Three G's Resort

 

A few weeks ago, my dad got the great idea to rent a cabin for a week right here in Rhinelander.  The thought was that we could have our own special waterfront place that would be fun, low stress, and safe to do during COVID.  He found an available cabin at Three G's resort on Lake George, only about 10 minutes from our house!  We settled into our cozy three bedroom cabin and spent 8 wonderful days enjoying the beautiful sandy beach, swimming, going out in Dad's fishing boat, eating yummy food, and playing lawn games.  The kids REALLY improved their swimming skills over the course of the week.  Nolan even did his first perfect back float with no help!  They both had so much fun swimming to the raft.  Nolan loved to be thrown in the water by Eric and perfected the art of the CANNONBALL!!  Simon loved the water, too, and when the mood struck him, he would take off for the water with reckless abandon and run right in!  He would flop all over the place, giggling and laughing the whole time.  It was quite a feat to keep him safe!  The kids built sandcastles on shore and we talked a lot about erosion and how water flows to the lowest point.  It was a fun science project!  The kids also really got into fishing!  Both kids caught a ton of tiny pan fish, but each managed to land a giant bass, and Livi even had a 40" Muskie on her line at one point!  

We went on some hikes at Nicolet and CAVOC and spent an afternoon/evening on the pontoon with Steve and Patti.  We also celebrated Olivia and my birthdays with SO MUCH CAKE and some thoughtful presents.  It was so fun to have the opportunity to do something so fun in the midst of the pandemic.  This was the highlight of our summer and we made memories that will last a lifetime!

Birthday Girls

 My birthday is always extra special because I get to share it with my favorite little lady.  On August 7th, Olivia turned 5 and I turned 36.  We basically celebrated for a week straight.  Livi got some adorable presents from her sweet neighborhood girlfriends, including her very own toad bucket for all those toads she loves to catch!  On our actual birthday we got donuts for breakfast and Nolan planned a chocolate treasure hunt for me, complete with clues.  It was with old Easter candy <blech>, but I love his generous and thoughtful nature.  We went on a boat ride later that evening and got supper on the boat.  It was a beautiful night and it's always so fun to get out of the house for a bit.  Olivia still loves horses, so she was thrilled to get an American Girl sized horse that looks just like Elliot.  We had two cakes, and spent most of her birthday week at Three G's resort.  I think it's safe to say she had a pretty great fifth birthday!

Olivia,

It's hard to put into words how special you are to our family.  It's also hard to believe that you're five!  Time goes so fast!  You are still such a Mommy's girl, much to Daddy's dismay.  You love him too of course, but our bond goes deep! You are so clever, funny, and delightfully unique.  You love to make us laugh with the outlandish things you say.  We've learned during this pandemic that you really do need some one on one time with your grown ups.  We try to make that happen for you as often as we can, and you are often our sidekick on errands, even if it's just a car ride.  You really love going to the Briar House to get a special drink.  I like doing that too, especially with you.  You are smart as a whip and I know you'll do so great in Kindergarten this year, whatever that may look like.  You love to help me cook and are ALWAYS up for helping me make cookies.  You love animals, especially horses, dogs, and toads.  You talk about "your girl," Elliot all the time and love to play with Miles and Ravin.  You are a toad catching machine, and caught one or more almost every day all summer.  You LOVE to play outside, especially with your neighborhood friends.  You have spent most of the summer doing that.  It is the summer most kids dream about.  I'm so glad it's your reality.  You are such a brave girl and are almost always up for trying something new.  You are a very sweet sister to both of your brothers and try to look out for them.  Olivia, you are so deeply loved for the amazing person  you are. 

You have my heart always!

Love, 

Mom

Anniversary

This is what a ninth anniversary looks like with three kids in the middle of a pandemic...One super exhausted, sleep drunk baby who refuses to go to bed until well after 10 and two exhausted parents who are too tired to do anything.  Happy Anniversary, Eric.  I love you and this crazy life we live.  

 

Hide and Seek

 

Grandma Ruby stopped by to play hide and seek with the kids the other day, and I thought it was so cute that I needed to take some pictures!  What a spry 90 year she is!  And what fun for my kids to have the memory of playing hide and seek with their great grandma!

Scenes from Summer

Simon remains to be a particular little guy, especially around mealtimes.  He has his own method of communication with signing, grunts, and head shakes and gets very perturbed if you don't do what he's asking!  

Simon LOVES graham crackers...he grunts at me, walks over to the cabinet with the crackers, and reaches up, points, and begs until I give him one.  He then likes to eat 50 percent of it, and smash the remainder into the couch cushions.  

Look at those adorable curls!!

Governor Evers issued a mandatory mask order, requiring masks to be worn inside all buildings and outside when social distancing is not possible.  This has been met with severe opposition from the "anti-maskers," who have somehow turned this public health crisis into a political statement.  Apparently, it is an infringement upon their constitutional rights to have to wear a mask that could protect others when in close proximity.  It is appalling that our society has politicized common courtesy and that by wearing a mask when I go places, I am risking harassment and name calling by people on the other side.  This pandemic has caused so much stress, anxiety, and chaos.  It is so discouraging sometimes.

Simon likes to be on the go! Here he was having a tantrum because he wanted to go on a car ride.

Some of the signage that is around many stores right now.  We are also facing a national coin shortage and some stores are requiring payment with exact change, credit card, or check only.

Squishy is all dressed up and ready for bed!

It's Harry Potter's birthday!  We celebrated with Harry Potter themed drinks...Dragon's Blood (raspberry and dragon fruit Italian soda) and the Drink Who Must Not be Named for mom.

Olivia LOVES to make cookies.  We made Aunt Jackie's chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Apparently, Dove chocolate didn't get the memo about COVID-19.

Simon's dairy trial did not go well.  We tried some macaroni and cheese for lunch today, and while he enjoyed it, he was up most of the night with an upset tummy.  We'll let his digestive system grow and mature a little more before we try again.

New Car

Our poor 2007 Prius that Eric bought early in our dating finally needed to retire.  The poor thing was falling apart and we no longer felt it was safe to take it on long trips and even driving it around town was becoming nerve wracking.  We spotted this 2015 Ford Fusion online as one of the few affordable decent used cars in the area and went for a test drive.  It handled beautifully and was in great shape, so we decided to purchase.  As we were leaving the lot, we went to drive by the old Prius to say goodbye, the back end that was held on by tape flopped off and was left dangling...  We sped outta there and never looked back!

New Road at the Cabin

We needed to get out of the house for a bit today, so we headed out to the cabin to check out the new road Grandpa Steve has been working on for the past few months.  Uncle Tom purchased some new land earlier this spring and Steve made a road connecting the properties and a bridge to cross the creek.  The kids had fun exploring until the mosquitoes found us! We'll have to do some more exploring when we remember the bug spray!