What the Dell(s)?

So, I'm finally posting some more pictures from our trip to the Dells a few weeks ago. Here's a quick recap of the top ten things we did:


10. Used a toilet with a plastic, bullet-ridden seat


9. Got lost in a Wisconsin corn maze for what seemed to be hours when in reality it was 15 minutes, thus leading to a serious case of PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Detassling - going back to age 13 when I had to detassle corn for $4 an hour in drought conditions in the late 1980s!

8. Played sand volleyball with a guy named "Shakey" who was a few sheets to the wind and missing a few digits (no wonder the poor guy had so many problems serving)


7. Went skeet shooting for the first time and hit a clay pigeon on my third try! (Little known fact: I was Annie Oakley for the fourth grade "Famous Americans" pageant and took my brother's BB gun to school as a prop...pretty sure they don't let kids do that today)


6. Fed and petted tame deer


5. Shot, killed and ate before mentioned tame deer with bare hands (OK, just kidding, I didn't use my bare hands to do it!)

...OK, and I couldn't hunt a deer either, I keeed, I keeed!


4. Got to see one nice beaver (I'm holding it in a picture on my sister's blog, in case you want to take a look at it, this is an otter!)

3. Got to see Alex catch a fish and get stuck in a hammock


2. Did the one touristy thing you have to do in the Dells...ride the amphibious Duck boat/truck!




1. Got to spend an absolutely amazing time with my family - thanks so much everyone for the great memories!

The Great Outdoors

We're up here in the Wisconsin Dells and successfully pulled off a big surprise for my mom's 60th birthday. In cahoots with dad, all of us kids planned accordingly to meet up at a lodge we rented. Mom thought she and dad were just going for a quiet, relaxing weekend...and instead she was surprised by her four kids and five grandkids waiting for her with a sign and 60 pink roses.


The lodge is pretty sweet, with a full bar and poker table downstairs, six bedrooms, and a few decks. Tame deer roam around the enclosed area and there is a stocked pond. It's not at all "roughing it" (although the cell phones don't work, we do have wi-fi).

But even better is the taxidermy art...there are some beauts here and I have to share:

Remember these guys? John Candy must have finally caught them going through the trash...

Walk this way...

...And other random photos

First Day...

Alex on his first day of Montessori school...

Sigh...they grow up so fast!

Mom and Dad were just thinking that 20 years ago they both were starting high school (yikes!). Class of '93 rules!

Farm at the Fair

Last weekend, Alex got to go to the Iowa State Fair with his dad and Grandpa Jay and Grandma Gloria (mom stayed at home because she's not big with crowds, or noise, or hours of heat and sun exposure...)

Turns out, it was quite a rainy day, so they didn't get to see as much of the fair as planned. Alex did get to go to the farm exhibit for kids and he really had a blast.


He got to ride a little John Deere tractor and fill it up with biodiesel...

Collect eggs, and milk the cow!

In exchange for doing his farm chores, he got a "dollar" to use to buy a prize at the general store.


The food...


The Iowa Egg Council gave out boiled eggs on a stick!

1,000 Days of Alex

Happy 1,000th Day!

Matt keeps a counter on his phone and let us know that today Alex celebrated his 1,000th day! It's been one thousand days of happiness and joy having him in our lives. We love you, little guy!

My favorite tree

We've got over twenty trees in our yard (yes, I've counted), and I love all of them for the shade and beauty they provide, not so much the piles and piles of leaves they produce in the fall. The first owner of our house told Matt that he made a point of planting all native Iowa trees in our yard. Well, the last owner planted a ginkgo tree, which is native to China. It is my favorite tree because I love the distinctive fan-like leaves.



Our ginkgo has survived an accidental snapping a few years ago (check the base where you can see where it broke) and has recovered nicely. I'd love to see it grow really, really big!

Best Movie Quotes Ever...

In honor of the summer vacation and the untimely passing of John Hughes, I present...

Motorcycle Cop: I had a pooch like this when I was a kid.
[both Clark and the motorcycle cop sorrowfully look at the empty road behind them]
Motorcycle Cop: Poor little guy. Probably kept up with you for a mile or so.
[tearing up]
Motorcycle Cop: Tough little mutt...

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

There are literally a hundred other quotes in this movie that are awesome (and I have most of it memorized), so it was a hard choice!

Alex Jumps Around

Last week I posted a video of Alex at the Adel festival in an inflatable and I realized that the sound was mostly of the air compressor in the background. So, I decided to spice it up a bit, and had some fun doing it. Just like 1991 all over again - enjoy!

Best Movie Quotes Ever...

Presenting an 80's classic:

"There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese."

Coach Bobby Finstock
Teen Wolf (1985)

And here it is from the movie (towards the end of the clip)

Corn-tastic

Yesterday we spent our morning in Adel, home of the Adel Sweet Corn Festival. We got up early for the 5k run, which we ran with our brother-in-law Jimmy. It got up to about 95 degrees, and the humidity was brutal. Even at 8 a.m., it was hot and windy when we started. We all finished, and Matt and I dropped our times, but boy, was it nasty in that heat! Aunt Morgan was there at the finish line with Alex to cheer us on.




Afterwards, we walked around the town square as the festival and parade were getting underway. (Look closely at the sign)

Red popsicle + White sunblock = Joker Toddler


Josh, Jenelle and little Barrett joined us, and we enjoyed some of the fare. We were there right when they opened up the free sweet corn line, so we were able to get hot, fresh, locally grown sweet corn right away. Awesome!


Matt cueing up in line with his plate for corn.


Volunteers serving up corn - according to the Register, they served over 7 1/2 TONS of sweet corn yesterday!


Butter and salting station




Yum! Sweet corn definitely means summer!

Of course, after that, the sun was out and it was starting to get hot. We were on our way home, but got sidetracked by the presence of inflatables and an active toddler. So we let him play on the giant maze one, and then the "jumping bean" one. By then, we were all tuckered out so we cheerfully and politely went our way home (translation: kicking and screaming and wailing about wanting to go on yet another inflatable).

Taking our shoes off.




Climbing on.





Making our way through the maze.




Jumping around!

Hodgepodge

Some photos from the last few days/weeks -