Date Day: Hiking High Cliff State Park

To celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary, we went the super untraditional route... We incorporated exercise & the beautiful outdoors with a trip to hike High Cliff State Park & called it a date.

High Cliff State Park is located in Sherwood, WI, which is about an hour & ten minute drive south for us.  The park is beautiful & was just starting to show signs of fall while we were there.  It overlooks Lake Winnebago & sits on limestone cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment -- which is how the park got it's name.  I highly recommend this park to hike for any skill level, but there's much more to do there than just hike -- you can camp, picnic, hunt, fish, or even have your wedding there.

A few (ok, a lot) photos from our hike:

View from the lookout tower

Zac found a leaf the size of his face!

Wisconsin does fall so good...

P.S. I went with the Belkin slim fit armband & love it!

We had a lovely day & I can't wait to go back to do it again sometime soon!

Corn Maze

You know that disappointing feeling you get when you spend a lot of time carefully curating the most perfect Christmas present for a child, only to find that when they open it – they like the box more than the actual contents inside the box?

Yeah. That was our corn maze experience a few weeks ago.

I had planned the most perfect fall Saturday.  I called my sister & said I needed to kidnap her kids -- that Zac & I were taking them to a corn maze (because it’s on my fall bucket list, after all).  We will get lunch, we eat will ice cream, we will have a super fun time navigating through the maze… and it will be perfect.

She didn’t tell her kids all week what we had planned on doing, she just told them Auntie KK & Uncle Zac were taking them on an “adventure”.

For the record, they are 5 and 2½ years old -- they don’t really know what an adventure is, but they were excited for it.  And I was too.

They arrived at our house mid-morning; car seats were fastened in my car, water bottles were filled, and walking shoes were on.  We loaded up the kids & hit the road.

“I hope we’re going to Bay Beach.” says Elena.  “Actually, I hope we’re going to feed the ducks.”

“We’re going to do something totally new – something you’ve never done before!” I said.

“Where is it?  Is it going to take long to get there?  Are there bathrooms there?” Elena asked.

“It’s in Door County & will take about 45 minutes” I explained... “And yes, there are bathrooms there...”  <-- this kid worries about the most random things.

…10 minutes later…

“Are we there yet?”

  

We arrived at Schopf’s Hill Top Dairy, which looks straight out of a child’s story book.  Pumpkins lined the adorable barn themed store-front, Adirondack chairs were scattered about the play area, so that parents can watch as children climb around the play sets, & there was even an area to feed some farm animals.

We didn't waste any time purchasing our tickets for the corn maze & began our "adventure" right away.

Roughly ten minutes in, Kane got sick of walking.

When we got done with the brown maze, I asked if the kids wanted to do the red maze next, and they all but started crying,  "Nooooo!!  Don't make us do another one!  I'm hot. I'm hungry. I wanna play!"

So we listened to the kids & found the exit.  Elena was never more happy...

They had more fun playing on the tractors & play sets than navigating through the maze.  Guess they are still a bit young to enjoy it.  I had a blast, though :)

It was after 12:30 and we were all hungry, so we ordered a pizza & some rootbeer & had a picnic outside.

 After lunch, we fed a few farm animals...

Kane would spend the rest of his life on a tractor, if you'd let him.

At the end of the afternoon, we decided that we couldn't leave without a sweet treat first....

And then we got to watch them milk the cows, which was neat.

So lesson learned... playground > corn maze.   Now we know :)

I'm still so glad that we kidnapped them for the day.  Life gets so busy, and I don't see them near as often as I wish I did.  I love spending time with them; they make my heart so full!

Recap: Fourth of July Weekend

The Fourth of July -- besides being a wonderful holiday where we celebrate America's Independence, it's the perfect mid-summer break to enjoy with family & friends.  For most, it means no schedules to adhere to, no work to attend, & the perfect excuse to eat & drink until your heart is content.

Our Fourth of July weekend was exactly that.

Thursday we went "up north" as we say, to Crivitz area, & enjoyed a couple lazy days with Zac's family at their cabin.  This meant big, homemade breakfasts (think: blueberry pancakes! french toast! bacon! sausage!) & suppers (think: side pork! beef roast! brats! porketta roast!), trips to the lake nearby to float & fish, volleyball games, & campfires.

*I apologize in advance for the quality of the below photos; they were all taken with my cell phone.

Friday mid-morning, we hiked Thunder Mountain for the first time...  my husband had the idea & we had no idea what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised.  There are grass cut trails & it's a really easy hike through the fields & forest that offers beautiful views.

*shout-out to TrueNorthCollection -- their handbands are amazing!

It would be a great place to picnic as well -- there are 3 look out points with scenic views & picnic tables to enjoy a packed lunch (watch out for ticks though)!

Saturday we came back home & attended a "tiki hut" party by Zac's Aunt & Uncle.  Their property is basically like a resort.  They have a big, beautiful home on a hill & down below they built a tiki hut that sits at the foot of their sand volleyball court, which hugs their pond.   Basically, why would you ever leave?  We lounged pond-side & ate Belgian Trippe until our bellies were content, and then headed to Green Bay to watch the downtown fireworks.

Sunday was a lazy day -- we slept in, went to breakfast, did some housework, then kayaked the afternoon away at Krohns Lake & even caught a few fish!

It was lovely weekend indeed, and now we're back to reality.
Friday... where are you??!