I look forward to the Northern Wisconsin State Fair every year.   I'll admit, when I was in my late 20's, it took country music group Blackhawk to lure me back to the Fair, however, once I got there, I realized how much I loved the it, not only as a kid, but as an adult.

July was such a hot month we stayed inside a bit, but Eau Claire offers great things inside or outside!  We enjoyed a movie at Carmike Cinemas, dined out a lot at places such as Egg Roll Plus, Azul Tequilla, Shanghai Bistro, and tried Fuji for the first time and really enjoyed the food and the beautiful atmosphere.

During June we attended some really fun events in Eau Claire!  Early in the month we ate a bunch of great food at Taste of the Valley, which took place at Phoenix Park in downtown Eau Claire. 

In April the kids had a blast at the Kids Expo at the Indoor Sports Center where they played, looked at exhibits, and Arianna and her friend had their faces painted into beautiful butterflies! 

During the past month, we visited the Beaver Creek Reserve just outside of Eau Claire and went up into the planetarium.  

Snow, snow, snow and even some rain!  What a December in Eau Claire it was! 

We attended the International Folk Fair at UW-EC at the beginning of the month.  We all enjoyed sampling delicious foods from different countries, seeing beautiful native attire, and making some crafts. 

The highlight of October was going to see Hairspray at the State Theatre.  The Eau Claire Children's Theatre again put on a fabulous show full of wonderful singing and amazing choreography. 

During the month of September, we enjoyed getting outside in the beautiful fall weather and Eau Claire had several great opportunities for this. 

During August we enjoyed the farmer's market downtown on a beautiful Saturday morning along the river.  The kids got in their swim time by visiting Chaos and the Fairfax pool and of course enjoyed both wet adventures.  We had a picnic at Riverview park and enjoyed Festival in the Pines in Carson Park. 

July presented more fun summer activities for our family!  We visited the Chippewa Valley Museum for their old-fashioned Fourt of July celebration, as has become our tradition!  Even though it is was rainy this year, the activities were still fun and just moved inside the museum. 

In June our family attended the Chippewa Valley Airshow.  The area boy scouts did a fantastic job sponsoring this fun event.  The Blue Angels were amazing and the kids had fun doing all of the activities run by the scouts.  We've enjoyed summer so far and look forward to continuing to enjoy the wonderful Eau Claire area and all that is has to offer - swimming, biking, kayaking, shopping, dining out, and going to the farmer's market and other fun events/entertainment. 

During May, Andrew and Arianna were in the Doll and Pet parade in downtown EC.  The theme was characters from movies so Andrew was a pirate and Arianna was Belle.

Recently, Kent and I attended the Viennese Ball at UW-Eau Claire.  This is always a nice event for the school and community, and a wonderful opportunity to get all dressed up! 

In March we saw another wonderful production by ECCT - The Jungle Book.  This took place at North High School and we all enjoyed seeing this story come to life on stage!  We took the kids to Chaos Waterpark on Arianna's birthday which was a blast. 

We visited Chaos Water Park, which is part of the Metropolis Resort in Eau Claire, early in the month.  The kids had a wonderful time and especially loved the lazy river and slides.  We visited once before and the water is a nice temperature, and as a parent, I enjoyed being able to keep track of where the kids were while relaxing some of the time in a chair.