Blessed Feast Day

For last week's All Saints party, this year we had Blessed Kateri Tekatwitha, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Juan Diego, and St. John the Evangelist. Plus a teenage dude who thinks he's now too cool to dress up as a saint (not pictured).

And in honor of the Holy Day, a haiku...

My eyes can't see you
But I know that you love me
Feast of All the Saints!

All Hallow's Eve

Tricking, treating, and lots of Halloween partying...

Feeding the Birds

The lady at the nature center had an awesome idea; feeding the birds by hand.

It worked! So cool!

And not only that, I can't believe how long they stood there, so still and quiet.

That woman is a genius I tell you!

In fact, for some of us, this was one of the best parts of the whole vacation. Sweet!

No, this is NOT our campfire!

It's a Door County Fish Boil! Fish Boils over a huge fire with Great Lakes whitefish are a Door County tradition, and a family tradition for us each fall as well.
The best part is the enormous fire. The second best part is the pools of butter over all the fish and potatoes on our plates. Third best...Door County cherry pie. Yum.

Oh yeah, and Mom's favorite part...having a glass of white wine on the terrace before dinner while we watch the fire and hear the fish boil story. The perfect thing on a crisp fall evening! My kind of camping! :)

Lovin' the Lighthouse

Best lighthouse in Door County; can't believe it took us six years to get here! It's great because you can climb up to the top outside railing, which is very high. The lighthouse is actually still functional, with the original 150-yr-old light.

If you look closely you can see WWD and MPD way down below on the rock beach. :)

Happy Campers

Best camping trip ever! Oh wait...didn't I say that last time? Well, this time it was as much fun as last time but without the heat, the bugs, and the tornado. Which made it pretty much perfect, I'd say!

Happy 4th of July!

Top 20 Things I Learned on My Summer Vacation

1. Watch out for tornados (no kidding)!

2. Hiking in wet Tevas will give you a blister.

3. Getting a large group campsite is the way to go for our 3 tents and dining fly.

4. There actually are plenty of bugs already by the first week of June.

5. Daytime temps can get into the high 90s in Wisconsin in June.

6. Adding a wee bit of adventure helps even middle-schoolers love camping with the family. :)

7. Wisconsin is SO beautiful!

8. I love my sweeties!

9. After camping together for a week, there was a noticeable reduction in sibling fighting for the rest of June (no kidding!).

10. Fishing is harder than it looks.

11. Ugly orange life jackets are sometimes super cute.

12. Fishing poles work well as lightsabers.

13. WWD is a great Grillmaster!

14. The beach is bliss on a 90-degree day.

15. "Almost-level" ground for your tent site isn't.

16. One large jug of electric blue lemonade for Mom and Dad is not enough for 4 days.

17. Check the weather report one last time right before you leave.

18. Pudgie-pie irons are worth the investment. We love the double ones and recommend splurging on high quality. :)

19. Swarms of bug bites can scar your arms for the rest of the summer.

20. In spite of blistering heat, bugs feasting on us, a tornado passing through, and a damp, steamy tent, this family camping trip was really, really fun.

What a great start to a picture-perfect summer! I love my happy campers!!