Boo!

Happy Halloween to everyone! That is me in the above picture holding one of Lisa's extremely cool, campy Halloween decorations. Lisa has always had an uncanny knack for interior design, and I wish you all could see her house at some point...it's always warm and welcoming, with so many interesting things to look at. You really get into the spirit of the holidays when you're there...

A view from the house in Rhinelander(note the moon)

But I'm getting ahead of myself a little bit. This past weekend, Mark and I both took time away from school, the restaurant, tutoring, and cutting firewood, to go visit mom & dad in Rhinelander and the Hurlburt family in Eau Claire.

We started the trip Thursday and went to Rhinelander. Mom had a wonderful dinner of ham, sweet potatoes, salad and mashed potatoes and gravy ready for us. We also went on a few walks with Mingo and Roxy, both of whom are convinced that Rhinelander is heaven. My goodness, do they ever run when they are there!

Friday morning Mark got up before light and sat down by the woodpile with his bow in hopes of shooting a doe. Many deer have been loitering around that area, as mom has been feeding them apples and squash. Mark was really hoping to shoot a doe with his bow for 2 reasons: he has to shoot a doe before he can attempt to shoot a buck (earn-a-buck) and he actually prefers the taste of doe meat over buck meat (though I can't tell the difference, but I guess it's more tender). However, he had no luck and didn't see any deer. He did hear them though as they make a whistling sound when they sense danger; as quiet and motionless as he may have been, they "busted" him and vacated the area.
Romeo posing as the Easter Bunny

After the early morning hunt, mom, dad, Mark and I drove up to the Minocqua-Woodruff area for a very nice quick trip. Dad had told us about the new Catholic church built in that area and how beautiful it was, so we decided to go check that out. Dad did not make an overstatement. The church was absolutely stunning. It has been built to compliment the natural beauty of the area. It is surrounded by pines and is located a couple miles outside the hustle-and-bustle of Woodruff. The main doors make it seem like you are entering a wooden fortress...and as you walk in, there are 2 fireplaces on either side of the entryway. It was warm inside and sofas and chairs have been placed next to the fireplaces.

Upon entering the church itself, you immediately come to a unique baptismal font, perimetered by a sculpted cast iron gate. In the picture below, you can see the double tree design on the gate and the size of the pool of water. The sanctuary of the church is simple, yet striking. Beautiful wood surrounds you and the altar and lectern also have the same iron motiff as the baptismal font. The altar is spectacular in its simplicity. The wood came from the bottom of Lake Superior and is over 100 years old. Note the ripples on the wood itself (Sorry... I forgot what kind of tree it was).

The large new church certainly seemed like it spared no expense; indeed, it cost 9.5 million dollars to build. But it also is a church that has combined 3 separate parishes into 1 largely due to the shortage of priests. I wonder what the new church in Rhinelander will look like when it is built.Mom & Mary

Mark checking out the state-of-the-art kitchen

After we toured the church, we drove just a mile or two to the place where mom and dad first met: the DNR Fish Hatchery. Mom and dad noticed that some things had changed, but the old building where they met was still there and in use.

We also drove past the first house mom and dad lived in immediately after they were married. It was really little!

Next, we stopped by UBC and saw Uncle Donnie, my godfather. It was the first time he and Mark had met and they talked some about pheasant hunting, as Uncle Donnie just returned from a big hunting trip in North Dakota. On our way home, I finished drinking my enormous cappuccino...very naughty!

After our jaunt Up North, we left our hounds in good hands with mom and dad. They were very nice and agreed to watch the dogs for 2 days while Mark and I visited in Eau Claire. Not long after our arrival, it was time for Lisa, Mark and I to walk to Longfellow Elementary, where Mikey and Emma attend school. I really enjoy seeing the kids in this environment. It's such a huge part of their life right now...

Lisa made us a spectacular dinner of saurbraten, mashed potatoes, beer bread and apple pie--all from scratch! It was yummy! I was also impressed by how Emma was so eager to help in the preparations.

Friday evening I played a couple board games with the kids. Mikey is becoming quite the Chess player! After reminding me of the basic rules of the game (I haven't played since middle school), we played and even though I won, I was really floored by how serious, focused and thoughtful Mikey was. He's really very good and enjoys the strategy of the game. I told Mark that we need to get more board games at our house, not only for our visiting family, but for us! What good clean fun! And thanks to Mikey for renewing my interest in Chess.

Jon and Mark spent the day Saturday bowhunting in the Cornell area. Those crazies woke up at 5:00 A.M., but the rest of us slept in and then had a lazy morning sipping coffee, talking, and watching cartoons. It was great! Lisa and I took the kids to a "pumpkin patch" (it's actually a tree farm, but they do a big autumnal theme park) in the afternoon. You will have to check out her blog for pictures, as I did not bring my camera this time. We had a fun time. The kids are a little too old for the "spooky woods" now, but they really had fun on the various playground areas, which included a tradional playground, a haystack/tunnel play area, and a couple of those bouncy forts. We also went on a really nice wagon ride (pulled by a tractor) through part of the hilly tree farm. Very pretty.

After the pumpkin patch we went to the mall to look for a Halloween costume for Mikey. Unfortunately, we were disappointed with the selections for both boys and girls. Boy options seemed to be limited to the super-cliche (cowboy, pirate) to the super-gory (characters from slasher films) and the girl costumes were limited to the babyish (clown, flower) to the...um...shall we say suggestive?

Mom & Roxy & Mingo

Mark and I left Eau Claire Sunday morning and picked up the dogs who were smiling from ear to ear having spent 2 days running, sniffing and exploring. Thanks again, mom and dad for taking care of them!

Don, Diane, Mark, Judy & Van

When we returned to the Madison area we went to Mark's parents house for a special dinner with his aunt and uncle who were visiting from the Twin Cities. It was really nice seeing them, as we haven't seen them since our wedding. Mingo and Roxy also had the opportunity to play with Lizzie. A perfect way to end their weekend of fun!

Van and Judy with Lizzie

Mingo torments Lizzie by chewing on her boomerang