The Baranko Family: 10 Year Anniversary & Door County bliss

Matt and I celebrated our actual 10 year anniversary on October 9th. Since we had such an amazing trip to commemorate the special occasion, the actual day was more low key. Matt took me out to lunch that day, and then we headed up to Door County, WI for a long weekend family vacation. Right when we got back from Italy we kind of thought it would be fun to have some dedicated time with the kids away from home somewhere. Michigan had been so much fun that we didn't want to wait until next summer to have another little getaway. And since Fall is always fighting with Summer as my favorite season, and I'm borderline obsessed with Fall colors (thanks, Mom, for instilling that in me!), Door County in mid-October seemed like as good of destination as any to take a little jaunt up to during peak colors. The last time Matt and I had been to Door County was five years before, also for our anniversary (it was freezing!). What a difference 5 years makes, with this trip now containing two kids and 100 tons of stuff strapped to the roof of the car. We had an absolute blast, just like in Michigan last summer, with perfect weather too. Fun times!!

Romantic anniversary lunch at Big Bowl

Luke playing with his train book while Dad packs the car

The cabin we rented on vrbo actually allowed dogs, so we brought Spumoni! That was really fun except for the fact that he takes up the whole trunk! Matt had to buy a roof bag to put a bunch of our stuff in. With that on the roof, the bikes on the hitch, a100 lb dog in the trunk, two kids in the back and two adults in the front, we used every square inch of this vehicle. Yes, we were only gone three days.

We rented a little cabin on Sturgeon Bay that was awesome. It was pretty run down and we won't talk about the bathroom (let's just say...yuck), but the location made up for it! Right on the water with gorgeous views and beautiful sunrises every day.

View from the main room

The kids loved the easy access to the beach to play with their sand toys.

Matt and I sat in these chairs enjoying our coffee, listening to the waves, enjoying the sun on our face and the sounds of our kids playing together. It was such a joyful moment!

Spumoni roamed up and down the beach, exploring the grasses, chasing wave and having a ball. He loves vacation too!

Boardwalk to our cabin.

Off to see some caves and go hiking. Look at those orange trees just in the parking lot!

Luke really liked all the caves ad rock formations

He was climbing over everything

Whenever Luke climbs on the front of the stroller Claire protests loudly and Luke sits back and smushes her, which doesn't help matters.

Claire "walked" Spumoni for over a mile, and was very proud of herself (don't worry, I was holding on too)

We went to this place called The Farm that has tons of baby farm animals there at all times. Here Luke and Claire are feeding baby goats milk from baby bottles.

Claire pointing at the baby cows in the pasture

It was a beautiful farm with the trees changing all around the perimeter. A slice of Americana.

Baby pigs

Claire was fascinated by the baby chicks. She just kept coming back to this coop.

Luke helped milk the Mommy goat

Look at these hams!

The reflection of the trees on the pond water was so pretty.

Luke wanted to get a pumpkin, but we didn't have any room in the car to bring it home!

Bonfire on the beach

That battery operated lantern sure does come in handy - pick one up for yourself at Walgreens today:)

Playing Yahtzee.....kind of.

Sunrise #2 was prettier than the first one even!

The owner had a rule that you could bring your dog, but if you left the house you had to crate them. So yes, we brought this gigantic crate in the car with us too (and dog bed). Spumoni sort of loves his crate, I'm sure it is nostalgic for him when he was in it all the time as a puppy in our condo in the city.

We asked Luke what he wanted to do today, giving him all sorts of options, and he just wanted to go play in the sand again. We were happy to comply! We weren't sick of those views yet.

Matt brought Luke's kite and it was a nice windy day.

The back of our cabin actually had a hiking trail, too. This place was so great! If it wasn't for the bathroom I would definitely want to come back every year.

Visiting the Cana Island lighthouse was so fun for Luke, although he was disappointed that you had to be 5 years old to be able to go up to the top of it. He informed us that next year he can go up there when we come back.

Our visit to Peninsula State Park was as beautiful as expected

On top of the look out tower.

Picnic lunch

While Claire napped Luke and I went for a walk/bike ride.

Low key evening with cozy fire. We are every single meal either at home at the cabin, or as a picnic.

Our last morning it was rainy and chilly, which made us even more grateful for the beautiful two days we had just enjoyed. It was still really fun going for a walk even in that weather, though, and was a nice ending to our trip.