We went on our first family vacation mid-July. I didn't feel like being stuck behind a camera, so I don't have many pictures to share. So I'm writing down as many details I can remember so hopefully in a few years when the kids ask about our trip, I'll still have something to share with them!
All 4 of us drove up to Wisconsin to stay at the cabin with Kris and Roger. On the drive up, we stopped in Clear Lake, IA after driving through a downpour. We happened upon a beautiful public garden, I made pb&j sandwiches and we ate and stretched our legs while we enjoyed the flowers and water features. It was the only real stop we made during the seven hour drive—very impressive considering Maggie refused to sleep. Our first night we stopped in Rochester to spend the night. We had been there for about 10 minutes before Brian and the kids went out back to explore. Brian, who was carrying Maggie, slipped on the wet stairs and fell down about 15 stairs. His body took the brunt of the fall, saving Maggie (thankfully!) But man was he hurting! His biggest bruise is finally starting to fade.
Given that Liam had just had a scare in the Y pool (He walked too far into the deeper end and went under. I had to run out and grab him, leaving Maggie on the side of the pool. Very scary for Mom, too!) just 3 days before we left on vacation, we weren't sure how he would take to the lake. He was a little nervous at first, but after figuring out his life jacket would keep him afloat, he was comfortable and swimming/floating around on his own. We were very impressed and proud! They have a small diving platform in the lake so we would float out there and Liam would alternate between jumping off into our arms and pushing us in. This lake is beautiful and the water is so still and clear most days that you can see 6-7' down. We did a lot of fish-watching off the platform as well. I think we spent a good majority of our trip in the lake! Maggie loves being in the water as well. One of Liam's favorite parts was when Sky (their golden retriever) would come out the water and shake on all of us. Liam would actually command Sky to shake water on him!
Liam has his own Spiderman fishing pole that he has been practicing his casting on. Before our trip, he and went and picked out his own lures at Scheels and was very eager to try them out. Our first time out fishing he put mealworms on and caught a bluegill every cast. He got pretty bored with that, though! The next time he went out he wanted to try his lures so Roger set it up for him. (We were lucky to have such a great fisherman/guide with us!) His first cast he caught a 12 ½” large mouth bass. On his piddly little Spiderman fishing pole! I thought for sure it would break but it didn't! His second cast he reeled in a 12 ¾” bass, his third brought in yet another 12 ½” bass. It was ridiculous. The rest of us were having zero luck. And, of course, I didn't bring my dang camera! He also was brave enough to stick his thumb in a fish's mouth so he could release it back into the water! My biggest catch was a 14” bass, but again there was no camera for proof :) Brian's first cast ended up attracting the attention of a Muskie, who promptly bit the lure and snapped the line. It was dusk so we heard, not saw it happen—we actually heard it jump a few minutes later trying to shake loose the hook. So he spent the rest of the trip casting for Muskies. He didn't get any more bites—really I think he just wanted to see one. But 1000 casts later, nothing.
One of the days we took their bigger boat out to the Chippewa Flowage, which is cool because it has floating bogs. These bogs are HUGE and actually have full size trees growing on them, and on really windy days they often move around. We got to get out and walk around on one. We had a picnic, did some more swimming, and then Liam got to help Roger drive the boat! Maggie, who hadn't been napping the whole trip, decided to fall asleep on my lap while we were driving 30mph or so. I guess the bouncing up and down put her to sleep?
Things I learned on this trip—Maggie loves blackberries, and both of my kids will now eat broccoli.
We finished up our trip at Tremblay's Sweet Shop in Hayward. I love this place! You walk in, pick up a basket, and fill it with any kind of candy you can imagine (including at least 50 different flavors of taffy!). Maggie had a great time—she walked around with a piece of taffy in each hand staring at all the baskets full of candy. We also picked out some of their homemade fudge. After amassing a large quantity of sweets, we discovered they take cash and we didn't have any. So while Brian ran to an ATM, I tried to keep the Liam entertained (without touching any candy.) The lady behind the counter engaged him in conversation, and then told him if he could stand still until Brian got back, he'd give him a peanut butter fudge ball. I have never seen that boy stand so still for so long. And when given his prize, he promptly stuck the whole huge ball in his mouth at once. I hear it was delicious. Chances are if you stop by our house in a month, we will still have candy left. Yes, we got that much.
Thank you again to Kris and Roger for letting us visit and being such gracious hosts!
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