Spent

This past weekend we went on our 1st Risler Family Vacation at Treeland's Resort near Hayward, WI. It was a perfect weekend to be near water, as it was very hot and humid. We spent the weekend doing so many memorable activities and seeing some of our favorite people. Here is what we spent our vacation doing: ---Spent time at the resort's pool swimming and making silly faces--- ---Spent time at the resort's playground--- ---Spent time grilling out on the deck! YUM!!--- ---Spent time with our good friends, the Hansen family. We grilled out, went swimming, the boys built a fort in the backyard, and we enjoyed ice cream at the end of the night. Janie and Marlee are crawling buddies now! ---Spent time with Papa Ron and Grandma Claudia. Their camper is parked about 45 minutes away from the resort. They came over for the day and we went out to eat and went fishing on the Chippewa Flowage. ---The best of all was spending our first family vacation, all 5 of us, together making memories! By the end I think we were all SPENT, but it was so worth it!

A Century + 2

Last week the kiddos and I made some pictures to deliver to Grandma Mary at The Homeplace in Mondovi. She is Randy's grandma and is just an amazing lady. She turned 102 this past June 15. The boys each made/colored a picture for her. Grandma Mary LOOOVES babies, as you can see in the photo she has her own baby doll that doesn't leave her side. She couldn't take her eyes off of Marlee while we visited. Bennett wanted to opt out of the picture taking, so Blake is pictured with the rose picture he colored for Grandma.

Marlee is 9 Months Old

We almost have a crawler! Marlee has been belly-crawling like crazy and is slowly moving into the crawling stage. She also is loving feeding herself whatever I put on her tray-- blueberries, bananas, and sloppy joes (see picture) are some of her favorites. We can also see those top two teeth about ready to pop through. Marlee just keeps bringing joy to our family!

Bears

Randy has been busy baiting bears near our home for the past month or so in preparation for the opening day of bear hunting. He drew a tag this year to hunt bear, and we definitely have some around here that we can get rid of. Here are a few pictures of some of the bears he has been able to get a photo of using his hunting cameras. This mama bear and all FOUR of her bear cubs are just 1/2 a mile from our house. This is too close for me. Luckily we haven't seen them in our yard. :) This is by far the BIGGEST bear we have on camera. This bear was eating from the bait that is about a mile from our house.(Phew!) Randy would LOVE to harvest this one, I am sure.

Music and Pizza

This past week we enjoyed the beautiful summer evening at 2 of our favorite places--- *** Music in the Park--- we met up with our friends the Spangler family to visit and listen to the music. The kids enjoyed chasing each other around on the grass and eating snacks. We can't believe we were actually able to capture a picture with all 5 of them looking- Blake (5.5), Sylvia (5.5), Nolan (3), Bennett (3), and Marlee (almost 9 mos.). Sylvia and Nolan will be welcoming a new baby brother into their family any day now. So that means next year we will have to make sure all 6 kiddos are looking at the camera! *** Stone Barn in Nelson, WI--- one of our all-time favorite places to eat in the summer is the Stone Barn. If you have never been there it is this rustic barn in the middle of the country that serves THE best wood-fired pizza ever! The scenery is breathtaking! You almost feel as if you are in Tuscany rather than the bluffs of Buffalo County. The boys like to make 'wishes' in the fountain and check out the antiques in the antique house. We will have to try to get down there a few more times before it closes for the season.

Crystal Cave

We took a road/field trip to Crystal Cave this week. The boys and I have been talking about going there all summer, and we had it on our summer must-do list, so Wednesday morning we headed over to Spring Valley, WI to take it all in. I had been to Crystal Cave several times with the 3rd grade classes that I taught, so it was special to be able to bring my own kids here. If you have never been to the cave, it really is amazing and something you have to see at least once. We started the guided tour, and both boys held my hand the whole time we descended the stairs into the dimly lit cave. The guide told us all about how the cave was discovered and formed. We were led into several different 'rooms' of the cave while we also got to see the different formations like stalactites and stalagmites. The only part that the boys didn't like too much was when the tour guide had us experience complete and total darkness in one of the rooms of the cave. He turned off his flashlight and it was DARK! Blake got a little scared and wanted him to turn the lights on as soon as he could. Overall, we had a great day out, and I am sure as Blake, Bennett, and Marlee all get a little older we will be back to see the cave again! Unfortunately I was holding the hands of two unsure little boys while wearing Marlee in my front pack, so I wasn't able to get any pictures while in the cave, but we did take some outside the cave before our tour.

Kol and Melissa Visit

Earlier this week we had the good fortune of having our friends Kol and Melissa visit us from Boston. We first met Kol at one of Randy's work trips that we attended. We instantly formed a friendship with him, and have stayed in touch ever since. Fast forward another couple of years and we got to meet his then girlfriend and now wife, Melissa! Another instant friendship. We just can't say enough awesome things about these two individuals! They are so good with our kiddos and treat them as if they are one of their own. Our kiddos absolutely ADORE the two of them. We spent the 2 days they were here hiking down at the Buffalo County land, reading books (Blake learned a lot about bridges after reading with Melissa. Thanks for the awesome books you bought for the kids!), and had great conversations over breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Randy and Kol had fun quizzing each other with an animal trivia game they invented :) Their visit went by WAY too quickly, and we can't wait to see them again. We captured one picture of the whole crew right before they left on Wednesday morning.

Chalkfest 2013

The kiddos and I decided to venture to downtown Eau Claire yesterday afternoon for Chalkfest while Randy did some hunting projects. These chalk artists are AMAZING! It is crazy what they can create in just a few hours with their chalk, paintbrushes and water. Blake insisted on being the photographer and taking a picture of EVERY chalk masterpiece. A teacher friend of mine was one of the artists down at Chalkfest this year. Her creation was the farm folk scene that you can see Bennett pictured with. Some of our other favorites were the dragon (Blake), Mickey and Minnie Mouse (Bennett), and I really like the Beatles and the squirrel one was pretty clever too! We will definitely be making this an annual event!

Buffalo County Fair

It's that time of year again! The Buffalo County Fair is here, and we couldn't have asked for nicer weather this year. We headed over to the fairgrounds with the Anderson family after we enjoyed a bite to eat at Buzz's. Blake and Bennett sure loved holding hands with Hadley, and looking at the animals with Piper. Marlee and Bryndel were very interested in all of the animals and the noises that they made. The best part by far is always the chocolate malts that we get to enjoy at the end! YUM! Thanks for a fun night out, Anderson family!