Alex turned 7 yesterday.

We had a few commitments and appointments that couldn't be avoided for the day. Alex was a good sport about having to do those things on his birthday and had fun announcing to anyone that would listen that it was his birthday.

I asked if he felt different now, being 7. He said "of course." When I asked what was different he said that he for sure felt taller. And stronger. And that he was more brave now. When asked specifically what he felt more brave about he said that when we went to a water park he would go down all the really tall slides. (we've never gone to a water park or talked about planning a trip to one so I'm not sure where this came from) He also said he might be ready to watch the first Harry Potter movie and that he didn't like little kid cartoons anymore, instead he really loves Phineas and Ferb. (He has seen that show once I think)

So there you have it.

Alex really wanted to go mini golfing for his birthday. We told him that was fine with us, he could choose 2 friends to bring along. I was pleasantly surprised when he was adamant that Maya come along too.

They seemed to have a blast, it was fun to watch them try to figure out all the little "tricks" of the golf course (where do the balls go when they disappear, what's in this hole, where does this light come from). On the way out each kid gets a little "goody bag" with a water gun, pirate eye patch, temp tattoo, and a piece of candy.

We brought some brownies along and after they were done went over and sang "Happy Birthday" and had treats at the picnic tables next to the golf course.

And then we drove home. (Sunday 8/7)

Sunday we hit the road as soon as we could rally everyone and get somewhat organized and cleaned up.

It was a relatively uneventful but very long drive home. Lots of traffic, lots of construction.

The kids got antsy, we got antsy, Charlie got antsy.

Monday we spent the day unpacking, getting organized (somewhat) for the week, planning something for Alex's birthday, doing lots and lots of laundry and restocking the fridge and pantry. You know, all the really fun stuff.

Tuesday was back to "normal". Babysitter came over for the kids, Ben and I were back to work, etc.

Friday 8/5, Saturday 8/6

Friday morning Ben took the truck over to his dad's to put new brakes on. The kids and I had a slow morning and then walked over to a friend's house to visit and play for a while. Ben picked us up on the way back from New London. We ate lunch and cleaned up a bit and went back to New London to hang out with Paul and Karrie and some cousins. We had a great afternoon/evening visiting and playing and Charlie was a good sport about all the driving and visiting.

Saturday morning was another slow start morning, we ate an early lunch and went to New London to get in some disc golf before the family party later that afternoon. We brought Charlie along and he loved being able to run around the park. It started getting very, very hot though and he heated up quickly. I took him and Maya over to the playground after about 5 holes because she was bored and he was too hot. He promptly dug a Charlie size hole in the sand under one of the play structures and climbed in it!

A quick stop for ice cream and then out to grandma and grandpa's for the party. It was very hot, the kids didn't seem to care. They played badminton, ladderball and ran around. The only negative part was when Charlie found a cool, quiet place to hide and sleep in the garage and no one saw where he went. We were worried he ran away and everyone spread out to find him while he peacefully snoozed away in the garage.

Just before sundown a thunderstorm blew in with some really impressive lightening, downpours and wind. It didn't last long but dropped the temperature nicely. As the storm passed over a rainbow came out over the house, some of the storm clouds had passed that way already so there was huge bolts of lightening flashing behind the rainbow - it was amazing to watch!

Bay Beach (Aug 4th)

After dinner we went to Bay Beach. Everyone was excited about the new roller coaster. Some friends were planning on meeting us a little later.

We did the carousel first and then a few kiddie rides for Maya and then walked down to the roller coaster. Ben and Alex were going to go first, we knew Maya wasn't tall/old enough and she was ok with that but Alex was super excited. The girl who was working the front of the line determined that Alex wasn't tall enough, despite the measuring stick touching the top of his head and the fact that another boy his age who appeared to be slightly shorter than Alex was let on just ahead of them. She wouldn't budge with her decision, even when that other boy and his grandpa came over and stood right next to them to show that Alex was at least the same height if not taller than the boy who had just ridden. He was so disappointed, but handled it very well. It could have ruined the evening. Instead he focused on the Tilt-a-whirl which quickly became his favorite ride of the year.

Maya's favorite for this year was the Ferris Wheel. Ben rode it with both kids and then I rode it with both kids and quickly remembered why I never ride the Ferris Wheel as I got increasingly nauseous with each turn of the wheel.

Ben and I did sneak over to the Zippin Pippin while our friends took Alex for yet another ride on the Tilt-a-whirl. It really is a great little roller coaster and is surprisingly exciting for it's size.

The 4th trophy (Aug 4th)

One of the first things Maya said after she found out that Green Bay won the Super Bowl last year was that she wanted to go back to Lambeau field so she could see all 4 trophies. (Yes Ben was beaming)

It's become kind of a summer tradition for Ben to take the kids to the Hall of Fame. Two years ago just Ben and Alex went. Last summer Ben took both kids. This year I tagged along too.

We are very disappointed that they did away with the Kid Zone. Right now there is a Super Bowl Champion exhibit in that spot, hopefully they will bring back the Kid Zone when that is ready to come down.

Dogs and cats (wed 8/3)

Wednesday morning we went for a walk, said good bye to our lake friends and packed up the truck. We drove over to Rhinelander after lunch to visit Grandma Ruth for a while before continuing south to Green Bay.

At Grandma Ruth's house Charlie got to be introduced to the concept of cats. He seems to love pretty much all children and other animals so right away he was super excited and wanted to sniff, lick and play with them. The cats, Andy and Abbey, were not nearly as impressed. They were skeptical from start and when Charlie started trying to jump and play with them their hair stood straight up and they were done. Charlie got one big paw to the head and a lot of hissing. It didn't phase him much so we had to keep an eye on him and just keep him away from the cats!

We had an extra bonus of getting to see one of my cousins while we were there.

We had a nice visit, the kids got to feed the fish and Charlie got to run around and explore and cool off in the lake a little before getting back in the car.

Tuesday Aug 2nd

Clouds moved in during the night and we woke up to steady rain. The steady rain soon turned to a steady downpour. We all decided to go out for breakfast (Mom, Eric, Ben, myself and the kids) so we went to Ella's in Woodruff.

The kids were excited watching all the lightening through the big windows and it continued to pour. After we were done we went downtown, there are awnings over most of the store fronts and it was warm enough that it didn't matter if we got rained on a little.

After lunch Ben and I took the kids to Eagle River to check out their children's museum and to meet some friends from Green Bay there. It continued to rain heavily so of course every other tourist family within a 30 mile radius had the same plan. Despite the museum being at capacity (at a few points they had people waiting outside!) the layout of the exhibits made it really tolerable. It didn't seem that chaotic or crowded and the kids were able to get to things and have turns trying everything out. They've done a nice job with their variety of exhibits and using their space wisely. We stayed until closing time.

We had plans for the evening to have the neighbors over for dinner and a game/movie night. It's become kind of a tradition for all the kids - regardless of age - to watch the Backyardigans Super Spy and do all the dances.

The grown ups play card games, word games and act just as silly as the kids.

Monday Aug 1st

My cousin Eric had joined us at the cabin the night before. In the morning Ben, Eric and I went for a run and then everyone went swimming for a bit. This day is a blur, I think there was lunch and maybe some rest time and it was cooler - not hot swimming weather like the previous days. There was some dog walking and maybe some scooter or bike riding in there.

Mom and Eric went into town and we went down to see what the neighbors were up to. Despite it being supper time we decided it was perfectly logical to go out for ice cream! There is a cheese/ice cream/gift/liquor shop just a few minutes down the road (that also has a paperback book exchange by the way) that we frequent in the summer. There we found great ice cream (including a good non-dairy option for me) and entertainment and an Aaron Rodgers cheese. We just had to buy the cheese.

We managed to make it home for a quick dinner and picked up Eric to go over to Lake Tomahawk for snowshoe baseball. The games are free, entertaining (especially for kids) and draw pretty big crowds. Alex and Maya had gone with Grandma and Papa while I was back in TC the week before but this was our first time going. When we got there Maya asked me if I would buy her a drink...."the clear stuff Mom, it looks like water but it's not water and it doesn't taste like water and there are little bubbles in it". Ah - ha! Apparently someone bought her soda the last time!

I'm noticing as I sort through all these pictures that my kids have supported a number of small town organizations/fundraisers through their consumption of small white bags of popcorn this year!