Happy Birthday, Grandma

 Grandma Edie's 86th Birthday was this weekend.  Mom and I decided to spend it together, doing things she would have loved to do with us.  We met in Wausau and went shopping downtown at a few Antique Stores.  We found a few treasures and then headed to Red Eye Brewing Company for some delicious cocktails and a really yummy lunch.  After lunch, we headed to one of Grandma's all time-favorites - T.J. Maxx.  Before heading back to Rhinelander, we stopped at Sweet Lola's for some birthday cupcakes in her honor.  We brought them back to share with everybody and remember a very special soul on her special day.  Grandma, we miss you so much.  It is so hard to believe you're not just a phone call away!  I miss so many things about you, but especially the way you made me feel so loved and special.  I am so lucky you were my Grandma.  I love you.

Tubing

In the past, our kids have been a little nervous about the idea of tubing, but when Uncle Tom's neighbor lent us an enclosed tube with a back, they decided they would give it a try.  Grandma and Grandpa joined us for the afternoon on the water and all of the kids, including Simon, loved it. It was so much fun, especially since they got to do it with Grandma and Grandpa!  It was a wonderful way to spend a Northwoods afternoon.

Wildwood Zoo

 One of the things on our summer bucket list was a trip to the zoo.  We love going up to Wildwood Zoo in Minocqua and we found a beautiful day to visit and take Grandma with us.  One of the special parts about this particular zoo is how many animals there are to interact with.  There are white tailed deer throughout the park who are friendly, as well as goats, bunnies, and other petting zoo animals which are so fun for the kids to feed and pet.  Simon was beside himself, and wanted to "soft" (his word for petting soft fur) all the different animals.  We got to feed carrots to the giraffes, but Simon snuck some of the carrots for himself.  The monkeys put on an AMAZING show of vocalizing, howling, leaping, and climbing, making sounds unlike any I've ever heard before.  I could have watched them all day.  The mountain lions were in a spat and one kept growling and hissing at the other one.  It was so cool, but terrifying.  And the scarlet macaw made me scream outloud when he answered our talking to him with a super loud squawk.  Nolan was the goat man, and gathered a large collection of goat friends on his bench, while Simon and Livi sought out the little ones to give them a snack.  Simon's favorite animals were the turtles, which mostly just sunned themselves, but he would NOT leave them.  We finished our awesome day with a nice picnic in the shade.  It was a super fun day and we look forward to our visit next year!

Visit with Great Grandma

 We love our Grandma Ruby and are so glad she walks down to visit us sometimes.  I love this picture and get such a kick out of seeing Miles' smiling face too.  

Missing Teeth

 

Olivia has grown so much in the past year.  She is getting so tall and grown up!  Yesterday, her wiggly front tooth finally came out.  She was so excited and brave, and insisted on pulling it out all by herself.  Today, the other front tooth was ready!  Again, she bravely pulled it out all on her own, and now she has the sweetest little lisp when she talks.  I can't believe how fast time is going!  Love this sweet, toothless girl!

Hudson Getaway!

 It has been a long 16 months.  The last time Eric and I were away from our kids was in March 2020, merely days before the corona virus pandemic began.  Since then it's been homeschooling, weird work hours, masking, holidays spent at home alone, and a myriad of other challenges.  It also brought vaccines and since Eric and I were both vaccinated, we decided to take a little time for ourselves to get away.  My parents graciously offered to watch the kids for us, so we took an early anniversary trip to and Air BnB in Hudson for the weekend.  Mom was so sweet and packed us a care package for the trip...wine and cheese and other yummy snacks, and an adorable little anniversary cake made just for two.  

We spent most of our first day antiquing and checking out the cute shops along the river in the downtown area.  We ate at some great restaurants and were so happy with our adorable apartment we stayed at which was right across from the river.  The next day was downtown Stillwater, just on the other side of the WI/MN border.  We had such a nice time talking, relaxing, and laughing together.  By the time Sunday rolled around, we were missing our babies and we headed back to Eau Claire to spend the Fourth of July with them.  When we got there, we found out Simon had not been napping, so we loaded him up for a car ride nap and drove to St. Raymond's Church, where we got married.  I don't think either of us has been there since our wedding day ten years ago, so it was fun to take a squinty selfie and have a look around.  It was just as beautiful as we remembered.  We really needed that wonderful weekend to reset and are so thankful my parents gave us the opportunity to have some time together.