It's Finally Backyard Rink Time!

For Christmas Chelsea got Meadow a trip to The Fire Art Studio in Appleton to paint her own ceramics. We finally got them back and they are so cool.

My favorite breakfast.

Theo's favorite breakfast.

They're all really into breakfast.

After we got back from our holiday travels we filled the ice rink. The weather was finally getting cold enough for it to freeze completely. Scott resurfaced the ice to get it ready for us.

It took about a week to freeze. You really want temps below 15 degrees all day. We were mostly dealing with temps in the 20s and 30s during the day until a deep freeze set in.

Funny how it felt so much bigger building it.

Perfect for the kids. A bit small for adults.

Was still fun to do a few loops.

The temps were well below freezing with the wind chill, but we didn't mind.

Hot cocoa and skating, what could be better?

Meadow is always wanting to bake something.

I spent the rest of the night making one of my favorite meals with Theo. Chicken Mole. I made them into enchiladas this time around.

Sometimes the kids remember they have a dresser full of costumes.

It's that time of year when we can't see out our windows. Though since getting our windows rehabbed this summer they seem to fog and freeze more.

The interior windows are well sealed, so moisture is getting trapped on the storms.

The Packers were playing the Cowboys in the first round of the NFL playoffs. So I had to make taco dip.

We had frozen pizza after the Packers blew out the Cowboys.

Game day dinners are the best.

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Chicago Chrismukkah + Michigander Xmas

Before heading out on our trip we let the kids open their Christmas gifts from us. A knitted sweater for Theo and a kitty dress for Meadow (I fixed the straps for her) both made by me. I wanna a sweater. Scott got them new compact sleeping bags. We all got smaller sleeping bags this year and we'll now have a lot more room in our car. This year we had talked about hosting my family at the cottage. Then meeting up in Milwaukee, then meeting in Chicago. But in the end we made stops in Chicago and Lowell this Christmas. We left on a Sunday which was nice to have a few days to prepare. On the way down to Chicago we stopped at our favorite roadside restaurant, Foster Cheese Haus. We had plans to break up our drives so we didn't have to rush like we normally do. We had made it just before the cheese haus was set to close for the winter. Just not enough folks stop here in winter and snowmobile season is becoming shorter and shorter this far so...

A Smoky Weekend at the Cottage and a Stop at Ladysmith's Northland Mardi Gras

This summer we decided to go to the cottage any weekend we had nothing else going on. This week, due to fires in the Boundary Waters and Canada, the air quality was pretty terrible. We debated if we should still go, but it looked like it would clear up by Saturday. So we took the chance. And by terrible, we mean the worst air quality we'd ever seen. Along the way we decided to stop at John and Heidi's Happy Daze . We've passed this place probably 100 times. It was about time to stop by. I ordered the prime rib sandwich special. Yummy. The sandwich that is. Everybody's food was really good, but Brooke's was the star of the show. I want to get back here asap. Now if only this pesky smoke would go away.

To Chippewa Falls for the Northern Wisconsin State Fair

I saw that the Northern Wisconsin State Fair was happening and we didn't have anything else planned. We booked a campsite at Lake Wissota State Park and we were on our way. We hadn't been to a county fair yet and this seemed like it might be even better. We set up camp first in case we would be back late. This was a good excuse for a quick camping trip. Plus we'd never been to Lake Wissota State Park before or Chippewa Falls, really. Since 1897 Chippewa Falls has been hosting the Northern Wisconsin State Fair. More of a super-regional county fair, Wisconsin’s other state fair started as a way for folks up north to avoid the grueling, long haul down to Milwaukee County. Our first stop was to fill up our big jug of lemonade. I think this is the 4th year of this big jug. Brooke brings a couple of our old lemonade jugs with just in case. Then you get the refill price.

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