We woke up at Grandma's house and instantly the FUN began- she was more than prepared for us, and had stocked her house with all sorts of stuff- including TOASTER STRUDDLES; AMAZING!!! All morning we played with Grandma Joanie, catching up on the last 6 months. Mid day we drove over to Grandpa Jerry and Cindy's house, and couldn't wait to see them. It had been over a year since we saw them in Ohio, and Mom and Dad were really looking forward to them seeing how much we had grown!
Grandpa Jerry's house turned out to be a SUPER FUN place to play! Thanks to Cindy the WHOLE DOWNSTAIRS was filled with toys- it was AMAZING! All the adults settled in while Macie and I entertained ourselves with every type of toy you could imagine!
I spent lots of time cooking at the kitchen and making all sorts of food for Mom and Eddie (the guy on her Iron Maiden shirt- Dad's FAVORITE thing for Mom to wear)...
Macie kept herself occupied by putting on EVERY single necklace Grandpa Jerry and Cindy had accumulated in their collection.
The boys went upstairs to start the grill, while the girls stayed downstairs and played together. Macie some "Dad Separation Anxiety" (something she gets when Dad is gone for more than 2 minutes) and ventured upstairs to find him. She discovered the boys in the garage chatting with one another while waiting for the grill to heat, and staying out of the rain. Since Macie wasn't used to seeing much rain since we moved to Arizona, she was FASCINATED with it! Her and Shawn and kept running outside to get wet!
Check out how silly the two of them are...
Uncle Shawn didn't last long in the rain, but Macie couldn't get enough; she kept running in and out, trying to coerce others to join her.
When that game got old she hammed it up by trying to catch rain drops on her tongue...
Once she was soaked Dad brought her back inside and sent her downstairs to hang out with the girls until the food was ready. Mom took off her wet clothes and let her lounge around in her diaper. Feeling a little naked, Macie dolled herself up by putting back on all the necklaces.
After eating ourselves silly thanks to Grandpa Jerry and Cindy's yummy food, Mom, Macie, and I all laid down for naps. We woke up refreshed and ready for some more fun, so back downstairs we went...
Uncle Paulie came over in the evening to visit with us,
and brought some special gifts for us.
We both enjoyed seeing Uncle Paulie, and were glad that he came over to see us!
While Waiting for Scotty's pizza (our favorite local pizza place) to arrive, Macie discovered the light saber and impressed Dad with her Jedi skills...
Dad loved how natural she looked, while Mom cringed at the thought of her daughter becoming a nerdy, LARPing, gamer...
She was glad when Macie went back to entertaining the crowd with her hammy smile!
We stayed at Grandpa Jerry and Cindy's until we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer. We had a great time at their house, and were SO glad we got to spend time with them!
We passed out as SOON as we arrived back at Grandma's, but woke up early, ready for more Wisconsin FUN and discovered that Uncle Brad had arrived at Grandma's while we were sleeping. We poked and picked at him until he woke up, and then bombarded him with hello's! Once the whole family was up and ready, we packed the cars and drove up north. It was a 2 hour drive to the cabin, but worth it- the scenery was beautiful:
As soon as we arrived the fun began! Lots of "the cousins" (Dad's cousin's kids) we there, and right away I joined in the fun. Here we are catching frogs and placing them in buckets!
Back inside the house the girls and I played beauty shop, while the Frankwick boys (Brad, Shawn, and Dad) went fishing. I loved getting attention from the "big girls", and was more than thrilled when Katie did an INCREDIBLE french braid on my hair- Mom couldn't believe how well she did (She needs to give Mom some lessons in braiding).
In the afternoon we all put on our swim suits and headed down to the lake.
Everyone piled into the platoon to take a boat ride before getting in the water.
Macie was SO excited to be on a boat!
Since I grew up hanging out on Pa's boat I was an old pro and felt right at home!
On our trip around the lake we came across the boys as they were fishing.
and Macie and I hopped ship and joined in the fun!
Back on the shore Macie played in the water with Grandma Joanie, while I watched from a distance- it was too cold for me to get in the water!
In the late afternoon we played around the cabin and Macie showed everyone why Mom thinks she is going to be the class clown when she gets to school- here she is using a fishing poll as a microphone- the best part is her facial expression:
The following morning, after a huge family style breakfast with the cousins, the boys and I took the boat out for some fishn'.
Mom was impressed with Dad's skills as a fisherman- he never ceases to amaze her with all the thing he can do well!
We spent our day with family, playing games and having fun. The cousins gave Macie and I new hairdo's, and Mom was shocked that Macie didn't pull out her high-top pony tail...
I LOVED having big girls around to play beauty shop with!
Spending time with cousin Nathan was also AMAZING- he took me for a ride on the quad and it was awesome!
I hadn't ridden a quad since the last time we were at the cabin over 2 years ago...
and I loved it...
Macie decided she was more interested in sitting and posing rather than riding (it was too loud)!
Before heading back to Grandma's house we took another ride on the platoon with the family.
Back at the dock Dad, Macie, and I sat and watched the water. Dad and I can't believe how fast time has flown by since the last time we shared this experience together.
August 2011:
August 2008:
Dad didn't want this moment to end, so we stayed out on the dock a little longer...
Back at the cabin we packed up the cars and prepared for our long drive back to Grandma's. Before leaving released the frogs the cousins and I had caught back into the wild...
I didn't want to say goodbye to everyone, and wanted to stay up north with the family forever!
That night at Grandma's we feasted on Scotty's chicken and pizza again, and crashed out- exhausted from a fun-filled weekend!
In the morning we had to pack our stuff to head back to Arizona. I wasn't ready to leave, and definitely wasn't ready to say goodbye to Grandma Joanie and Brad!
In the garage Macie and I said goodbye to Uncle Shawn's bunnies Storm Shadow and Brownie Mack.
The drive to Minnesota was long, but we made it fun by blasting some metal and rockin' out!!! Uncle Shawn helped us into the airport, but had to leave to get to work once we were done checking in for our flight. It was tough to tell him goodbye, but he promised he would come visit us in Arizona soon.
As he was walking away Macie tackled his leg in an attempt to keep him from leaving.
Inside the terminal Macie took a nap while I played at the playplace and entertained myself with Dad!
The plane flight back home was more anxiety ridden than the first, and Macie proved to once again be a terrorist in the air. Dad tried to calm her down, but the kicking, screaming, and hitting never ceased.
She even managed to shriek and laugh obnoxiously after Mom stuffed a nuk in her mouth.
For 3 hours Mom and Dad did everything they could think of to get Macie to behave, but all of their efforts were in vain. We all felt like the flight would never end...
More than exhausted from not napping and having had way too much fun I passed out on the drive home and barely woke up when Dad brought me into my bed and put on my jammies.
We had an amazing time in Wisconsin, and though it was nice to be resting back at home, we would have loved to be back at Grandma's spending time with the family!
