Friday, August 26, 2011

First Day of School

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On August 22, we began our first day of school. Both girls, surprisingly enough, sat at the table, eager to start.

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We began our day with the Pledge of Allegiance, and then read the book I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin to help them understand what they were saying.

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Next, we had calendar time. During this time we fill out this chart, fill in our weather graph,circle the date, and make the number of days we’ve been in school with money.

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Lori is drawing a caterpillar and writing about it. This is from a fantastic workbook called Draw,Then Write.

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Audrey is making a math story with stamps.

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Our last activity of the day was a scavenger hunt that led the girls to scrapbooks that they will use to remember 2nd grade and Kindergarten. The best part was getting to decorate them.

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Well, we survived the first week of school. 29 more to go!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Fish Boil

Fish Boils are a popular event in Door County, much like a pig roast or sweet corn feast would be here. We were lucky enough to get to participate in one at a local restaurant called Pelletier's Restaurant and Fish Boil.

First, they take a large pot of white fish and boil it in a large pot of water.

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After about 10 minutes of cooking, the oils from the fish rise to the top of the water. To boil this off, the Masterboiler throws 2 cups of diesel fuel onto the fire…….

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which causes an explosion of fire……..

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which causes the water to heat up rapidly and boil over, boiling off the fish oils.

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Then it’s time to eat! Delish!

 

Wisconsin Vacation Continued

On day 2 of our trip, we headed to Peninsula State Park, a Mecca for camping and outdoor lovers. Apparently this park gets as many visitors in the summer as Disney World, or at least that’s what the guide book said.

Anyways, we began our day there on a rather exhausting 2 hour canoe ride. It felt like the wind and or current were against us the entire time.

We started at Nicolet Bay Beach and headed to this little island, called Horseshoe Island.

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After that we took a little rest on the beach and then headed for a hike on the Eagle Trail. There were some fun cave like formations on this trail that we explored.

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Here is the view from one of the lookout points on the trail.

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After this we headed to see another lighthouse and a three story high lookout tower.

Here’s the lighthouse and an anchor from a ship that sunk near the coast of the peninsula.

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John has a fear of heights so he stayed below as Lori and I trekked three stories up to see the view from the tower.

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And that was day 2 of our vacation!

 

 

 

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Wisconsin Vacation

On July 30, 2011, John, Lori, and I set out on our vacation to Door County, Wisconsin. Lori handled the almost 9 hour car ride impressively well. This was her first trip outside of Iowa (and Omaha). It was also her first time staying in a hotel. Fortunately this hotel included a pool, which she and I both enjoyed immensely.

On our first full day we spent most of our time at White Fish Dunes State Park. We went on a hike and then headed to the beach.

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Although the water was quite chilly, Lori enjoyed hopping over and splashing in the waves.

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We also saw this impressive sand castle on the beach.

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After the beach we headed a mile down the road to Cave Point County Park. Here we had fun climbing on the cliffs and rocks that jutted out of the water.

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Lori was a little hesitant about walking on the slippery rocks at first, but with daddy’s help she became more confident.

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And, hence the name Cave Point Park, there were numerous cave like formations in the rocks that we explored.

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Once we were tired out from all our adventures, we drove to see a lighthouse before heading back to the hotel. This lighthouse is called the Cana Island Lighthouse. Unfortunately we missed the tour, but it was fun to look at none the less.

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So that was day one of our vacation. More to come tomorrow!