Moving on up to the Northwoods
It's official - we have moved from Illinois to the Minocqua, WI area for the school year to experience our first winter. Those who know me know I would prefer to be on a nice warm beach versus seeing a single snowflake, but after a fantastic summer together and loving this area, we have decided to take the leap. Here are the top 5 reasons:
Education - The biggest reason for the move is the kid's education. We found an amazing public Montessori school for Hazel and a great one for Gavin to attend. Hazel's school program covers not only the Montessori way with Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, and Culture plus technology like Robotics, Computer Building, etc. For practical life there is a garden with a chicken coop where they use ingredients for baking and making meals for the homeless, for science a pond where they study specimens, for gym class they go on hiking trails, ride bikes, and cross-country ski just to name a few of the cool options. These schools are truly hidden gems.
Family Time/Hygge - We had an unforgettable summer together as a family. We did everything from camping to boating to campfires. The locals have mentioned the winters are longer (but most of them say they like winter better than summer = mind blown), so that means more family time which is quite exciting. I spent quite a bit of time researching the Hygge way, and we will be practicing that as a family.
Natural Beauty - The landscape in the area is magnificent. It was Kevin's birthday yesterday, and when we were on the way home, he said, 'I just feel like I breathe better up here.' Whether it's a view of the lakes, jumping on a bike to see the scenery, or taking a walk through the woods - there's always something that leaves you feeling very connected with nature.
Slower Pace of Life - The hustle and bustle of life was getting to be too much, and I was starting to feel very disconnected from many things. Here the pace of life is slower, which can be hard at times compared to the insanely hectic previous pace but is much needed.
Outdoor Activities - We went biking, hiking, jet-skiing, waterskiing, walking, swimming, boating, ATVing, to name a few of the summer activities. There is a lot to do during winter; we have been kindly advised to find a hobby to make the most of it. We will provide updates on our experiences with the winter activities as we dive into them.
So, I will suck it up and brave the winter because, from everything we've seen so far, it will be a fantastic experience for our family. I have to give a big shout-out to my in-laws Skip and Sharon, for their hospitality. It is going to be the next phase of our adventure, and we are very excited.
Here are a few pictures from our short week back in IL to grab a few things before we settled in up here. We didn’t get to see everyone we wanted to, but we’ll back fairly often and miss everyone tremendously.
