babysitter

Hunter, the baby tamer. Don't let his worried face fool you. He is GOOD with babies. :)

early b-day gift!

My mom and Louie gave me an early birthday gift while I was in Wisconsin. It was 30 gift cards for my 30th birthday! So FUN!! What a great idea! Each card is for a restaurant or store that I love. Hooray! Thanks Mom and Louie! 

By the way, I left these, and lots of other things, in Wisconsin... Mom, please mail them to me! :) I don't have to wait for my birthday to start spending them, do I?

fun

Grandma's plethora of novelty spoons made for interesting breakfasts. :)

my childhood room

When I was little, we moved to our NEW house, and this was my room. Now, several years later, my mom and Louie are building a new house. This was probably my last time seeing or being in my room. I have a similar picture from when I was little, posing next to this same window while the house was being built. Good bye house!

chickens

The chickens at Grandpa Louie's farm this year were mostly mean. There are too many roosters this year and they are aggressive. The days we went to the farm either Uncle Hank or Grandpa Louie had to protect us from attacking roosters who would jump up and kick and peck at us. There were, however, a few little friendly chicks. They were getting big, but they grew up in Alexandra's kindergarten classroom, so they are VERY used to being held.

There was only one tiny chick, but the momma was extra protective, so we couldn't hold her.

new patio

Finally, we had our patio poured. It was a long time coming and since the Newell's were getting theirs poured too, we tried to get a deal. The deal didn't happen, but they did a good job and we are pleased with the end results. Before, we only had this tiny 3x3 square step.

Then the form was built and grass dug up.

Then the rebar was laid down and ready for cement.

When the kids and I got home, the cement was already poured, but still very wet with bird tracks all through it. I thought they were done and were going to leave it this way... I was pretty nervous.

Luckily, they were just letting it set a bit before smoothing it. Thank goodness. It looked a lot better after they smoothed it out. Plus no birds walked through it. Yay!

I don't have a really good AFTER picture, because we put it to use right away. It's 9x24 feet (I think). Our patio furniture is only camping chairs and a water table, but we love the patio!! It is such a great area to have. It's shaded by the house all morning until about noon, then after 5 or 6 it's shaded by the tree at the back of the yard. Perfect! We have used it a lot already.

The Newell's came over to enjoy it with us one evening. The kids ran around and got soaking wet and had the best time. Then we made mini s'mores (Golden Grahams, mini marshmallows, and chocolate chips) and called it a night.

We have also decorated it completely, several times over. How did we live here for a year withOUT this?!

the hunt!

Minutes after being in Wisconsin Matix was already hunting and catching and naming all the new creepy crawlies there are there. First was "Greeny Boy" his caterpillar. Ali was nervous to touch him at first, but then was just as excited. Poor Greeny Boy died a day later trapped in a jar. :( I hate it when he wants to keep the captured bug... even if it is a BUG.

heaven

Lullaby's version of Heaven = a doll house taller than her, filled with Barbies and tiny furniture... Heaven.

sleepy baby

No joke, Solace has NEVER fallen asleep with anyone other than me or Paul. Never. Well, not counting when he was a newborn and was asleep all the time. Anyway, on this trip, Heather rocked him to sleep one afternoon. What?! I was shocked. Then, later that same day, Liesl got him to sleep. Again, what?! And in the Dells, in a noisy water park, Jolie got him to sleep. Really, he is an easy baby, but he is a momma's boy too, and doesn't like to be away from me. 10 points to all the amazing baby soothers! Here is my niece Liesl holding the sleeping babe. Proof!

Also, Liesl is FINALLY modeling. Everyone who has seen her knows she should be a model. And now she is. Click here to see her amazing pics. She's gorgeous I tell you, and a talented baby snuggler!

playground

Our trip to Wisconsin was completely full. There were only two afternoons that we didn't have a set plan. One of those afternoons was then spent at a nearby school playground. The kids had a blast, and since Ali and Bradley came too, it was even better.

 And, leave it to Hawken to be the first to climb to the top of a dangerous play structure... Of course.

How To Train Your Dragon 2

Grandma brought us to see How To Train Your Dragon 2. Thanks Grandma! It was a pretty cute movie and the boys loved it. Lullaby thought the dragons were scary. Solace crawled around and chewed on popcorn and then spit it out all over the floor. The cleaning people sure earned their money that afternoon.  Here was our crew!

We didn't see Planes, but the kids looked so cute with the sign, I had to take a picture. Ali fits right in with the boys.

fort

Auntie Jolie is known for her mad fort building skills. This one was thrown together in a couple minutes and the kids all loved it. We completely trashed Grnadma Kim's house every day, multiple times each day... Normally that's not a big deal, but her house is for sale now and had a showing while we were there. Thank goodness we are FAST cleaners. :)

Wisconsin Trip!

Solace's first two flights went great. Our trip to Wisconsin is over now, but I'll play catch up and start at the beginning.  It turns out that Solace is a good little traveler like the rest of my crew. The comments and compliments that I got were a real esteem builder. I loved it. Matix was very disappointed to learn that we were sitting in the last row withOUT a window and cried, but that was the  only bad thing that happened. Plus, he was over it fast and was happy after a minute.

Solace spent some time crawling up and down the aisle, watching people. He slept only a little, but was very content on the plane. I wasn't very surprised. He is usually a really good baby.

Pictuers in the cockpit and with the pilot are a must. Hooray for easy flights, even with a layover.

Hunter!

Playing with Hunter automatically means wrestling. These boys (and Ali) loooove Hunter. Thankfully, he's a good sport and willingly plays with all these little kids. Thanks Hunter, we love you!

story time

One of my favorite childhood books is The Tall Book of Make Believe.  It is a collection of nonsense stories written by various authors. I have read each story about a million times. Now here is my mom reading it to my kids. So fun! 

If ANYONE who reads this blog has a copy of this book that they don't want, PLEASE send it to me! My mom won't part with this, and my kids (and I) NEED it! :)