If You Love to Read (video)

LOVED THIS SONG AND VIDEO! This might just be my theme song.

Home

So I had a great week at home! We got in a trip to Wisconsin on Sunday. Grandma had everybody over for grilling and birthday celebrations. We really have a lot of Summer birthdays on that side of the family. On Tuesday we ate out at Lunardi's Restaurant for a combination birthday/Father's Day meal. Tuesday was mom's actual birthday, but I was headed back to Manning before Sunday so we combined celebrations while everyone was all together. And I was able to see a bit of Claire on her days off! One minor set-back happened as I left Manning. The morning I left my back felt not so great. By the time I got to the QC it was fully "out." I spent a good bit of my time just taking it easy around the house, but it was nice to have the company! Today I get to help set-up the summer book fair during KinderFest. And tomorrow I'll take my turn at helping out during the actual fair. It's a one day only deal so hopefully they will do well.

Maleficent

Awesome news! They are making a new Sleeping Beauty movie! It's called Maleficent and it's from HER perspective. According to IMDB Angelina Jolie is going to play Maleficent. I am tentatively thrilled! I'm not sure if it's my upcoming trip to Disney or just my love of Sleeping Beauty but I love this whole concept.

Door County, Wisconsin

I really love Wisconsin. And Door County is a perfect example. I love being far enough North that it's consistently cool/cold on Memorial Day Weekend. :-) My parents have been going to Door County a couple times a year for ages now, but last year was the first time I went. This year I decided to go again. We stay in a fantastic place right on the beach. The Beachfront Inn of Bailey's Harbor is on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula. It's a slower pace, and that's why we love it. They also happen to have a great fire pit on the beach. It's cozy and the s'mores are yummy.

Right down the road is Jacksonport, which has Mai Fest every Memorial Day Weekend. There's a parade, a craft fair, and some awesome food! I usually make sure to get a brat and a funnel cake. Mom is usually good for some Kettle Corn as well. The crafts are fun and so is the entertainment.

Dad enjoys a day or two of golfing as well. Mom and I go at a slower pace. We checked out Sister Bay and drove through Fish Creek on the busy side of the peninsula. There is a great little bookstore right in Baileys Harbor that we like to check out as well. Nothing special but it's nice to browse a smaller collection every now and then. Last year I found an interesting book called Literary Tattoos, inspired by a popular website.

Mom and I had an excellent lunch experience at The Cookie Lady in Sister Bay. It's just across the street from Sister Bay Bowl, which is the bowling ally/supper club that mom and dad enjoy. At the Cookie Lady mom and I each got a turkey sandwich and a MONSTER cookie. They make a great monster cookie.

The 6-7 hour drive from the Quad-Cities can be daunting. Especially when you pair that with another 4.5 hour drive back to Manning for me! But I broke up the driving and it wasn't too bad. I just wish I had gotten my AC fixed in the car BEFORE the trip! The ride up wasn't too bad, but it was well over 80 degrees on the drive home. Ick.

I should also mention my car karma...or lack there of. On the way up as we started to drive into Madison my breaks started to make some grinding noises. After a short bout of panic we found a Midas that was open. It was 4:30 on a Friday evening of a Holiday Weekend...we were definitely panicked. But the Midas was open until 8pm. Turns out one of the pads on my front break fell off...of course they were all worn enough to need replacing. So we stopped and replaced the front breaks with the understanding that the rear breaks will need to be replaced within the next 3-6 months. Perfect. At least it was fixable. It was EXPENSIVE, but the guys were really nice and FAST. We were in and out in just under an hour! It's just my luck!