Swimming, Swimming and more...you guessed it.

We love going to Pineview Reservoir to swim every summer! It's so much like a real beach... minus the ocean. We've been their twice so far and I'm sure their will be a few more visits before summer is over, I hope. The kids have so much fun playing in the sand and Will really enjoyed eating it. Babies and sand don't go well together. It took some coaxing to get Evie on the raft but she finally decided it was safe.

The kids got a turn being buried in the sand, I think they enjoyed it. I've never seen Evie lay so still in my life, except when she is sleeping. Thanks for the picture of your feet Julie.

We've also done the backyard and local swimming pool as well. There's no better way to beat the heat.

Family

The best part about our trip to Wisconsin was visiting Derek's family who we don't get to see very often. Our kids sure to love their Grandma and Great Grandma and the rest of the family in Wisconsin. It was important for us to make some good memories and be able to spend quality time with them.

Evie loves her Grandma!

Will with Uncle Dan

Will and Great Grandma

Cousins: Nick, Bill, and Derek

Uncle Dan's Boat

Warning: All photos are overexposed...forgot to change the settings on my camera. Anywho...we had a fun day out on Derek's uncles boat the other day. We left Will home with grandma and took Evie out on the boat for the day. We got so much sun and played in the water for hours. It was the perfect summer day. It was fun learning how to take the boat in and out of the water with my hubby and have him teach me what to do on a boat. Evie was so brave and really enjoyed herself.

Evie took our picture.

One of the river boats just sitting in the harbor.

The sandbar we stopped at and played.

Evie was pretty excited about going under the bridge since we had been over it in the car several times. I have to admit..I was too.

Can't wait to go out on the boat again!!!

The Villa Louis

We toured the Villa Louis Estate in Prairie du Chien, WI. The family was the first millionaires in Wisconsin. The grounds are beautiful and the inside of the house has been restored to it's original state. The drive there is one of my favorite drives that we've taken. It's right along the Mississippi River so everything is green and lush and there are wildflowers everywhere.

This little shack thing was built for the couples to sit in when they were courting so they could be seen from the house and kept an eye on by their parents. Good idea eh?

This is just a picture of the old office/guest house/billliard room. They had a picture from the 1800's of the family playing billiards (which is different then the game of pool which I didn't know...no pockets on the table) and the room looked exactly the same, even the pictures on the wall. Amazing!

Rainy 4th of July etc.

I don't ever remember it being rainy on the 4th of July. I guess that's why it's so green in Wisconsin. It pretty much rained every day the Brumbaugh's were in La Crosse. We were still able to find fun things to do and sights to see in the rain.

Our little cruise on the La Crosse Queen

What a beautiful place! (Except that picture of me)

First Day in Wisconsin

After the long drive to La Crosse we were ready for the beach!

Our first day was spent along the Mississippi River basking in the sun. This is the life! We so enjoyed getting in the water, making sand castles and pretty much laying in the sun and doing nothing. AHHH! That's what summers all about. It was great to have Grandma Larson with us finally, it's been way to long since we made a trip to Wisconsin.

I'm so glad we took advantage of the sun when we did.

The next day it rained and hasn't stopped yet.

We had a wet 4th of July!

Trip to Wisconsin

Woo Hoo! We are finally on our vacation and so enjoying it! Our first day of travel was a 14 hour drive. Yikes...that was way to long to be in the car but the kids did a pretty good job. It took some creativity to keep them happy and content. Our Hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska was really nice and we were SOOOO glad to finally get there, especially the kids. They were so happy to go to the swimming pool and run around the hotel. Our next day drive was only 7 hours so that wasn't too bad. It's so nice to be in La Crosse to visit with Derek's family.