The 4th

We spent another Independence day up in my home town. We went to the same parade my family and cousins went to as children - and now as adults we reconvene in the same area with our kids! We get to see Grandpa Irv marching in the parade with his fire dept and then head up to the picnic for burgers and rides. Craig has been working at the club every 4th so instead of waiting around for him, we head north and he meets up with us later.

Craig received tickets for a Brewer game Monday night and since they were free, we decided to go. The game started at 7 so I wasn't sure how long the kids would last. Well, Mondays aren't their "best" days, as it is the start of the week, getting up to go to the sitter (I mean, Mondays aren't my favorite either.) So Kelsey started to crash and burn early, like 7:15, asking to go home. We got up from our seats around 8 and walked around the kid area on the first level.

These next couple weekends we have birthday parties and weddings! Should be lots of fun, just hoping the weather cooperates :) Hello Wisconsin, it's SUMMER! (55 degrees this morning and yesterday was obscene.)

All of my cousin's kids + ours, waiting for the parade to start!

Had to hit up the picnic after the parade

Busting out the old-school toys at Auntie Tara's.
(She has kept everything that was there after my dad.
Pretty sure I played with that register 30 years ago!)

Our first Brewer game of the season. Kelsey was pretty shy
and wanted no part of pictures. 

Hugging Bernie Brewer!

Gorgeous Weekend

Even though I was on call, we were still able to make the most out of this past weekend. The kids started their summer gymnastics class Friday morning and Drew is no longer the lone boy! We played outside as much as possible, enjoying the farmer's market, swimming with friends, and celebrating father's day on a patio with beers.

This crazy cat came to "live" with us for a couple days. He would show up
every morning and play with the kids. He was super friendly. Turned out he
was microchipped and had a home. But as of Monday, we haven't seen him again.

Thumbs up. All good.

T-Ballin'

Second week of t ball and I'm starting to question the organization. We arrived at 9. Last week she divided the kids into 4 teams of about 5 kids. When we left, I was thinking to myself that 5 isn't very many in the field but what did I know. She said she ran t-ball last year for the rec dept. so I figured she knew what she was doing. On Saturday, she tells everyone that she was combining the 4 into 2 teams. Ok, that makes more sense. Then I heard them "counting" "outs". And I thought, hmmm. They are 4-6 years old - 3 "outs" could go fast or take FOREVER. I think one of the coaches talked to her and the next inning, each team batted through their lineup. Now this sounds more like "beginner" baseball. But then there was no sign of finishing. Around 10:15 I asked the rec lady when this ends. She said, "well we are scheduled from 9-11." I said, "do you expect 4 year olds to last 2 hours?" and went back to the rest of the parents. Sure enough, Kelsey came running over and said she didn't want to bat again (the 3rd time). And by the 4th inning (or 10:30) there was only about half the team that was actually still into it. I guess we will see how this Saturday goes!

She needs more pink

This.Kid.

We FINALLY left t-ball and went to the Zoo. There is a dinosaur exhibit we haven't been to before, mostly because they weren't into dinosaurs and I wasn't sure if they would be scared. Ha! Drew covered his ears and cried through half of it. They were mechanical replicas and some of them made noises (ROAR), a couple actually spit water! Even though they were fake, he was not having it and could not wait to get out of there. Oh well, now we know ;)

We met Tara at the Zoo!

Starting Summer

I mean, I know that summer is here but I can't believe we are into summer sports already! We had our first t-ball practice, which was basically forming some teams, getting t-shirt sizes, and introductions. Now we will see what Saturday brings us with our first "official" game!

Of course Craig was at grad school and missed their t-ball meeting so we were left to make some fun for the rest of the day. The weather shifted and the sun and temperature welcomed in a beautiful afternoon. We joined our friends, Aidan and Cal, in their backyard and let the kids by kids. Earlier in the day if you were in the shade, it was cool and you needed long sleeves and pants. So of course we weren't dressed appropriately and to cool off the kids were playing with a sprinkler and squirt guns. And then Kelsey took her shirt off like the boys when she got wet! We told her that she only has like one more year of being able to take her shirt off ;)

It was Kelsey and Drew's last night of gymnastics (last Wednesday). Their awesome teacher takes these cute pics of them during class. We are getting ready to start "tumbling and trampoline" on Friday mornings for the summer. We will see if they continue into the school year.

Rocky Mountain High

Our first family vacation via flight! It was a rough go to get out of the house - of course both kids decided to nap before we left for the airport. We actually had to wake them so they could get the grogginess out. We were off to visit my oldest and best friend Nicole and the new addition to the family, baby Blake! (I flew out to see them when Blake's older brother, Declan, was born 2 years ago. Now it was time to bring everyone along!) We landed in Denver around 9, which was 10 our time. The kids both fell asleep on the ride to the house and easily went to bed. When they woke up, baby Blake was up and they smothered her with love!! The weather wasn't anything to write home about so we looked for indoor fun. (It had been raining 20/22 days by the time we got there and they were getting cabin fever.) Friday we let the kids get accustomed to each other and then headed to a trampoline park! Saturday it started our rainy but we made our way to the Colorado Railroad Museum, where we got a ride in an old Galloping Goose train, saw model train sets, and garden  trains. That afternoon the sun finally made an appearance and we decided to head downtown for a Colorado Rockies game. They were supposed to play a doubleheader but the rain had already delayed the first game for an hour. The game was actually exciting with lots of hits and home runs! On Sunday, we headed to the park, had some lunch and kind of/sort of forced all of the kids to take a nap. We planned on going to an indoor water park that afternoon and wanted the kids to fully enjoy it. The water slides and fountains were awesome and even baby Blake got wet:) Andy and Nicole welcomed our crazy family into their busy lives with open arms and warm hearts! We had the best time and it was a great ice breaker trip for the kids. Now I wonder why Nicole won't answer my texts...just kidding! I hope there will be many more visits with her family for years to come.

First airplane ride! 

Drew was obsessed with baby Blake, our reason to visit!

Lots of rain meant indoor fun! Jumpstreet trampoline and bounce house park.

sliding down the tiger's mouth

Super awesome train museum with a miniature train garden

One of the best afternoons we had - sunny and 70, had to see
the Colorado Rockies play

Someone clearly isn't as excited for pictures

Declan and Drew playing at the park

Can't beat the mountain view in the background

Waiting to fly home; watching the luggage load onto our plane!

Wrapping up the school year and preparing for the next one

Three more days of school for the kids! And one of them is an all-day field trip to a farm. While I am a little excited for some of the hustle and bustle to quiet down, I'm sure they will be a little heart broken that school is done. We had 4K screening last Friday at Craig's school. The teachers conduct an informal assessment on the kids and then recommend areas to work on over the summer before school starts. The screening doesn't determine their school admission; they made it clear no one could "fail" the screening. Although our kids were testing the waters - I had to wake them from their nap at the sitters to get to our appt on time. So you can imagine how neat they were after that. Prying Drew out of Craig's arms was like pulling teeth. And his hysterics turned Kelsey into a puddle. Eventually, we were able to leave them in the classroom so we could attend the "new parent" presentation. And of course by the time they brought the kids back to the conference room, Kelsey and Drew had made friends with all the teachers and kids. They love their little preschool so much that this transition to Craig's (all day, every day) school will be an adjustment. I can already see them falling asleep on the car ride home :)

We made it up to Wausau this weekend for the Voigt cousins birthday party. Since their birthdays are about a month apart, my sister-in-law just plans one party - instead of having to try to find 2 open spring weekends! It was so much fun; there were times Craig and I looked at each other and said, "we brought the kids along, right?" They are finally at the age where the older cousins and friends just adopt all the littles and play. We didn't necessarily have to keep an eye on them the whole time - they found us for a change, when they needed something. Unfortunately, the night ended on a negative note - Craig's mom called to say that when they got home from the party they got a call that Grandma had a stroke and was on her way to the hospital. We revamped our Mother's Day plans Sunday morning and swung by the hospital after leaving Wausau. We still aren't sure how bad it is or what residual effects she will have - please keep her in your prayers. Grandma Mabel is the Craig's last living grandparent and who Kelsey's middle named after.

We finally have a concrete garage foundation. After a little struggle with the city building inspector, the concrete guys were able to finish the job. I have decided that we shouldn't build anything, more importantly in Milwaukee.

Everyone sleeping on the way to Wausau! 

Shots! Shots! Shots!

And not the fun kind! Kelsey and Drew (finally) had their 4 year appt and there were 3 vaccines! :( I wasn't really concerned because they had done so well in the past with shots but then Dr. Amy tells me that this last MMR can really be a doozy. Awesome. Thanks for telling me now. No tears from Kels and Drew screamed once and then was okay. They both drove home with Craig and he got out of the truck hurriedly saying something about how the kids aren't feeling well. Drew asked for a puke bucket and then fell asleep. Kelsey was sensitive hot mess. She had a fever, threw up, and didn't eat for almost 24 hours. I was bumming a little because Saturday was gorgeous and Kelsey had no energy or motivation to do anything. I planned a picnic at our local little playground and she finally came around. She's been a little more sensitive than normal but overall has recovered. No more shots til they're 10!

Otherwise the appt was routine. They had a hearing and eye test; no problems there. They talked Dr. Amy's ear off and followed all of her directions. Kelsey is still on the taller side for the growth charts. Drew was in about the 25th percentile for ht and wt and is smaller compared to his boy classmates. Kels weighs 4 more pounds and is about an inch taller than Drew!

This was her first time eating since the shots. I pulled out all the food and she looked at me and said, "mom, this is just perfect." Sweetheart.

Playing the waiting game...like for city building inspectors

The summer farmer's market is open! They love the popcorn.

It was too good a deal to pass up. New in the box, a co-worker of Craig's was moving and didn't have the yard space for it. The kids love playing on their friend's, so we thought why not.