Graduation from Mighty Mites!

Granddaughter Allegra, (a.k.a. Fishy Swimmer Girl)  has invited us to go see her graduation from her swimming lesson class--- the Mighty Mites!   Grandparents are invited to stand along the edge of the pool (minus their shoes and socks)  to admire their grandchild's prowess and skill in the pool...


She was all dolled up in her swimmy suit and jumped right in with all the other kiddos and parents.

Mommy stayed out by the grandparents with little Mason in her arms, so he could watch his big sister do her thing.  (he napped among all that noise and screeching??)  What fun it was to watch them.

Yes, she GRADUATED!   

As a treat, they all are allowed to go twice down the big slippery twisty slide (with a parent)  once they complete their class.  Allegra was so gung ho and wanted to go down again and again!

Once she was changed into dry clothes. we all trekked over to Mackinaws, a favorite steak house to celebrate our daughter-in-law Heather's birthday!  It has a rustic "Up North" theme to it, compete with real logs, camping and sporting gear from the woods, and plenty of stuffed animals.  Within the building is a log cabin that houses the bar.  The logs that were used to build the cabin were harvested from the family's land west of Green Bay.  We got a nice quiet table above the log cabin in the upstairs dining area.

This is from their website:

MACKINAWS - What's in a name?

Whenever we choose a name there is usually a purpose or theme behind that name.  So, how did the name Mackinaws come to be?

First we wanted a name to compliment the rustic log and stone décor with the old “up north” feel.  We also felt that the name and personality of this place should reflect our personal ties to the building.  All the rough-hewn timbers, D-logs and planking were harvested off our own family farm west of Green Bay.  My dad, Ed, brother, Tom, and I all helped plant and water the trees which now make up the restaurant.  The skinned logs which accent the cabinets were debarked by me and my son, and co-owner of Mackinaws, Kevin.

So we had the personal touch with the logs and timber and wanted to emphasize the “old” northern sports characteristics of this area.  Fishing, hunting, snowshoeing, skiing (two pair are my dad’s and my first “bear traps”) are reflected in the decorations and the wall mounts, which include Canadian geese in flight, caribou, grizzly bear and more!

But a name eluded us until our friends joined in for the search for a suitable name.  We needed a special name for this special place.  One that was “northernly” and friendly, easy to say, easy to shorten, and the list goes on.  Finally, we found a name which tied in a Canadian cloth used by lumberjacks, northern woodsmen and hunters, as well as the memorable item worn by many of our dads and grandfathers: the mackinaw jacket. 

Mackinaws!  It sounded good and solid, a friendly name befitting the north and the rustic theme you see here today. 

We hope it catches the casual, warm and comfortable feel you have whenever you visit us.  Thanks for coming!

Pat Quinn
Co-Owner Mackinaws Grill & Spirits
2925 Voyager Drive
Green Bay, WI 54311
Phone: 920-406-8000 or 920-406-8830
Fax: 920-406-8840
Email: Mackinaws1@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.mackinaws.com 

In the foyer they have a large bear that Allegra was oogling with her Granfaddah Pfun....  it does look a tad bit scary, doesn't it?  I think she was safe in her Granfaddah's arms.

She also got to see an elk, a moose, a cougar and some deer too....  

We had a very filling dinner (BBQ chicken and ribs)  and little Mason had his bottle. We had a nice time visiting with the other grandparents and aunt Kim.  Heather's father, Phil, is in a physical rehab center for a recently broken hip, so we missed having him around to celebrate Heather's birthday. awwwww

After dinner, the kind waitresses brought a Birthday Dessert with a candle, which of course little Allegra just HAD to help her mommy blow it out! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HEATHER!!!!

Motorhome Modifications - back to the letter C again

Yup, we got some snow, but not nearly as much as they predicted.  It was supposed to snow all day today too, but it looks like the storm moved on.  I think we got about 5-6 inches, but with all the blowing around, it's hard to tell.


Now back to the letter C....  

First on deck is a Collapsible Bucket.  We picked this up last year on a sale, and it sure is handy!  I think I paid $5 for it.  

The extending windshield squeegee fits inside it for washing the windows on the outside of the rig.  When dried out, it collapses down and slides into the little nylon sack for storage.  Takes up a lot less room than a five gallon bucket we used to use.  The only reason a five gallon bucket is nice to have along (if you have room)  is that it can do double duty as a step stool or a seat when turned upside down.

Good for Steve's s rig-washing brush, or even just a bucket to hand wash something with a rag. 
We have used it to soak sweet corn in before grilling. 
We have used it to haul water for filling my canning kettle. 
We have used it to haul apples picked off a tree on an abandoned farmstead. 
We have used it to scoop up dog food from a broken bag in the storage compartment. 

We have used to carry toddler toys to the beach, juice boxes and sunscreen too.

So that was a little handy hint for an easy RV accessory that has multiple uses.





Coleman lanterns, of course, are a staple among the camping crowd!  Especially when you camp in rustic campgrounds without hookups or boondocking out in the boonies. No streetlights for miles.   It is one of our favorite camping toys!

A small lantern from Coleman, SOOO much better than hauling around those bigger camping lanterns, breaking their glass lens, or their fragile mantles.  For many many years, since I was a child, we had those big white gas lanterns with the thin glass circular lens.  Can't tell you how many we broke, usually while in transit.  We even had the big maroon cases to help with breakage on the large propane versions.  But  we saw this one being used by our camping buddy, Bob Senior.  We had to go out and get one right away for ourselves. This one has kept the same mantle going all summer. 

I LOVE clearance Sales at our local Shopko store.  They had these neato containers that are rectangular in shape instead of circular.  Think... on a shelf... flat sides of containers stack next to each other better than cylindrical.  So we get more storage and less wasted space.    I bought a set of 8 of these great containers from Gourmet Living.

MY CABINET BEFORE                             MY NEW CONTAINERS 

They have vacuum seal lids by flipping down the little ring type levers on the lids, which create a suction.  We use the larger ones for flour, sugar, brown & powdered sugar etc.  The smaller ones for coffee, rice, pancake mix etc.  Less cardboard boxes and bags in the cabinets is good to avoid bugs when travelling in the southern states.   Here they are, all filled up and lined in a neat row. 

These are normally $15-20 a container ---  WHEW!  But they had a set of 8 pieces, all in the sizes I wanted for the mere price of $89.99  ... so that is down to $10 a container....  still a WHEW! --- You know me, a cheapie shopper.   Well, the set was on sale for only $39.99.  Plus I had a $10 gift card.  So $29.99 final price.  That comes out to less than $4 a container.  More in my budget range, teeeheeee  I just googled now and they are on sale again!   Here is a link to them:   Gourmet Living Containers at Shopko

Well, that is my three C's of Motorhome stuff for the blog post today.  

For a fourth C... Chelsea!   She is feeling better today, and has her 2 year old checkup this afternoon with the pediatrician.  Erin will get more reassurance from the doc that it will be okay to have the birthday party tomorrow.  She will be so happy to see all her cousins and little friends, and all the loving grandparents, aunts and uncles too.  

After her party, we are going to take the grandson, Jameson, back to our house for an overnight!   His mommy and daddy are having a romantic date night, so we are keeping him here.  Our Christmas gifts to all our kids/spouses were gift cards to a nice dinner out at a locally owned steak house called Mackinaws  http://www.mackinaws.com/   and then we included gift cards to a movie.  Of course, the gift also stipulated that they get free overnight babysitting too as part of their date. 

I am looking out at the snow, and yes, it looks nice to cover up all the yucky brown ground.  A few flakes are floating down here and there, but basically I think it's done for the day.  The river is starting to ice over again.  

Yes, Winter is here.    

Sigh.