Camping and Beaches!

Hello,

Yesterday Willow reached 17 months old. She also got sick for the first time since she left the NICU (not counting a half-day runny nose last fall that we WAY overreacted to). She has a stomach bug of some sort with fever and diarrhea. It started last night. I took her to the doctor this morning; she basically said we should just wait it out. Unfortunately (VERY), I also had to go to Wausau, WI today for work. For two nights. So here I sit in my hotel room wishing I could be home with poor Willow. I mean, I really feel like crap. This working-mom stuff is for the birds! :(

I couldn't really skip the trip though - I'm attending a 2-day training for a new software. OK, enough complaining. And props to Josh the superdaddy for staying home with the little patient.

Here are some photos from the last few weeks.

For the fourth of July, our friend Nick came to visit from the Twin Cities. My brother and his girlfriend Penny were also in town. Somehow I didn't get any photos that whole weekend except a few from when Josh, Nick and I went to the beach. Here's the three of us:















...and here's a video of Willow. We spent the whole time trying to prevent her from eating rocks and sand, but we all had a blast. Willow is a true Schaefer and really loves the lake. She doesn't seem to think it's too cold.



The weekend after that, we went camping in the Porcupine Mountains state park (the Porkies). It was nostalgic for me, since my family camped there a lot when I was a kid. We met Sharon and her parents Jean and Dave there. We only stayed one night but had a lot of fun. I took a lot of photos!
































Watching the sun set over the big lake. Scouty always enjoys a good sunset. She loves scenery too and I think that might be strange for a dog. She's a a sensitive soul.




















Then last weekend, we took Thursday and Friday off and headed to Minnesota again. Josh had a reunion with a bunch of college buddies. On the way down, we stopped and visited our friends Nate and Lauren in Eau Claire. They are the parents of Ellen, Willow's NICU friend. Ellen is doing great and has quite a jump on WIllow in the height department. The girls were so cute together; they both have just learned to walk.















I hung out with Sharon and Amy. We had a great time in the hot, humid weather. Willow had her first boat ride, and we almost witnessed a tornado. We had a lot of girl talk and played at a playground.




















We also visited Josh's family for a couple nights. I didn't get many photos of that time, but here is a cute one of Willow wih her Great-grandma Eva.




















Willow is walking all over the place now - her skills have greatly improved since the last post. She really loves to sing these days too - "Twinkle Twinkle" is the one real song she sings. She doesn't say all the words but you can definitely tell what song it is. The verse that ends "like a diamond in the sky" is usually "da da da da da da dyyyyyyyy". It's the cutest thing.

Here's hoping her little tummy is feeling better soon and Josh gets some sleep tonight.