Miracle League - 2026 Season

When you have a child with disabilities, you discover an entire world that you didn't know existed. I'm so grateful we are living in the era we are in terms of access to services, resources and opportunities to enjoy childhood for Teddy. There's so much that exists now that I don't believe existed during my childhood. 

One of the amazing opportunities is Miracle League, which provides kids the chance to play baseball on an accessible field partnered with amazing volunteer buddies who support their needs. Year after year, Teddy has had great buddies, and this year Sam did amazing with him. From the first game, Sam was comfortable interacting with Teddy, guiding him where they needed to go and supporting him to bat and run the bases. It is so cool as parents to see these young volunteers shine with how they interact with our children, and Teddy lit up when he saw Sam each week.

Sam + Teddy = All smiles!

This season was extra fun because Teddy has become best friends with Mikey through school this year. As parents of a non-verbal child, it took us a while to realize Teddy had this best friend, but we eventually figured it out. These two boys cannot get enough of each other. It doesn't matter if they spend hours together during the day, they're constantly wanting to hang out again with each other. 

So they were on the same baseball team, which meant every Tuesday we got to hang out together at the ball field. Teddy loved having his friend with him to bat next to him, play together in the outfield, get ice cream before or after the games, share supper before and ride together to games. Their friendship made this season extra sweet for all of us.

These two are something else together!

We're lucky that Teddy has such amazing family and friends. Every game came with a cheering section, complete with grandparents, great aunts and uncles and our adopted kids or some combination thereof. It's truly a blessing to have family and friends who show up for us to share in the ordinary moments of summer that really are the extraordinary moments of life. 

Train Time

When you live in Wisconsin, you look forward to signs of spring. Whether it's early tulips and daffodils poking through the cold ground, the grass slowly turning green or the warmer days, they're all harbingers of spring. Teddy's favorite sign of spring, though, is the start of train rides at the National Railroad Museum. 

We're fortunate to live within an hour of this incredible train museum. Like our membership at EAA, one day I hope to go and actually read all the exhibits, but for now I get to enjoy bits and pieces, whatever I can read in the moments that Teddy stays in one place. Usually, though, he's on the go exploring all the trains. This museum is fantastic because so much of the exhibits are a "yes," not a "no" for Teddy. What I mean by this is that you're allowed to climb inside and walk through more of the displays than not, which is exactly what Teddy wants. 

I mean, really, it's not enough to just see a train. You have to walk through it, sit in it and, of course, try to drive the engines! That's how you experience the full joy!

One of the great things with a membership is that we can visit for 20 minutes if Teddy isn't feeling it (usually never the case) or as long as we want. A membership means a quick visit is just as worth it as a long visit when you're not paying an individual fee for entrance only to have a tough day and have to leave early. 

The best part of the membership, though, is the train rides that are included! There's a 20-minute or so train ride every 2 hours during the warmer months. A perfectly time visit starts with a train ride, followed by exploring all the trains and exhibits, capped off with a second train ride. (We might be the only family to double up on train rides, but I doubt it.)

Train rides are one of the best things!

This past weekend was the NFL draft, hosted in Green Bay. This meant the population of the city was more than doubled in size to host this event, which made people shy away from the city if they weren't there for the draft. It also meant the train museum ran train rides on the hour.

So we drove the hour north, hedging our bets that traffic wouldn't be a nightmare and that parking at the museum wouldn't be too bad. And we struck gold. Since so many people didn't venture out, the museum was remarkably quiet. In fact, we had the first train ride as a private train ride, during which Teddy befriended the conductor and made him sit right next to him. It was a great experience, fantastic to hear this kind volunteer who trains all other conductors take interest in Teddy and share how they are dementia certified and work to make it a great experience for all people. We got to witness this in action on the second train ride of the day when another child who plays in Teddy's baseball league was really excited and then agitated and sharing that with vocalizations. The conductor simply paused in his tour when necessary and picked right back up, never judging or making the experience anything less for anyone ... well, except maybe Teddy who still thought the conductor should sit right by him again. 

Teddy and his new best friend, all smiles!

Winter is Here

Despite having snow for Halloween (thanks, Mother Nature!), we had no snow for most of November and December. In fact, we had unseasonably warm temperatures in December, balmy (for Wisconsin) 40s and may even warmer. 

But we're paying for it now that January is here. We had two snowstorms last week, with one actually counting as a blizzard due to the volume of snow and wind combined. The kids were home from school Tuesday, and we got a few inches of snow that day, but it wasn't as bad as forecast. So held out hope we'd have school on Friday, but those hopes were dashed when my run ended at 6 a.m. to see the texts that school was cancelled. Friday definitely was a snow day as that was our blizzard day that continued into the night. 

Fortunately I had a friend offer to take AJ to her house for a sleepover when she headed home from the office, so he got to have plenty of fun with a friend playing video games and Dungeons and Dragons. As I was chatting with Dave when he finished up work late in the afternoon, I suggested we invite the neighbors over for breakfast Saturday morning since we'd all be snowed in.

A few text messages later, and we had at least a few takers, so we thawed some meats and left extra cinnamon breads for the bakery unfrozen. The next morning neighbors showed up around 8 a.m. to enjoy sausage and bacon (of course cooked outside on the grill and griddle ... we grill year-round here), cinnamon bread, sourdough, hot cocoa, tequila sunrises and adult breakfast smoothies (aka the leftover pitcher of margaritas from Christmas with the neighbors). 

Not the whole crew, but quite a few. Teddy made himself comfy.

Teddy was so excited when the first neighbors arrived, happy to play with their 2 girls. His excitement only grew as we had 13 friends join the fun. He spent time in the basement playing with the kids, and dragged a few adults down to the basement to play as well.

It was such a nice, spontaneous gathering to make the most of the snowstorm and fact that no one was dashing off anywhere bright and early. It wasn't fancy, but it sure was fun!

 

Grateful for Graceful Wakes

Oh my goodness! Today was the perfect summer day thanks to Graceful Wakes. This amazing organization partners with local water ski clubs (in this case the Rock Aqua Jays down in Janesville) to host accessible water skiing clinics for people of all abilities.

Teddy participated in this program last year for the first time and had a great day despite pretty crummy weather. This year our entire family went for the day of fun and enjoyed perfect summer weather and sunshine.

Teddy got to ski 3 times and was so excited each time. The last time he even was waving as he came back to shore. The skiers sit in a chair mounted on a ski, so even people who cannot walk can have a go at water skiing. They have side skiers on either side of the chair to hold and support the individual skiing in the chair.

It’s incredible the amount of volunteers who make these clinics happen. Picture almost 25 people getting up to 3 turns skiing, assisted by 2 buddies each time, plus another couple people in the water assisting with getting into the chair and catching when the skiers return, plus boat drivers, announcers and photographers. We’re so grateful they chose to give their time and talents to allow our family to enjoy today.

Teddy also got to hang out on the pontoon boat. We missed the few rides they did, but we asked if we could sit on the boat earlier in the day and were welcomed aboard. That was great since Teddy is obsessed with pontoons, and that’s all he wanted in the moment.

Just call him Captain Teddy. That's what he thinks at least.

He also got to enjoy a tubing ride with AJ, and AJ managed to sneak in a second tube ride. It’s such a fun treat for our kiddos since this isn’t something we normally have access to do.

The boys enjoyed their tube ride ... a lot!

It was extra cool to have one of our MTT friends Raymond and his family there as well, so we got to visit with them. Plus one of my running buddies now lives in the Janesville area, so she and her family joined us as well to watch Teddy’s first run.

Then on our way home, we had to stop at the World’s largest Culvers (a Wisconsin custard and fast food restaurant). The real treat was we walked into the restaurant right ahead of my aunt and cousins from Mississippi—they were headed home from a week at my parent’s farm. We hadn’t planned it, yet our paths spontaneously crossed.

Such a serendipitous moment!

This goes into the memory bank as a fantastic summer fun day—we’re so grateful for these types of opportunities. Sometimes we have to fight for things for Teddy, and these types of gifts of accessibility and inclusion are even sweeter than the best custard in the world.

The Best Winter Tradition: Picnic Days

One of our favorite winter traditions is winter picnics with my parents, complete with tubing on the creation my dad made called the Beast. This tubing creation has allowed Teddy to join the tubing fun since he was 1.5 years old, even when he had no body tone. We’ve done this tradition once a winter since 2014, first starting at my parent’s farm and then moving down to our land.

AJ wanted to pull Teddy in the sled. Teddy loved that.

We actually got to enjoy 2 winter picnics this year, one in January and one in February. We were blessed with incredible Wisconsin winter weather both days: sunny, in the 30s, little wind and snow on the ground. You can’t ask for better Wisconsin winter weather, especially since that combination makes snow extra packable, perfect for chucking snowballs while being pulled by the tube.

These days are some of my favorites because they’re long enough to enjoy the tubing, campfire, lunch and walks on our property, yet they’re not so long that we get frustrated with Teddy’s lack of listening skills. It’s a very manageable day, and we all enjoy them.

This is a picture of Teddy. He put Grandpa on the tractor and then ran away up the hill.

Teddy went tubing one day, but his preference is to ride with Grandpa as he crazy drives the Ranger trying to knock us off the Beast. AJ’s job is to pack snowballs for me to chuck, and Grandma hangs on for dear life. Dave enjoys that for a while before sneaking off to the river to fish.

Simple days like these are the best family time. No screens while we’re there (ignore the screens that are on the entire drive to and from) and just good ol’ fashioned fun.

Winter Hikes

The other weekend Teddy and I went for a hike together at a local nature preserve. Teddy was super excited to spend some time outdoors in the woods. He loves running through the woods, and it’s great for him to practice his stability.

Since this preserve was in the path of tornado-like winds the other year, there’s still tons of down trees, paths blocked and even more bramble that seems to be right at eye height. So Teddy got plenty of practice ducking and even had to crawl under some trees. He came away with no scratches and both eyeballs still intact, so that was a success.

We probably spent about an hour walking and covered about a mile, not bad for Teddy and the terrain and all the breaks he took to sit on the ground because he didn’t want to go any further (or he wanted to go the opposite direction). While I’d love to hike longer and further, this hike was so enjoyable because I went into it with no expectations and let Teddy lead our adventure for the most part.

He thought it was hilarious that he was running and sliding down a hill (with a steep cliff dropping to a river on one side), but thankfully he slid right into a tree that was downed across the trail. That stopped him and allowed me to catch up to him, giggling hysterically. (Him, not me, although I did chuckle after telling him he almost died.)

Although Teddy is persistent, he does fall pretty often. He doesn’t mind those falls and will often pick himself up and keep running without pausing. Yet he also took advantage of these breaks to munch on snow. I know many kids like to eat snow, but Teddy takes eating snow to a whole new level. He’ll eat it straight off the ground, scoop it up to eat it or lick it off tree branches. In fact, when he didn’t want to head back to the car, I kept scooping up the cleanest snow I could find to offer him “snow snacks” to keep going.

Teddy munching on his snow stick. Weirdo.

This was a great adventure with Teddy, and I’m grateful for afternoons like this.

Simple Joys: Bus Rides

 One of Teddy’s favorite things in the whole wide world is busses. (Other favorite things include tractors and water slides.) Earlier this year he won a free bus ride pass, which might seem like an odd prize for a 9-year-old like Teddy, but it was a great opportunity for a fun adventure this summer. His sitter took him to the bus station, and they simply picked a bus to ride for the entire route. He was so excited to actually get to ride the bus. I say that because he’s excited to simply see a bus and watch them at the bus station.

Teddy invited (directed) Sigrid where to sit.

They rode the entire route, and then they switched buses for another loop. Although Teddy is usually a constant bundle of energy and motion, he was content to stay in his seat the entire ride. He did check out other seats when the bus stopped, but he always went back to “his” seat for the ride.

They both had a great time exploring together!

It was such a simple, fun adventure that he got a bus pass for his birthday. His grandma has already taken him on several rides, and he is just as excited each time. He doesn’t need a destination, just to ride a bus.

Teddy was in his happy place. 

Teddy Takes on Waterskiing

Last month Teddy had an incredible opportunity to go waterskiing. Yes, you read that correctly. There's an organization called Graceful Wakes that coordinates skiing clinics for people with disabilities. I first learned of the group in June when someone shared their clinic information, so I reached out and was told the clinic was already full (nearly a month in advance). I said we'd try again next year and don't even remember asking to be put on a wait list ... yet the week of the clinic I got an e-mail that they had a cancellation and would love to have Teddy join them.

Since Dave was off that day already, he took both boys down to Janesville, about 2 hours away, for a day of fun on the water. I heard after the first run that Teddy seemed to have fun but was a bit unsure of it, so Dave wasn't sure if he'd do a second run. Well, he did and absolutely loved it once he knew what to expect (as it was a completely new and different experience)!

Teddy was loving his ride!

They had plenty of talented volunteers assisting with every aspect, including two volunteers on skis who literally held the waterskiing chair while skiing. Ummm, I'm pretty sure I couldn't hold my own waterskiing, much less hold onto a chair while waterskiing. They made it possible for a wide range of folks to try waterskiing, with Teddy getting two turns to go.

Thanks to Graceful Wakes and all the volunteers for making this magic happen!

As much as he loved skiing, as soon as his second turn ended, he started swimming away from the chair toward a pontoon boat he spotted. Now, mind you, Teddy's ability to swim is very much a work in progress, but he definitely was moving away from the skiers toward his target. That prompted several additional volunteers to enter the water to "rescue" or perhaps "redirect" Teddy. 

Look at that joy!

AJ captured some good photographs, but the ones I'm sharing in this post are from the photographers who were in the boats to capture the smiles. And there were smiles! AJ and Teddy also got to go tubing together as well, and it was a great family fun day. 

This definitely made an impression on our family (and I'm bummed I was working and missed it). We're so looking forward to this event next year and hope to make it a family fun day!

Baseball was a Hit

Teddy finished his first season with Miracle League, and we're already looking forward to next season. I'm so glad we discovered this program and decided to give it a try, even though games are 30 minutes away. This is such a fantastic program that truly makes baseball accessible to kids with all different abilities and disabilities through a team of creative and caring volunteers. The amount of volunteers needed to support 16 teams of kids, each with a 1:1 buddy, not to mention coaches, photographers, umpires and more is a significant number, yet there always seemed to be plenty of helpers with smiles on their faces who love making baseball possible. 

Teddy's buddy Carlie was amazing with him. She quickly learned how to communicate with him and anticipate his moves. She definitely could keep up with him and was part of the reason he had a great season! He also had great coaches, who quickly knew him by name, cheered him on and supported him.

Teddy with one of his biggest fans and his amazing buddy!

This video captures baseball pretty accurately for Teddy. I thought he was coming to say hi to me, but he was more concerned about everyone else in the stands (none of whom he knows).

My view, Fidgets, and Skiing

Hello everybody, This is AJ. I am Teddy's Brother and I wanted to share three cool things with you. I hope you enjoy what I've got to share.

I love being Teddy's big brother. Teddy is great at smiling and cheering you up. I've got to do many amazing things with Teddy like watching him waterskiing, going tubing with him, going to the movies, going to the zoo, and so much more. With Teddy Life is an endless adventure. He is the best brother that I could have wished for.

On Friday Teddy had the amazing chance to go waterskiing with Graceful Wakes and volunteers from Rock Aqua Jays. I was able to photograph Teddy waterskiing here are some of my photographs. It was amazing and I am very grateful for the opportunity to do it.

Also in the last post my mom said how I was selling fidgets as she said I am selling fidgets to fundraise money for a possible treatment to help with seizures. They are $10 a piece and I have the colors Gold, Glow in the Dark, Copper, Silver, Red, White, Black, Green, and Rainbow Glow in the Dark. If you want to  order fidgets go to https://forms to order.

Here are my photos!

YAY That was fun!

Where almost done.

Comin in HOT!!!

Where off!

See ya later.

Play Ball!

Let's just say Teddy's buddy got her exercise last week at the first ball game of the season. Teddy was like a ping pong ball: here, there and everywhere. Fortunately, the gates do shut, so the teams are contained to the field and their dugouts. Otherwise Teddy would have escaped to the bleachers because, well, bleachers are really cool. 

This star arrived with his fan club, including beautiful adoring women. ;-)

He was so excited to be with so many people, and to play baseball. He did great listening to some of his buddy's instructions, putting on his batting helmet and picking out a bat. Of course, he also tried to make her wear a batting helmet and gave her a bat, too. He was pretty excited to bat, but then he was too distracted to actually run the bases when he was supposed to run. Don't worry, he wasn't too distracted to run all over the field the rest of the time.

It was a combination of heartwarming and hilarious (mostly because we were laughing at our goofball son) to watch the game. There is sheer joy on the faces of so many players, buddies and family members. 

Teddy had his own cheering section, with both his sitters, us, one set of grandparents and then one of our sitter's friends. We've had so many friend and family ask when games are to come cheer him on, as well, so he's feeling pretty loved. 

They had a professional photographer at the last game who got some entertaining shots of him, that I won't share here as I don't have permission. But here's a snippet of his game with all his loveable distraction. 

It's going to be a fun season!

My Mets Star

It's an exciting day, folks! Today is Teddy's first game with Miracle League, which is an amazing organization that gives kids with all abilities the opportunity to play baseball. The league plays on an adapted field, which is completely wheelchair accessible, as many players use wheelchairs or have mobility issues. Each player is matched with a buddy who assists them with batting, fielding and hangs out with them during the games, so that parents and families can truly be spectators. 

We've heard nothing but good things about this program and finally decided to sign Teddy up because he loves being around people, and he gets a huge kick out of running around baseball diamonds. He was so excited to sit in the bleachers last week when we picked up his gear and met his coaches. It was amazing to see all the different kids who are going to play ball this summer, who all get to be included and participate in a way that works for each of them. 

I can't wait to share his baseball adventures with you!

Can you tell how excited Teddy was to meet his coaches?!?

Halloween - the Best Therapy

I think it's safe to say that Halloween is Teddy's favorite holiday. Now that he's past the phase of being freaked out by costumed characters, he loves most everything about Halloween. (There was one scary beast character that got the side eye from Teddy.) And I loved watching him experience everything!

I say most everything because he'd really love everything about Halloween if he was allowed to enter everybody's home, traipse into their backyards and explore their garages. Those were the only disappointments for the evening when I redirected him from those activities. 

I was so proud of Teddy this Halloween. That might sound odd because all he had to do was wear a really cute costume and get candy, right? When you think about all the effort and skills that go into trick-or-treating, it's like every therapy rolled into one activity that lasts a couple hours. And Teddy rocked it. 

Wendy with her beloved Peter Pan and his Shadow.

From walking so much (with only a few breaks in his chair to rest) to stepping up to every front porch because everyone has a step I swear, he did so much physical therapy. He only fell once, caught his balance several times and trucked through ditches like nobody's business. 

He knows the sign for candy or treat, so he signed that at many houses, along with thank you. Near the end, folks got more of a wave than signs, but they still knew what he meant. (And Dave looked up how to sign trick or treat, so we now have a year to practice the full sign!) 

Grasping candy in a bowl and taking only a piece or two, much less letting it drop into your own bucket, is monumental from a fine motor standpoint. His therapist would be proud of his release skills as he practiced all night, not to mention when he decided to carry his own bucket.

That was my favorite moment. Even though Teddy was putting candy into his bucket all night, I was carrying it because he was holding my hand part of the time and holding his beloved sword that he was so proud to have. All of the sudden, though, leaving one house, he looked at the bucket 2/3 full of candy and realized he should be carrying it. He threw down his sword and used two hands to pry the bucket from me. From that point forward, I was not permitted to carry the bucket and was relegated to sword duty. He was also extremely concerned when he climbed in the car that his candy bucket wasn't in his arms.

This was the few moments Teddy was actually with the kids. I'm not creeping behind him. Oh wait ...

Teddy is such a social butterfly that going from house to house to see all the people is completely his jam. He honestly thought we were supposed to go inside each house because why else would they open their doors. He did amazing at listening overall, going to each front door, ringing or trying to ring the doorbell and then moving on to the next house. Seriously, taking him trick-or-treating was absolutely amazing this year!

I think we should consider trick-or-treating once a month as therapy. I think Teddy would be on board, but now I need to convince my community. 

Amusement Park for All Abilities

Last night we had the opportunity to visit a local amusement park, courtesy of the Green Bay Preble Optimist Club. This was a unique opportunity because the park was closed to the general public. The Optimist Club rented out the park and invited families with a child with a disability to attend. This enabled families to avoid the chaos and commotion that is often too much for families to navigate with their child(ren)'s disabilities. 

It was amazing to see so many wheelchairs (with ride attendants wheeling them right up to the rides to assist), visually impaired individuals and others with visible and invisible disabilities. For one thing, Teddy fits into this environment. He's not different because everyone is different. Second, it was truly heartwarming getting to see the joy that everyone got the opportunity to experience.

Check out the amazing view from the Ferris Wheel.

We've taken our boys to this amusement park in the past, with at least one adult dedicated to Teddy. They even have a disability access pass that we used once, which definitely helped when I was there solo with Teddy. But due to COVID, we've avoided the park the last two seasons because it would be way too people-y for us to be comfortable with Teddy, even outdoors and with masks. However, we knew this evening would be few people since it was limited to families with disabilities. 

Dave was going to be late getting home from work, so unfortunately he was left beyond. No worries, though, because I had plenty of help (with AJ, Sigrid and Bri). We got to enjoy the 8 rides that were open, which included Teddy's two favorites: the train ride and the carousel. There's also a fantastic Ferris wheel with stunning views, especially at dusk. We mildly traumatized Teddy with the drop ride. He was rather quick to run away from that ride and was skittish about getting on the next one. However, he settled down and transitioned back to happy Ted about halfway through the Ferris wheel. 

I will admit the Tilt-o-Whirl followed by the Scrambler had me mighty grateful for additional support. I came way too close to losing my supper. I blame my children because before kids I was up for any ride. Now my equilibrium protests, and that combo nearly did me in. 

But all in all, we had an amazing evening. It was wonderful to get to enjoy the amusement park rides, the acceptance and make some special memories. 

The Return of Training Runs

Well, that caption is a bit misleading. MyTEAM Triumph (MTT) has been doing training runs for quite some time, with only a relatively short hiatus due to COVID. However, we only ventured out this summer for training runs while keeping our distance still. That means rather than sharing pushing duties with other angels, I'm responsible for pushing my lunk of a captain. (OK, he's the lightest captain at the training runs, but still ...)

Although I'm still responsible for pushing Teddy, we both get some socialization. We get to see our MTT friends. Teddy gets to venture into his beloved trailer. Seriously, the first training run we returned to he used a bungee cord to attach himself to the trailer. It's good for both of us. It's also a nice break for AJ and Dave to have some non-Teddy time.

The heat doesn't faze Teddy. It fazes me.

But I swear every Monday is the hottest day of the week. If you look closely, you can see Teddy's holding a squirt gun. We took along two squirt guns for Teddy. He spent much of his time squirting himself and drinking the squirt gun water. He did have fun squirting a few of the other angels and captains. He even managed to squirt me a few times, which was seriously needed. 

I doubt we'll make it back to events yet in 2021, but I'm crossing my fingers that next year we'll be back at events and at training runs every week. Until then, we'll enjoy the camaraderie from a bit of a distance. 

Sliding Their Way Into Summer

Our boys started their summer this week with so much fun this week. Their one sitter took them to visit their other sitter. They spent the day playing at a lake, splashing and swimming in the water to beat the incredible heat wave and even boating. 

I got texts of videos showing the fun they were having. My reply was, "I'm jealous. That looks way more fun than work, as long as you are in charge of Teddy and I'm just in charge of mojitos."

It's such a blessing to have not one, but two childcare providers who are an extension of our family, who choose to spend some of their downtime hanging out with our family. Extra hands are always helpful with Teddy, particularly around water. He got to hang out on a boat, which he loves, and he got to spend time with two of his favorite people. AJ is ecstatic any time he gets to go to the lake. 

We're blessed. Now I just need to find a day to take off and enjoy mojitos while I watch them wrangle the boys. 

Snowy Giggles

Last night Teddy asked to go outside to play, so we headed out with a beautiful snow falling. My intention was to get the driveway cleared, so that it would be easier to finish in the morning. Teddy loves dragging shovels around, so I was optimistic I'd be able to get the driveway shoveled. None of the neighbors were out, and all their garage doors are shut, which was good because those are instant magnets that lure Teddy to them.

This was earlier in the day, before the snowfall. It was dark by the time we had snow.

Well, after about 5 minutes, Teddy thought it would be funny if he made his way to the neighbor's driveway. It took him several minutes because he was dragging a giant shovel and trudging through a couple feet of snow because he walked through the lawn. He was laughing the whole time, knowing he was being mischievous. I waited until he was close to heading up their walkway to go retrieve him and bring him back to our driveway. No sooner did I start shoveling again did he take off for another neighbor's driveway, laughing the entire way, with his shovel in tow. Once again, I kept shoveling until he got nearly to their door and then ran over to retrieve him. 

Fortunately, each time he willingly walked back to our house, instead of flopping to the ground like a 70-pound sack of flour. We headed back and resumed shoveling our driveway. He made a couple passes before he took off for a third neighbor's driveway. When I went to retrieve him that time, he was literally collapsed in the snow in a fit of giggles because he thought he was absolutely hilarious. Each time he'd fall, he'd eat the snow off his mittens or the ground, which is pretty standard for Wisconsin children during fresh snowfall.

He made it to a fourth neighbor's house before I tried to encourage him to bring out our garbage bin because it needed to go out for the morning anyways. He interpreted that as go to the neighbor's bin and attempt to drag it to our yard. That let me finish the shoveling, as much as I could, before I retrieved him one more time. That time the garbage can flipped and dumped a pile of snow in his face. I just chuckled and told him he deserved it. 

I had thought it was odd when we went out to shovel that there were footprints leading to our door, until I saw that someone's dog had traipsed through our driveway and around our house. I can only imagine what our neighbors thought with random shovel passes, lots of little and big footprints and flop marks. 

The Return of the Beast

It's winter in Wisconsin, which means the Beast made an appearance (hopefully the first of several for the season). If you've read this blog for a while, you've likely seen posts each winter detailing the fun we have with the Beast. This past weekend, we headed to our land for a day of playing in the snow.

The drive was absolutely beautiful due to the heavy frost from the fog that covered all the trees in a blanket of white. We arrived to discover the deathtrap of a deer stand was blown over from heavy winds (and quite a few shotgun shells), so that pleased Dave. It's on our list to get that down and cleaned up, so that we don't have an additional hazard to tempt Teddy. 

We discovered that our hill with the garage is perfect for sledding and tubing. The boys had so much fun playing with Ms. Bri, our nanny who came down to play for the day with us. AJ loved sledding with her while Teddy rode on his beloved Dorris (the tractor) with Grandpa. 

We raced down the driveway, making the most of the tubes.

My parents brought the Beast down for the day, so we all got turns riding on the Beast and trying to have snowball fights while driving and riding. It's tough to nail those on the Ranger with snowballs from behind, but we put forth a good effort. It's tough to say whether Teddy likes the Beast or the Ranger better, but I think he likes the option of both. 

It wasn't a sunny day, but it was fairly enjoyable in the 20s. We needed all the variety of layers to keep switching Teddy into dry layers ... seriously, changing a diaper through all the winter clothes is a pain in the tush! Next time, we'll make sure we build a fire sooner for s'mores and additional warmth (although Teddy isn't one to stay near a fire to warm up without getting into trouble). We still managed about 5 hours of fun before heading home. 

We're already looking forward to our next winter play day at the land. (And Dave is looking forward to his next opportunity to do some early season trout fishing!) 

Winter Walks

In Wisconsin, we get what you could aptly call a winter wonderland. We get a blanket of snow, perfect for sledding, traipsing through, snowshoeing, skiing, building snowmen and forts and the like. We also get beautiful days in the 20s or low 30s that are perfect for enjoying the snow and nature. We also get days where it's so cold that it hurts to breath outside. With the exception of a few wickedly windy or cold days, we're able to enjoy time outside most days as long as we dress appropriately.

Despite temps around 10°F (without factoring in the wind, which always makes it feel colder), we went for walks on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was wonderful to be in the woods, enjoying the stillness and the natural beauty that exists even without snow. The day after Christmas, Dave and Teddy did a nice mile loop while AJ tried out his new bike and I chased him huffing and puffing for 3 miles. Let's just say that a 7-speed bike increases his pace that I'm going to have to do some speedwork to hang with him this upcoming summer. Then on Sunday we explored a new-to-us wetland with a boardwalk into the water and a trail of sorts through the woods. 

The challenge on all these walks is whether we chase Teddy, who doesn't have the stamina for a mile-long walk, takes off running in random directions and sometimes flops to the ground and refuses to move. That's a challenge if we still have a long ways to get back to our starting point, so for longer walks we'll take his chair. He can get out for portions but can also be safely contained and transported rather than a fireman carry as he actively resists. So we took his chair to explore the new wetland place, which worked great for the boardwalk and part of the trail. Then the trail became non-existent aside from markers on trees. Dave and I each took a handle and pulled his chair backward to navigate the rough terrain. So on the way back, we took to the ice for a much smoother (and more fun) ride. I could even spin Teddy 360° in his chair on the ice. AJ had fun exploring the bubbles in the ice and all the other little wonders of nature.

Note the "trail" as Teddy enjoyed peering through a hole in the ice.

That afternoon we got several inches of snow. I bundled Teddy up and headed to a park that was empty. We spent close to an hour playing in the park, whizzing down the slides. (For those of you not native to winter wonderlands, a sprinkle of snow makes slides faster. As a child, we'd carry handfuls of snow to the top of the tall slide and dust them on to make our trips down even faster.) It was really enjoyable to just follow Teddy where he wandered and let him do his thing (aside from the construction equipment that we weren't going to explore). We both love being outside, and it was great to enjoy it together. 

This face mask keeps him warm and lets him chew on something-double win.

On a side note, I'm grateful my new snow bibs fit both our sitters because they have many snowy days to play with the boys. Lucky them, right?

Life's an Adventure

I know I haven't posted as often here, not because anything is drastically wrong but rather because life is different, still rather busy and emotionally exhausting. So I aim for at least a weekly post.

This week we had three days of solid rain, which was quite the damper (literally) after gorgeous weather last weekend. Teddy and I had a day to ourselves while AJ and Dave planted trees, so we explored a local trail and then a nature preserve. Our goal is to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible while minimizing contact with people. So, unfortunately, sometimes we head out for a walk to turn back at the trailhead because it's too people-y. (That's now a word for me. I feel like the pandemic justifies it, even though I used it before.)

The trail we ran in the morning was fantastic, mostly flat and just beautiful. We also enjoyed at least a mile or two without running into anyone and were off the trail before it was too busy. But the treasure we found was the nature preserve, which on a beautiful day, only had a handful of cars in the parking lot. We took the chair we borrowed from myTEAM Triumph and headed off to explore. Less than a quarter mile into the preserve, it became obvious that we had an interesting choice to make in terms of which steep hill we wanted to go down. The path was wide enough to accommodate the chair, so off we went with me hoping I didn't have to push Teddy back up that hill.

Let's just say that we had so much fun exploring these trails, not only because it was a walk in the woods with so few people that we encountered ... I think only once did we step aside for others ... but also because it was an adventure. The trail got so narrow the chair didn't fit. That wasn't the biggest problem in the woods, but when the one side of the trail was the river, let's just say that Teddy thought it was hilarious. Anything dangerous is clearly more fun for Teddy.

We went back as a family later this week when the rain cleared up, and the trails were covered in mud. This time we brought the backpack carrier, so we were able to explore a bit further than our previous stopping point. Teddy still thought it was quite fun, even with a free ride.

I'm so grateful we found this place, which feels like a sliver of paradise for us close to home. Right now I'm not able to get to our land, so finding nature and solace nearby is a blessing.