What we did on our summer vacation (part 1)

We all had a fabulous time in WI... there was beautiful weather, lots of fun people, a nice zoo, a wonderful beach and tons and tons of popsicles (or "pops" if you ask Marlee).

I don't think it ever got about 80 degrees while we were there and it was always sunny (big difference from the 40+ days of triple digit heat here!). We spent all the time we could outside and have a little blonde toddler to prove it!!

First things first... Marlee decided that the garage needed a little cleaning.


After her chores were finished, we went to Milwaukee to check out the Circus Festival.

Sharing her caramel corn with Granny:


I'm not sure what bull dozers have to do with the circus, but Mars liked them!


They had Elephant rides and Camel rides there, both of which I'm sure Marlee would have loved... but she had to settle for a pony ride (I think she was okay with that!)


Rainbow sherbet ice cream cone!


New outfit (thanks to the rainbow sherbet ice cream cone) and a nice nap (all the way home!)



The next day, we went to the zoo. It's a nice little zoo... just big enough to tire Marlee out! For some reason, I didn't take very many pics, but my cousin Alyssa caught the best moment:


For a little extra $$, you are given a cracker to feed the giraffes... it was so fun! Marlee loved it and does a great impression! They have these really long tongues that they use to 'grab' the crackers... so next time you see Maes, ask her what a giraffe does!


We spent time walking around downtown Racine and sitting in the HUGE chair (?):




And checking out the cannon (?):


We were also lucky enough to be there for my sister's (Katie) graduation party at the Yacht Club. Marlee though she had found the world's largest sand box!


Chasing the seagulls (ask Marlee about these too... her impression is right on!)


Enjoying the sun set with Daddy:


Since she seemed to enjoy the sand so much, I took her to the beach, thinking she would just want to play in the sand:


I did not expect her to want to go into the (very cold) lake. I was wrong... again. Anyone see a pattern here? She went right for the water and didn't seem to care if I was there or not!

She loved the water! She wasn't scared for even a second! And even though none of us were in bathing suits, we all ended up in the water! (I actually put her in a bathing suit for our other trips to the beach!! Keep an eye out for those pics!) I didn't get too many pictures, b/c I was afraid of getting the camera wet, but here she is jumping in the lake with Granny:


She was obsessed with all things 'life guard'. This looks like a sweet pic of her and granny walking on the beach, but if you look closely, you will see the life guard by the boat. She was just trying to get close to him!



Lots more to come!!

We made it!

Our trip to Wisconsin was fairly uneventful and Marlee did really well! Our flight was during her nap time, so we had hoped she would sleep, but she was just too excited. She really wanted to explore and kept us very busy, but no fussing or crying!
We flew into Chicago and had to take a bus to Wisconsin. This was also very exciting and we sang The Wheels on the Bus about 400 times! The bus ride was a little harder than the flight. It was supposed to be a 50 min ride, but because of traffic and construction we were on the bus for 2.5 hours! Mars still did amazingly well though.

She had a great time helping us pack!




Checking out our plane!


Watching her videos on the bus (the head phones freaked her out, so the whole bus got to listen to Baby Einstein!)


Finally tired!


We've been having a great time... I'll update soon!

Just waitin' on you mom...

This is what I found when it was time to leave for school this morning. She was watching the news!



Such a big girl.

All American Weekend

Austin didn't have a big 4th of July parade, but we celebrated in our own way!

Marlee and I spent Saturday with James, Lauris and their son Dustin at their house. Yummy food and a nice cool pool! I didn't think we would be swimming, so I didn't bring Marlee's suit. She had other plans, though, and really, what's more patriotic than a little skinny dipping?!

Taking a break from the pool, Marlee and Dustin discovered the cooler...




Then proceeded to play a little game together - they both sat down and pretended to drink (don't worry - the cans are not open! I don't think we will ever give Mars caffine - she's already got enough energy!!). They would set the cans down, look at each other and pick them back up, then giggle and pretend to drink. They did this for a good 20 min! So funny!







That night, one of my clients hung out with us for a little bit. Marlee seems to really like having other kids come visit and she followed him around all night!




We started Sunday off with a trip to the duck pond (The ducks disappeared for awhile, but now are back and hungrier than ever!)

I think she looks like such a big girl here...


And ended the day at the Children's Museum (it's free every Sun from 4-5!)

Making music...


Getting ready for our WI trip...


We had a great weekend... the best part was Marlee started sleeping until 6am! I never thought I'd be happy to get up at 6, but it's so much better than 5!