The truck proved itself useful again this weekend – hauling yard waste. Highlight of the weekend – hearing the story of how the mailman stopped by while Kole, my dad and our neighbor were discussing how to go about cutting down a dead tree in the yard. Apparently he participated briefly in the conversation, then grabbed the chainsaw, knotched the tree, and cut it down. Job done.
It’s unanimous - holiday bonus for the postman!
We hit Wisconsin Wool and Sheep Festival over the weekend, and we had a BLAST! It was the last day, so things seemed like maybe they were a bit slow, but we really enjoyed ourselves. Maggie was a big fan of the sheep and especially of the dogs that herded them.
I collected business cards of folks who hand spin yarn. Oh so beautiful…oh so not cheap! I couldn’t take the plunge and buy anything without a specific project in mind, so I guess I’ll just have to go back next year!
Kole got a Sheep! t-shirt, and it came with a free bumper sticker. So if you see a 1991 red Jeep Commanche with a spray painted topper and some crazy Sheep! bumper sticker…it might be us. Speaking of the Commanche – we used it on our travels this weekend down to the Chicagoland area. It was good. Despite some weird leg contortions by whomever was in the middle, it was a smooth ride. (Maggie hogged the passenger seat). Makes me think we should get that gem of pick-up truck out more often!
I’ll leave you with a few other snapshots of our day.
Given that school has just started – it seems fitting to give a report of sorts. This one is about our Labor Day weekend. We delightfully accepted an invitation to join some friends at Governor Dodge State Park for some camping. Prior to our arrival at the campsites, we had the opportunity to attend an evening birthday party…and there was square dancing. Real, live square dancing with a caller and everything!
And then we camped.
And explored
And went to the Mustard Museum
And saw some trolls
And then we came home.
Tomorrow is the first official day of school, and although we did the “dry run” at daycare last week and the obligatory inservice days, it didn’t really sink in until today. *sigh* Summer is over. Man, it was great. We played a lot. We took long walks with Wally, we camped, and we tried swimming for the first time. She started solid foods, started sleeping better (longer) and became more expressive! All of which make it all that much harder to give her up every week day morning for the next 9 months, but that’s where we’re at.
Sadly Maggie and I are both recovering from colds, so instead of playing our last day together away, we slept. Long, luscious morning and afternoon naps consumed our day. 
Enjoy your back-to-school days!
Wednesday marked Maggie’s first half birthday. It’s hard to believe it’s been 6 months already! She’s really grown a lot in the past few weeks – lots more giggles and ‘talking’, lots and lots of rolling, and she’s even starting to pull/push herself around on the floor.
We headed out to the NEW Zoo to celebrate. We were invited to an event there anyway, and it seemed like a good thing to do for a birthday treat. I must admit we were leery – we haven’t had much luck at this particular zoo. Usually the animals are inside or sleeping or they’ve lost limbs and/or are bleeding. Really. We’ve seen it all there. Kole and I had a particularly odd visit there early on in our dating repertoire during which at least one animal in every exhibit seemed to have some ailment, and also we saw a bird fly into the window at the lion exhibit and then watched it die. Kole maintains that there was nothing we could do… I still feel badly about it.
Anyway, this visit was VERY different from our previous stops. It was cool outside and all the animals were out and about! Please to enjoy some photo highlights:
We had a really great time! Maggie even got a smashed penny to commemorate the event. She has quite the collection now – we’re up to 5, I think.
