Casey and I have been wanting to take our kids somewhere for a while now, but we've really never done anything but the usual Wisconsin Dells run, Jellystone Park camping, or Henry Vilas Park zoo trip. I don't really know why, but I think this was the underlying thought, "Can we really take all of our kids on a trip a couple hours away alone? Yikes!" Well, this past Friday, we did it! We left work early, picked up our kids from daycare, and left! Well, it was supposed to go that smoothly, but when Casey picked up Noah and Stella from daycare, Noah ended up throwing up in our babysitters driveway! Yes, I am serious! We weren't about to let that stand in our way though. We paid for three days in a cabin up north, and darnit, we were going! We grabbed a big deli bucket, threw it in the van and took off. C'mon, he looks good enough to go, doesn't he? He's just squinting trying to make the nausea go away! : )
Stella is ready!
See! Totally fine!
Well, I decided to drive. Thank God because Noah decided he was gonna get sick about half way to our cabin, and Casey has much better reflexes than me. All the puke got in the bucket! Mess avoided!
The cabin we were staying in was in Warrens, WI. Let me tell you, I don't know about your GPS, but ours has no idea where that is. Actually, it could get us to Warrens, but had no idea where our cabin was. This has nothing to do with anything, but on our way to Warrens, we went through a town called Elroy. Was there an American Idol contestant from Elroy? I swore there was, but Casey says "no". Someone please tell me that I am not imagining this!
Ok, so we got there...in one piece. Here are some pictures of us in our cabin.
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| Caleb and Stella snugglin' by the fireplace. Yes, I am aware Caleb looks like Kermit The Frog here. |
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| The boys picked me some wildflowers that were growing outside. How sweet! |
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| Daddy and Noah. Noah must be feeling better if he can try to make a scary face. |
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| Daddy, don't you know that letting children hang over the rail in the loft is dangerous? |
Our cabin was pretty great! It had two private bedrooms, and a loft with four beds, a full kitchen with dishes and a dishwasher! It also had a living room with a fireplace that opened up to the dining room and loft area. It was just like a house! Way better than staying in a hotel. The best part was...these cabins were linked with a hotel so we were able to utilize all their amenities. The kids liked the waterpark.
Probably the best thing about our trip was the air show we got to go see in Camp Douglas. Of course, our GPS had a hard time getting us there, but we ended up making it. Betty, as we like to call it, told us to go through a fence. I am glad we didn't because there were armed people at Camp Douglas. We had to go through security to even get in the place. There were cars being stopped and searched too. Here are some pictures from the air show.
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| How cool is this one? It says Wisconsin on the tail! |
The trip to Camp Douglas was an unexpected event, and it, by far, was our favorite thing. We got to see some fly over demonstrations, and one of the pilots names was Chili Dog! No Goose or Maverick here! The kids even got to sit in a chopper, and that Wisconsin plane that you saw above, we got to tour that! We also got some great burgers and hot dogs...yum!
Next, we went to a place called Grandpa Nick's Petting Farm. I can't say much about Grandpa Nick's except that it was strange. They had six animals named Butterscotch, and one animal that's name was Duke the Luke. That's Duke...not Luke. That's what the tour guide told us anyway. He was maybe a 13 year old boy. I think he was just making up animal names as he went along. I had to try hard not to laugh. We did see some cool animals though, everything from robo hamsters to llamas...and, yes, they spit! Oh, our kids got to pet a rooster and feed some pigs. That was cool! Here are a few pictures from Grandpa Nick's. (I really never saw Grandpa Nick, and I am still wondering where he was.)
I forgot to tell you about the hidden treasure trail. We wanted to do it, but about fifty feet down, Stella got bit by something and flipped out, so we turned around and went back to our cabin. : ) Here's a picture of the beginning though! Onward, Noah!
The little kids were really tired after Grandpa Nick's, so I took them back to the cabin, and Casey took Isaac and Caleb black light mini golfing, and swimming again. I wanna go black light mini golfing next time. That sounds cool!
The last thing we got to do at the cabin was make a campfire. Daddy did a good job too. The fire stayed lit even after we went inside. Our poor neighbor campers couldn't even get their fire to stay lit with lighter fluid. We should've sent Casey over to help them. Everyone had a fun time making s'mores. Isaac is a pro smore maker. I am a pro smore eater!
Well, today brought a whole new set of adventures. We decided that instead of coming straight home, we would pack everybody up and bring them to La Crosse. Casey's grandpa is buried there, and we haven't been back since the funeral over five years ago. So, off we went. It was only about an hour away from where we were. We went and saw Grandpa Joanis's old house, and then we took the kids to Chucky Cheese. I can't believe I am saying this again, but our GPS took us the wrong way...again. Betty is going in the trash!
Chucky Cheese was cool. I haven't been to one of those since it was Showbiz Pizza. Ya know, with Billy Bob! Ok, does anyone out there know what I am talking about? After that, we tried to go to the Mausoleum where Casey's grandpa was buried, but it's closed on the weekends. I guess we'll have to make another trip during the week sometime.
Homeward bound, and Noah falls asleep. About thirty minutes into our trip home I say, "Something smells funny." I even went so far as to roll my window down to make sure the smell was outside the van. Of course, right after I say that Noah wakes up crying saying, "Have to go to the bathroom. Waaaaaaaa!" Oh boy! We get to the nearest gas station and get Noah out only to find that he's already peed his pants. Now what? We have nearly two hours left, and nothing to clean a car seat out with! The only thing I could think of to temporarily cover the seat with was swimming trunks...and it worked just fine.
Now do you understand why I ask the question if a vacation is still a vacation when you bring your little kiddies along with you?
Vacationing with kids is certainly not easy, but I think one day we will look back at all the chaos and laugh. Hey, we're making memories. We may not be world travelers, but that's ok. Our kids are getting awesome experiences in good old Wisconsin. Ask them if they had fun. I bet they'll all have a different story to tell you. Noah said his favorite part was petting the chickens. Stella just giggled at it all...
Oh, and one more thing (and my favorite part of the day), somewhere in the country around Bloomington we drove by a place that had a big sign that said "Honk if you love Jesus!" Because I was driving, I honked a really long honk! Man, that felt good! : )
