What We Did This Summer

Well, another summer has come and gone as quickly as the blinking of an eye.  Why does summer always go by so fast and winter lasts forever?  September 23 marks the first day of fall, and this weekend my husband and I will begin the first of our fall hiking adventures, so before I begin writing about that, I wanted to share with you what we did this summer.  

We only took one vacation, and it was a lot closer to home, but it was always a place on our bucket list that we never got around to before.  Why is it that when a place is too close to home you never go there because you don't really think it is a real vacation?  But we thought, it's now or never, so off we went!

Chapel Loop Trail

Spring Vacation to the Upper Peninsula 

St. Ignace, Michigan

Michigan's Upper Peninsula is only about 6-8 hours from our home.  It's such a beautiful area with so much to do there.  I don't wan't to share too much here as I plan on writing a travel series of this area this winter, but here are some highlights:

Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island

We spent one day on this historic, car-free, "frozen-in-time" island.  This island is so beautiful and unique it needs to be on everyone's bucket list.

Tahquamenon Falls State Park

We did a lot of hiking to see as many of Michigan's amazing waterfalls as possible.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

No trip to the Upper Peninsula would be complete without a boat ride to see the famous "Pictured Rocks".

Munising, Michigan

We enjoyed a lot of great meals with scenic lake views.  

Chapel Loop Trail

And, we took the longest hike ever of our lives...the ten mile round trip "Chapel Loop" trail.  You see it all on this trail:  waterfalls, forests, stunning vistas, beaches, and lake views.

Celebrated the Opening of Crumbl Cookies

In the spring, the entire city of Eau Claire was so excited for the opening of Crumbl Cookies.  The lines to get a cookie extended way into the parking lot!  I was so thrilled to finally be able to try one of the famous $5.00 cookies!  My best friend and I made a date and went together.  Our review?  The cookies are delicious, they are served warm and beautifully packaged.  BUT, I couldn't believe it was just a pick up joint.  There is no place inside to sit and eat your cookie while it is still warm.  We ate our cookies as we walked back to our cars in the parking lot.  I can't help but think how much better this place would be if they had a swank dine-in option with cute bistro chairs.  Anyway, I went once and haven't been back since.  Eating a delicacy like this should be an experience, and not something you eat in the parking lot.  If you wait till you get home to eat it, your cookie will be cold, and you can't reheat it with all that frosting.  So, thumbs down for me.

Finally Finished that Darn Backyard Patio and Porch

In last year's "What We Did This Summer...Almost Nothing". I wrote that we didn't do much because we had to stay home and work on our back patio.  Well, we finally finished it this spring and I will have a post about it next Sunday.

Week Long Staycation with the Kids

4th of July

Trout Fishing

My daughter, son-in-law, and the grand babies came up to celebrate the 4th of July with us.  We didn't have fireworks this year because it rained at night, so that was a bit of a bummer, but it was dry during the day so we went to a nearby town and enjoyed the festivities there.  

Enjoying Malts

The park had a lot of fun activities for the kids like trout fishing, face painting, inflatables, and a parade. The parade participants threw so much candy and toys to the on-lookers the grandkids made quite the haul! 

4th of July Parade

Mini Overnight Getaway to Minoqua

We took one overnight trip to Minoqua, Wisconsin where we enjoyed a night in the hotel pool and the zoo the next day.

Pit Stop in Wausau, Wisconsin:  JoJo's Jungle

We decided to break up the three hour drive with a pit stop in Wausau.  I read about this amazing all-inclusive park that was inspired by the parents of a disabled child and thought it looked like something the grandkids would love, so I incorporated it into our trip.   

It is truly an incredible place where children of all ages and abilities can safely play.  You can read more about JoJo's Jungle and how it came about HERE.

Wildwood Wildlife Park & Nature Center

Back in 2016 my husband surprised me with a trip to the Wildwood Wildlife Park .  We had so much fun that day and all I could think about since was going back "someday" with the grandchildren because I knew how much they would love it.  Well "someday" finally came, so off we went!  And boy, was I right, because they really loved it.  This is the perfect zoo for small children because they can get so close to the animals and have so much interaction with them too.

Alethea Lost Her First Tooth

While eating a picnic lunch at the zoo, Alethea lost her very first tooth!

The zoo had a large sandy play area for the kids where they could dig for dinosaur fossils and climb on dinosaurs!  They really loved this spot and they spent a lot of time playing here while us adults rested. 😁

Blueberry Picking

Every year we go blueberry picking and we buy enough blueberries to last all year.  This year we tried a new place and boy was that a mistake!  It was a tourist rip off place:  not a place for someone who picks their own blueberries for economic reasons.  The grounds were absolutely gorgeous with beautiful flower and vegetable gardens, but the price of blueberries was $7.00 per pound!  We were in sticker shock when we got to the register and saw the total...it was over $100.  I will never go back to this place again, that's for sure.  

Weekend Getaway for Our Anniversary

Olbrich Botanical Garden

For our anniversary we drove three hours south to spend the weekend in Madison, Wisconsin.  I read about this beautiful botanical garden that I never even heard of before, so I wanted to check it out.  It was quite nice and I hope to do a travel post about it eventually.

In addition to Olbrich Botanical Garden there is also another beautiful garden called the "Allen Centennial Garden".  This garden and house served as the home for  the University of Madison first four deans.

International Crane Foundation

The next morning I was searching for something else to do in the area and I saw that there was an International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin.  I couldn't believe it!  I love cranes!  Here was yet another place that I had no idea was in Wisconsin.  I will definitely be sharing more about this place in a future post.

Attended Two Outdoor Concerts

Outdoor Service

We didn't go to "Onefest" (a local Christian music festival) because hubby thought it would be too crowded since Skillet was headlining it.  I was really bummed about that, because it seemed everyone I knew went and said it was awesome.  But hubby was right.  It was their highest attended festival on record, so much so that they are moving to a larger venue next year.

But, to make up for it, I got to attend an outdoor church service where my son played drums on the worship team (pictured above) and I got to see Jason Gray for FREE.  Our local Christian radio station was celebrating 50 years so they had a free concert to celebrate.  So, I got in a little of bit of summer music festivals this season.

Jason Gray Concert

Jason Gray

Rosy's Texas Outpost

Our friends own and operate a food truck, so we were happy to support them at the Jason Gray concert.  We couldn't believe we had to wait in such a long line though.  Look at the photo above, the line runs all along the pavilion and farther past.  We had to stand in line for an hour for food. People sure love Rosy's!

Back to School

Alethea started 1st Grade in August.  They go back to school early in Indiana!

Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day we drove to Indiana to celebrate our youngest grandchild's 2nd birthday.  He loves trains so I made him the cutest train card.  Don't worry, I'll do a separate post on that card!

While there, we drove an hour to Lafayette to the Columbian Park Zoo.  I know, I know, we're a little zoo crazy in this family, but what can I say, we love zoos!

This is a very small zoo, but once again it is perfect for young families.  We had so much fun!  They have a petting zoo area, small animals, a butterfly house, and even penguins.  I'll just share a few highlights here and I hope to have a full blog post on this zoo later this winter.  

I think the grandchildren's favorite part of the day was the train ride!  Little Elisha could not believe he got to sit in a train.  He was so excited to just sit in it, that when it started moving, he didn't know what to think.

Our favorite area of the zoo was "Australia" where we saw the wallabies.  I couldn't believe how close we could get to them!  Crazy!

We also took a paddleboat ride on this pretty lake.

We had a picnic lunch, and then we let the grandkids play in the playground.  The park has very nice picnic and playground areas.  It was such a fun day and very economical too!  For 4 adults, and 2 kids, we only spent $41 on admission, train tickets, goat food, and paddle boat tickets.  It's a fabulous place for young families on a budget for sure!

And that is it.  That was our summer.  A little more exciting than last year, but not by much.  It's always hard to travel far or long for us in the summer because of our garden, that is why we usually vacation in the spring and fall.  It's also cheaper and less crowded to travel then too.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

A Summer Staycation with the Grandchildren

I know I say this every year, but I can't believe the summer is half over already, can you?  Why does summer always go by so fast?  

Like most people, we aren't traveling much this summer.  My daughter and her family came up for a week's visit in June so I thought I'd do a lifestyle post on it since I don't have any travel posts to share.  It was a fun week full of lots of activity.  Here are the highlights!

On their first night at our house we treated everyone to pizza at The Stone Barn.  You may remember me sharing this unique restaurant in last year's post when we took my son there to celebrate his 30th birthday. 

We got three pizzas and devoured them all!  It is delicious pizza made in a stone pizza oven.

The weather was absolutely perfect for an outside restaurant.

After dinner, grandpa and I took the kids to see the goats!

These city kids got a kick out of these goats, but were a little apprehensive about them.

When we returned home, we had their birthday party (see this post here) then grandpa started a fire in his brand new fire pit that he built himself.

The next day we took the kids to church, then had a picnic lunch at River Prairie Park.  This is an interesting  park because they have a man-made play river for kids to wade in.

Atticus loved climbing on all the rocks and logs.

Of course the second his clothes got wet, he took them off.  Such modesty.😀

I was fascinated with this birdhouse collection at the park.  I thought it was so pretty and original  and I was surprised that so many birds were willing to live so close together.  Usually they are more territorial and prefer houses away from other birds.

We went to two different beaches while the kids were here.  They don't have lakes and beaches in Indiana like they do in Wisconsin and Minnesota so the kids are always super excited about going to the beach when they are visiting.  This is the Alma beach.

This was Elisha's first time at a beach.  He loved the sand and water.  He was tickled pink with it.  But of course the first thing he did was put the sand in his mouth. Yuck!  Why do babies always want to do that?

We spent one day hiking at Frontenac State Park.  You may remember me going there with my son last fall  (see this post HERE).  They have a nice paved trail there perfect for young families.  It has great views of the Mississippi!

The grand babies all took turns in the stroller so no one got too tired.

Of course Elisha slept through most of the hike.

There was a cute natural play area for the children along the trail that I did not even notice the first time I was there.  

After our hike we went to another beach, this one is in Lake City.  It was absolutely beautiful.  The water was so warm.

There is a pretty marina there too.

Atticus was much more interested in climbing all the boulders than he was in the water at this beach.

Unless of course he found a large walk in the water!

There were a couple of rainy days and super hot days during the week where we just had to stay home, but I always had plenty of activities to occupy the kids.  Their favorite place to be in my house is my craft room.  There are so many fun things for kids to do in Mamy's Craft Room.

 I plan to see my babies again in August when we drive to their house to see Alethea in her very first ballet.  I can't wait!

I hope you enjoyed this lifestyle post.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!