Nailed It

What a fun weekend we have just had!

We met Courtney, Paul, and  the girls in Nashotah at the Picnic Basket for lunch.

Then we brought the girls home to have a "Nailed It" contest with some cooking and decorating challenges.

It was so much fun.

We plated food in designs, frosting sugar cookies, made and decorated cakes and cupcakes, and made pancake dogs.

It was a great time and it took hours and hours.

After that fun we played some Trivia Pursuit and watched Paul Blart, Mall Cop.

It was a great, great day and night.

Today we took Gigi and went to Courtney's new church Garden Homes in Milwaukee.

We love the church, so welcoming and friendly.\

After church we went out to eat at the Highlands restaurant.

Yummy food.

We brought the scenic route home and visited the dead at the cemeteries.

Great weekend, all around!

Summer is winding down

Tomorrow the girls start their new school in Milwaukee.

We celebrated all day Saturday with the Van Auken family.

The girls planned what they wanted us all to do.

We started with a hike at the Hawthorne glen Nature area which are very cool.

We ate tacos at the Blue Sombrero in Wauwatosa.

We toasted the new school year over sodas there.

After that we stopped at the grand opening of Pete's Pops, a new popsicle shop in the Van Auken neighborhood.  We all enjoyed some very unusual flavored pops.  Very yummy.

Then it was on the Urban Ecology Center where we all had fun exploring.

Next it was a nice scenic hike at Lake Park followed by some beers at the Sprecher traveling beer garden.

Finally we all enjoyed pizza at Riverfront Pizza.

It was a wonderful full day.

A great way to celebrate the start of a new school  year.

I hope they love their school and have a wonderful year.

On Sunday, we went to Mark and Mary Scherer's for a pool party.  Karrie and Brent were there, too.  Ina all honestly, I didn't really want to go, but so glad we did.  We had a great time catching up! 

And, lest I forget, our basement leaked again on Friday after 8.9 inches of rain fell here in Watertown! 
I fought it all day and then John continued the fight into the night, but we won for the moment at least.
More rain is predicted today,so we shall see.
John did buy me a new industrial mop to help with the fight.

WIth that new mop and bucket, I am well prepared for the fight!

The girls started school today.
I am praying it is a great day and year for them.

Boston, Portland, and Niagara Falls = One Great Vacation

It's been a long time since John and I went on a vacation that took us to numerous cities where we explored, learned, and enjoyed so many new things.

We usually go to St. George Island or to some other beach destination where we spend our week in one rental in familiar surroundings.

While we love those beach trips, this vacation was so much fun.

We felt proud of ourselves for navigating our way around these places.

I had booked our lodging online and all of our rentals were perfect for what we needed.

Let's begin with Boston..

We arrived and found our studio rental apartment with  no problem, thanks to Judy, the lady in our phone.

We also had to squeeze our big buick into a very small parking space where it stayed for three days.

I cannot believe that our apartment was within walking distance of everything we wanted to see and do.

We loved Boston.  It's a beautiful city, full of history.

We enjoyed a trolley tour, harbor tour, a tour of the Freedom Walk, Boston Common, Cheers, and so many other attractions.

Our days were full and hot, it was in the high nineties when we were there, but we pressed on and enjoyed our time.

We have hundreds of photos but they are all on John's computer so I can't post any here.  

They will all be posted in our other blog, Seen Your (Senior) Sites, so  be sure and check that one out to see all of the photos.

From Boston we made the easy two hour drive to Portland Maine.

Our rental there was an apartment with a view of the beautiful water across the street.

We were again able to walk to the attractions although we did take our car the one day and got a $20.00 parking ticket.

We took a trolley tour, boat cruise to see light houses in the area, ate at great restaurants, and drank tasty drinks.

We loved Portland and the surrounding area and could have used more than just two days to explore.

From Portland we moved on the Niagara Falls,, NY.

We had a little old school motel there, very nice, clean, and comfy for the two nights we spent there.

We enjoyed a six hour tour which included all the Falls attractions with no waiting in lines.

The boat trip through the locks was the best!

The town inself, once we found the touristy part of it, was great.

We did loose a headlight in Niagara Falls, yep, the whole light fell out.

Our drive from Niagara Falls to Michigan City, Indiana was eventful, too.

Our low tire pressure light came on and so we had to find out what the problem was.

Luckily we were near Cleveland and were able to get to a Mr. Tire.

Such nice people there.

They sent us to a cute little outdoor place to have lunch while they put on two new front tires for us.

So thankful it happened on our way home in an area that had a place that could help us so quickly.

Lots to be thankful for in the midst of a small crisis.

Our last night was spent in the beautiful city of Michigan City, Indians.

We were able to enjoy a gorgeous sunset ovet the lake and dinner on a rooftop overlooking the lake.

Our motel there was less than great, but it was clean and the bed was comfy, so all in all an okay place to sleep for a night.

Arrived home at noon, so we still had lots of the day to umpack, do laundry, and get into real life mode again.

2740 miles, 9 states, two new tires, missing headlight, and a million memories - one great vacation!