Helene's Hilltop Apple Orchard

To the apple orchard we go with our friends and Jack's best buddy, North! We stopped at Helene's Hilltop Orchard http://www.heleneshilltoporchard.com for some apple picking and the perfect amount of kiddo fun. 

Beautiful fall day here in the north. All of us had a great time!

Jack and mom on the cow train. Pulled by a tractor around the orchard.

Eating his way through the process.

Hanging out with his best pal, North.

Riding the "horsey"!

Driving the life size tractor on the playground.

Jack was tuckered out!! He not only fell asleep on the way home- he then continued napping at home for a total of 4 hours! WOWSERS!

A Cup of Foam

Every morning we have a routine around our household. Because of our schedules, it works out best that Pete gets Jack dressed in the morning and then takes him to "school". I had heard from Pete in the past few weeks that sometimes they stop by Biggby, a coffee chain here in Wausau. Pete gets a coffee and Jack gets a cup of foam. He said there is one catch: there is one lady who makes the cup of foam (for free- a small Dixie cup of whip cream) and when she's not there everyone looks confused!!

So today we went to Biggby, and of course the regular gal is not there. Well, they have a regular menu item for kids called "A Cup of Whip". I told Pete we should just get that for Jack and pay the $0.99. 

Turns out- Jack landed the jackpot. The actual menu item is about 5 times bigger than the foam cup Karen gives him and comes with chocolate and sprinkles! Oh my!!

Happy camper to say the least. Back to reality tomorrow buddy.

4 years

It's been a wild year...

- moving to Wausau

- buying our new home
- new job for Annie at GD Jones
- same job for Pete but in the Wausau office
- our "baby" has turned into a little boy... who keeps us laughing and moving every minute of every day!

So glad we are on this adventure together.

10/03/09 Third Ward- Milwaukee, WI

A beautiful fall day

Don't give up hope yet!! I am still committed to keeping up with our blog :) I am just going to have to make more effort at finding time to update.

Sunday was a great day here in the North. Fall is in full swing with the smells and cooler temps. Plenty of sunshine. Jack and I took a spin to the grocery store and decided it was just too nice out not to take advantage of the day- so we stopped at the park on the way home. Totally worth it! 

Winters are long here in Wisconsin and it's worth remembering that there will be plenty of days (probably well into April/May) where we can be at home and play inside! We are determined to absorb this last bit of fresh air while we can.

The Best Train Ride

It all started back at the Wisconsin Valley Fair this summer....

On our way in Jack of course spotted this tiny train at Marathon Junction in Marathon Park (http://www.co.marathon.wi.us/Departments/ParksRecreationForestry/MarathonJunction.aspx).  Jack was SO excited to ride- and we were excited for him too. He watched as it circled around with other kids.We raced over to the stand and bought our tickets. Pete and Jack were going to ride together while mommy manned the camera! Here they are ready for the ride- train hat and all!

August 3, 2013

But then tragedy struck- the train would not start. So sadly (and thankfully without too many protests from small children) everyone was forced to get off the train with no indication as to when it would be running again. We heard Jack say many times "Train boke".

Our tickets were not refunded but we were told we could use them until September 2. As the story of summer always goes, school was drawing near and the window of opportunity was getting smaller. The Labor Day weekend was our last chance. 

Pete worked Saturday.

I worked Sunday.

Monday was our day! We showed up ready for the train after a lovely lunch. I decided we would buy one more ticket so we could all ride. And then the lady says- "You can buy a ticket, but we are not running the train again until noon". It was 11:45am. Sigh. What to do with a toddler who desperately wants to ride a train and has no clue of the concept patience? 

Play on the park.

Finally, we were able to ride on the train and I have never heard such joyful "Choo choos!!" from a little boy. He was genuinely delighted! It was a great send off to summer. Best $3 ever spent.

September 2, 2013

Life is good.