Some Road Time, Some Home Time

 
 
The oppressive heat has ended and we are back in action.  Spent last weekend on the road and visited the grandparents and cousins back in Eau Claire.  The kids ran the woods like a pack of wolves, well a pack of wolves with flashlights.  Merrick burned through most of grandma's supply of band-aids and bacitracin but that was required to keep the smiles and giggling.  Grandpa got the kids into two different boats and we played around in the river and Cold Creek for a while.  Merrick's giggle was very much audible over the engine when grandpa "Cannon."  The kids were having issues with the idea of "Canning it" and were quite sure he was saying "Cannon." There was some down time on Sunday morning before heading back home.  Monday we met some friends at Heritage Hill for some Music on the Green. Always a great summer activity, and the first time we have made it over there, due to Merrick's soccer was on the same nights. We take the bike trail over from the house, pack a brown bag dinner and the kids run through the weeds, do gymnastics and find a collective mass of other kids to play tag.  All of this with the wonderful sounds of open air live music from the large central gazebo makes the scene a little Rockwellish. We also were able to get back over to Bay Beach for a couple of hours.  The tickets are lasting longer than in the past as the kids have aged out of so many of the rides and into rides that I have no interest in riding.  Merrick hit the big swings for the first time, a gigglefest for him and a version of neurosis for me at the fear that he would freak out and try to climb out.  He did great and then it was off to the tilt a whirl and scrambler.  Boy wonder did blow out a flip-flop on the scrambler and he had to retrieve it when the ride was done--the kids are used to wearing shoes.  Merrick is still too short for the new roller coaster at the park, but we decided next time he will just wear his snow boots, that way the larger heels will add and inch or so and maybe he will come up to the all important red line and gain admission.  Yesterday was quite busy with the threat of rain we went to the newly opened children's museum and played around for about 3 hours before having some Ebert and Gerberts for lunch.  The new museum is smaller than the Appleton Museum but still offers some great exhibits including much of the old hands on equipment from the Packers hall of fame.  The kids had a blast.  We rounded out the day with a trip to a local water park and splash zone and played on the water slides and fountains until Merrick was convinced that the no running signs and my constant reminders were really just suggestions.  He slipped on the pool deck and cracked the back of his head nasty-hard and produced a monster goose egg.  His hair was all puffed out on the back of his head and he looked like a nubbin' unicorn.  His pupils looked generally normal but it was still time to head home and pack in a ton of tacos the likes of which can only be eaten by three people after a couple of hours of swimming.  Today looks like another gorgeous day and with these two for company it is sure to be wonderful.

Open up and Say SummAhhhh....

 

The summer has fallen into a familiar pattern in which we go like gang busters in the beginning and then tend to slow down in the middle before ramping up the pace to fit in those few remaining summer to-do plans before everyone heads back to school.  Merrick's last soccer game was cancelled due to the high heat, but we still got his team picture taken care of.  Plenty of pool time and friends coming and going but we still had to fit in a couple of dentist appointments last week, so it isn't all fun and games but we have shifted the balance far back towards fun since then.  With the high temps we have been looking for more urban was of beating the heat, so we headed towards the sprinkler park along the river.  There is a small button to push and then about 20 some jets of water come busting out from under the bricks.  It is the concrete jungles version of Ol' Faithful and the kids had a riot at intervals much shorter than an hour.  The farmers market is always a hit, and the kids and I were able to hit the heart of the city for some live music and general sense of community belonging.  Love the market for its mixed demographics of wild hair, vivid tattoos and PETA tote bags.  Sophia was able to  hula-hoop at the market and we spent some time watching a talented young woman throw several pots on her wheel. It was the first time the kids had seen such a thing, except on the iPads.  Today also marks a small milestone as this afternoon I will drop Merrick off at a friends house for his first sleep over.  The much needed rain has still not forced us inside, so long as there is no lighting then it is a perfect time to play in the rarity of this summer's rain.

Crawdads and Cavin'!

 

 


Too much fun today not to brag a little.  The kids are still working on their archery skills, and while Merrick's aim is improving, Sophia has such beautiful form while shooting that the pride gathers in my throat when she shoots.  They are running through target balloons at an impressive pace, pretty proud of my little robin hoods  The marksmanship has been practiced in the house as well, with plenty of Nerf gun ambushes, and on the rare occasions that they give me a gun, it has always been empty.  We picked up one of Sophia's friends and drove to the Maribel caves for some spelunking.  If I recall properly spelunking is exploring known caves, while caving is discovering new caves and caverns, I might have that backwards but at any rate it was a blast.  The temperatures were about 25 degrees cooler in the caves, damp and dark.  We were well prepared with our lights and traveled as far as we could in the two main caves that are open to the public. The small opening is visible behind the kids in one of the above photos.  I was on hands and knees, but the kids were able to crouch walk most of the way.  We also spent about an hour wading around in the river catching crayfish and chasing minnows in the shallow bed-rocked river.  Made it home in time for some Oreo bedazzled ice-cream and a good feeling for all.  Merrick has also taken to the occasional costume at lunch time as he pays homage to his mentor and cousin. Just too good of a day not to preserve.

rain, rain all went away.

 

We are staying busy and working around the heat this past week.  Mid-week we did wander around in the early morning at the Sancutuary in an effort to watch the feeding animals as well as beat the heat.  Spent a wonderful weekend in LaCrosse with the Bryan Klan and on top of some gut busting laughs they also added fireworks.  At some point the boys decided to change their appearances with washable marker, we had to laugh it was too late to do anything else.  The kids played so well together that the adults were able to play too much, and the aches and pains of a growing family.  Today was a bit of a milestone as well, in that it was the first time we completed nine holes of frisbee golf (frolf).  We played a new course with fewer and lesser hills and that made the walking easier under the  sun responsible for triple digit temps.  plenty of garden munching on raspberries, peas and beans and a little nibbling at the blueberry bush in the front yard.  Cant complain that it is too hot in the summer and then too hot in the winter or you will never get outside.