Door County in Fall

I've said it before--I LOVE ME SOME FALL! I especially love visiting other towns that embrace this love too. Tucked in my files of memories I can easily recall the excitement I had visiting the New England states 4 autumns ago. Vermont and Massachusetts were amazing.

Eugene and I decided that we wanted to plan a fall weekend away, with hopes of finding a place that would showcase the fall. I did a lot of research online and spoke with friends and concluded that Door County, Wisconsin would be the perfect spot.



It is known as a photographer's haven this time of year and I now understand why. Eugene was inspired everywhere he looked. With sunshine all weekend long, we spent all of our time outside. Could you blame us? Look at this!







He has such an eye for photography. Such talent.





Here's my favorite picture. And apparently it's the most photographed spot in all of the county.



From another angle...



Door County is located on the northern tip of the Wisconsin peninsula, with Lake Michigan on one side and Green Bay on the other. All of these lakeside towns are adorable and quaint and quiet....but we chose to stay in Sister Bay because of the Fall Fest.



All five of us had so much excitement when we arrived at our new "house," a perfect little two bedroom townhouse in walking distance from the festival (which comes in real handy later on). The girls decided to unpack all of their stuff and find a home for EVERY SINGLE THING they brought. Mia couldn't believe that she was going to have a big girl bed all to herself. She was so thrilled she spent nearly 20 minutes laying her blanket out perfectly. OCD? It was so cute to watch! After their bedroom was perfect, we all went out and played.







Even Chance got in on the action!





After a relaxing night, we woke up on Saturday morning and headed to the festival. Eugene and I laughed with each other as we realized how much having a third child changes things--since we were BOTH pushing a stroller into town.

The town's festivities began with a parade, but our festivities began with a beer. Classy.



There was a huge turn-out!



And the smell of brats filled the air.





Along with pumpkin pie, hot cider and caramel apple sundaes!



Cheesin' for the camera



While Chance slept and the girls grubbed on their parade candy, Eugene and I refilled our glasses. I'm telling ya, afternoon buzzes are great, aren't they? It's the best buzz of all. Look what happens when uptight Mommy downs a couple of brewskis....





The fest was so much fun and it felt great to let loose a little bit. After we let the kids frolic at the park in the town square we walked home and all passed out for a couple hours. A perfect afternoon nap! Waking up and feeling a little guilty over our self indulgent afternoon, we decided to take the kids (in their pj's) to the local drive-in movie theatre where we all saw (for the third time) Toy Story 3.

And you know what, it doesn't get old. Nope--the more they watch it the more they love it!





On Sunday morning we decided to stop by a local favorite for some breakfast before we hit the road for home. Check it out, it's a Scandinavian restaurant--with an authentic grass covered roof.



Oh but it gets better.....cuz there's GOATS GRAZING ON IT!!!



Crazy, huh?!




As we drove home we already started the talks about doing it again next year. I like the idea of starting our own family traditions....I hope we follow through.

Until then, we'll let our pictures remind us.

All Things Pumpkin Vol. 2

Now that's a serious pumpkin addiction. We've only got about 4 pumpkins decorating our yard and that's plenty enough for me!

PUMPKINS. PUMPKINS. PUMPKINS.

DID YOU KNOW......

that pumpkin seeds dating as far back as 7000 B.C.--that's 9000 years ago-- have been found in caves in northeastern Mexico!

Wow. Now that's some lineage! Nowadays, especially here in the midwest, pumpkins are everywhere. Even the gas stations sell them. Thinking back, my memories of Autumn pumpkins are really only limited to carving them into jack-o-lanterns. I don't remember eating them or baking them or making them into crafts. Which is why I'm determined to do as many things as I possibly can with our little orange friends.

If you recall a couple posts ago, we made baby pumpkins into vases-- which was a big hit. On the agenda for today was pumpkin cookies. Yum!

Don't judge by their odd looking appearance because these cookies were really tasty.

What you need:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins or chocolate chips

What to do:

1) Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the molasses and egg, and beat well. Beat in the pumpkin mash; set aside.

2) In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices.

3) Stir in the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture until combined. Then, mix in the raisins or chocolate chips.

4) Drop the batter by teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies spring back when lightly pressed.

Makes 45 mini-pumpkin cookies.

Enjoy!

Broadway 101

On a random friday night back in February 1978, Tom and Kathy (my P's) hired a baby sitter and went out for dinner and a movie. Looking back, they're not too sure what they had to eat that night, but they'll never forget what movie they saw. I mean who could ever forget a young John Travolta, decked out in leather, dancing and singing yet still the coolest kid in school? My mom was smitten after the first ensemble number, "Summer Nights." So smitten, in fact, that Kathy insisted Tom stop by their local record store before going home that night. Tom agreed but probably only because their was some sort of antique store right next to the record shop in which he could browse around for crap he didn't need but couldn't pass up. Clearly, it was a win-win all around--even for me, a 3 year old girl who was desperate to see her parents walk through the door that night, but even more excited at the colorful record that my mom brought home for me.

To say that I loved this movie growing up is a whopping understatement. Beginning at the age of 3 I knew every word to every song and had choreographed dance routines to prove it.

Although, looking back now, I think it was less about the music and more about my mom's excitement to share it with me. As a kid, anything your mom thinks is cool--you think is cool. Now that I'm a mom, I totally get it. For example, I've got 2 little girls who will sing their hearts out to Neil Diamond's "Cherry Cherry," not because they think that Neil is a strangely handsome yet humble rock legend who transformed the face of music as we know it.

No. They love him, cuz I love him. Nuff said. Let them realize what an idiot their mother is ten years from now. But, for the moment, I totally rule.

So, about two years ago I introduced some of my favorite musicals to Bella. It started with Mary Poppins, which clearly was a hit. When Halloween rolled around it was certain to Bella what she wanted to be.

And for her 3rd birthday we took her to see the original Broadway cast of Mary Poppins, all dressed-up of course!



And even met Mary and Burt!



Our next Broadway lesson was The Sound of Music. Which, again huge hit. We sang the songs every where we went. We even visited the gazebo in Salzburg!



and went on a scavenger hunt to find Maria all throughout the town.



Next, I thought it was time my girls moved up the Broadway ladder-- so I introduced Annie. Nothing could have prepared me for her reaction. She was in LOVE with little Annie. She wanted tap shoes and red hair and a locket, which of course led to yet another Halloween costume.

And many, many "Hard Knock Life" dance routines followed. I even catch Mia singing the song "Maybe" alone in her crib, which puts a smile on my face every time. And when Bella's at school, Mia loves to wear the Annie dress all over the house.

But through these years I've always kept Grease in my back pocket. Partly because I don't think it's necessarily good subject matter for a 4 year old (although frankly it wasn't until high school that I actually put 2 and 2 together with some of those lyrics) but because where else can you go after Grease? No where. It's the ultimate in cinematic musicals.

So, now what?

Any suggestions for my next lesson? Am I missing one of the biggies?

Pumpkins and Pansies

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR.

Like, love, love, love it! The leaves, the colors, the pumpkins, the mums, the spices, the weather, believe me I could go on and on. What I especially love about this time of year is that it inspires cool projects, like this one for a pumpkin vase.

This is what you'll need:



Baby pumpkins
Pansies
Spanish Moss
and apparently an unmatched sock :)

I cut open the top of the pumpkin and gutted the inside.



Then I added the pansy in its original plastic container from the flat (which I needed to trim a little to fit inside the pumpkin, see below).



I adore the deep purple pansies and they look especially great when contrasted with the orange pumpkin. Next, I added the spanish moss as a filler. Cute, huh?



This was SO easy. The hard part? Trying to get my daughters to give up the bowl of seeds that they stirred over and over again for 30 minutes. Which, in hindsight was actually a great distractor!

In the next couple weeks we're going to be pretty busy baking, crafting and taking in every moment that we can during this incredible season! Bring on the pumpkins, caramel apples and candy corn!!!

2 months young!

My little guy Chance hit the two month mark recently and we celebrated by weighing him, measuring him and sticking him with a few needles.

Awww, I'm such a sweet mom.







I still giggle a bit when I refer to him as my son. I LOVE having a boy in the family and when he smiles at me it sends me spinning! It felt great when my daughters smiled at me at his age---but I SWEAR there's something so different this time around. Already he is the ultimate shopping companion, the perfect dinner date and the sweetest morning wake-up call. I could lay with him for hours if only my two other children would allow it. He loves interaction and just recently discovered his hands. On a random note, I accidentally found out that he has a fondness for Snoop Dogg and laughs every time I rap "D-O-Double-G."

He is so much a part of this family and fills our hearts with so much happiness. Even the girls are extremely protective of him. Mia practically pees on the legs of anyone holding him-emphatically marking her territory.

We get such a kick out of him. We notice every detail and acknowledge every teeny milestone. Chance has had such an impact on us in these past two months that I can only imagine what this next year has in store.













We love you Chance!