As mentioned before, Nels's parents came for a visit. Yay! We love grandparents. The first couple of days were a little crazy. I got back from Idaho and the next day we just caught up with everything...grocery shopping, library, laundry. Of course, we always have time for some snuggles...
Then it was Sunday. We invited Cousin Johnny and his family to join us for dinner. They are Bob's cousins and they leave about 45 minutes away from us. We enjoyed hamburgers and Donna's yummy potato salad. Then we introduced them to the washer game. Here's Karen (Johnny's wife) giving a victory shout. She beat Nels. :)
Their daughter was super sweet and the kids all loved her. Their son wasn't able to make it, maybe next time.
And look at this...It's Noah...ON the swing! Finally, he has the courage to be on it...not swing on it yet... he barely moves the swing with his foot. But still! He's ON it and not just looking at it anymore. Yay!
More washers, while we eat cookies on the patio. Kira and Isak are actually pretty good at it!
Dad and Noah getting some snuggles.
It was great to have them there. They actually own the blue cottage that we stay at in Door County. They gave us ideas of what to do when we go up there. And of course, Sofie charms everyone.
Then on Monday - August 13 - we left for Door County, WI. We left our house around 3 p.m. and stopped for dinner at McDonald's near Green Bay. The people working there actually thought our kids were cute. :) So they gave us a free hot fudge sundae. Yay!
We arrived at the little blue cottage on Porcupine road near Ellison Bay, WI at about 9 p.m. The babies were super hyper and ran around and were very loud. I tried to put them to bed but they just wailed. So we let them play and then finally put them to bed at 11 p.m. We were tired parents...sometimes vacationing is tough! haha.
Tuesday - August 14 - We slowly got ready and left the cottage around ten. Before we left the cottage for the day, I took these pics. Here's Kira and Sofie...cute matching sisters.
Noah Loooooves cars. He is pointing to the awesome lights on the van.
Just building a weight system to see what is heavier.
Trying out the hammock.
Then we went to Al Johnson's and put our name on the 45 minute waiting list. Thankfully, there was a playground with a lake view and the waiting went fast.
Two year olds! Ha! Noah is a classic two year old.
Love the view of the water and boats.
There's a Noah smile.
I love this picture of Isak!
And Kira!
Then we went to Al Johnson's Swedish restaurant.
We ordered Swedish pancakes and meatballs. All of the kids loved the pancakes! Yay!
The babies were okay...
Yummy, pancakes.
I ordered this hot chocolate...mmmmm.
Quick pics outside the restaurant on the cute blue bench.
Then we went to Ellison Bay Beach. It was a small uncrowded beach and so perfect for our crew. There were facilities close by to change clothes, a playground and the water was shallow and just right for floaties and the kids to play in.
I tried to get one with Sofie in it too, but she is too quick for me.
Dad took time to help Isak learn some swimming techniques...like floating on his back.
I was thrilled that our cautious Kira took right to the water and had a great time.
Okay...so Sofie is fearless. She, of course, ran right in the water with a cup. Then she dropped her cup in the water. And as you can see in the picture below...she bent down to get her cup and went right under the water. Thankfully, Nels was right there and fished her out. She was a lot more cautious after that and didn't go in the water without someone nearby.
Sofie loved the sand as much as when she was a baby. This time she didn't eat it though and just played and played.
Noah...well. Sand and Noah do not go together. He kept his shoes and socks on. After a while we got his socks off. Then his shoes. Then he sat on my lap near the water for a while. And finally for about 15 minutes he sat on the sand...by himself...which is when I took this picture.
He tried to be a good sport, but was much happier on one of his parent's laps.
So cute Sofie!
We stayed and played for 3.5 hours. No snacks were asked for and no whining (other than Noah due to sand exposure). It was so pleasant. We got cleaned up and played on the cool dinosaur playground for a while. Then we drove to Ephraim.
On the way, Nels was sweet and stopped the car so I could take a picture of the beautiful tree lined road. I snuck this picture of him driving.
See, wasn't it worth stopping for?? Pretty area.
We ate dinner at Wilson's. I got the taco salad.
But they are known for their delicious ice cream. And it did not disappoint!
All of the kids...yes each one...got an ice cream! And it was so fun to watch them devour it.
Kira got vanilla, Sofie got mint chocolate chip, Noah got vanilla and Isak got strawberry.
Each one just loved it.
Even Noah.
The best part was when they found the surprise jelly bean at the bottom of the cone.
After that we took them to the playground next to Wilson's. I walked back to Wilson's and ordered myself a two scoop ice cream cone. Razzmatazz and chocolate. Sooooo good.
I even had some visitors that helped me.
After all the ice cream and playing were done, I thought it would be fun to take a little walk along the lake as the sun was setting. Sounds good in theory...
They were great for a bit. Isak pushed Noah.
We watched the sun set for a bit.
Then the babies just started crying loudly. So we ran/walked quickly back to the car. But it was a pretty sunset and I love the couple pics I got to remember the happy part.
And that was our first official day in Door County. Pancakes, three playgrounds, beach and ice cream.
Thankfully, bedtime went a little better than the night before.
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