Good Old “Native-American” Summer

I am amazed at the absolutely beautiful weather over the past week. Despite repeated reports of four straight days of rain, here we are, warm temps, hot sun, perfect breeze. Unfortunately, kids are back in school, docks have been brought in, and cottages closed up… However, lets praise God for this great opportunity to get some outside activities in, before the summer closes up shop for good.

Last weekend, Lauren and I sold our mom’s art at the Parallel 44 Fall Harvest Fest, in Kewaunee. Again, a perfect day. We ate, drank (well, not me the pregnant mama), took in the grape stomping contest, and watched fine wine connoisseurs sampling the vineyards finest blends. More fun though, was watching the non-fine wine connoisseurs getting progressively intoxicated as the hot sun and 33% alcohol content took over their bodies. Good times. If you go to a wine fest for the fest, and not the wine, go for the last few hours. You’re guaranteed to hear some smashing glass and a few Whoo! exclamations coming from the crowd.

Yesterday, Lauren met us at our house, and she, Aristana and I headed out on a short road trip. We met up with our crazy uncles Gary, Mike and Pat, at Wilke Lake. These were the guys who lived out there most summers, so reminiscing was great. Lauren hasn’t been there in a while, so it was nice to get her caught up.
From there, we grabbed some lunch at “The Cedars,” on Cedar Lake. Good food, a perfectly clear lake, and public beach access. It was fantastic. I ate a ton of food, and topped it off with homemade cheesecake for dessert. Wow!

We all went and played around in the water for awhile, and Aristana got soaked. I love to see her enjoying the pure fun of being a kid. Her favorite “Pink Guy” got to take a swim too. Beautiful!

After stopping in Manitowoc to see Mitzie & RJ, and a trip to the “Big Cow” for ice cream, we ventured back home.

Oh, and the absolutely best part of all of this, took place inside…in the bathroom, specifically. Aristana FINALLY went on the big girl potty when we got home!!! She was almost in tears, she was so excited. She kept hugging me, and giggling, and flail/dancing. She and I will be headed off to Wal-Mart this morning to get her the two Matchbox cars and nail polish she’s been working so hard to earn.

For the next week, we’ll be running around like chickens with our heads cut off. However, we are thankful for every day and every experience.

Till then…