So you all know that part of the fun of vacation is
eating out - at least it is for us - because I cook almost all of our meals at home. So we really look forward to eating local cuisine when we travel. This trip was so much fun, and I wanted to share a few of the foods of Michigan and Wisconsin. We started shortly after landing in Minneapolis. We found a nice little local pizza place, and could not resist their sauerkraut pizza. Yes, you heard correctly - I thought it would be awful - but Paul insisted. It was regular pizza with italian sausage, sauerkraut and lots of cheese - and it was AMAZING. We at half there and the rest later, cold in the hotel room - yum!
Next, when we were up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan we had to try Pasties. Pronounced "past - ee" not to be confused with "paste - ees" that women stick on their breasts. It's important to pronounce correctly :) The are pastry pockets filled with many different things - these were beef, potatoes and rutabages. They were good - a little mild for my tastes, but good. I'm told they serve many different kinds and you just have to keep trying till you find the one you love - so next time - I'll try another.
Finally, I had to share a picture of Cheese Curds - these are a Wisconsin delicacy and we never, ever visit there without stopping by a local cheese factory to get some bright and early in the morning. They are the cheese in an earlier stage of production before being separated from the liquids and pressed into blocks. They are odd shapes, slightly soft, very salty, and they SQUEEK! Honestly, they are so good. We ate a pound of them on the trip over to Michigan and another on the trip back to the airport at the end; as well as we brought four pounds back in our luggage - some for us and some for our daughters. I don't know why these are not popular in California as they are amazing.
Two other must haves - we had to get a bag of Old Dutch Dill Pickle flavored potato chips - they are sooooo0 good. I know there are other brands out there - but Old Dutch is definitely the best. My brother is driving back and bringing two bags back for each of our girls. Paul also had to buy a huge stick (3 lbs I think) of Wisconsin Summer Sausage. It is also sooooo good. We did have a little problem with him being pulled aside at the airport for a luggage check. After he was given the all clear they told us the sausage looked like a big stick of dynomite on the scanner. Yikes!!
Heidi and Kamili worked on one while Paisley helped Makai. You can see Jenee in the background wrangling the little ones :)
Here's another picture of the crew hard at work -
Zamarah and Zavian were still too little to join in the fun - so they entertained each other.
Afterward we headed off to lunch (at a noisy restaurant :) - when you have this crew you need to be sure the restaurant is as loud as they are. We had a wonderful time together. Papa and I were missing them after being gone on vacation a couple weeks, so this was a great way to catch up.
The next card was designed by Heidi (stampinking.blogspot). How cute is that - it uses the Out on a Limb set from the Holiday mini. She had us stamp the branch right on the moon and sponge around it (and the clouds which are made with the top of our cupcake punch) to give them a spooky look. Love it!!
It was a fun stamp camp, stamping with friends. Plan to join us Oct. 11 for our next cards camp - Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! 
