Door County

Anyone who is anyone here in Wisconsin has been to Door County. So, since we've now been here two years (crazy!) we decided it needed to be done. We went with our good friends, Joe and Kelsi, who are frequently included on this blog. We arrived late Saturday night (because Dave and Tommy had a scout campout the night before and then an Eagle court of honor), set up our tent in the dark and went to sleep. It was a little cold and the frogs were giving us quite a symphony....ribbit.
Rachel got $5 from Kelsi for actually going all the way under. Note: no one else went in...it was way too cold. But it was a beautiful beachfront and a gorgeous day.

If you look really close, you can see the goats on the roof...we thought that was pretty funny.

We went on one of my favorite hikes ever (and I've been on a lot of hikes). It was mountainous beauty and caves and forest on one side and gorgeous lake on the other side.

This is the lake side.

Rachel trying to look contemplative...

Michael taking a turn on the kyak.

Tommy and Dave took the boat out to the island on the right of the photo. They then explored all over the island and rowed back. Then the girls and Michael rowed around the coastline.

This is at one of the lighthouses.

Now as beautiful as it was up there being on Lake Michigan and such....Dave and I are confused at why this was considered such a "great" place to go. We LIVE everyday in this environment. We are one mile from a lake, 2 miles from a State park where you can camp, trees and water are EVERYWHERE. So, next time, we aren't going to drive three-four hours north to do what we can do 1 minute from our house. I guess at least we can say we went to Door County!

Door County

Does my family look like a big family spread out this way or is it just me?
These are shots of what my kids are doing around the campfire...Bella and Rachel are riding their stick horse...of course.

Michael is chasing the riding duo with his stick sword...

Tommy is either playing with his pocket knife or being a pyro...

Jane is just trying to be like everyone else.

Fun in the Tub/Fun with the Williamsons

Somewhere lost in the magenta tub are two cute little girls...
There they are! Both Abby and Jane have no fear of water, so they were splashing and swimming around. It was so cute to see!

I cannot believe that I didn't get any more photos of the days that Mark and Ashley and Abby were here. It was the highlight of my year! We had fun going to a beer/root beer factory, Kopps for frozen custard, movies, Capital building, zoo, and Five Guys. I made them sing in the choir on Sunday (thanks again!) and they went to Chicago for a day letting me bond with little Abby. It was a great time for me to get to know Ashley. They are a great couple and are wonderful parents. Now I miss my family more than ever!!!!

Go Gokey Go

Courtney, Kelsi and Me
We borrowed some lady's sign so we could look like fans for a photo...

Danny is the guy in the white shirt WAY back there up on stage.

Yeah, I'm not the biggest AI fan (I just watch the beginning shows) but I've enjoyed some of the people that have come out of the show. Gokey is from Wisconsin...so we went to support. He was playing at the downtown Milwaukee SummerFest site. It was great times. The crowd was made up of moms bringing their little kids and a few men being dragged by their girlfriends. It was one of my good friend, Kelsi's, birthdays so we had a night on the town.

And....my son now has a mustache...

Tommy is competively swimming now. They have a great program out here. The high school (if we are still here) has won state 7 out of the last 8 years, so they try to get them in young. He goes to practice 3 times a week and has a meet just about once a week. Crazy fun!

He's giving a talk today on Mother's Day...what an easy subject....hee hee.

Can you tell which is the Before and which is the After?