Sailing, Bayfield Style

Dan and I had the honor of attending our friend Mary's 70th Birthday Bash up in Bayfield, WI.  Among the FOUR fun filled days of activities around the town of Bayfield (more pictures and stories to come) we had the opportunity to go sailing.  Neither Dan or I had ever been, so we jumped at the chance to check it out.  In Mary's fathers sailboat the Mara we were "taught" the basics of sailing by one of the local sailors named Ted.  We must have been good students (haha) because he even gave us each the chance to steer the craft.  We had a beautiful afternoon and both really enjoyed our time out on the water with him.  I snapped a few shots of Dan playing captain, and I have to say he looks mighty handsome doing so!!

More Carnival Fun

Face painting fun at the Carnival!!

Good Neighbor Days Carnival

We had SO much fun at the carnival this weekend!  Mom was the designated tall person to ride with the kiddos that couldn't go by themselves, and oh my goodness ride she did!  Tilt-a-Whirl, Dizzy Dragons, Ferris Wheel, Zipper, The Giant Slide, and much much more!  Ada went on every ride that Tehya did and amazed us all even further when we were on the Tornado Twister.  Mid-way in the air tilted and spinning around she let go of the safety bar and lifted both of her arms up above her head....I think we have a fearless ride warrior on our hands!!  Tehya had a great time with her friends Leah and Mercedes and had a blast running into school friends all over the place.  We all had a great family day having fun together!

Date Night - A new Dining Experience

Fogo de Chao

Dan and I joined some friends for dinner Saturday night at a restaurant named Fogo de Chao. For those of you who have not been, we highly recommend it!

This was our first time dining here, and we have decided that without a doubt we will be going back to this meat lovers paradise! It is a little on the pricey side (about $45 a head before drinks) but well worth every penny. They explain the dining experience as follows:

Step 1: Sit down, relax, and enjoy a drink while we explain the Fogo® dining experience.
Step 2: Visit our gourmet salad and sides bar. Enjoy over 30 items including fresh cut vegetables, imported cheeses, cured meats and Brazilian side dishes.
Step 3: Turn your card green side up, signaling that you are ready for our gaucho chefs to begin tableside service.
Step 4: Choose from the 15 cuts of delectable fire roasted meats that are brought to your table, sliced, and served by our gaucho chefs.
Step 5: When you are satisfied, flip the disc to the red side until you are ready for more offerings.
Step 6: If you wish, end the meal with one of our delicious desserts.

When they say the green side signals that you are ready for the meat to come, oh boy do they mean it! Within seconds several gaucho chefs are at your side each with a different delectable choice of meat. Dan and I were in heaven watching the well orchastrated ballet of butcher knives travel around the table!

Kimmy's Wedding

My cousin Kim got married this weekend over in Menomonie, WI. Our family had a ton of fun at the wedding, and enjoyed the pool at our hotel the next morning. Here are some pictures of our adventures over the weekend....

Jake and Mona
From left to right: Great Grandpa Charlie, Tiffany, Ada, Great Grandma Dixie, Tehya, Grandma Sue

Great Grandparents Charlie and Dixie (GG & Papa to the girls)
My aunt Shari and uncle Jeff doing the polka

My mom and Grandma doing some polka-ing of their own
Mona showing Ada all the cool video games
Tehya showing off some fancy dance moves
Ada getting her groove thing going

Tehya doing some swimming at the hotel the next morning

All four of us enjoying some pool time

Mom and Ada chasing after the beach ball

Daddy being silly

A Day at the Zoo

On Friday the girls and I had a zoo day with my highschool girlfriend Jodie and her two kiddos. We had a great day and are planning on doing it again soon!

Tehya and Brayden posing with the turtle statue

Tehya's favorite monkey...the one that kept chasing around the baby monkey.

(Hum...maybe I should talk to her about her reasoning here?!?)

Tehya and Brayden poking through the tunnel on the Tropics Trail. Brayden looks pretty enamored with Tehya in this picture!

Tehya wanted a picture of the flamingo birds for her photo album. She thought it was pretty silly when she learned that they sleep standing on one leg!

This picture didn't turn out as well as I had hoped it would, but it is Ada playing in one of the Discovery Bay water pools. She had so much fun splashing around and looking at the "shisheys"!

This is one of the new Grizzly bears in the zoo's new exhibit.


We weren't sure if the bear thought Ada looked like the perfect sized snack or if he really liked her snazzy hat, but they seemed to have a bonding experience while we were visiting. Whenever Ada would move the bear would move along with her, and he even put his nose right on the glass against her hand and was trying to sniff her out! It was very cute!

Ada seemed just as interested in the bear as he was in her, so we stood and "visited" with him for quite awhile.

What a wonderful day with wonderful friends!