Summer Trip to Wisconsin, Part I, plus a funny PS at the end of the post.

Yeah, yeah. It's about time I got on top of this blog again.

Every summer, we drive up to Wisconsin to enjoy time in Lac Du Flambeau at Paul's family's cottage on White Sand Lake. It is way, way "Up North."

Because Max is a little older now, we decided to take a few more detours on our drive up and try some new things.

First new thing: stopping in Iowa to see the Bridges of Madison County and have a little picnic lunch outside of the car.

Bridge #1. Excited, new, food following.

Lunch in the bridge.

After the first bridge, which was, to be honest, not all that thrilling, we headed farther off the beaten path to find some more bridges. Maybe not the best idea, but it wasn't the worst. At least we can say that we did it!

Next bridge: cool because still in place, but Max's interest was waning.

Over bridges. Gonna check out some Duke.

In Winterset, IA, birthplace of John Wayne. Max just wants to leave IA at this point.

No Rooster! Have mercy on me! Don't shoot!

We finally listened to Max and moved on from Iowa. Always a friendly place to drive through.

We stayed in Minnesota the first night, then headed over to St. Croix, Wisconsin, the next day to ride the Pizza Train! Paul found this train, the Osceola and St. Croix Railway, on the internet a few months before our trip, and we thought it'd be pretty fun for Max to put two of his favorite things together. Below is the result.

Outside the depot.

Osceola Depot.

Waiting his turn to get on!

At the depot.

The railway is operated by a group of volunteers.
On the day we visited, a small group was also replacing track. Pretty cool.

Conductor telling us the train's history.

Reading up on the literature.

Pizza! and Trains! Pizza Train! YEEAAAAHHHHH!

Pepperoni. Yummy.

View out the window..

Max and Mommy!

Inside the mail car. Pretty cool, I must admit!

Happy boy, with brownie all over his face!

Illustrating the art of coupling train cars.

End of the line for the pizza train.

Postscript:
Max was still working on potty training when we took the trip. So as a precaution, we took the little toilet seat with us everywhere. Well, we needed it. Max's favorite place to potty: cornfields. But only with the seat.


I shall title this section Children of the Corn!

Max and I exploring the corn, looking for a good place to potty.

Daddy is helping Max try to just go standing up in the field. It was a no-go.

Max ,going after he decided he needed his little throne to help.

On their way back from Wisconsin, Grandma and Grandpa B thought they would do the sequel, Children of the Corn, the Grandparents visit.

Poor Max, you all say? His mom is sure embarrassing him, you say.

Well, just wait until he's a teenager. I say a tech-savvy mom should also be considered a smart mom. Why act out when there is so much blackmailing material online that only I have the password to and ability to remove! :-)

More Rail Time!

A few years ago, Uncle Rob introduced us to the C&H Railroad in Tecumseh, KS. It is a small-gauge railroad, just the perfect size for little people.

As I was passing the info along to our neighbors, the Mellenbruchs, I discovered that they were having an open house the very weekend we passed on the information. So, we enjoyed a weekend at the C&H with our new neighbors! What fun!

Little steam engine taking on water before the ride.

Daddy behind Max and Ben.

Paul in the back, Ben and Max in front of him, Elaine and little Megan up front in the car.

Kiddos eating lunch. Elaine's parents, also train enthusiasts,
are in the lawn chairs behind the blanket.

Max and Megan. They are too cute together.

Mommy says, Later guys!

 What a great weekend. We are so lucky to have such nice neighbors!!

Thomas 2012 and the Booms.

Thomas & the Cheeky Ones

The weekend after Dexter's 1st birthday, we got to initiate him into another Gatton sibling family tradition (the first being the River Run): the Second Annual outing of the Gatton siblings/partners to see Thomas the Train in Baldwin City.

I was also super-pumped to because Ben, Dex, and Jamie got to come stay at our new house. All was a success. Max was "super loving" with Dexter, sooooo excited to have his cousin here (often to Dexter's dismay). We all slept well, and arose to meet Rob and Sara at the station in Baldwin.

Reading time the night before: Paul, Max, Dex, and Jamie.

Max and Dex in the video viewing tent,
more absorbed with one another's sunglasses than the videos.

Ben and Jamie helping Dex color.

Train layout!

Dex: "Sweet! Stuff I can touch!!!"

Playing together. Yippee!

Uncle Rob with his two proteges. ha!

Uncle Rob telling Dex all about riding the rails.

Ha, ha. I've got a secret. (He probably tooted on  Daddy.)

That was super funny!

Whatchu talking bout, Willis?

Let's look the other way! 

Sibs with cousins. Coolness.

So there was a point when Jamie and I tried to get Max and Dexter to pose together for a picture, perhaps for Father's Day or something. Well, here is how that went.

Ha, ha, ha. You really gotta love these boys. They are pretty special. And what a great day!

Borchardt-Boom Madness!

That evening, I invited my friends, the Neutebooms, over for a grill out and some ice cream. Eric and I have known each other since 1996, and really, we've been good friends since we first met (save one tenuous trip back from the Springs during which we argued over music). Let's says, he was also pretty pivotal in 2003-04 range as far as helping me cope with my divorce and what not. In 2004, I introduced him to his now wife Trish (formerly Averill), also a great friend. So those great friends have a lovely daughter, Bella, who is about two months older than Max.

After a little warm up time, the pair got along quite well. And the parents were pretty happy. Because they really do need to get along. :-)

First, Max was like, "Looks at my wheels."

Then Bella was like, "Hey, I got my own."
And Max thinks, "Cool, babycakes. Cool."

We had corn-on-the-cob, Neuty burgers, and chips.
Max has eaten corn-on-the-cob faithfully since that day.
No lie.

Could any two faces look more "caught in the act" or what?
Actually, I think Neuty was polemicizing on the merits
of a Neuty burger sans ketchup. Of course, this polemic is one
of many reasons Neuty and I are friends.

 Burgers led to story hour dates, which led to couples reading time.... Who knows! At least I like the parents.:-) And she likes to read. Score points there. :-)

Life in Lawrence. Good times. Great oldies.