Ice Caves - An Adventure!

Eleven years ago, Dave and I had the opportunity to visit the Apostle Island ice caves. It was a whirlwind trip with lots of hiking, stunning scenery and two magical days that we still fondly remember. In fact, just the other month we were talking about how incredible the ice caves were and how unlikely it was that we'd ever see the ice caves again because it takes very specific weather conditions ... so specific that 11 years ago was the last time the ice caves were open.

When I stumbled on the news that the ice caves were planning to open February 16 this year, Dave was at our land with no Internet/cell service. So as he was driving the 3 hours home, I mentioned to him that the ice caves were opening the next day. And, within the next hour, he booked a hotel room, we called the boys in for school on Monday, and we both took a spontaneous day of PTO. I spent the next 2 hours frantically packing all our gear with AJ's help, and we headed out for another 4.5 hours of driving when Dave got home to get to Ashland. On the way, we got to stop for a quick supper with our sister-in-law and two of her kids for a fun break.

Teddy was very excited about this adventure and quite insistent that he wanted to go (as in he tried packing himself in the suitcase). He was excited to go swimming at the hotel pool and especially enjoyed the hot tub, which was necessary as we then had to walk outside to get back to our room. Sleeping in hotel rooms with Teddy is always a gamble, but he settled down by 10 and slept until 5 a.m. In Teddy's world and hotel rooms, that's considered a win..

Plus, we were heading out early to finish driving to the ice caves, so a 5 a.m. wakeup wasn't the worst thing. By 6:30 a.m. I was packing our vehicle and bringing our surprise visitor, my dad, into our hotel room. That's right, when we do crazy adventures, we extend the offer to others. He was crazy enough to get up at 3 a.m. to meet us that morning.

This year was strictly shuttles to the trailhead, so we headed to a shuttle area in hopes of finding a park ranger. When we couldn't find one there, we headed to the trailhead to at minimum drop off Teddy's adaptive wheelchair. Fortunately, the rangers there allowed us to access handicap parking, which was exactly what we needed to make this adventure possible. 

We were able to get all our gear together, carry his chair down to the beach and be the first trekking the mile or so out to the caves. It was so foggy that we were picking our way along without being able to see much ... not that we could enjoy the scenery at the start because it was a slog to push Teddy's chair through the snow on the beach. Fortunately, after about a third of a mile, we found a more packed snowmobile path on the ice, and it was much smoother sailing from there! 

We were still among the first group of people to the ice caves, and they were just as incredible as we remembered! AJ was enamored in taking photographs and just in awe. Teddy would have spent all his time playing in each and every cave if we let him, though he spent most of the time in his chair go see all the splendor with breaks to get out and play. 

Teddy walking under a bridge of ice.

We all made it probably about 2 or more miles out on the ice, and then AJ and I finished the last of the trail as it wasn't compacted enough to manage Teddy's chair. In the time we were gone exploring, Teddy got to enjoy more of the caves and even found a photographer friend for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2026/02/17/apostle-islands-ice-caves-closed/88716758007/ He's the 12th image in the gallery.)

It was truly a magical day, honestly a once-in-a-lifetime experience to witness these wonders with my dad and the boys. It's unlikely that even if the caves open again that we'd be able to make the trip and schlep Teddy through the snow, so this was his chance to see and experience them. It was so special to experience the caves with Teddy in a way that we both love ... crawling and sliding and scooting through the ice caves. And it was just as special to trek to the end of the formations with AJ, seeing his awe and love of photographing the beauty. 

AJ got to see a lot of cool formations!

The trek back was a bit tougher as most of our crew was sore and a bit tired, but it was well worth it. And, honestly, I was just so darn glad that we had compacted snow for the entire trek back instead of the loose snow we had on the start of the hike that I was literally jumping for joy. As we were getting off the ice, we had a ranger comment, "That's the best thing I've seen all day!" in reference to Teddy's chair and our ability to bring him to the caves. We tag-teamed getting Teddy and his chair up the stairs. My dad joked his favorite part of the day was the last 2 steps as he helped Dave carry the chair. 

And then we had a 6-hour drive back home. It was worth every bit of the drive, every amount of effort pushing a chair through snow and all the catch up that we have from spontaneously taking this whirlwind adventure. I commented to my friends that it was well worth cancelling life to do this, and then I realized that what we did was far more important than a day of school or a day of work ... it was 32 hours of making core memories, living in the moment and enjoying the wonderous world in which we live with the people we love. 

We're so grateful for the opportunity to do this, especially since the caves were closed again the next day with no certainty as to when they'll reopen. We definitely lucked out with the accessible parking as that made the adventure possible (and so much easier than leaving a chair and backtracking to a shuttle or splitting our group to have some stay with the chair and the rest shuttle). It wasn't easy, but it was absolutely worth it. 

Nature is pretty darn amazing ... and pretty.

Winter Adventures

Its's been a freezing cold winter, and I swear the 10 days have all been sub-zero. We've had school cancelled due to the cold, Teddy home sick 3 days for 2 different illnesses, and 2 planned days off school. So this beautiful poem was still ringing true ...

But today was finally above zero the entire day! So we got plenty of fresh air and getting rid of some of our stir craziness. 

We started the day with Teddy's second skiing lesson! He remembered so much of what he learned last time and was building off that with more work on turns and learning to feel his edges. His instructor Eric was absolutely amazing with him yet again - he's beyond incredible! We also had company, as my dad and aunt drove 2 hours to come watch his lesson, and Dave stopped by on his way to the land. My family really shows up, and it means so much to me (and clearly Teddy!). 

Look at those smiles!

This afternoon we tried something new ... ice skating! And Teddy loved it! We're pretty lucky that we have a little ice skating area at our local park with free skate rentals, so it was an easy way to try something new. We didn't stay on skates super long because he got tired within a half hour (understandable!), but he was wanting to go back again before we even left. So perhaps we'll make our way there again tomorrow afternoon. Ice skating is actually also really good for him to practice for skiing, as it mimics that glide action for moving skis. Plus, so many people are wobbly like baby giraffes on ice skates, so Teddy kind of blends right in with the rest of the folks holding on for dear life.

First time on ice skates, and he loved it!

Days like these remind me why we enjoy living in Wisconsin. Great people, supportive community and fun winter hobbies. 

Winter Picnic

One of my favorite winter traditions is our winter picnic. This winter hadn't cooperated with a lack of snow, then insanely cold temperatures and then a very busy February. So when the weather looked beautiful this past weekend - highs in the 30s - I reached out to my dad to see if we could do the picnic, even though we wouldn't have Dave because he was in Florida for work.

My dad said yes, which is good because just a couple days later the unseasonably warm temperatures destroyed our snow. And snow is a crucial element for winter picnics because a winter picnic includes rides on the incredible snow tube contraption my dad designed and built years ago (probably 8 years?). 

So the boys and I headed to the farm for a fun-filled day. It felt different, for sure, without my mom, as she was always willing to ride the tube and entertained Teddy for periods while we got things set for the picnic. But she'd be happy to know the tradition continues and that more fun memories were made.

In recent years, Teddy has been skittish about riding the tube, preferring to ride the ATV with Grandpa instead. This year he was all in for several tube rides with AJ and asked to ride with Grandpa while AJ drove. He was all smiles, even if I couldn't capture them through the windshield of the ATV.

We had so much fun we weren't even jealous of Dave in Florida.

The weather was beautiful, the fire cooked our hot dogs and s'mores perfectly, there were tractors to ride and there were even a couple shovels for Teddy and Grandpa to dig in the snow together. (Of course, Teddy kept trying to dig my adult beverage out of the snow, where I was storing it between sips for supposedly safe keeping.)

As we pulled into our driveway at the end of the day, after our 2+ hour car ride home, AJ thanked me out of the blue and commented how much fun the day had been. Now that he's a teenager, those type of unsolicited thanks and praise resonate even more.

The boys convinced Grandpa to ride the Beast.

Expectations Vs. Reality

If you have children, you know things rarely go according to plan. (Honestly, if you're alive, you probably know things don't go according to plan.) If you have a child with disabilities, then it's guaranteed that your expectations will rarely be reality. 

This past weekend we got several inches of snow. Playing in the snow is one of the few things AJ actually enjoys doing with Teddy ... it's one of the last shared interests for play as AJ is maturing. So we spent some time outdoors shoveling snow and playing in it during the storm, which was fun for the whole family.

I find there to be few things as peaceful as a walk in the woods with fresh snowfall. Now, I knew a walk in the woods wouldn't be peaceful with Teddy, but I wanted a family adventure so off we went. I knew that my ideas of "hiking at least a mile" were doubtful, especially with the small trail we went. I knew my husband's expectation that he'd just pull Teddy in the sled were even more dubious, as was his belief that Teddy wouldn't notice the school playground. What I didn't realize was that AJ also had expectations of pulling Teddy in the sled by himself to help. Teddy's expectations I believe included eating copious amounts of snow and finding a playground to enjoy. 

Those are genuine smiles. 

So reality looked a bit like this:

1. Everyone happily walking, except Teddy who was in the sled being pulled by AJ. Me wandering ahead and making an extra loop to enjoy extra time while we putzed at our slow pace. This lasted maybe 5 minutes or so where everyone was happy.
2. Teddy tipping out of the sled and deciding Dave should go in the sled. So AJ and I pulled Dave surfing style for about 20 feet until he begged us to stop before he toppled. 
3. That led to me surfing for a couple hundred feet as we looped around the lake.
4. Teddy spotted a gazebo and had to explore. That was easy. The hard part was convincing him to leave.
5. We were excited to find the book Bear Snores On on display to read, even though we read it completely backward.
6. Teddy spotted the playground and tried to make a break for it.
7. Teddy flopped. Multiple times.
8. Teddy was willing to get in the sled with AJ, which meant we were pulling about 240 pounds. 
9. Teddy fed AJ snow. (This was my favorite part of the walk, and I got it on video that won't upload here.)
10. Teddy flopped. More times. 
11. We got Teddy in the sled and booked it as fast as we could to get closer to the car. AJ was disappointed not to pull Teddy on his own.
12. Teddy flopped. More times. 
13. We made it back to the car. Everyone was disappointed in their own way, some big and some little. 

But we got to enjoy almost an hour of sunshine, fresh air, some laughs, exercise (especially hauling 2 kids) and family time. Life isn't perfect, but it's about enjoying the moments and trying to make memories. 

For the Love of Sleep

If you've followed this blog since the early days, you know that sleep has been a challenge for Teddy through the years. Generally speaking, it's improved much in the last several years in terms of sleeping through the night, though we still have a much earlier "Teddy" alarm than we'd like most days. Trust me, if you need a good alarm clock to pry your tired self out of bed, I highly recommend one that involves 80+ pounds kicking a wooden door while moaning loudly. Works like a charm for us. ;-)

Of course, travel is still hard, which means vacations are challenging, and we rarely sleep anywhere aside from our home and our land where Teddy is accustomed to the setting. We drive 4, 5 or 6 hours in a day to make day visits to family rather than spend the night because we know that sleep will be hard to find.

But, generally speaking, Teddy does sleep better. We've worked with his neurologist to find the right combination of medications to both help manage seizures and help us all get rest at night. The trouble is that most of them help more with falling asleep (and restless legs, which he has as well) than remaining asleep. 

On Groundhog's Day, he woke up at 3:30 and was up for the day. I took the early shift that day because I didn't have to work my office job, so I figured I could catch a nap perhaps while he was at school. Given that I already had plans to run with a friend at 5 a.m. and it was warm enough to bring Teddy, I bundled him up, loaded his chair and headed out the door shortly after 4:30 a.m. If you're wondering what warm enough to bring Teddy is for Wisconsin winter, I aim for right around 30 with minimal wind. He was so darn excited to go running! While my friend was a bit surprised, she pitched in pushing him. I joked to him that though it was Groundhog's Day that we weren't repeating this. 

Can you see his excitement?

Post run - still smiling despite the early hour.

Of course, I lied. That was Friday, and Tuesday morning he was up for the day at 2:30 a.m. (We think he fell out of bed that morning and woke up when he hit his hard floor. Game over. Up for the day.) Dave took the first 1.5-2 hours, and then I took over. Again, it was warm enough, and I already had plans for running, so off we went for a 5 a.m. run. My friend are great, so this friend was a lifesaver when my fingers were numb in getting Teddy out of his chair and buckled into the truck. 

Groundhog's Day repeated. Still all smiles. 

Now if you're wondering if he napped at all either of those days ... nope. Not at all. He was definitely tired but powered through the whole day. 

The good news is he had a neuro appointment last week, so we were able to discuss his early morning wakings. We did a medication adjustment, so hopefully once he gets adjusted at the new dose (and over this virus that causes coughing fits that wake him up now), we'll all get some better rest. 

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!

 

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.

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. 

Winter Adventures

Teddy gets the undivided attention of our sitters this week because AJ is at his grandparents' house for a week of e-learning, Beast rides and card games. Our sitters take advantage of these week to spend a bit more time outdoors because Teddy loves being outside. This week Bri took Teddy to Waukau Nature Preserve, which is where we went for our Christmas Eve stroll.

She realized when she got there, though, that there was no way she could push him on the snow-covered trails in his chair. She realized she had a sled in the vehicle because they had also been looking for sledding hills, so they traipsed into the woods using the sled. Teddy was super chill hanging out on the sled, which is slightly surprising because he often wants to take off exploring. I think perhaps the woods was enough of a distraction itself and there were no docks, open garage doors, etc. to distract him. 

I chuckled to see the sledding hill they found because it's a rather steep hill that curves and has plenty of obstacles on the sides. But they managed to safely navigate it several times and had a blast sledding in the woods and exploring there.

I'm not sure I'd have thought to take a sled for that hike, but it's definitely something I think we'll have to try this winter because they had so much fun! We're so grateful for our sitters who not only keep our kiddos safe but also give them such fun experiences. 

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?

Wisconsin Winter is Snow Great!

Wisconsin winters can be cold, snowy, dark and long. But, there's plenty to embrace with the right attitude. One tradition we started 4 years ago was a winter picnic. In past years, we've headed to my parents' farm for a day of tubing in my dad's amazing creation called The Beast and a picnic over a campfire in the woods. Some years, it's been bitterly cold, so the picnic was just long enough to cook and eat our food. Other years, it's been warm for Wisconsin winters, so we've spent the entire day tubing and playing in the snow. 

This year, we had a warm day predicted, but my parents had too much snow for a 4-wheeler to pull the Beast. My dad could have pulled the boys with the tractor, but that's much slower and not quite as entertaining. Plus, Teddy would want to ride the tractor instead of tubing behind it. So my dad suggested we meet at the land for the day, which worked perfectly since we wanted to get a few things done in the garage. 

The Beast fits two adults and two children still!

It meant a several hour drive for both us and my parents, but it was worth it. We were blessed with a nearly 50-degree day, which is incredibly rare. My folks brought the Beast in their pickup, and we have our Ranger down there to pull it.

We spent about an hour tubing, and then started a fire. We roasted hot dogs, and Teddy bit my finger instead of his hot dog. But he was hungry enough at least to stick around for his hot dog before he started wandering around with a shovel to dig in the snow. 

A winter picnic wouldn't be complete without a log as a seat.

Then the boys did some more tubing while Dave tried his hand at winter fishing and I threw some insulation in our back room of the garage. During some of the tubing times, we tried our hand at snowball fights. Teddy sampled quite a bit of snow as we went, and I flipped AJ off the tube only once for good measure. 

We're so blessed to have this land and to enjoy it on this beautiful day!

This was a perfect winter day! It was peaceful, fun and productive. We had so much laughter, along with peaceful moments on the tube, fun memories and a bit of work done at the land. I'm so grateful for this tradition, and it was awesome to bring it to our land this year. 

Winter Wonderland

My favorite snowstorms are the ones that happen on a weekend when we have no plans. We get to take our time to shovel and remove the snow and play along the way. (Oh yeah, let me add in there weekends when the temps are reasonable.) We had one of those weekends.

Teddy loves to play with shovels and brooms, so he wanders around when them in tow. He also loves to help snowblow with Dave, which is safer than him wandering in front of it unpredictably. As long as our neighbors' garage doors aren't open, we're usually pretty good about Teddy staying in the driveway ... or at least a neighbor's driveway or the cul de sac, which is perfectly fine in my book. Line of sight and closest enough to chase him when needed.

We spent about an hour outside shoveling in the morning, headed inside for lunch and a few projects. Then we went out to enjoy the snow with sledding and tubing. We have just enough of a hill to sled nothing too exciting but enough for the boys. As an added bonus, it's not that tough to walk back up the hill. Heck, even once Teddy walked all the way back up carrying his own tube!

The neighbor boys sledded with us a bit and then brought out their snowboard. I got to try it out, successfully making a few runs. Then Teddy indicated he wanted to try it, so I helped to get his feet in place and ran down the hill alongside him. He balanced really well until we got going too fast and tripped before he biffed it. He loved it, and we did it one more time where Dave got a video.

This made him happy, and it made me so darn happy. I was able to help give him an opportunity that normally wouldn't happen, something he wouldn't be able to do otherwise. 

And, this, my friends, is why I live in Wisconsin. 

Being a Single Mom is Snow Fun

Dave is gone for a work trip this week (to Switzerland, the lucky bum). So while he's drinking Swiss Miss and eating Swiss cake rolls, I'm holding together the fort. And by holding together I mean recruiting 3/4 of the grandparents to navigate swim lessons last night for AJ with my aunt on backup to visit one evening later this week and pee all over the floor tonight and nearly every one in tears at some point in the past 3 days. 

It's not that bad, really, because the kids are in school and after-school care, which makes life so much easier than when you're with them 24/7. Still, it's hard to juggle things when you're one person, which means I have all the respect in the world for those who are truly single parents. 

The only day that I had the kids all to myself to occupy was Sunday when Dave left at 7 a.m. So I did the only logical thing, which was to pack them up with all their winter gear to spend 4.5 hours in the vehicle for the day. All that driving got us to and back home from my parents' farm where we spent several hours playing in the woods with rides in the Gator and behind the Gator in the Beast. The Beast is my dad's invention that has allowed Teddy to go tubing independently since he was 3.

Some of my fondest winter memories are tubing behind snowmobiles, 4-wheelers or anything that could pull a tube across snow. That's a bit tricky for a child like Teddy who doesn't have the strength, motor skills and comprehension to hold onto a tube or rope and keep his body safely where it needs to be. But the Beast is a masterpiece of a giant tire tube with a smaller tube inserted into it, both securely fastened on top of a piece of plastic that slides across the snow. This combination allows Teddy to be plopped in the middle and safely ride there without an adult on the tube with him. (OK, it's as safe for him as tubing is for any kid.)

 AJ and Teddy riding in the Beast.

So three years ago, when my dad created the Beast, we created our tradition of a winter cookout in the woods, complete with tubing rides. Both kids had so much fun they didn't miss Dave, which is a good thing. Teddy captured my mom repeatedly to make her sit in the Gator with him because he loves any sort of vehicle, and she was his chosen companion (much to my delight). AJ loved tubing the best. 

Teddy kept making my mom sit in the Gator with him.

Me, I love that my parents welcome us with open arms and put forth the effort to make these special memories for the boys. 

The Beast

Surprisingly, the title of this post isn't referring to Teddy. It's the name of the totally awesome contraption my dad built for the boys. It's part sled and part tube with equal portions of ingenuity and love.

In case you didn't know, I grew up on a dairy farm. Although my family no longer raises animals, they still have all the property and raise crops. This means the boys get plenty of 4-wheeler and tractor rides when we visit. I didn't think anything could make tractor and 4-wheeler rides better until we got there this weekend and saw "The Beast."
 

This is completely normal for us.

My dad had created this specifically to allow Teddy to go tubing without needing an adult to hold him. It consists of a slippery plastic bottom with a large tractor tire tube strapped securely on top. The finishing touch was a smaller tube placed inside to give the perfect amount of support.

The boys loved the Beast. In fact, they spent most of Saturday morning riding in the Beast. They came in to warm up with hot chocolate (AJ) and snooze (Teddy - that 4 a.m. wake up makes him a bit tired by 11 a.m.). After that, we headed down to the woods where my dad had started a fire. We cooked hot dogs and s'mores for our winter bon fire picnic. It was so neat to see Teddy wandering around to whatever he wanted, mostly the 4-wheeler, when he couldn't walk by himself a year ago. We had snowball fights, played with snow paint and enjoyed an amazing afternoon.

This is mine. All mine. Wait, can you make it go?

This is our second year doing our winter cookout, and it's such a fun day. We were lucky to have much warmer weather this year that we could spend more time playing and enjoying the day.

Family sledding on the Beast.

As I've gotten older, I now have a much deeper appreciation for farmers. My dad (and uncle and grandfather) proved time and time again that no one is just a farmer. Farmers are gardeners, veterinarians, inventors, welders, woodworkers, machinists, mechanics, diagnosticians, meteorologists and so much more. I'm so lucky that my boys still get to experience bits of my childhood and spend such fun times with my parents. I mean, who else aside from a farmer could create something as awesome as the Beast?

Personalized sledding perfection!

Winter Hot Tub

This weekend we attended the 3rd birthday party of our niece and nephew. These are the cousins who have been the hardest to see with Teddy for a simple yet selfish reason. These cousins are 6 months younger than Teddy. Despite being premature, these spunky twins quickly began to run laps around Teddy in terms of milestones (literally). It's gotten easier as the years have continued, but those early months and years were so hard to watch them do things easily while Teddy tried so hard and still couldn't master those skills.

Anyways, enough of a troubled trip down memory lane. The point of this post is that we spent a few very fun hours at a hotel waterpark as part of their birthday party before heading back to their house for cake, ice cream and playing with other kids' toys, which are always way more fun than the endless toys we already own in our house.

All 7 cousins had so much fun playing in the water. There was a kiddie area that was perfect for entertaining most of the kids, complete with a little slide. Teddy loved the slide but collapsed back into the slide instead of sitting upright. That meant that every time he went down with his mouth wide open, he had a mouthful of water in his huge smile when you pulled him out. I just started tipping him upside down to drain out the water before plopping him back on his feet for the next round.

My favorite part, though, was the indoor/outdoor hot tub. It was about 15 degrees outside, but it was so comfortable and refreshing to be in the hot tub outside. We took all the cousins outside and even managed a quick family photo of the 4 of us. Nothing quite like being outside in your swimsuit with snow on the ground.

Thanks to my sis-in-law for standing outside barefoot in the snow to take this picture.

Snow Much Fun!

Winter in Wisconsin has arrived with about 4 inches of snow Sunday and now chilly temps today. We had a dusting of snow last month and some snow to play in at my parents' farm, but this was the first substantial snow for the boys to play with at home. And play they did!

Teddy thinks snow is scrumptious.

The best part of their adventures was I watched them from the kitchen window while I got things done around the house. Dave spent about an hour outside with the boys, building two large snowmen, chasing Teddy as he hopped to explore the creek and making snow angels. All three of my boys had huge smiles on their faces and came in to warm mugs of cocoa and tea ... because that's mom's job, right?

He may be trying to eat the snowman ...

Sledding Therapy

Teddy's a regular at physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and Birth to Three. He has more therapeutic goals than we'll ever work on in any given day (or even week if I'm completely honest). We do our best, pick a few to focus on and count much of our everyday play as therapy because in reality, all play is therapeutic.

Since Teddy was unmotivated to be in his gait trainer today, we decided to play outside in the snow instead. Teddy is getting so good at holding his hand out for mittens (and then promptly ripping them off because he didn't really want them on) and knowing that his socks, braces and shoes go on his feet. It's nice to see that recognition and (minimal) assistance with dressing instead of resistance or dressing a boy made of Jello. (The nice red socks are our way of keeping his mittens on underneath. He's a stylish boy.)

We're lucky our house has enough of a slope to go sledding right in our backyard. Teddy and AJ both had a blast sledding, and it was a fun experience that encompassed OT, PT and speech therapy. Teddy had to engage his core to stay upright on the sled while sliding down the hill and then being pulled back up the hill. It's something we don't think about, but it's a lot of work for a child with low tone. He compensated for some of this effort by holding onto the edges of the sled, which is great because one of his OT goals is to hold onto items with a sustained grasp. Lastly, he had so much fun that he was vocalizing almost the entire way down and then back up the hill. Speech therapy. The trifecta of therapy while having the best time sledding.

Watching Teddy sled today reminded me that one of his original goals for Birth to Three was to be able to go sledding with assistance from AJ last winter. He was able to do that, so he accomplished that goal. I think of how far he's come, though, from last winter when he was mostly dependent upon supporting himself by leaning into AJ. Now he can sled down the hill by himself in a regular sled while holding on and vocalizing how much fun it is.


Therapy is not always as fun as our sledding today, but it certainly is worth it when you can realize the progress.