July 1: Madison, WI to Cedar Grove, WI. 125 miles, 2 hours.
July 1-31: Cedar Grove, WI
We arrived at the Cook family lake house for July 4th weekend, and stayed for the month of July for summer fun and lots of reconnecting with family. With lots of other family in town, we had planned to stay in the RV over the holiday weekend, but our electric mysteriously went out! No AC is no fun on a hot weekend, so we “camped” in Nana and Papa’s house for a few days before moving across the driveway for the rest of the month. We were lucky on timing – it took over 3 weeks for Camping World to fix the issue (which they assured me was quite quick…perhaps related to my daily “status update” calls?). In the end, nearly everything was covered under warranty and the nice service guy and I said “thanks and hope to never see you again” to each other.
The 4th weekend was a lot of fun, fireworks, family, and whew, a lot. Definitely the most people we’ve seen in a consolidated time in 2 years. The kids stayed up late for (2 nights of) fireworks, but on night #2, Madelyn saw the opening and said “I want to go to bed now, Mama.” No arguing with that.
The kids had a great time rediscovering the lake house toys, and pulling out “new” toys from our storage unit. I promptly remembered why the Cat Piano and Water Beads did not make the cut for the RV.
Taking advantage of some extra time with Aunt Christine in the Midwest, I took the kids down for a couple days in Chicago with Grandma & Grandpa and Aunt Christine. We took the train to the Field Museum, got to hang out with Great Aunt Betty for the day, and enjoyed gigantic milkshakes for lunch. Grandpa’s instincts served us well on the return ride – something just “didn’t seem right” and we quickly made a switch off the “going to Indiana” train.
A nearby high school was running 2 week sessions of swim lessons, that fit perfectly into our schedule (or, gave us the semblance of adhering to a schedule for the first time in awhile). Grayson loved every minute, Madelyn tolerated it, and I had flashbacks to my first paid gig as a high school swim lesson instructor.
We spent an afternoon wandering through the Interactive Van Gogh exhibit in Milwaukee with Nana. While the first section of letters between Vincent and Theo was a bit dry for the kids, the main interactive room was mesmerizing.
A Friday evening at the Cedar Grove Holland Fest was super fun – we’ll mark our calendars for the full weekend next year (Dutch friends – you should join us!). Beyond the broodjes, there was a circus act, multiple “all you can bounce” houses, and a live band.
We partied for a weekend in Chicago with family and friends. The kids played, played, played. The food was good, and the company was good for my soul.
The Bookworm Gardens in Sheboygan has been a favorite field trip for a couple summers now, and this year the kids and I went during their “Fairyfolk Festival”. The gardens there are stunning, and the shade is heavenly; even on a really hot day it was comfortable to spend a couple hours. We arrived in (short lived) costumes and departed with crafted fairy wands. Madelyn loved washing Harry the Dirty Dog, Grayson loved asking the volunteer to read every book in her box, and both loved building fairy houses in the woods.
Another day, the kids and I took an excursion to the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center. Most of the exhibit is probably better suited to kids a bit older than 5 and 3, but there was certainly enough to entertain us. Madelyn worked the grocery store for a long time and both enjoyed driving/off-roading the virtual Combine. You can also watch laboring & delivering (if the time is right) cows here; but as quiet and slow movements were required in the area, it held little interest for my duo.
On what felt to me like the last day of summer, we went to the Milwaukee Zoo. Despite being only an hour away in Madison for most of the last 16 years, I’d never been! We met up with my cousin Jane and her fun kids and did it up. We fed goats, rode the train, rode the carousel, splurged for Icees & Dippin’ Dots (the reality of these treats was underwhelming), and ended the day with face painting. I think we saw some animals, too.
Throughout the month, we felt truly blessed (and took advantage of) being at the beach. We walked to find a nearby Eagle’s nest (Madelyn made it the nearly 3 miles roundtrip with very little carrying). We splashed and surfed on the Maui mat. We made sandcastles with cousins. Kids morphed into sand monsters. I took deep breaths, quick dips, and pictures of frog-catching escapades. The crankiest of moods seemed to vanish into the lake breeze. Greg’s cousin, Rachel, shared some excellent wisdom: “the beach is the best babysitter.”
