Fall Weekends

Yes, we had a relatively craptastic summer in Wisconsin.  I can count on two hands the beach days; our garden was a tragedy (though truth be told, thats likely due to my brown thumb and midsummer laziness than the weather); and I never did get to wear all my cute sundresses. 

Fall has been truly lovely however.  The trees on the island are more brilliant and have held onto their colors for longer than I remember in other years.  Of course it means more leaf-peeping tourists stopping in the middle of the road to take pictures but I can't say I mind terribly.  I get to live in this beautiful place after all. 

We've been taking advantage of the last few nice weekends with a trip to Rock Island, hiking, and harvest weekend cider pressing at the Farm Museum.  Observe.

Child model pose

Chasing around the Rock Island boathouse

One of my favorite hikes takes you through the woods to a narrow strip of land, Little Lake on one side and Lake Michigan on the other.  The juxtaposition of the two is just beautiful. 
 

Little Lake

Lake Michigan



Caramel apples at the Farm Museum.  For the unitiated, the Farm
Museum is a great place on Washington Island.  Goats, chickens, rabbits
and some turkeys to feed, alongside turn-of-the-century farm
equipment and buildings.  There's a community garden, a windmill/water pump
and demonstrations in blacksmithing, knitting, weaving etc throughout the summer.
Really simple but kids love it.  Its a great place to just sit and let your kids run around and
climb on rusty farm tools. 



Max has refused to go on the tractor ride at the Farm Museum until this visit,
 when he told us, "I think I'm brave enough now"

Happy Fall!

Baby's Debut

We got our first ultrasound for this pregnancy yesterday.  I'm happy to report this baby is head down and likely to stay that way!  Is it weird to be getting excited about labor and delivery? The way I figure, after last time, giving birth to a baby that isn't bent in half butt-first will be like falling off a log.  Anything less than 24 hours of back labor will be a breeze, right? Also I'm looking forward to birth outside of a hospital environment.  I'm not the only one who's excited about the possibility; my midwife hugged me yesterday after my appointment when I delivered the good baby position news.  I love those women. 

Besides finding out baby's position we got to see some cute closeups.  A big plug for Baby's Debut, the private 4D ultrasound photography studio we went to.  Their technology was amazing and the price was very reasonable for an hour-long session and a CD full of pictures.  The owner is a hospital radiology technician and really knows what she is doing.  They have a location in Appleton and one in Madison.  I highly recommend them to anyone who wants a little more than the clinical diagnostic ultrasound.

And now...here's baby!