Wisconsin Dells!

One of the first things we heard about Wisconsin after we found out we were moving here was Wisconsin Dells.  Everyone said, "You have to go to the Dells."  After we saw why we had to go (Discover Wisconsin is a great webcast!) we knew we would.  (It takes the sting out of not going to Disneyland the next 3 years.)  Daddy had a week of vacation and the boys were going to have a 3 day weekend.  Smalz just had a birthday and mine is coming up.  We've been in Wisconsin for 7 months and we need a vacation!  And the Dells it is!  We stayed at The Wilderness and I don't think we will try anywhere else.  We loved it! 

 Arrived on Thursday in the evening so first order of business was dinner.  Thank goodness Domino's was across the street and delivered.  Then we hit the water park!  Sorry no pictures but our camera is not waterproof and I didn't have any pockets in my swimsuit anyway.  You can look it up online and see how awesome it is.  We spent about an hour and a half sliding down water slides, getting splashed by a gigantic dump bucket, shooting water cannons, and being very wet.

 Day 2 was even more fun.  We went to Buffalo Phil's for lunch on the recommendation of a friend.  We weren't quite sure what we were getting into when we saw this buffalo vehicle thing out front.  But, we were so glad we went!  

 What's better than train delivered food?  

Good times were had by all.

Except for maybe that fried ice cream.  It didn't stand a chance against the 5 of us.

Thank you Buffalo Phil.  We will see you on our next visit.

Back to the hotel for some lazer tag then more fun in the water.  The Wilderness has one of the largest indoor wave pools in the world.  We spent 3 hours playing there.  The boys LOVED it (only one scary moment when I thought Steven was drowning).  There were a couple of water slides there too.  After those 3 hours, we went to the third water park (Klondike Kavern) inside the hotel.  Water slides, lazy river, dump bucket, water basketball, and oodles of fun!  We did make time for some dinner after playing there for an hour.  Jackson actually curled up in front of the restaurant's fireplace and fell asleep.  We were all so exhausted.  On Saturday morning, we spent our final hours doing the ropes course and playing in the arcade.  I totally forgot my camera in the room.  Bummer.  Maybe next time I'll get more pictures.  We had SO much fun at The Wilderness that the boys can't wait to go back again.

Another Year Older

Presents before school are fun but a bit of a bummer too.  You get all excited and then you just have to leave.  Smalz got a few little things this year because the big thing was coming the next day.  

We barely fit birthday brownies in between YMCA classes and Cub Scouts.  He did blow candles out and we took the brownies to share with all his new buddies in the Bear den. He's so excited to be a Bear Scout.

It's a bit hard to believe this boys is 9 year old already.  He's such a great kid.  Smalz has always been very excited about life.  He wants to try anything that looks like fun could be had.  A bit of an adrenaline junkie, he loves to sled/snowboard, rock climb, do ropes course, ride his bike, play sports, and many other things.  Math is his favorite school subject and his strongest.  I call him our walking calculator.  He's friendly and outgoing and has many friends.  His little brothers think he is the best and he does such a great job trying to live up to that.  One of my favorite things about Smalz is his love for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He shares his testimony every month in fast and testimony meeting.  He loves it!  He will be an extraordinary missionary in about 9 1/2 more years.

Superman!

 It's a bird.  It's a plane.  No!  It's...

Superman!

Random End of Year

 These boys are the best!  Love them so much.  

This is what our house looked like from the outside this Christmas season - except in focus.  I was a bit lazy with the lights because it is very cold in Wisconsin and I don't stay out any longer than I have to.

Nothing really to say about this one - just had to include it.  Such a funny boy.

Sledding!

Our first time to go sledding in Wisconsin!  We found a small hill not far from our home and had to use it.  I was excited Chief actually wanted to sled with us.  Usually he just eats the snow.  He did great though!

Smalz could not wait to try out his new snowboard.  He did alright considering he'd never used one before.  Definitely needs some practice though.

Peanut went down and up so many times!  He loved having his own sled to use.  He figured out how to drag his hand to make the sled turn.

Christmas 2012

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 We had a party Christmas Eve with some friends from church.

 We had to open just one present before going to bed and luckily Daddy did make it home before the end of the party.











Christmas day was full of presents and playing.

It was a bit of a low key holiday this year but a good one none the less.  We enjoyed our time together, the boys got some things they wanted, and we all felt blessed to be a family.

Gingerbread Tradition

 I think we started making a gingerbread something or other in 2006.  The boys love it and have come a long way in their decorating ability since then.  It's always a lot of fun building and decorating.

But the eating right after is always the favorite part.  :)