Summer Breeze Makes Me Feel Fine

Ugh. Here we are. The last day of summer upon us. We did manage to make the most of it though. There was a beautiful sky today. Bright blue, big puffy white clouds. 70 degrees and actually quite warm in the sun. My sister and I took the kids and we went on an adventurous hike. I'm not using the word adventurous lightly, there were frogs, snakes, and all sorts of bugs to speak of. There's a plank path that leads from one of our city parks to one of our county parks. It's a really nice walk, lots of nature to take in. The plank path lead us to the county park, and the man-made beach and lake. It was so nice. The kids explored, played in the sand...my niece Lauren even set up a stand where she sold rocks that they found. Mostly, they were happy just enjoying each other's company. Not a pencil or math problem was thought of...we'll leave that for tomorrow.

Better get to bed, it's a school night.

Very Cherry

Without a doubt, Very Cherry is the best tasting Jelly Belly. Well, in my opinion at least.

Jason had taken a vacation day last Friday for Joe's kindergarten registration, and that only lasted until 9am. So, we decided to do something fun as a family with the rest of our day. We decided to head south and go to the Jelly Belly tour. If you ask Joe, the best part was the end of the tour when you're dropped off in the gift shop. The best part of the gift shop? Why the sample counter of course. The sample counter is not for the faint-hearted though. Oh, they have the typical, yummy flavors like Grape Crush and Tangerine...but they also have some grosser than gross flavors to try. Flavors like barf, baby wipes, wet dog food, and booger.

Yuck.

I'm almost gagging now just thinking about it.

Besides the thought of tasting something resembling barf...I had a great time.

A Summer Picnic

Last Sunday was a great day for a lot of things...baseball, tennis, lunch at the park, time spent with good friends. We chose all of the above. We met our good friends, Kim and Erik, at the park for a wonderful afternoon. Erik's mom, Pat, was in town visiting from Rhode Island, and we always try to see her while she's here. A super lady. They boys hit the baseball diamond and tennis courts while the girls opted for a more laid back approach of the swings and slides. Laid back that is until Jason came over to push the kids on the merry-go-round. I thought they were all going to fly off. Can't you remember as a kid barely being able to hang on?

Jack and Joe had such fun hanging out together, Ellie and Kate too...and the rest of us loved to snuggle over Erin.

Thanks guys, it was a really good time...see you next month Pat.

Happy Birthday James

We celebrated our nephew James' 4th birthday last weekend. Unseasonably cool for late August, but the weather didn't seem to hamper the festivities. We were really excited to get there, not only to share in the celebration, but Jason's sister was going to tell everyone the sex of her baby at the party. It was actually James that let us know...the front of his t-shirt:"Brothers Don't Shake Hands", the back:"Brothers Gotta Hug." So cute. Most everyone had guessed that the baby would be a girl, but we're so excited to welcome this little guy this winter. What will the name be? That's still being decided on.

The sandbox and swing at the party were huge hits, and of course the ice cream cake. What an exciting year this will be for James, what a great big brother he'll be.

A New View of the Zoo

We must have gone to the zoo at least a dozen times this summer, it's been an easy way to pass the day and the kids love it there. Just to change it up a bit, I try to do/see something different each time we go. We went with our nephew Nathan last week. We ended up having lunch at the Family Farm area...I had promised the kids that they could go to the playground for a while. It was great, they now serve paninis and sliders at the zoo! So trendy. On the way out, we hit this new cool area where you can "pan" for different stones/gems/arrowheads. They boys picked arrowheads...I'm sure that Kate would have chosen gems had I let her take part. She is a jewerly girl. It was really cool, they emptied part of the bag that we purchased a little at a time and then dip the tray in the flowing water and the goodies are left behind. The only trouble is that I think they just may want to stop at this attraction everytime from now on...

Rollingstone

A couple of weeks ago now, Jason and Joe headed up to the northwoods for a little fishing and boating...boy time. Jason's sister and dad came up for the day too which made for even more fun times. The whole family loves their time up at the lake, peaceful, relaxing...good family time. Good cousin time too. From Jason as a kid with the other three boys, to Joe and James. Tradition.

T-Ball Tales

Another season of t-ball under our belts, it was a fun one. Jason was one of the coaches again, and Kate and I were sideline cheerleaders. He played with the league through St.Dominics, they have a great program there. No outs, everyone gets to bat, and every fourth batter hits a grand-slam. The added bonus...a Culver's ice cream social on the last night.

Life is good.

I Got My Sister With Me

When we were expecting Kate, I was a little worried about how close the kids would be being four years apart. Those have proven to be wasted worries. From the moment Kate wakes up, it's "where's Joe?", and it only stops when she goes back to sleep at night. And Joe loves the big brother role, he does a great job of taking care of his sister. It's as though it's always been the two of them.

Of course, they have their moments when Joe wants to play alone and Kate wants to wrestle...but they work it out.

I'm so glad they have each other.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Jason and Joe went to the Packer's Family Night this year. We did the Lambeau tour last year, and we thought he'd have so much fun sitting in the seats to watch the scrimmage. I'm sure that he would have, had the weather not turned to a lightning storm 15 minutes after they sat down. Oh well, things don't always turn out how you think they will.

At least they got to take part in all of the pre-game fun...jumping rooms and obstacle courses.

He's already asking to be taken to an actual game now, who could blame him?

Pretty in Peach

It's Funny What You Can Fit Into A Tuesday...

A Playdate

Joe's good friend Jack came over for the day last Friday. It was one fun filled playdate. Just to start things off right, it was donuts for all! And why not? The boys spent the morning at vacation bible school at our church, and Kate and I picked them up at lunchtime. Off to Culver's and the park for some fun. It was pretty warm out, and everyone needed cooling off by the time we got home. So, I set up the sprinkler. After that, Jack had an awesome idea that they sometimes do at his house. You take the hose and hook it up to the slide on your swingset for a homemade water slide. So cool! I let Kate go down by herself and she probably flew 5 feet off the bottom...nothing hurt, but that was it for the water slide for her. The boys just kept going. It was great. Once Kate went down for her nap, the boys brought out the Power Wheels Hummer and must have driven it around the yard for an hour, all I heard from inside was their laughter.

A really fun day.