Birthdays, and Visitors, and QuarryQuest! Oh, My!

So things have been pretty crazy since our last post. First and foremost, Wonderboy Owen turned 2 years old! It is crazy to think that it has been two years since we sat in the car at the hospital in amazement that they let us take this brand new person out of the hospital without supervision or even passing a test. He is pretty amazing and we are very blessed to have him in our life.

Owen's birthday was pretty awesome and pretty unique. We started the day with Owen opening his presents from Mom and Dad and he continued the fun while I went off to work. Jim and Phyllis treated Owen to a pretty serious wagon for his birthday and they spent the afternoon exploring the village in style. I came home early from work and Jim and Phyllis (Mary's parents, more on their visit in a bit) joined Mary and I as we admired the masterpiece of a cake Mary made for him and trained Owen how to open presents in advance of the big show later that night. We enjoyed a nice dinner and then I went to work setting up the birthday party seen round the world. We arranged a series of Skype/Face Time sessions with the family back in Oregon so that they could see Owen open their gifts, sing him happy birthday and watch him blow out the candles. It is truly amazing what you can do with technology these days - while it doesn't replace being there in person it is awesome to see your loved ones on the screen and Owen absolutely gets a kick out of it. Owen proceeded to put the tractors on his cake to work and made quite the mess. We eventually turned the bath water brown and put him to bed. It was an awesome day and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it.

We were really excited to have Jim and Phyllis out for the week to share Owen's birthday as our first Wisconsin visitors. Mary and Owen picked them up on a Saturday while I prepared an official Wisconsin Brat Fry (yes, even though you grill them they call it a fry, don't ask me why) to welcome my favorite in-laws. We took them to see the Sheboygan sights and they spent a lot of time sitting with Owen (at his direction --> "Grammy...SIT!" while pointing at the floor). They were lucky enough to witness Owen's Lake Michigan baptism on Sunday as he accidentally did afaceplant while we were wading around. While I was at work the fab-four went on to enjoy a week of walks in the village, daily naps, carpet time with tractors and countless other good moments spent together.

Sadly, the visit came to an end and we drove down as a family to drop Grammy and Poppa off at the airport. It was sad to send them back to Oregon but it was a great week. The sadness didn't last long though as we had a new mission as a family - taking Owen to "Quarry Quest" where all of his wildest dreams would soon come true.

Quarry Quest (www.quarryquest.com) is a working limestone quarry that opens up from time to time to the public to give tours and give kids the opportunity to see all of the cool tractors in action. It absolutely exceeded our expectations and left Owen in complete shock. To be honest, we probably could have stopped after the bus ride from the remote parking lot to the quarry and Owen would have been as happy as it gets. But we did him one better by paying admission and showing him all of the tractors. They had cranes and lifts moving around and lots of tractors. We stood in line for a bit so that he could sit on the lap of an excavator operator while he moved some dirt around. Owen was in heaven, sitting on the ground with his own tractors while he waited in line to ride in the real thing. From there we looked at some other tractors and waited to ride in the back of a huge dump truck for the full quarry tour. We ended up the day with some digging in the sandbox before riding the bus (oh boy!) back to the parking lot. Owen was classic and was reeling from sensory overload for sure. I'm sure it was like when kids go to Disneyland and meet their favorite characters for real. Needless to say it was a hit and the Hedlund's will become repeat visitors for sure.

Frankly it has been pretty quiet since, back to normal life. We're planning our next adventures - a corn maze and hay ride this weekend, a visit from my parents in October and our own trip back to Oregon around the holidays. Enjoy the photos and video and stay tuned for our next update.

PS - I just found out that Mary got a fish today. I would say she got it for Owen but I know better. Now we have 6 creatures under one roof to worry about keeping alive. The fish was briefly named "Big guy" this evening, but is now back to being known as "Fish". More to come on Fish in future posts I'm sure.

Having fun with his tool bench the morning of his birthday.

Owen's tractor cake - before the mayhem

Quick family photo as light bulbs were going off in Owen's head of what to do with his cake.

After Owen wrecked shop...At least he knows what tractors should be doing on a jobsite.

The virtual birthday - pretty amazing what technology can do.

Owen playing tractors with Harley.

Birthdays are apparently hard work for dogs...

The Wisconsin welcome wagon greets Jim and Phyllis in Milwaukee.

Owen and Papa checking out the drawbridge. There was a big sailing race going on in Sheboygan while the in laws were in town.

Breakfast with Poppa.

Going to the beach.

Owen had to hold Grammy up all day to keep her from falling in the water.

Owen and Poppa enjoying his birthday present in the 'hood.

A Kodak moment in front of the house.

Owen getting up close and personal with the wabbit. Unfortunately for Har he didn't get so close. Needless to say they were both happy to be able prove the wabbit's existence to Grammy and Poppa. Unfortunately for Har he didn't get so close to the wabbit.

Apparently he likes these guys...it was a great to have them out for the week.

The fun is just beginning, this is just the bus ride to the quarry. He was beside himself already.

This is the view from the entrance to the quarry. It was amazing how many people turned out for this and all of the activities they had set up.

Owen was inspired to play with his diggers while waiting in line to ride on a digger.

Jackpot. Owen's first excavator ride.

Getting a better vantage point to assess the situation.

Taking a dump truck ride on the quarry tour. We sat in the back on a pile of gravel.

The end of our quarry visit with the dump truck in the background.

All smiles with mom on the bus ride out.

And now our first attempt to post video:

Pretty excited at the start

Taking it all in

Ridin' Dirty

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great weekend exploring our new home. The action started on Saturday with an adventure to the Sheboygan County Fair. It was a nice little fair and Owen enjoyed seeing the horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits, birds and guinea pigs. He seemed to like the "horsies" the most and really wanted the cows to be horses too. We enjoyed some fair food as well, Wisconsin apparently has great cream puffs and I recall Mary agreed.

After the fair we went down to the lake to see the Dairyland Surf Classic...only to find absolutely no waves, nobody on the beach and some middle aged surfer dudes hanging out on the curb. Sounds like the event was a bit of a dud due to no waves but it seemed like the folks enjoyed themselves anyways. The best part of this side-trip was stumbling across an awesome bar in Sheboygan called "Shevegas", complete with the authentic Vegas sign. We're pretty excited to try it out some time.

Sunday was pretty laid back. We got some good sleep in and I took the road bike out on an adventure. It is amazing how many people waved and honked at me. I'm sure they are sorely mistaken and think I am someone else, but it is good to be loved. Sunday evening we went on a recon mission to Howard's Grove to see what it is all about. It is a little town just up the road and it seems like our neighbors Phil & Karen are always going up there to eat. Once we got there we had to wonder where they ate because our choice of dinner was between the Wagon Wheel and the Log Cabin. Needless to say we picked the Wagon Wheel and were a bit out of place.

Monday we made our way to Green Bay to see what all the cheeseheads are so excited about at Lambeau Field and to check out their zoo. Lambeau Field is pretty cool. We didn't get into the stadium but will someday take the tour. While in the giftshop we were wondering why all of the cheese-crazies were pressing their noses against the glass. It turned out all the players were coming back from practice. I didn't recognize many of them but a guy next to me squealed like a little girl when Aaron Rodgers got out of the car. I snapped a shot of him so you can all share in his excitement.

We're back to the grindstone now and preparing for Owen to turn two in one week. It is crazy to think he is growing up so fast but we're enjoying all of his different stages and are excited about his birthday. We're fortunate that Phyllis and Jim are coming out to spend a week and share in the festivities. My family is getting set up on skype as well so we can have everyone virtually partake in the fun.

We'll be back soon with a recap of Owen's big #2 celebration...In the meantime here are the pictures:

Mary and Owen with a horse at the fair.

You try surfing those waves...

"Shevegas" the bar --> my future stomping grounds

Owen and I with the Vince Lombardi

That is Aaron Rodgers on the far right, I wish you could hear the grown men crying all around me as I shot this.

Owen fed her the first one and was a bit scared so Dad had to finish the job.

We haven't taught him that it is not polite to point yet.

Pretty priceless moment at the zoo. He seemed to like the fake animals better than the real ones. Here he is demonstrating a classic bear hug.

Owen enjoying his bath.

Harley and O with a Wabbit in their crosshairs.

Proof that bed head is genetic (from Mary's side of the family of course).

Har and Sy are adjusting quite nicely, they usually have this park to themselves.

An idyllic shot of the main drag in Kohler

Don't Call It A Comeback...

I'm not sure how many of you still check this thing since it has been about 17 months since we last used it, but I figure now is as good a time as any to start using it agains since we recently moved 2,000 miles away from our families and most of our friends.

I have been in Sheboygan for a little over two months now after taking a job with Kohler to work on the toilet and bidet category. I know many of you will get a kick out of that, I know I do on a daily basis. It is a really good opportunity and I'm really enjoying the work and the team of folks that I get to work with. The toughest part is keeping a straight face when the Wisconsin accent is flowing in meetings.

Mary and Owen have been out for a month now and we were able to move into a nice home in the Village of Kohler which is quite nice and charming (though sometimes a bit like Pleasantville). Thanks to Mary we are settled in nicely and have gotten onto more important things like walking the dogs, hunting wabbits (a favorite pastime of Owen and Harley) and chatting with our super nice neighbors.

The Village and the greater Sheboygan area is pretty awesome and has introduced us to some interesting new things. For one, it is the home at the bratwurst which are quite tasty and a very big deal around here. We also enjoy watching everyone get worked up over the Packers. They are the top story of each newspaper, and not just the sports section, they typically lead the front page with the latest goings on. Last night the Packers had a game at the same time the Wisconsin Badgers did, leading us to wonder how our neighbor Phil and all the other crazies were dealing with the big decision.

This weekend we are planning on going to the county fair and the Dairyland Surf Classic. Yes, Sheboygan is the world's hotspot for fresh water surfing. This I have to see to believe but it is pretty awesome to not have to worry about sharks...only catch is the waves don't get good until October and November.

Well, I better head to bed. I'll do my best to update this weekly and hopefully will improve as a blog writer. Here are some photos to enjoy until next time...

The place in K-Town - if you know someone

looking for some real estate in Klamath we

have a deal for them.

It was strange to see how easily your whole

life could be loaded up in a truck and taken

to your new home.

We had a nice party before we hit

the road to see everyone.

I was trying to get some sun on those legs,

everyone else was trying to load up so we could

hit the road. Not sure what we were thinking

taking two dogs and a 22 month old on a

2,000 mile road trip over four days...

At least Owen gladly shared driving duties

with his dad. Not sure why he needed the

windshield wipers on in Denio - it was 100

degrees and sunny - but I don't question the

relief driver.

He was definitely more comfortable as a

backseat driver.

We finally made it...

911 West Park Lane --> Our new home

Owen couldn't wait to tell everyone we made

it, his cellie was blowin' up.

Luckily he was able to get to work and pop

those pesky bubbles for us. Syrus is one heck

of a supervisor.

We took some time to head down to Milwaukee to see the zoo. Those pink

things in the back are the first flamingos that Owen has ever seen. His dad

too.

Who would have thought you

could become a beach bum in

Wisconsin! Lake Michigan is

pretty massive.

Look out Lance, here we come

Those pesky wabbits don't know

what they're in for...it is just a

matter of time.