There’s a community fridge / freezer in my area at work. I haven’t had any problems with people taking stuff that I put in there. Just to make sure it stays that way, I do things like this:
Property of…
Landscaping Part 2
Over the weekend, we finished the other planting area in our front yard:
Things are looking pretty good — I just hope I can keep the plants alive. 🙂
Party Hearty
Four weeks ago today (my goodness, has it been that long?) was our annual Independence Day party. We always invite a bunch of friends and family for a cookout, fireworks, and general outdoor fun. Did I forget to invite you this year? My apologies — e-mail me, and I’ll make sure you’re on the list for 2010!
This year’s party was another great one. The thing that I will remember most is the large number of kids in attendance. Thankfully, we had lots of things for them to do. Jenelle has three bins full of her old toys in the basement. We also have a set of bases, about ten wiffle balls, and a big red plastic bat. We have a firepit that we used to help the kids (and adults) make s’mores. And when Jenelle told the kids that there’s a frog (or is it a toad?) that hangs around our yard, the kids were following her all over. It was pretty cute.
We STILL have tons of beverages left over. This year, we had about 50 alcoholic beverages, and approximately 7 of those were consumed at the party. The same goes for soda. We obviously overbought. Jenelle and I are not big drinkers, so I think we’re covered until the end of the year. 🙂
The cutest kid pictures are below, and here’s the full photo album.
Exacta Exacta
Congratulations to my grandpa, who won over $100 at Arlington race track yesterday. I don’t know how he did it, but on two consecutive races, he got both his exacta bet and his winning horse. Amazing. He was nice enough to buy me two fried doughs at the Roma Lodge Italian Festival, which starts today. What a guy!
Adventures Up North, Part 2
From June 26-30, we ventured north to the family cottage for the second time in a month! This time, we were joined by three other couples — Mark & Heather, Rich & Maryke, and Jamie & Janet.
The photo album covers most of the stuff we did.
We went kayaking on Clear Lake on Saturday afternoon. Rich & Maryke came along. We did just fine alternating who was paddling and who was relaxing on shore. It makes me wish we had another two-person kayak. Hmmm….
Miniature golf was the big activity on Saturday night. In a match play format (four singles matches), the gentlemen managed a 3-1 victory over the ladies. It was great fun, as we had pretty much the entire course to ourselves.
On Sunday morning, Janet, Jamie, Mark, and I (Ben) ran the Freedom 5K in St. Germain. I set a new personal best, finishing in 21:12. Mark wasn’t far behind. Jamie & Janet each finished their first ever 5K, so congrats are in order for them as well. We celebrated by going to Paul Bunyan’s for breakfast after the run.
One thing that’s not in the photo album — we went back to St. Germain that night for fireworks. It was an amazingly impressive show. They seemed as good as (if not better than) the fireworks we saw in Racine on July 4.
We tried a new pizza place on Monday for dinner – the Minocqua Pizza Co., which is outside of town (south of the bridge). Not bad.
The weather was a bit cool for late June. On Monday night, before heading out for one last fishing trip on Little Muskie Lake, Jamie and I bundled up in some old clothes we found in a closet in the cottage (there is a picture of it in the album). We didn’t catch that many fish, but we still had fun.
I’m not sure if we’re heading back up to the cottage again this summer, but if we do, I know it’ll be a blast.
A little behind
June and early July has been / will be a pretty crazy time for us. Crazy, but fun. I’ll post more as soon as things settle down. Hang in there!
Kayaking in Lake Minocqua
The above map shows the journey we made on Saturday, June 6. We left from a dock at the south end of town (green dot) and headed east. We saw some ducks and a loon near a small island.
To get a better view of the downtown area, we headed west and went underneath Highway 51. We veered north from there. I noticed the area where the Min-Aqua Bats water ski show is usually held. I called the rest of the family and told them to meet us there. That’s when I got the great picture below.
We spent over an hour on the water — I’m glad it stayed warm just long enough for Jenelle and me to enjoy some quality kayaking time.
Showdown at Settlers
It was a chilly Sunday in Minocqua, Wisconsin, but it wasn’t too cold for a round of miniature golf. Six of us — myself, Jenelle, Andrew, Holly, Ella, & Lily — took on the course at Settlers Mill.
After the front nine, Andrew had a one-shot lead over me. The tough back nine took its toll on everyone, but I somehow managed to stay in the match. I tied things up a few times, Andrew managed to keep his one-shot lead going into the 18th hole.
Andrew and I have always had a lot of friendly competitions. With us now living nearly 400 miles apart, we take advantage of opportunities to challenge each other in a variety of games. Andrew beat me in Cribbage on Saturday night. Could he earn another victory at Settlers Mill, in an event which he arguably holds an advantage?
The 18th hole has a gentle downslope leading up to a tunnel with rocks at various positions. Inside the tunnel, the surface is bare so that balls should easily roll down to the green and not get stuck. If you hit the ball too hard, there’s a chance it will go into a collection area that makes achieving a two very difficult.
Andrew, aware of everything I mentioned above, hit his shot just gently enough to get it down to the green. To everyone’s surprise, his ball struck one of the first rocks and STOPPED just short of the tunnel. This was the golden opportunity I needed to tie things up again.
I also hit my shot very lightly. My ball also struck a rock, and it appeared to stop for just a moment, and then it ever-so-gently rolled down the slope, through the tunnel, and stopped a few feet away from the hole. I made the putt for a 2, and the pressure was on.
Andrew’s second shot ended up in the back of the green, and he had a tricky putt remaining. As I pondered what kind of “playoff” we could set up, I watched as Andrew MISSED the putt. I finished with a 49 (+5), and Andrew carded a 50 (+6). A rare victory for me.
Until next time. 🙂
Also, congratulations are in order for Andrew and Holly. Nine years ago today is when Andrew proposed to Holly by the fountain at the center of town in Galesburg, Illinois. Happy Engagement Anniversary!
Hilton Head: May 16-23
Now available are pictures from our trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina. There were tons of things that made this vacation so great.
Big Family Fun
Eight of us went on this trip. Dad, Mom, Andrew, Holly, Ella, Lily, Benj, Jenelle. I put together a document in advance so that we could track everyone’s flights and keep tabs on everyone en route. We all arrived without difficulty, got two rental vehicles (one car, one van), and made the one-hour drive from the Savannah (Georgia) airport to Hilton Head. Instead of staying at a hotel, we rented a five-bedroom house in Palmetto Dunes. Any fears that we’d be cramped for space quickly disappeared when we first toured the house. Lots of space for everyone. We also enjoyed the movie theater in the basement.
The Beach
There were only two significant beach visits on our trip, but they were both wonderful. The first time out, I rented a boogie board to relive the surfing lessons I took in Hawaii a couple of years ago. Both Jenelle and I tried it out with mixed results. The waves weren’t quite as big as we needed, and the board was obviously smaller than a surfboard. Still, we had fun. It was also fun to hang out and play with Ella and Lily along the shoreline.
Food
Tons of food. Pizza two or three times. Panera. Outback. Chick Fil-A. Top-notch breakfasts made by Dad. I had to run every other day just to maintain my weight. 🙂
Golf
I haven’t played golf in quite a while. Thanks to some rental clubs, I played two rounds of golf. I don’t recall what my exact scores were, but I know I did much better at the Arthur Hills course on Wednesday than I did at the Robert Jones course on Monday. One memorable event was a shot of mine that landed on a pile of sod with a thud — there’s a picture of it in the album. On Friday, I didn’t play, but Andrew shot an amazing 75 at the Fazio course.
Tennis
Jenelle and I played tennis for an hour — I think it was on Thursday. Neither of us had hit a ball in a while. The tennis balls we bought make great souvenirs, as they have the Palmetto Dunes logo on them.
Kayaking
The weather kept us from kayaking as much as we wanted, but Jenelle and I did manage to get out once on Friday. For a change of pace, we each rented our own kayaks instead of paddling in one together. We were out on the water for over an hour, enjoying every moment.
Art
Mom, Jenelle, Holly, and the girls went to a store at a nearby mall that lets you paint/glaze a variety of clay objects. You can check out the finished designs at the end of the photo album. I think all of their projects turned out great!
If I think of more great stuff about our trip, you’ll probably see another post about it. Also, Andrew & Holly took tons of photos as well, so I’ll let you know when their site has been updated.
Yard Work
Jenelle has done some truly amazing work in the front yard. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s looking awesome.
