Wisconsin Highlight Reel

I've got one last Wisconsin post for you today.  We spend a week up north every July and it's always a highlight of our summer.  We have been going since before Leo was born.  The weather was a little hotter, a little more humid than usual, but we didn't let that stop us from having a blast.  We did a mix of favorite spots + new spots and somehow we have yet to do everything we want to do up there.  I think that's the mark of an amazing vacation spot!

The pots of flowers all over the property were stunning!

Lots of time on the patio!

Exploring the property with my favorite people.

We went to Circus World museum and circus in Baraboo, WI.  It's where all things circus began and everything around town is circus themed.  The exhibits were all fun to see.

The circus is included in your admission so be sure to time your visit around the circus times.  The show was 90 minutes and we really enjoyed it.  There were lots of different acts.  The jugglers and the cyclists impressed us the most.  Then they all came out at the end to chat with the audience.  It was a sweet small town circus experience.

We had fun shopping at the outlet mall!

The Riverwalk was lovely.  Hot, but lovely!  We normally have pretty mild weather, but our trip was hotter than we are used to in Wisconsin.

We stopped in our favorite apple orchard - Ski Hi.

Lots of days at the water parks at Wilderness Resort.  We love coming up in the Summer when all the outdoor parks are open.

Lots of cheese!

I'm inspired by these giant flower pots filled to the brim with all kinds of flowers.

The weather was perfect for our cabana day!  Kevin rented a cabana at our favorite water park.  It was so nice to have a spot to enjoy a bit of shade, a snack and relax.

Leo loved the bucket drop.  He played here all day.

Big scary drop slides for Kevin and Olive.  The rest of us loved cheering for them.

Fletcher loved the obstacle courses.

We'd go for walks in the evenings to spot bunnies and pretty flowers.

Leo loved collecting "Consin books"/brochures to read about Wisconsin activities.

He loves taking pictures with mascots.

And Olive loved this candy store.  So sweet!

We had a wonderful week in Wisconsin!  We always enjoy heading north because we rarely run into any traffic, the weather is nicer than the Midwest in the summer and we find so many fun things to do.  The 7.5 hour drive goes by pretty quickly especially when you have Leo's silly lizards roaming around the van.  He hid them all over the condo and had so much fun with them all week.

Be the Chaperone

I've had some fun opportunities this summer to be the mom chaperone.

Olive knows that if she checks my calendar and we pick a date that works for us, I'm happy to chaperone plans she makes with her friends.

That looks like her coming up with a plan with her friends - the fair, the mall, movies or sleepovers - and then she'll ask me for dates that would work best.  They text to work out the details and I put it on our calendar.  It's been a really fun way to get to know her friends better and for her to ensure that she sees her friends outside of school.

They agreed upon plans ahead of time - amount of money to bring, goal to try to find something matching for back to school, time frame, as well as the pick up/drop off plan.

They strolled through their favorite stores.

Some shopped more than others.

They each had specific things they were looking to buy.

They tried on clothes and did a lot of laughing + window shopping.

I helped pick out a birthday gift for one of their moms.

We laughed at ridiculous items for sale.

Some paid in cash, card and Apple Pay.

We shopped at the candy store.

And I didn't lose a single girl!  The mall was crowded so that was a relief.  Lucky for me, they were an easy group to keep up with and they didn't mind me hanging out with them.  I think they appreciated my help calculating sale prices and then they'd run things by me since their mom wasn't there.

We headed up for a treat at our house and then the girls got picked up.  It was such a fun afternoon together.  I loved hearing about their excitement and anxious feeling about starting junior high.  They are sweet, responsible girls and I'm so thankful for their friendship.  Olive has been friends with some of the girls since we moved here in 3rd grade.

So my encouragement to you is - volunteer to be the mom chaperone when your kids want to make plans with their friends!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, Kev!

Kevin and I celebrated our anniversary yesterday with work, dentist appointments, errands, running kids around, meetings and a delicious dinner and dessert at home.  That sounds about right for year 21.  Kevin was slightly devastated to hear of Hulk Hogan's passing yesterday.  He was his childhood hero so that was a sad moment for him.

We've had an awesome summer full of travel and time at home.  None of us are super eager to get back to school in August, but we know we have packed in the very best times into our days home together.

We are excited for a new year navigating junior high, new schedules and routines, kindergarten for me and for Leo, new work opportunities for Kevin and Fletcher is working hard to build strong friendships at school.  It'll be another big year for all of us and we can't wait!

I'm not a fancy cake baker, but I can make a family recipe that's been passed down three generations.  I added our wedding cake topper for fun.  I had to dust it first, but it made me smile to use it again.

Cheers to 21 years!

Fletcher helped me make our anniversary cake.

He loves to cook!

We dusted off our wedding cake topper to use.  It wasn't all that popular when we got married to do a traditional couple cake topper, but I have always loved it!  I made Kevin's favorirte cake - a family recipe for Buttermilk cake.  It's not a gorgeous cake.  It just a delicious one that his family has been making for years.

Kevin's grocery store bouquet :)

See you back here next week!

Delicious Wisconsin Restaurants

We ate some really delicious food whiel we were in Wisconsin.  We tried several new restaurants and loved most of them!  If we didn't love it, we had something different in mind to order the next time we visited.  Kevin often orders fish and the rest of us look and see what sounds best on the menus.

Kyoto Hibachi & Sushi - we love this place!  We have been coming for years.  Be sure to make a reservation.  Fletcher was the only one at our table to catch his egg bit in the air.  Their fried rice, noodles, soup, salad, veggies and meats are so good.  We also love their dipping sauces.

Driftless Glen Distillery in Baraboo, WI - Kevin went to a tasting and tour here and loved it.  We did some shopping and adventuring around Baraboo after we dropped him off.  He said everything was really good and the property was neat to see.

Hot Rocks.  Kevin took full advantage of our coupon book and found us some new places to try.  Hot Rocks was so cool!  You order things to grill on a lava rock in front of you.  There are items to grill and items you can have prepared in the kitchen for you.  We all loved this place.  We agreed that it was probably best to get steak vs fish to grill.  My steak was huge.  The kids were careful grillers and we'd definitely go back.

Because all the restaurants have cheese curds.

The Log Cabin is a local staple in Baraboo - just 15 minutes from The Dells.  It was yummy!  Kevin says to get a burger instead of shrimp.  WE all loved our salads, corn dogs, breads and pies.

The entrees came with cranberry orange bread.  It was kind of like cornbread.

Dill pickle cheese curds were good.

Their homemade pies were STUNNING.  They were both so good.

We ate the breakfast buffet at Camp Social at Wilderness Resort.  It was so good!

We bought several local cheeses and made cheese boards for lunch or snacks.

The River's Edge Grill was good!  Everyone loved their local fish, pasta, cheese curds and I would not recommend getting their award winning burger.  It wasn't delish.  Everything else was good!  It's a local spot right along the river.  Give yourself some time to walk around and play on the playground nearby.

Wisconsin Nachos from a food truck!  Yum!

Pizza Ranch was so good.  We went on Tuesday night when you pay the age of your kids instead of the regular price.  11 and above counts as an adult.

We loved the hibachi so much that we went tehre again on our last night.  Leo was thrilled to discover a Leo Roll on the sushi list.  He proceeded to order white rice and lemonade.  haha.  We all got a mix of Teriyaki Chicken, steak and loved it.

You'll have to give some of these spots a try if you find yourself in The Dells!