Vacation Campsites

Because Blogger only lets me upload five pics an entry, I'll highlight the vacation in pieces:

Campsite #1 - Moose Lake, WI: Mosquitoes, loons, undrinkable water, 14 miles of gravel, gigantic thunderstorm. A nice spot by the lake, but the swimming beach was covered with goose poop...we probably won't stay at this one again!

Campsite #2 - Big Bay State Park, Madeline Island, WI: More mosquitoes, lovely walk-in site, AMAZING beaches on Lake Superior, company in the form of deer (see pic #2) and A BEAR!!! Fortunately, drinkable water, and plumbing in the bathrooms which the kids really appreciated. They tired of pit toilets on this trip.

Campsite #3 - Fenske Lake, near Ely, MN: A beautiful swimming beach, clean water, fewer mosquitoes, a fox, awesome hikes close by, plus Ely about 13 miles away which has a wolf center, a bear center, frozen custard, and the delicious Chocolate Moose.

Moose Lake was one we hadn't located or researched ahead of time. We just drove up there and picked a Chequamegon National Forest campground off the map. We aimed for a not-quite-as-remote campground first which apparently doesn't exist anymore (time to update our Wisconsin Atlas??!). I guess it shows you should do your homework!! If you camp there, bring some drinking water! It seemed like a popular spot for fishermen...less so for families.

Overall the vacation was awesome! I'll post a few more highlight pictures. I fully recommend a visit to Madeline Island, camping or not. And northern Minnesota...I'm in love! I guess the biggest drawback on this trip was M3's insistence on washing her hands constantly (she has grown into a bit of a germophobe), and both kids' hatred of pit toilets. I fully understand being afraid of them as a kid. They are unsettling even as an adult, despite the fact that the Fenske Lake ones were some of the cleanest we've been in. Fortunately, the kids don't mind pooping in the forest!! HA!! (Don't worry, I buried it.)

First Day!

3rd, 36th, and 6th grade!

Only in one place...

...will you see sights like these:

We also saw the real largest bull and largest boar. Honestly, I was too horrified to take pictures of them. The poor things. On a happier note, we saw an ostrich and an elk with amazing antlers, too. Of course, they are meat animals, but disregarding that.

The Sky Glider is always a favorite.

You can't tell from this picture, but the cabbage is actually bigger than their heads.

We also saw baby ostriches (so cute!!), chicks, piglets, calves, lambs...baby animal extravaganza!

No comment necessary.

P.S. I will post some vacation pics soon. At the moment I am overwhelmed at the possibilities.

Faireality

M3 was inspired by this book:
to make some clothes (fairie sized) out of plant matter. Here are some of the results:




She set them on a photo in a book for the background. Pretty cool!

More summer fun...

I voyaged to KC with the kids and had a lovely couple days before I had to come back to teach in G-town. The kids stayed there with Grandma and Grandpa, and though we had a tough good-bye, I know they'll be having loads of fun!! Much more than if they were here while I teach and clean the house! We already had some fun with cousin O:

They have the same hair!

Running in the sprinkler helps ease the onus of the ridiculous heat wave.

The fountain at Crown Center is such a great place for photo ops! And a great place to keep cool!

When the spirit moves you...

I guess when you feel like practicing, you just feel like practicing!

Visitors!

Kristi and Craig came for an overnight Independence Day weekend! It was so nice to see them, and the kids had so much fun together. They are all getting so big. Oy.



Furthermore, Craig brought his power tools! Woot! He and Mark broke up the bottom step in front, which was a piece of crumbling concrete. Mark has laid some new concrete for a set of wooden steps. Hmmm...I should take some better pictures of this.