Really Diggin' the Weekends

Bright Skies and crisp mornings mark the coming of Autumn, but we were not to be forced inside. We headed south Saturday morning to Neenah, for the annual Quarry Quest. The open up a large active quarry for kids to come and play on and with all of the equipment. The lines are long for the parents, but barely noticed by the kids as each line is accompanied by a large sand pile complete with buckets and shovels. When the parent reach the front of the line the kids are treated with a rides working back hoes, dump trucks, bulldozers and other CAT vehicles that I can little fathom their role in a quarry. It is huge event and is really well thought out, I was very impressed. The kids are all dressed in orange work/construction vests and keeping track of your own kids is a little like finding Waldo. We hung out until lunch time and them headed toward Famous Dave's. We didn't bother ordering anything for Merrick front the meat palace. A brief nap for all and then we were on the bikes and heading down the bike trail to Celebrate De Pere. Good music, great community and beers in the street. We even took a shuttle across the bridge to the SNC campus and partook in their activities. The bridge goes over on of the Fox Rivers Dams and Sophia found great humor in all of the word play that is possible when near a dam. She thought there were some big dam waves and a lot of dam water and we impressed at all of the dam ducks just hanging around. We capped off the night with some movie about a super agent gerbils or guinea pigs and Sunday was mostly a domestic duties day, although the kids did find time to but out Lisa's high heels. Over all still a pretty good weekend.

Just a day in the life

Ok so I a might be raising criminals at the very least mindful antiestablishmentarianists.

Monday I asked Merrick how school was he told me he didn’t like school, I told him well you have to go to school, this is his story verbatim, “I do not have to go to school. I can break the glass with my head and run into the parking lot. Then I will stay on the sidewalk and look both ways when I cross the street. I will be home when you get home. I will just wait for you on the toilet.” His plan seemed well thought out for a three-year old.

Today is picture day for Sophia and she wanted to wear a yellow dress, but Lisa said it is just too cold out for the dress (beautiful dress by the way). Sophia came back down in green Khaki pants and an all black t-shirt. Lisa said she looked as militant as could be. Viva la revolution, I can really put off their teen years for a while.

Fight the Good Fight

I love the change of seasons, but this summer has been quite fun and we are holding on to it with a death grip even as the leaves start to change color and the mornings grow so brisk. We are trying to spend as much time outside as possible if for no other reason than daydream fodder in late February. We sneaked out mid-week for some canoeing and fishing, on a lovely little lake. Lisa slayed the bass and the kids pretty much just worked their way through the snacks. We found a little time to check out the improvements at the Zoo, a couple of new environments and a nice little restaurant. The badger even gave us some nice opportunities to watch him and the new pronghorns were out as we headed over to feed the giraffes. For the second time this summer we also made it to the 17th hole in mini-golf before getting rained out. This time of year however the rain was big cold drops and we had no interest in playing any hole except the very last hole as it was in a cave. I always feel like such a leader when playing golf, as there are so many groups behind me. The days will drift towards October and apple picking, but until then we will hold on and the kids can continue to play "bubble ball" where Sophia blows bubbles and Merrick tries to crush them all with his bat.

Summer draws down

Summer comes to an end and school starts for the kids and me. We held on to vacation with a death grip and managed to squeeze in one more camping trip at Hartman Creek State Park. The weather was alright, although a good size storm came through on Friday afternoon. When we returned home we learned that the same storm create a deluge of nearly 3 inches of water in little more than an hour and a half, complete with jet skis and canoes in the down town streets. For us the it was just some heavy rain for a twenty minutes of so, enough to soak the campfire wood. The campground had more kids in it than any campground I have ever been in. The site across from us had three little girls and the kids quickly made friends which lead to bike rides and a lot of hopscotch/sidewalk chalk. Showed Sophia how to play solitaire with real cards rather than on a computer screen. As she ran out of the camper to use the restroom in the middle of her game she hollared back "hey dad pause it." The dogs were along for this trip, much to their chagrin, so Lisa and I took turns with the kids at the beach as the dogs were not allowed. The built sand castles, romped with the other kids and collected a multitude of snail shells. We also sneaked out for a little geocaching, but the mosquitoes were pretty thick when bushwhacking was required, and we didn't log a single find-except for a pretty good wild apple tree. The return home also brought the beginning of school for Merrick and then Sophia's first day shortly after. Everyone is adjusting back into the routines of the academic year.