Honeymoon, pregnancy, family

You may be asking yourself, honeymoon? How does a newly married couple with 4 "built-in" children make it possible to go on a honeymoon? Well, it happened! We were actually able to fit in 2 honeymoons. Although, the first one was short and sweet (a weekend getaway), I think that aspects of it are some of my favorite memories to date. Maybe part of that was getting to spend hours in the van without hearing "are we there yet!" resounded a hundred times from our beloved children (although I think I remember Jay saying it a few times).

Our first "mini" honeymoon took place near Madison, WI at the Cameo Rose Victorian Country Inn (http://www.wbba.org/inns/CameoRoseVictorianCountryInn_Belleville_WI.html). I would definitely recommend this B&B to anyone wanting to get away from it all! The picture on the left is exactly how it looked when we drove up to it. It's a little bit out of the way, but that made it almost like we were hiding from civilization and everything we knew; very romantic! The owner's were very pleasant and welcoming, and the breakfasts we had were delicious! We enjoyed pleasant conversation with both the owners and the other guests that were staying at the Inn that weekend. Of course, when asked what Jay's occupation was, the conversation shifted to dairy feeds and farming. One of the guests was very interested in that and kept Jay answering questions for some time. It also turned out that the owner's wife had grown up near Stratford, WI and her family was instrumental in starting the Equity Coop. right outside of Stratford. It's a small world! During our visit to Madison, we visited the state capitol. Since it was a Saturday, a lot of the offices were closed so we didn't get to see as much as we would have liked, but Jay promised he'd bring me back there another time to get a better look (I'm still waiting). We then went to the mall (of course) and did some shopping. What did we buy? Maternity clothes, of course! I think it was the first and foremost thing on my mind at the time since I was still in my first trimester and feeling all the joys of that! Of course in the end it was all worth it.

Our "real" honeymoon took place in June '05 after we dropped Linda's boys, Ian and Christopher, off at their dad's for their first full week visit ever! This is part of the blending of a family that was hard for me. They did get through the week just fine and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were happy to see me. Maybe I should send them away more often so they will appreciate me more (hmmm....something to think about)! O.k....back to the honeymoon.

Since we had to take the boys to Minnesota, we thought maybe we should find a nice resort near a lake (since there are 10,000+ in MN) and enjoy some hiking, boating and swimming. We settled on a place up near the Boundary Waters and all my friends laughed and could picture me (5 months pregnant) white water rafting. I, of course, had to inform them that we weren't going to do the traditional Boundary Waters vacation. We chose a resort near Ely, MN called the River Point Resort (http://www.riverpointresort.com/available.htm). The location was absolutely stunning. Our resort was surrounded by water on 3 sides with trees and wildlife everywhere. We were just a few miles from Ely so it was easy to run back into town for meals, siteseeing, whatever! The only downfall of that was that the road that connected the resort to the highway, and the outside world was reminicent of a washboard or cattle crossing. I was sure I was going to go into labor every time we drove on it. Needless to say, it kept us from making too many unneeded trips into town! Despite the fact that the entire week was gray and drizzly, we did have one day that the sun shone so brightly like it was a hiccup in the week. We took that day and rented the pontoon that they had at the resort and took it out for a few hours. It was so beautiful out on the lake. Jay drove a pontoon for the first time and I would have to say that he did a fairly decent job. Check out the smiling captain to the right. The rest of the week we had a great time playing games and watching videos in our chalet. We also took a lot of walks throughout the resort area whenever the weather permitted. One night we did take a trip into town for a nice dinner. I would say that I had the best fish dinner I have ever had that night. The fish tasted so fresh! Another day we went in to go see some local attractions. If you are ever up that way, make sure you take time to look around. It's a beautiful area.