Cruising to Milwaukee

A month or two ago we were in search of a fun vacation idea during the month of June when Carter and Mia's daycare lady would be on her own vacation.  We immediately thought of visiting Elsa and Claire and when we heard Elsa was performing in a dance recital during this time frame, we had to make it work.  To make it even more exciting, Grandma Baldwin was also planning to fly in from Florida!  We decided it would be really fun to take the big boat over instead of driving, this also made the trip much easier on me since Dave stayed home to work on projects.  We counted down the days and finally our trip was upon us!

The kids started out loving the big boat.  Carter was especially intrigued with the whole experience and begged to look at the engine room.  While unfortunately we could not view the "engine room" (if there is such a thing) we did get a chance to go up on the top deck and enjoy the views.

Here we are waiting for the boat to dock and let us on.

 
Getting settled and checking a few emails.

About half way there (it's only a 2.5 hour ride) Mia declared she was done with the boat.  She didn't have the patience I had hoped for, but we made it in one piece.

From the moment we set foot in the Heinrich house, we played.  I don't think we stopped playing the entire 4.5 days we were there.  The kids had a blast just spending time together and they all got along so well.  It was really a special thing to watch.  From the playroom to bubbles to the zoo to Elsa's recital to a nature center, we were non-stop on the go and having fun.

 
This was Elsa's adorable dance outfit.  I like Elsa's dance pose for the picture.

Here the kids were congratulating Elsa after the big recital.  She did a fantastic routine and was by far the cutest dancer in the whole thing.  Elsa's other cousin, Karina, also came to watch.

Lots of snuggle time with Grandma B.  I'm sure her hips were tired after the kids glued themselves to her all week.

The Milwaukee Zoo was fantastic and we had a beautiful day to enjoy it.

Here we are at Elsa's preschool which is also a nature center.  They have incredible sights and fun trails that lead down to Lake Michigan and other fun spots.  The kids had a blast running around and Elsa really enjoyed showing off where she went to school.

HOORAY for Milwaukee!  We had a blast!!

Thank you to Lee and Bob for everything, we really enjoyed our vacation!

Summer Kick-off

Memorial Day weekend was hit and miss as far as weather was concerned.  We had a few activities planned and while some were cool, others were down right hot! 

We got our first sail of the season on Grandpa's boat.  The kids loved it despite the sprinkles and thunder.  It was also a pretty cool day so sweatshirts were a requirement.  Regardless, we had a great time. 

Carter absolutely loves to help Grandpa steer and work all the gadgets on the boat.  He's our gadget boy, after all.  I think before long he'll be able to tack the jib on the leeward bow (he'll probably also learn sailing terms more accurately than I have).  He seems to love the whole experience. 

Mia also had a good time even though she got a bit buried in her life jacket. 

The next day was incredibly hot and we decided to get out the kids' bounce house and slip-n-slide.  Much like last year, neither of them did a lot of slipping or sliding, but they did enjoy running down the mat and splashing in the little pool at the end.

Mia also got into doing tricks at the end of her turn.



Here they are in the bounce house.

Here's hoping we get many more hot, fun weekends in the months to come!