Category Archives: LISTS

Adventures I Had in 2025

January
  • Went to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia
  • Started training for tech team (“The Nest”) at Northbridge Church
  • Southport Beach / Lake Michigan
  • Escape Room 1 — Time Travel conquered!
  • Escape Room 2 — Jewel Heist conquered with seconds to spare!
  • Played Giant Chess (and won!)
  • Asbury University visit, Wilmore, Kentucky – recruiting fair & chapel
February
  • Love For L’Allemand trivia night
  • Moody Bible Institute recruiting fair
  • Celebrated granddaughter’s 6th birthday
  • Cirque de Soleil
  • Family visit to South Carolina
  • Swimming in Sister’s “domed” pool while 50ish outside
March
  • CCCA (Christian Camp & Conference Association) Wisconsin conference at Camp Forest Springs
  • Ocho Rios, Jamaica
  • Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
  • Cozumel, Mexico
  • Fisher-boy statue on my front porch
April
  • Participated in Lesley’s Poetry Challenge
  • RFK (Royal Family Kids Camp) Fundraiser
  • Reached level 10,000 in Royal Kingdom
  • Kenosha Lakefront & weird tide shifts
  • Started “Dinner with Strangers” – lots of new restaurants
May
  • Got my library card 🙂
  • Windpoint Lighthouse in Racine, Wisconsin
  • Picked up 5 different international staff at the airport
  • First day of Summer Staff orientation — My first summer at Wonderland officially begins!
  • Family came to visit
  • Southport Park – took the granddaughters to Lake Michigan for the first time – they learned to skip rocks
  • Escape Room in Waukesha
  • Visit from Aunt Betty
  • “Dinner with Strangers” – lots of new restaurants
June
  • Fisher-boy statue ends up in landscaping and I love it
  • Sister in town
  • Trip to Madison area for Marabeth’s graduation party
  • Illinois State Beach Park
  • My 54th birthday! Celebrated and loved on by staff. 🙂
  • Visit from Jennifer G from my Clinton days
  • New restaurant: Frank’s Diner – Kenosha, Wisconsin
July
  • Visit from Alicia, Troy, & family – celebrated July 4
  • Pet a pig on neighbor’s farm
  • Bobrowitz Spectacular Sculpture – Colgate, Wisconsin
  • Holy Hill
  • Ice Age Trail – Loew Lake Segment
August (which is when I actually started tracking the adventures, so the volume of things listed picks up now)
  • Worked Snack Shop for the first time
  • Visit from Aunt Betty + Jayleen & kids – got lost in the woods
  • Bought a guitar
  • Visit from Mom & Mom-day in Gurnee
  • 3 Generations Girls Day
  • Good seats for Wicked – Marcus Theatre, Milwaukee
  • Bought my Wisconsin State Parks pass
  • Visited Richard Bong Recreation Area State Park
  • Visit from Lee & Wendy
  • Summer Staff Game Night
  • New Game: Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum
  • Pokemon Day with camp staff & friends
September
  • New restaurant: Hanson’s Ice Cream – Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
  • New restaurant: Los Compadres – Burlington, Wisconsin – so far my favorite Mexican restaurant I’ve found in Wisconsin
  • Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin – Grumpy Troll Pub
  • Madison weekend with Katie
  • Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese (drool!)
  • Medieval Times
  • Boat-driving lesson
  • Kenosha Scavenger Hunt
  • Googly eyes on my golf cart
  • Helped make bacon-wrapped water chestnuts
  • Tried gochujang sauce for the first time
  • New restaurant: Archives bar & grill – Burlington, Wisconsin – book themed diner!
  • Lake Michigan road trip
  • V&S half-time band performance
  • Ate pasties from Gram’s Pasties, Escanaba, Michigan
  • Upper Peninsula / Mackinac Bridge
  • Wendi’s Sunset Lavender – Traverse City, Michigan
  • Rosy Dunes sand dunes, beach, and forest hike
October
  • New restaurant: Brew & Ole’s – Burlington, Wisconsin
  • CCCA Directors Advance – Camp Timber-lee
  • Babysat granddaughters for their parents 10th Anniversary weekend
  • Thompson Farm with the girls — all the fall fun
  • Raspberry Picking for the first time
  • Walked to dinner in Miami
  • Bahamas – Banana Beach & Half Moon Cay
  • 3 Card Poker tournament for the first time
  • Ridiculously delicious beet salad
November
  • New restaurant: Las Vegas Diner – Antioch, Illinois
  • “Salem Hills Thrills & Chills” Halloween show
  • Rock & Roll Bingo – Love For L’Allemand Fundraiser
  • Prep for Friendsgiving
  • FriendsgivingMas weekend
  • Personal Thanksgiving getaway
  • Trip to QC for friend’s engagement party
December
  • Visit from Rick D
  • Totchos and bacon-jam toast at 75th Street Inn
  • Scherrer Cares check presentation
  • Ate squid for the first time
  • National CCCA Conference in New Orleans
  • Shrimp & grits in the French Quarter
  • Beniegts (still recovering from the sugar high)
  • Riverboat dinner cruise
  • Tristan Crist Magic Show – Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
  • Road the float for Silver Lake Light Parade
  • Visit to Village of Salem Lakes planning board
  • Fun new suitcase with a starry sky design
  • South Carolina for Christmas
  • New Game: Dicetown
  • Tiny Tacos from Jack in the Box
  • Water aerobics with mom & sister
  • Christmas Eve service – CrossRoads Baptist Church
  • Upgraded to First Class for flight home on Christmas day
  • Worked Climbing Wall for the first time

Things I Am Thankful For Every Single Day

  • My family – Every single one of them
  • My FFOs, the Dawetselbees, and all my other chosen Framily
  • My job– I love what I do!
  • Where I live
  • Awesome coworkers
  • Fall colors
  • Lake front property
  • Vacations – especially beaches!
  • People that make my life better because they are in it
  • Churches that have been home
  • The peace that passes understanding
  • Changing seasons
  • Cherished memories
  • Each moment I spend with my granddaughters

Entry in a Nature Journal (because the challenge was to spend 10 minutes in nature and journal about it)

Weather
-overcast, gray skies

-cool but not cold

-tiny bit of drizzle in the air

I See

-fast ripples on the lake

-plum colored tree leaves

-a bare branch pointing at the shoreline

-empty benches and picnic tables

-the shell of the boat lift, like a skeleton

-green and brown spikes of grass, like bedhead

-tall bullrushes, brown, gentle graceful movements like a hula dance

-trees, deep green, lime turning to lemon, magenta inside

-an empty wooden cross, surrounded by flowers

I Hear

-Rustling leaves, sounds like gentle waves on a beach

-distant motor sounds from the road

-low thrum of a train going away from us

-a plane overhead, high pitched at first, burning out fuel

-birds singing in different songs and pitches, like parts in a choir

-a golfcart, someone working nearby

Things I Did For the First Time on My Vacation Recently

  • Snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef
  • Attended a concert at the Sydney Opera House
  • Saw a live production of West Side Story
  • Fed a kangaroo by hand
  • Ate kangaroo (not the same kangaroo)
  • Ate crocodile
  • Saw koalas in person
  • Hiked in Australian botanical gardens
  • Took a 9 day cruise
  • Rode a light rail, train, and city bus all in the same day
  • Visited multiple malls connected by underground tunnels
  • Crossed the international date line (twice)
  • Ate passion fruit
  • Performed CPR for 30 minutes

Welcome December

  • Twinkling lights
  • Holly with berries
  • Zipped up coats
  • Warm scarves
  • Dark nights
  • Starlight
  • Bon fires
  • Bustling shops
  • Christmas music
  • Travel plans
  • Candlelight
  • Snuggly nights
  • Shiny packages with beautiful bows
  • Wonder-filled eyes
  • Childhood anticipation
  • Colorful baubles
  • Deep green trees strung with lights
  • Warm glow
  • Short days
  • Light and life
  • Peace