Christmas in July: Wisconsin Edition

Getting everyone back to my dad's Wisconsin homestead for Christmas is very difficult...sometimes impossible. Anyone remember the last time we tried in 2007? The quick recap is this: a 2 hour flight with an infant turned into an 8 hour one when our destination airport of Milwaukee closed mid-flight due to too much snow. Baggage? Lost. (if only for 24 hours...still disruptive!)

So after that crazy experience our northern relatives started celebrating "Christmas in July". No gifts to buy, wrap and haul there...just a day spent on the remaining land of the family's original farm.

Four generations of pure fun. Headed up by the lady in pink, my grandma-Shirley Amelia...from whom Jade gets her middle name.



She and my grandpa raised a Brady bunch (3 boys/3 girls) who were dressed in blue (along with their spouses).







Those rowdy six gave my grandma 10 grand kids...who were not going to be the targets of any hunters that day. Yep, safety green was our color.







These grand kids (my cousins) have been slowly marrying (another engagement happened that day!) and quickly producing lots of little pumpkins...13 orange ones could be found throughout the farm. Ranging in age from 4 months to 8 years...with only two little boys in the mix!

2004 babies (above)

2007 babies

After enjoying great food, water balloons, and a pinata...the blues, yellows and oranges all took to riding on some greens. Old and new...both drew crowds...

It was a quick, but very well worth it kind of trip. Before boarding the plane to head home I introduced my pumpkins to another orange thing their mommy loves.

Cheese curds!

The rubbery, chewy, salty little bites of heaven did not last long. Ours must not have been very fresh though. I just learned from Wikipedia that if consumed within 12 hours they actually squeak when you bite into them.

For that I am thankful they were stale...squeaky cheese is a little disturbing don't you think?