Wisconsin Highlights

We spent 5 days in Wisconsin for Spring Break and loved doing a mix of our favorite activities and some new ones.  We celebrated one birthday, Easter and Spring Break all in just a couple of days.  The resort was very crowded - maybe the most crowded we'd ever seen it so we got creative and fought for a raft or two when it came time to head to the lazy river.  We found tons to do and just did our best to avoid the big Spring Break crowds.

The highlights of our trip were:

It was sunny and chilly, but we bundled up and went for a walk on the Riverwalk.  It's been a mild winter so the boats were busy going up and down the river.  The downtown Dells area is fun to walk through and shop for souvenirs.  The day after we left, the dells got a foot of snow!!  We were kind of sad to miss a snow like that.

2. Arcade time.  The kids love arcades more than almost anything right now so it was fun to see them win some big prizes.

There's an impressive ropes course above one of the arcades.  Kevin took the big kids to do that and I was surprised at how much better, more confident and faster they were than the first time.  I could hardly keep track of them climbing and working their way through the course.

There is a free kid climbing structure called Timberland Playhouse that Leo loved to explore.  It was a tiny bit scary becuase it was HUGE, but I think I was only one who was scared by that.  Thankfully, there is just one entrance for the kids to come and go from.  There is also a smaller toddler section.  It's always awesome to find free things on vacation!

Can you spot Leo climbing over this bridge up at the ceiling?  He loved it.

Extra snuggles and family time is always a good idea.

Both big kids won the Kid's Camp coloring contests earning free glitter tattoos.  We did crafts and played there several times.

Olive's mission was to find a Wisconsin Dells sweatshirt that she LOVED.  We checked all the shops, tried on several options and this was the winner.  Oversized sweatshirts are 5th grader's love language.

We hit the waterparks!  This was our last day when the crowds finally died down.  We hopped around to each of the different indoor water parks.  The big kids love the big slides and activities and my job is to keep Leo's head above water.  He's fearless and can't swim.  Rough combo for his body guard.  Picture us in a twin raft in the lazy river and Leo falling out head first.  Thank goodness Olive was with us and could help me get Leo back in the raft.  It's funny now, but not so funny in the moment.

I packed everything to make sure we could celebrate Easter in Wisconsin.  The kids woke up to baskets, the bunny came to deliver eggs to hunt in the condo while we were at breakfast and we had a great Easter together.  The whole resort and area was decked out for Easter.

The big kids took me horse back riding!  They have gone multiple times with Kevin, but he insisted that I go with them this time.  I was a little scared, but I loved it.  Our horses were nice and mostly well behaved.  The trail was an hour long and no one warned me that my butt would be sore!  Whoops!  We had a blast and the kids loved introducing me to something new.  Fletcher came home with a souvenir horse shoe and I couldn't resist the photo package at the end of the ride.

Spring Break 2024 was a blast!

They played pool and swam in the pools.

Got treats at all hours of the day.

Ate more donuts than we could count.

And made some really great Wisconsin memories.

6 Favorite Wisconsin Restaurants

If you find yourself in Wisconsin Dells, I have six delicious restaurants to recommend.  

We tried several new places over Spring Break (a perk of the kids getting older is that eating out is starting to be fun again!) and we found places that we all loved.  We would happily return to any of these spots.  

Fun fact: Kevin's superpower is finding great restaurants to try on vacation and he usually finds a coupon to go with it.

1. Marketsqure Cheese

These seem to be a chain in Wisconsin.  There's always a cute mouse out front and tons of souvenirs and local cheeses, meats and jarred foods inside.  We came away with jams, pickled foods, sauces, cheeses and souvenirs for the kids.  I didn't even ask to take the kid's picture.  They just hopped out of the car and posed with this cute mouse because they knew I'd love this photo op.  Awww!

2. Monks Bar & Grill

We have driven past this restaurant a million times, but it caught our eye this time.  The online reviews are really good and the food was delicious.  The kid's meals are served on frisbees that you can take home.  The cheese curds were outstanding.  Everyone loved their food - salads, burgers, kids meals and appetizers.  The kids are still talking about their giant soft pretzel kids meals.  There are TVs everywhere with tons of sports decor.  It's a really fun spot for adults and for families.  We can't wait to go back.

3. Buffalo Phil's Grill

Kevin found this place online and read that a train delivers your food to your table.  The wait time was long so we put our name in and then headed to the outlet mall next door to shop.  Win-win.  You feel like you are out west with all of the animal decor and western decor inside.  It's a huge restaurant with many levels.  We sat on the 3rd floor and the kids loved the train delivery service.  Drinks came out by train as well as any meal that comes in a basket.  We all thought the food was good, but the atmosphere was great.  This is where we tried Cowboy Beans that I mentioned yesterday and they have a darling train/buffalo themed gift shop inside.  This big buffalo car is in the parking lot and there are tons of cool things to see inside.

4. Camp Social @ Wilderness Resort

It's our very favorite breakfast buffet.  You can get a little bit of everything and it is always delicious.  We stay on property and walk there then head to the kid's club, arcade or pool afterwards.

5. Kyoto Hibachi and Sushi

This restaurant is in a strip mall and was crowded when we drove by.  You have to make a reservation for the hibachi side.  We all enjoyed our food - salads, soup and hibachi.  Everyone was nice and we all enjoyed the hibachi show.  The portions are very generous and this is the first hibachi place we've ever been to that offered noodles with the regular hibachi service.  Yum!

6. Pizza Ranch

I have no pictures, but this is our favorite spot.  Kids eat free on Tuesdays with the purchase of an adult buffet.  They have a salad bar, pizza buffet and hot food bar with fried chicken, pasta and sides and a dessert bar.  It's so yummy and everyone can find something they love here.

Add these to your list of reasons to head to Wisconsin Dells!

Wisconsin Cowboy Beans

It's Wisconsin week on the blog this week!  

We had a great Spring Break in Wisconsin and have some new favorites to share you with - a delicious recipe, favorite restaurants and new Wisconsin favorites!

One of my very favorite things to do on vacation is finding new foods and recreating the recipes at home.  We ate at a new to us restaurant called Buffalo Phils and Kevin had a side dish that we both loved called Cowboy Beans.  I had never heard of them before so I looked up some recipes when we got home and came up with my own version of cowboy beans.

I'm really not a bean loving person, but these are AMAZING.  I made them for the boy's birthday party and everyone raved about them.  They are the perfect side dish for Summer.

Wisconsin Cowboy Beans

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

3/4 pkg thick cut bacon

1 15 oz can kidney beans with liquid

1 15 oz can pinto beans with liquid

1 28oz can pork and beans

1 small yellow onion diced tiny

1 T BBQ sauce

3/4 c ketchup

1 T mustard

1 T Worchestershire

2 T brown sugar

1 t chili powder

1 t Kinder seasoning (salt/pepper/garlic) or your favorite seasoning

Directions:

Cook the ground beef and drain.  Cook the bacon.  I love to bake bacon in the oven - put the strips on a pan with a rim around the edge, set the oven to 400 and bake your bacon for 25-30 minutes.  I like to drain off the fat about 20 minutes into cooking.  It's so easy and makes very little mess compared to frying bacon.  Then cut up the bacon into bite sized pieces.  

Dump everything into a crock pot, stir until well combined and let them cook until everything is heated.  You could cook it on the stove top, but I loved having the beans stay warm in a crockpot and not have to worry about them burning.  Serve them as the perfect side to any Summer BBQ or cookout.  They are somehow even better reheated.  10/10 recommend!  Even the kids enjoyed them!

Have you ever heard of cowboy beans?

You'll have to try them!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, Friends!  It's been a fun week here.  Did you catch my blog posts this week?

2024 Total Solar Eclipse - being in the path of totality was the coolest thing EVER!

The day we saw 8 Rainbows in One Day

Fletcher's 8th Birthday in Wisconsin

Now onto my favorite moments of the week:

1.  Days later and we are still talking about the solar eclipse.  It was the coolest thing ever and I'm so thankful we got to enjoy it from the comfort of our backyard.  The kids drank their Meta Moon PRIME drinks and loved my eclipse theme treat board.  

2. Bogg Bag Club!!  I'm now a member!  I've wanted one for years.  Admired them on others for years and now I finally have one.  I went with the prettiest purple/raspberry color and I have already used it several times.  I loved the options at Dillards and the fact that it came with two snap in accessory bags!  I love that it holds its shape so well that it's easy to use in the car or on the go.  And it wipes clean so easily if anything spills.

3. Say YES.  On the kid's Spring Break, I tried to say YES to fun things that they asked for.  The big kids wanted to try boba drinks.  While they said it was fun to try them, they didn't love the texture.  Leo wanted to ride the Meijer horse.  Then we headed to the mall to check out some new shops.  They wanted to do things like get out their sleeping bags out and read on the patio.  Sure!  All these yes answers made their day!

4. Pesto Tortellini - we tried this as a sample at Sams and the kids loved it!  It's the easiest dinner.  I made some plain pasta to go with the tortellini and we topped it all with pesto and fresh parm.  So yummy and so easy!  I'll definitely be keeping these ingredients on hand for nights that I need a really easy dinner option.

5. I'm still not over seeing 8 rainbows in about a 2 hour time span in our backyard.  It was a good week to enjoy the view from our backyard!!

6. My dad utrned 71 this week and we got to celebrate him.  He picked a yummy menu and got gift cards to all of his favorite places.  He even impressed the kids by blowing out his candles with his party noise maker/blower.  Papaw really is good at everything!

7. We got to visit my sister's cat Judy.  She's a fancy cat - a polydactyl Mainecoone and Olive loves her so much.  She's got expensive kitty taste!

8. Can I help you, Mom?  That's Leo's current favorite question.  He loves to help me in the kitchen.  We made banana muffins for an after school snack and he was so proud of them.

9. Fishing with Fletcher.  He didn't catch anything, but he just loves the experience.

10. Leo turned 4 this week (more on that later!) and he's resumed his "Find mom.  Sit on mom" snuggle tactics.  He's been so snuggly and sweet lately.

11. Our baby trees are thriving!  2 Summers ago we planted 16 trees in our yard.  We've carefully cared and loved on them and they are all thriving.  This pretty Japanese Maple is looking so good after a really late frost tried to kill it last year.  I trimmed it up and it looks so pretty this year.

12. Leo is 4!!  I can't believe our baby is 4.  We celebrated him with all his favorite things and it was perfect.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  See you back here on Monday.

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