On The Road Again, First Stop: Indiana For Easter

This is the first post of a new travel series.  In this series, we are headed east starting in Wisconsin and going all the way to Virginia to see the home of George Washington and Colonial Williamsburg.  But first, we stop in Indiana to celebrate Easter with my daughter, son-in-law, and the grandchildren.

It is about an eight hour drive from Wisconsin to Indiana, so my daughter's home is always the perfect pit stop to spend the night when traveling east.  I mean, who can beat not only a free room and meal for the night, but sweet time with these adorable little ones I call my grandchildren.  

I always love to go east in the spring because ya'll have a lot warmer temperatures than us northerners, plus I enjoy seeing the flowering trees and green grass.  I've been told these beautiful purple trees blooming all over the road sides as one heads east or Eastern Red buds.

I make one digital scrapbook a year for my grandchildren and I give it to them at Easter.  They love to look at photos of themselves and see all the things they have done during the year.

I also give them Easter baskets which they love opening!

This was the first year Lazarus was able to get an Easter basket.  He turned one in May.  Boy, did he get a kick out of opening up his basket.  He kept thinking "Is this really all for me?"  He wanted to eat everything in his basket at once.  Now if you're wondering what I put in a one year old's Easter basket that he could eat, it wasn't candy.  I purchased almost everything at Aldi:  dehydrated strawberries, and all the baby treats Aldi sells. 

The older kids got Easter crafts, some candy, healthy treats and small toys.

The boys favorite toy was some water bubble guns I purchased for $4.99 at Menards.  They had so much fun with them!

The next day we went to church where they had an Easter brunch and a lovely service.

In the afternoon we had an Easter Egg hunt.

We spent the rest of the day playing with the all the new toys and enjoying a traditional ham dinner.  It was a beautiful day. The weather was so perfect we even tried kite flying!  It worked great until Alethea let go of the kite.  😀

The next morning we were up at the crack for our next stop:  Frederick Maryland where we would spend the night before arriving at Mt. Vernon the next morning.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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Waterfalls in Green Bay, Wisconsin Plus A Quick Stop at Lambeau Field

For this week's travel post I am continuing on with our winter staycations and then next week I plan to start a new travel series of our spring vacation to the east coast to see Colonial Williamsburg.  Would you believe we ended up going to Green Bay, Wisconsin twice this winter?  I sure couldn't.  We first went to meet up with the grandkids because my son-in-law was speaking at a teacher conference in Green Bay and he brought the whole family along so they could have some fun with us while he worked.  We took the kiddos to The Children's Museum of Green Bay and The Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary.

We ended up going back to Green Bay in April to meet up with some lifelong friends of ours to see a concert.

The concert was in the evening so we had the whole day to see more sights in Green Bay that we missed when we there two months earlier with the grandkids.  One thing we really wanted to see was the Green Bay waterfalls.

The first waterfall we stopped at was Wequiock Falls.

Wequiock Falls, one of Brown County's smaller parks, contains a large ravine featuring a close-up inspection of the Niagara Escarpment rock formation. 

In spring, the flow from Wequiock Creek forms a picturesque waterfall which gradually slows through the dry summer season. 

A pretty place to picnic and relax, the park is equipped with tables, restrooms, drinking water and ample parking.

I always like to include a photo of a human in it so you can get an idea of the size of the waterfall.  Apparently, from what I read above in Travel Wisconsin, we were pretty lucky to see this much water falling as it is not always like this. 

At the other end of the falls is a tunnel, covered with graffiti that takes the water down the river.  Apparently, during the dry season, the tunnel is so dry you can walk through it. 

Our next waterfall stop was Fonferek's Glen. This waterfall was located in someone's backyard!  An old farm sits adjacent to the parking lot of this waterfall.  They sure don't have much privacy anymore as people are parked outside their house all day, and walking behind their property to view the falls.  I read that the family donated 74 acres in 1991 so that everyone could enjoy the beautiful waterfall.

This is a beautiful waterfall.  There is a stone viewing deck to see these falls and although there are no established hiking trails, people still made their way across the shallowest portion of the river to see other rock formations.

Fonferek's Glen Conservancy Area is a unique 75-acre county park with magnificent views. This geological gem features a 30-foot waterfall, dolomite cliffs, and stone archway, which are all part of the larger Niagara Escarpment. The park also includes 30 acres of former agricultural fields that have been planted to native trees and prairie. The waterfall can easily be viewed from a designated overlook constructed in 2019.

The rest of the park is a natural conservancy area with dangerous conditions, including steep cliffs, falling rock and rugged terrain. (Brown County Parks Department).

We ventured off the platform to get down to the river.  It was pretty steep, but I had my walking sticks with me so it was manageable for me.  I could not have done it without my walking sticks.

When reading about this place, I read that there have been a lot of injuries and deaths because it is not developed.  Many people called for trails, bridges, and more guardrails to keep the area safe.

The two photos below shows a unique rock formation seen at the bend of the river.

I also read that this waterfall can really dry up in the summer and be more of a trickle too.  It's hard to believe that as it was so powerful when we were there. 

We still had some time left before meeting our friends for dinner before the concert, so we decided to check out Lambeau Field.  Now I know just about everyone in Wisconsin is a Green Bay Packer fan, but my son and I are not.  My husband used to watch professional football but stopped when they went all woke,  now he just watches college sports.  I do realize it is unheard of to live in Wisconsin and not be a Packer fan.  The fans are a bit crazy for their team here.  We had been to Lambeau Field once before, but we just took a photo of the outside and left.  This time..we went in! OOH!  😆. I know, baby steps.  They have a museum and they offer tours of the field, but we didn't do any of that.  We just walked around a bit, and checked out the Pro Shop which had the most Packer paraphernalia I had ever seen in my life (and none of which I'd ever buy), and left. 

Now I know I've never seen the inside of any other football stadium in my life, but I was pretty impressed with the architecture.  The glass atrium was beautiful.

There is a giant statue of the Lombardi Trophy inside the atrium.  It is 50 feet tall and weighs 14.5 tons.

I should also mention there are lots of statues outside as well such as a statue of Vince Lombardi.  But it was freezing outside, and because I'm not a Packer fan, I just didn't care enough to freeze my butt off getting photos of those statues.  😆

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

 

Vacation Themed Cards: A Dirty Dozen Card-Making Challenge

One year ago I wrote in THIS POST that I was given the great honor in the paper-crafting world to join the "Dirty Dozen" on Splitcoaststampers.   Splitcoaststampers is an on-line paper crafting community where crafters can learn new techniques, chit chat with each other, share their art work, and so much more.  One part of this community is "The Dirty Dozen".  This is an invitation only group of crafters whose work is seen as exemplary so they are asked to be part of the Dirty Dozen.  The requirements of the Dirty Dozen is to create six cards for six months centered around a different theme each month.  The cards then are uploaded into the "Dirty Dozen Gallery" and only fan club members are allowed to see them.  After six months, Dirty Dozen members are allowed to post them elsewhere on social media or their blogs.  Well, it has been more than six months since I completed my first challenge, so I can finally show  my first set of cards!

The fifth Dirty Dozen theme was "Vacations".  Members were asked to create vacation themed cards.

Pineapple Card

For my first card, I created a tropical themed card.  This card invokes all the colors, tropical fruits, and birds that one would find someplace in the tropics, where a lot of people vacation.

To make my card I used Spellbinder's "Stitched Pineapple Die".  I cut the pineapple pieces twice, in two different colors, ink blended, stitched them up, and then glued all the pieces together.   The background was done with a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder that I also ink blended.  I added some Cuttlebug flower dies and clear crystals.  The birds and sentiment are from a retired Stampin' Up! set "Just Beakause".  I stamped the sentiment with white craft ink onto black card stock.  I cut the sentiment circles with Spellbinder's dies, and popped the toucans up on dimensionals.

Boat Card

My second card uses another retired Stampin' Up! set called "Boatloads of Love".  It fits the theme because many people take cruises or boat rides on vacations.

To make this card, I created a cloudy background using the Tailored Expressions Cloud Stencil.  Then I cut waves out of patterned paper using a scalloped scissors.  The sentiment was stamped directly onto the sky.  The boats and heart were stamped, colored, fussy cut, then adhered to the card with dimensionals.   The fish are Cuttlebug dies.  I added a button and red twine for embellishment. 

Camper Card

I've never owned a camper, but many of my friends do and that is how they spend their vacations.

To make this card I used the Vintage Camper Card Tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.   Once all the pieces were cut and assembled I added all the fun details like the sentiment (which I left blank so I can personally fill it in for someone special).  I used Ultimate Metallic Silver Ink on the camper to really make it shine and look like an old Airstream.  A score-pal was used to create the horizontal lines.  The sentiment and little boy are from retired Stampin' Up! "Travel Time".  The curtains were fussy cut from designer paper.  A brad was added for the wheel well.

Camping Diorama Card

I may not own a camper, but I have gone tent camping several times in my life.  My next card shows a diorama camping scene.  

To make this card, I once again followed a Splitcoaststampers Tutorial on how to make a Diorama Card.  Once my diorama was created, I added images from another retired Stampin' Up! set called "Happy  Camper".  I created a night scene for the background by ink blending, masking, and splashing "stars" with a toothbrush and white acrylic paint.   

I've included several viewpoints of this card so you can see all the dimension and layers. 

If you want to leave a personal message on this card, I suppose you'd have to write it on the back as there isn't much room anywhere else.

Going Places Card

Planning a vacation can be just as exciting as going to the destination.  Here I created a card of a woman mapping out her trip.

To create this card I used MFT "Going Places" set.  I created a city skyline using an image from the set and ink blending a sky.   The woman was stamped, colored, fussy cut, and popped up on dimensionals.  Her dress was done by stamping the image onto designer paper, cut out, and glued onto her body (called pattern piecing).  The suitcase and airplane were also images in the set that I stamped, colored, and cut out separately.  The brick background was created with a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder.

Road Trip Card

Road Trips are my family's preferred mode of travel when taking a vacation.

To make this card I used a page from an actual map (it was old and outdated) for my background.  The palm tree is an old Sizzix die.  The car and sentiment are retired Stampin' Up! "Travel Time".  The sky background was created using Taylored Expressions Cloud Stencil.  The flip flops are stickers.

I hope you enjoyed my Vacation Themed Cards designed for the Dirty Dozen.  Which one was your favorite?  I'd love to hear from you.

Next month will be my very last post of my cards from my time on the Dirty Dozen Design Team as my six month term limit came to an end.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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