Softball and Birthday

This past weekend was the annual softball tournament in Craig's hometown and my sister's birthday. The kids were excited to spend the weekend with grandpa John and cousin Ella. The weather was amazing and we were able to catch up with some old friends. Ella watched the kids so I could go to dinner with my sister in Elkhart Lake. We are gearing up for another wedding weekend in Sheboygan at Blue Harbor. Craig is officiating the marriage and it will be the kids' first time at a water park!! I'm sure there will be some fun stories and pictures to accompany our busy weekend:)

Drew used a gift card from his birthday to purchase his first bat!

So excited!

Watching softball with Ella

Tara laying down a beat before she blows out her candle ;)
That's my sister!

Wedding Weekend

Our new garage has been in full building mode since last Tuesday. I do not understand all of the building processes but apparently EVERYONE decided to build something this summer and our trusses ended up being 3 weeks delayed on top of the 3 weeks it takes to "make" them. And everything kinda just shows up when it's ready so there has been 2.5 days where the guys weren't even here because there wasn't any building materials to move on to the next step. Regardless, we are very excited to see the progress and know soon enough our "dream" garage will be built ;)

We had a lovely weekend in Manitowoc celebrating Craig's cousin Elise's wedding. It was the first time the kids were invited to something special like this and they were thrilled to get dressed up like mom and dad. The weather was beautiful. We got to meet Ella and Braden's new puppies. The kids actually did okay for most of the day - they spent about 30 minutes on the dance floor and then hit a wall. And then it was all whining . We took them home around 9 and slowly the rest of the family trickled in and we sat up chatting for a couple hours.
*We did learn on this car trip that Kelsey gets car sick. Two weeks ago we drove to Racine and she got this sour look on her face and was kinda whimpering/whining in the back seat. Once she got out of the car she was find. On Saturday, she actually threw up about an hour into the car ride. I think part of it is their new booster seats are lower, especially in the car, so she can't see out the window. And I find her scooting herself down in her seat while watching a movie. So we might have to concede and drive the inefficient truck on long rides. (I get car sick and have since I was younger. I can't read in the car or turn around and look into the backseat for very long.)

3 months after tearing down our dilapitated garage, THIS is
finally happening!

Our first family wedding

Cousins!

Being silly

Good Fun

Rolling right along through summer. 2 more weeks of t-ball (we will miss the last game due to an out of town wedding). Which is okay because Kelsey gives up after the second inning and first hour of play. They practice first and watching her play in the dirt makes me wonder if she'll do it next year. When she came out of the game, whining, a friend said what about ballet? And her eyes lit up. So we are looking at putting her in a ballet class in fall while Drew does another year of gymnastics. Separate K4 rooms and gymnastics classes - this will be a big year for them!

Also this past weekend Craig had his last grad school class and last minute we decided to go out to eat. We love hitting up the Chancery because it is never crowded, has a popcorn machine, and the kids get popsicles at the end of their meal.

And we spent almost all of Sunday celebrating Jax and Brady's birthday. Our kids are finally at an age where they just go. We don't have to follow around; they go by the other kids and do whatever:) The weather was nice and we actually were able to sneak in adult time when all the kids wandered to the basement to play Wii. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day. Annie's been my twin coach from day 1 (actually like 7wks when I first found out!). All the twin milestones, like when you can finally take them somewhere and enjoy it, has been spot-on! (I consult her regularly.)

Finally got our t-ball shirts and hats.

And these faces - Drew is totally into not being serious

Popsicle after dinner

Happy 7th birthday to our favorite twins!

Jax checking out the pile of gifts

Drew just loved him some sweet Jamison

Craig giving Brady a good push on the swings

I asked for a pretty picture of her in her dress with her Elsa braid -
I got this :/

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.