vacation

We just got home from a last-minute “just-one-more-vacation” trip to Door County. We rented a cottage and soaked up the last week of summer break.

What fun.

(Remind me to tell you about the fifteen-dollar bowl of soup.)

The cottage we stayed in was sort of, how should I say, rustic. Or maybe just old. In any case, when we walked in, the boys’ reactions were priceless.

The Preschooler: “Oh, wow! Awesome! We have our own microwave and everything!”

Twin B: “Well, at least it’s clean.”

Twin A: (after walking through the whole cottage) “I wouldn’t want to live here for my house, but it’ll be fine for vacation.”

And so it was.

We made hot cocoa in our very own microwave, biked through Peninsula State Park, swam in the lake, and ate ice cream at Wilson’s almost every day.

Tomorrow, the noisy boys go back to school. In the middle of summer, I never think I’ll be ready for school again. But right about now, I am. I’m ready for the routine and the early mornings and busy schedules. So are the boys.

Stay tuned for the story of the Really Expensive Soup.

building ideas for kids

My boys love to build. Tinker toys, Lincoln logs, legos, couch cushions, you name it.


A few weeks ago, Twin B. found this book at the library, and we’ve been having a blast trying out different mediums for building. Jello cubes in ice cube trays (made with extra gelatin), looks like fun.

Sugar cube pyramids are another. We went to Jewel and found sugar cubes on clearance for a dollar a box, and stocked up. We now have one thousand sugar cubes—or at least we did before starting our construction projects.

The book recommends making a mortar out of equal parts flour, corn starch and water. I just mix it up into it looks nice and thick. Then, you build.



It’s that simple.

And the kids love it!

Cool building projects on a rainy day works for me. Check out more great ideas at We are that Family.