A Festivus for the rest of us

This weekend we checked out the Harvest Fest at the state fairgrounds (thanks for the heads up Lindsy!) It was a fun outing, we ate caramel apples and apple fritters, and there were a lot of fun things for the kids to do. I love this time of year....

The petting zoo was a hit (for Cameron at least.)

Kate is staring at that goat rather suspiciously....I think she is grateful to be on the other side of the fence!

Connor wasn't too into touching any of the animals - I don't blame him!

In line for one of the bouncy toys.

Happy Birthday to Kate!!

My baby is 1, I can't believe it! We just had a family party, princess-theme (at the insistence of Kate's brothers, they were fairly confident that's what she would like.....)




OK, so I'm not a pro with birthday cakes, but it works, right? You can see the spot where Kate had already attacked it :)

Yum!!

I bought her a doll because I just realized recently that all she has to play with are Hot Wheels and Transformers (sorry Kate!) She seemed really excited about the doll for about 2 seconds (just in time to take this picture) and then she grabbed it by the leg, tossed it across the room, and headed right back over to her FAVORITE TOY, the........

Busy Ball Popper!!! Now is that a happy kid, or what?

Born to be wild

In honor of the 105th anniversary of Harley-Davidson, which was celebrated in Milwaukee last weekend with much fanfare, I have included a few pics of our recent trip to the Harley-Davidson museum, also in Milwaukee. I am normally not interested in that kind of stuff, but the museum was actually pretty cool. As cool as I thought it was, WE ARE NEVER GOING TO OWN A MOTORCYCLE. EVER. (This is in case Keith is reading, I didn't want him to get his hopes up.) Good thing too, because you can tell from looking at these pictures that I don't fit the part of a biker chick....

The Harley museum didn't hold Kate's interest apparently...

I think I must be crazy.....

This is the day I have been dreading for a long time - sending Cameron off to his first day of school. I still remember MY first day of Kindergarten (many many many years ago) - I was walking with my mom and she was sobbing the whole way to my classroom and I was SO EMBARRASSED. So I vowed not to do this and embarrass Cameron. He really wanted to ride the bus so we waited patiently by the bus stop and the whole time I am thinking DON'T TAKE MY BABY AWAY FROM ME! When the bus pulled up Cameron got the hugest smile on his face and jumped right on that bus, never looking back. The rest is just a blur for me. The bus pulled away and I stood there just feeling so empty inside, and I panicked at the thought of going home, so I just started walking (almost running) towards his school. Luckily for me the school is only 3-4 blocks away, so I arrived there in about five minutes, still not sure of what I was doing there. I was able to see Cameron at the front of the school in the kindergarten line, and he looked really excited and happy to be there, That was enough for me, I felt so much better. I still hung around - with a lot of other anxious parents, I might add - until the kids went inside, but I stayed out of Cameron's eyesight until right as he was about to go in, when I yelled his name and waved. He gave me a bewildered look, undoubtedly wondering what I was doing there, but he just smiled and went on his way. After school Cameron told me all about his first day of Kindergarten and he loved every minute of it. Whew! What a day.......


Does he look excited for the first day of school, or what?!



At the bus stop, patiently waiting.....



At school in line with the other kindergarteners. At this point he has no idea I'm there :)

Summer comes to an end.....

I think this may have been the shortest summer on record! I can't believe that school is starting and the leaves are changing colors already. We have had the most gorgeous summer imaginable in Wisconsin. I appreciate it even more after going through record snowfall this winter and then the rain and flooding and tornado warnings this spring (yes, I spent most of the first half of this year depressed....) But this summer has been just perfect - sunny and warm, (but not hot or humid), and so beautiful and green. And I just love the fireflies. It's fabulous. So let me say this now: I LOVE WISCONSIN. THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE EVER. Now this winter when I am crying my eyes out again I will remember that at one time I felt this way....

Here are some summer memories.....enjoy!



Ice cream tastes so good on a hot summer day!



The boys used any excuse they could to get wet.....


Cute swimsuit. I can't remember if we made it outside that day or not.


Connor looking like one cool dude at Cameron's t-ball game.

Connor's first day out on his bike. We tried to convince Cameron this summer that he didn't need his training wheels but he was unconvinced....

Connor learning the rules of baseball from his dad.

A summer highlight - visiting Thomas the Train in Green Bay.

Go Pack Go!

OK, so I am recommitting myself to blogging. These are pictures from the Packers game from Aug 11th. My dad and Camille got tickets for us all to go, Kate was the lucky one who got to come with us while the boys stayed home with a babysitter (thank you Maralee!) It was so much fun, almost a surreal experience to be there.


We had great seats, at about the 40 yard line.

Those two fingers are in her mouth ALL THE TIME.

Is anyone surprised by this???

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Lineage