What we did on our Summer Vacation

I've been so bad. But I have a very good excuse. We went to the Wisconsin Dells last week and brought a stomach bug back with us! Oh joy. So for the last week we've all been too sick to care about photos. Don't you just love travelling? It seems like eating out every day, 3 times a day, should be a nice thing in theory. But when tried, is nothing but an intestinal crap shoot (pun intended). You find yourself wondering which piece of lettuce in your salad will be the one to bring you to your knees.

Fortunately, we survived. This was the first family vacation we've taken. It was so much fun to actually have everyday together as a family without the daily bustle. Veronica had a blast.

Our first stop was Galena, IL. Here's Veronica coming down the grand stairway of the famous DeSoto House. Abraham Lincoln walked on those stairs! So did Ulysses S. Grant and several other muckety-mucks. I daresay, our little peanut is cuter than any of them. She gives good face doesn't she?

She's the sweetest thing in the world (when she isn't having a screaming fit) but who's counting?

We just love her so much. She's so much fun to be around. What a little person she is. Why is that surprising? Afterall, she is a person, but it's a trip watching her become this little entity with very strong opinions!

Several twizzlers and two movies later, we finally arrived in the Dells! Veronica loved swimming in the baby pool with her Daddy! She was doing it all by herself!

Ah, the Aloha Beach Hotel! There were bugs larger than Veronica, but hey, it's Wisconsin. I fancy myself fond of photography, even though I know nothing about it. Here are a few things I found on the grounds of our hotel I found interesting.

One of the best things about Wisconsin is the trees. I've always loved treetops. The evergreens are so huge and so tall. I have a lot of photos from several states that look just like this...

I call this one "Rhapsody in Bark"

"Parking Lot Flowers"

"Wisconsin Rocks!"

"Quack"

"Grass, Man"

untitled for lack of imagination

We took Veronica to this sad little "petting zoo" which was more like a prison for animals sentenced for bad behavior or something. It was so depressing! But she liked it.

"Psst...Larry, now's our chance. While he's not looking...grab the phone and call PETA!

Veronica was determined to hug a duck. She kept chasing after them shouting "HUG...HUG...HUG...HUG"

Here she is in a one room schoolhouse. If this photo is any indication of future behavior in school...we're in trouble.

Then of course, there was dinner every night. The Dells is like Las Vegas for kids. Everything talks, blinks, shouts, screams...it's insane. The above photos were taken at Crabby's (an all-you-can-eat crabfest.) There was a wait, but Dells restaraunts are prepared with all kinds of things for little ones to do while waiting...like scare the crap out of them with giant alligators. It took me almost the whole half hour to get her that close to it. Dinner was kind of like dining in the Pirates of the Carribean ride. They advertized a "Live Pirate Show" so I expected some swashbuckling actors or something. But, no no. This is the Dells. There were giant animatronic pirates shouting things at eachother over our heads. Annoying? Yes. Live? No. And it wasn't enough to hold Veronica's attention. All she wanted was Buzz. (Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story...favorite movie of the week) So Dad, we tried to hurt 'em but we failed. We only got through 2 platters of crab legs and a few oysters. We were planning on going for at least 3 platters, but the Bean had other ideas.

"Take me home! Those pirates are lame."

There are more photos and I'll post them soon!

Growing so fast!

Veronica is just growing up so fast all of a sudden. She has new words every day. Today's new words are "creek" and "heart". I ordered her a little duckie necklace from my catalog and it came yesterday. She loves wearing it. It's so cute. I didn't take pictures of her in it yet but I will. Here's some photos of what we've been up to. Swimming, playing...the usual! My friend Kim from grade-school came to visit the other day with her little girl. I'm going to have to dig up some photos of Kim and me when we were little. I know I have them somewhere. Stay tuned, Kim...I think I have one of us with side ponytails...

For some reason, the bucket is this summer's favorite thing! Isn't it amazing that she's small enough to fit in a bucket? She's such a little peanut!

Here is Veronica, Roma, and Elyse. And there's Kim and Elyse! Elyse is an awesome swimmer. She goes under! We tried putting Veronica and Roma under too but that didn't go over so well. There was a lot of sputtering, coughing and crying. :) We're going to get the hang of it soon though.

It's hard to believe summer is almost over. I feel like it just started! Unfortunately, Veronica and I have spent most of it sick. I hope that flu season doesn't kill us!

Hysterical Baby

Nobody can make this child laugh harder than her Daddy. Especially when Daddy is harassing the dog. For some reason that is FUNNY stuff to Veronica. What you can't see in the video is Jason bonking the dog on the head with a giant exercise ball. Check it out!

Summer Rocks!

Here we are at our friends' house. Veronica played with her friend Elizabeth. It's so nice to have friends with babies. Elizabeth just turned 1 recently. We missed her party because we were sick so we celebrated together recently! That was a lot of fun! These girls really know how to wear a bikini!

Later that evening, we went to a fest to see fireworks! That was fun! Childhood friends, bad 80's one-hit-wonder bands, elephant ears, carnies, the big boat that makes you feel like you're flying until you get a little queesy, the Hay Bayler (always with the screaming Guns-n-Roses...WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE...), the Tilt-a-Whirl. It's nice to feel like I live in a small town sometimes. It can be so crowded and stressful here. Note to self: Must actually live in a small town someday.

Look how tired she is in this picture. Big...long...day, now gimme my baba and put me to BED!

I'll have videos soon. It's late. I'm off to Bedfordshire!

Eagle Lake Fun in the Sun

This last weekend we went to Eagle Lake in Michigan to spend a few days with the Paczosas. We had so much fun! Veronica went on a wave runner, she swam in the lake, she saw fireworks...it was AWESOME! Thanks to the Paczosas for the hospitality...you're so fun to be with. It was a real blessing to have neighbors turn into family the way you have. We love you lots and lots and hope to see you again very soon. Here's some pictures!




Here she is on the pontoon...having a ball running around. She loves her hula suit too!



Eating her yummy lunch Walking on the pier with Daddy



Getting ready to ride the Wave Runner!




We're not sure if she liked the ride...this was her face the whole time! But she didn't cry...so I guess that's good.




Here we are cooling off in the lake. It was over 90 degrees! It felt great!





Even babies need some time to relax and read up on the latest fairytales. Nana Nancy has the best toys! Look at that cow bench! On the right is Veronica's playmate Sara! She's the same age and they might have had fun if they'd been in better spirits! Neither one was feeling too social with each other.




Here's Daddy and Veronica watching fireworks! She loved them and after each one she made the
sign for MORE!



And here is Veronica eating her very first powdered donut. It was such a huge hit, I took video!