Easter '08

This years Easter trails were very personal! The Easter Bunny made two trails. One for Chris (made with race car track) and one for Acacia (made with ponies) - see photos for more details. The hunt lasted a little while this year with stops on each floor of the house, and even in the bathroom. We went to church and then came home and had a great ham lunch. Randy and the kids then went to the foot of snow we received on Friday and made what will hopefully be the last snow man of the season. But, this was a very impressive snowman. Complete with hair and a bird flying over his head!! Jesus is risen. He is risen in deed!!

The slide show starts with the real bunny tracks we found in the show outside the house and then a couple photos of the hunt. We tried to take some family photos of us dressed nice. Some of us cooperated more then others.... Chris then took the camera and ran round the house taking pictures of everything (mostly Acacia) until she finally had had enough and asked him nicely to stop (photo near the end of the slide show). Last couple shots are of the snow man. Please note the yellow bird flying around above his head and all his very nice Charlie Brown hair!! Enjoy!!

Click the link to see a slide show of our Easter '08.

Slide show of Easter '08

Click play to see a movie of the hunt ...

My trip to warmer weather

Mom had her sergury about 2 months ago now. I decided it was time for a visit. After agonizing over flights, rates, destinations and dates I booked a flight from Milwaukee to Ft Lauderdale (via Charlotte, NC - go figure). Chris and I (and Newman) drove up to NC for a little surprise for mom and dad. Yoli came a day later via plane. We pretty much did whatever mom and dad wanted us to do. Weed the gardens, fix dad's computer, play golf, drink wine, walk, walk, walk and move a TV. It was a great visit and mom is doing really well (from what we can tell). Newman is super cool but dad is allergic to him so Newmy was not allowed in the house. Chris slept with Newman on the pourch and when Yoli arrived, she slept out there too. I am sure Zander is happy to have full run of his house and yard again as Newman pretty much dominated the doggie situation.

Click the link to see a slide show of my warm weather adventure.

Slide show of warm weather



We all drove back to FL together. Yoli had gotten Chris sailing lessons for his birthday (last year) and they were just now getting around to taking the lesson. The best part was that I got to go too!! A day sailing in Miami!! Chris and Yoli both did a great job and are ready to sail to the Bahamas for some scuba diving.



I flew home after a little over a week to find Randy and the kids still in one piece. The warm weather was GREAT!! But, back to the reality of WI. We are under a winter storm advisory from now through the week end with expected snow accumulation of 4-10 inches. Please - STOP THE MADNESS!!

Last ski trip of '08

Most likely our last ski trip of the season was great. Well, Randy had hurt his knee and not able to ski but he came anyway! Some friends of ours also came. The kids are getting amazing at this stuff. Chris even launched himself off a real ski jump (on accident) and went soaring through the air a good 20 feet before snow balling to a stop - skies flying all over the place. Once I got him put back together he just skied off as if nothing had happened.<

The end of Chris' first hockey session '08

Chris' hockey team. If you look closely - you'll see Randy joined the team half way through. This was necessary to keep Chris from playing dead on the ice.

Here is Chris really skating now. He is probably the best skater in our family!! White jersey, number 5, black helmet. Sorry about the auto play with all the videos. :(

Father/Daughter dance '08

Our church does a Father / Daughter dance once a year. This year's theme was the renosance so Acacia got to go as Lady Acacia. A grand time was had by all.

Click the link to see a slide show of the event.

Slide show of Father/daughter dance

Acacia speaks at church

This is Acacia speaking out at church. She did GREAT!!!! If you can't quite make out what she is saying it is this ... "For people who are angry or who's hearts are saddened, may they feel God's spirit and love. We pray to the Lord." I think you can make out the church reply ... She is not the first one speaking - she's second. Also - you may have to scroll down and click the stop button on all the other videos. For some reason they all auto start and the roller skating one seems to be the loudest.

Mary Kay make over

I won a free makeover for myself and 5 friends. Given all the make up I wear I decided to share it w/those that would really enjoy it. I am not sure if the Mary Kay lady really wanted to spend the evening doing makeovers on 7 year olds, but it was my free make over!!

So Peaceful

Just a funny photo. You can't tell who's arm is who's ...

Snowy Winter '08

Our snowy winter. This year we broke record snow fall. The old record was 78 inches. At this point we have received over 100. I don't really know the final number as the snow continues to come. We are still getting 1-4 inches weekly now. I believe we also broke a record low temp but I don't remember. I think my brain is frozen. It's really been amazing seeing what this much snow does to a city and how the city deals with the piles of it as it mounts.

Click the link to see a slide show of just our street over the winter.

Slide show of snowy winter

No Front Teeth!

All I want for Christmas ....

Crazy mismatch day!

Acacia's school celebrated Catholic Schools week with something silly each day. Crazy mismatch clothes day was one of our favorites! I think if a prize was given for being mismatched, Acacia would have won - hands down! I even did a braid and a pony. The only thing we did match were the shoes - meaning both shoes matched - she did not wear two different shoes. But, given the shoes - we did not think that was necessary!

The Shining Star

One week out of the school year, each one of Acacia's classmates is the shining star. They get to decorate a door in the classroom with pictures and facts about themselves. They get to leave this up for a week. During the week they get to share all about themselves, bring in things to show and share treats. What is a school event without treats?? This past week was Acacia's turn and she was very proud of her work.

Madtown Twisters anyone?

The kids will never not want to go to Madtown Twisters and yesterday was no exception. Acacia's friend Rachel and her brother Braden were there and so was Chris' friend Alex and his little sister Kate. Braden is just a bit younger then Chris but not to be showed up wanted to climb up the rope ladder to the very top - only to get a bit ... scared and mom had to maneuver herself up there to help get him down. The girls ran all over at a rate I could not keep up with to take any photos but they were there! Winter break officially ends Monday the 7th. Back to ice hockey, horse back riding and swimming ... and a bit of homework! We are all set for another great year of blogging!!

The Melting Pot!

MMMMMMMM! Our grand finally was a night out at the Melting Pot. We were there for THREE hours - with the kids! I think everyone had a great meal and Acacia did her part in cleaning both of the chocolate pots!

Mini Golf with Nono

Another indoor activity we took part in during winter break - mini golf. This course is very interactive and not really designed to help you improve your putting. The two glow in dark holes were especially challenging!