Oh Christmas Tree.

The tree went up this weekend. We actually put up just about all the ornaments and decorations. Decorated inside and out! Christmas can come now, were ready.

Chasing Time Rewind

I always wanted one of those digital picture frames, but could never find just the right one. I don't need it anymore now that my computer is here in the kitchen and I have the screen saver set to slideshow.
The pictures always get the kid's attention.
Today, Callie asked me why I take so many pictures.
I remember my life in pictures. If I didn't take a picture of it, it pretty much might as well have never happened. I am able to write this post because I can go back into my picture files and see what we've been up to. Hummmmmm, lets see......

When we were up at the cabin, Trent wanted to make a torch. Marshall made some pretty impressive ones, Man Vs. Wild style. We brought them home and lit them, one clear August night. Trent was maybe a little too into it.

The kids started school at a new school here in our home town. Not just any school, public school! Huge. HUGE. Step for me. During homecomming they had Crazy Hair Day. I was just gonna skip it, but last minute Trent wanted something, so I took a marker and colored stripes into his entire hair, and a chunk of pink into Callie's. Later that evening Callie got a-hold of the marker. This school has been a whole new world for us, but so far so good. I am offically NOT SMARTER THAN A THIRD GRADER! Sometimes Trent gets his homework wrong even after I check it! His teacher is a bit strict in her grading. I was very nervous about conferences, but she laughed the whole time, telling me stories about how nice it is to have Trent, and some of the negative, yet entertaining things he does, like try to "sneak" up to the front of the classroom while she's in the middle of teaching to whisper in her ear, asking if he can go to the bathroom.
End of October we went to LaCrosse for the annual hunting trip. My Dad, cousins and Marshall with the dogs had a great hunt. Marshall has found love all over again.
Kids, Gran and I were in our usual spots. The pool, the stores, the old fashioned IceCream parlor for a blast from my past, Black Licorice IceCream! And of course a visit to the Kids Coulee. I am on a quest to get a framer of the kids at this park, but mostly they want to have nothing to do with a photoshoot.

Happy "Hallaween"

Loved Trent's costume this year! He didn't really ask to be anything, so I made the decision to turn last years remote into a Lego Brick. I know my strengths and creativity is one of them. Again, the effort was spent on Trent's costume, but Callie got exactly what she wanted, a butterfly. We carved our pumpkins on Halloween this year. It was a nice way to round out the evening. We're one pumpkin short, Marshall picked a rotten one! Ooops!

This is the chaos that is our lives! Yes, its a One Adult, Two Kid and Two Dog wrestle mania

NEVER a Dull Moment!

Can we please.....

It's all I've been hearing for about a year.
"Can we pleeeeease go to the dentist."
Trent has so far, only lost one tooth. Right after he lost it, both the bottom adult teeth started growing in. One behind his not even close to being loose, baby tooth. Enough with this little tooth, apointments finally made.
I personally HATE the dentist. I hate very few things, the dentist is one of them. I'll never forget the sound I heard as the dentist was pulling my teeth so I could get braces. TRAUMATIZED.
As we were pulling into the dentist's parking lot, Callie says, "Oooh! I'm soooo excited!" Who raised these kids?
True to their expectations, everything was hunky-dory. Callie got a Princess toothbrush. What could be better? You bet she can't wait to go back.

I want a Red Ryder BB Gun....

One day this summer, after camp, Trent asked if he could get his own BB Gun. He gave a very convincing pitch about how he learned all about how to use them safely. I told him we didn't need our own because both his Grandpa's had them and he could use them over at their houses anytime he wanted. He said he really wanted one for our house. I told him we couldn't shoot it anywhere at our house, and being that he knows aaaalll about being "safe", he says, "I can just set it up on the tennis courts". (The tennis courts that are surrounded by houses? Right. You know how to be safe.) Grandpa's house it is!

See the hole right dead center in that tomato. Yeah, that was me. Riflery was always one of my camp favorites. I got the high shot award once!

Happy Birthday To ME!

Callie: "Trent is making a sand birthday cake, but I'm not going to tell you who it's for."

Rewind to the end of August. The summer just about to wrap up. The birthday week has become quite a popular privlidge lately. Here is how I spent the week.

I had the best birthday I've had in a long time! One last Dusty Road at Laubers, family dinner at my Mom's, a spontaneous, spectacular, summer evening at Kirches and a Sand Birthday Cake from the kids.

Marshall and I went to Kirches to celebrate our Anniversary last year. Since then it's become our fine dining place of choice. Little did we know it would solidify it's place so permenantly this birthday visit. I found a coupon on Resturant.com, so we decided it was worth the splurge. Not wanting to drive the kids to the grandparents, the plan was to take them with us. Last minute Marshall invited my parents to come along. What an evening.

Firstly, it was the company. I am so happy we had both the kids and my parents to share it with. The kids are usually good, but we really appreciated them this time they got so many nice compliments from the other resturant patrons.
Secondly, it was the atmosphere. Can't beat dining on a porch overlooking a quiet little lake. Add to that comfortable temps, no bugs, a gorgeous sunset and a live Jazz band, and the mood was set.
Third, the food. We chose a four course, chef special. You choose meat or seafood and they choose the rest. Ever heard of John Dori fish? Me neither, but its the finest fish in France and I can see why.
Fourth, and best of all the memories. The kids dancing to the band, entertaining everyone, and a family dance before the night was over. It's a birthday I will never forget.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Freckle Face

Callie got Freckles this summer!
They've already faded, but it cracks me up!

The Cabin - 2010

We took our 3rd annual trip to the cabin in mid August. Relaxing as always.
From the first 15 minutes to the end, Callie was a fishing queen, with the new fishing pole grampy got her for her Birthday. Trent, usually the Turtle King, was totally nixed. There was not a turtle to be found in "Trent's Bay"! We saw a couple swimming out in the deep, but nothing we could even get close to. So he was forced to switch to fishing, and this time it was Trent's turn to get bass fever!It turns out fishing in the skift is good luck. Trent caught his first whopper with Gran, and Callie and I went out and she caught her whopper! Gran swears at one point Trent had the record fish on the line, but it snapped, so we'll never know. The fish were biteing! You can see by the look on Trent's face, he's a little conflicted. He likes the fishing, but is quick to get them back in the water. He doesn't want to keep them out of the water for too long.Our fish story for this trip involves Gran catching a fish with a hook coming out of it's bowels. "It's pooping a hook!" We laughed so hard! She surgically removed it and saved that fishes life!
Campfire lunch off third island. Hot Ham and Cheese Campcakes, YUM!Callie going skiing for the first time behind the boat. Success on the first try, a face full on the second!That was the end of that for this trip!
A windy cooler day gave us the opportunity to do a little exploring, we saw the worlds largest penny, commemorating the million penny collection by Dr. Kate to build the local hospital. We also went mini-golfing and go-carting. Trent was an inch and a half too short to drive his own, but he convinced them that he knew exactly how to drive cause he learned it on the Wii. Who said video games aren't educational?
A special request from Marshall brought us a little more history. We went for dinner at Little Bohemia, the location of the John Dillinger shoot out. The bullet holes are still there, and they are everywhere on the outside of the buildingEven inside the dining room right where you eat. You can see right through the walls to the other side.It's so cool to just get right up to a piece of the past. They recently filmed the Johnny Depp movie Public Enemies there. The food was delicious. I had the Dillinger Salad with Celery Dressing. Putting that on my list of recipes to look up as a chef would say, such a unique flavor profile.
Thanks again Mr. and Mrs. K. I treasure the experience and the memories!

Second Star to the Right and Straight on til Morning....

About this time last year I was doing some planning. A rare thing for me I know! This was an event I would look forward to for the next 9 months! No, it wasn't a baby! It was the Ballet!
My first adult experience with the ballet was with KD on a Mom's weekend with her sorority. We went to the Cleveland ballet. BOOOORRRRING! I'm pretty sure I fell asleep. Then our friends invited us to the Milwaukee Ballet's Nutcracker. It has become a yearly tradition and we truely enjoy it. One of the dancers is from our town, and she is amazing, so now we're fans! This past year, we became family package subscribers! We took Callie to Cinderella (see the video here), we went with our friends to the Nutcracker, and then the event I couldn't wait for, May 16th, 2010 - PETER PAN! How perfect is that face above. The dancer's name is Marc Petrocci. We've enjoyed him in the Nutcracker as one of the clowns. Very acrobatic and entertaining. A great dancer and great actor. I couldn't wait to see him as Peter Pan! I had been following the rehersals and press leading up to the show, and I found out there would be two dancers playing Peter. Oooh did that make me nervous! What if we didn't get to see THIS Peter Pan, the face of the show! The minute we sat in our seats I flipped as fast as I could through the program to find out which Peter we would see.
....It wasn't him. Ugh, my heart sank. All this time looking forward to the Peter in my mind. Despite this blow, I was determined to enjoy it. As the Artistic Director was doing his pre-show schpiel, he preceeded to tell us that tonights Peter had fallen ill, and Marc Petrocci was going to be dancing the role for us! Fate was rooting for me that night! You couldn't wipe the smile off my face! It was Awesome! I loved it, and so did the kids.
I LOVE the story of Peter Pan. I love the movies about the story - Wonderland is one of my favs! A month before the show, I read the real, J. M. Barrie - Peter Pan every night to the kids. There are certain themes in that book that just speak to my heart. I am reduced to tears when the kids finally decide to leave Neverland and go back to their Mom. Poor Trent, I could barely finish reading I was sobbing so bad! He just kept asking, "whats the matter Mom?" I guess something only a Mom can understand.
And of course the loss of the pure simple joys of youth.
"Why can't you fly now, mother?"
"Because I am grown up, dearest. When people grow up they forget the way."
"Why do they forget the way?"
"Because they are no longer gay and innocent and heartful. It is only the gay and innocent and heartful who can fly."
— J.M. Barrie

Beans, Beans

Have you ever wondered how many beans it takes to fill a bean bag? I happen to have first hand knowledge of this. About 6 grocery bags full, plus all the others that have been spilled out through the years! I freaked out a little the first time Trent got curious and opened the zipper and climbed inside! More concerned about "beans" in the lungs, than beans on the floor at that point! Who thought it was a good idea to make the zipper to the inside so accessable to children! Today's bean debacle is due to the dogs. They didn't seem to understand that we don't pee on such things! Outside in the rain and weather this thing sat, all summer, til i'd finally had enough.
I carefully emptied 6 bags of the stuff, until I could fit it in the washing machine. Washed it up, and carefully poured them all back in. (Only spilling a few.) If child or dog dares soil this bag again, they might be the next thing to be stuffed!

"You Think You Can Dance"

Callie was finally old enough to take the Park and Rec, Poms and Dance class. It didn't start til mid-July, but she had been ready since she bought her set of pom-poms from the Memorial Day Rummage-O-Rama! I had to work, so Grandma brought her to her first class. I was a little nervous about what this class would actually be. Figuring it would be a bunch of High School Girls teaching a bunch of influential little wanna-be's how to shake it, and here I'm sending my Mother-in-law to supervise! The reports were, everything was tolerable and Callie was a great learner. She could even remember some of the moves to show me at home. At the half way point I got a chance to go, and I made sure I had off for the final performance. Callie also wanted Grandma to be there, so we both got to enjoy the show! Note to self: Gotta get the video from Grandma.

Two Weddings and a Pool Party

Much more fun than Two Weddings and a Funeral as the movie suggests!
We took an "are-we-there-yet, is it my turn for the i-pod" road trip down to Aunt Polly's for her annual pool party to celebrate the Birthday's and Anniversary's. Such a nice day! Uncle Harry on the grill with the wings and pulled pork sandwiches, and everyone brought a dish to pass. Our Smoked Salmon from Uncle Butch was quite a treat! We also enjoyed some taco dip, Mom's Deviled Eggs and Olives. Callie had a "hand" full!
Callie was really enjoying watching me get ready for my cousin Stephanie's wedding. The compliments were flowing. "Mom, you look soooo beautiful." "Dad you look sooooo handsome." "If I had a dress like that, I would never take it off." This comment was the best....I was debating between two pairs of shoes, one much fancier than the other, I told Callie I was confused, which one I should pick. Callie said, "Mom, it I had shoes like those, I would never be confused!". The next day she even made a point of asking us, "if we enjoyed ourselves at the wedding."
They got married downtown. As I was walking out of the church after the ceremony, my dress totally blew up with the wind! Some guy came up and thanked me for the Marilyn Monroe moment. This is actually the second time this has happened to me. The first was with a real exhaust grate in Madison. We were there for our friends Erica and Mike's wedding who we share our anniversary with.
It was a small wedding, great band. Everyone in my Dad's side of the family lives far away so we don't see them that often. It was fun to spend time with them. My sister, parents and I danced the night away!
Hey Mom, Miami Vice Called, they want Dad's tie back!
It was another "family" reunion at Andy and Sara's wedding. These boys are like our brother's. We consider them to be family. And our "sister" Heather was here too! The whole gang was back home to the lake. Carol was in her glory. The entire evening she was grinning from ear to ear. Could a mother be happier? Her crowning moment was "Sweet Carol Stein". Sung to the tune of Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond, but modified by my cousin-in-law Dave at our wedding. It's been a tradition at every family event since. I was honored to be asked to take some pictures for them! Look, I even got-in one!
Back from the 80's....how cool is my Dad? Though still maybe a little Miami Vice, but Crockett was pretty awesome, and my Dad did like that show!

Happy 5th Birthday Callie!

Happy 5th Birthday Callie Girl! Three party's this year! IceCream cake at Aunt Polly's, Cupcakes at Grans and a giant 5 layer cake made by Marshall at our house! Plus a visit to Laubers. What a Lucky Girl! You definitely look 5 now Callie. You can even reach the handle to the front door! Boy can this girl Hula-Hoop!

Noah's Ark

It seems each summer we consider doing several things, that never actually seem to happen. This summer, I am proud to say, we actually did one! The kids were thrilled to go to Noah's Ark Water park! After all, we do live near enough to the water park capital of the U.S.!
With a little advanced planning, and the use of a rain date, we transformed ourselves into pruney little watersliding fish as we closed the park!
There were some things Callie couldn't go on, and one thing Trent couldn't. Unfortunately the one thing Trent couldn't go on, was the one thing he really wanted to, America's First Looping Waterslide! He plans to eat a whole lot so he can weigh 90lbs by next year! Let's hope that's impossible!
The kids are requesting this be an annual visit. I guess we WILL have to go back next year since I forgot to get my traditional rock candy from the candy store in the Ark!