Steve 3 - Mice 0 and Halloween fun

Well, that Steveio is a madman with the mouse patrol. He rushes out to check the traps each morning, then as soon as he comes home from work, and again before heading to bed!   They are pretty sneaky and get the peanut butter off some of the traps without springing them.  So now he is putting 2 traps side by side, hoping they will set on one while nibbling at the other!  hahahahaha This is getting to be fun, he has also set traps outside all around the rig by each tire!  Plus moth balls and dryer sheets.

I still think we should just borrow the neighbor's cat and their litter box and set them inside the motorhome for a day or two?   Heck, it's just parked in our driveway, so the cat would not be far from home.



We are gearing up to Halloween here at our house.  It's kinda special to me cuz it's that big FIVE OH day for me too.  ACK!   Yes.... I am a witch, I do not just play one on tv, or in politics.  tee heee joke there.  But I was born on that trick or treat day, which ruined my big brother's outing.  Mom went into labor and it cut short his trick or treating event.  So I think he still holds a grudge, to this day.

I told Steve that for my birthday I want to go camping.  I told the kids all I want for my birthday is *Good Kids*.   That is what I always say.  Tee hee.

Little granddaughter Allegra is getting all geared up for Halloween.  She went pumpkin hunting with her parents and found the best one.  Don't ya just love her tie-dyed tshirt???

Granddaughter Chelsea is getting excited too and practicing her Pumpkin Grins

Now I need a pic of grandson Jameson in his puppy dog costume! 

As most of you know, some huge storms have been our focus the last few days.  Wisconsin kinda got hit pretty hard.  Lots of people are still without power on the 3rd day of storms, one of which is my dad.  It has him all wound up and excited about it.  He calls me just about every hour with updates on his power situation.  LOL    He has a generator at the cabin and has an LP heater we got him a couple years ago, so he is warm and has his precious tv.   But he is going through all his gas cans of fuel quickly.  The hard part is finding a gas station with power to run their pumps to get more gas. This is the third day and they might not get power till maybe tomorrow, according to the news reports. 

At our house, we have not lost our power.  We are not part of the big WisPublicService power company, instead, we are part of a small co-op power company that derives it's power from the little dam upriver.  Some times we are the only ones to go out in a storm, and other times we are the only ones that don't go out at all! Like this time.

We only lost one tree in our woods from the wind gusts, some which were clocked in excess of 70mph.  It sure made the house creak and groan and shudder.   But now, finally, on Thursday the winds are dying down to only 30 mph, or so the weatherman promises.  Our river is up a couple feet, but not near flood stage, so we are okay with that.

While I have been holed up here for a few days, I got ahead on some sock inventory and some orders for customers.   (For my newest blog readers, I have an antique circular sockknitting machine that is about 100 years old and I can crank out nice wool or acrylic socks with it) 

 

As soon as I got these socks done, I got an order for three more pairs last night, in different sizes and colors than what I had on hand.  That figures!  So today will be a cranking day if little Chelsea naps this afternoon for a while. 

I got a few more rugs woven too, and hemmed up the edges.  I have a few more rugs on the loom that need to get finished off.   I suppose if the weather doesn't get any better, I can get to those this weekend instead of camping.  Sigh.   As much as I love weaving, I would rather be camping right now.  There are only a few weekends left before the *SNOW* flies, and I have all winter to weave and play on the looms. 

Well, naptime is over and the coffee cup is empty.  On to my day, and hope you have a good day too! 

.

Score --- Steve 2 vs. Mouse 0

Oh Mr. Steveio the Mouse Master Man has caught two of them little meeces in his traps (one snap and one sticky)   But three of the other sticky traps had been moved around and disturbed.  So he loaded them up again with more peanut butter and reset the snap traps too.   We think they are coming in through the unused furnace ductwork somewhere they found an opening.  That is where we found lots of chewed insulation fuzzy stuff coming out of the duct up front.

Wish him luck, because the damage that can be caused by mice in an RV is just horrible.  They can chew through the insulation around wiring that can cause shorts or fires. They can chew stuffing out of built-in seating or padding around windows and valances which you would have to do a complete remodel to fix.  They can gnaw into the grey plastic water lines and cause leaks.. especially in hard to reach places for repair or replacements.

Using D-con is out of the question because once a mouse eats it, they sip some water and crawl away and die.  Don't want any stinky dead mice to crawl into the vents, walls, behind storage compartments and start to stink.  Ewwwww



I have one other thing we bought for the motorhome this week that I forgot to mention. For our house, I have a larger crockpot that is too big to fit in the cabinets of our motorhome.  We used it last weekend with Mel and Paula so I could do some Calico Beans.  But it had to ride on the floor next to the table enroute.

I told Steve that we should get a smaller one, but it still has to have a removable crock for refrigeration and ease of cleaning.  I don't like the all in one units where the crock will not lift out.  Had one like that years ago, and I was kinda glad I broke it.  HAHA

Lo and behold, Fleet Farm (the Man's Mall) had one on sale last week!   It's a Proctor Silex three quart crockpot with 3 settings, and a removable crock.  Plus it has a glass lid.  My big one has a plastic lid that looks kinda grungy and scratched up looking after all these years.  So Steve picked it up for us to add to our rig.  It is oval shaped and it fits nicely in a cabinet.  Smaller and more suited to 2 or 4 people.

Many motorhome RVers will leave a crockpot setting in the kitchen sink, while plugged into the power and using the inverter to power the outlet.  So it can cook while you are driving down the road!    I have done this once in our last rig, and it sure smelled good.  We had supper all done when we got to the campground.  I am not sure the draw of this new one on low or high or the keep warm settings.  Don't wanna run out in the rain to go check the label.  My big one is 180-250 watts, so I am sure this smaller one will be less draw than that.   I am gonna dig up some good crockpot recipes for taking it along next time.

It's a dreary rainy Sunday here.... and going to rain most of the day I expect too.   Packer game won't be on till 7:30 tonight, so I guess I will wander down to the loom room and find some mischief to get into.

.

Motorhome Modifications - things to do on a rainy non-camping weekend

It's a stay at home weekend, with rainy skies and dribbles and splatters all around.  So we decided to stay home this weekend.  Got some projects in mind (besides housework, laundry, dishes, and cleaning...ugh)

Yesterday (Friday) Steveio got TWO shipments from UPS.  Just in time for the weekend! 

  

The first box contained 10 gas struts from Arizona RV supply, to put on all of our wider motorhome basement compartment doors.  Mel had given us some last time he stopped here that took care of our narrower doors, but Steve wanted to replace the ones for the wider doors which take 2 struts each.  After 15 years, they are failing, especially in the colder temps.  These were only $7.26 each strut and $10 postage to mail us all ten of them.  Not a bad deal!

www.arizonarvparts.com -- struts for basement compartment doors

Catalog # AP168     Gas Spring Ext: 19.7'' 60 lbs Capacity

When Steveio came home from work, his eyes lit up as he saw the boxes on the counter. Wheeee PROJECTS!   Before I could say *toot sweet* he had all of the struts installed on the rig!  He had them all done so fast I didn't have time to snap pics of him in the process.    So I went back out and made him pose again now as if he was just putting them in!  LOL

The other box was from a lighting place on Ebay. He had to wait for today to work on them --- the project is to install the two more 12 volt light fixtures we bought.

He examined the box of light fixtures, and then... then..... he popped a question.  Not THE question, he already did that 13+ years ago.    Can you imagine my delight when Steveio looked at the lights and ASKED for me to make him a template????  This is a guy who HATES templates!  (I think it's like some unknown person telling him what to do)    But because these lights are going in new places, not just replacing other fixtures, he wants to be soooo careful in cutting into the lovely wood cabinetry on our rig. He wants to be exactly sure of the odd shaped openings needed for these light fixtures.   So voila, a template is now made.

He then realized he doesn't have the right size hole saw, so off to town he went, while I am typing up this blog. So while I am waiting, I will type the explanation on why we are adding MORE lights to a rig that seems to be loaded with light fixtures.  Off the top of my head, there are 30 different light fixtures inside and 8 underneath and 3 on the outside.

See..... a while back we bought five of these brass 12 volt light fixtures to replace the * hockey puck* halogen lights that were energy wasters and too hot in temps where the glass lens would loosen up and fall down on your lap, burning you in the process if you were sitting underneath it!     A little camping friend, Autumn, got burnt on her leg one night.  That was it, out they went----

So we ordered five of these swivel brass type lights and replaced them all.  They work well as 12 volt lights, and are aim-able to put the light just where you need it.   Steve has started adding LCD bulbs to some of these lights, one at a time, as the bulbs are quite expensive.    Here is a pic of when we replaced the other five light fixtures last year:

Jump forward to NOW .....  We decided to buy 2 more of the same fixtures, because we want one that shines near the entryway instead of fumbling for the ceiling mounted fluorescent light as we come in the rig, in the dark.  We want it within easy reach of the doorway entrance. Plus, where we are placing it, the light can also shine down onto our dining table area when eating inside.  

The other light is going over my passenger seat when the seat is swiveled around to face the lounge area of the coach.  When I work on my fiber projects, I don't have any light over that chair.  There are two over the couch on the street side of the coach.....    and one on the curb side over Steve's chair, but my chair was sorely lacking in illumination.

If Momma Ain't Happy, Then Nobody's Happy.... right?

Okay, he got back home and we started on the lights.  Yes, he used the template! 

A small panel was removed from inside the cabinet to access the wires.

The light is now in place, with the switch reachable from the door, and able to aim over the table, too.

And here is the one over my passenger seat, and all three lights in a row down the line of cabinets 

(the center one was already there over Steve's euro chair) 

 So we finished up the lights and cleaned up our mess, vaccing up the sawdust and putting away the tools. It was raining raining raining all afternoon.   Guess it wasn't too good of a weekend to go camping.

And now that is done, on to the BATTLE OF THE MICE!   Last week we were too confident that our moth balls scattered under the rig were doing their job.  Steve also put a few well-placed mesh sacks of mothballs were stowed in our compartments.  THIS week, we have MICE!

We went out to the motorhome on Thursday to drive it over to empty the black and grey tanks at the Oconto dump station, and noticed tiny little mousie poops on our DASH!  There is no food in the lower cabinets or dog food in the drawer.  Only canned goods up high.   But we found some chewed foam insulation around the pipes under the cabinets.  And some chewed insulation under the dash near Steve's seat.

So we picked up eight little standard regulation mouse traps and a jar of peanut butter.  Set em all on Thursday night  and held our breath.   Well.. those little stinkers ate off ALL the peanut butter and didn't set off a single trap!   ACK!    Time to get smarter than the mice?

Today Steveio picked up four of the sticky traps and is putting a dollop of delicious peanut butter in the middle of the sticky area.  Heh heh.  PLUS he reloaded the spring type Victor traps. We pulled out all the drawers and set these inside the cabinets and one set up front where we saw the mouse poops around Steve's seat.  We will see who wins this battle?

If this does not work, we will have to get Fred over here.  He is the Mighty Mouse Hunter of all RVs!   We witnessed his endless tirade on them little buggers a couple years ago on our way to Mount Rushmore.  He got them little buggers, even TWO AT A TIME in one trap!   He was checking those traps every hour, and finally outsmarted them meeces!    Now THAT is a Mighty Mouse Hunter!

   

Steve started up a big ole pot of homemade chicken vegetable soup for lunch today... 

The house smells soooo good with a pot of soup simmering on the stove.  Yum!  

He chopped up the veggies and added some cartons of broth, 

I chopped up the chicken and did the seasoning.  

At the end we added some noodles and let it simmer. 

After supper, we lit a fire in the fireplace, and are now sitting back to enjoy a pizza and finish up this blog. It's still raining outside, but we are inside and cozy and warm.  We have some Netflix movies to watch because everything on tv just seems like repeats or dumb stuff, not to mention all the political commercials barbarding us every few minutes.  Will November 2nd ever come?  

We will see what tomorrow will bring---  Perhaps a Packer win over the Vikings????

.

Brrrrrrr it's time for our first fire in the fireplace for the season

Brrrr the temps dropped in Wisconsin, back to what is *normal* for this time of year.  We had winds today of 35 mph gusts and dark grey heavy clouds.  It was such a shock from what we had the last two or three weeks.  I think we forgot what October is normally like?

I had been out on the deck replanting some outdoor plants for taking inside.  When I was done, It seemed like I just couldn't warm up.   The winds have died down, but I am still chilled to the bone.  Hope I am not getting sick? 

 

Soooo it was time to put a fire in our fireplace!

 

 

While it burns and warms the room, we are sitting here, side by side in our easy chairs like some old-timey couple….except we are sitting here with our laptops!!!  LOL

I think WINTER is on it's way....

 

 

I had wanted to go camping again this weekend, but the weather forecast looks like rain rain and more rain.  I suppose we could still go, and hope the weatherman is wrong?

We will see. 

 

I suppose I could spend some serious time in my studio this weekend, and won’t even notice the rain outdoors.  But honestly,  I would rather be camping.  Time is running out!  We are soon to be buried under snow and ice and cold!!!   Perish the thought.

CAMPING – Boulder Lake in the Nicolet National Forest with Paula and Mel

It almost feels *sacrilegious* to post a happy camping post in light of the news the RVing blogging community was burdened with yesterday about Margie and Bruce.  I have had a heavy heart since hearing of their senseless deaths while walking along near their campground at Pismo Beach.  A young man, intent on suicide in front of his estranged girlfriend’s place of work, mowed then down in his efforts to do in himself.  Margie and Bruce both tragically died, and he only had minor injuries and is now charged with their deaths.

Then this morning, I thought of what better way to go on, blogging about Rving as Margie would want to be doing.  And I really don’t think she would want any of us to limit or avoid blogging now because of their passing.   So here it is….  my blog of the weekend:

 

Ahhhh Steveio arranged to get Friday off work, so we loaded up the rig and left on Thursday as soon as he got home.  Hit the road by 3:30pm as it gets dark so soon, we have to hightail it to a campground to get setup before dark.

Our friends, Mel and Snap Snap Snap Paula (that snapping is Steveio trying to remember her name)  were a couple hours ahead of us, and already had their site and our site staked out.  It was so nice to drive up and into a park, knowing full well that our site was waiting for us. 

Being that they also have a long Safari diesel motorhome, they can accurately judge a site as to it's conditions for us to fit in.   Being 40 feet and not being able to *bend* in the middle like a travel trailer or fifth wheel, it makes backing into a site more complicated.  We need *swing room* on the front end to clear, and if there is a tree or post too near the entrance of the site, you need even more.  

The other thing is level ---  if you are in a travel trailer or fifth wheel, your tires are grouped in the middle of your unit, so you can be on an uneven site and still achieve level easier because you kinda *pivot* on the central tire grouping.   But on a motorhome, your tires are spread out four square, and it's hard to get level on an uneven site, even with driving up on blocks and using our jacks.  Oh heck, here I will draw a picture:

Leveling is important if you don't want all your blood running to your head as you are sleeping, or sliding across the slippery shower stall floor, but mostly because of your refrigerator.  RV fridges are a delicate balance of chemicals in the tubes behind the wall, and if left out of level too long, they can pool up, crystallize and create *hot spots* in the metal tubing which can burn through and leak.  Then it's shot and time for an expensive rebuild or replacement.  OUCH....  so the more level you can operate your fridge, the better.  And you don’t risk damaging your expensive refrigerator unit.

Anyhow... back to camping.  We pulled in about 5pm and loved the site Mel and Paula picked out for us!   Here are our rigs….  right across from each other.

We have a 1996 Safari Serengeti and they have a 1996 Safari Sahara… cousins!

 

There were only a couple other campers in our loop, and things were pretty quiet.  We got all backed in, set up and time to visit and enjoy our company.  Supper was some quickly heated leftovers and a pizza, and then it was time to get the campfire going!  What can be more fun than sitting around the campfire in the darkening woods, with crisp fall air, and laughter of friends?  We sat out till after 10pm, and then toddled off to bed.  Steve and I had been up since 4:30 am so it was a looongg day for us. 

We are camping WITH electrical hookups at this park ($20 a night for 50 amp) so it was a real treat to crawl into a cozy warm bed... because we have an electric mattress pad heater on our bed!  I cranked up each side to the highest setting about an hour before bedtime.  Wheeeee coming from the cold autumn air into the warm camper and crawling between fresh cotton sheets, prewarmed.  Life just don't get any better, does it?

Saturday morning was sunshine and fall colors, though it's past it's PEAK for Leaf Peeping Tourists.  The colors are still nice, even if most of the leaves are already on the ground.  Steve took the doggers out for a walk as I perked coffee and we feasted on some more of our North Carolina Apple Cake... recipe from RVer Janet Goerne    We had shared some with Mel and Paula too the night before, so they could have it with their coffee in the morning. Here is a link to the recipe:   North Carolina Apple Cake    Yummmmmm

 

We sat around the morning, exchanging ideas and motorhome modifications.  Oh my my, when Steveio gets home we are gonna be buuuusssssyyyyyy!   Mel is a wealth of ideas and creative stuff for updating our matching Safari motorhomes.

Just look at them, solving the world’s problems and figuring out new things to try.

Paula brought her piecing of quilt squares for a project is hand-working with embroidered centers and quilted edges, making holiday coasters.  I had out my spinning wheel, and then later brought out the sockknitting machine.  It was a great day with sunshine and nice weather.  Paula brought out snacks to tide us over till suppertime. 

 

Mel and Paula had explored the area a little before we had gotten there.  So they said let’s hop in the car and check out some area campsites... so we did.  Someone has to tell Mel that his little white Saturn Ion car is NOT a four-wheel-drive rugged monster truck for all terrain and backroads.  

 

He tootleybopped us up and down and around and back as we checked out some interesting rustic remote sites... possibly able to get our motorhomes into one of them, but not the others... No way--- No how.  But he would probably try????  They are called the Barrier Free Access sites for handicapped folks to fish at, plus back in further are camping sites for a small fee of $5.  They are located on the one and the same Oconto River that flows right by our house.  If you put in there and floated down about 85 miles, you would come to our house!  

After that, we drove around the Chute Pond county park... it's a twisty turney park sectioned off into 2 pieces.. one section seems to be more suited to tents and weekenders, and the other portion seems to be seasonal sites with trailers set up all over willy nilly and have decks, storage sheds and even big household refrigerators setting behind some of the trailers.  It's all located on the shores of the same river, just backed up by a dam to create a flowage area.   In the summers, it is high resort population and cottage folks with heavy boat and jetski traffic on the pond.  Not our kind of place, no thank you.

 

Back to the campground on Boulder Lake.   It was time to get the campfire going and get started on supper.  Tonight was our entree and Paula’s “go withs”  and then Saturday would be her entree and our “go withs”   Fun way to plan our meals, totally Paula’s idea!

Steveio was the chef and Mel was the Supervisor….

Yummmm tenderloin steaks, taters, salads, veggies and dips… and a bottle of wine!

(aren’t those steaks done yet?)

 

Sitting around the campfire, sharing stories, ideas, places to explore and just general BS.  We gabbed till the flames went down and it was time to crawl back into bed.  Amazing how tired someone gets when not doing much of nothing?

 

Saturday morning again we lucked out with sunshine and blue skies… what a treat!  So many days of wonderful weather in Wisconsin in October is almost unheard of.  We got up early and Steve and I took the doggers for a walk around the campground.  Quite a few rigs has pulled in Friday night and the campground was about 3/4 of the way full. 

Ironically, the forest service workers had closed the bathrooms, showers, water spigots and dump station on Thursday.  Now they had a very populated campground and no access to water.  Some folks in a travel trailer arrived with empty water tank, intending to fill once they arrived at the dump station before setting up.  They ended up leaving the park, going to another place to water up, and then come back to back into their site in the darkness. Felt bad for all the popup folks too with no access to bathrooms, and long walk to the outhouses.

We saw two interesting things as we walked around.. one was a huge tent, shaped similarly to an old Lumberjack or Hunting tent like in the old time photos of logging camps.  Complete with a shiny silver metal smokestack coming out of the roof!   The interesting part was it was a NEW tent, of nylon ripstop fabric and very large and roomy, I would say 25-30 feet long and not sure how wide.  (of course I forgot the camera to snap a pic)  I never knew they still make big tents like this anymore. 

The second thing we saw was a pickup truck with a camper on the back, running it’s engine with the hood up.  Our first thought was they ran their heater all night and now had to run the engine with battery cables attached to their camping battery to charge it up.  But no…. as we got closer, we could see, sitting on the radiator was an electric coffee maker!!!!  and it was plugged into a portable inverter that was clamped to the truck’s battery!  LOL LOL   Talk about inventive?  When someone wants their drip coffee, they want their drip coffee!   hahahahha

Saturday was a lazy day, while the guys discussed this and that, thinking up ideas and projects to do….  Paula worked on more of her quilt projects and I did some sockknitting and then hauled out my spinning wheel too.  Spinning in the woods in the sunshine is a real treat.  It’s very relaxing and comforting and keeps the hands busy.

Saturday evening, Mel and Paula had some friends stop by, Peter and Jeannie.. with their grandson Alden.  We put the firebug antics to rest by making him also gather and carry wood, letting him saw some branches and had to really really work to have that fire!   LOL

We enjoyed Paula’s meal of Italian sausages, with grilled peppers, onions, mushrooms and the spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese on top!   YUMMMMMMM  I had a pot of calico beans and a bowl of potato salad as my “go withs"

Alden insisted on heating up his cheese curds in a pan on the fire???

After supper, and some walking around the campground with the dogs and Alden (trying to wear him out)  we sat around the fire till late… stories, jokes and laughter were heard late into the night… and a cozy warm bed once we turned in.

 

Sunday morning was sunny AGAIN!  I bet you are bored reading that, but it is VERY unusual to have such a prolonged Indian Summer in our neck of the woods.  70 degree days, day after day, are pretty much unheard of around here.  So we planned to enjoy it!

Paula whipped up waffles and bacon for breakfast…  good thing that Safari puts these outside electrical outlets on their rigs, otherwise we are sure Mel and Steve would be installing them by the end of the weekend!

 

Can you just see the sunshine on the fallen leaves?  Can you feel it on your face? Can you hear them rustling?  Can you smell the earthy richness of the woods?  We did!

But all good things must come to an end when you are still in the work-a-day world.  Sigh.

Paula dubbed this our “Last Lunch” 

As we packed up our rigs and got road-worthy… I heard a shout from Steveio…. GET THE CAMEREA!   So I grabbed it and flew out the door, not sure what I was going to find. 

Here was Mel’s cord in his power pedestal.  He reached in to grab his handle to unplug, but felt something warm and mushy and soft!  EEEEKKK!!!

 

Do you know what those are???

 

They are MUSHROOMS!!!  Some little forest critter decided to gather and pile them up under the lid of the power pedestal.  Wonder if he wanted them sautéed, grilled or just heated up?

Tragic loss of fellow RV bloggers, Margie and Bruce

As I was preparing my blog this morning, I got news of the tragic death of a wonderful RVing couple, Margie and Bruce.  Though we had never met in "real life" yet, her words of encouragement and support of all RVers out there on the road was uplifting and interesting.  They were senselessly mowed down by a suicide-intended driver of a car as they were walking yesterday morning.  Their family is in shock and we are all feeling their pain and loss at this tragic event---   http://bruceandmargiesfulltimejourney.blogspot.com/    May God bless them and keep them safe. 

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Wade

On a lovely fall day, our daughter Heather married the love of her life, Jesse Wade.  It was a gorgeous day with absolutely perfect autumn weather.


The Wedding Chapel in Green Bay was the site of the ceremony.... and getting ready was half the fun!

A reflective moment between our daughters... 

as Matron of Honor Erin helps the bride, Heather, into her dress. 

Heather's rose bouquet has an antique handkerchief tucked in between the blooms.  The handkerchief was crocheted and embroidered by her Great Great Grandmother Kafehl, 

and then used by her Great Grandmother Kafehl, 

and then her Great Aunt Lois gave it to me on my wedding day, 

and passed on now to Heather on her wedding day (Erin got one too)

Also tucked in Heather's bodice was another momento handkerchief.  It was from Jesse's mom, originally shaped as a christening bonnet... just snip a few threads and it unfolds into a hankie for her son's bride someday to wear at her son's wedding.  How sweet and wonderful to pass that on to Heather!  What a great family to welcome our daughter into their arms.  And maybe when Jameson grows up, it can be used for his future wife and their child too.

Here is little Jameson getting dolled up for his very important task of being the Ringbearer at his mommy and daddy's ceremony.  And Daddy is doing a great job of decking out the little dude in all of his finery.

(He kept the tie and vest on all the way till after midnight!)

The two 2 year olds as a part of the ceremony were a hit... Aubrey the flower girl made it down the aisle to the bribery of M&M's I was shaking in a bag from up in the front pew.   Jameson started to come, but hightailed it back towards Mommy...  and he tried to scoot around Steve, Heather and my ex Glen coming down the aisle.  Glen grabbed him around the waist and hoisted him up on one arm... to be carried down the aisle with his Mommy and Steve on the other side.  So it turns out that all three men in her life escorted her down the aisle!

(didn't get a pic of that yet, waiting to see if someone else had a camera taking that shot)

After that excitement, the rest of the wedding went on cue....

 vows were said, rings were exchanged, the unity candle was lit and music was played.

Jameson enjoyed his gummy treats on the bottom step, and didn't mind the attention at all

Time for photos.. and kisses! 

The bridal party:  (left to right)   Shana, Deanna, Erin, Heather, Jesse, Tyler, Josh and Nic

Two sisters and two brothers--

Erin Matron of Honor

Heather the Bride

Jesse the Groom

Tyler the Best Man

During the unity candle ceremony, the flower girl Aubrey shared her M&M's with Ringbearer Jameson

Our Princess now has her Prince Charming for Happily Ever After

Her dress was lovely and Jesse looked so handsome in his tux

The darling bride taking out a little bit of time 

for some special Mommy/Son time with Jameson after the photos were done. 

(I just LOVE this photo!)

This IS Green Bay, ya know, so the bridal party has to stop off at Lambeau Field, the home of the Green Bay Packers!   In the atrium area is a pub dedicated to Curly Lambeau, a legend in Green Bay.

The *theme* for the wedding reception is "Mario and Princess Peach" of the video game era.  

Lo and behold, in the atrium  at the Stadium were two Mario Cart video games, side by side, 

just perfect for a bride and groom! 

And Heather WON! 

 Some Jumping for Joy at the base of the Curly Lambeau statue out in front of the Stadium

 The photographer will use her shots of these antics on some interesting wedding photo artwork

The reception and dinner were held at The Stadium View Banquet Hall just down the block from the big Packer Stadium...  What a great place.  We had about 180 guests on hand for fun, laughter and celebration!  Many came from out of town... luckily there was not a *home game* or nobody would have been able to get a hotel room for 50 miles around!  Personalized champagne flutes are flanked by personalized shot glasses and beer steins...  PACKER beer steins, this IS Green Bay, ya know!

Being a Mario themed party, the table decorations were wooden Mario Question Blocks made by Jesse and Mario Mushrooms made by Heather to hold the table signs and numbers.  The center tray held little gift boxes of buttermints, and flower petals were strewn around with tiny flickering votives in star shapes (no candles allowed)   These photos were snapped before the wait staff set the tables with dinnerware.  Little Aubrey helped me set all the tables, and Jesse came to lend a hand while the bride was getting ready.

Of course, the cake needed to have Mario and Princess Peach to adorn the top! 

What a lovely cake it was!  Red velvet!!!   

Plus other little Mario figurines were ascending the stairs around the fountain... 

We had to keep little fingers off the cake, they all wanted the figurines BEFORE the cake was even cut!  

(the cake serving utensils were from my wedding, 

and used by Erin at her wedding, and now Heather at hers)

 Each table had a different video game character's name and guests were directed to their tables from the large seating chart printed up by Shana, and place holders to help the non-gamers remember where they sat.  What a fun way to find your family's name or group to get to your seat!  We had 22 tables of eight.

This huge poster helped folks find out who, what, where and why! 

After a wonderful meal served sit down family style of broasted chicken, BBQ ribs and all the fixens, 

it was time for dancing!!!!

The bride and groom were magical and joyous in the sparkling lights

 Heather and Steveio shared a special moment in their own Father Daughter Dance

I am in the far back corner, videotaping their dance together as the floor was cleared for them alone.

Heather also had a special dance with her father, my ex.  

She is lucky to have "Two Daddies" as her DJ friend, Elvie announced 

Jesse and his mother, Lisa, had their own dance too.  Such a wonderful lady to raise such a great son! 

Kevin and Lisa Wade have welcomed our daughter into their fold, with open arms and loving hearts. 

Heather got in a POLKA with Granpa Wankel (my dad)   He was all spruced up in his best suit and tie, and talked about wanting to dance with the bride and someone take his picture in his duds! 

I think she made his day... hard to tell who is happier?

After a grand march, filled with silliness and goofy sunglasses... it was time for the garter and the bouquet toss.  I missed photos of the bouquet toss, as I was still filming.   But here are shots of the antics that were untaken to get the garter from the bride.  First, she sat on the Best Man's lap.  Her husband had to *DANCE* over to her.... and if he didn't dance good enough, he was not allowed to get the garter!

To the tune of "Tequila" --- Bridegroom Jesse did his best Pee Wee Herman imiation....  what a hoot!

and yes, he was allowed to get the garter from her leg.... (whoever started such a strange custom?)

 And now it was time to throw it into the gaggling group of single men... 

Heather helped turn him around and around and directed him where to throw it! 

We danced late into the night, when little Jameson and Chelsea both konked out. Then we did the "Grandparent Thing" and brought them home with us.   40 miles later, we arrived home and both of the little buggers woke up with a second wind!  They played and played, while we were exhausted and hoped they would go to sleep!  Chelsea dozed off at 12:30am, and Jameson at 1am!

We brought them back at 10 am to the hotels where family was staying at, and they later did the water slide fun at Tundra Lodge's indoor water park.  We were exhausted so we came home and took a long nap!

In case you want to see more???   

Here is a link to an album on facebook.. 

you do not have to be a member of facebook to view them

Share this album with anyone by sending them this public link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084940&id=1257067735&l=63cce3aa1b

Still waiting to see if anyone took pictures of Steve and I or when we posed up front with Erin and Heather?   I was busy taking photos, but didn't get any of us!   I know the photographer got some, but those will take weeks.... anyone?

Cheryl?  Joann?  Linda?