Lu's Trip to the Fireside pt 1

First Holy Communion is a big deal, and for YaYa we threw a party at a local establishment. Here in 2011 we came to realize that we no longer have the # of relatives to warrant a party, and so we've introduced a new (better?) tradition: taking the Communicant on a one-on-one overnight trip out of town.

For LuLu, we chose a performance of Annie at the Fireside Dinner Theater in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. The day before the show Lisa, Lu and I set off on our trip, stopping on the way at a Wendy's. How cute (or sad?) was this - when I asked her what she wanted, she was ecstatic that her choice wasn't narrowed down to a single item off the Dollar menu.



"I don't only want to have fun," Lu said of the trip. "I want to have EXTREME fun!"

On the 75 minute drive LuLu fell asleep, which is just as well, as we got lost for a bit and added twenty minutes to the travel time. We arrived in mid-afternoon and checked into our hotel, located next door to the Fireside.



From there we headed out to the local Shopko, a store not found in our native Milwaukee.



LuLu had $50 to spend, courtesy of an early Communion gift from her Grandma Jeanne, and we spent a good hour or two looking around. She quickly found two pairs of shoes she loved. (the mismatched socks are intentional, a current 'style')









There was a lot of wheeling and dealing. I often made a deal with her - skip the $23 shirt and take the two nearly identical ones selling for $14 a pair an aisle over, and I'll pick up half the tab. She got some great clothes featuring the iconic peace sign motif she loves:



and wanted this one too. I almost caved on this sharp shirt, but she used it as a bargaining chip to get two other things she wanted instead.



After shopping we returned to the hotel and went for a swim. Lisa had forgotten her swimsuit, so it was just Dad and LuLu in the water.























While in the pool I suddenly learned the backstroke, something that has eluded me for years. Weird.





Once we got out of the pool the ladies retired to the room to watch American Idol, while I stopped at the grocery store for some snacks then picked up Subway for dinner.





The pillow is one she bought at Shopko, by the way. Ditto the nail polish she used to paint her nails that night.





After dinner we returned to the pool for a bit, then took showers and watched Lemonade Mouth on the Disney Channel. Lisa and I soon fell asleep, but Lu stayed up a bit longer to watch cable.



A great day, and another was yet to come.