Shady Lane trains

Shady Lane trains

Shady Lane trains

Shady Lane

Here are some pics if the model train display.  There were at least a half dozen engines running small track circles or the entire length of the display.  18 months went into preparing this, and while there is no admission charge, they do accept donations, half of which goes to charity.

Shady Lane Greenhouse Train Exhibit

Today was the kind of day every young boy lies awake the night before in excruciating anticipation of-going to see a model train display!  Shady Lane Greenhouse in Menomonee Falls, WI has the most spectacular year round train set up I have ever seen! Today was their 3rd annual Holiday open house, and half of the train display was in true Holiday form.  Visit www.shadylanegreenhouse.com for complete details!

L'Bri Pure 'N Natural

As the cold, dry air rolls in and the intense handwashing commences, it's time to give a big shout out to the absolute best products you could put on your skin!  L'Bri Pure 'N Natural produces all natural, Aloe based skincare that is free of dyes, fragrances, oils and additives/preservatives, and works wonders for any skin type!  I have been using these products for 8 years, and have been helping other people have healthy skin with L'Bri for 7 years.  Many of my customers were long time users of other product lines who swore they would never change, but after reluctantly trudging along to a friend's L'Bri party, changed their minds on the spot!  I invite you to explore what L'Bri has to offer at my personal website, http://www.aimeeh.lbri.com/.  Feel free to contact me with questions.....Try L'Bri, for a lifetime of beautiful skin!

Lac Lawrann

How's that for a pefect Wisconsin fall day?

Lac Lawrann

Yes, it really says "bird cemetary"!  There were stones scattered all over so I cringe to think of what lies beneath!

Lac Lawrann

Another great West Bend destination that happens to have Geocaches hidden! We were again blessed with a picture perfect day for treasure hunting and were sure to take in the beautiful fall sights!

Another great Geocaching day!

Today was a bike-to-the-cache kind of day! But first a stop at Imagine Coffee to load up on Alterra Coffee and handmade Kashi granola bars!

Treasure

This cache was full of 3-D glasses, they boys had a blast checking out the woods!

Sandy Knoll Park

And another treasure found!

Sandy Knoll Park

A haven for 3 boys!

Geocaching

Another treasure hunt, Sandy Knoll park not far from home.  The greatest thing about Geocaching is it takes you to places you never really knew were there!

Sunset

And this sunset pic was the 6th picture! I took it the same eve as the rainbow and it was featured the same night.

Rainbow

One of my favorite things is nature and weather photography.  I snapped this after a walk one eve, and it was featured on the Fox 6 Weather cast that night! It happened to be the 5th picture I had featured on the evening weather cast this year.....

Fall Ride

We are blessed to live near a picturesque boardwalk complete with a river, deer, fox and crisp leaves in the fall.  It's one of those places you wish you spent more time at, but instead really relish in its beauty when you finally get there!

Fellenz Woods

Found!

The thrill of the hunt is digging through a box of goodies that only a 4 year old could get excited about! This cache find was large enough to hold quite a selection of "treasures"....

Geocaching

In September my 4 year old and I got out for a perfect day of "treasure hunting" at Fellenz Woods, a 140ish acre nature preserve just east of our home. It was a cloudless day without a care in the world. The joy of seeing life through the eyes of a 4 year old is indescribable, laughable, and exhausting all at the same time! Speaking of exhausting, so was my 1 mile walk back to the cat with Matt carrying on my back...

Milwaukee County Zoo

Jellyfish!!

Milwaukee County Zoo

Ok, so its November and I'm finally blogging on stuff from summer.  Nothing wrong with thinking warm while it's cold out, right?  This snake cozied up to the window and enjoyed some attention.  The Milwaukee County Zoo is truly a treasure!

Fallen branches on our climbing tree!

We hadn't been up to our land for a couple months, and sadly this is what happened to our favorite tree while we were away! If you scroll back through my posts you will see a picture from before, and see the difference!  The heavy branches couldn't hold up to the rotting from inside.  The new "playground" proved to be even more exciting for the boys as the large fallen branches made great balancing beams, and had books and crannies to explore!

Dog days

What better way to spend a sticky 90 degree day than taking your kids to a good old swimming pond! Goodbye to the pricey water slides and fancy sprayers at the pools, and hello to fish, snails and spring-fed plants!  I enjoyed the view and thought back to my childhood, remembering how fearless I was of the murky bottom of the local lake.  How great to see my boys loving every squish of the sand between their toes!  Photo taken at Sandy Knoll Park here in West Bend, WI.

Now THAT'S a climbing tree!

When was the last time YOU climbed a tree? Our boys enjoy spending time playing on this grand jungle gym on our property outside Princeton.  Me? I like to watch from the ground!

Bridge over the river

One last admiring look at the Mecan River from the old bridge....

Success!

Matt displaying his chosen prize from the cache, which proved to be his toughest find yet due to his size vs. the height of the brush!

Spectacular view of the Mecan River!

This stretch of the Mecan River winds through the Germania Marsh, and after finding our cache we stopped a while to take it all in....

Ben watching Mecan River

Ben was waiting patiently while I found my bearings to locate a cache.

Fwd:

I have recently been introduced to and fallen deeply in love with Geocaching. Haven't heard of it? If you love modern technology, crave the outdoors, and remember the thrill of a good treasure hunt as a child, then this is THE thing for you! Caches, containers of various shapes and sizes, are hidden in public urban and rural areas, and you use a handheld GPS (coordinates are given by the person who hid the cache) to hunt for the cache. Find all the details at www.geocaching.com. This is a wonderful family activity as many caches have small trinkets that kids can collect, as long as you replace them with trinkets of your own. But there are many caches so small they simply contain a piece of paper to log your visit. These caches are usually smaller and harder to find, and create a great solo stress reliever for adults.

Following are some pics from the recent finds with my boys. I guess I am addicted; on our recent trip to Princeton, WI, I skipped all the local shops and opted to find a couple caches around town and along the winding Mecan River.

So if you are looking for something new, Geocaching may be for you!

Foggy March

I took this shot from our front porch,  looking west.  We had about 4 nights and mornings where the fog was this thick.   This picture was even featured on Fox 6 Wakeup!

Words to live by

I have this displayed at my office,  and like to remind myself of it every day.   Enjoy!

Take time to be silly!