Last pics from Waupacca!

More pics from Waupacca!

Fun with the Drake Family!

On the first leg of our vacation, we headed to Waupacca, Wisconsin to visit our godson Joe. The kids had a great time hanging out together. Kai particularly loved playing with Joe's very large "Cars" collection.

The last day of our visit, Tim and Michelle took us to a small local zoo. I wish I had a picture of my close encounter with the sheep. Yes, the sheep leaped towards me and placed its' front legs on my stomach, trying to reach the food I held in my hands. I had to use some brute force to get it off of me. At that point, the kids all wanted to be held and asked to leave the petting area immediately. The rabbit area was much more relaxed. Our favorite part, though, was definately petting the deer. We walked into a big open field and were immediately approached by two very tame deer. Kai even got brave enough to feed the deer after his camel feeding experience minutes before (Kai forgot to hold his hand flat and got a nice little camel munch on his fingers).

Thank you Tim, Michelle, Joe, and Nancy for a wonderful visit. Your hospitality was much appreciated!

Fun at the Zoo with Nanny!

We always love when Nanny comes to visit. Today, we attempted to take Nanny blueberry picking, but were greeted with "closed for the day" signs at Billy Boy's, probably due to yesterday's tornado.

Now for plan B. We decided to take Nanny to "Bridges", one of our favorite summer-time lunch spots. The kids love sitting outside overlooking the canal with all of the boats. There's also a very old bridge that rotates in a circular patern to connect the railray when the Amtrak comes through. The kids love listening to the siren and watching the bridge change directions when this happens.

After lunch, we went to our local zoo. It's quite small, but has spectacular views of Lake Michigan from its' hillside location. The kids fed the birds, watched the otters through the tunnel, and fed the goats.

Thanks for a great visit Nanny. We can't wait to see you again in a couple of weeks.

Life's A Beach!

If I had to describe the perfect beach day, today was that day...sunshine, blue skies, 78 degrees with no humidity, a refreshing north breeze sweeping across the lake, and a light surf. We even found a sand bar that extended from the water's edge making a perfect swimming haven for the kids.

Maya and Kai decided that they wanted to pack their own lunches and take them to the beach for a picnic. Maya proudly put a lunchable, sour patch kids, and a capri sun in her barbi lunch box as Kai packed a lunchable, pretzels, and capri sun into his borrowed princess bag.

Once at the beach, we ate our lunch, spashed in the waves, climbed and rolled down a huge sand dune (a first for Maya and Kai), made sand holes and sand castles, and handcrafted sand chairs for lounging at the water's edge.

One of the attached pictures shows a view of Lake Michigan with a silhouette of Chicago in the background. We could see Chicago's skiline so clearly across the lake today. Oh what a day!

Beach Fun!