vacation part 4 (wednesday)

We woke up today with no plans. The sky looked cloudy and overcast. We weren't sure if we should just hang out at the cabin? Hike at Copper Falls? Or head up to Ashland/Bayfield area. My parents decided (or at least my mom) that she needed to go do laundry (?) so her and my dad left to head to the Hayward laundromat. Not a way I'd want to spend a half day of my vacation... waiting for clothes to wash/dry in a laundromat... but whatever?! (we pack enough for the entire week). I'm thinking that they (she) just wanted a day away from us so that was the approach she took... it didn't make for a pleasant morning (drama sucks). Whatever.

Anyways... Katie, Scott, Greg and I decided to head up to Ashland for lunch and a little shopping. After searching online I found a brewery there that also had a restaurant inside. We thought it would be a nice place to check out. The food was awesome! I had a half a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato and peppercorn dill dressing on marble rye bread with a bowl of beer cheese soup. SO, SO good. The dressing was delish. The bread was soft. The tomatos were perfectly ripe. It was heavenly.

Katie, Greg and Scott acting goofy...

Greg still acting goofy... (and yes, his shirt does say: I put ketchup on my ketchup. My husband has to many quirky shirts like this)

Ellie on the other hand wanted nothing to do with any food... except her popcorn basket. She had a glass of chocolate milk and popcorn. Again with the quality nutritious meals she's eating on vacation!! On the way out the store she had to steer the ship!
On our way up to Ashland we come to this beautiful field of sunflowers... on the way home I made Greg pull over so I could take pics. It was BEAUTIFUL! Sunflowers everywhere!
Ok. I am just about peeing my pants I'm laughing so hard! Ellie cracks me up. She keeps dancing with her barbie and we've been on a little mermaid kick... so when we ask her what her barbie's name is she say's it, "ah uh ah"... like she is singing the song from little mermaid. Then a split second later she decides she wants to be naked.

And in...

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she was nakey! (in her words)

vacation part 3 (tuesday)

Last night after dinner we went up to the bar...

I enjoyed a nice big mt dew... my belly has not been acting very favorably... so I layed off the liquor.

I have just been feeling nauseous every day we've been here... mainly after I eat. I am not pregnant, so don't think that... I am either just having a flu bug or the start of some gall bladder/stomach problem.

Ellie was a goofball and entertained us all by copying me... haha... she enjoyed her own kiddie cocktail and peanut m&m's. Quality nutritious food... yeah, yeah, I know...

This morning we woke up to our garbage can tipped over and our garbage strewn about... we had a BEAR (!) outside last night. Scott heard it rumbling thru the garbage and got up and looked out the window and he saw it! Goodness that freaks me out!!

Today the boys got up and went golfing after breakfast. The girls decided that would be the perfect opportunity to head to Hayward for a little shopping. We first stopped at the Brick House in Cable for our beloved iced vanilla lattes. Then we stopped at Firefly... a way cool store in between Cable and Seely. Ellie was being a bugger (it really should have been nap time) so to keep her happy I told her to pick out a place mat from this really cute display. Then I thought, oh we should have 2, how much can a place mat cost?? I was thinking maybe $4.95. Hmm... $13.00 (a piece!!) later we were the proud owners of 2 kitty place mats. They are actually pretty cute... you can turn them over and it is a white board that you can color on with washable markers... we plan to give one away to a special little girl we know who's birthday is this month... Ellie favors one and keeps telling me (and everyone else here!) that the other one is for Hunter!
We stopped at my fav store in Hayward called Outdoor Ventures... they carry lots of cool clothes, backpacks, shoes, etc... we buy something every year from there... this year I bought this cool purse... I *heart* the north face brand.

We found this new place called Judy's (a store that has been there for years but we've never found because it is a block off the main drag)... she had the cutest kids clothes and my mom bought this pink fuzzy sweatshirt/sweater for Ellie. I also bought a bunch of really cool bookmarks at this place... We made one more quick stop at wallyworld for a few more groceries for tonight's dinner... again my BIL made a delish pasta meal with bread sticks and red wine (which we drank, it wasn't in the food!) :). While there I picked up these... I left all mine at home. I desperately need a good nights sleep and my husband snores!!! The papa and the Ellie were wiped out after out busy day and I just caught them doing this!
Time to watch some synchronized diving! Until tomorrow... or maybe later if something interesting happens :)

vacation part 2 (monday)

Wow, it's been a nice lazy day. Went out to play bean bags after my last post... while Ellie did this...

Then we all decided to head down to the beach. Ellie will not walk in the sand/water... so that was pretty much a bust. She sat in her stroller almost the entire time. I on the other hand enjoyed floating around and catching a little sun, read a little and enjoyed a glass of wine. The ducks down there are so used to humans that they were taking crackers out of Katie's hands!

auntie kt and ellie... she would only go in if she was held and even then she didn't really like it!

Dinner is just about ready... so I am off again... will update again soon! I'm hoping to update a couple times a day while we're here... until later.

vacation part 1

As most of you know we live in southern MN. For some reason us Minnesotan's call any sort of vacation, where we travel north, "up north". Well, we're "up north" in WI actually. We being me, Greg and Ellie, my parents and my sister and her husband. We are staying here for the week. It is our 3rd summer at the cabin. As always we are very pleased with everything so far. We have a 3 bedroom 3 bathroom cabin. With a large main kitchen/living room/dining area. Just down the drive is the beach and lake area. It is beautiful. As we go out and about I will take pics and post them for you all to see. If you are ever in the area I would totally recommend a vacation here... if you don't have a week, they also have lodge rooms that can be rented for a night (I think the cabins can be rented for as little as one night also).

Ellie and I left home yesterday morning at 6:45 a.m. (ughh, I know) and hit the road to Red Wing where we picked up daddy after work (he worked until 6 a.m. then got showered and ready for the drive at my parents house). I seriously single handedly packed everything - minus Greg's stuff - for this vacation. That literally wiped me out Saturday! I spent the entire day doing laundry and packing. Ok, enough poor pitty me... So we picked up Greg and met my sis and BIL at Perkins for a quick easy breakfast. I got sick in the Perkins bathroom (TMI, sorry) but I just haven't been feeling good since eating a caesar salad with cajun shrimp at the MOA on Friday after seeing New Kids. Anyways... after breakfast we got on the road... Greg slept for the first 45 min, as he'd been up all night. Ellie was her usual pesty self... whining because she dropped her ball, kicked her flip flops off, wants me to take her cup, and on and on... thankfully Greg woke up and was able to manage her so I could drive. We made one quick stop in Baldwin, WI for gas and treats at Kwik Trip. Shortly after leaving there Ellie and Greg both fell asleep, which was nice, and I continued the drive thru Shell Lake, up to Spooner and then onto Hayward.

We met my parents at Anglers to decide what our plan of action was. Had a few drinks and then headed up the street to do a little shopping. Ellie got a new sweatshirt and a few books. We stopped at the bakery for some donuts, a pie and some other pastry goodies for breakfast. After that we made a quick stop at the liquor store for my beloved bud light lime (yum!), 2 bottles of wine and a few other delectably delicious beverages. Then we hit hellmart for some groceries. Finally we were done and on our way to the cabin. We checked in, relaxed for the evening with deli sandwiches, chips, beer and pop and a few games of bean bags. Went to bed early and I slept awful... Ellie decided to climb into bed with us. Which she never does. Ever. Her sharp little toe nails kept kicking my legs and she kept stealing my pillow. Little terd. We were up bright and early at 6:13... thank you very much Ellie! Then by 8:30 I was back in bed after the rest of the fam woke up to watch Ellie. They took her down to the lake to feed the ducks and went for a walk. Bless them! I love sleep! Now it's 11:50 and I'm blogging when everyone else is outside playing bean bags! I gotta go!

What has come over me...

I'm still so giddy about last night I can barely even talk about it! It was awesome, awesome, AWESOME! September 2nd can't come fast enough! I need to buy that album!!! They are HOT, HOT, HOT! They've all aged well... especially my lover Joey and my second runner up lover Jon (hee, hee). They sang 4-5 songs (I can't even remember, I was to busy jumping up and down and screaming my head off). I did take pictures I'm posting them all! Some are better than others... we were kind of in 2 places last night. First off to the side of the stage... then some big bitch ass girl decided to stand in front of us... and when I accidentally bumped her she elbowed me. Hard. So we steered clear of that... (don't get me wrong, I'd be more than willing to get a black eye for Joey...) we decided then to walk the rotunda circle so we could see if from all angles... that's how I got the head on pics. I've realized it is probably a good thing that I didn't win the meet and greet passes from KDWB. I would have made a fool of myself. I don't think I would have been able to get a word out if I had the chance to meet them. I'd be totally star struck and look like a dork. I think all I'd get out is, "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" And if any of them touched me... I'd fall over... or get kicked out cause I wouldn't let go!! :) I know I'm a dork. But hey, better to be addicted to a bunch of cute guys in a band than drugs or alcohol, huh?

moles

Does this look normal to you.

It's kinda dark, splotchy and discolored in the middle. I think, as I also mentioned in an earlier post... I need to go see a dermatologist again. I had a mole removed from this same area a couple years ago that was just missed the classification of cancer. And both this one and the one I had removed are in the weirdest spot... under my left breast... which never sees the light of day!

I think I better stay out of the sun, huh.

my week so far

Oh, it's been a busy week. I can't even remember what I did on Monday. Worked obviously... then must have come home after work. Tuesday Ellie and I met Tanya, Hunter, Jess and Nora at the park for dinner. Then we went back to Tanya's house so the girls could play and Tanya could give me a haircut. Which I needed so bad (and I love it! thanks T!). Wednesday I got to skip work and attend a workshop. It kicked ass and everyone in my office should have been there... there is much needed sensitivity training to other cultures/economic status levels in our office. I'm not gonna lie, it is a HARD place to work. I want to give my 2 week notice daily. I'm pretty much looking for something new 24/7. That job offer I mentioned a couple posts ago... there was miscommunication... she doesn't need me until January! (crap!) Anywho... back to my week... after the workshop I headed home. Greg wanted to go to the county fair so we headed out there. We ate dinner at the 4-H building, went thru the children's petting barn. Ellie loved the little baby chicks... they were just darling. She like the bunnies too and when we went into the cow barn she covered her nose which just cracks me up... she says, "oh, oh, nose!" Like she thinks there is something wrong with her nose. She wouldn't even step foot in the pig barn! So that brings us to tonight. We went to my parents for dinner and to plan out food for our vacation next week. Vacation. Alleluia! Praise the Lord. One entire week away from work! So tonight my BIL made an awesome dinner... steak sandwiches with lettuce, cheese and homemade spicy chipoltle sauce, asparagus, salmon on the grill and macaroni salad. SO GOOD!

Now I'll tell ya, I'm procrastinating horribly. We leave on Sunday morning for vacation (a cabin in Northern WI that we rent every year) and I have packed nothing. Nothing! Greg is of course packed. So he told me today. He's packed. Well I'd be packed to if all I had to pack was a bag for myself. Seriously. I on the other hand have to pack for myself, Ellie, kitchen stuff, food, bathroom supplies including shower stuff, makeup, towels, toys, beach stuff, pillows, bedding, outdoor supplies, camera, cell phone chargers, lawn chairs, books, oh and probably about a million other things that I'm forgetting. I have lots of work to do. I will be spending all day Saturday doing laundry and packing up the truck. Why not tomorrow night you ask? Well tomorrow night I am going to see the New Kids on the Block at the Mall of America!!! I am SO excited I can hardly stand it. I am going to be jumping up and down and shrieking like a 15 year old when I see them. I *heart* Joey! OMG! I can't wait!

Ok, it is 11 and I am tired. I need to get to bed. Sweet dreams.

Sorry for this random rambling post!

Remember the storm we had... trees down... a mess of a yard... power lines down... hail damaged car... etc, etc. Well on Tuesday the insurance guy came out to asses the damages. We are so excited to announce that we get to paint our house(!), get an nice bran-spankin new screen door, new trim work on the side of the garage, new down spouts and a new shed for the back yard. We've got lots of work to do... if I offer you unlimited beer and sloppy joe's would you be able to come over and help?! :)

We'll post pics along the way of our progress!

We've got a busy weekend planned... I just sat down from going and going all day long. I finished a batch of applesauce muffins (num!) for a wedding shower brunch my mom is throwing tomorrow. Then Ellie and I are going to the pool (yes again can you tell we *heart* the pool!) with Tanya and Hunter and auntie Katie. Then we plan to come home and chill. Greg is going to enjoy the day all to himself tomorrow... I'm hoping he mows the lawn and starts cleaning out the basement... we'll see if I've hoped hard enough. Then he'll probably get a nap in as he works an OT shift tomorrow evening.

Sunday we are planning to go out on the river with my sis and BIL... heading to the beach. Which will be rather interesting as Ellie hates walking on sand and refuses to wear her life jacket. All I can say is it should be real F. U. N. But we are trying to prepare her for vacation... there is a beach there that I plan to spend about 90% of my time at. So as her mean mommy she has NO CHOICE! :) She's gonna learn to love it! :)

Ok, it's almost 11, I've gotta get some sleep! Until tomorrow! (am I using enough exclamation marks here or what?)