Milwaukee By Storm

Milwaukee by Storm: Adventures with Kids

  • Chapter 152- Lion’s Den Gorge

    Day off of school?  In our house, that means a family hike!  Even though we do this pretty often, I still get complaints at first when I mention it.  “But I don’t even liiiiiiike hiking!” and “It’s too boring!” are common responses.  While I understand that a 3mi hike is a lot for those little legs,…

  • Chapter 151- Retzer Nature Center

    Happy New Year! It’s been a busy time here in the Storm house, so I’m catching up from one of our best hikes from before the holidays…Retzer Nature Center!  I knew it was a great place to go with kids, but for some reason didn’t make the 25 min drive from MKE to Waukesha.  I’m…

  • Chapter 150- Ways to get outside in winter!

    Hi friends!  On The Morning Blend, I’ll be talking about ways to get your family outside in Wisconsin winters.  There’s never enough time on air to give specifics, so here’s a list of our favorite ways to take advantage of the midwest’s greatest treasure….WINTER! Also, ok.  I know some of you probably hate winter, or…

  • Chapter 149- Volunteering in Milwaukee

    Volunteering and getting to know your neighbors is such an important value to teach your kids, especially in the wake of tragedies that are all too frequent.  I don’t have the one answer to our national community finding its way back to humanity and decency and kindness, but I do know that reaching out and giving can only…

  • Chapter 148- Milwaukee Music

    Need one more reason to love this city?  Look no farther than the music scene!  I’ve found a ton of opportunities to take my kids to see some live and GOOD music here in town, and I wanted to share some of them with you. Let me first say why I think music is important…

  • Chapter 147- First Stage Theater (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)

    While growing up in my family, Thanksgiving meant a 3-5 day celebration with aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends.  Wednesday was an all-night pizza party that ran right into Thursday morning turkey baking.  After our meal on Thursday, we’d play and nap and the kids would invariably get into some sort of trouble before movie time…

  • Chapter 146- Pope Farm Conservancy

    In my effort to cram everything in to the last few weeks of summer, we headed to Madison to see Pope Farm Conservancy’s sunflower farm!  I’d been seeing some beautiful photos on Instagram since last summer, so this adventure has been in the back of my mind for quite some time.  As a bonus, I…

  • Chapter 145- Tamarack Loop Trail at Mauthe Lake

    On our way back from a trip to see my folks in Appleton, I took the back roads to the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest to check out the Mauthe Lake Recreation Area.  We’d been researching hikes in my new favorite book, Best Hikes Near Milwaukee by Kevin Revolinski, and narrowed it down to two hikes in…

  • Chapter 144- Discovery World (New Exhibit!)

    We recently decided to check out Discovery World’s newest exhibit, Zoo in You — The Human Microbiome.  Little T got a family membership last year, so we can come and go as we please without worrying about getting our money’s worth at each visit.  Which is awesome.  Because some days we stay for HOURS upon…

  • Chapter 143- Gibraltar Rock / Merrimac Ferry / Dr. Evermor’s Forevertron

    I believe that fieldtrips are very important to a kids’ education.  And while our school is really amazing, they aren’t able to take my children on ALL the kinds of fieldtrips they need.  Those kind would be hikes in the woods. So when a friend I met on Instagram (weird, I know.  I feel conflicted…

  • Chapter 143- Kettle Moraine State Forest- Pike Lake Unit

    A few weeks ago (ok, it was mid-March.  I’m a little behind here) I desperately needed to walk in the woods.  I’m finding a direct link between my emotional state and exercise/exposure to the outdoors, and on a Sunday that my husband was coaching soccer, I packed up some snacks and winter gear and headed north…

  • Chapter 142- Point Beach State Park & John Michael Kohler Arts Center

    On one of the Fridays off my kids had in March (there were a ton, though I’m not complaining because it means we get to go adventure!), I convinced my friend Margo to caravan up to Point Beach State Park with me.  Remember that I’m a “wing it” kind of woman?  Well I grossly underestimated…

  • Chapter 141- Discovery World

      On a sunny Saturday morning in February, the kids and I headed to Discovery World to check out one of their weekend events, Love Your Great Lakes.  It was a day filled with projects, games and learning opportunities led by local organizations and non-profits. We first took a stroll through the promenade, where we…

  • Chapter 140- Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

    Contrary to what my kids’ faces say in this photo, we had a really nice hike at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center over winter break.  We met up with some friends and took to the trails to adventure and get really wet and a little chilly.  This post is a little short on words, so browse…

  • Chapter 139- Urban Ecology Center and Bayview Printing Co.

      Back in January, on a cold but not snowy day, we went to the Urban Ecology Center’s Winterfest.  It was held at the Washington Park branch, and was great free community event. Outside, families were roasting s’mores and the Door County Sled Dogs were hanging out just waiting to be pet.  The volunteers were happy…

  • Chapter 138- Madison for New Years!

    Well it’s been a while, and it’s time to catch up.  For New Years, we spent the night at our dear friends’ house.  Kady and Laduma hosted our crew and threw an amazing shindig filled with glow-in-the dark balloons and a countdown at 8pm.  Shhh, don’t tell the kids! After we woke up the next…

  • Chapter 137- Trails near Hoyt Pool in Wauwatosa

    We’re trying to build in more family hikes to our schedules, so on Sunday we rallied to head out and breathe some fresh air!  Since snow was in the forecast, we kept it local and just went to the trails at Hoyt Park.  For the life of me, I can’t figure out what the trail…

  • Chapter 136- Seven Bridges

    Today, in an effort to switch up our routine of staying in pjs all day, we took a hike at Seven Bridges Park. It was pretty chilly, so we got on our hats and mittens (and leg warmers where applicable), and drove just south of the city. We started out on the trails on top…

  • Chapter 135- Lapham Peak

    Remember me?  I’m Amber and once was blogging weekly.  But then 3/4 of my kids went to school and our schedules changed and our most exciting adventures included piano lessons and grocery shopping. Well, that’s not entirely true.  We still had an amazing summer, spending half the time on awesome adventures and half watching cartoons…

  • Chapter 134- Cloud 9 Workshop: Feeling Crafty Night

    On Thursday, I finally attended on of Cloud 9’s Feeling Crafty nights!  And it was so fun!  Kelcey Kalumbula is the creator and owner of this incredible organization, and she offers a wide variety of classes and workshops for kids and adults.  My friend Margo and I had been wanting to attend a Feeling Crafty night…

  • Chapter 133 – Half Price Books & The Humane Society

    Somehow, I’d never been to a Half Price Books store until a few weeks ago.  We were on the hunt for cassette tapes because my stupid radio is dead in my car, which is a true test of dealing with uncomfortable emotions. To explain, I have to deal with CONSTANT chatter that sounds a lot like…

  • Chapter 132- Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

    On a fairly mild but rainy day a few weeks ago, I took the kids out to Schlitz Audubon Nature Center to hike around.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with the nature center, it’s 15 min north of the city and worth the short drive.  You can get annual memberships, or pay by the…

  • Chapter 131- Cranky Al’s with new friends!

    Last month, I met up with a few friend and ate sweets, drank coffee, watched our kids take over the place, and had some really good conversation.  Ellia, of GreenBeanBaby, and I met at Elm Grove Art a few months ago, and have been meaning to meet up over donuts since.  We finally made it…

  • Chapter 130- A Month in Review

    I haven’t posted in such a long time, for a few reasons.  The first is that we haven’t gotten out much.  The second is that I’m too overwhelmed to go through and individually post the adventures we DID take.  The third is that sometimes you just need a break. So because I have a slew…

  • Chapter 129- Drink & Ink at Bay View Printing

    Another Drink & Ink?  Why yes, yes indeed. I don’t know how I forgot to post this, but a few months ago, I attended a Drink & Ink at Bay View Printing Co.  I rounded up a group of bad ass women, and we headed to Bay View with our drinks and snacks. Since I’ve…

  • Chapter 128- Milwaukee Art Museum

    So the twins turned 4 this past week, and instead of having a party or something else that would take up energy and not be that enjoyable for me, we let J & Little A choose a special date.  And my heart swelled when Little A said she wanted to go to the Milwaukee Art…

  • Chapter 127- 414 Music Live at Radio Milwaukee with New Age Narcissism

    Another reason I love this city?  Music. I’ve heard New Age Narcissism (a group of local musicians including Lex Allen, Siren, Webster X, Lorde Freddee, Bo Triples, Chris G., Jay Anderson and Q the Sun) on the radio for the past year or so, and been meaning to get to see them. So when I…

  • Chapter 126- Urban Ecology Center

      In our desperate attempt to take in fall before it’s over, we went out to the Urban Ecology Center at Riverside Park for a hike last week.  Have you ever read the book Frederick?  It’s about a mouse who’s seemingly shirking his duties of storing food and preparing for the upcoming winter.  But his…

  • Chapter 125- Apple Picking at Barthel Fruit Farm

    Today, I made a break from our routine.  I normally head to the gym with S while the twins are in preschool, but instead, we went apple picking!  We had enough time to drive to Barthel’s and man, was it a good decision.  I’m going to officially say that you should get out there soon…

  • Chapter 124- Elm Grove Art

    My friend Keila (of Mommy In Milwaukee) and I attended a Momma’s Night Out at Elm Grove Art last weekend, and I have to tell you that it was so fun!  I was a little nervous about leading the discussion about motherhood (Keila and I were hosting the night, as Mom Bloggers).  I don’t actually…

  • Chapter 123- Green Meadows Petting Farm

    Greetings!  Back to school season…I’m learning that it’s not hard just for kids to get on a new schedule, it’s hard for me too!  I’m trying to catch up on the end of summer here, and realized I haven’t yet posted about the amazing Green Meadows Petting Farm. I had a Living Social coupon to…

  • Chapter 122- Holey Moley Donuts and Gordon Park

    Last week I saw a picture of donuts from Holey Moley, and decided to pack up the kids and take a trip for a mid-morning snack. We pranced our way into the sort of odd location (the lobby area connected to Coquette Cafe and a few other businesses), smashed our faces against the glass, and…

  • Chapter 121- Cushing Park

    A few weeks ago, before summer was not ALMOST OVER OH MY GOSH, we made the trek out to Cushing Park. It was super easy to find and was well contained.  I like those qualities in a park. The play structure was wooden, and had a fence around with only one entrance/exit.  Perfect for people with…

  • In case you had the wrong idea about me…

    I feel like I need to clear up something.  An old friend of mine and I were texting the other day.  She asked what I was up to, and I said “not really anything…just sort of, you know…waiting till kids’ bedtime”.  Here’s what followed: Because here’s the thing.  I’ve had some people tell me that…

  • Chapter 120- Barthel Fruit Farm: Strawberry and Pea Picking

    Let me just start by saying of course this post, like most, could be better timed.  If things were different in my life and blogging were actually my job, I’d have posted this right before strawberry and pea picking, rather than after.  Then I’d give you a list of farms around Milwaukee, complete with some sort of…

  • Chapter 119- Tosa Tonight at Hart Park

    I’d like to dedicate this post to the big blanket I carry in my trunk, thanks to my Grandpa Cy!.  Because a few weeks ago, I did NOT feel like making dinner (which is pretty much every night this summer) and decided to take the kids to Gilles to get burgers to take to a…

  • Chapter 118- Ingebrigt Håker Flaten at Anodyne Coffee

    A few weeks ago, I saw a notification on my Facebook page that Anodyne Coffee was hosting a free performance by Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, a jazz bassist from Norway who was in town for the OKKA Fest.  Since I knew nothing about Ingebrigt or the jazz fest, I thought it would be a perfect event for…

  • Chapter 117- Milwaukee Public Museum with new friends!

    A few weeks ago, I met up with Keila of Mommy In Milwaukee, and her two adorable boys, at the Milwaukee Public Museum.  Keila is such a kind and positive woman, and I feel so happy to have met her.  We’d connected on Instagram, and decided we should probably adventure together at some point. When…

  • Chapter 116- Orange Gallery

    Hey all!  If you’re free tonight, check out Orange Gallery’s Grand Opening! I was lucky enough to attend the soft opening in February, and wanted to share about this cool new shop.  Ngoc is a fabulous lady (pictured below, left) who has put together the collection of artwork, jewelry, clothing and general awesomeness in the gallery.…

  • Chapter 115- Milwaukee Ballet’s Cinderella

    My mom treated me, Little T and Little A to the ballet!  And because it was Cinderella, the girls took another opportunity to wear some sweet dress up dresses I found at Goodwill last year (because the attire is pretty standard on regular days at home, too). And Little T was extremely lucky…as one of…

  • Chapter 114- Kaleo at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee

    Alright, this is going to be a pretty quick post for a few reasons.  One is that I didn’t take many photos (I took some videos but cannot for the life of me format them correctly so you can view them…boo!) and the other is that I have a  queue of posts just waiting to…

  • Chapter 113- Cuban Day Street Celebration

    Thanks to Miltown Moms, I heard about Saturday’s Cuban Day Street Celebration.  The weather was cooperating, so I packed up the kids and headed downtown to Milwaukee St. in front of Cubanitas restaurant. The celebration included a stage with some wonderful live music, space for dancing, tables and chairs, a small booth or two, and a very large inflatable…

  • Chapter 112- Performing Arts in the Park

    I found out through the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Facebook page that the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) put on a cool and free event to bring arts to families.  There were events at Humboldt, Lincoln, Gordon, Mitchell, Lafollette parks and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center.  We chose the latter location because First…

  • Chapter 111- Milwaukee Public Museum

    Today, Little T went on a special date with her aunt and cousin, so I took the other three kiddos to the Public Museum.  We’ve been doing a lot of around-the-house playing lately, without much adventuring.  But today I had requests to see dinosaurs and butterflies, so we headed to the MPM for a visit.…

  • Chapter 110- An Epic Road Trip to Colorado

    I’ll tell you a story about a woman who had cabin and then spring fever so bad that she decided to pack up her four kids under age 6 and drive to Colorado. So let me back up a bit…I realized two weeks before Little T’s spring break that well, she had a spring break (I’m still getting…

  • Chapter 109- Organ Piper Pizza

    After one failed attempt at Organ Piper Pizza (we showed up at 6:30pm and there was a 30 minute wait.  You can imagine that timing doesn’t work for a family with 4 kids under age 6), we headed back and arrived right when they opened.  I’d heard about this gem from my native Milwaukee friends,…

  • Chapter 108- Mitchell Park Domes

    A few weeks ago, my good friend Chai came up to visit us from Chicago.  Chai has two amazing girls, A & V, who have most definitely inherited their mother’s creative bone.  I’ll get to that at the end of this post.  Anyway, we met up on Monday morning at The Domes.  It was an incredibly busy…

  • Chapter 107- Free Ice Cream Today!

    I heard through Metroparent’s Facebook page that Dairy Queen is offering free cones today.  So naturally, we got on our shoes after nap and walked to the closet location! It’s a beautiful day, and my poor kids have been cooped up forever, so we thoroughly enjoyed walking in our neighbors’ lawns and finding birds nests.…

  • Chapter 106- Washington DC

    Hey there!  It’s been a while, and I have a lot to catch up on.  So I’ll start with my out of town adventure to see my dear friend Nancy, and meet her (then) 9 week old baby girl, Ingrid June.  She’s the cutest.  I was surprised how in love I fell with a baby…

  • Chapter 105- Fox & Branch at Anodyne Coffee

    Last Sunday, Little T had a special at home date with Theo, and I took the other three kids to see Fox & Branch at Anodyne Coffee in Walker’s Point.  The band plays a free show at 11am about once a month, and I’d been meaning to get to one for a while.  And it was…

  • Chapter 104- Studio Session at Radio Milwaukee with Bahamas

    So you all know my trusty go-to radio station, 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, right?  Well because I’m a member, I got invited to their Frostbite Series (a bunch of bands played studio sessions for the station).  I RSVP’d to go see Bahamas.  Not that I knew much about them besides this song, which you have definitely…

  • Chapter 103- Asian Market Phongsavan

    Today I was feeling adventurous, and met my friend Kate to get pho at Milwaukee’s Asian Market Phongsavan.  I say adventurous because it was sort of a hike to get there, we were in a serious time crunch with naps quickly approaching, and I had no idea if my kids would actually eat pho. I’m going…

  • Chapter 102- Mitchell Park Domes & Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

    Last Friday, my dear friend came into town from Madison with her girls.  Since The Domes were a staple when my friend lived here, we didn’t even consider where else to meet!  Oh, and Little T, if you’re reading this in the future, I’m sorry you couldn’t come and see your friends.  Darn school! Ok,…

  • Chapter 101- Play Date With Art at the Milwaukee Art Museum

    Since we spent a month doing such exciting things as coloring on boxes, wearing finger puppets on our toes, and taking pictures of Rescue Bots, it’s been pretty quiet around here. The Storm house was hit hard with the flu among other awesomeness, and there was literally a full week where we didn’t leave the…

  • Chapter 100- Drink & Ink at Bay View Printing Co.

    More from adventures in letterpress!  After my trip up to Two Rivers, I discovered that right here in Milwaukee, there are folks here just as excited about letterpress.  Bay View Printing Company is a full-service print shop, with dedication to community workshops and spreading the love of this craft.  They offer Thursday night Drink &…

  • Chapter 99- Colectivo’s Gospel Brunch (Plus a totally unrelated giveaway!)

    Last month, I finally made it to the Colectivo on Farwell for their Gospel Brunch, which supports Progressive Community Health Centers.   I packed up my kids and met a friend, and the dancing immediately commenced.  It was a great way to spend our morning! My kids made a new friend, ate some delicious baked goods,…

  • Chapter 98- Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum (Travel Edition)

    St. Nick brought a toy for the kids, and a Jack White LP for Theo, but I made out on top this year.  Yesterday, I drove up to Two Rivers and attended a workshop at the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum.  If you don’t read anything else in this post, just know that you should…

  • Chapter 96- Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

    Because life happens to be particularly crazy right now, I’m finally getting to post about a trip to Schlitz Audubon Nature Center from about a month ago.  We’ll pretend I’m posting pictures of warmer weather on purpose, to get us through the next few days, ok? I had been talking with a friend about October’s solar…

  • Chapter 95- First Aid Kit at Lakeland College

    I’m still on could nine from Friday night, guys.  The stars aligned, and I got in to First Aid Kit‘s sold-out show at Lakeland College!  For those of you who don’t know, FAK is a sister duo from Sweden, and they play some damn fine folk/Americana music. I let my husband be my +1, and late…

  • Chapter 94 – Dia de los Muertos Parade

    A few weeks ago, on a cold Saturday, I took the kids to see the Dia de los Muertos Parade at Walker’s Square Park.  I had forgotten that last year, Theo took the twins and Little T to it, while I stayed home with baby S who was just a few days old.  From what…

  • Chapter 93- Milwaukee Art Museum’s Playdate with Art

    Milwaukee Art Museum‘s Playdates with Art are back on the calendar, and we met up with our new friends of Ana & Zelli last month. Little T’s school schedule got in the way, so we only got to hang out for an hour at the museum.  And as it turns out, an hour is not…

  • Chapter 92- Pajama Jamboree with Milwaukee’s Festival City Symphony

    Are you familiar with free symphony concerts for families?  Well you should be, because they’re awesome.  Milwaukee’s Festival City Symphony has Pajama Jamborees, which are amazing opportunities to get your pjs on, grab blankies, and listen to some great music and hear stories and learn about instruments. I took the big kids on a feshil mama…

  • Chapter 91- Estabrook Beer Garden for a Birthday Party!

    For this little lady’s birthday, we did absolutely zero planning and had a blast.  Here were the ingredients: friends and family, pizza, a playground, beer, and my mother-in-law’s carrot cake recipe. Because a place where you can drink a beer while pushing your kids on the swing is alright with us, we met at Estabrook…

  • Chapter 90- Doyne Park Cyclocross Race

    You’ve seen my posts about Cyclocross before, so I’ll refrain from explaining the sport again and just go straight to the good stuff. I headed out with Little T to watch my brother and some of his buddies (all donning new Stone Creek Coffee gear) at Doyne park.  I’d never been to the park before,…

  • Chapter 89- Hubbard Park Beer Garden (in two parts)

    Last week, we went to Hubbard Park twice and had a blast both times.   On our first adventure, we met some friends and friends of friends on a weekday and threw rocks in the water, played in mud, and watched the salmon swim up stream. Since it’s the end of the beer garden season,…

  • Chapter 88- NEWaukee Night Market

    What are you doing tonight night, people?  You should work in NEWaukee’s Night Market (open from 5-10pm, and final of the season!).  Last month I went to September’s market, and had a great time.  Here’s my recap: My friend Kate and I arrived like 30 minutes before it shut down for the evening, but quickly ran into people…

  • Chapter 87- Mitchell Boulevard Park & Story Hill BKC

    Because life is busy and I can’t manage to get my kids out of the house as often as I’d like, I made myself fit in a park/picnic date yesterday.  We found ourselves at the Mitchell Boulevard Park with hummus and cheese sandwiches on a sunny and breezy day.  The picture above is for my…

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