Appleton, Wisconsin

This is Jon (even though it says Kanien made this post). I've got an aunt who lives in Wisconsin. We went up to visit her this past week (10 Aug). They live in Appleton, a nice community built around Lawrence University. It's about five and a half hours from Lafayette, depending on traffic. That seems like a pretty long drive, but after multiple 24+ hour drives this summer, it felt pretty short. We spent our time up there playing games, watching SpongeBob, swimming, and playing with their large dog. It was a great little vacation, and we'll probably go back up there for Thanksgiving.


We went to the Special Memories Zoo, a small, one-family operation that was pretty impressive. You can read about the zoo on that web page. Here are some pictures:

They provided strollers for kids. Clarie didn't really like it. In her perfect world, she'd be able to wander around aimlessly for the entire day, dumping out buckets of stuff at random along her path. The stroller also kept her from eating the dirt--another reason to hate it.

Zack pushed her around a lot of the zoo. Wisconsin has had a lot of rain this summer. The zoo was feeling the hurt as much as the farmers. We braved this wet section. I told Zack that his boots would keep the water out, and I was partially right. His feet got wet after a few minutes of this. He loved having Claire and Marcella around. The first day we were there, I couldn't figure out why Claire wasn't falling asleep. A bit later I was informed that Zack couldn't help but go check on her every 10 minutes or so. It was fun to watch him interact and entertain Claire.

Marcella and Claire love petting zoos. Claire is getting braver than she used to be, and Marcella just likes touching dirty animals. This picture has one of Jacqui's only appearances--you can see her crutch off to the left.

For some reason, Marcella, Kanien and I have decided that pigs are Claire's favorite animal. It's probably because she thinks all animals make a pig noise, but she's now got a fair stash of pig books, pig pajamas, and other piggy toys. Perhaps our insistence that she adore pigs is rubbing off, as she chased these guys around for ages.

Marcella with Greg

Zack wanted to pick up all the animals. I saw him holding a rabbit and trying to lift a pig, and he carried this goat around for 10 minutes. This is also our second shot of Jacqui.

Marcella posing

This is the big pig. It reminded me of Porco Rosso, everyone's favorite fighter pig.

I went to scout camp at Lefeber Northwoods Camp with David Ogden when I was 12. There was a toad, snake, or frog under every single leaf in the forest. I caught this toad on the Wright's driveway on our second night. Marcella held him. Then she dropped him. She said, "he got me wet with his liquid," which is pretty much what it did. Toads secrete a predator deterrent from glands on their shoulders.

Jake said he catches these guys all over. I love amphibians.

Claire loved playing with Kenai. Kenai took up permanent residence under her high chair, and Claire secretly ruined the diet Jacqui has him on. (Her foot is broken and she can't walk him, so he only gets 4 dog biscuits a day.<--This is a joke. He really gets 4 cups of food a day.)

Marcella wore her boots everywhere. She and Zack were boot twins. She even wore them swimming.

Another shot of Claire and Kenai. This is a huge dog. He's a Bernese Mountain Dog. He's a small specimen--110 pounds. He scared the crap out of me the first morning we were there. I imagined I'd have to spend the three days there sitting on the couch, but later learned he just doesn't trust men very much. Once he got used to me, though, he stopped biting and started sitting on my feet. He knew that I was a wuss, which effectively placed me on the bottom rung of the dog command hierarchy. Even Marcella could get him to sit, but not me.

Fun family picture (with the monster)

Marcella in boots

McKenzie with Claire

This is where we stopped on the way home (Marcella in boots): The Albanese Candy Factory. On their web page they claim to be the best gummi makers in the world. Haribo might have something to say about that, but I agree with them. You can get some of their bears at the Sunflower Farmer's Market in Orem (They're called "12-Flavor Gummi Bears"). Like their web page states, they figured out how to place "the sour inside the gelatin piece," which should earn them the Nobel Prize in chemistry. They're 90 minutes from our house, but we'll probably go back and get more candy soon.