Fish Creek Escape

Mary and my dad have a cabin/house in Fish Creek (Door County), Wisconsin that we have been to with them a few times.  It is absolutely beautiful, picturesque and the little town is adorable.  They were kind enough to let us use the house for the long holiday weekend, and we are so thankful!!  It felt like our little family of four babymoon right before "baby brother" (we still don't have a clue what his name will be) makes his debut.  

I think we loaded every single piece of outdoor equipment we own.  It was a bit ridiculous.  But for a place where there is no cell phone reception, no internet and no TV, we had to make sure we took full advantage of the great outdoors that are truly so GREAT  where we were going.  Our motto, "If there's room, throw it in!"  Emily was SO EXCITED to go on a trip!  We were too.  I loved having an UNPLUGGED 4 days, with no electronics to distract us.  We were nestled in peace and quite and gorgeous high 60/low 70 degree weather.  I am always so hot on the 4th of July, but not this year!  For a heavily pregnant lady, Door County is the perfect destination for a July getaway!

We left Thursday afternoon, and got to Fish Creek just as the sun was going down.   

Popped a Papa Murphy's pizza in the oven and sat on the deck.

I mean...look at that view!

And not even 15 minutes after we put the girls down...Devin followed their lead.  Relaxation/vacation at it's finest right here. 

Our first morning we hit the ground running, literally.  Devin made a tee time to play 9 holes of golf (which he hasn't been able to do in so long!  So happy for him and having time to do something for himself!) and on his way to the golf course he dropped the girls and I off at Peninsula State Park.  I love that State Park.  I walked my buns off...to the point that I was hobbling/waddling the last half hour...the effects of being 9 months pregnant kicking in.  I ended up walking and pushing them about 9 miles, and half way through we stopped to climb the "Eagle Tower" and let the girls move for a bit.  

Emily looks old to me in this shot below.

Both girls climbed every stair on their own.  I love that about them!

And they loved the view from the top.

Once Devin picked us up from the State Park, we headed back for some lunch on the deck.  While I was cutting watermelon, I heard Emily say to Devin, "So...what do you want to talk about?" And that's when I grabbed the camera.  Isn't this just the cutest little scene...a dad, sitting on the deck, talking to his little girls.  

And then there were bubbles.  Our girls LOVE bubbles! 

The girls went down for a nap, Devin went for a bike ride and I lounged and read a book...which led to me napping as well.  Truly, such a nice afternoon of relaxation after our morning of walking, walking and more walking.  

Soon after we all woke up and Devin was back, we got ourselves ready to go to a fish boil in a part of Door County we have never been to before.  But first, a few pictures of our matching girls.

We drove to Rowley's, just past Ellison Bay.  It was a lone restaurant/lodge in the middle of nowhere, really.  But it sure did have some beautiful views of its own.  For an hour, we sat and listened to an old man tell the stories of the history of how this particular area was settled...(actually we didn't really listen or catch much of the storytelling.  We were just trying to keep the girls entertained and quiet, which proved to be quite the task at the time.  They were hungry with lots of energy.)  

Then, finally, the actual "fish boil" happened and the girls watched up close with Devin.

It was an "all you can eat", and I always poop out long before Devin does, so I took the girls back outside so they could expend pre-mentioned energy so Devin could enjoy his white fish and potatoes in peace.  And then he snapped these when he came and joined us.  The girls were picking "flowers" (they were weeds) and collecting them on top of a stump.  Kept them very occupied!

37.5 weeks pregnant with little mister.

Claire hated to be interrupted from her picking, for picture taking.  Oh well. 

From dinner, we drove to the point of the peninsula to where the ferry can take you to another popular spot, Washington Island.  We saw it from afar, and that will have to do this time around.  We knew Fish Creek's 4th of July celebration would be the following day, and were just hoping that one of the small towns we drove through to get back would be putting on a firework show that night...and our hopes were realized.  We stopped in Liberty Grove and watched  some fireworks before going home and crashing.

Saturday morning was a lazy, slow to get moving one, but when we finally did get moving...we were moving!  We took the girls out to the street to practice riding their bikes.  

Then I pushed the girls in the stroller for another long walk on the roads around the house, while Devin went for another bike ride.  We met back at the house, had lunch and then walked into town to see what the mid-day festivities consisted of.  Devin and Emily were one potato sack short of participating in the 3-legged race (seriously, the team in front of them took the last potato sack.  I was so bummed I couldn't get them on film doing that together.)  And then the same thing happened when Devin stood in line to sign himself up for the cherry pie eating contest...the guy in front of him filled the last slot!  Seriously?  We were bummed all around.  So we walked home and put the girls down for naps, and this time Devin took a hard nap too while I read.

Devin made hamburgers for dinner, and before walking back down into town for the Fish Creek fireworks, we did some sparklers and a few small fireworks on the street.  It was really fun to see their reaction to the sparklers.  They were amazed!

Emily was saying, "Happy 4th of July!"

And then it was time for another "big firework" show.  How lucky are we to get 2 back to back nights of fireworks?!

Before hitting the road for home, we hit up the Fish Creek shops.  Such a cute little "downtown".  Devin hung out with the girls while I sneaked into some boutiques.   

 And that was the end of our fabulous getaway.  We feel so lucky to have gotten that slice of time to steal away together before the life as we know it changes all over again with this 3rd baby coming our way.  

There is absolutely nothing on my calendar, besides swim lessons for Emily and doctor appointments for me/baby, for the rest of July.  I am 38 weeks this week, which, to me, really mean baby mode full steam ahead.  I highly anticipate going past my due date again, which is fine, but you just never know.  We shall see!