Turkey Week

Dear Kate and Riley,
I guess nothing very noteworthy happened between Halloween and Thanksgiving! We just got back from a week in Wisconsin to visit Grandma Janice and Grandpa Ross at their new house in Waunakee, WI. I never, ever thought I would be spending any time in Wisconsin, let alone that my parents would live there! It was a very very different place from CA or Houston and it felt strange to have my parents things in a house that wasn't "ours".

We spent a week with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Jenny and Uncle Chris were there for part of the time too. It was fun, we missed Summer and Ali, but Zach liked being the center of attention and it was a little less chaotic with only one 2 year old to entertain. We came prepared for the worst but Wisconsin decided to go easy on us our first time and we had mild (?) weather-- 30's and 40's were the highs. Someone at church even said a prayer of thanks for the warm weather! The wimpy Californians did NOT think it was warm but the locals were out in their t-shirts and enjoying the fact that it was 20 degrees higher than the average for this time of year. We had no snow which was only momentarily disappointing and I think I realized more than ever that I HATE the cold and I hope we never ever have to leave CA.

Because of the "warm" weather we were able to enjoy some fun hikes and walks and Zach even spent time at the park with Papa Ross. Thankfully someone was brave enough to face the elements for the sake of entertaining the 2 year old. Thanksgiving was nice with just the 7 of us, probably the smallest I've ever had but nice.

On Saturday we headed out to the Wisconsin Dells which is a resort area where many of the resorts have indoor water parks. We spent the day at an indoor water park which was actually pretty fun! Zach of course enjoyed himself but I think the big kids did too. The Dells is a place unlike any other, really hard to describe unless you see it for yourself. Wisconsin was just so different than what we're used to.

Grandpa Ross carving the turkey

Jenny learned how to make pie crust (but I'm pretty sure our friend Marie actually made this one!)

Grandma Janice made her famous rolls-- 5 years of marriage and I still can't get them as good as mom. Maybe in another 20?

Zach sneaking rolls before dinner. This is probably the most you'll see of my belly.

The group, minus the pregnant girl (hey if I take the pictures at least I don't have to be in any of them!)

Friday hike, I loved him all bundled up

Mom all bundled up, not quite as cute

The girls

Jenny and Chris
the hike was short and perfect for Zach until we came to the end-- the cliffs of death. Not exactly crazy 2 year old friendly. I think grandma and I each had five heart attacks before we left this spot.

Wisconsin Dells-- Kalahari indoor water park!

One night we went up to the Capitol in Madison to look at Christmas lights--except there weren't any. It was FREEZING but still pretty to see the capitol all lit up.


The Zoo!
Our last day in town we went to the Zoo in Madison. It was free so we figured even if it was too cold, no big loss. There were a few indoor enclosures to warm up in between walking around in the cold so it was a successful outing.

Zach and Grandma in the monkey house. The chimps were funny and so close! (and it was heated in there, I didn't ever want to leave)

The fun thing about a small zoo was how close we got to the animals. I don't think I've ever been so close to a tiger!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We had fun! But we're glad you are coming to us for Christmas.

Love,
Mom