1st day of the reunion. Oh, no -- RAIN!!!

The first full day of the reunion 

AND

The agenda reads:  Amusement Park in Green Bay.

The weather report reads:  Cool and scattered rain/thunderstorms.

YET

Six of the nine families decided to chance the weather and head to the Green Bay

Yep, we were one of them!!!

The amusement park was great -- it was NOT huge -- which was great for the girls. AND each ticket was only 25 cents!  So -- Cheap!!! FUN, too!

My Darling, well -- she is wimpy when it comes to rides! (and so is mommy!)

BUT 

NOT Elizabeth and BaJabs!

They were up for all the rides!

OF COURSE -- so were the boys ;)

 The Scrambler!

 The Tilt-a-whirl!

The Scat -- YUCK!!! Yes, this one goes around and around VERY fast!

Finally, My Darling when on the bumper cars with daddy and JM

AND 

Guess What???

She loved it!

She rode the horse.

She also decided to go on the ferris wheel --

They waited in line --- DRY!!!

BUT, Unfortunately, as soon as they got ON the rain decided to come!

AND

Boy, did they get wet!!!!

Well, we waited a bit and got a snack 

BUT

It rained even harder!

The run to the car ..........

Well, we got soaked!!!

A nice ride back to Grafton.

WITH

The HEAT on!!!

Is it really the end of JULY????

We all had dinner together at The Jailhouse.  This restaurant is a nice place for a good WI fish fry.

Well, if you like fish -- which I do not :)  So, I had chicken.  3 of our 7 did order fish ;)

The kids and daddy finished the day with a fun swim in the pool with most of the YueYang sisters. While mommy spent some time with at Starbucks with another mommy!

Oh, the fun these girls are having!!!

Another fun day!

The last morning at The Barn.

We have really enjoyed our time at The Barn.  This sweet little town, Kawaunee, WI, is so relaxing with a beautiful setting.

The boys got up early again to go fishing.

Unfortunately, the didn't catch anything worth keeping.  

 MD-- This is one of his favorite things to do!

JM 

The girls and I started to get everything cleaned up and get ready to leave, including doing their hair all pretty!

The boys made breakfast as I finished the final checks in each room!

 Matt starting the bacon on FIRE!!!! Yes, even though his son told him NOT to, he put WATER on a grease fire -- YIKES!
NO injuries :)

MD -- handling the inside stove -- GREAT JOB!

Final pictures .........

Looking down from the upstairs -- bedrooms on both sides.

The kitchen.

All 5 out front -- 

And we are off.

We headed into Green Bay to go to a little zoo.

The weather was so nice!

The zoo was nice and not too crowded.  The best part was the giraffes.  The kids loved feeding them.

Actually, it was pretty relaxing strolling around the zoo.

Late in the afternoon we headed to the reunion.  It is located in Grafton, WI which is about 90 minutes from where we have been staying.  

As soon as we walked in we were able to see some of the YueYang sisters.  FUN!

Thankfully, we have a beautiful suite for all 7 of us to stay in.  Which is very unusual when traveling!  

The entire group gathered to go out to dinner together.  Half of the 18 families were able to attend the reunion this year.

Walking to the restaurant.

Nice dinner and a fun time for the kids to get reacquainted.  It's amazing how well they all get along.  Most of them started off quiet BUT quickly softened up to each other.  Many of the kids have similar interests and are all doing well academically.  Oh, and of course, they are all beautiful!

 Playing games in the open area at the restaurant.

We are excited to spend the rest of the weekend with these families. 
 We are very blessed to have these families be a part of ours!

Another wonderful day in WI

A new day!

At The Barn

Yep, it was different than yesterday 

BUT

still WONDERFUL!

The boys started the day off EARLY -- FISHING!!!

The girls -- well, we took it easy,read and relaxed :)

We packed a picnic lunch, again and started off -- with just the idea of driving north BUT to head to the bay side AND stop at places along the way -- whatever tickled our fancy.

First stop:

Yes, The Flying Pig --

This place had some very unique AND beautiful art work, pottery, metal work and jewelry.  The garden areas were BEAUTIFUL with the artwork throughout the little trails and water.

  

Even the shrubs were artwork.  Yep, a flying pig!

Crazy MD caught by a Venus flytrap.

Stop #2:

LUNCH

This was a nice park next to a small lake and river with a dam.

SO --- OF COURSE,

The boys had to .............

Fish!

And the girls .................

Played with the worms!

Stop #3:

Sturgeon Bay ..... We checked out some of the shops.

2 of my children NEEDED new books!!!

We found a cool game to play and mommy got a beautiful new piece of jewelry.  

Stop #4:

How can one go to Wisconsin and NOT do some Cheese sampling?

Certainly, NOT us!!!

YUMMY!!!

Of course, we bought a few favorites:

Van Gogh Vintage Gouda; BellaVitano Sartori RASPBERRY (wonderful); Asiago Sartori Basil and Olive Oil.

AND if you are wondering -- YES, we love cheese!!!

Stop #5:

Fish Creek --

Our plan was to hike around the State Park --

Well, we started a bit later than we expected AND stopped a bit along the way.

So, we look around town, 

Yes, the kids are GREAT together.  Mom and dad went into a pottery store and they stayed outside.

drove around a bit 

AND 

had some frozen custard.

Really, to be honest we had not had custard before --

Well, it will NOT be our last time.

We LOVED it!!!!

Well, it was getting late so we decided to go back to The Barn.

Along the way we saw soooo many beautiful barns.

We LOVE these kind of silos.

This is one of our favorites -- RIGHT on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan!

Of course, we made dinner while two of the kids enjoyed MY reading spot.

Matt and I had time for another evening walk along the bluffs of Lake Michigan, kid-free.

What a GREAT ending to a WONDERFUL day!!!!

Again, we are so blessed!

Tomorrow we leave The Barn and make our way to My Darling's reunion.

We are excited to see the YueYang sisters!

A beautiful day in WI

Day #3 in WI at The Barn!

We all got up early -- ate a BIG breakfast -- AGAIN!

We packed a lunch and 

off we went.

Today we wanted to do a little hiking and just enjoy the scenery of God's creation.

Daddy picked a park to visit.  AND boy, did he do a good job.  

Cave Point Park -- is BEAUTIFUL!

PLUS

The weather was cool and windy -- which I LOVE!

We hiked -- observed -- had a picnic -- hiked a bit more!

Enjoy the beautiful pictures -- there are many ;)

 

 Our handsome boys!

 Our family!

 Walking along the rocks.  Elizabeth had some troubles with balance although with a little help she did well.

My Darling!

 The 2 goofs -- holding up the rocks!

 Mommy with her babes!

 3 precious girlies!

 TOTALLY LOVE this picture of MD!

 BaJabs enjoying the feel of the wind on top of the rocks -- she had no clue daddy was snapping pictures of her.  Her eyes are closed and she's just enjoying!

 All 5!

 And again ;)

 We needed one of mom and dad!

 Yes, kissing -- too!  There was some chanting from the girls to do this.  AND MD captured it!

Hiking back on the trails.

We went out a LONG ways along the water/rock line.  AND there was NO ONE out this far.  Which is fine by us -- but so many were missing out by staying right close to the MAIN park.  These are open FREE trails and we met NO ONE on our return.  

 Our picnic lunch.

 After lunch we went out on a different trail -- the rocks were all cliffs on this side.  YIKES -- they made mommy nervous!

 The boys -- pushing the limit to where they would go!  WAY to close to the edge for my liking!!!!

 This of course is to flip mommy out!

 I am so blessed!

We continued north for a bit.  It was such a beautiful day.  

On our return we -- got ice cream, picked up a few items for our dinner, got fishing licences and LAUGHED lots in the car.

We got home with time to spare so I can enjoy my favorite spot in The Barn, reading!

Dinner -- steak, lots of fresh veggies and watermelon.

ALL made my me -- the kids say I cook better here -- hmmmmmm........

Matt and I even got a walk in after dinner -- the moon was GORGEOUS!

Dessert --- s'mores -- yes, made on the stove top! 

YUMMY!

Thank-you LORD for a beautiful day!  AND for this priceless time enjoying our family!!!