Legos And More At The Climatron

   I don't remember having Legos when I was growing up, but they have become my favorite toy. I have enjoyed many hours both helping my sons make their Lego models with directions and then watching them dismantle their models and create their own. So when I saw that there was going to be a nature Lego display at the Climatron, I knew that it was a 'must see' for me!

 Inside the Climatron I had a wonderful time as I leisurely took in the different Lego sculptures and plants.

Sculptures nestled into the climatron's greenery.

    Some of the pictures are a little out of focus; I need more practice with difficult conditions, e.g. low light, reflective and uneven surfaces.

Regal Bald Eagle

 Many of the flowers were high up in the canopy.

My favorite flower picture for the day.

Chihuly Glass art

 Some of the kids were a bit wary around this sculpture scene!

 I wish I could have seen how they transported and placed these sculptures without them falling apart.

This one is quite an eye-catcher!

 This one fit very well in it's habitat. Quite a few people missed it and had to come back to find it :-)

I think I liked this one best.

Even the white fence and seeds in the feeder were Lego bricks.

 I talked to one little boy here. He was sure he could make this lily because he had at least 32,000 or more Lego bricks. After a few seconds he added; but I don't have any pink ones :-(

This one is located in the Temperate House.

 Lego building area in the Brookings Interpretive Center.

fun for all ages

 The Temperate House-connected to the Climatron.

 Outside of the Climatron were a couple more sculptures.

Roto-tiller

 Lego mosaic

Pond in front of Climatron

Chihuly Walla Walla Onions and water lilies

 A beautiful day at the Gardens!

Coventry Care Clinic And Gallery- A Pleasant Surprise!

        If you are ever in Door County Wisconsin, one gallery that is definitely worth checking out is the Coventry Care Clinic And Gallery in Sister Bay (near the Country Walk Shops). This gallery has a wide variety of  high quality pieces at bargain prices. The money generated from the gallery helps to fund the non profit, free medical clinic. 
    Pictures of the gallery:

    While in the gallery/clinic, don't miss the exquisite handmade miniature house. It is enjoyed by people of all ages!

 It was a very pleasant surprise to see how far my money stretched in this gallery :-)  Here are a few of the awesome artworks I bought. 

I see a hummingbird

A handmade tray with Hardanger Embroidery, a traditional form of Norwegian embroidery.

Miniature oils of Door County Scenes

   This gallery is now a favorite for me, especially when I want to buy a gift or decorate my house and support a good cause at the same time!!

Celebrations: Opportunities To Get Together And Have Fun :-)

     With Nathaniel taking off to Colorado to start his environmental education career at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, we wanted to celebrate this transition from student to career. There were only a few days available for this celebration to take place, and June 3rd was the day that most family could make it.We have also been observing this day for the last 3 years. I call it the "very happy to still have Phillip with us day" since that was the day he survived a horrific car accident. Even though it is an odd combination to celebrate, it was a special day with family joining in to share our joy.
     It was a beautiful day to spend in/by the pool.But, first the floatees need to be blown up.

Lillian is ready with her water wings on.

2nd cousins getting to spend some time together

Most of my pictures of Sky ended up a bit unusual...

 I did get one with his head showing :-)

 We enjoyed the shade while watching the swimmers.

 Stephanie and Lillian in the shallow end. Lillian's a bit squirmy....

    a good arm workout for Stephanie :-)

Such a nice 'toe point' !

   Gabriel practiced the crawl for a short time before.....

   deciding that the diving board was more fun.

 An unusual swimming view of Gabriel ,too :-)

A dolphin?

 We are gradually losing our shady area :-(

 A break from the pool and the sun before lunch.

cell phones come in handy for entertaining a toddler

Lunchtime!

If I cleared the island of junk, we could probably have more room for food and better 'flow' for serving :-)

Nathaniel at the 'kids' table

Back to the pool and time to play 'bumper floatees'.

Lillian is somewhere in that mess of floatees

Stephanie better watch out, they are coming at her at ramming speed!!

Gabriel preparing himself before he joins the 'bumper floatees'

He gets away safely with a smile on his face.

Now, Nathaniel joins the fray!

All too soon, time for hugs goodbye.

Germany Vacation-Not A Picture Perfect Finale

    We had planned on one more sightseeing excursion for the day before our flight back home. As we were pulling out of the driveway, the dreaded light on the dashboard lit up indicating some kind of radiator leak.We were able to get the car to his town's gas station/mechanic. They were able to figure out the problem, but parts needed to be ordered. 
    We had planned on Justin driving us to the airport the next morning and he would need a car for getting to work, so the next issue was to find a car. The car service people were very friendly and helpful; they knew our speaking German was very limited, so they called around for us at the various car rental agencies until they found one that had a car available immediately.
     There was one  problem, the only car available was a manual transmission. Justin now had one afternoon to learn how to drive a stick shift on hilly, narrow German roads...nothing like pressure to make you learn fast!! Geoffrey prefers manual/shift cars, so he and Justin went out and practiced. By early evening, they decided that Justin had gotten proficient enough; he was able to start up the car and drive while being parked on a steep hill.
     To relax and get our minds off tomorrow's adventure, we played some games.
    

   This is Geoffrey's favorite game....build your own spaceship and see how it holds up against random attacks.

My spaceships never did very well :-(

       May is the the season for weiss spargel (white asparagus) and are so popular that restaurants have special menus just for them!!!  I had bought some at the market to try out. They were pretty good sauteed :-)

Fresh weiss spargel- not sauteed yet.

      No one slept very well, and we got up extra early to leave for Frankfurt. We wanted to have plenty of time to get there and have less traffic on the autobahn.

discussing shifting strategies ?

     There were no problems getting to the airport, and now we have to say our 'good byes' :-(

airport waiting area

    We flew in to Chicago with a connecting flight to Springfield. The weather was a bit stormy and our landing in Chicago was quite rough. As we waited for our connecting flight, the storms were coming and going, and our departure for Springfield kept getting pushed back. Many hours passed and they finally cancelled our flight. Our airline was the last to do this and by this time all rental cars were taken, but Jim was able to line one up for the morning. The airline had discounts for us at some hotel and it felt very good to finally relax after a kind of ' trying' ending to our vacation. The next morning....

           everyone was happy again...

           how could you not be with such cheery decorations.

       The ending was not 'picture perfect', but we had such an absolutely wonderful vacation it didn't matter!!!