the peters family camps

for our first peters family summer outing, we decided to camp, and were able to get into Devil's Lake State Park. with 3 separate campgrounds providing over 500 camp sites, miles and miles of hiking trails, sandy beaches along the lake, and awesome rock formations, it's one of wisconsin's most popular camping destinations.

located in Baraboo, WI, Devil's Lake is close to the Wisconsin Dells, so our plan was to include a day outing to the Dells for shopping and eating.

there is a 2 night minimum on reserving a camp site. we figured if oliver only made it 1 day, we could always come home early, but were hoping for a full weekend in the woods. i booked site 301 on the Ice Age Campground, which was close to the bathrooms (a must with children and a pregnant lady). the site turned out to be pretty open, but wasn't too bad for our purposes.

i took friday off, and after some errands and a quick visit to work to show off the kids, we got packed up and were ready to be off. the plan was for oliver to nap in the car, and he did fall asleep, but only slept for an hour or so. we made it to the park around 4pm, and got set up while hannah and oliver had fun running around and exploring.

we made taco Pudgy Pies for dinner, which everyone loved, and s'mores for dessert. oliver really just wanted the chocolate, and couldn't be bothered with graham crackers or marshmallows (though he was more than happy to eat my toasted marshmallow instead). oliver just loved sitting around the campfire, which he was very respectful of.






shortly thereafter, i realized it doesn't get dark until well after oliver's bedtime, so putting him to bed might be a bit of a challenge. he stayed up a little late, then it was off to bed, which he wasn't too thrilled about. he wasn't throwing a fit, he just didn't want to go to bed. and since he can undo the zipper door and get himself out of the tent, it was a bit of a challenge to keep him in there. he taught himself to do somersaults, and proceeded to somersault around the tent until 10:30pm or so. eventually, with the aid of a flashlight, he conked out.

but his sleep was not long lived. he woke up sometime (i am guessing) between 12am - 1am, FREAKED OUT that we were in a tent. i eventually got him settled on the queen size air mattress, where he took up half the mattress while bryan and i shared the other half. oliver continued to wake up and call out for me, grab my hand, and go back to sleep. then he was up for the day at 5:30am (damn summer sun rise). so we didn't get a lot of sleep. amazingly, hannah slept through all of it, tossing, turning, screaming, and all.

the first thing oliver said to me was, "i want to go home, mama." bryan and i really wanted to stay another night, but we decided with ollie's short nap the day before, little sleep that night, and his fear of sleeping in the tent, there was no way we'd be able to get him down for a nap and bedtime without some pretty major meltdowns. so we decided to hang around the park, head into the dells, then get home.

Devil's Lake has a lot of hiking trails, and bryan selected the East Bluff Woods trail for us, which ends in a lookout on a bluff. took us a minute to realize, but when hiking to a bluff, you hike straight uphill. oliver ran most of the way up! we were all wondering where he got the energy for that. we walked for a good while before i asked how far we were going - 1.3 miles each way. um, no thanks, my back can't handle that. as we turned around, i checked the map, and we had actually ended up on the 3.4 mile EACH WAY trail. thank goodness we turned around! oliver decided he was tired (and it just took a mile run uphill to do it), and bryan carried him the whole way down - and he SLEPT! it was pretty funny, walking through the woods with a sleeping toddler on bryan's shoulder. he definitely needed a little nap to re-energize him, though, so it was a good thing.







oliver, hannah, and i went to one of the small playgrounds while bryan packed up camp and the car. after a little while, hannah headed back to help him, and after another little while, ollie and i went back too. we stopped in a small tunnel to yell "ECHO!" for a bit, since that is one of the funnest things we do around here.





















with the car packed up, it was time to head into the dells for a short shopping excursion and some lunch before hitting the road for home. this should have been a 20 - 30 minute drive along county roads. but at one point, the road split into three: 1) the way we should have continued to go, 2) to the highway west (and towards the dells), and 3) to the highway east (back to milwaukee). guess which one we ended up on? if you guessed the wrong one, give yourself a prize. and sadly there was 13 miles until the next exit, which would give us a 45 minute detour. we decided to cancel plans and just head home, but ollie fell asleep immediately so we figured we could give him a bit of a nap and head there anyway. took us awhile, but we made it to the dells.

our first stop was Parson's Indian Trading Post. established in 1914, this store has become a dells tradition. one room is actually filled with real indian things, and the other half of the store is touristy crap (but we love it nonetheless!). i picked up some beads for a labor beads project my online mom's group is doing, and a polished stone with a dinosaur etching on it for ollie.

then it was off to lunch at the Cheese Factory, an amazing little vegetarian restaurant, and i daresay one of the only places in all the dells that serves actual food. we discovered them a few years ago on a trip to the dells, and we even risked insane tired toddler melt down to go there (luckily, the 45 minute nap in the car and some food in his belly did wonders to mitigate any potential insanity). rachel ray may like their grilled cheese, it's the rest of the menu that gets my heart going. all fresh and homemade, it's hard to go wrong here. i had the chimichanga (Chicken flavored tofu, rice, Jack cheese, Romesco Sauce prepared from roasted red peppers, garlic and smoked almonds; grilled onions, and green chilies wrapped in a deep fried flour tortilla. Served with fresh greens, salsa and sour cream). bryan, hannah, and ollie all had grilled cheese, and hannah and ollie even enjoyed some shakes with their meals (hey, it was vacation, right?). they have an honest to goodness soda fountain, including homemade phosphates. i cannot resist a homemade phosphate (i had strawberry). unfortunately, we were all too full for dessert.

our last stop before leaving town was Market Square Cheese, another dells tradition for us. more than just a cheese store, you can get jams and jellies, fudge, saltwater taffy, and of course every touristy tchochke known to man. bryan got a limburger (which he will eat alone under penalty of death), i picked up a port wine cheese spread (which is just disappointing after having made my own), and we also got some saltwater taffy and fudge (peanut butter, and turtle). i didn't pick up any of their super aged cheddar, since it was only sold in blocks over a pound, and being the only one who would eat anything that sharp, there's no way i found finish it before it went bad. and at $25/block (for the old stuff), i couldn't let that happen.

then it was time to go. we had hoped oliver would nap on the way home, but that didn't happen right away. an hour or so into the ride, we heard an occasional banging, shaking noise in the front wheel well. we stopped to take a look, as bryan thought it was the alignment, but it looked ok, so we kept going. oliver finally fell asleep about an hour from home. we were almost there when we learned the true reason for the noise - threadbare tires - as the front right tire literally blew up in a smoking ball of rubber and fibers (and whatever else is in a tire). seriously, that thing was in shreds. i should have taken a picture. luckily, we were driving fairly slow in the right hand lane, so were able to safely pull off to the side. also as luck would have it, we were right by the exit to mom and dad's house, so dad came to pick hannah, oliver, and i up while bryan dealt with the car. oliver was not happy about being woken up and transferred to another car (oh yeah, he totally slept through that whole episode), but he fell back asleep immediately once in dad's car. bryan got the spare tire on the jeep, then took it to get all new tires. better safe than sorry (she says a few days too late).

additional pictures aquí.

we were happy to be home at last. i do enjoy camping and i hope one day oliver can learn to like sleeping in a tent (or a camper as the future highly suggests), but being home is pretty darn nice, too. bryan and hannah headed out to see Prince of Persia, which i had no interest in seeing (does anyone else really dislike Jake Gyllenhaal, or is it just me? and the thought of him trying to act all sexy with those muscles - GAG. you're never gonna be sexy, dude.). anyway. oliver and i enjoyed a quiet evening at home, then i got him off to bed early (and boy did he pass out).

all in all, misadventures aside, a fun half a weekend of camping. in the end, it's nice to have today to relax some at home.

after i bake a rhubarb pie, of course.

dear wisconsin

dear wisconsin,

i hate you.

it's 55 and raining today. in june! it's june! maybe you didn't know that? maybe you lost your calender. maybe the alarm didn't go off and you've overslept. june = summer, and summer = warm weather.

you're a very beautiful state, wisconsin. i've always thought so. but your beauty isn't enough to keep you charming at this point. you need to give us some more. you need to give us some sunshine and warm weather.

55 and raining. yesterday was even colder. we should have had this weather in april. but in april we had even colder weather and snow. again. april showers bring may flowers? does this ring any bells? my first roses just bloomed this weekend. in june.

we laughed the 5th time it snowed. we even giggled the 27th. but by march, it really wasn't funny anymore. just wait, we told each other, it's almost spring.

in april, we laughed nervously and said, surely this can't go on forever.

in may, we really started to worry about you, wisconsin. we weren't sure it was ever going to end. it's almost june, we reassured each other. in june, we'll be fine.

well, june 1st has come and gone, and it is not warm. you've teased us with a few gorgeous days, then punished us with chills again. haven't we been punished enough? don't you see the news? didn't you know that this past winter was one of the worst in our recorded history?

you've already dashed our hopes for spring, must you do so for summer too? we don't get a very long summer. it's beyond unfair to put us through a winter like that, only to eat up one of the three months of warm weather we get. will you take away our beautiful spring only to dump us directly into a hot and humid summer, which will only be 8 weeks long by that point, and then it's on to a chilly fall and WINTER AGAIN? our poor little psyches cannot handle it.

you're officially on notice, wisconsin. i'm not sure what we're going to do, but when we figure it out, it will be big.

i want to love you, wisconsin. i really do. but i hate you right now.

love screw you,
mrsjenpeters

the long way home

the share drive is down today, and since my documentation is complete for my current project, that means i am having a slow day (as is the printer). at least the meetings start soon and there are always plenty of those around here.

bryan and i found a house that meets our needs wonderfully. we made an offer last tuesday night, and they accepted without counter on wednesday! we had the inspection done friday, and he found some electrical updates which would be wise to complete (and which we're willing to pay for) and some movement in the basement walls (estimate to fix: $7200). so we're asking the sellers to fix the basement prior to close, as we'd like to put up drywall down there soon after we move in. they're already out of the house and want to close quickly, so we're hoping both that they accept and that they are willing to get right on it. with any luck, we'll close in the next 2 weeks and have a place of our own! shannon and i have already been all over the home depot and lowe's paint departments and chosen all of our colors. i am so lucky to have shannon working interior design for free! she has measured every bit of the house and is already creating her architectural space planning design and will be making up design boards as well. she's pretty excited about shopping with my money. while there is nothing that needs to be done to the house (except putting up fencing for the doggies), we do plan on making some updates and changes, probably in a 5 year plan. we're going to reno the kitchen pretty quickly, as well as finish out the basement. we've already ordered our new kitchen appliances and i looooooove them. we were finally able to agree on a fridge, which was a big relief. i wanted a bottom freezer with french doors on the fridge, stainless, and while bryan agreed in theory, he didn't agree in price. we worked through that though, and i managed to get what i wanted without breaking the bank. ;) i finally get a 5 burner stove with a separate warming oven, so i'm in heaven. shannon and i need to hit up some more places to figure out cabinets, flooring, and countertops. there are so many options out there it makes it toughto decide. plus, once you buy it, you're stuck with it! but i'm extremely excited to be able to design our new kitchen. we'll also be doing lots of paint, which will involve pulling down wallpaper. luckily, shannon and bryan are experienced at that! we'll eventually want to update both bathrooms, and put french doors off the back of the house, but those are not top priorities right now. don't worry though, i have spreadsheets going already, and those will soon feed into project plans. you can never be too organized, especially when you're spending a whole ton of money. we're meeting with the lender tonight to sign all the paperwork there, and we should be hearing from the sellers before the end of today regarding the basement, so with any luck we'll be able to set a close date before tomorrow is through. keep your fingers crossed for us!

the house stuff has been consuming the majority of our time lately. i'm trying not to be overly anxious while we wait for all this decisioning to be over, but i'm so excited to move that it's tough. at least i have work now to fill some of my time.

the new job has been going well. i am definitely learning a lot. the banking/insurance business is pretty interesting. my first project is winding down soon, and i've already been pulled into their new project, so that's pretty exciting. i am looking forward to having more to do and be in the full swing of things. getting a paycheck now is pretty cool too. still trying to find my comfort level with consulting, which is new to me. so far i like it just fine, just need to get used to not being permanent.

i found out yesteday i've been taking the long way to/from work, which i figured was the case, but didn't know which was was better. one of the women here turned me on to a highway no one uses. that's pretty cool. saves me 10 miles round trip, AND even though it's still twice as far as my drive to work was in atlanta, it takes me less time. go figure. i can't tell you how very much i DO NOT miss atlanta traffic. atlanta traffic made me hate that city cometimes, and even at it's worst, milwaukee traffic's got nothing on that mess in atlanta.

hannah comes soon and we couldn't be more excited. we have so much planned for while she's here. i've made our reservations for our long weekend in the wisconsin dells, which should be a blast. i haven't been there in ages, and i think it will be so much fun to show hannah my childhood vacation spot. i'm also trying to find a close camp spot so we could camp one weekend (or, "mobile cabin" as bryan insists on calling it, since i want to take my parents' camper). all the good places are further away from the city, so we'll see. hannah and i should be planning the menu for the baby shower/birthday party two birds/one stone party tonight. we're going to do a full on bbq, so that should be fun. i wonder if dad would let me pit roast a pig in the garden (nothing is planted so it's all dead space currently). that could be fun. shannon's invites for the event turned out AMAZING. they look so freakin good. i'm pretty excited. it should be fun. i'm looking forward to seeing some folks from out of town, and there are some who have to come or they're not my friends anymore. ;) i'll be calling them to warn them soon.

everything has been going well baby wise. we find out in a week and a half if it's a boy or a girl, so we're pretty excited. that will help us focus our talks about names and hopefully agree on one. :) that will also allow me to start shopping! not to mention my family - my sisters have been dying to know so they can start sending cute clothes. i'm all for that! i luckily have had no real complaints, as this pregnancy has been very easy. i'm not too thrilled about the growing belly and the achy feet, though. i do now love elastic wasited pants, and that is something i thought i would never say. i've bought some very supportive shoes, since i don't want my feet to expand and not fit into my shoe collection (horror of horrors!). but all in all, it's been a smooth ride, and i'm hoping it will stay that way.

lucinda williams is coming to the pabst theater at the end of july. we may be lucky enough to see her twice in one year! mom and shannon want to go, so that could be a lot of fun. tickets go on sale tomorrow, so we shall see!!

that's all for now!

i blog too

so, here's my first blog. it's pretty boring until i can organize. soon to come: moving to wisconsin, finding a new job, how to eat, and other amusing anecdotes. no seriously, i'm pretty funny.