Introducing....

Today Sam got his first pets.... Batman and Robin!!! He says "They are good and they eat their supper. They swim around and they are bored. They need something to look at."

Uncle Jimmy

Uncle Jimmy came to visit for a few days. The boys had a GREAT time with him!!! The top picture is at the Harley Davidson museum...they said it was pretty cool.

Catch Up!!!

Happy 8th Birthday to Ben on Sunday (9/7)!!!

Last weekend we went to Cave of the Mounds and then to Governor Dodge State park for a night of camping with the family!! Uncle Robbie, Aunt Lynnette, Becca, R.G., Grandma Jan, Grandpa Ger, and Aunt Josey all joined us! Everyone had a good time bonding:)

First Day of School!!!!

Ben's first day of 2nd grade-- on Tuesday 9/2/08

The boys walking toward school on Sam's first day Wednesday 9/3/08.

The big kindergartner!!!!

For Grandma Jan!!

To celebrate our last day of summer (Mom is going to work tomorrow without us) we went to the zoo. We know that Grandma Jan likes elephants...so here we are with them!!!

Vacation Pictures!!!!

Here are the pictures from our time up north...in the land of flannel.
Sunday-- long drive to Mellen and set up camp
Monday- went to the visitors center in Ashland (a favorite of mine!! it was AMAZING!!) then to Madeline Island (on the ferry) and exploring up there
Tuesay- to Hayward and fishing on the pontoon boat-- a very nice boat and a LOT of boat!!
Wednesday- back to the visitors center, to the casino (where Jason won!!) then to Ashland for a night at the water park
Thursday- back to Mellen, cleaned up camp and on a hike to Copper Falls...then headed home!!!

Monday, Monday

Fishing with 'Uncle' Kyle

Look who caught a fish!!!!
We had fun fishing!!!
We had a busy day--- we took things to my new classroom, went to IKEA (to get more things for my class) went to Red Robin for supper, and then the boys went fishing at the park!!!! What a fun day:)

Rest of the weekend....

Saturday- Jenna, Michelle (and I) went to Chicago to see Wicked. We rode the train in--- what a fun experience!!! Wicked was AWESOME!!!!
Sunday- on our way back to Milwaukee- we went to 'the swimming party' with our South Beloit family. The kids all had a GREAT time!!!!

In Illinois

Tuesday night out

Ben painting a bench.

Sam painting a bench.

Sam on stage with the Figureheads!!!

Tonight we went to Humboldt Park for the family night. It was a lot of fun!!!
The boys helped to paint benches and Sam was on stage- dancing.
http://www.figureheadsinc.org/ I love the Figureheads--- they are hip hop music but it's written for kids- and has a really positive message.
My favorite songs today:
More to the Story
Misconceptions
Hop to it

Neighborhood

There are times that I lOVE our neighborhood...and it feels more like a community within the city. One of those times is Halloween...the other is the annual corn roast...which was today!!! The kids had a GREAT time getting squirted by the fire trucks and everyone enjoyed the corn!

Catching up with friends!!!

This afternoon we met Beth, Rob ("The Lobsterman") and Aelia at a park in Waukesha. It was so good to see them--they live in Maine and were here visiting family. Ben had fun investigating the surrounding area and Sam and Aelia had fun playing together!!!!

Characters!!

This bird (named Pecky- by the boys) has landed on our window and been pecking on our window. I'm not real sure what he wants.
This is Sam in one of his costumes....he is CRAZY!!!!

4th of July

Overview of our week!!!

Monday- We went to the Greenfield Public Library for a program on bugs, insects, and other 'critters'! Here Sam is holding a toad. He also enjoyed holding a crawfish. The program was AWESOME!!! Info on the program http://www.dwstokes.com/

Also on Monday-- we planted sunflower seeds...they were eaten by a pest in the yard....we are NOT happy!!!
Monday night...T-ball started
Thursday- a trip to the downtown library to see a magic show by Labak the Magician (didn't love the show) but the kids thought the downtown library was cool and it was cool to be downtown.

Friday- the pool at the park opened!! We are so happy-- every year there is a threat that it won't open. The boys (and Nick and Zack) had fun in the cold water:)
Today-- we noticed that the little egg planters (given to us by Granny last year!) sprouted. We opened and watered them earlier this week in hopes they would grow!!!

Upcoming events: Wednesday (my last Stats class- which has been going suprisingly well considering my self diagnosed math disability)

Friday to Mt. Morris for the 4th.

A day at the zoo.

On our first day of summer vacation we went to the zoo with our friends Sally, Zack and Nick. The boys all had a great time running around.

Here is the baby orangutan. I am in LOVE with him!!!!!!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to Grandpa Buck and Grandpa Ger!!! We like when you do fun things with us.
We love you. Ben and Sam

School's out!!!

To celebrate the last day of school and day care (we will be RICH$$$!!!!) we went to the drive in movie in Jefferson. It was a LONG trip there...due to the flooding and it seemed all roads to Jefferson were closed. We made it though!! I told the guy at the gate about our long trek to get there...and we got a free popcorn:) Nothing says it's summer like a trip to the drive in.
Today it FINALLY was sunny out and the boys were able to play outside. We were able to go play in the sand at the park and visit the pond. Ben is holding a snail he fished out of the pond.