Happy and Sad

Sometimes I wonder how someone can be so happy and yet sad at the same time.  Well, that is how I'm feeling as the summer has come to an end and the school year has begun.  Happy that our family had such a wonderful summer.  Sad that we ran out of time to fit in adventures that we wanted to do.  Happy that Jayden loves school and is so excited to be a 2nd grader.  Sad that he has grown up so much over the summer and that he is a 2nd grader.  There are a few other things that make me feel this way, but that doesn't matter.  What matters most is our family had so much fun this summer make so many memories, the sadness fades.  We are looking forward to a very fun school year that I'm sure we will have lots to share.  Happiness is all around us, so lets have fun, enjoy what life brings and erase any sadness! 

EAA 2013.

Jayden found this random golf cart an

had to take a picture in it.

Tora Tora Tora

Jet Truck.

It think this was the favorite for the guys.

Mini golfing!  Jayden made a hole in 1!

Jayden finally lost a tooth...actually 2 of them.

Only 1 day apart from one another.

He pulled his own teeth out.  What a daring guy!

What can I say, but what an awesome experience at this Zoo!  Bud and Carrie run this zoo and it is the neatest place to go.  When Amy, the kids and I arrived, we looked at one another and thought "oh my, we drove all this way for this".  We changed our minds in a quick hurry and realized it was the best zoo ever.  You follow around with Bud as they feed all the animals, something you would never get to do any where else.

One of the cool things at this zoo is that you can feed some of the animals.  Here we are feeding the hippo "Wallace".

Bud made a warming shed for him this past winter and this spring they had to removed one whole side of the shed.

Why?  Wallace gained 1000 lbs over winter.

He eats about 250 lb of lettuce a day.

It rained most of the time while we were there, but the kids loved it even if we had to carry umbrellas.

Jayden and a red tailed boa.

He loved every minute of it.

"Hey Amy, I dare you to hold it"..."only if you hold it too".

I thought about it and said "you first".

You never grow too old for a dare.

Here I am as I followed through with my part.

I hated every minute of it.

It was the first time I touched a snake an

I have to say, it isn't slimy.

I was surprised by that a lot, they are very muscular.

Amy and I together on our adventure.

Oh wait, who is taking this picture?  Louie!!!

Here is Louie.

He is a very friendly chimp and makes you laugh.

Warning:  he doesn't like kids...guess that means he is for the adults to hang with while the kids hang with the baby animals.

A gal I work with suggested a reall

cool place to visit with our family.

I took her advice and look at the beauty we found.

 Cave Point Beach in Door County.

If you are brave enough to go into the cold water of Lake Michigan, you can swim into

the caves at the bottom of the cliffs.

A gal told us that some even cliff dive.

 A very nice man asked if he could take our picture.

Here it is.

The weather was warm so why not go swimming.

We headed next door to Cave Point Beach to

Whitefish Dunes Park to enjoy a swim.

The park attendant said

"It's 69 degrees today, shouldn't have too much shrinkage".

Well, it was a little cool, but was great

to cool off on such a hot day.

We swam and lounged and enjoyed ourselves.

So are we bad parents for letting our child play by this?

Enjoying a swim and playing on the beach.

What do you do when it is really nice outside and it is the weekend?  Tear your kitchen ceiling down.

Here is the almost finished project.

We still have a little to do, but thankful it went pretty smooth.

Yeah, against my will we have two new pets.  Shall I say more?

For the end of the summer surprise for Jayden, Nicole made a blanket for him.  She did an awesome job capturing all the fun they had together.  Pretty sure the blanket will be worn out, he snuggles with it every night.  Thanks Auntie!!!
 
Our garden took off this year like no other.
The guys were enjoying a picking every day that consisted
of this many and more.

 

What time of year it is?  Salsa time!!!

Welcome Back To School Night!  Yeah for 2nd grade!  We are excited for the school year to begin.  Jayden will be in a split class of 1st and 2nd graders with a very nice teacher Mrs. Cust.  She is new here to Wisconsin from Florida, so hoping she enjoys what the weather will be this winter.

As a last weekend approached before school started, they guys were trying to figure out what they were going to do.  It was a Daddy weekend, so of course they had to go all out.   Mount Olympus in Wisconsin Dells was the place to go.

 I rode this roller coaster.
 
And this one!

We hope you enjoy the month to come and have lots of fun.  Find happiness in the things you do, the people you are with and place you go.

Until next time,

Jeff, Heather and Jayden