Last Thursday we boarded the ferry headed to Wisconsin to go visit Aunt DayDay, Uncle Mark and Mirabel. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, it was warm, we were very optimistic for a smooth ride. I guess I should have known better. I hate that boat. I hate the way I feel sick on it pretty much every time I ride it. I hate how I still feel the effects of it days later while I start to sway in the shower or in my bed. I hate how it smells in the passenger cabin- a mixture of diesel fuel and wet carpet. I especially hate walking on to the boat and seeing the puke bags set out on the tables. That is never a good sign. There were three to five foot waves out of the north so the ride was rocky. As usual I spent the majority of the trip on the back deck watching the shoreline disappear and watching the wake of the boat just waiting for the trip to be over. At least it was nice out there. One time as we crossed back at night I was standing out there in the pouring rain huddled under the awning with some burnout guys that were smoking and drinking beer and thinking it was hilarious to throw their empty beer bottles into the wake of the boat. I just laughed along with them because I could not go in the boat without throwing up and I didn't want them to throw me overboard for telling them how stupid they were.
We arrived in Wisconsin and drove to Dana and Mark's and had a great time visiting with them and playing with cousin Mira. We spent Friday night in the Wisconsin Dells and the boys had a great time on the water slides. The weekend went by too fast and on Saturday night I was already stressed about the ride home. The remnants of hurricane Ike were headed our way and I just knew the ride was going to be awful. We went back and forth with wondering if we should cancel and just drive around the lake but with the storms and flooding in the Chicago area we figured we would just stick with the boat. We could handle the roughness for two hours. The whole drive to the boat it was not windy at all - the trees were still. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot to get the car ready to board - the wind picked up like crazy. Inside the terminal they were telling people the seas were rough so take something if you were prone to seasickness. On all of my crossings I have never heard them issue warnings like that so I knew this trip would be a doozy. Even sitting on the boat while in dock you could feel how rough it was. I knew I was destined to sit in the rain on the back all the way home. Two hours - it was going to feel like an eternity. Not to mention my poor husband who would be stuck inside with all three kids because I did not manage to inherit one sea faring gene from my sea faring family tree. The ride began and it was AWFUL! The kids were terrified that the boat was going to flip over because it was swaying so much from side to side. Spencer was asking where the life jackets were because he wanted to put one on. I was starting to sweat feeling extremely nauseous but was frankly scared to go on the back for fear I was going to slide off the boat. We were about fifteen minutes in and a wave crashed against the window -mind you, this boat is about 25 feet in the air - that was a big wave. A rogue wave - Trent tells me there are no such things as rogue waves, only on TV - I tell him that I have seen the Deadliest Catch, he is not fooling anyone. The captain comes over the speaker and tells us that while he is pretty sure (pretty sure?) he can get us across the lake, he will not be able to get the boat back because of the pace that Ike is approaching - he is going to abort the crossing. I can't say I was too disappointed. I was irritated that they didn't just cancel it earlier since we could have started our driving then, but the trip across would have been barf-o-rama. Everyone was looking green. We started our drive around the lake thinking it would take until very late at night to get home, but we were pleasantly surprised. We got home in a mere five hours or so. No traffic snafus or flooding issues on the roads we were on. It was smooth sailing. Finally!
I have a ton of pictures from the trip but I just put on a few of my favorites. I will have them all on the shutterfly site at some point so they can be viewed there.
The kids on the ferry getting ready to leave the dock.
Hailey watching the little boats wave to us.
Cousins hangin' in their jammies. Spencer is such a teenager in this picture!
He was so proud of himself for finally being able to go down the slides by himself. Every time he would get to the bottom he would get out of the slide and put his arms up like this - even if no one was watching. It totally cracked me up! Even Evan braved the slides on his own this year. I was shocked at how fearless he was. Just the littlest guy going down those big ol' slides like a fish in a chute!
Spencer going down the slide. Notice the nose plugged. All summer at swimming lessons he was not allowed to plug his nose but he does whenever Steve is not around.
Evan at the wishing well in the downtown Dells. The boys were watching the "Pied Piper of Hamlin" that was being played out on the glockenspiel.
After they mined for gems in the Dells, they got to find out what they actual found. The big gem on Spencer's plate is a garnet - Hailey's birthstone - maybe he will make her a giant pendent.
The Grecian goddess in our room's hot tub. Dana and Mark found the resort for us and it was amazing. It was the nicest suite I have ever stayed in. The boy's wondered if it was the penthouse.
Our second day at the water park, Evan decided to forgo the big slides to hang out with Hailey and Mirabel in the kiddie pool. There are still slides in there for the under five set - so he was big man on campus over there.
Mirabel playing by a water spicket. She is such an adaptable baby. She just goes with the flow. She smiles all the time and loves to watch her big cousins. Hailey had her laughing her head off later on Saturday with her antics. It was so cute to watch them playing (sort of) together.
Big Evers coming down the slide. He was so proud of himself for keeping up with his big brother!
Miss Wee and Miss Bel in their matching outfits that Grama bought them. I may be biased but aren't they just the cutest things? I also have to laugh at how tan Hailey is compared to Mira - it's OK Mira - Hailey will be the one with skin damage and wrinkles. Kidding - I always put sunscreen on her, she is just outside more since she is older.
Evan wanted to get the paints out one day and I figured why not? Let's give Hailey her first shot at painting. She did a pretty good job for a first timer. Evan tried to give her pointers. She just did her own thing.
Evan working on one of his masterpieces. He is so focused when he is doing something artistic. He will sit for as long as it takes to perfect one of his works. 
The bicycle drag race.
Hailey off to a good start!
I don't know what it is about my boys and bikes, but they are just not motivated to move on to the next "level". We bought Evan a Diego bike with training wheels for his birthday, but he is nervous to ride it. In the spring Trent ran over one of the training wheels on Spencer's bike and busted it. We figured it was not a big deal and didn't replace it because we thought that he would learn to ride a two wheeler over the summer anyway. Wrong! He is not the least bit interested! So at this point in time Spencer rides Evan's bike which makes him look like a clown riding a circus bike and Evan rides the tricycle. Hailey rides the foot bike a la' Fred Flintstone because she can't reach the pedals on the tricycle. Not for lack of trying though.
She is a daredevil. I think I have said it before but I will say it again. I finally get a little girl and she is going to be a total tomboy - a little athlete in the making!
Spencer throwing water into the air and letting it rain down on him.
Hailey playing in the sand. 
Spencer running into the water in his skivvies.
Two brothers engaged in teamwork - a rare sight around here.
