Wisconsin, continued…and on to Montana

Well we wrapped up Wisconsin with lots of laughs, great weather (apparently that hadn’t been the norm over the course of summer so we lucked out), a couple of bonfires and some delicious fish.

Jim surprised us all with a special guest, who seemed to jump right in and enjoy herself amidst the 35ish or so Webers.

Highlights of the week:

- Sarah found a leech. Stuck to her, I might add. She popped it off and it didn’t seem to deter her from further water enjoyment.

- Mike W.’s plans to bike to Bond Falls in Michigan were deterred by an ornery wheel, unfortunately. Still, his family, ours, the Riggs and the Thomes drove up for a great view. Mike R. and Matthew experienced the falls firsthand, the rest of us meandered up the path around them. And then we all enjoyed a picnic lunch.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch the annual Cathy’s ice cream fest was on.

- Waterskiing. Some of the little people tried it this year, John showed us how it was done with great persistence and the rest of us did our best to make a good audience.

- A few deer, some eagles, chipmunks, squirrels and other assorted wildlife were sighted throughout the week as we enjoyed kayaking, biking, hiking, swimming and just plain laying around.

- The kids moved from volleyball court to sand pit to beach to raft and seemed to thoroughly enjoy each other’s company.

- And dinners were tasty, low stress affairs. As it should be!

- Joe and I had a morning date – a nice hike around an area lake, followed by breakfast at the Wolfpack Café.

And suddenly it was Saturday! With some good-byes on Friday and several early departures on Sunday, the kids and I set off Bozeman, Montana. Joe left at 4:00 a.m. for Chicago. His early morning motivation: a Cubs game.

Jim and his guest graciously dropped us at the Rhinelander airport, where the check-in people watched as passengers used the self check in machine (what’s wrong w/ this picture…).