Life has been Stuck in Fast Forward, Time to Push Rewind

We were so lucky to take a quick getaway to the Bayfield area of Wisconsin during Fall Break (mid-October).

Here are some pictures from our first day out exploring.

We started out at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor's Center. What a wonderful place to visit and learn about the area. We left with lots of information about the area and a long list of must sees/must dos.

Sam and I raced Darren to the top for the sweeping views.

I loved all the little farms. Made me almost want to chuck it all and make cheese for a living. Well, for a short time anyway.

We visited a couple of the area farms for apples and wine. Darren had to give this Self Kicking Machine a try. I'm working on one for his Christmas gift.

The wine was delicious, the hay mow interesting and slightly creepy.

I liked this little saying. "I do my thing and you do your thing. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations. And you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I. And if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful."

The barn was really cute and the view from the top windows was lovely.

We bought some apples at the next farm that I'd never heard of. Bayfield apples were much smaller than what my dad grew, but just as delicious. We ate a few in the car as we wandered down the country roads. Wish we could remember what they were...

The Fish Hatchery. I loved this building. The boys were not as impressed.

Sandy beaches. We like the North Shore of Minnesota's rocky beaches better for wandering and picking rocks, but this was beautiful. We could imagine this beach with tons of people on it in the summer and were very glad we weren't sharing it with them.

We finished the day with a late lunch at this joint in Ashland and then back to the hotel to swim and relax. Fun day.

Summer's End Trip to the Cabin

I realized on this trip that there is definitely a fundamental difference between how boys and girls play. Feminist that I am, this is difficult for me to admit.

Boys like to blow up stuff.

Girls don't.

The Cabin and the Olsonmobile

A little stroll down the Log Cabin Road.

Sandhill Cranes Soaring

So close we could hear them laughing.

First Day of School Part 2

Back to School

Date Night Update*

23/52 A little ride. OK, we completely confess that this date is a stretch. BUT, we're sticking to our guns that it is. Because if we were to take a 30 minute joy ride together, we would count it. So, despite the fact that this 30 minute ride was so rudely divided in half by joint eye appointments (we did chat in the waiting room), we're going to count it. It's our challenge.

24/52 A little lunch. Conversation over Chinese food. Really fun.

25/52 Getting detention at parent night. We held hands in the hallways. See number 23 for rationalization. This time of year is super busy. Enough said.


*Date Night is when you realize you're not newlyweds anymore and so you challenge each other to fit in 52 dates as a New Year's Resolution. And then you realize, you should never make promises if you've had several glasses of really good wine.

Date 22

Seriously? Seriously? We get a good chunk of a gorgeous day as Sam was at his annual State Fair trip with Uncle Tom and Auntie Andi. And I wreck a perfectly good date day by getting a brain buster headache with all the other assorted symptoms that are way too much for me to want to relive here.

Stubbornly, I tried to ride it out, but we were 20 minutes from home and I only had one dose of medicine. Not enough. Honestly, this disease is really getting old. I lose half of my life to it and I have so much that I want to do. Ugh.

I'm counting this date anyway. Because I can't help it that my body will not cooperate.

So, date 22/52 Wandering Ikea. And on a complete sideline just what the bleep were so many people doing here when they should have been out enjoying the day like my intention was? My hope was to pop in for 15 minutes at Ikea and then get to SeaSalt for lunch by the Minehahaahaaa. Didn't even get to tell D of my wishes I felt so awful. Then felt even worse when I wrecked the date.

I'm so lucky he's such a good guy. Honestly, he's a saint.

Now, technically, this shouldn't be a date because we qualified our date requirements as not being at home improvement stores. We were there to look for organizing stuff for the new mudroom (that's not so new anymore, but still not the stellar tool of organization that I hoped it would be.) Anywhooo.... Ikea was all we got too, but we had better intentions and that should count for something.


*Date night is when two people who met almost 20 years ago realize that they should spend more time alone together. And then they realize, life will get in the way sometimes. So, rather than dwelling on the fact that they're far from reaching the 52 dates that they challenged themselves to take this year, they decide that they're just going to do the best they can. (And start counting hand holding in church as dates.)

Whitewater State Park

Camping with friends, swimming hole, campfire, trout fishing. Good way to end the summer.