Anniversary Weekend in Wisconsin Dells

On October 9th, we celebrated 6 years of marriage by spending a long weekend away at Christmas Mountain Village in Wisconsin Dells.

The resort was wonderful; our Villa had a full kitchen, a massive king-sized bed in the master suite & two fireplaces in the unit to keep us nice & toasty.  The resort is about a 3 hour scenic drive through Wisconsin from Green Bay -- though we were surprised to see how little the leaves had changed the further south we drove.

For our weekend away, we had no other plans except sleeping in, breakfast in bed, and getting outside as much as possible.  We stayed off social media, we ate lots of good food, and enjoyed a long relaxing weekend.  Although a bit cold, it was pretty perfect. Below are a few (ok, a lot) of snapshots from our trip!

Our first stop was Mirror Lake State Park; we had planned to rent kayaks & fish, but it was really cold, so we decided to walk the hiking trails instead.

 

The leaves were just starting to change.

We stayed at Mirror Lake until sunset & then had supper at Sprecher's Restaurant & Pub.  Zac ordered a specialty beer & jambalaya, and I tried their caffeine-free cherry cola with a pulled pork sandwich.  I now know that I am not a fan of their tap sodas (super syrupy) or their pulled pork sammy.  Live & learn, I guess!  The atmosphere was still fun & Zac's meal was good.

The following morning we  Zac made breakfast at our Villa and we dinned in bed while watching Jim Shockey kill a Bighorn Sheep on the Outdoor Channel (Hello, cable TV! Another thing we love about vacation...) Breakfast in bed while watching a hunting show?  I know, it doesn't get much more romantic than that folks!

After breakfast we went to the Deer Farm & got to feed many different varieties of deer right from the palm of our hand!  Not gonna lie, it kind of freaked me out at first... being in a pen with all those hungry deer.  But then Zac forced me to feed them, and I lived to tell about it.

And... there were adorable pigs at the farm!

That afternoon, we returned to the resort & did some fishing.  It was cool outside, but the sun was warm & it was sooo relaxing.

After that, Zac took me on my first Duck ride, which was very neat.  It floors me how those vehicles can be on land one second, and in the water the next. Crazy!

We ended our evening with dinner at Ishnala's Supper Club -- a must visit spot, especially if you're in the mood for prime rib & good old fashioneds.  However, GET THERE EARLY.  Like right when they open, early. The place is a gem and the wait is insane, but it's such a great place.

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The following morning was breakfast in bed again, followed by some Outdoor Channel & HGTV binge watching while we waited for the temps to warm up.  Then it was off to hike in Devil's Lake State Park.

We hiked the East Bluff trail to Devil's Door and it was worth the uphill climb.  I under-estimated how out of shape me & my (at the time) 19 week old baby bump were, so we look lots of breaks on the way up.  I started the day all bundled up, but by the end of the hike, I had peeled all my layers off as the wind had died and there was not a cloud in the sky.

A lovely anniversary weekend, indeed.

P.S. Happy Halloween!  May your day be filled with all treats and no tricks!

We're having a baby!!!

If you haven't already heard...

Zac & I have been incredibly blessed this summer; turns out that we can grow more than just pretty flowers & a hardy vegetable garden… we’ve also been growing a baby!!!

Our hearts are filled with joy that we get to share this wonderful news; we've prayed, wished, hoped & dreamed for this moment, and we are beyond thankful for this new adventure.

P.S.  Grace is super excited to be a "big sis" ;)

Baby E is expected to arrive early March 2017!

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Happy Sunday.

Are you heating your leftovers up incorrectly?  (I was...)

Taylor's story about justice at the grocery store... haha, we've all been there girl!

Love the idea of zero-waste fall decorations.

I adore this skirt & how Rita styled it 4 different ways. It's the perfect shade for fall!

Speaking of fall, this free printable needs to find it's way on my wall.

Apple Picking | 2016

One of the most quintessential fall activities: Apple Picking. Right behind engaging in pumpkin spice flavored everything, purchasing mums for the front porch, & searching for the perfect pumpkin in the patch.

Nonetheless, apple picking is one of my favorite fall activities.  Something about dressing up for the cooler weather, hopping on a horse drawn wagon, & getting dropped off in the middle of the apple orchard, just soothes my soul.  And doing it with kiddos, even better.

We took Elena & Kane to the apple orchard, and they had a ball.  They each picked a bag full of apples – we thought we were picking honey crisp, but turns out we got cortland’s, which are good, too.

The kids rummaged the rows for “the good apples” without any “yuckies”, and quickly filled their bags.

Kane ate 2 ½ apples during our time at the orchard, and Elena constructed a bouquet of wild flowers.

Once we got back to our house, Kane napped while Elena & I made apple crisp.  She is SUCH a helper right now and wants to do all the things.  She washed all the apples while I cut & peeled them.  I did all the measuring of the ingredients, but she did all the stirring.  Together we popped the crisp in the oven, and waited as the aroma of apple & cinnamon filled the house.  It was the perfect ending to the perfect fall day!

P.S.  Let all the fall baking begin!