St. Germain, Wisconsin

Sometimes things come together at the last minute - and this family vacation was one of those things. Originally, just my sister and her family were going - but like I said, at the last minute things changed and everything worked out and we ALL went to St. Germain, Wisconsin. I have been going there almost every single year since I was born. It was cool the first time Evan came with us to show him everything I did growing up...it was really cool to go back with my daughter. It will be so much fun in the years to come to show her, and have her understand that is where Mommy went on vacation all the time! We had a blast - this is all of us: Let's see if I can tell you who everyone is: 3 adults in back from left to right - my Mom, my Dad, My Aunt. Next row 3 kids from left to right - Katie, Andrew, Mary (hiding a bit) These are my nieces and nephew. Then from left to right it is mySister, my brother-in-law, me, Evan holding Liliana.

It was a great vacation - to me, we had a good mix of resting and doing things. We start off by meeting for breakfast at the Machine Shed and we always take pictures by the big John Deere Tractor.

From there, we are off. Liliana did great in the car. It is about a six hour car ride, although I think going up it was about seven because there was an accident along the way that slowed things down. Mostly Liliana just slept. Nana had bought her a travel bear at the Machine Shed and she enjoyed cuddling with it.

I took this picture from the front seat, looking at Liliana in the mirror.

And I believe this was when we stopped in St. Germain - so cute.
Far Reach

It was on Daddy's watch that he learned just how far our little one can reach. The first picture shows where Daddy left Liliana while he was fixing her food. And the next two show what happened and what Daddy found when he turned around.

Bare Bottoms

My little munchkin is getting pretty quick for me. It seems she does not like to stay still for a diaper change and got away from me a few times. The picture where she is sitting down was so funny because just as I was going to take the picture, she "covered" herself up!

Beach Bum -or- Chubs at the Beach!

We went to the beach. The first time I took Liliana in there, Evan rode over on the boat. He had to go back for a few things and I told him to bring the camera back. So Liliana and I waited in the the lake for him to get back. While he was gone, a fish kept attacking my ankle. I was just standing there. I could not believe it, I have never had that happen to me. When Evan got back, I asked him to take some pictures so I could promptly get out of the lake and he forgot to bring the camera. Leave it to a guy. I stayed in the lake all that time with that crazy fish for nothing. So a few days later we went back...it was a little warmer out and Liliana has so much fun splashing around in the water and...we got some pictures!

Boating & Fishing

We rented a motor to go on the boat and it was a lot of fun. The first picture shows me taking the boat out and the faster I went, the higher the front end of the boat went. I thought that if a good gust of wind came, I would flip right over. I did catch one fish. Yes, only one. Granted, I did not fish a lot...but I think everyone who fished, caught a fish. So that was cool.

Act of Love

There are no pictures to prove this - but it is true. I went horseback riding on Thursday, against my better judgment. I told my Aunt and Evan that I did not want to go. I told them I did not want to be sore, and I did not want to be sore for the ride home the next day. Evan would not go if I did not go and I knew he really wanted to go. So, horseback riding we went. It was about an hour ride. By the time we were entering the stables, Evan asked me how I was. I just turned around and said, "this was an act of love dear."

My ankles turned in, my knees turned out. Not a good combo. Every time the horse went into a small trot - I just got shot up and I slammed back down. It was if my ribs were being mushed together with each slam of my ass on the saddle. I was so sore Friday and into Saturday. Today I am getting better. I could barely move though. It was just plain brutal.

Other Things We Did

We went to see a water ski show. This is Liliana watching me instead of the skiers.

Liliana got a hold of Uncle John's chocolate long john:

Liliana was worn out the whole time! She slept great. All of that fresh air must have really done her in. The one time I went to check on her, this is how I found her. It is so cute when they cuddle with their stuffed animals!

Liliana got fudge from Nana...

Onion tasting:

Believe it or not, this face was made after tasting peanut butter:

Souvenirs
This is a shirt I got for Evan - well, I picked out the decal and on the back had his last name put on there. Pretty cool if you ask me.
This was a T-shirt & hat bundle. The crazy thing is that my sister did not buy it until she came home to see what I got. Then went back and got the same thing. Copy cat.
I got this blanket. You know, my sister and I never had the same taste in anything. As I was picking out the decal I was going to turn around and ask her opinion fulling expecting to see a look of disgust...but it is the same decal she would have picked out. In the end we both walked out with the same blanket, the same decal and the decal put in the same place. Again, copy cat.
This is a cool little journal book I found - it is for when your kids say something really cute that you want to remember - you can keep it all in one place!


Family & Other Pictures











Wildlife

We stopped at Wendy's on our way up, and right by the place where you order in the drive thru there was a family of chipmunks. They were so cute. (We also saw a fox up close and personal as we were driving one night after dinner...but it was the one time I did not have a camera with me. Darn)

Then one night Evan and I went out on the boat and an Eagle was soaring above us. The Eagle is my favorite animal. It is amazing to watch soar around without effort. My favorite Bible verse also has to do with Eagles - Isaiah 40:28-31. I had wished I had brought my camera, so we decided to race back in and get it. We then chased it down...let me tell you - it is VERY hard to take a picture of a flying bird, from a moving boat, with waves crashing into the boat and trying to find the bird in the camera view finder. So some of them are blurry...the last one is good. There is one picture where you can see that it is swooping down to get something off the lake. We ended up on someone's pier and I jumped out without the boat even being docked and I got a picture of the Eagle right before it flew away.
So now we are back to reality. It is always nice to be home, sleep on your own bed - Evan and I slept on this pull out bed. It was if they just put a sheet down on top of the bars of the pull out. We ended up buying an air mattress! So yes, it was nice to sleep in our own bed. I have been dead to the world when I fall asleep since we got home. It is nice to get away for a while too. To forget about everything that awaits you at home, and just relax. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have gone on vacation with my family this year. I am also thankful for the home and friends we have here.