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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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.

Backcountry Camping with Kids in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Day 1 Back in May I stumbled upon Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I had no idea there was a National Park in North Dakota and that it was the northern end of the Badlands. Usually our summer vacations coincide with Scott's work trips. Since he didn't have any this summer I thought we should take advantage of actually taking a vacation. What, my workcations are always classics? I suppose a second real vacation this year wouldn't hurt. We definitely have more time than normal. As long as we took Covid-19 precautions and avoided people. We finally settled on a time to go. Blake joined us so we borrowed our dad's van so we could ride together. Scott had just driven from Michigan the day before. Blake had met my parents in Wisconsin to get the van and then drove from Duluth to pick us up. I offered to drive since I literally only drive twice a month. I was still pretty tired from a long drive home. Since we were near Fergus Falls we had to stop by the abandoned state ho...

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