We got back late last night from a great trip to Wisconsin and Chicago for a family vacation. The trip was a lot of fun and very exhausting. Traveling with a 1 and 3 year old is a challenge, but for us it was worth it. I actually think traveling by plane was a little less stressful than the long car trip we took to Colorado back in September (but I was nursing a 4 month old that trip). This trip was very inexpensive because Philip got a deal from some contest he entered at Bass Pro where we had to go to a time share sales presentation, so we basically only had to pay for our food and entertainment (we used points to fly for free as well). We took a TON of pictures of all the fun, so get ready, because here comes a BUNCH of pictures.
We had an early flight and hoped the boys might sleep as we waited to board the plane...no go...but they did have fun watching the planes and listening to Daddy point out all the parts of the aircraft. Levi thoughts it was pretty amazing to walk in the tunnel to the plane and carry his own "pack pack." Once on the plane he was full of energy and bubbling over with excitement and gabbered, wiggled and just acted silly the whole way to Wisconsin. Philip's flying buddy however took a nap. Lucky!
We arrived to Wisconsin before 10 am and hit the road in the direction of our hotel. We stopped on the way to check out a dairy farm and Levi had a blast riding on a tricycle in the barn yard as well and sitting in the tractor. The farmer wasn't there (Levi insisted he had gone to the store to buy apples for the cows) so we decided to come back for an offical tour later. After stretching our legs on the farm we grabbed some lunch in a really neat cafe with a great patio and then headed over to check into our hotel. After our first room turned out to be smokey and all around yucky, we were "upgraded" to a super fantastic star trek/space themed room that the boys loved. It was complete with planet and star covered wall paper, star trek ship drawings/art work, a huge Saturn mural above the king bed (with snazzy back lighting), giant black
space ship jacuzzi tub and fancy mod light fixtures etc etc. The view from the living room was very nice though, located right off the Wisconsin river.
We got settled in, went out to eat at the local brew-pub (Yum!) and then headed home for an early night capped off by an exciting bath in the "BIG BIG tub" with fudgesicles for dessert. I enjoyed being able to peek at each boy several times as they were sleeping since we shared a room, Joel and Levi enjoyed being extra silly and goofy each evening. The busy days and less than average sleep made them a little crazy by bedtime.
In the morning we hit the indoor water park that was attached to our hotel and Levi had a blast running all over the place and riding all the slides he could. He was fearless and wild and very excited. Joel however, enjoyed splashing in the shallow areas and riding in the lazy river. We had wrist bands to get in and out of the water park whenever we wanted, so we made 3 short trips, which thrilled Levi. Philip even had fun riding some of the big rides.
Later we headed to Carr Valley Cheese and watched them pack fresh cheese curds into molds, saw a video on the whole process of cheese making and sampled some very tasty varieties. Levi and Joel both loved the fresh cheese curds and we took home our 3 favorite types. We posed for a picture on the cow bench...the amount of cow paraphernalia in Wisconsin is impressive :)
While at the cheese factory we overheard that there was a local Amish farm that sold candy near by. That's all it took for Philip to decide he needed some candy, so we wound our way through the beautiful county side to the farm and bought some delicious cashew brittle and toffee. We even saw some Amish farmers plowing their fields with horse pulled combines and a horse drawn buggy on the road. The Amish family selling the candy were very nice and their two young children were adorable in the overalls and bonnet. The scenery to and from the cheese factory was so gorgeous we were kicking ourselves for forgetting the camera in the hotel room. There were pristine rolling hills covered in green crops, huge fields of sunflowers, picture perfect farms with red barns and big silos. It really made me want to become a farmer :)
On our way back to the hotel from the cheese tour we stopped off at the Wisconsin Dells State Natural Area for a little hiking, which is always a hit with the boys. All this adventure had the boys worn out, so we headed back to the final frontier for a family nap. After naps we headed down to the Wisconsin river, rented a boat and enjoyed an hour seeing more of God's beautiful creation. The river was stunning with cool rock formations where the river carved it's way through the land. We stopped off at a small beach and let the boys get out and play. Joel LOVED digging in the sand and running up and down the beach and Levi had a blast helping drive the boat and then swimming in the cool shallow water with his Daddy.
Our last day in Wisconsin we spent one last hour at the water park, loaded up and headed south towards Illinois. On the way we stopped for a tour of Hinchley's Dairy farm. This (possibly tied with the river) was my favorite part of the trip! The farmer was so nice and explained everything in detail and in such a fun light hearted way. Their farm is fully self sufficient, so they grow all their own feed for the cows, birth and raise their own cows, use the manure for fertilizer and have several other animals that helped the farm run as well.
We took a hay ride around the farm and then saw some of the other animals on foot. The boys loved seeing all the animals and Philip and I really enjoyed learning all about dairy farming. We saw goats, turkeys, pigs, cows, dogs, cats, goldfish and chickens. They all had a role to play. All four of us had the chance to milk a cow and Levi was over the moon that he was able to get the milk out. We spotted one very special cow...see if you can read her name on her ear tag :)
The chicken coup was a huge hit! Levi was able to hold a rooster and a baby chick. He was in HEAVEN. To say this boy in an animal lover is an understatement. Momma, Daddy and Joel got to hold the baby chicks too, but only Levi held the rooster. He was so proud. The farmer spoiled him the whole tour and let him do all kinds of special things as well as explaining everything in just the right way for a 3 year old. He told me he wanted to have chickens at our house :).
After the farm we headed to Culver's for some yummy Wisconsin fast food and frozen custard before hitting the road for Chicago. The scenery on the way to the cheese tour, the dairy farm and towards Chicago was breath taking. It made me want to move to the country, buy a farm and make cheese :) It certainly solidifies our desire to have more land one day and at least a big garden. The boys were troupers in the car the whole trip. They have their father's ability to "hibernate" while on the road.
When we arrived we soon discovered that "Mr. Sean" was going to be a wonderful host. All of us walked down to a small farmers markets and bought some yummy veggies. Sean then made us all a delicious meal of roasted veggies and polenta and he had pre-made oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies and fancy mac n' cheese for the boys. After convincing Levi that no one was going to come through the floor and get him (long story) we tucked the boys in bed and got some rest before hitting the town. The next morning we rode the "L" train downtown to see the sights. Sean showed us around as our own personal tour guide and set us up with a trip to the top of a historic apartment building, lunch at a great Chicago pizza place and a trip to Millenium park to see "The Bean" and the amphitheater. The boys (and adults) LOVED the bean and we all enjoyed a break from a rain shower as we looked at the cool reflections under the sculpture.
After all that fun downtown we took the train back up to Sean's apartment and had a delicious dinner off the grill with his girlfriend Jessica. Sean treated us to more of his great cooking and we had a nice evening relaxing and enjoying the rest and food. Levi also had some time to enjoy two of his favorite parts of Chicago, the kitty cats (who he was obsessed with as much as they were obsessed with staying away from him!) and the chalk board painted coffee table in the apartment.
Our last day in Chicago we spent the morning at the shore of Lake Michigan before eating leftovers for lunch and heading to the airport. Levi and Joel both enjoyed the seagulls (Joel more observational and Levi more interactive) as well as watching the waves crash and checking out all the sailboats.
We had a connecting flight on the way home and unfortunately our second flight was delayed a couple hours. So, we set up camp in the St. Louis airport and Levi enjoyed a little Ice Age on the lap top and a oragami bird made by a sweet man trying to help us entertain the boys.
While Levi was watching the movie, Joel had some milk, practiced his fish face, tried to figure out how to escape and then finally gave in and took an hour long nap in the stroller :)
Travel drama aside it was a great trip and I am glad we took the risk and went on vacation with our two young boys. We made memories we will never forget and had a lot of fun exploring a part of the country we knew little about and had never visited. Thank you Sean and Jessica for being so kind to us and our boys! What a wonderful vacation!
