Kate's first movie

On Wednesday July 25, I was car-less, since my mom had the car to go to her music seminar in Waukesha. So Kate & I decided we'd walk to the movie theater and see a movie--her very first one in the theater! All during the summer, our theater has kids' films at 10 am on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (they show the same film all three days); and the best part is, it's only $2.00! And since Kate is under three, she was free; can't beat that! The film they were showing this week was Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. It wasn't a film I'd choose to see myself, but it was very fun to see it with Kate! She was so good and sat so still and quiet throughout the whole movie; she was transfixed. The next kids' movie we'll be able to see is the new Snow White with Julia Roberts, and Kate is already talking about how we're going to go to the movies again to see a "different Snow White." Ha!

 Giving me her cheesy grin

All ready to go to the movie!

Fun at the Zoo

On Friday July 20th, we went to the zoo with Meghan and Adelaide before heading to the nearby park. As always, the girls had so much fun together!

 They always love to hold hands

 Trying to see the lions (they weren't out, unfortunately)

Wilderness on the Lake

We had such a great time at Wilderness on the Lake! We went up on Saturday, July 14th and stayed until Wednesday the 18th. As always, our condo was beautiful, with a breathtaking view of Lake Delton. We all loved the ample swimming time; Kate seemed to prefer the indoor water park, so Dan spent a fair amount of time with her there on Saturday and Sunday (I tried to take her down a few of the slides in there, but they have sheets of water coming down on you as you go down, and it just hurt my contacts too much. So when it was just Kate & me, we had to stick to the outdoor pool. Luckily she loved that, too!).

In addition to swimming, we had a great time playing cards, watching movies, grilling out, and just having fun together as a family. I actually got some time to read, too--I'd finished my Through a Glass Darkly book (which was amazing, by the way), and since the next one in the series (Now Face to Face) hadn't arrived at the library yet before we left for the Dells, I read this book my brother got for me a few Christmases ago. It was called Pope Joan, and for some reason I never got around to reading it until now. I don't know why I didn't read it earlier--it was amazing! That was probably one of my favorite parts of the vacation; sitting on our beautiful, screened-in porch overlooking the lake, curled up with a wonderful book while Kate napped. Heaven!

 A view from the deck by the kids' area

 The kids' slide

 Dan & Kirsti have made a sand castle every year that we've been up here--and I think we started going in 2002!

 Kate & Rori just hanging out in the condo

 I love the rustic, Northwoods decor

 The sun porch with the great view

 Our room; this picture was taken the day we left. I should have been more forward-thinking and taken a photo when we first got there, when the bed was freshly made!

 Our bathroom

 The second bedroom, where the Hines stayed

 Playing in the pool after we checked out. Even after you check out you can still stay and swim all day, which is nice!

 It's started already--meeting a boy at the pool. I thought I had a few years before that started?

 And here is another "boyfriend," apparently!