Just cannot let the Summer Go!

I know I said I am ready for school to start and for the most part, I am, most of the time

What I am not so ready to do, is let the freedom of summer go.

I like being able to come and go as I please without needing to be somewhere at a certain time.

I really like being able to make plans and spend time with the girls without worrying about schedules and deadlines.

So, for a few more days, we held on to summer.

On Tuesday, Courtney and the girls came out.

The four of us went shopping, first at the Outlet mall and then at Walmart.

Both girls found some nice back to school items and also picked out some fun things as well.

Claire's was a big hit where they both scored some cute glasses, purses, and lip gloss.

After our shopping trip, we headed up to Oshkosh for dinner at Hot Dog Charlie's followed by some TV viewing and bed.

Yesterday we went to Bay Beach.

I hope everyone realizes what a gem that place is.

For ten dollars, both girls were able to ride rides for four hours.

We ate lunch there, too, and again, the prices are so reasonable.

It was a great day to be together at such a fun place.

Here are some of my favorite photos.

Tiz and I also completed the ALS ice bucket challenge but that post will have to wait until next time.

Kicking off Tizita's Second Grade School Year

John and I make it a point to take Tizita on a fun outing to end her summer and kick off her school year.

We both enjoy these dates with our oldest granddaughter.

It is always good to have special one on one time.

We will start the annual tradition with Soli soon, too.

Before Tizita started 4K, we took her to Build a Bear, Monkey Joe's, and mini golfing.

Before Kindergarten,, we took her to Little America.

Last year before first grade we enjoyed a day at Circus World Musuem.

This year we took her to the Dells to ride the Ducks and go to the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory.

2011 before 4K - Build a bear, Monkey Joe's, and mini golf

2012 before Kindergarten - Little America

2013 before First Grade - Circus World Museum

And finally, this year's special outing to the Dells.

We started our adventure with a ride on the Ducks.

I always enjoyed riding the Ducks and I wanted to share that experience with Tizita.

Somehow when one thinks of the Dells, it is not the waterparks that come to mind, but the old attractions like the Ducks.

And some things never change, like the driver's jokes, still lame and cheesy, but Tiz laughed.

After the Ducks we had lunch at the little Tiki bar that is by the Duck's Dock.

Tiz was fascinated with this coconut.

After lunch, Tiz spotted the Dells Mining Company.

When our girls begged to go mining, we always said, "No," but a granddaughter begs in a different way and of course, we could not resist, so off to do some mining.

For a mere $15.00, Tiz got at least a half hour of fun our of mining for precious gemstones.

She found a bagful and was very pleased with herself.

Gem mining is another "old" Dells attraction.

After our mining fun, we hit one more "old" attraction, Tommy Bartlett's Exploratory.

Again, it is a place, I remember taking the girls when they were younger.

We were one of the only about three families at the Exploratory.  I am guessing most of them were at the ever popular waterparks.  Better for us!

Tiz really enjoyed all the hands on exhibits, as did John and I.

The Exploratory is showing its age, hopefully they can make some repairs and keep it going, it is a gem in the Dells area.

After the Exploratory, we went downtown and bought some candy and few soveniors.

Then we took the Merrimac Ferry across the Wisconsin River and met the rest of the family at Blue Moon in Lake Mills.

It was a wonderful, happy day and a great way to kick off Second Grade for Tiz.

Rethinking that vacation during Riverfest

In yesterday's post, I was all about planning a vacation so we would not be around for Riverfest, but today I am changing my tune and my vacation plans.

John and I went down again on Saturday night to see the Screamin' Mummies.

John had heard they put on a good show and he wanted to check it out, so we did.

Before we went down we had a PJ's pizza and were prepared to use the remainder of our tickets on beers.

The Mummies were fine, nothing to write home about, but fine.

About halfway through the show, we packed up our chairs and moved to the Miller Beer tent area where we are more comfortable anyway.

Nathan Suhr who has become our "son" joined us.

At some point, Jake Leibl, our old principal came over and talked to us.  It felt so good to see him again and he was looking buff and happy.  I gave him a big hug and wished him well on his trip to China.

More chit chat and beers with Nathan.

He asked if he could stay at our house for the night since he did not feel safe driving home.

Of course, we said  yes so we all walked up after the show.

We all had another beer or two in the basement.

Nathan was sitting between John and I on the couch, it was pretty funny.

I woke up this morning with Nathan having coffee with my mom.

Too funny!

He says he loves our family.

We also got to visit with Amy Bigelow on Saturday when she asked to park her car in our driveway while she went to her class reunion at the park.

It was so good to see her again, looks just like her mom.

Riverfest sometimes does bring out some old, precious friendships.

So I would say that Saturday was quite fun at the fest after all.

On Sunday after church, John and I went and looked at the cars in the car show.

We went back down for the Pat McCurdy show.

It was awesome.

We have only seen Pat once before after an Admirals game, but we were looking forward to his show and it did not disappoint.

He even picked John out of the crowd and made a song about him, his moustache, and Watertown.  It was so much fun to sing and dance along with his songs.

We were sitting way up close, too, which made it even better.

So, after the fun these past two days, I will have to reconsider the vacation during Riverfest.

Now I better stay around so I don't miss any fun and don't renewing some old friendships.

Carry on.

Riverfest 2014 and Riverfest Revisited.

Riverfest time again.

The older I get, the older the whole Riverfest thing gets.

In previous years, we have had the girls and families out for the event, but this year Alissa was going on a business trip to Kansas City and Courtney and family had other plans, so John and I were heading into this Riverfest solo.

Actually Courtney, Paul, Tiz, Soli, and a friend, Fernie were able to join us for a few hours on Thursday night for the ride special.

It was fun to watch them on the rides

We noticed that the carnies this year were very well kempt and clean cut with all their teeth.

They actually looked more like lifeguards and were very good with the kids.

Here are a few pictures from the rides.

After listening to the band and dancing a bit, the Van Aukens headed home and left us to take in the rest of Riverfest by ourselves.

On Friday night we stayed at home, drank our own beer, and watched the fireworks from the backyard.

Pam Wilke parked in our driveway and she and Olivia watched the fireworks with us.

On Saturday, we went down at noon and watched the Britins perform.

The put on a good show.

We sat in the old people seating under the big tree.

Mom, Roy, Pam and Olivia were there, too.

We will go back down tonight and tomorrow for a few more shows and then we will say good bye to another year of Riverfest.

Next year we should really plan a vacation!

This was Tizita's sixth Riverfest.

Here are memories from the other ones.

This is her first year.

She loved the duck game, dancing, and tic tacs.

This is her second year.

She found Aaron and went on a few rides with him.

The third year for Tiz, we took Sinai and Aquila along.

It was so much fun to watch these three especially when they were dancing.

The next year we took our friend Ava along.

Another fun time.

And finally last year, Soli's first Riverfest.

This time Tiz hung out with Nic who took her some rides.

Riverfest is always more fun with family around.

Like I said, maybe a vacation next year.

A LIttle Bit of This and A Little Bit of That

I can feel it.

Before we know it, school will be starting.

I have been working in my classroom these past few days.

Cleaning toys, putting up bulletin boards, making nametags, assigning cubbies, rearranging and then putting it all back and trying again.

I actually love this time of the year.

The summer has been wonderful.

It was filled with happy times with my girls and my granddaughters, bike rides with John, Summerfest, a great vacation to Michigan and then to Indiana, a week of babysitting with Soli and Tiz, joining the Y, farmer's markets, and walks with a good friend.

But now it is time to move forward.

I can feel it.

My inner clock is telling me it is time to hang up the tank tops and get out the "teacher" clothes.

Time to turn in sitting in the sun, reading, for working in a classroom, creating.

Time to get ready for 30 little ones.

I am excited, I am ready.

But I have to squeeze in a few more summer things.

Today I rode my bike to Walmart for the first time this summer.

It was a beautiful day for ride and I enjoyed it.

I bought the ingredients for a BLT salad that I will be making tonight.

We have a large crop of tomatoes this year and I want to use every single one of them, thus the BLT salad.

Riverfest starts tomorrow.

Courtney, Paul, and the girls will be here on Thursday to ride the rides.

They have a busy weekend so that is the only time they will be here for Riverfest.

John and I will probably walk down for some of the festivities, but I am no longer as excited about it as I used to be.

So, today, I can feel it.

Bring it on!

Long Lost Friends and Granddaughters

Three years ago, we were reunited with our very, very good friends, Patti and Tom.

We met in Elkhorn before our kids were born and we hit it off right away.

After Patti and Tom moved back home to Ohio, we kept in touch via calls, letters, and visits for a number of years, but then life got in our way and we lost touch.

No one's fault, it just happens sometimes.

Did I miss them, YES!

Did I think about them a lot, YES!

Did I want to get in touch with them again, YES!

Did I do anything about it?  NO!

One day noticed a reader of my blog who was from Elyria, Ohio.

I thought wouldn't that be cool if that was Patti.

Well, long story short, it was and we reconnected.

We met three years ago (2011) in South Bend, Indiana and played catch up with one another's lives.

It was wonderful, as if no time had passed.

We met again in 2012, same place, same great times.

 

Well, this weekend we had another get together in South Bend, but this time we brought our granddaughters along to meet one another.

Alli age 9 and Tizita age 7 hit if off right away.

We had a fantastic weekend.

Here are some photos from the great time we all had.

 We stayed at the best hotel in Mishawaka, Springhill Suites.

We had adjoining rooms, so the girls could play in one room while we visited.

Here we are all ready for our big adventure in St. Joseph, Michigan.

 We stopped at the Notre Dame book store just like we did two years ago.

The girls wanted to have a picture like ours with the wigs on!

We had to see Touchdown Jesus, too.

 Here we are at the Curious Children's museum in St. Joseph, Michigan.

The girls loved all the fun things to do at the museum.

 Here they are broadcasting the evening news.

 We had lunch at a roof top restaurant that overlooked Lake Michigan.

What a fun place and yummy food to boot.

 After lunch, we walked over to the other part of the museum, the splashpad, and the beach.

 Alli's mom, Katie made these cute cover ups for the girls.

Here they are ready for the splash pad.

 The splashpad was so big there were times like on the picture above where the water came out with such force, it felt like a firehose.

The girls loved it.

 Then we went to the very sandy beach and let the girls swim in Lake Michigan.

 More swimming at our motel pool.

 The girls had fun playing with their dolls.

 All too quickly, it was time to say "Good bye."

None of us can wait until the next visit!