started seeing the pattern come through, I wanted to keep going to see it change as I went along! But the reality that the alarm goes off at 5am got me to put it down at a fairly decent time.

This is by far some of the coolest yarn that I have used in a while. The number of stitches cast of for this project resulted in a stripe of blue waving along the length of the scarf, through each of the other colors. Not to mention just how soft it is! Too Cool!! John asked me if I was going to end up keeping this one for myself. Nope... I bought more of this same yarn in shades of blue and shades of green that I will keep for myself. Maybe I will have to stop and see if they still have more of this same yarn so I can do even more.

Photo on the right is the finished product that went to my MIL for Christmas (I had to finish the ends after she opened it since I finished it last minute!)

Yarn Jackpot

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Originally uploaded by FuzzyKryton

This morning, as I was on my way to the grocery store, I decided to swing by Retail America to see if they were discounting their merchandise any cheaper yet. This store is closing and they are liquidating everything. I have been a regular shopper of their yarn department over the last 6 months and was hoping to get some more great deals.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that everything was 90% off starting today! WooHoo!!! But it was not quite 10:30 yet, so I had to wait a few minutes before the store opened. I wandered through found a few things that I had to have, but didn't buy much since I had to get to the grocery store.

While I was grocery shopping, I talked to my mom and she told me that she wanted me to go pick up some yarn for her... so back I went. This time I took a little more time, picking up a few more things for myself too. Before the took off the discount, it was $316 worth of yarn! Of which I paid $32. Good deal in my book!

So I head home with my bags of goodies. When I told John that everything was 90% off, he asked me if there was still yarn left. I told him yes and he asked why I didn't buy it all! He told me that since it was that cheap I should go back and get more. Why pay regular price for later when you can get it so cheap now...

So back I went!

After all was said and done, here is what I ended up coming home with, (not including what I bought for my mom)...

4) Lion Brand Moonlight Mohair Coral Reef
(4) Loin Brand Moonlight Mohair Rainbow Falls
(4) Moda Dea ChiChi Color #9948 - shades of purple
(3) Moda Dea ChiChi Color #9928 (playa) shades of green and yellow
(3) Moda Dea ChiChi Color #9946 (flamingo) shades of pink and orange
(2) Moda Dea ChiChi Color #9112 black
(5) Lion Brand Incredible Copper Penny
(10) Lion Brand Incredible Rainbow
(1) Lion Brand Incredible Carnival
(9) Lion Brand Incredible Shades of Blue
(4) Fancy Fur Tropical Turquoise
(1) Moda Dea Cheerio Platinum
(6) Red Heart Foxy Sterling
(1) Red Heart Fozy Cherries
(3) Moda Dea Kickx Curious
(3) Moda Dea Kickx Lucky
(3) Moda Dea Zing Blue Ice
(3) Moda Dea Zing Misty
(2) Moda Dea Fur Sure Peri Whatever
(5) Lion Brand Festive Fur Black
(3) Lion Brand Festive Fur White
(12) Tickle Cream color
(3) Lion Brand Fun Fur Lavender
(3) Lion Brand Fun Fur Lime
(2) Lion Brand Fun Fur Rainbow
(4) Lion Brand Fun Fur Turquoise
(3) Lion Brand Fun Fur Sapphire
(3) Moda Dea Espree Pinks
(2) Moda Dea Tutu Raspberry
(2) Moda Dea Tutu Pear Green
(2) Moda Dea Tutu Cabana Blue
(2) Moda Dea Tutu Grape
(2) Bernat Galaxy Jupiter
(2) Moda Dea Lazy DaiseyPurple Rain
(2) Moda Dea Lazy Daisey Bubble Gum
(6) Moda Dea Lazy Daisey Wavy Navy

Over $1000 worth of yarn that I bought for 90% off!! I have no idea what I am going to do with all of it, but I know I am going to have fun with it!!

Winter Storm Carter plus Cat and Mouse... and cat

So I wake up this morning on this powdery white morning, wondering if Winter Storm Carter will cause closings or if the schools will actually be open and if I will be able to make it to work. By watching the news I find that there are several of the schools that are closed, but not us. Go figure. But it is still early, so there is still time.

As I head down to the basement to get in a morning workout, I find 2 of the cats sitting right next to the elliptical. Almost as if they were waiting to say hello to me right away this morning (even tho Fozzy had already jumped on me shortly after the alarm went off while I was still in bed to say good morning and make sure I was getting up). Ok, no big deal, as soon as I start using the elliptical, the start wandering away slowly.

But I should have realized they were up to something. a few minutes later, I see little miss Silver dart along the wall behind the rocking chair... hot on the tail of a mouse. Yup, they were not waiting to say good morning to me...they were on mouse patrol - aka toy hunting! As they disappear to the other side of the basement, with Fozzy right on their tail also, I am distracted by the weather/news on TV. Still no word on if there is school or not. More and more schools all around us are closing, but nothing for us... the workout continues...

A streak across the room catches my attention tho. Silver is on a mission to get across the room, with the mouse tucked strategically in her mouth, with Fozzy right on her tail. He looks pretty determined to get his hands on this fun little play toy. But Silver is not in the mood to share, so she darts behind the couch, heading to the stairs. Fozzy, not to be left behind, decides to take a short but OVER the couch, pouncing down right on Silver's tail as she heads upstairs.

Great. Now I have mouse upstairs in my house. I can deal with them if they are in the basement, but they need to stay out of the rest of the house - that is MY space! Ok, I will deal with that later. As I continue on my elliptical journey, I turn back to watching the news. Any news yet on schools? More schools around us are being added to the list, but still not Green Bay.... go figure! What are they waiting for? Apparently the roads mus not be slick enough and we didn't get enough snow - even though on the news they are telling people to stay off the roads since they are so icy and that we are gong to continue to get snow.

Oops, they are back. Silver, with Fozzy right on her tail, mouse still tucked in her jaws. She does not want to share... and she does not want to let go of that mouse! A few laps around the basement, around the rocking chair and back upstairs we go. Once again, Silver went around the back side of the couch be Fozzy had to go up and over to try and get in that good pounce... and there they go back upstairs.

Hey, schools are finally on the closing list. I think our school system was the last one in the area that decided to close! Some schools were closed before I even woke up, but they wait until 6am to close our schools. go figure. At least Darrin's Snow Day Dance last night appeared to work for him. But that does not mean that I get a day off... I still get to head out to work. Can I have a snow day too??

Ok, I think I need to get my cats some more mousing lessons... wander back to the basement, one right behind the other, with noses to the floor, trying to find their lost toy... the question remains... did they leave the mouse upstairs or is it hiding safely in the basement? I don't think I want to know! But I did get some great entertainment during my workout this morning!

Ok, I guess I have delayed long enough. Time to get ready for work and head out into the white abyss!

Girlfriends and Wine

Last night Beth and I got together for a little "Girl's Night Out" It was the Meet-up Group Wine Tasting evening at the Captain's Walk Winery downtown. It was an awesome evening with some great laughs. We both realized that we do not get together as often as we should! In fact, with how often we get together anymore, you would think that we like miles apart, but in reality, she only lives about a mile from me!

The Captain's Walk is a true gem! The history of the building can be seen in every room the staff at the winery is always eager to share this great history. One of the really cool things about this winery is that they have a glass floor in the center of the tasting room so that you can see the HUGE barrels of wine "resting" in the cellar. While we were, one of the staff was down in the cellar topping off the barrels, so that there was no air left in the top. While he was down there, he stole a sample from one of the barrels and brought it up for our group to try. They poured some of that Merlot for each of us as well as some of the same Merlot that had already been bottled. What a difference! The bottled sample was definitely much smoother and the over all taste was soooo different! If you every go somewhere and have the opportunity to sample wine straight out of the barrel like this, go for it! If really gives you a different perspective on how the taste of wine can chance with processing!


We were able to sample all of the different wines that they make right there at the Captain's Walk, as well as a few wines from their sister winery, The Von Stehiel Winery in Algoma (where we just were on Saturday for the Wine Festival!). I think there were only a few that I did not care for, and these were mostly the very dry ones. A little dry is sometimes ok, but when you get the to far dry end of the spectrum, it is just not for me!


I also HAD to buy a bottle of their Maiden Voyage wine (pictured above). Not only is it an awesome wine, but the came in the super cool, limited edition bottle that looked like a big pirate ship! TOO COOL!! Right away I thought about our freinds with Bounding Main Maiden Voyage was the name of their first album! I think I need to send them a bottle of this wine!

This group is always fun to get together with! I think every time we go out and do something , there are new faces! Where will our next adventure be? Wherever the flavors take us!

Adventures in food

When a new restaurant in town opens it's doors, you can't help but be curious. The curiosity got the best of us when Gali, a Puerto Rican restaurant opened up not too far from us. I was really excited to see this as I had recently found out that the Paradise Palms Cafe that I was wanting to go back to had closed! No more Jamaican cuisine just around the corner... but now I have Puerto Rican. This could be a good thing!

Since John isn't much for trying new restaurant, Darrin and I decided that it was up to us to go check it out. That would give us the chance to see if it was something that John would enjoy. So it was Gali night! We met up with Bill and Sarah there tonight for dinner!

The restaurant itself is a small place with only about 7-8 tables and a coffee bar. It is also the home of a small bookstore in the back - a great combination! Plus for Internet lovers, Gali's also offers WiFi for it's customers!

I was somewhat surprised at the relatively short menu! There were 6 different appetizers, 6 main entrees, 3-4 sandwiches and the typical American fare of burgers. Then there was the daily special.

Darrin and Sarah both opted for the Pasteles, which they both agreed were "ok" not a lot of flavor and a very small serving - they each got ONE Pastele... that would normally be a snack for Darrin! Bill was very please with his Mofongo - it was a HUGE portion that he knew he would never eat all of! I was also very please with my choice. And for the life of me, I cannot remember what it was called. All I remember was that it was the special for the day. It was plantains, ground beef and other ingredients all put together in the same style as a lasagna, then topped with cheese. It was also served with a side of rice. YUMMY! It was just a unique combination that I had never tried before but was very tasty! I just wish that was on the regular menu!

The more time I have plantains in my food, the more I realize that I really like them! They give such a unique flavor to any dish and I have had them prepared in so many different ways that it is always exciting!

All in all we were pleased with our adventure this evening... yes we will go back, some of us will definitely order different entrees! Trying new things means opening yourself up for a few disappointments, but we learn from those disappointments and work around them!

We finally did it! Not that we had not wanted to before, but this was the first time that Darrin and I were actually able to go to the Cub Scouts Mom and Son Weekend. On Friday afternoon, we headed down to Kiel - hoping for good weather, but not counting on it!

Aside from the weather, only a few "oops" moments. The first of which was leaving our tent with the rest of our stuff to be ahuling on to the campsite. We hiked into the campsite (probalby about a half mile) to find that our tent did not make it to the campsite yet. Our sleeping bags, chairs and duffle bags did, but not tent, pillows and a few toher misc. items. So we scoped out the area, figured out where we wanted to pitch the tent and waited...

and waited...

Finally! The trailer arrives! I grabbed the tent off the pile along with a few other items taht were not buried too much. I thought Darrin was waiting for the sled wtih his shoes and a few other things to be unloaded. Apparently they started putting too many tents into our side and some people were moving to a new site. Next theng we knew, the trailer was gone and our stuff had not been left behind. So Darrin was off on a hike to try and find our stuff! He found it - down at the next camp site, just waiting for him!

Oh well! The biggest issue was the weather! It started raining overnight on Friday and didn't quit until late saturday afternoon. No sooner than we started to feel dry, it started pouring again - while we were at the campfire that night! Finally overnight on Saturday it quit again., opening it us for us to pack up everything Sunday morning! Aside from EVERYTHING begin wet, we had a great time! We did spent quite a bit of time under the leather working tent just because we didn't want to go out in the rain anymore!

Why is it that last weekend when they had the Dad and Lad Scout camp, the weather was beautiful and the weekend that we mom's head out to camp with the kids it is rainy and icky?? Go figures!

Wine, Shopping, Food and Grape Stomping

Every Fall, they gather from miles around for a stomping good time in Algoma. It is the Wet Whistle Wine Festival at the Von Stiehl Winery. This was the first year that we were able to actually make it to the festival... always too many other things going on!

We arrived just as they were getting the first round of grape stomping underway! What could be more fun than stomping on a barrel of grapes while the crowd cheers on! Everyone had their own method and style to getting the job done. In the end, it was not about how many grapes you stomped and how much juice you got, it was all about the response from the crowd! So I guess it is best of you bring a LARGE cheering section with you!!

And you cant have wine without food! From Chili to cheese, smoked salmon to brats, they had it all! The artisan bread was super too. We met up with Elle and Ellen from the Meet-up Group that we are part of - Food, Fun and Friendship. What a great afternoon! We sampled a few wines that we found to be wonderful and bought a bottle to share as we strolled the festival grounds, listening to the live music and watching the fun.

No trip to the Wine festival is complete without a stop at the actual Winery, just a few blocks from the festival grounds. For those that do not want to walk the few blocks, they have the Wine Train available for you to ride... so why walk when you can ride! At the winery we got to sample even more wine - many that they did not have at the festival, as will as purchase wine to take home.

So of course we had to buy some! But we had to bring that wine back to the car before heading back in to the festival, as no carry-in's were allowed. Cool thing... they had a golf cart that you could ride back to your car to drop off your purchases! WooHoo! Unfortunately, there was no way that 4 adults and Darrin were going to fit on the one golf cart... so we let Elle and Ellen ride with Darrin and John and I walked back. Apparently Elle and Ellen has some issues with staying ON the back of the golf cart....

Another afternoon of great fun and friends! For the complete set of pictures from today's adventures, head to our Flickr site!

More Smiles appearing in food!

It's official, I am not completely crazy! Either that, or my friends are just as crazy as me!

These morning smiles are traveling! I got this photo in my email from a good friend near Detroit - she found the morning smile in her coffee...

I guess you never know where the smiles will turn up.

She said this photo was tough to get because it kept moving.

I guess this was a shy smile!

Here's to another great day full of smiles!!

Animals, Apples and more

We are are finally home for a weekend! It seems like it has been forever since we have actually been home for the weekend! Not that I am complaining, but sometimes it is nice to be home! Darrin headed to Scout Camp with my dad yesterday so we had a day to do what we wanted!

First stop was the NEW Zoo. We had not been out there most of the summer and we anxious to see all the changes and additions! The day after we were out there the last time, the baby swans hatched, then a month ago the lion cubs were born, not to mention the fact that the giraffe's keep growing! They also have been working on the new Japanese Macaque exhibit that just opened last month as well as a few other improvements... so we were due for a visit!

It was a chilly morning so we were hoping to see a few more of the animals moving around more, or coming out from hiding. We were not disappointed!

The Badger was actually out wandernig around! Most of the time when we visit him, he runs and hides, and will not come back out. Today, he really did not seem to care that we were watching him! He just kept strolling around, checking out all the rocks and logs!

The Prairie dogs are always one of our favorites! They never miss a move!

But today the highlight was the pair of giraffes - Hudari and Zuri. This pair is 4 years old. Hudari weights in at about 1800 pounds! And they love their crackers! We spent quite a while feeding, photographing and petting them today, since there was no one else up at the feeding platform except the volunteers.

To view the entire set of photo's from today's adventure, click here

After the zoo, it was off the apple orchard. We found this little gem a few years ago and keep coming back! Once they open in the fall, we usually are here about every other week - especially since they are only a few miles from out house. Each time we go, we usually end up picking a different variety of apples. Today was our first trip of the season to the orchard and the HoneyGold's that we really like won't be ready for another few weeks. Today it was Jonagold's and Paula's. Cortlands should be ready next weekend.

Now is time to find some new apple recipes to try this year, as well as digging out the good ones that we discovered last year! Each week is always a new adventure, trying different apples in different recipes! Tomorrow, we make applesauce and who knows what else!!

Happy Sandwich

You know it's going to be a good day when you see a smile first thing in the morning! What started out as any ordinary day, the alarm going of at 5am (I love the snooze button!), showers, breakfast and making lunches. But one "off squrt" of bbq sauce and everything changes!

It's the appearance of the Happy Sandwich!
This was not a planned smiley... it jsut happened. And of course I had to grab the camera to capture the moment!

I guess I better make the best of this day... Darin's sandwich told me it was goign to be a good day!

Starting School and Making Decisions

The official first day of school has arrived! We are never really sure who is more excited for this day to come - the kids or the parents! But it is also bittersweet as it means that summer is ending...

This year Darrin was really excited to start school, as this is his final year at King Elementary! He is "one of the big kids" now. This was also the first year that I was not able to bring him to school for his first day. With the new job, it was not going to work! So I had to be a pain and ask the neighbor to get a few pictures of the kids at school, and the annual picture of Darrin in front of the school sign. I will have to dig out all these photos from years pasts and start a collage or something! The one thing that I want to do this year, that I have forgotten in the last few years, is to have Darrin wear the same shirt that he work on the first day of school, on the last day! That way we can get a real comparison of just how things can change over the school year!

This year he also had a big decision to make... What instrument did he want to play in band! This is something that he has been waiting for over the years. He had his choice down to drums or the trumpet. When the paperwork came home from school, he found out that he could not pick the drums, for various reasons. So it was the trumpet. He decided on the trumpet because that is what Unkie played in band. Works for me, as my brother's trumpet is still at my parents! All we need to do is have it cleaned and all that fun stuff.

Now only if all decisions were that easy! Then again, you take away the options, and things become clearer!

Mini-Golf Challenge Results

Our weekend in the Dells brought about a small mini-golf challenge between the 3 of us. Each course that we had the option of difficulty, we chose the most difficult course just to add some extra excitement and challenge!

Results:

Timber Falls: Montezuma's Revenge
Par for Course = 47

Amy: 48 (2 hole in one's)
John: 55 (1 hole in one)
Darrin:54 (1 hole in one)

Timber Falls: Loggers Lookout (Red Course)
Par for Course = 43

Amy: 56 (1 hole in one)
John: 57 (1 hole in one)
Darrin: 68

Pirate Cove: Pirates Challenge
Par for Course = 46

Amy: 49 (1 hole in one)
John: 56 (1 hole in one)
Darrin: 56

Shipwreck Lagoon: Green Course
Par Course = 41

Amy: 43
John: 47
Darrin: 58

It was a great weekend for mini-golf! Darrin was determined to beat John and he did accomplish that in the very first course we golfed! It was great to finally golf the many mini golf courses that in the Dells! Next time Darrin is determined to come out on top!!

Vacation Day 4 - Time to head home!

WOW - where did the last 3 days go! I guess the last day of vacation has to come sooner or later! As our family tradition, we ate breakfast at the hotel today. They usually have a pretty good breakfast buffet and it makes it easier to just eat there in between packing to go home and loading the car.

Today was the only day that we actually brought the camera to the waterpark to get some pictures. We were even having fun with the video option on the camera with a few of the water slides etc...

that is, until the camera battery went dead. Guess that was bound to happen since we forgot to bring the charger for the small camera with us! We still had John's regular camera to use, but we were not about to bring that down to the water park!

Before we left town we had one last mini-golf course to hit... Shipwreck Lagoon. At first glance, it looks like a small course, compared to the other large courses in town. This is not the case! Since the course is built up on a hill, you can't see most of it from the road! Of the 3 courses, once again ,we opted for hte hardest one! I think we really challenged ourselves this weekend! Darrin ended up slightly futher behind John but that was mainly because of 1 hole!

Another Dells vacation had to come to a close... anyone want to go to work for me tomorrow?!?!?

Vacation Day 3

After breakfast at Cracker Barrel (or Crackle Barrel as Darrin called it) we headed to the Lost Canyon. This was one of the small local tours that was recommended to us by the lady at the hotel.

I highly recommend this tour for anyone who as time. It is a small tour, off the beaten path, inexpensive but so worth it. Our tour guide Tony was very informative and entertaining. The tour takes you right through the bottom of the deep narrow canyons just outside of town. The trails through the caverns are so narrow that when sitting on the wagon, you can reach out and touch the walls!

Of all the tours that we did while we were here, this was one of the best ones! Granted the other tours were good, but this being a smaller family owned company made it a little more personal!

We were able to get a few more photo's of the "missing" Lake Delton from right across the road from the Lost Canyon Tour office. Darrin still had a hard time really comprehending how deep the lake really was. He kept saying that it didn't look like the lake had been that deep. Untel we explained to him that the docks are still in the same place that they were and that the water probably came up to just below them. I think that finally put it in perspective for him ~ especially when he realized that with where he has been stanging, the water was probably about 1o feet deep.

After the Canyon Tour it was off to do soem more mini golfing. Today it was Pirate Cove - right next door to Timber Falls where we were ysterday.

Pirate Cove has 5 different courses to choose from and Darrin and John decided that we needed to attempt the hardest course. Considering this course was as difficult as it was, Darrin did very well! He kept right with John most of the way and I think he ended up only 1 stroke behind John at the end. Once the weekend is over I am going to post all the Mini-golf scores together - as a summary of our mini-golf tournament this weekend. Darrin decided that tomorrow he is going to beat John!

The afternoon was more swimming and water at the hotel! Darrin could not decide which of hte water play areas he wanted to play at so he kept goign from part to part! It is nice now that he is older that he is off on his own. He does really good to let us know where he is heading so that makes it easier too.

Tonight we deicded that we didn't really feel like heading out to eat so we opted to order in. After looking at menu's from a few different places we decided to just order from Buffalo Phils since it was so close by. Darrin was watching the clock to see when the pizza would be there and announced that our pizza was on it's way - via a golf cart! Apparently, as a means to save gas, they deliver to the hotel with the golf cart instead of the normal delivery car. Makes sense to me!

Overall, it's been a very busy 3 days! I think I need an extra day to recover from everything!