Vacation
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Our little family of five has not done much when it comes to family vacations. Our trips are usually to visit various places throughout the state of Wisconsin. Our most recent vacation was to Rhinelander Wisconsin to attend the Oneida County Fair and other little attractions the northwoods has to offer. If I were to plan the ultimate family vacation, it would consist of a vacation of firsts. It would start with us boarding a plane for the first time (with the exception of my husband who has been fortunate enough to travel to various places). That plane would take us from the chilly Winter of Wisconsin to sunny Florida which would be the first time my kids would travel outside of Wisconsin. I would love to take my family to Disney World since not only have I always dreamed of actually meeting Mickey Mouse, but my kids have wanted to go since they first learned of its existence. I would love to spend a day at Disney, Universal Studios, Discovery Cove, Sea World, Epcot and so, so much more. After we are done visiting all of those amazing attractions, I would rent a car and drive it until we ended up at the beach and we would all get out of the car and run into the Ocean for the first time (again, with the exception of my husband). I want my kids to experience the natural beauty of the water and it’s many residents. Did I mention I would also love to have them swim with the dolphins? Because I totally do!!!
It a nutshell, if I could plan the ultimate family vacation for my family, we would have a blast doing all of this and spending time together!
Don’t forget to enter the “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, for a chance to win your own ultimate family vacation. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.
I sit here now when I should be sleeping.
Tomorrow kicks of a new school year for Zman and the Drama Queen meaning I have to get up super early to see them off.
Part of me is glad that school is back in session yet part of me will miss the Summer.
This Summer was by far one of the best we’ve ever had.
We took advantage of it and spent a lot of time together as a family.
From what Zman and Drama Queen have said, they had an absolute blast.
I’m so happy we were able to do so many different things.
We survived another Summer filled with Soccer and Baseball.
They experienced new modes of transportation.
They experienced the sights that Door County has to offer for the first time with their favorite part being this moment
We took an afternoon trip to Oshkosh for some fun shopping at the outlet mall followed by an awesome lunch at an Irish Pub.
(Sadly, no pictures from that day — bad mommy!)
Zman ran a 5K.
There was our vacation to Rhinelander to visit family and check out some sites that Northern Wisconsin has to offer.
Someone played in the mud
Zman and Drama Queen made their First Communion
Zman made a new friend.
There are so many more things that happened throughout the Summer.
This just highlights our favorite parts.
It’s been a great Summer and I’m sad to see it go, but little do they know……..
Fall is going to be a blast too!
This mom still has a few tricks up her sleeve!
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As you already know from my previous post, I opted out of going to BlogHer10 this year and traded in my trip to NYC for a trip with the family.
After the Hardworking Hubby and I enjoyed our 2 kid free days we left our house on Saturday, August 7th and headed to my in-laws house to scoop up our three children. We arrived at their house at 8:30 that morning to indulge in an amazing stuffed French toast and bacon breakfast prepared by my father-in-law.
By 9:30am the kids were dressed and loaded in the family minivan ready to hit the road.
At 10:46am we made our first stop for potty breaks, handed out snacks and drinks and got back on the highway.
We arrived at my cousin Angie’s house less then an hour later.
We had made it.
Rhinelander, Wisconsin.
Hodag Country.
It was like being home.
We visited with my cousin and her family for bit then took care of a few thing around town before we made our way to the Oneida County Fair for some fun of overpriced rides, games and food.
First stop on our list was to stop at the cemetery to see my Grandma who had passed away 2 years ago.
It was an emotional stop for the kids and I did choke up a smidge but brushed it away.
Next stop, WalMart.
The kids needed goggles for swimming in the hotel pool.
From there, it was back to my cousin’s house to park and head over to the fair.
The fair was fun.
HOT.
But fun.
The kids had a blast.
Here’s some pics:
Log Rolling Show
Tatertot and the Flying Dragon
I wish I had some pictures of Zman and the Drama Queen on some rides as well but once they got their wristbands for the rides we barely saw them unless they were asking for money or food.
After we were done hanging out at the fair, we made our way to the hotel and got checked-in, van unloaded and everyone situated.
From there, the kids made their way to the pool to get some swimming in before dinner.
We met my cousin and her family at The Friendship House for dinner then made our way back to the hotel to get in some more swimming before we headed to bed for the night.
Bed.
I was SOOOO tired.
I had barely slept the night before and I had been doing all the driving since we left Green Bay.
The Hardworking Hubby had no problem falling asleep.
From there, it was me and all three kids.
One by one they started going to sleep.
First it was the Drama Queen.
Then I was finally able to get Tatertot to fall asleep next to daddy.
As I waited for Zman to fall asleep, I figured that now was a better time than any to check-in with the fun going on for BlogHer@Home
There I sat, in the corner of our dark hotel room, netbook on my lap, ear buds plugged in hanging out with some amazing women and engaging in some great conversation.
It was during this time that Zman fall asleep and I came to the realization that I had nowhere to sleep.
At one point, I considered sleeping in the bathtub.
By midnight, the party within my computer was winding down and a storm was brewing outside the hotel.
I figured it was time to find a place to sleep.
I managed to squeeze into bed with the Hardworking Hubby and Tatertot.
I had less than a foot of the bed to work with and I’m pretty sure the wall is what kept me in place the entire night.
More to come tomorrow!
While everyone else is posting their BlogHer 10 recaps, I will now be sharing our trip to Northern Wisconsin.
(Yes, I had a ticket and was supposed to go to BlogHer but didn’t have it in me to leave the kids behind so, 2011, it’s BlogHer or BUST!)
So, instead of BlogHer 10 in NYC, we did GetawayHer 2010 (lame name, I know!) and enjoyed taking in some sites around the beautiful state of Wisconsin.
Our vacation really began on Thursday the 5th when the Hardworking Hubby and I dropped off the kids for 2 nights with his parents so we could spend some time alone together. You see, since Tatertot entered the picture in March 2008, he has never spent a night away from us. He’s spent the night away from home before, in a hotel room, with us but never anywhere without us, so I think you can understand how big of a deal this was for us.
After leaving the kids, we went out for lunch at a local diner and enjoyed each others company and the silence.
OH!
MAH!
GAWD!
It was sooooooooo quiet!!!
We ate.
We paid the bill.
We left.
Not once did we have to pick up crayons or clean up after a kid.
Following lunch and a quick stop home, the Hardworking Hubby and I checked into a local hotel, on the other side of town.
I know, lame right.
Stay at a hotel 15 minutes from home.
Why did we do this?
1. We both wanted to get out of the house for a night, without any kids, homework or housework.
2. We wanted to be close to home in case the little dude freaked out on Grandma & Grandpa while we were gone.
3. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy relaxing in a king size bed or a huge whirlpool tub with a 42″ tv across from it?
We checked into the hotel at precisely 3:00 and fell in love when we walked through the door.
It was just what we needed.
And did I mention it was quiet?
And we got to sleep.
Uninterrupted.
Not once did a kid come poke at me to ask me for something.
It was tranquil.
Now, we didn’t stay cooped up in the room all day and night.
We ventured out for some burgers at Culver’s and back later for some ice cream.
We were too lazy to go anywhere else.
We just wanted to relax.
And that we did.
We were both out cold by 10:30pm and back up at 6:15am and in the breakfast room eating by 6:20am.
It was nice.
After we ate breakfast, we did what any other parents of 3 would do when staying in a nice hotel without their children,
WE SLEPT SOME MORE!
3 more hours that is!
After we checked out at Noon, we ventured home.
We both had homework to finish before departing the following morning with the kids plus I had to finish packing and get the van all loaded up.
We did however, venture out to dinner at Tom, Dick and Harry’s.
I even wore a dress.
Dinner, was AMAZING!
It was only our second time at TDH.
The food was even better than I remembered from our first visit.
We started with the TDH Combo Platter.
Everything on it was unbelievable.
My favorite besides the deep fried pickles was the Bruschetta Margharite and pretzel bites with bacon and beer cheese dip.
The platter had increased in size since our last visit and we were quite pleased.
Every bite was delectable.
From there we ordered our meal.
I had the Packerland Pretzel and Beer Cheese Burger (which I had also enjoyed during our last visit-picture below)
(picture taken during last visit)
and the Hardworking Hubby ordered the TDH Brunch Burger.
He said it was the best burger ever!
Needless to say, we both had a FABULOUS meal, Thank you Tom, Dick and Harry’s!
After our excellent meal, we returned home and then went our separate ways as I had decided I needed to drive out to Seymour to take these pictures:
From there it was home to pack and load the van before squeezing in a few hours of sleep.
More to come!
