Summer Trip to Wisconsin

In July we drove back to Wisconsin for a nice long visit.  Eric had a conference in St. Paul for part of the trip and we spent the last week in Door County for fun.  I was more worried for the drive as two-year-old Annabel is much more active, but by some miracle, she rode really well. She colored, looked out the window, napped, had snacks, and read books.  We made sure to have a few active stops like McDonald's Playplace or a park and knowing there was a pool at end of the first day entertained her for awhile.  We again enjoyed late night pizza and swimming in Bismark.

Grandma got a big hug and smiles when we finally arrived after day two of driving.

Our friends, Brent and Paola, and their little guy Lucas came to visit us at my parents house for a couple days!!!  They are friends we met in Illinois, but now they live in Michigan.  We were so thankful they went out of their way to visit!!  Annabel and Lucas had a lot of fun even though sharing was not their strong point!

Annabel and I met my friend Chuck for lunch in Colfax.  She insisted on staying incognito in that strange place!!

Reading with Great Grandma 

Summer day at Jan and Jean's.  So beautiful out at their house.  I think you really don't appreciate how pretty Wisconsin is until you gain perspective!

We went for a nice walk and trip to the playground with Eric's brother Neil, Jodi, and Ava.  I think they really enjoyed each other.  You would never guess that Cousin Ava is 9 mo younger!

This was the first slide Annabel chose.  Fearless!!

Enjoying the day with Grandma June

Stay tuned for fun pictures of our great trip to Door County!! 

I'll be caught up through the summer soon.  This weekend we are taking it very easy, as we feel we've been too busy and Annabel is feeling it!!  She has been overly tired from going to bed too late, waking up early, playing hard at day care, evening swimming lessons, and other evening errands.  Due to the over-tiredness, she has shown us more what the two year old protests look like and has refused putting clothes on 3/5 mornings this past week.    

The Thomas obsession continues.  We knew it was getting serious when we were changing her and she said, "put a diaper on this useful engine."  This week Eric has been Henry, Annabel is James, and I'm still Emily.  Not Thomas related, but sometimes she is Wolf (and makes the cutest wolf sound!), Eric is Tiger, and I am, fittingly, Elephant!  She called out for Tiger in the middle of the night and yells "hi elephant" or "hi Emily" even in public. It's been fun to watch her develop her imagination.