On the train and ready for a ride

Continuing on from the last post… The following day, we spent a day at Circus World Museum in Baraboo, which was the winter headquarters of the Ringling Bros. circus for many years. Zach and Alex even got to be *in* one of the circus shows, staring as an elephant and a tiger!

That evening, Joe and I escaped..er… went out for date night, enjoying a wonderful dinner at a cafe in downtown Dells and then playing some mini golf.

The next day was “Train Day” with lunch at Buffalo Phil’s, which brings out drinks and food to guests via model trains. When they’re not carrying food, they deliver smiles with favorite character toys and gadgets like bubble makers. There’s also an arcade there, so we had some fun playing games after lunch. From there, we visited our favorite train museum – the Riverside & Great Northern Railway, where Papa and Joe are members.

The final day of the trip, we had fun playing around our resort – go-carts, mini golf (indoor and outdoor) and the outdoor waterpark. We did it all!

Check out all the rest of the pictures in the Dells 2011 photo album .

Tags: circus, Dells, family outing, train, vacation

The Vandermarks with Paul Bunyan

The 5 of us took a fantastic family trip to the Wisconsin Dells in August with Grandma Pat and Papa Bob. We stayed in the Glacier Canyon Lodge at the Wilderness Resort, where we were able to enjoy all sorts of fun things – indoor and outdoor waterparks and mini golf, go-carts, arcade games and more. We also visited some of our favorite Dells attractions: the Ducks, the R&GN Railway trains, Mt. Olympus amusement park and Circus Museum.

We took a ton of pictures so I split them into batches. The first couple of days, including some swim time and arcade games at the resort, a WI Duck tour, rides at Mt. Olympus and dinner at Paul Bunyan’s Shanty, have been posted to the Dells 2011 photo album. Enjoy!

Tags: Dells, family outing, Grandma Pat, Papa Bob, vacation

When last I wrote, it was winter, still cold and snowy, and Cole had just celebrated his 15th birthday.  Now, it’s already almost the end of June, and Cole is beginning to drive, having just acquired his permit this week (yikes!).  It’s so cliche, but wow, time flies!

During that time span, the usual comings-and-goings have occurred, but there have been two things of note.  First is a big change for Zach and Alex – rather than having a nanny, they now attend the preschool/daycare at my office.  Some mornings are a little tough and they definitely miss seeing Debbie all the time, but they are really having a great time with their new friends and teachers at the “school at Mommy’s work.”  They do a lot of fun things there – they even had a petting zoo there this week and learned to make ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s a couple weeks ago (I was a little jealous).  And best of all, I’ve even gotten to have lunch with them a couple times – it’s really nice having them so close!

A family portrait with Minnie and Mickey

The other big event for us was a special trip with Grandma Pat and Papa Bob: Zach and Alex’s first visit to Disney World. We had a great time – the boys are already talking about our next trip to see Mickey. They particularly enjoyed the character meals, where your favorite characters walk up to your table for pictures and autographs.  My favorite moments of the entire trip were when Alex got to meet his beloved Eeyore and Zach, his dear Pooh Bear – it’s that magic, seen through the eyes of two little boys, that Disney is all about.  We of course took a ton of pictures to capture all the fun, and you can find them in the Disney World – May 2010 photo album.

Coach Daddy, Alex and Zach

In other news, the Preschool Sports season has started again for the 3- and 4-year-olds. The kids played soccer (or some chaotic version of it) for the first two weeks. They’ve got team pictures next week and then move on to teeball in July. Zach and Alex are the Green team again, although they’d be quick to tell you it’s the Dark Green team, not the Lime Green like last year.  And best of all, they have “Coach Daddy” on their team, as Joe is one of the team coaches; Joe is loving the opportunity to be involved in their sports!  Pictures from the season so far are in the May – June 2010 photo album.

In addition to all the Disney pics, here are all the other photo albums from the past few months, since I have lapsed on posting them:

• March – April 2010 – Karen’s birthday, fun in the kitchen, a day at the zoo
• Easter 2010 – egg hunt, Easter gifts, egg decorating
• Target Field – April 2010 – Joe went to Game #3 at the new park with our friend Phil
• Kwo Ue’s birthday party – a great day with friends
• May – June 2010 – playtime at Chuck E Cheese, Joe’s birthday, Father’s Day and Preschool Soccer
• Twins Game – May 2010 – date night at the game with Phil and Heather

Tags: Alex, Disney, friends, Grandma Pat, milestones, Papa Bob, school, soccer, vacation, Zach