Day Two: Menominee Park (Playground/Zoo) and Kohler-Andrae State Park (Beach)

There is an hour time difference between Oshkosh and Louisville, so Lewis' 'normal' 6:30am wake-up is 5:30am up here! We've been adjusting our bedtime and getting enough sleep, but the mornings are feeling super long and a lot of places don't even open until we've been awake for many, many hours. :)

This morning, we headed to a playground that opens at dawn to play before the zoo opened. The playground ended up being awesome! The best/coolest we've ever been to. And we were glad we got there so early because we had the whole place (almost) to ourselves:

 Castle des Lew

 Excavator!

The playground was huge and right on Lake Winnebago.

After the playground, we headed over to the free Menominee Park Zoo:

 Making our way around the lake.

The zoo was pretty neat--it mostly had native animals and/or farm animals (with the exception of some baboons, I think).

 Checking out the wolves

 Feeding time!

We came to the elk exhibit while it was being cleaned, so we stuck around and waited until they were released back in to eat fresh hay.

 Big boy, eating his lunch

There were two females, too, eating in a separate area.

After the zoo, we took a quick trip out on the lake in the rowboat that came with our rental house. It was a little rough-going, and the water was pretty stagnant (it was early in the day and calm, still). Kevin and I both agreed that we didn't want to get in the lake if/when it looks like that (there's also a huge dead fish floating by our dock that certainly doesn't say Swim Here). Sooo during lunch, we decided to head to a beach on Lake Michigan this afternoon, instead, which was about an hour and 15 minute drive each way. We're so glad we did--it was gorgeous!

 

 

 Our little bathing beauty

He loved to lay on a towel.

 Laying with Squinty Mama and Squinty Dada

He kept making us lay down on the towels, and he'd take our sunglasses away. :) Once we were down, he'd run towards the lake and walk into the water. We were right after him, of course, but the water was really toddler-friendly. We didn't even use his floaties after awhile since it was so shallow and calm.

 So.Much.Sand!!!

He really wanted to use those 'boats' the bigger boys in the background were using, so he was kind of rolling around in the sand, in protest. If we go back to the big lake another day, I told him we'd get him a boat of his own. I didn't think to pack sand toys, either, but there were some nice people who let us use theirs.

:)

I think I have a similar picture of him at Duck last summer. He seemed to really like the beach/water. And the boats. :)

Tomorrow's plan is Green Bay!

We Made It! and Day One (EAA AirVenture Museum)

I'm sure Lewis was more than confused on Saturday--we met him and my mom in a Hardee's parking lot off of I-65 in Indianapolis. The reunion was sweeter than sweet--he had the biggest smile on his face when he saw us, and I just held him and hugged him and covered him with kisses for a good five minutes. After transferring his luggage, we hit the road again, Wisconsin-bound! (Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for everything.)

A lap full of cars and a new (to him) Bob the Builder book!

Our drive up was pretty uneventful, in a good way. We borrowed a friend's I-pass for the tolls in Illinois, so we were able to just zip on through all of those without stopping. We were surprised that we made it all the way to Milwaukee before having to stop for gas (and it was just another hour and a half after that to Oshkosh, I think).

We arrived Saturday afternoon, just before dinner. This was how our first jaunt into the yard went: 

 Get in the lake!? Ride boat?!

 Dragging Dada down the dock

We actually took him out in the rowboat today, and he seemed to just want to go back to the house after a few minutes. Hopefully the newness has worn off for him--I totally couldn't fall asleep the first night, thinking of all of the ways that Lewis could get out of the house and end up finding the lake. Alas, we've deadbolted and childproofed all of the door handles, JUST in case. :)

Sunday, it was cool and rainy, so we headed to the EAA AirVenture Museum (which was free with our Science Center membership). They had a great hands-on kid area where we spent most of our time:

Lewis loved this plane!

He kept going back to it. 

 Trying to fly a hang glider.

 Sitting in an F-22 cockpit

 

A couple of the hundreds of planes on display

Every time we tried to get a picture, Lewis was looking in all other directions (except at the camera). There were literally planes everywhere you looked.

When we got back, we did lunch and nap. Nap attempt #1 was a fail, but attempt #2 (an hour or so later) was successful (with me sleeping with him). He had had a runny nose all morning, but he woke up from nap with a fever. I gave him some Advil, and we spent the rest of the day at the house. (The fever is gone today, but his nose is still a little runny.)

We took another walk down the dock last evening, this time with both Kevin and I holding a hand (er, wrist). 

That's more like it. :)

An Unexpected Break

Somehow we've managed to send Lewis away for an entire week with Gramma and Papaw Carter! My mom had mentioned wanting to come down to Louisville for a few days to take Lewis out for activities. Then she asked if they could take him back home with them after our Waycross weekend for a few nights. He's been doing so well and having so much fun, we've decided to just pick him up on our way to Wisconsin on Saturday! (I am starting to miss him, but I got to 'talk' to him on the phone this morning and he's doing just fine.)

Indianapolis Zoo 

Indiana State Fair

I am so thankful for the break, between the past month of non-napping nonsense and our vacation (aka 24-hour-a-day togetherness) next week. :) I'm trying to tackle some items on my to do list, but I spent Monday having some fun, too (not knowing I'd have the whole week 'off').

Just a few of the Things I Can't Normally Accomplish with Lewis in Tow:

• Get a much-needed haircut.
• Finally cash in on that Mother's Day pedicure (Thanks, Jim and Sharon! It was marvelous!).
• Go out to lunch by myself at Panera, like the pre-motherhood days. (Where I happened to run into Rajon Rondo, UK alum and current Boston Celtic.)
• Kevin jokes that I have a knack for running into a lot of the news personalities/local celebrities (I guess I have run into a lot of them!). Next on my radar is Jennifer Lawrence...she grew up in our neighborhood and was at a restaurant up the street for lunch a few weeks ago! Louisville...just call us the Hollywood of the Midwest (or Southeast or wherever we are). :)
• Work on the front garden beds (since we live on a busy street and only play in the fenced-in backyard). Be gone, crabgrass! RIP, butterfly bushes.
• Grocery shop in peace.
• Go Targeting in peace.
• Shop the Goodwill by our house (it's way too cramped for a cart, so I haven't gone in months).
• Pack for vacation.
• Go to a movie (Fruitvale Station, which was great) with Kevin on a Tuesday night (Side note: Who knew so many people go out on the town on a weeknight and after Lew's 7:30pm bedtime!?! The theater's parking lot was packed!).
• Finally get into a book I've been meaning to read, literally, for like a year and a half (Secrets of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers), now that Lewis is 30 months old. :/ Better late than never.

I'm so grateful for this calm before vacation (thanks, Mom and Dad!). We're looking forward to our trip very much--I have packed as much as I can pack to this point, so today the goal is to complete a painting project (I've started our guest bedroom and master bathroom). I'd better get on that now.

Family Fun at Hickory Hill

We spent this past weekend at Waycross with my mom's side of the family. Up in the woods (on a hill with lots of hickory trees), there used to be another camp, Hickory Hill. The camp itself no longer runs, but the retreat house still stands and is where we normally stay when we go up to volunteer with other alumni. This time, however, we solely went for fun and relaxation, and we had such a great time! Lots of pictures to share:

These three greeted us as we arrived Friday afternoon:

A mama deer and fawn

And another fawn

 Grandma DeeDee came bearing gifts for Lewis

 While everyone else was still sleeping, we were awake, having breakfast (and trying to be quiet and not wake the others).

Saturday morning, some of us took off on a hike to Ghost Town, which used to be an old canning town (all that's left now are some foundations and a barn):

 

 Off we go!

 

 Lewis eventually starting resting his head on Papaw's back like he could take a nap. :)

 Playing down in the creek

My mom found a toad.

 Kevin's vantage point of our big boy hiking back

The trail down was pretty washed out and full of slippery rocks (it rained overnight), so we took a different trail back up the hill. I hadn't ever hiked that particular section, but I was pretty sure (75-80% sure) I knew where it would end up. :) It was a bit longer distance, but the uphill portion was more gradual and comfortable to walk.

 He made it almost the whole way back on his feet!

Towards the end, he started to tire and get pokey, but he was a trooper! You'd think it'd tire him out enough to take a nap. :)

 Gramma Pat, Lewis, and Great-Grandma DeeDee, taking a break on a log

 

Practicing how to show how old he is (TWO!) at lunch :)

We made a slight effort at a nap, but Lewis wasn't having it. I think we were all feeling like we could fall asleep if we sat for too long, so we decided to go canoeing:

 Aunt Paula and Uncle Jim

Our First Family Canoeing Attempt

We're heading to a lake house in Wisconsin next week for vacation, so we were curious to see how Lew would do in a boat (the house comes with a rowboat and kayak). He did fairly well, I suppose, for a 2 year old. He sat for the most part, but he also shifted from one side of the boat to the other a bit to dip his hands in (and I was fully clothed and NOT wanting to flip into the lake). We made it around the lake and back, and then Mom and I took Lewis out a separate time where he did pretty well.

 Swimming with Gramma

 Kayaking Kevin

Relaxing on the deck 

 Gathering firewood

Cornhole!

We played a lot Saturday afternoon, with my Uncles Jim and Tim being unbeatable.

 Holding Lewis back from the action

 Otherwise, he would lay like this. :)

 Playing 'trains' with Gramma's dominoes

 Climbing around the hay wagon

 Sun setting through the trees on Hickory Hill

Campfire/S'mores Time

I tried to tell the story of Jim Peters (our dog, Peter's, namesake), but I couldn't remember the details since it's been 13+ years since I last told/heard the story. My cousin Mallory who has been on staff for a while now told their version, but there were a few parts I'm certain have been added since the 'old' days. :) I'll have to talk to my people and get the real story told to me again. 

We had such a great time--we're already talking of organizing another weekend away.