Wisconsin Lake Days

I'm not sure how we are already in the month of August, but here we are wrapping up a really fun Summer break.  We had a great trip to Wisconsin mid-July.  The weather is always so nice and we were really thankful to avoid any issues with smoke from wildfires.  We spent one day at Mirror Lake and another day at Devil's Lake.  I've got some funny stories from both lakes.

Kevin rented us a pontoon boat at Mirror Lake State Park on his birthday.  We brought snacks and fishing gear.  We opted out of all of the swim accessories you could rent and I'm glad we did.  The lake wasn't the clearest and we were all happiest on the boat.

The rental came with life jackets for everyone and basic instructions.

These guys were so excited.

I'm sure I can drive a boat - Kev.  He was right.  He figured it out.

Fletcher was scouting good fishing locations.

We enjoyed the breeze, snacks and had a good playlist going.

The scenery was so pretty.  We got to go under this interstate bridge, see the cutest little cabins and everyone we encountered was really friendly.

Here for the snacks.

A rainbow reflection on a beautiful day.

We saw a beaver, cool birds and enjoyed the calm, quiet lake.  The boys did not catch much unless you count twigs, branches and algae.  They were bummed, but it was a really beautiful day on the water.

The cutest cabins on the water.

We went to Devil's Lake State Park another day and the weather was gorgeous again.  It was HOT outside so the lake felt really great.  The lake water here is so clear and so shallow.  It's the perfect spot to float for a long time.  We came prepared this year with rafts, noodles and goggles.

Some years the lake water isn't the warmest, but the hot temps and sunshine made the lake water feel so good.  Unfortunately, someone stole my shoes out of our shoe pile while we were all in the lake.  We got out of the water and everyone's shoes were there except for mine.  We searched around for them, but had no luck spotting my black slides.  Lesson learned, if you are wearing a super common shoe, keep a close eye on your shoes.  Otherwise they may walk away.  So I had to walk back to the car with no shoes on and ride all the way back to our resort with no shoes.  Bummer!

If you ever find yourself in Wisconsin, we'd highly recommend buying a state park pass.  They are really affordable and the parks are so nice.  We wish we could have had enough time to do a second day at Devil's Lake.

Friday Favorites

We're still in full Summer mode ignoring the fact that I go back to work at the end of next week.  We are squeeze in all the fun plans.  Let me tell you about them.

1. Happy to host!  That's my motto for my family.  We hosted Kevin's department for dinner.  They made it easy and ordered the main courses from a local Indian restaurant.  I made a fruit tray, veggie tray and had food for the kids.  The flowers and tables were so pretty!  I have a stash of pretty napkins.  I pick them up at HomeGoods or TJ Maxx anytime I see a pretty pattern that catches my eye.  Their university school color is purple so it was fun to incorporate purple.

I bought several Sams bouquets and then mixed them up to make my own bouquets.

2. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They are our new favorite cookie.

Great party, Kev!

Door Dashed the main course.  That made hosting easy peasy.

3. Watermelon lemonade.  I love lemonade so we have been saving some watermelon concentrate when we cut up a watermelon to add to our lemonade.  It's been delicious.

4. We met my parents at Wild Eggs for a delicious breakfast!

5. I attended CPR training and was thrilled to walk in and find one of my best buddies.  That made the morning much more fun.

6. Olive ahs been crocheting up a storm.  This set of potholder is so pretty!

7. I'm thrilled to report back that this Trader Joe's Key Lime Pie is outstanding!

8. Changes are happening with our sleeping arrangements.

9. Kitten chaos!  Kevin walked into the bathroom to this scene.  Peanut playing in toilet paper with Pumpkin nearby.  He's so playfulf.  I'm thankful this mess was an easy one to clean up.  Peanut is so curious and so handsome.  He's fitting in perfectly with our family.

10. I've been reading up a storm between my book club and fun books.  This was our book for July - Local Woman Missing.  It's a WILD story.  You'll be hooked right away and may finish the book wondering if you can really trust anyone.  The characters will surprise you throughout the entire book.

11. The perfect pie!  I made a Derby Pie and it turned out PERFECT!

12. Leo loves a good game of Guess Who?  So does Peanut.

13. We got the all clear to go in and work in our rooms now that the Summer cleaning is done.  I love when we have time to pop in and work on our own terms.  I got the whole room set up and now need to get busy on the computer side of setting things up for a new year.

My theme for this year:

14. The best money I've spent on Summer fun - an Urban Air Summer pass!!  It was so affordable and you get unlimited play for 90 days.  We got several times a week.  The boys play like crazy and Olive and I bring things to work on.

15. Our bookclub met at BRU Burger this month.  I will be dreaming of this Cobb salad.  It was so good!

16. It makes me so happy when the kids and the cats find cozy corners throughout our home.  This is Peanut's current favorite napping spot.

I wish you the bset weekend!  See you back here on Monday.

Linking up with Momfessionals

Remembering a Favorite Pet

Let's chat about remembering a favorite family pet.

I promised a follow up post to tell you the things we did to remember Mr. Mittens when I told you about him passing away.  Any time you lose a beloved family pet, it's so sad.  Everyone grieves differently and we tried to do several things to help honor his memory.  We got several sweet cards from family and friends.  That's always a good idea if someone you love loses a pet.  We have always been lucky enough to find a vet that sends sympathy cards when our pets pass away.

I have a few gifts to tell you about that were great ways to honor the memory of a favorite pet.

Tuxedo cats are so handsome and so I started looking for some tuxedo cat art for the house.  I didn't want to spend a ton which made Amazon the perfect place to start.  I found these canvas art hoops.  I got one for Mr. Mittens and one that looked like Topher the cat we lost prior.  We hung them above our desk in the corner of our family room.  They are quirky and sweet and I smile every time I see these silly reading cats.

The vets office stamped paw prints for us when Mr. Mittens passed away.  Olive loved Mr. Mittens a ton so I frame a paw print and a heart of fur for her.  Hobby Lobby had this cute small bow frame.  She was really sad for a while so I quietly framed this and just put it in her room for her to find.

My sister surprised her with a Mr. Mittens photo pillow and key chain.  She used to sleep with Mr. Mittens every night and now she sleeps with his pillow.  This was a really sweet, comforting way for her to keep his memory alive.

A friend sent Olive and I matching cat bracelets with an M for Mr. Mittens.  It's a sweet bracelet to add to a stack and remember our favorite cat.  Thanks, Whitney!

We talk about Mr. Mittens and his antics often. I intend to make a little photo book of him.

I'm sorry if you're dealing with the loss of a pet.  I hope this post gives you some ideas of ways to honor the memory of your favorite pets.

Celebrating 22 Years

Kevin and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary on Friday!  That's a big milestone!  We met when we were in kindergarten, our families were friends, grew up going to school and church together and we share many of the same memories of growing up together.  So 22 married years, but many years together before that is a little more accurage.

We have done fun things all Summer long an as a result we planned our actual anniversary day to be simple and sweet.

We reminisced about our favorite wedding day moments.  Our rose petal send off was one of my favorite moments.  It felt like we were the main characters in a movie.  So many smiles and the perfect way to wrap up our ceremony.  Kevin said he was so excited to see me walk down the aisle.

Olive babysat the boys so we headed out on a date night.  We went to our favorite date night spot for dinner and then walked around Kevin's campus at UE.  We stopped by to say hello to our wedding chapel.  And the weather was cloudy and cool just like our wedding day.  Also, very unusual for late July in the Midwest.

We hung out at home.  Naturally, the cats were thrilled.

We cashed in lots of Chick-Fil-A rewards points for a cheap lunch.  Have you tried the Dragonfruit Pineapple Lemonade this month?  It's tart and yummy.  Then ran a bunch of errands.

Pepperoncinis + pepperoni pizza from our favorite spot.

We agreed to just exchanging cards this year, but somehow I still ended up with roses.

Our anniversary seemed like the perfect occasion to try out the Trader Joe's Key Lime Pie.  I'm so happy to report that it was delicious.  Restaurant quality.  Tastes just like we were having dessert on the beach in Florida.  10/10 Recommend it.

Simple and sweet was the perfect way to celebrate.