July 2016 - Father/Son Trip to the Cabin!

Wow, what a month.  And it isn't even over.  July 2016 started out with a TON of work.  One of the many perks of my job is that my hours are very flexible.  They are great about cramming the first part of a pay period with most of my 80 hours, allowing me to take minimal vacation time when we decide to hit the road.  And hit the road we did :)  Below are the Chronicles of Joshua and Forrest as we made our way across Illinois and the great state of Wisconsin!

Our first stop was Rockford IL.  We hit up the shopping mall to stretch our legs and grab a snack.  They had one of Forrest's favorites: Superman Ice Cream!  We also stopped at a cool toy store, where he got some new letter blocks

Our next stop was lunch in Madison WI at the Journey Buffet.  My good friend Mike made a drive over from Milwaukee to see us.  It was great to catch up with this wonderful man, who I don't get to see nearly as often as I like.  Mike, if you're reading this, I can't wait to get together again :)

Next stop was the Wisconsin Dells, home of the Dino Depot!  This is our preferred gas stop, as you may recall from a previous post.  I figure if you're going to have to stop for gas either way, might as well make it somewhere fun!  We also took a break to go spend some time at Knuckleheads.  Forrest was rearing to burn some pent up energy after 4.5 hours in the car.  I was happy to oblige.

The Boy Wonder loves that airplane ride.  He also enjoyed bouncing on a giant bounce balloon, and running around in an indoor playground.

Our last stop before Wascott was at his favorite restaurant: Texas Roadhouse in Eau Claire.  We had a great dinner before hitting the road for the final stretch up Highway 53.  Next stop, the Lake House!

Obligatory pic :)  Forrest and I were away for a total of 8 days.  EIGHT Days of Father/Son fun! A big thank you to Mommy for loaning me her favorite little man for that long.  Mandi had a tough time missing both of her best dudes, but we made the most of it despite a mixed bag weather wise.  We spent a lot of time at Grandmas house:

Forrest loves letters.  His new block letters and Scrabble kept him quite entertained during those rainy days that we had.  There was also plenty of sun and lake fun to be had!

Forrest also had a blast recreating the Dino Depot with the building materials available to him on the beach.  We burned a TON of energy on that Trampoline.

We also had a TON of fun with the Rebmans and Warrens while we were up there.  Thank you to Jill, Chris, Cori, Chris, Cauge, Cainan, and Caylor for sharing some of their vacation time with us :)  We managed to hit up Spooner and an old Grogg Family Tradition: Go Carts! (Forrest and I managed third place, narrowly losing out on 2nd to Cori Warren who passed us in our final lap!!!)

(Note, also a Grogg tradition, we DID get yelled at for bumping and running into the tires too much.  YOLO)

We also had a fun day trip to Duluth.  We had to go pick up my little sister Sarah (Aunt Sarah to Forrest).  She flew up to spend a few days with us.  While we were there, Forrest and I made a trip out to the breakwater and the Canal Park Lighthouse.  Duluth is a great town, and it was a fun trip.  Forrest even got to throw some rocks into the largest freshwater lake in the world. 

 There is something so perfect about a little boy chucking rocks into a lake.

Sarah had some great weather on day 1 of her visit.  She enjoyed the Pontoon boat, tubing, and trampoline fun with her nephew.  I didn't get as many pictures as I should have (still feel new to this even after a year) but here are some highlights:

Sarah also had a ton of fun on her trip to the range. She struggled on the revolver and the pistol, but was a natural with the .308!

And finally, a closing video, on our last day there Forrest had a ball playing "Snakes" with his Great Grandma.  Moments like this are precious, too precious not to share.

A special thank you to (Great) Grandma Letty Grogg for, as always, being such an amazing gracious host.  That woman is an absolute inspiration.  Hands down she is one of the best.  We love you Grandma!

Back to work now for the next week, then another family trip up.  Hopefully we will have more pictures and videos to post soon!

June 2016

Hello readers!  This is a quick mid-June entry so I could lay down some brags and show off some fun pictures.  Pretty early in July Forrest and I are going to be headed up North, so I don't know how much I will be able to blog then.  But when we get back we should have some awesome father/son pictures for everyone.

This is my "I am so blessed" picture.  Love that lady, and love those kiddos!

Some more of Letty Bean, who has been particularly photogenic this month.  Maybe in anticipation of her 6 month celebration?!

This kid, she knows how to take a picture.  Special "Thank You" to Forrest for letting us borrow one of his many coveted numbers.

In other fun, Mandi and I got to have a day to ourselves, in which we went to Monticello for an 80th Birthday Party for my Grandma Rosemary.  I didn't get a picture with her, which I feel pretty dumb about.  Hopefully next year.  We went to Champaign after for an early dinner and to just sort of wander around sans kids.  While in downtown Champaign I saw someone I recognized... flabbergasted I had to ask for a selfie.

The LEGENDARY Lovie Smith, former head coach of the NFC Championship Chicago Bears, and along with Tony Dungee the first African-American Head Coaches to make it to the Super Bowl.  Lovie, I wish you were still with the bears.  Thanks for a selfie.  I think he was cool with it because we are both in the bald brotherhood.

Afterward we went to a wedding reception for my friends Maren and Mustache Jimmy.  It was a great party, and a classy affair all around.  One of the best Saturdays I have had in a while :D

Northwoods - June 2016

What a wonderful time to be alive :)  This month the family packed up and headed North to our very own lake house for the first time.  It was tons of fun to have a place where we could stretch out and be ourselves.  We have always appreciated the second-to-none hospitality of Grandma and Grandpa Grogg -and we continued to enjoy it during this trip as we took advantage of pancake breakfasts and her beach- but being able to live as we would at home is very nice.  It also made sure that Grandma enjoyed some peace and quiet in the evenings :)

Without further ado, pictures!

So of course for those of you who don't know... its a bit of a haul.  I want to give my boy a shout out here.  He was a road warrior!  He did so well on the trip, and behaved the whole time.  Charlotte however... had a rough time.  She's good for about 30 minutes.  Unfortunately we had about 7 hours more than that before stops.  Still, we made it.

We arrived in the wee hours of the morning.  Both kiddos slept in the car.  Mommy and Daddy not so much.  The next morning they were bright eyed and ready to face the day.  Thankfully this wonderful view helped to perk me right up!

We wasted no time getting to the beach.   This is over at Bond Lake, where Grandma Grogg has her place.  She treated us to all we could eat pancakes (or in Forrest's case, chocolate-chip pancakes) and bacon.  After the refuel, we were good to go.  The weather was perfect.  Forrest had a blast playing in the lake, and going so, SO deep.

After a day in the sun we all enjoyed relaxing up at the cabin.  There might have been a few cupcakes eaten.  And by a few, I mean around a dozen.

Day 2 started off with an amazing sunrise over our lake.  We quickly headed back to Grandma's to help her with some travel preparations... and eat more pancakes.

On day 2 even Bean got in on the lake fun.  It was a scorcher!  Thankfully we had the lake to cool off.

There were some highlights not pictured here including an awesome trip to Hayward - it is amazing how much different that town is when you're not fighting the mid-July-rainy-day crowd.  There was also some rainy day relaxing in our own cabin too.  No complaints though, it can't be sunny and 75 with a slight breeze every day.

Thats it for this trip.  The next will be a Father/Son adventure that I am very excited about.  More updates to come.

May 2016

May is rushing past!  Life with a 4 month old tends to make life go by at a faster pace.  Charlotte and Forrest continue to do so well.  Forrest is almost done with his first year at the Peoria Montessori school.  His wonderful teachers, Mrs. Shimmin and Mrs. Toro have been amazing.  Forrest has grown so much in the past 9 months.  

At the end of April, Grandma Grogg had her 80th Birthday Party.  It was a dress up affair in Morton IL. Forrest had a ton of fun playing with his cousin Ava.  Those two are fast friends.  It has been funny to watch the dynamic change.  When Forrest was an infant and then toddler, Ava wouldn't leave him for a second. She always wanted to mother him, hold him, or corral him.  Now it seems she has moved on, but it is Forrest always dogging at her heels.

Charlotte got to meet her Great Great uncle Don.  She was less than Thrilled, which I suppose isn't surprising.  Stranger danger and all that. Still, this picture is precious to me.  Don has such a special place in my heart.  He is, for me, the eternal symbol of summer - as that was always when he was around.  If something needed fixed up North -Don could do it.  If you wanted to learn how to ski -Don could help.  Don wears an ever present smile, has an amazing faith, and is full of love.

Forrest has also taken to his legos with a new vigor.  In this way, at least, he seems to be taking after me.  His favorite thing to build are "houses".  These large, often rambling structures often more closely resemble towers.  But hey, they're his legos he can call it whatever he wants.

I am not home as much as I would like.  I would guess that most working Fathers feel that way.  Even if I only worked 1 hour a week, I'd probably feel that way.  But when I am, I try to make the most of it.  Balancing a 3 year old's need for attention with a 4-month old's requirement of attention can be tough.  I do my best.

That isn't to say that work is all bad.  I have my fun where I can find it.  The furry friend over my left shoulder there was a find at a local physician's office.  I managed to snap that pic to send to Forrest.  Not sure what he thought of that.  And on team-day, I took advantage of the opportunity to remember my Grandfather.  The white "Prairie State Games" shirt was his when he worked on staff there.  The games no longer exist, but the shirt lives on.

The rest of May is looking up.  The weather has improved and continues to improve.  For the first time this year the forecast for the next 7 days is nothing but 70 degrees or higher.  Great walking weather.  Even at work I try to get my steps in when I can.  Even managed to hike it down to Mike's Place in Lacon one day over lunch.

There are some interesting folks in Lacon IL.  Still, it was delicious.  How can you say no to a restaurant that has BEEF in it's phone number? 

Stay healthy :)

Opening 2016!

This year is a big year for the Sawlaws, this is our first year with our lake home.  This has been a dream of mine for a long time.  I have been headed to Northwestern WI for a long time to visit my Grandparents, and last fall Mandi and I took the plunge deciding to purchase what we envision being our retirement home very nearby.  

This past weekend my friends Steven, Mark, Tim and myself packed up the cars, and at a brisk 4:00am we hit the road, electing for the scenic route north.  Take a look!

First stop was in Dickeyville WI, at the Grotto.  This is a very... um... unique shrine to our Lord and Saviour.  It was just a little past dawn when we snapped a selfie with this statue of Jesus.  It was a great start.

Here's another selfie at Kathy's Cafe in Lancaster WI.  I'm on the far left, and moving clockwise we have Mark, Steven and Tim again.  The breakfast was good, the donuts from the adjoining bakery were some of the best the boys had ever had (I didn't partake).

Its a bit tough to see, but our table included a view of the historic Lancaster Courthouse.

Tim is not amused at my RoadWarrior ways.

Arrival!  My caretaker Scott was there to meet us. He ran me through the paces of opening up.  Its going to take a few years to get the hang of it.  I really, really hope Scott doesn't retire.  The guy is second to none.  The lake was gorgeous :D

One of the purposes of the trip up was to get the new sofa and loveseat unpacked.  I think they fill the space nicely.  Thoughts?

There was ample time for R&R as well.  This picture was snapped with the express purpose of making my friend Alissa jealous.  Worked 100%.  New Glarus beer for those who don't know can only be bought in WI.  Its a summer time treat for me, had a little early this year... early in the year I mean. Not early in the day.  It was after 12:00PM when I had this beer.  I think.

The boys and I went to the Long Branch in Minong.  Definitely worth the stop.  The BBQ is solid, beers are cold, and the staff friendly.  During the summer you can grab dessert at the Scoop Next door.

All good things come to a close.  On the way home we stopped at the Dino Depot in the Dells.  I will always think of this place as a Sinclair station.  Sinclair holds a special spot in my heart.  My now departed Grandfather worked there when he was young, and always had Sinclair memorabilia around his office.  The big green Brontosaurus (its a thing again, look it up) makes me smile.  Steven was amazed by the size and power of it all.

Our last stop was Buffalo Phil's.  This Western themed restaurant has gone down a hill a bit in the past few years.  Food was okay, but the scenery was fun.  And you can't beat a place where the food arrives by train.  Steven managed to snap a picture with a hobo.

Overall it was a good trip.  I missed my wife and children dearly, and look forward to heading North with them soon.