Old World Wisconsin

Call this the weekend of Dan.

On Saturday I dragged the family down to Eagle, Wisconsin to watch a Civil War Encampment at Old World Wisconsin.

Old World, host of school trips galore, is a massive 576 acre museum that includes 65 buildings from the 1800's that have been moved to the site from locations across the state.

We got out there around noon, and you know what: we missed dang near all of the civil war stuff. The re-enactment was of Sherman's March to the Sea, and as part of the atmosphere the action moved from settlement to settlement as the 'raiders' foraged for food.

Well, when you have three kids (and a 16 year old cousin) with you, it's pretty hard to catch up with a roving band of Yankee marauders :)

It didn't help that two minutes into the trip we got sidetracked by a restroom stop and a tree frog YaYa found outside.

We then boarded a tram toward the German settlement, alleged locale of the next raid.

I've seen the whole place a half dozen times, but it still gets me going. The kids alternated between fascinated and bored, as expected, but for the most part kept their cool.

You can tell your kids are city folk when they go ga-ga over a few horses.

Love this fence.

And this garden

The kids got a chance to see chickens and oxen up close

Finally word came that the Yankees were coming. That was at 1:15.

Around 2 o'clock there was a small amount of gunfire - a smirmish at best - and some rebel cavalry fled the area.

That's it.

Whoo-hoo.

So we boarded a tram into the village, where there's 19th century shops (blacksmith, etc) and a Union encampment.

Unfortuantely, Old World was also hosting the North American Angry Hornet convention. The da** things swarmed the whole village and were bold enough to land on some of us.

So adios any desire to see the Civil War stuff, and on towards the restaruant back at the visitor center.

But . . .

On the walk back we passed the schoolhouse, and we stopped in just in time for an old fashioned square dance.

At first just the Mrs. and YaYa took part, but Middle Child quickly hollered 'me go dance too' and joined them.

As the 'shy' one, you wouldn't expect her to take center stage, but low and behold she was one of the first few 'women' to sashe (sp?) up the aisle

and bridge the rest of the group

All this was done to a host of genuine applause from everyone in the room. No one expected this allegedly shy little girl to take the reigns the way she did. I couldn't stop beaming!

Then it was YaYa and Mrs. turn

They had a blast!

On the way out I saw some children's toys laying outside, and we took it upon ourselves to play Sticks and Hoops.

Now we'd never played before, and it not only looked boring but hard too, but it turned out to be both simple and a blast. All you had to do was get the hoop rolling, then follow along and whack it from behind with the stick.

We even had a race across the meadow

Note: not all the pics loaded. Check back later for more hoopstick pics! It's worth your time! (UPDATE: they're all there now)

At the restaurant I dined on Buffalo meat. Yum.

As a P.S., on the way home YaYa so impressed a gas station clerk with her maturity that the Mrs. overheard her telling other folks about her (unaware she was YaYa's Mom).

Ha - wonder what she'd think of her on a bad day :)

 

Layton Boulevard

You'll have to excuse me, as the next few posts will be all out of order chronologically.

Today the Mrs. and I took Middle Child and Parker (YaYa was overnight at a friend's house) on a walk down Layton Boulevard.

Layton Boulevard is the name of a southern strip of S. 27th Street aka US 41, a street that bisects the city and has the longest continuous strip of businesses in Milwaukee. Why the name change for a mile or so? Ask someone else, I don't know.

What I do know is that Layton Boulevard features some of the most amazing single-family houses in Milwaukee. A shame really, as they're located in a 'changing' neighborhood, or, if you are less charitable, an 'almost ghetto'.

I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

The basis of the walk was exercise, but I always wanted to photgraph the houses on that stretch. So bear with me as I post some of them here.

I love the arches on this next one. Note the window AC unit tho' - very few of these houses have central air.

I like the trim on this one.

 

I think this one is gorgeous. I have a fetish for dark green awnings, and I adore the brickwork.

 

These next few are of my dream house. It even features a pair of pineapples on the front steps - the logo of my employer.

Nearby are several houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, including one I've heard is the only creation of his to feature a garage - because he designed it for a buddy.

 

My Goofy Dance

At YaYa's request, I performed my patented dance for her picture taking experiment

Ain't I pretty?

YaYa Update

I think I mentioned UWM's College for Kids in a previous post. YaYa wrapped up her second session, a two week class entitled Musical Madness, with a performance of a children's musical, held in one of the university's theaters in front of about 50 people.

Now we'd assumed that was just a cutesy title for a musical appreciation class, but the whole gig involved prepping for the musical.

Here's what blew me away. Before the show, the kids had a chance to stand up and perform solo.

YaYa stood up and sang "Somewhere over the Rainbow" - acapella. She coulda had music, but chose instead to keep her song a surprise. :)

I wouldn't have had the ba**s to do that at age 4. Heck, I wouldn't have the guts now.

Parker and I in the audience

Oh, her big line from the actual show: "It's goofy dance time!"

Afterwards I kept a promise to return to Downers Woods and see 'Eeyore's House' with her.

YaYa displays an interesting combination of talents and interests. She LOVES performing, be it singing, dancing, or doing that radio commercial for my work. But she also loves science and bugs, creepy crawlers and science in general.

Maybe she'll be the Bill Nye The Science Guy for the 2030's.

Oh, here's a SPECTACULAR drawing she did on a dry erase board. When I first saw it I assumed my wife had done it in 'kid style', not our four year old daughter. But nope, it's all her:

Company Picnic

Sometime in July - the 10th I think - my company held its annual picnic. Despite working there since '98, this is the first one I attended. The kids had a blast with a jumping castle and a cotton candy machine, and I greatly enjoyed three games of volleyball.

YaYa and LadyBear

Parker took the opportunity to lie down on a blanket when he got tired and hump his hips to his heart's content - an everyday occurrence that looks a lot naughtier than it is :)

It ain't always roses. .

I wrote this two or three weeks ago and didn't get a chance to post it

 

Well, it's been a sh**ty summer, and as you know it started early, with May approaching a mythically lousy standard that I hope is never duplicated.

 

Then, after a reasonably decent June, my Grandma and my wife's Grandpa died within two weeks of one another in July. The funeral for my in-law was fraught with family drama, and my wife had to bear the local brunt of a misplaced argument related to the events.

 

To boot, on Sunday the 23rd she and Middle Child were T-Boned at an unmarked intersection. No one was hurt, thank God, but it totaled our van and we spent a lousy two weeks in a rental until we received word that the other driver's insurance took 100% liability.

 

We replaced the van with a Plymouth Voyager. It's the first time I've owned anything but a Ford, and I feel like a dirty rotten traitor :)

 

At work I'm ready to scream as the stress behind the scenes continues to build . . and I've had to let a few people go lately to boot. . .

 

At home, while the kids are great 85% of the time, the remaining 15% of the day - mainly at nap and bedtime - they're devils.

 

1. Middle Child has a natural potty mouth. Now no doubt she's learned the verbiage from us, but it flows so smoothly off her tongue you'd think she was a sailor. And that girl can fight for a 3 yr old  - I saw her take down YaYa and jump on top of her faster than Hulk Hogan in the day.

 

2. YaYa is the most stubborn, strong-willed kid EVER, especially if it's something her Mom wants and she doesn't. She also has the God-given ability to manipulate and/or convince others to get her way. Yikes. My wife and her butt heads a lot, and it ain't pretty.

3. Parker is still the most cheerful, happy kid I've ever known, and causes no problems, but he doesn't know what 'no' means. In the words of the Mrs. "Parker thinks 'no' is another way of saying 'go faster'" when he's grabbed something he shouldn't.

To try to stem the tide we created a detailed expectations chart. There are two Disney princesses who move up and down a staircase depending on the girls actions. It works, but we are still working out the kinks. Right now I'd say it does the job 50-60% of the time.

One perk they get on a good day is a guaranteed story at bedtime. We've literally read every book in their bookcase so often the girls are bored, so we've moved on to chapter books. The Mrs. is currently reading them The Wizard of Oz and Henry and Ribsy. The latter was the first 'book' I ever read, back in 1st grade, and remains one of my 10 favorite books of all time. It's a joy to hear the girls enjoy the story.

* * * *

One day with the rental we took the kids down to the Jelly Belly factory down near Illinois. To my regret, I forgot the camera. Parker was very good during the tedious tour, but I'm afraid there's not much more to say. On the way home my niece, who'd gone with us, lost a baby tooth courtesy of one of the jelly beans.