Wonderful Wisconsin: Part 5- Playdates II

[Welcome to the final posting in our series 'Wonderful Wisconsin"]

We always have so many folks to catch up with when we come up North, and often can't see everyone. This trip was a tad longer, so we got in some wonderful visits. Here is a final recap:

Visiting with Grams and Grandpa Jim
My grandmother and her husband enjoyed seeing how much Lauren has grown. I guess they liked visting with me too, but she was definitely the Main Attraction!




The Young's
My friend Liz invited Lauren and I to join her husband and two daughters (ages 4 and 6) for pizza at their new house. They were so sweet and got out many of their old "little girl" toys from the basement so that Lauren could play. And play she did! Thank you Sophie and Isabel for being so kind to your new friend. Liz, I had so much catching up with you, and Jon, bless your patience with all us gals!! You must be a saint...



Lauren REALLLLLY liked this play kitchen (hint, hint Santa).


Isabel, Lauren, and Sophie enjoying the backyard play set. Isabel has the most beautiful blond curls...wonder if Ladybugs will stay that curly??

Story Hour at the Racine Library
My brilliant mother did a little research to discover that the Racine Library had toddler Story Hour on Tuesday and Wednesday while we were in town. This is a favorite memory for my siblings and me, and I was so excited to share it with my buddy Book Girl! My friend Clare and her kids joined us, as did her sister Alicia who's son is just one day younger than Lauren.

They start off each session with finger plays and rhymes, then read the various stories (usually 2-3). Lauren was a little shy on Day 1, but by Day 2 she was really into it, as you can see below!

The best part is that if you notice the woman and little girl sitting behind us...it's Katie, one of my sister's BFFs from high school! That was such a nice surprise and it was so fun to catch up with her.

Dinner with the Garchek's
On our last evening, my parents, Lauren, and I went over to the Garchek's house. They were our neighbors for close to 25 years before building their dream home on the other side of town. They had three daughters all about the age of each of the Huck kids, and we've all remained lifelong friends. Bridgette and I have been friends since we were 4, so over 30 years for those of you keep ing track (ahem!). Bridgette and her son Jack were in town from DC, Abby lives in Racine with her three kids (including newborn Elle- 8 weeks!), and Beth's 3 children were in town from Kentucky. It was so wonderful to see all 8 children playing and laughing together while the adults spent time catching up and visiting.

{SPACE SAVER FOR PIC OF BRIDGETTE, JACK, KATE & LAUREN from Britt's camera!!!}


Just like the old days on Park Avenue, dessert came from Dairy Queen and was (of course!) DILLY BARS.


A special thank you to Britt for re-arranging her travel plans so that our paths could cross. I loved spending time with you again, old friend.

At Mitchell Field...Bye Y'all!!!

[Thank you for your continued interest in our lives. I hope you enjoyed our Mom/Daughter mini-vaca. We had a fantastic trip and made lots of great memories. Looking forward to a White Christmas....until then, see you on the blog trail!]

Wonderful Wisconsin: Part 4-Hitting All the Highlights

[Welcome to Part 4 of our series]

Before the day's events even began, Lauren was exhausted by simply eating breakfast, chasing Maggie (the dog) around, wandering in my mom's beautiful garden, etc. Here she cuddles with her Poppa Umpy. So sweet...

Tuesday was a very busy day of running errands and checking out some of Racine's finer landmarks. We went to Carthage College were Nana is an adjunct professor, as she had some paperwork to file in preparation for her summer session. Then we hit Sam's Club (always a favorite!) and Target (ditto!) before picking up Poppa Umpy for lunch at Kewpee's. My cousin Rachel (Amanda's sister) was working, so we got in another visit with family. This was Lauren's first experience with french fries and ketchup. I think we can all agree that it was a hit...

Naturally lunch wore her out, so we headed home for a quick nap before meeting our family friend, Dorothy at the Racine Zoo. Now, Racine's Zoo used to be one of the only remaining free zoos left in the U.S. Alas! no more...but, they are doing some fantastic things, so I guess the $4 a person is making a difference (sniff).

Dorothy, Nana, Lauren, and Beau (in her arms!)

Right away Lauren started to realize that the monkeys, lions, kangaroo-like thingys (wallabees??) were all alive! She made lots of animal noises as she saw things she recognized- ducks, goats, monkeys, lions, etc. She pointed out a peacock in the bushes to us, and even got to see Racine's own giraffe, Beau.


Lauren and her very own Beau.

The best part was the petting zoo, which Ladybug LOVED!

Here with a Turkey...we couldn't get him to Gobble Gobble Gobble for us.

She kept coming back to this one...it was a baby goat just her size! I think he/she liked Lauren too. :)

She giggled so hard when the goat ate "goat food" out of her hand. I think it tickled. She just had no fears. Before it was all said and done, she even petted a snake-- eewwwwwwwwww!

That evening, Uncle Dan and Aunt Melissa joined us for Tacos on the patio (a Huck Family favorite!). Melissa shared some new Kindermusik songs and finger plays and Lauren just LOVED them. Only minutes later she wanted me to trace circles on her hand to take "the mare around the race track". So neat to see Melissa share her love of music with Lauren who just enjoys it so much.

On the menu for dessert? JUICY WATERMELON....

[Please join us for the final installment in our series "Wonderful Wisconsin' for Part 5- Playdates II, opening to rave reviews on screens near you!]

Wonderful Wisconsin: Part 3-What a Day for a Sunday Drive

[Thank you for your continued interest in our fascinating summer trip. And so the story goes...]


Sunday we went to church at St. Ed's, and my goodness was Lauren, um... "participatory". She was singing along, shouting out her, er...praises, etc. She was actually very good, but just not super quiet. Mom swears that everyone was smiling at her 'interjections', and a very kind nun said that she loves it when children join in. WHEW.


Afterwards, we saw off Paul, Kelly, and her parents, and made our way to Perkins to see my cousin Amanda , who was working. Did she ever set Lauren up with a breakfast of champions! It was so nice because we were just ahead of the rush, so Amanda could sit and visit a bit with us.

mmmm...check out all the whipped creme and sprinkles on her pancakes. Needless to say she dove right in! Special thank you to Amanda for the EXTRA NAPKINS!


After heading home for a quick bath (seriously...), we headed down to Chicago-land to see my BFF Beth and her husband David in Flossmoor. They are always coming up to Racine to be "honorary Hucks", and I thought Mom and Dad would enjoy seeing their house, etc. It was a beautiful day for a drive, and they have such a gorgeous home. It was a great visit. Lauren wanted to explore, explore, explore. Uncle David wanted to play, play, play-- she thought he was pretty fun!

Lauren discovered Beth's PURPLE yoga mat (a color she knows and loves to say: Per-pull). We were very impressed with her skillful "downward dog".


oh yeah...looking SWEEET! Aunt Beth models Lauren's hair bow. Yes, Bethers, my fingers WERE crossed when I told you I wouldn't post this pic. teehee..


[Up next: Part 4- Hitting all the Hightlights]

Wonderful Wisconsin: Part 2- Playdates in WI

[And now returning to the continuing story of our trip to WI...already in progress.]


I was thrilled to learn several weeks ago that one of my dearest friends from highschool, Clare , was moving back to Racine from NJ. She has a 5 year old daughter. and a son who is about 1 month older than Lauren. Also joining us was my best friend from high school, Jenny, with the youngest of her three children, a little girl who is 9 months old (don't let all her hair fool you, lucky devil, says the Mommy of a perpetually bald baby!). We had so much fun watching our kids (!!!) play together. Clare and Josh's new home is just lovely...you wouldn't know they only moved in 4 weeks ago....that's my equally organized friend. :) My only oops...we didn't take any pictures with Jenny or Clare-- just of the kids.


Victoria, Clare, Quinn, and Lauren

Sweet Victoria looks so much like her mother. She learned how to use a sippy cup that day, thanks to Clare's speech pathology techniques. That was pretty neat to see, and it was in a matter of moments!

And, Quinn, who favors his mother's family as well. He and Lauren were neck and neck in size. It was fun to watch them all play together, especially since the mom's have been friends since 2nd grade (Jenny) and middle school (Clare). Wild to think what the past 20+ years have brought our way.

Later that afternoon, Lauren playing peek-a-boo with Uncle Paul. She thought he was pretty funny, as do we all. :) Just wait 'til he juggles for her!

[Please join us for Part 3 of our adventure: What a Day for a Sunday Drive, appearing soon on a blog near you.]

Wonderful Wisconsin: Part 1- The 4th of July

Alright, Blog Stalkers....the long awaited post from our trip to Wisconsin this summer to see Nana and Poppa Umpy. I will be posting in several parts since it was such a fun-filled week....

Lauren and I had a pretty uneventful flight from Atlanta to Milwaukee-- other than the fact that I caused a fracas in the security line because I inadvertently left our portable DVD player in my backpack/diaper bag. WHOOOOPS, she says sheepishly. Lauren was GREAT on the flight, and even took a short nap. Dad picked the two of us up in Milwaukee, and Lauren went to him right away and even gave him a kiss. She doesn't dole those out to just anyone! I was so glad to see her warm up to my family since she rarely sees them. I guess that "Who Loves Baby" picture book we look at during diaper changes is working!

Nana insisted that we come directly to the big Racine parade (the longest in WI, you know!). She was so happy to see us, and my cousin Gina had front row seats for all the Huck's at her beautiful home on Main Street. That's Rock Star Parking for the Parade for sure.

Lauren and Nana checking out the floats, etc. Lauren actually thought the parade was pretty cool, though she was puzzled by all the people walking in the street since, according to Mama and Daddy that is a big NO NO!

Kate, Lauren (in an "It's a Mimi" original!) and Uncle Paul

Here we are with my brother Paul and my sister-in-law Kelly who came down from Minneapolis for the weekend.

It was such a beautiful day in Racine-- mid 70's with a fantastic breeze coming off the lake. After weeks in the 90s here in Hotlanta, it sure felt great to us! It was the perfect day to picnic, so that is what we did. Mom prepared all the favorite 4th of July fixin's: brats, coleslaw, and even a flag jello mold....impressive! Kelly's parents also came down from MN for the 4th, so they joined in the fun that included my cousin Sara (the "other" Sarah Huck), Aunt Melissa, and Uncle Dan.

Here Lauren gets a ride from her great-uncle Dan (my dad's youngest brother).

After much needed naps (and while Mommy CONTINUED to nap!) Lauren got in some good snuggles with her Nana, who bragged that she got hold her like this for over 45 mins. Yes, my mother was indeed in Grandma Heaven!

We certainly weren't going to make it 'til the fireworks, but we had a great day, and it was wonderful to be "home".

[Stay Tuned for Part 2: Playdates in WI]