Both my mother's parents were born & raised in Wisconsin & retired there after living a very adventurous life, mostly in the Middle East. They retired when I was too little to remember, so trips to visit them have always been to Wisconsin. I love this area of the country. Having lived my early elementary school years in North Dakota, I smile at a lot of things other people probably aren't used to. Like all the hockey mom stickers & the rhubarb everything & Scandinavian horses everywhere. I thought a lot of things would be different since I hadn't been to Wisconsin since my Grandmother's death 4 years ago, but really, it's even better b/c I had Danny & Michelle to share it with for the 1st time.
Danny & Michelle were fantastic in the airport & on the plane. Even security was a breeze. As soon as those TSA agents saw me walk up 3 of them waited on me hand & foot. I've never had a better time at DIA.My mother picked us up in her car at the Minn/St. Paul airport. She had been in WI for over a week already b/c she attended a family wedding on her father's side. We joined her to visit her Aunt Hope (my great aunt & the children's great great aunt). We had a blast! Didn't eat a single vegetable while we were there & even had ice cream popsicles for lunch the day we began driving the 18 hours back home. I don't remember Aunt Hope being like that when I was little. Maybe the veggies were my Grandma's idea?
My Aunt Hope's house is amazing. She lives on 10 acres about a 15 minute drive from Lake Superior. I decided Danny would make a great country boy. He almost died & went to heaven when my mom's cousin, Lee, took him for a ride on the lawn mower. I loved being that close to a beach & the children & the dog got along great & helped wear each other out every night before bed. I don't think bedtime has ever been easier. It also helped there was no housework for me to do after they went to bed! We enjoyed hiking with my mom's cousin, Clifton on the land near the house & got to visit the windmill Hope's husband helped to turn into a county historical landmark. The Richard Bong museum was great too. I hadn't been there since it moved to it's new location & it is fabulous! He was a WWII flying ace & my aunt was friends with 2 of his little sisters & volunteers at the museum regularly. Of course the most important part was seeing family again. Hope had 2 sons & we got to see them & almost their entire families. I was really bad at taking pictures when we were all together on the 4th. Sorry!
The biggest news of all from the trip? Michelle turned into a toddler while we were there! She's not a baby anymore! Funny how she learned to walk like a pro when her big sister wasn't around to pick her up when she didn't want to be carried. Hmmmm..... Oh, & now that I'm a mom, I get treated like an adult. If there was a decision to be made, Aunt Hope would say, Sarah's the mom & whatever I said went (except for the ice cream for lunch thing). lol. It was awesome. I love being from a small family & getting so spoiled when I go out for a visit. I'll try my best to make sure it doesn't take 4 years to get back the next time. (In my defense, I had a trip planned in October of 2009 but the whole swine flu + being pregnant thing made me bow out.)
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