Watch your step!

The beginning of our hike down towards the waterfall
near Manitowac was an uneventful boring gravel roads.  The
kids were NOT impressed with the idea of the hike. 
Therefore, we hiked to the tune of some low-pitched
grumblings......until we headed down onto
some uneven trails through the woods!  The trails
were simply narrow, root-filled paths to walk through
the trees.  The kids had some fun jumping downed
trees, skipping over the roots.........and walking
on these very much neglected wooden paths and
bridges.  In place of the grumblings, I heard "Watch your step, Mom!",  "Be careful with the camera!", and "Mud....don't slip!"

I may be crazy, but some of the most fun we have as a family is when we find challenging hiking trails where the kids can venture out on their own to explore.  There is just something about
nature and kids......

We had a merry time....

At the Meritime Museum!

Terry took a vacation day on the first day of the kids' spring break.  We decided at the last minute to make the trip to tour the museum, a stop at the zoo in the area as well as a short hike to a water fall near Manitowac.

Trevor is standing next to a HUGE engine.  Emily poses next to the WWII gear. 
Erin is in front of a beautiful ocean scenery.

The lighthouse in the background is offshore near the museum.
Our family photo shows the submarine that we toured.
Trevor is climbing through the "doorways" within the sub!
Terry is standing next to one of the batteries that is used to run the sub.
There were two sections with 126 batteries EACH that ran
the engines on board.

The water fun within the museum was a definite attraction
to the kids.  They could build their own "ship", make a fountain as
making a course within the waterway for their ship.

All my monkeys posing with a gorilla statue at the zoo entrance!

A view of the waterfalls.

Meet Dixon

A few weeks ago we spent a little bit of time in Wisconsin Rapids so we could meet Dixon.  He is the newest addition at Gma and Gpa's farm......an adorable mule!  Erin and Eeyore (Dixon's father) spent a lot of time together.  Eeyore was even patient enough to pose with Erin for the camera!  Meanwhile, Emily spent a little time leading Flicka (a pony born earlier to Dixon's mother) around the pastures. 

Sturgeon Spawn

The sturgeon don't generally spawn until the end of April or early in May.  However, due to our unseasonably warm temps in the middle of March, they were spawning over a month earlier than usual.  After meeting on warm Sunday in March, we headed up to the Wolf River to get our first view of the sturgeon.  I obviously don't know my fish very well, but I most certainly did NOT expect them to be that HUGE!  It was a fascinating day....and we all learned a lot! 

About 3-4 days earlier, there were so many sturgeon that they could be seen actually flopping up on the shores along the river.  The day we went was a day or two after the weather had cooled a bit but we were still able to see 4-5 at a time just off the shore in the shallow waters. 

Some of the fun facts that we learned......sturgeon do not begin to spawn until they are about 20 years old.  They can live to be 100 years old and weight an average of 200 pounds! 

pUrE fUn!!!

We SHOCKED the kids this weekend with this purchase..............

We just told the kids that we needed to go into Oshkosh but there would be a surprise in store for them after our errands were done.  They just couldn't understand WHY we were going grocery shopping before their "surprise" when the milk wouldn't stay cold!!  They found out when we came out of Fleet Farm.....the looks on their faces were priceless!!   

Cupcakes, Candles and Birthdays!