Summer fun!

With 5 kids you can imagine, summer is a nonstop quest for me to keep them up to their eyeballs in fun as much as possible. "We're bored" is not an option in our house!


Here's a couple fun and not too expensive ideas if you are looking for a little family adventure nearby.

Little Amerricka. If you're kids loved Bay Beach when they were younger, they will LOVE this place! It's like Bay Beach for big kids.  There are some activities for younger kids also, but I think a lot of it is geared towards kids ages 6 and older. It's located down by Marshall, WI

Bay Beach Nature Preserve- I think a lot of times this place gets overlooked because everyone is tired after a day of Bay Beach. There's three different areas, you stop at the first building to feed the ducks and walk through the Aviary, then go down the path to the big nature center building, and then go down another path to a building where there is a few live animals like otters, night creatures, etc.

Old World Wisconsin- Dousman this is a new one for us, which we will be attempting next weekend. It looks right up my kids alley, lots of pioneer games and activities, and they are having Laura Ingalls Wilder Days every weekend in July. We plan on camping in a state park nearby for the night. You can't go wrong with a State park pass and a tent, a night of camping only costs 15.00.

Door County-  In Door County we love The Farm. Every year my kids are convinced that the cats from the year before are still kittens, and that cow with the long tongue has been there forever. Also who can forget when the goat ate Jake's paper bag :) Also in D.C, PC Junction is that great restaurant where the train brings your food around the bar, and they have tons of fun activities out back for the kids, like go karts and some unique playground equipment. We always stop and play mini golf at the Red Putter (kids six and under golf free!). The Rusty Tractor is great for breakfast (and not as expensive as some when you get farther up the peninsula.), and Orchard Market is a must for apple cider donuts and cherry soda for around the campfire! For a nice beach, Whitefish Dunes is gorgeous, and they have a little nature center, but you have to be tough enough for the cold water! There's a really nice calmer beach inside Peninsula State Park called Nicolet beach.

Barlow Planetarium: Great way to get a little educational stuff into the summer, and also once a month they have a family night where they bring out the huge telescopes to let kids get a peek at the new moon.

Storybook Gardens- Sheboygan  
Basically giant versions of your kids favorite books to play and climb on, and it's free! And one of our favorite beaches, Neshota, is on the way home. Can't beat a day of  entertainment for only the price of gas and ice cream.

Hayward Lumberjack World Championships- July 25-27
Wow! I have not gotten around to taking my kids to this one yet, but just from the overview picture on the website it looks like a lot of fun. Also in Hayward is the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.  (also known as "that giant fish you can walk in." a great freebie plus if you're in the area :)  

Wisconsin State Fair August 1-11 
Last year was the first attempt at this for us, and not gonna lie, i was a little nervous about taking all the kids to Milwaukee myself (we havent ventured down that way too much yet.) but it was AWESOME!              US Cellular does a free day for kids so it only costed us 5.00 to get in. Of course, you can spend a fortune buying food on sticks, but i really like that when you buy your tickets inside, they can be used for games OR rides. And those deep fried Snickers bars on a stick are so worth the drive :)

Brown County Fair- August 14-18 
This one is one of my favorites for the locals, because for 10.00 admission each the kids can ride as many rides as they want

Kites over Lake Michigan- Labor Day weekend, Two Rivers. Giant show kites, teams doing stunt kites, and lots of games and activities for the kids.  On saturday night they have a bonfire on the beach and a gorgeous release sky lanterns. Sunday they have free kite-making for the kids.


So much to do, so much to see.
Happy adventure hunting from our family to yours :)

"If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it."


Wow, it's been a long time since I posted on here! Amazing how much your life can change in 16 months, or even 3 months, or a week, for that matter. You wake up one day and everything is different, good or bad only time will tell, but definitely different. I debated for a long time whether or not to erase all the previous posts and just start over, but chose no.  A person can't erase the past, even on a computer. So I choose not to go back and reread the past, but will leave it there as a reminder of how far we've come.    
Some thing haven't changed:  I'm still cheap (ha!), still afraid to let the kids buy anything from the creepo in the ice cream truck ( ugh, as he drives down our street right now. Thank god they're not home.) , and we still love our adventures. Even with 5 of them now,  I refuse to let it stop me from taking them anywhere.  Five kids in a tent or at the beach might be a challenge, but it's MY challenge, and I like to think I'm pretty good at directing the herd, haven't lost one of them yet :)
 Some things have changed a lot. It's hard to let the kids go, even just for that one day a week, and know that it's a day in their life i have no control over and don't get to be a part of. 52 days a year. Then again, it's also nice to have one day of week to have free time to myself, more of that I think i've gotten in the last 12 yrs. I've been trying really hard to get out and meet people and have some grown up adventures as well.
A lot of people have asked about Aubrie and her surgery, thank you all for your concern! As a mom, going through that surgery with her was one of the hardest things i ever faced. She is doing great, I can't believe she will be a year old in September already. There is some concern that she could develop cysts in her other tube or ovary, but no other problems have shown up so far, so we will hopefully shelf that worry until she is a teenager. My last baby...(for sure this time LOL)....she went for her last ride in the infant carseat today and it made me so sad. It seems like I have been carrying around one of those things practically forever.
The summer hasn't really started out too good for us. It's been dampened (literally and figuratively!) by rain and funerals. Theoretically I know god takes people out of your life so he can bring new ones in, but it still sucks, and it's hard to let go.  Here's to hoping July is a better month, and we can put the fun in summer!