A road trip to Wisconsin

I took off Friday and Makai and I went on a road trip to Wisconsin. img_1853.jpg

Our first stop was in the Bayview neighborhood of Milwaukee where we met up with Amanda for breakfast at HoneyPie.img_1868.jpgimg_1869.jpgBayview seemed like a young, trendy part of Milwaukee with a lot of cool bars, restaurants and shops. img_1855.jpg Amanda and I both had the pork belly benedict. Makai had eggs and toast with their house-made jam. He liked it. Can you tell?img_1858.jpgimg_1861.jpgimg_1973.jpgIn the bathroom they had a ton of intricate needlepoints that I’m sure were thrifted. img_1866.jpgimg_1865.jpgMom was at work when we arrived in Greenville. I was kind of tired from driving so I laid down for a while and dad and Makai made a snowman with the little snow that was on the ground. This was Makai’s first snowman. When I asked him the snowman’s name he said “FROSTY!”img_1874.jpgMy dad made beef stew and we brought it over to my Aunt Ali’s house. We visited for a long time with her, my cousin Skyonna, and one of Ali’s friends. Makai brought his A game and was singing and dancing and tumbling and showing off, in general. img_1899.jpgimg_1898.jpgMakai loved playing with Katrina, Ciara, and Skyonna’s old toys and especially loved playing with Tucker and Ahmi, Aunt Ali’s dogs as well. At the end we got to say hi to Uncle Dave just for a few minutes when he arrived home from work.img_1877.jpgimg_1878.jpgWhile we visited we didn’t realize that it was a blizzard outside. For hours! I drove all the way home going only 25 mph because I couldn’t even see where the roads were!img_1963.jpgMakai liked watching dad use the snowblower the next morning. And Frosty looked like he gained some weight!img_1901.jpg

The whole reason we came up for the visit was to see Daniel Tiger Live. It showed in Madison, Milwaukee, and Appleton, but not Chicago! Makai was so excited to see the “concert” even though he had no idea what it was. He was talking about it nonstop at school before we left. We told him he would be seeing the REAL Daniel Tiger, not the cartoon!img_1903.jpgI had never been to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center (PAC) before. It was really good. The lobby areas were bright and sunny. The theater was comfortable and nice. Big but not huge.img_1910.jpg img_1914.jpgThere were a number of activities for the kids to participate in before the show. We took our photos by Daniel and the trolley, there were coloring and sticker activities where you could make a crown, and there was dancing and singing to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood songs.img_1919.jpgI wasn’t sure about the balcony seats we got. I wasn’t sure if they would be too far from the stage and therefor not engaging for a 2-year-old. He was way into it, though. Sitting on the edge of his seat and singing along to the songs he knew!img_1940.jpgFunny thing, when we got to our seats I heard someone say my name and it was an old friend I haven’t seen for probably 15 years or more. Married and with a kid!

This is what the show looked like. This is not my photo, just one I found online: img_1974.jpg After the show we met up with Aunt Connie, Kelly and Katie for lunch at Red Robin in Darboy. Aunt Connie asked Makai, “do you like cookies? What is your favorite kind?” Makai said “Chocolate!” and she said “You’re in luck! I made chocolate chocolate chip cookies this morning!” So we went over to visit with her and Aunt Sue for several hours!img_1954.jpgBy the afternoon the snow was melting. Here’s a frosty update.img_2151.jpgAnd on the day we left:img_1985.jpg

A Wisconsin Barbecue and Family Reunion

This was the third year in a row that we have gone up to Wisconsin to visit my parents and see all of our family up there. The first year, 2013, I was pregnant and hadn’t seen a lot of my family for years. The second year, 2014, Makai was a baby and I got to introduce him to everyone. This year Makai was old enough to run around with the kids and that was a lot of fun too.

I had fun seeing everyone and it was nice to be at my parent’s house in the country, which is not really the country, but is the country compared to where we live! I realized how much I miss open windows. Especially at night and in the early morning. Makai loved running in the grass barefoot, playing with (and riding) the dogs, picking and eating tomatoes from the vine with papa, and just being outside a ton.

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Dad and Dallas manning the grill.

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Dad grilled hot dogs, beer brats, and hamburgers. Dallas made a 10-pound pork roast!

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Typical WI BBQ coolers.

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To all the beers I’ve loved before..

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Jess stayed with my parents for two weeks before the party and made these cookies.

As with the previous years, the kids went wild for the frogs in the back ditch! This year Makai was in there with them. Tessa was so nice about leading him by the hand and letting him pet the frogs they captured.

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Frog Crossing!

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Kids on the bridge looking for frogs – Brianna, my cousin’s daughter is in red. PJ (standing) is a friend of my cousin Kelly’s daughter, Tessa.

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Makai with Tessa (my cousin Kelly’s daughter). Charlotte (raising her hand) is Kelly’s as well. PJ is Tessa’s friend. Penny and Sam are my cousin Tiffany’s kids.

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From the bottom: Makai, my niece Jessica, Charlotte & Tessa (my cousin Kelly’s), PJ is Tessa’s friend, Margo is also Kelly’s, Penny is my cousin Tiffany’s, Brianna is my cousin Melissa’s.

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FROGS!

It was great to see so many of my aunts, uncles, cousins, cousin’s kids, etc!

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My cousin Katrina with her parents, Ali and Dave, and her boyfriend, Gaylin.

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Aunt Deb, Uncle Mike, Uncle Morey, Aunt Connie

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My cousin Bethany’s husband, Chad, my Uncle Rich, my cousin Amanda’s husband Phil. Makai really enjoyed rubbing Phil’s shaved head. A lot. For a very long time. An uncomfortable amount of time!

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Katie is my cousin Kelly’s daughter. No, my older cousin Kelly! Elizabeth is my cousin Molly’s daughter. Nic (with girlfriend Brenna) is Katie’s brother.

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My cousin Anna’s daughter, Brianne, and my niece, Stephanie.

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Margo is my younger cousin Kelly’s daughter. She’s pictured with her grandma, my Aunt Sue.

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My cousin Melissa with her boyfriend, Aunt Ali, Aunt Connie, Aunt Deb, Uncle Morey, sidewalk chalk, Makai.

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My niece Stephanie with her dog, Milo.

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Dallas, my cousin Kelly with her husband Jeff, Uncle Dave and his daughter, my cousin, Katrina and her boyfriend Gaylin.

Now it’s time for some family selfies!

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Cousin Kelly, Me, Aunt Ali

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Me and Kelly. It was so great to spend the day with her and her family. I miss them! And so fun to see Makai play with her girls!

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Me and my Aunt Ali

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Me and my Aunt Sue

Some other photos from the weekend in Wisconsin:

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My mom with Makai and Buddy by the pond in their subdivision.

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When in Wisconsin: New Glarus Spotted Cow + Friday Fish Fry!

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Makai walking Buddy.

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Buddy stretching out and relaxing on the patio.

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Milo and Dakoda in the garage, begging to come back inside.

A Barbecue and Family Reunion in Wisconsin

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Last year we had so much fun in Wisconsin barbecuing and catching up with family, that we did it again this year. Last year, I was 7 months pregnant and it was fun this year to finally introduce everyone to Makai. He had so much fun playing and visiting with all his cousins and aunties and uncles that he missed his afternoon naps and stayed up right till his bed time at 8 p.m. Makai was especially loving Kiara, who is one month older than him; chilling out by Dustin; and playing with Tessa, Charlotte and Margo.

I had fun seeing everyone too and it was nice to be at my parent’s house in the country, which is not really the country, but is the country compared to where we live!

Also, I had never seen this version of 312 before, even though Goose Island beer is made in Chicago and is everywhere here:

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Christmas Eve Eve

This year we went to my brother’s house for Christmas Eve Eve. This was the day that worked out for everyone’s schedules, since my mom had to work on Christmas Eve and Amanda had to work on Christmas day.

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Football was on. The Packers were spanking the Titans, Dallas had an exciting game going as well. My brother and Amanda had a lot of different Christmas beers that we enjoyed drinking – Anchor Christmas Ale, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, and Great Lakes Christmas Ale, to name a few. Jess and my mom were looking for a game to play and I just so happened to have their solution with a small gift for Dallas. At Dallas’s grandma’s memorial earlier this year Dallas and his siblings were talking about how she used to teach them to play hanafuda cards and how they used to play all the time. So, for Christmas one of my gifts to Dallas as hanafuda cards. He was really surprised and excited and taught my whole family how to play.

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We also played an exciting game of Trouble, which I won.. and dad… did not win… even though he cheated!

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For dinner, Amanda tried her hand at beef tenderloin and it turned out great. She also made some green beans. Dallas and I brought a spinach and strawberry salad with homemade dressing and some sweet potatoes. My parents brought a bunch of meat and cheese, some bacon deviled eggs, peanut butter balls, special k bars, dipped pretzels, and a pie. Oh, for dessert, I also brought white-chocolate dipped cranberries, gingerbread cookies and fudge. We had such a great dinner, so much to eat! I was stuffed. My brother also made some homemade eggnog, that was gone in a flash because it was so tasty.

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After eating, the guys retired to the living room to watch football, drink beer and wait to open gifts, while all the girls cleaned up in the kitchen. I complained loudly, but no one did anything differently! 🙂

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After dinner we opened gifts. Stephanie and Jessica opened gifts from me and Dallas and my parents first. We got Steph a few small things and a gift certificates to shop for clothes at H&M. For Jessica we got Just Dance 4 (which we hilariously played later on) and some brightly-colored jeans. Our big gift to both Jess and Steph was a Nintendo 3DS XL, which Jess slyly opened and started playing with before anyone could notice!

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Richard, Amanda, Dallas and I got some gifts from Santa. I gave Amanda and my mom some homemade vanilla and a cookie party cookbook with photos and recipes from all of my parties through the years. Jess crafted some special things for my mom too.

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Next we did our adult gift exchange. We draw names and have a $40 limit, so it doesn’t get too crazy. This year I had Richard’s name. I made him a Revolution Brewing gift basket with three kinds of canned Revolution Beer, a Revolution tshirt and a Revolution Brewing koozie. Richard got my mom some delicious coffee and some other treats. My mom got Amanda some cold-weather biking gear. Dallas and my dad had each other’s names. My dad got Dallas some of his favorite beef jerky, golf balls and some Dallas Cowboys stuff. Knows him well! Dallas got my dad a nice Under Armor shirt for running. Great gifts, overall!

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Oh, and I almost forgot. Buddy is the new addition to the family, my parent’s new cuddle dog. He looks so ferocious in this photograph and we were all laughing because that’s the opposite of his gentile, docile personality. He’s a nice dog.

Last but not least, here are some funny videos we made downstairs while we were playing cards.

Fourth of August in New England


Lake Wentworth

With the Fourth of July falling on a Wednesday this year, it didn’t work out for us to go to New England for the holiday like we usually do. It just so happened that one month later, the Fourth of August, worked out great, so off we went!


Kayaks


Adirondack Chair


Lichen


That is Stamp Act Island across the way, on the left.

We spent a few days at Ross’s house on Lake Wentworth in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. We went to Ross’s house for the first time last year and it was a ton of fun. And it was a ton of fun this year too.

We flew into Boston and drove up to New Hampshire with Matt, Molly and Lucy and their dog Buddy. They also had a new addition for us to meet this year, a one-and-a-half-year-old mastiff, Sophie.


Sophie

Also staying at the house were Tommy and Marinella, with their dog Koukla, who happened to really like riding on the kayaks. Note Ross’s new toys are these fancy kayaks that have a pedal mechanism so you don’t have to paddle. They were pretty awesome.


Tommy, Ross, Koukla, Dallas


Ross & Koukla

The week before we went out East, Rob stayed overnight at our house in Chicago. He always stays over one night every year when he does the sailing race to Mackinac Island. Rob and Ross and Matt all lived in Boston at the same time so we mentioned to Rob that we were going to Ross’s and suggested he come down from Maine, so he did. So glad he did!


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Rob and Dallas taking a snooze.

There was lots of eating and drinking and fun, like always. Ross has been on a paleo diet, but we still had a lot of great food and drinks. One thing was clear, that we are all getting older. Things were not as rowdy as previous years, for sure!


Steak and Scallops.


Ross broke out the good stuff (but I still didn’t like it!)


Brought my aloha shirt koozie.


I don’t know why Ross had these bling-y ice cubes!


Long Trail Ale is a beer from Vermont.

And we still had a ton of fun playing on the lake and relaxing outside.


Lucy had her own adirondack chair, a gift from Uncle Ross.


Ross, Koukla, Rob


Matt and Lucy.


Lucy and I were playing with leaves and pine cones.


Rob and Dallas.


Lucy getting a haircut.


After her haircut.


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Ross gave us a Lake Wentworth chocolate bar from Winnipesaukee Chocolates.

The rest of our trip was spent in the greater Boston area where Matt and Molly live. Dallas and Matt golfed, I took Lucy to the park, we watched a ton of Olympics, visited a diner where Lucy is a regular, and spent one night watching The Dark Knight Rises followed by drinks and dinner in Marina Bay.


There’s a rule somewhere that when you’re on a roadtrip you have to stop at Taco Bell. I finally tried the Doritos Locos Taco.


Lucy at Target.


Lucy at the park.


Marina Bay

Oh, and on the way out to Boston, we, of course, had drinks and lunch at Tortas Frontera at O’Hare!


Tortas Frontera.


As of right now I have 167k miles on AA.

Fourth of July in Norwell, Massachusetts


Lucy & Dallas waving


Dallas & the Luannes! (Lucy’s full name is Luanne.)


Sarah photobombed the birthday candle photo! (Sarah, Luanne, Adam, Ron, Marty, Jan, Molly)


Dallas’s Cake Creation


Lucy tasting whipped cream for the first time.


Of course, she loves it! (She is also doing her signature wave here.)


Adam by the pool.


Adam & Sarah

On the Fourth of July we drove down from New Hampshire with Matt, Molly,Lucy, and Buddy to Norwell, MA. This is where Matt’s parents, Luanne & Marty, live. Dallas has spent many an Independence Day at Marty & Luanne’s house. Looking back, I spent the 2004 holiday and 2007 holiday there. It seems like more. As I told Luanne, in our hearts we spend every Fourth of July there. It’s what we tell people. We go to Norwell/Boston for Fourth of July. In reality, we get there as much as we can. It’s the effort that counts, right?

We spent the day swimming in the pool, playing a little bit of frisbee game, and relaxing. Marty made his kielbasa that he is known for. The secret ingredients are mustard and honey. Then he just keeps it hot in a pot. So good. He also grilled up some delicious cheeseburgers, which were served with potato salad. Very traditional, it sure hit the spot! I hadn’t had a cheeseburger or potato salad forever.

Aside from the holiday, it was Adam’s birthday on July 3 and Molly’s on July 4, so Luanne made her family’s traditional blueberry crumbcake. It was so delicious. She also served strawberry shortcake. Dallas took the strawberries from that and put them on top of his blueberry crumbcake and then topped that with whipped cream. Also, Matt gave Lucy some of the cake with whipped cream. She loved it. They really try to restrict her sugar intake, so I think she was just amazed!

On this holiday the party was smaller, mostly family, a few friends. But that does not mean it was not fun. It was great to be able to see Marty and Luanne again and to hang out in the sun and in the pool and with all of the family for one more day before heading back to Chicago.