Blogging Cousins
Eating Caribbean food in Wisconsin. 
Group shot of the cousins.
Jim and his brother Doug
Celebrating the 4th.
This was my friend Lisa that we met up with in Chicago (on our way out to WI). We hadn't seen each other in about 9 years. We've been friends for over 35 years. She's the type of friend who you don't see in 9 years but pick right up with like you've never skipped a day. The day we left Blue Rocks we went with another family a few miles down the road to this train station where they've restored an old steam train and give rides on Sundays.
Part of our giant camping site for all six families.
These are the blue rocks. A glacier came through here and left behind this huge boulder bed that ran right through the middle of the campground. It was an amazing site and an even better place for all the kids to play and hike.
Shovel s'mores!
A creek ran right next to our camping site and the kids played and played and played and played in the creek.
More fun in the creek.
Building a "dame" in the creek. "Because, you know, dam is a bad word."
All of us hiked to the top of the mountain. What a view!!
Enjoying the fact that we actually made it to the top. 
I like to call this pair "Fire and Ice".When mom was working at the nearby retirement village, she became friends with a man who is a model train enthusiast. For the past year or so, mom has taken Junior over every so often to see this man's very impressive train layout and to "play" trains. This last trip Junior got to wear the kind man's train hat and even work the controls.
He even came home with a Thomas eraser and a catalog of trains that Junior loves to look at for hours.
Can you believe this is all in this couple's small cottage living room?
God bless his wife!
I guess when he retired his wife encouraged him to get a hobby. He had never owned a model train until he was in his 60s. It just goes to prove...you're never too old!I know Junior's birthday was over a month ago, but I never posted any pictures because we've been having issues uploading pictures for about that long. So here are some over due shots from that day.
If you are an Anne of Green Gables fan, have I got a treat for you!
For three weeks in June, we had the pleasure of listening to an audio book that we had picked up at the library called "Before Green Gables." It is a must-read or listen for fans of the Green Gables series. This book, written by Budge Wilson, chronicles Anne's life from birth until the moment she arrives on Prince Edward Island awaiting Mr. Cuthbert to pick her up at the train station.
It is beautifully written and perfectly ties together both stories as it gives you great insight into Anne's tough and often tragic life that led up to her adoption by the Cuthberts. Ms. Wilson beautifully captures the same spirit of Anne that Lucy Maud Montgomery portrays in her series. You would never know this book is written by a completely different author.
Even more mesmerizing is the voice performance by Renee Raudman who reads the book on the audio version. Renee is brilliant as she just doesn't read the book, but lives the book and draws you in through her various voices for the characters. Her voice and passion for this book is contagious and you find yourself hanging on her every word as we experience the joys and many disappointments that make up Anne's life.
I don't know how long the book is, but the audio version was 11 CDs and lasts 14 hours. Yes, 14 hours!! The girls begged to listen every single time we stepped into the car (where we listened to it) and we'd often find ourselves sitting in parking lots at our destinations trying to hear just a little more.
On hindsight, I find it sad that we spent 14 hours in the car in only 3 weeks. But I would rather they have listened to this classic literature than anything else.
I highly, highly recommend you visit your local library and check out "Before Green Gables." It is also available on Amazon.
You won't be sorry!!!
After 1400 miles, we are less than 200 miles from home. For something different, we decided to go home via I-80 and cut down through State College. We always go home via the turnpike but we are so sick of toll roads that this seemed like a nice alternative. It adds a little bit of time to our trip, but well worth the trade off. Beautiful country up here. We've definitely left the straight farmlands of the midwest!
The kids are watching movies, Jim is surfing radio stations and I'm chatting with you.
