Day 1135 | Yoga in the Park
/
During Robbe's camp today, Chase and I joined a free kids yoga class in the park. I wouldn't say Chase was the most enthusiastic yogi but I think we'll be back. We all could use a little more yoga in our lives.
Day 1134 | Camp Time for Robbe
/
It was Robbe's turn for a summer camp today! He's so pumped to be doing this little mini camp with the Eau Claire Parks and Rec. It's 4 days this week but only for 45 minutes/day. It's the perfect introduction to life away from Chase and me. And Robbe couldn't be happier about it. Yay for independent kiddos!
Day 1133 | Sunday
/
Today was about the perfect combination of fun and productivity. We went for a morning jaunt to the park and then spent the afternoon getting our bikes fixed, doing a bit of house cleaning, working on our house's curb appeal, updating our window seat fabric, and giving our dining room light fixture a facelift (photos of these last three to come). I'll take it.
*Special shout out to my parents for all their help on the house projects! We couldn't have managed it without you.
Day 1132 | Snake Peeping
/
A surprisingly busy day included some swimming time, a family fun day, and a quick peek at a snake. It was a good day.
Day 1131 | Family Water Balloon Fight
/
The boys have been asking to experiencen water balloons lately so tonight was the night. It wasn't quite warm enough for a full-fledged water fight but the boys had a blast chucking the little balloons about two feet in front of themselves.
And, in case you're wondering, Chris gave his approval to the new bulk water balloon filling system. 33 balloons in 30 seconds! He said our boys have thrown more balloons in one night than he has his whole life. Ha!
Day 1130 | Oozing Slime
/
The heat kept us inside this afternoon (before we had to brave it for tball tonight) . With the need to do something to entertain ourselves, we got out our trusty science crafts book and decided to give the Oozing Slime a shot.
We mixed 1/2 of a cup (any size cup as long as the ratio is right) of cornstarch with 1/4 of that cup of cold water and a few drops of food coloring. Mix with a metal spoon and then finish mixing with your hands. The consistency ends up being both a solid and liquid. It's magic!
I'd like to say that the boys were fascinated by the magic--and Chase kind of was--but mostly they were just fixated on how dirty their hands got. Yep. They're my sons, no doubt.
It was still a fun activity and one I'm sure we'll try again.
Day 1129 | Visit EC
/
Eau Claire is hot right now. And, although the temperature is the toastiest it has been this year, that's not what I'm talking about. After the Eaux Claires festival last month, the city has been getting some really fantastic press. Here are the two articles I've read in just the last couple of days (along with a little excerpt from each):
A hipster scene booms in Wisconsin
The city of 67,545 is a little Madison and a little Milwaukee, with plenty of outdoor activities, from biking to kayaking, thanks to its location at the confluence of two rivers; a college-town youthfulness that manifests in bars, breweries, and cafes; a growing dining scene with a focus on local foods; and a booming arts scene, thanks to locals like Justin Vernon, of the Grammy Award-winning band Bon Iver, and Nick Meyer, founder of the arts and culture magazine Volume One and a force behind some of the area's music events and festivals.
How Eau Claire became a magnet for artsy millennials in Wisconsin
...the bigger story is how deftly this former factory town has pivoted to embrace the arts, technology and innovation — boosting tourism and attracting new, young transplants in the process.
Read the articles. I promise they're interesting. If you don't already live here, you *might* just get the itch to visit. We've got two empty bedrooms waiting for guests! In case you need a bit more convincing, I've made this list of reasons to come.
5 Reasons to visit Eau Claire
- It's beautiful. I hope you've seen some of my photos (see above) as evidence. I promise the river + bridge views are something off of a postcard.
- It's inexpensive. Think of $5 cocktails and tons of free outdoor concerts...and that's just a snippet of the cost-savings.
- The cool Wisconsin nights + mornings. The summer temperatures do creep up, but what makes it bearable is that the temperature drops at night. Most nights, there's a lovely cool breeze and you can actually sleep with the windows open to cool off the house. All of this is a stark contrast to our DC summers.
- There's a ton to do. We've only just scratched the surface on this one but the children's museum, the parks, the festivals, the farmers market, etc. We'll keep you entertained, we promise!
- It's where we live. That's reason enough, right?
Oh, there's one more Visit EC tie in: I had my first article posted on the Visit Eau Claire tourism site today. Check it out. Hopefully there will be lots more to share in the future. I had fun writing it.
Day 1128 | The Fourth
/
It seems like only yesterday our house in DC was getting pelted with fireworks. And yet, somehow it seems like a lifetime ago, as well. Hopefully we don't wake up to the same damaged siding tomorrow as we did last year (thank goodness our new house is brick).
We had a really lovely holiday weekend. It was filled with all the main reasons for moving back: tons of family time-both planned visits and spontaneous gatherings. We enjoyed our quiet moments with the boys as well as the chaos of being surrounded by grandparents and extended cousins and aunts + uncles. We'll sleep well tonight after a busy and very satisfying weekend.
Day 1127 | Express Game
/
Two items off the summer list today. Whoop whoop!
Most of my family (we missed you Matt!) met up at the local baseball field for an Express Game. It was the perfect weather and the perfect introduction to a night at the ballpark for the boys. Aside from both of them falling down the bleachers, it was a huge success.
And, because we were up late already, we decided to light some tiny fireworks when we got home. Chase has been asking to see the real deal this year and they just start so late! We decided this would be a good introduction. Thank goodness we did it this way. Chase was scared out of his skin with just the little pops from the small boxes. I think it'll be another year or two until we're out for the big show.
2017 EC Summer Bucket List
- Discover 3 new parks - ONE DONE
- Take a pony ride at a festival
- Weekend camping trip
- Pick strawberries - CHECK!
- Pick blueberries
- Attend a city or county fair
- Build a tree fort
- Bike a city trail
- Stay up past bedtime - CHECK!
- Visit an animal shelter
- Swim in three different pools - ONE DOWN
- Play mini golf
- Complete summer reading program at the library
- Ride the mini steam train
- Eat a s'more (Chase has requested one without the marshmallow) - CHECK!
- Attend an Express game - CHECK!
Day 1125 | Puzzle-Mania
/
Grandma and Grandpa are here so that means more puzzling! It's just so satisfying, you know? The boys even got the perfect challenging, but not too challenging, puzzles for them to hone their skills (100 pieces for Robbe and 200 for Chase). It's serious business around here.
Day 1124 | A Planetarium Trip
/
The Children's Museum has a new planetarium exhibit and the boys had a great time learning all kinds of space-y stuff. Even our space expert (Chase) had a few takeaways that he didn't know (the lunar lander had to be brought up on a spaceship, for example). Another super successful trip to one of our favorite local treasures.
Day 1123 | Friends!
/
Our friends came to visit today and we couldn't be happier! The boys had a blast with sweet James and I didn't mind catching up with his mom. Win-win!
Day 1122 | No Sugar Strawberry Jam
/
Check out my new Simply Sugarless recipe: sugar-free strawberry jam. Full disclosure: it does have honey...but no sugar! That counts for something, right?
I'd say my first attempt at jam-making was a success. Take a look for yourself:
Sugar-free strawberry jam
Day 1121 | Tuesday Night Blues
/
I'm out on this warm night enjoying some super yummy pizza and popcorn while listening to some hip blues music with two of my favorite dudes. Finally it seems summer has returned.
You don't need to feel sorry for the fourth member of our family, though. He's living the dream with a solo grandma + grandpa night.
Day 1120 | Meet Fiesty
/
We woke up to a fun surprise this morning: we caught our friendly chipmunk. The boys and I immediately, pajamas and all, delivered him to his new home (one mile away and across a river) . I think Feisty will be happy there. Chase said as we were leaving, "I hope he comes back to visit." I don't think he fully understood the objective of our morning adventure.
Day 1119 | Fabric Art
/This
Man, it turns out that you just have to stay home for two days in a row to make a dent in your to do list. We had a couple family outings and some good quality time along the way, but the take-away from the weekend was productivity!
My favorite project was this fun fabric wall art that we put together for the very large and very bare wall in the family room. I collected the sewing rings from a couple of thrift stores a few months ago and finally found the fabric for them this week. For under $35 we created a pretty substantial piece of art. I'm digging it.
Day 1118 | S'mores
/
The cooler temps today necessitated the first fire in our new fire pit. The boys loved having a campfire in our backyard...with s'mores and everything. I have to admit, I'm usually not a big fan of the s'mores combo, but tonight it really hit the spot. Maybe it was the company or maybe it was the cook (thanks, Chris), but whatever it was, tonight's s'more will go down as my favorite one yet.
**And yes, they are always wearing helmets.
Day 1117 | A Nature Nut
/
Chase had a great week as a Beaver Creek Reserve Nature Nut. He studied the anatomy of insects, can tell you the difference between a frog and a toad, learned a bunch of new songs, and spent a ton of time outside.
Aside from a hefty commute (25 minutes each way, four times a day), it was a super fun + educational way for our little nugget to spend his mornings this week. I'd recommend this summer camp to anyone.
Day 1116 | Ice Cream Treat
/
The boys have been real troopers this week while being schlepped to and from Chase's summer camp. We decided to reward them with a special treat on our way home from Tball. Can you tell they were *a bit* excited?
