Labor Day Weekend

Well we headed to 'Scaney (a.k.a. Wisconsin) for the first part of the weekend. The boys took Grandpa Stewart out fishing on Lake Wissota. Weather was overcast but rather nice. Unfortunately only one fish was caught. Trevor landed a decent 16" walleye that was right in the range of what needed to be put back in the lake (anything 14" - 18" has to be released)...the boys were a little bummed as they "wanna eat it". And "yes", Trevor hates the lifevest crotch strap.

JS

Stewart Family Vacation - Summer 2011

Well the clan FINALLY took a vacation. We stayed close to home and spent the time with the Stewart side of the family at a cabin in Danbury, Wisconsin (north and east of Minneapolis about 150 miles). The vacation consisted of fishing, time at Lake Superior, a visit to an eye doctor, more fishing and overall a good time with the family. We'll pick a few more photos to post because if we don't no one will believe Nicole had a very good time fishing, she went so far as to bait her hook with nightcrawler, leaf worms and leeches! In addition half way through the trip she was taking off her own fish and wiping the worm guts all over her jeans...we were all extremely proud of her for suppressing the "city girl" and bringing out her country girl side. The boys had a great time fishing, driving the boat, playing on the beach at Little Sand Bay on Lake Superior (just north of Bayfield, Wisconsin) and hanging out with their grandparents, aunt and uncle.

Weekend on "The Farm"

Nicole and the boys like to spend time in the garden down in Eau Claire. Weather is pretty decent today, just a little rain. Rosie, the dog, was digging in the ground feverishly for something...come to find out she was on a "seek and destroy" mission for a gopher. She was kind enough to show us the remains.

Northern Wisconsin July Vacation

Just realized we never posted pictures of our July vacation up north to Ojibwa. We rented a cabin on the Chippewa River and had a great time. Nicole was only able to join us for the first two days as she had summer classes still going on but the boys, BigGuy and Uncle Scotty all had a great time. The following are some of the random pictures from the week - J.S.

 
 
 
 

Century Tour Bike Ride

 
Trevor and BigGuy (a.k.a. Grandpa Stewart) signed up to bike in the Century Ride. This is a bike ride put on by the Overdrive Cycling Club in Eau Claire every fall. They signed up for the 25 mile loop however there was also a 60 and 100 mile course as well. Since BigGuy is also a member of the Eau Claire Lions Group they were cooking the food for the bikers and he needed to be back at the starting point by 11:00 am to help so we knew they would not have time for the full 25 mile but Trevor was determined to go as far as they could in the time they had.

 
I drove the "bike hauler" back to the house in Eau Claire and passed Trevor and Grandpa on the way...they were already much further than I thought they would be that short into the ride.

 
Finishing up. Based on the timing for when Grandpa had to start cooking for the bikers he and Trevor finished up around 10:20 am on Sunday and had completed 8.3 miles in just under 2 hours. We found out in that time they also stopped for a "snack" along the trail and did a mini-downhill "race"...Trevor was most excited that he got is cycle computer / speedometer to hit "21 MPH".

Trevor said this morning he wants to try out the Lowes Creek Mountain Bike Trails so we're planning a trip out there (only 3 miles from Grandpa and Grandmas house) once "Dad" gets a new bike - J.S.

Eau Claire Weekend - BRING ON FALL!!

 

This weekend in Eau Claire was great! The weather got into the 50's at night, perfect for bonfires and keeping the mosquitoes at bay. The sky on Saturday night was so clear that we were all in awe of how many stars we saw, and if you have an Android phone download Google Sky...coolest app I've seen, the boys loved looking up at the sky then at the phone to see what the names of the stars and constellations were.

 

I think the boys were playing nice for this photo but after I heard the boys yelling at each other right after I took it I am wondering if Trevor was trying to shove Joshua into the burn pit...boys.

 

Joshua shares his mother and grandma's love of s'mores...he doesn't like to make them but he has no problem stealing others s'mores - J.S.

Mechanically Inclined

 

So last Friday night our friend Matt agreed to help install new front brakes on the Jeep; he has access to a shop with a lift which certainly beats crawling around on the ground changing brakes. About 15 minutes before I was heading to his shop I asked Nicole if she wanted to come with...after pondering for a minute she agreed. This ended up being a great thing for me as Nicole actually got into "spinning wrenches" and getting dirty, so much so I found her pushing me out of the way to thread some of the bolts back in place on the calipers (nice job dear) - J.S.

 

"That's right, I did a brake job" - N.S.