Thanksgiving, Sprecher, and Everything Inbetween

So here is what began our Thanksgiving vacation. Chad had a student help day and practice on Wednesday, but we then headed up to Germantown to go to church and enjoy some sibling bonding. I was determined to for everyone to hang out, I mean come on we are all almost adults and we are always going 17 different directions when we are all there. So after church the outlaws: Scott, Christina, and myself went down to the Sportszone on Mequon to have a couple beers and hang out. While we were gone, the originals got some little kids to bed (meaning our girls and the boy cousins) and just started the party. We laughed, talked, played some games, laughed some more. I think that everyone had a good time, if you didn't then you can correct me. I think most of us were on our way to bed by about 12:30, but there were a few (those without children) who stayed up even later.

Some people gathered in the kitchen to have a drink and talk.


Others played Clue on the back porch.

Thanksgiving morning came way to quick, at least for me, I know I am old. I made a run to KMart, you might think I am crazy, but I got some really good deals on some things the girls really wanted. It is hard to pass up buy one get one on things like v-tech games, barbies, and baby toys. We all managed to fit on the back porch for dinner. That's right all 17 of us and we only had to add a card table at the end. The little kids minus Lilly were sitting at their own table. It was pretty impressive if I do say so myself. I am guessing that that may be on of the last time that happens. Maybe we need to get some banquet tables for the back porch, you know the ones like they have at church. We actually headed home that night to have cake for my dad's birthday which landed on Thanksgiving this year. Before we left we did do some Christmas gifts for the kids, since Kathy and Scott will be in Saint Louis for Christmas. It was fun to see them try to figure it out, they knew it wasn't Christmas, but believe me they weren't complaining.




Friday morning I did venture out to three stores, Wal-Mart $3 pajamas, Target $5 Barbies, and KMart $7.99 Christmas dresses for the girls. I left around 5:45 and was home just before 8. I knew what I wanted, I didn't need anything that bad, so I wasn't mad if they were all out. The rest of the weekend we hung out since the girls were feeling a little under the weather.

Sunday was the first Soda with Santa at Sprecher Brewery. It is this really cool thing they do, they have been doing it for the last couple of years and I hope that they continue it. So we were down there with Sprinklefingers to do some cookie decorating for the kids while they were waiting for the soda to be done. What happens is you come in, get your picture taken with Santa, go on the Brewery tour and while you are on that, they put the picture you took with Santa as the label of root beer bottles. It was fun watching all the kids and their reactions to Santa. There were a good number of criers. We did that for three weekends. The girls came down the second weekend. Emma wanted no part of the picture, so we have a case of root beer with just Lilly and Maddie. Then after the tour started it kind of clears out, so we thought that maybe she would do it if we all were in the picture. She did and the bottom picture is one that is now on 6 bottles of root beer.


The man who plays Santa is an employee of Sprecher and does such a great job. This past Sunday was the last one. There were 2 week old twins, then my favorite kid of all three Sundays: I think most of you have seen Elf, you know when they announce that Santa is coming and Buddy yells "Santa- I know him" this kid yelled Santa the exact same way and was shaking with excitement. I could not stop laughing. There were a few who brought their letters for Santa and then another favorite who brought a picture from a magazine of what he wanted.



We also Maddie's Christmas program thrown in there too. It was back on the 2nd of December. At Our Redeemer they break up the grades and do their Christmas programs as the Advent service in the evening. It is kind of nice so you don't have 500 people at one program and there is more opportunity for the kids to sing more and be involved more. She did great and sang out. The people next to her weren't squishing her this time, so she was able to do all the action.

So we are now about 10 days away from Christmas. We are going to Woodstock this weekend to celebrate Sammy's birthday. Chad is done with school this week and the girls have two days next week. Since he is off on Monday, he gets to be Maddie's helper. She is so excited that dad is going instead of me. The Keipers from Texas are coming and so we are getting together with them either Tuesday or Wednesday evening. Maddie cannot wait to see Isaac. She told me the other week that she is going to marry him. What a goof.

Also don't forget to watch Amy on A Home For The Holidays (it is an adoption story) that airs on Wednesday the 23rd on CBS. It is either a 7pm or 8pm thing. You would have to check your local listings.

Thanks for sticking with me and this long post. Here is a goofy picture of Lilly trying to get her whole fist in her mouth.

Hillbilly

So if you take a look at the chart above you will notice the two red teeth on the bottom, which Lilly got about 2 months ago. She also has two other teeth that popped through about 2 weeks ago, no not the top two red ones, not even the top yellow ones, but yes the 2 top green ones. Just imagine this little person with hillbilly teeth. She knows how to use them, but she looks just way too funny. We are hoping that the top will start to fill in soon.

I try to get pictures, but she is not very cooperative. Maybe sometime soon, but for now just imagine her sitting outside a trailer, with her overalls on, yelling at her cat with her 4 teeth.

Gig 'Em

Here are a bunch of pictures of Lilly from just a random day where she was really happy and smiling the whole time. She was enjoying playing with my A & M hat. Maddie still knows and I'm sure Lilly knows that even though we may not live in Texas anymore, we still say Horns down- sorry Christian.

Zoo

So at the beginning of November Chad had the Teacher's Conference in the Dells. He went up on Sunday afternoon and then was home Monday night. Both him and the girls still had off on Tuesday, so we decided to go to the zoo for a couple hours in the morning. We had lots of fun and there weren't too many people. It was a brisk day, but it was sunny and the animals were pretty active. We actually even got some time to play on the playground- usually it is packed with kids and so you can't even climb, but they only had to share with about 5 others. So here is our outing to the zoo earlier this month in pictures.


Maddie sizing herself up by the baby gorilla.

Even being bundled up all day, Lilly had a great time navigating our day at the zoo.

Maddie and Emma in the small mammal house- we didn't go to the bat side of it.

The three of them watching some crazy mammal doing sommersaults and running back and forth

Maddie insisted she have her picture with the prairie dogs, but you can't even see them in the picture.
The giraffes were inside while we were there, I think they were cleaning up outside, so it was pretty cool to see them up close. Not as close as the Houston Zoo, but still pretty close.

We spent a good amount of time in the Big Cat House- here are the two Tiger cubs that were born in July. We had never seen them before.
Here is one cub with mom- we even watched the video of their vet check up and that is all that Emma could talk about for the rest of the afternoon.
The Lion just watching all the people at the Tiger Cub area. It was a little creepy the way he just was staring over at the cubs.

We had lots of fun and it is always fun to just spend a few hours at the zoo. Chad wonders how I can go as often as we sometimes do, but the girls love it. We can go different ways and see the same animals, but they love watching them and Maddie is getting into wanting someone to read about the animals and tell her about them. I look at it as a great chance for learning. Don't know if we will get to the zoo again until the spring, but you never know we will see.

Rockin'

You may think that this post is going to be about Maddie, our rockstar, but really it is a Lilly update. Can you believe that Lilly is 6 months old?? She just had her 6 month check up on Friday. It was going pretty good until we were told she has another double ear infection and then they also gave her 4 shots. So let's just say she was not a happy camper. She is following in her sister's footsteps in the height and weight department.
Height: 27.5 inches- 94th percentile
Weight: 19lbs. 6oz- 95th percentile

So you may be wondering about the rocking, well Lilly does not want to be left out of anything her sisters are doing and so that includes being able to get around. She rolls everywhere and then usually ends up under a table, couch, or chair. She has started doing the rocking thing on all fours. She has no idea where to go from there, but give her a couple weeks and I think she will be on the move. She just wants to move and is in that I can't move yet, so I am just going to get mad phase. At least she loves her feet and so when she gets mad and is on her back, she just eats her feet.


Lilly got her two bottom teeth about 3 weeks ago, number 3 is out too. The funny thing is is that it isn't the top front one, it is off to the side. I think another one on the other side top is just about ready to come in too.

Lilly is starting to look more and more like her sisters. She is also starting to take on some of their mannerisms. It is scary sometimes, but knowing how different Maddie and Emma are, I think she will be okay.

We have been eating lots of different foods, apples, bananas, peaches, pears, green beans (yuck according to Lilly), peas, squash, and sweet potatoes. She loves to eat just like her sisters too.

This picture was taken tonight while she was drinking her dinner bottle. I have a picture just like this when Maddie was probably about 8 months old, drinking her bottle and legs up in the air.

What A Weekend

So we had quite a weekend, good thing the girls don't have school for the next two days and can recover. It started on Thursday. Maddie took a ride with grandma and grandpa to Iowa to pick up Nolan. Jana and Mike were moving out of their apartment and so with Nolan not there, they were able to clean it and get all the last things done a little quicker. While they were in Iowa, I actually attended a funeral for a guy I went to high school with. He was sick, but it still was a little sudden. There were a good number of people that I went to high school with there. That is the cool thing about going to a school like Martin Luther. You knew everyone and most likely you had more then one class with them.

Friday we still had school, so the girls went and Lilly got to hang out with Nolan. The rest of the afternoon the girls kept Nolan entertained, chased him, and made him do all his "tricks". Chad came home and I think we just all hung out, I can't even remember Friday since it seems so long ago. Jana and Mike got here late on Friday evening since they made a stop at Direct Buy in Schaumburg to order their cabinets.

Saturday we got ready for everyone to get here. We made a Wal-Mart run, got the house picked up, watched college football, and waited for everyone to get here. Once the Chapman's got here Chad decided that Maddie, Ben, Emma, Sam, Joel, and himself would go see Astroboy. So they got going and since it was just Nolan and Lilly; Jana, Amy, and myself went to see the Hangover at the Budget Cinema. Jana had not seen it before. When we got back the rest of the company was here. Uncle Kip, Aunt Susie, Jared, the Chicago Heffelfingers and everyone was ready to go trick or treating. The problem was that is was only 4:30 and it didn't start until 6:30. So we tried to get the kids to eat something before going and then it was time to get them dressed. It was cold, so we needed to layer under their costumes. So we took our 8 crayons out around grandma and grandpa's neighborhood.

I know that Crayola is spelled wrong, but Sam didn't want to switch with Ella. We also went in birth order with Lilly being the trademark. It is a little hard to see her since she is in the stoller.

Maddie the Orange A

Emma the Pink L


Lilly the brown Trademark

Nolan the Green A, but we all thought he looked a little bit like a gnome




We got back and everyone was not ready for bed, so we let the kids run around for a little while and then it was off to bed. The rest of us talked for a little while and then were all more then happy to set our clocks back one hour and get that extra hour of sleep.

Sunday morning Lilly didn't like the whole daylight savings and thought that 6am would be a good time to get up. She wasn't alone, Nolan was up and the girls were shortly after.

A little cousin love in the pack n' play.


We all went to church at grandma and grandpa's church, since it was grandma and grandpa's 40th wedding annviersary.

Grandma and Grandpa 40 years later- this picture is courtesy of Maddie the photographer


After church the Pownell's and Chapman's headed home. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and just resting up. We watched a little of the Packer/Vikings game, we played some games and even went outside for a little while. The girls were a little wound up, but everyone went to bed pretty much without a fight.


Lilly just hanging out on Sunday night.


The girls are off school and I don't know who is more disappointed, them or me. Now that it is 6:15, I would say me. Let's just say that school does Maddie good. Chad is on his way home from the Dells (Teachers Conference). So tomorrow everyone will be home, maybe we will do something fun.

Hopefully they don't all decide that 6am would be a good time to wake up like this morning. Good thing everyone took a nap this afternoon.

Phew!!! What a weekend and I am glad that it is over. I am tired and now that the Holidays are coming, the weekends may all be like that.

Pumpkin Farm Take 3

Okay so this is our third trip to the pumpkin farm. This time we met some college friends and kids at Swan's pumpkin farm in Franksville. We were a little worried that it would just be too muddy to go, but we took the chance on Saturday afternoon. It WAS muddy,but all of us with our trusty boots, we did alright and didn't come away with too much of a mess. Nick and Ashley came with their son Eli and daughter Addie. Ryan and Kate came with their daughter Michaela, I didn't get any pics of her since she is just about a month old and spent the whole time in the snugglie. We had a great time and it turned out to be a okay day weather wise. The kids didn't want to leave, but we promised them we would get together again soon. So here is the pumpkin farm in pictures.

Emma riding the train- you can sort of see Eli sitting next to her.
There is Eli, he wasn't so sure about riding with Emma, but she did let him drive.

Maddie also took a ride on the train, but was too cool to sit by Emma and Eli.


Maddie and dad took a walk through the kiddie Corn Maze, she did a pretty good job and didn't get lost.Here she is at the end of it- what a big girl.

After the train riding, we fed a few goats and sheep. Emma actually held the food and let them eat out of her hand.

Maddie and Emma, the pirate and fair maiden.

Emma posing for Kate (who was taking the pictures)

Lilly spent most of the afternoon in the snugglie, but at least it was warm in there.

Maddie and Emma posing for Kate.

Emma really enjoying her cookies, she ate them both at the same time.

Maddie, Eli, and Emma measuring up.

Three Girls

Well you can't see Emma's face very well, but here she is on the train at the pumpkin farm. We met Kate, Ella, uncle Alan, and aunt Tracie there a couple of Sundays ago. Emma and I just went since Maddie had gotten to spend the night at Ben and Sam's the night before, it was her special time with mom. She had a blast with the girls.
Here is Lilly sitting by herself. She is getting pretty good at it herself. She is getting better at leaning one way and being able to pull herself back before she falls over. The other two girls haven't quite figured out to not be in her face and force her over. She is okay with falling over as long as there are toys within reach.



Here is Maddie's singing debut. Her 4K class sang before the 11am service on the 18th. She has been singing the songs in the kitchen and I was pretty sure she knew the words. They practiced in the room before hand, but when they got into church she just kind of went into shy mode. You can see that she does sing the song, but we always thought she would be that kid in the front belting out the words as loud as she could even if they weren't the right ones. After she was done I asked her why she didn't do the actions for the second song, she told me that the kids standing next to her were smushing her. What a character. The video is just a few seconds over a minute, so it isn't too long.

35 Years

So many of you know that Chad's dad is no longer at the South Wisconsin District. His contract was not renewed after President Willie was reelected this past June. Don't worry, he is doing fine. He is doing some consulting for the national group called CRM. CRM is based in California, but they get to stay in Germantown since he doesn't go into the "office", instead he goes to churches around the nation and helps them, so need for moving.

So last night we got to help celebrate his 35 years in the ministry. He started as a DCE, did some teaching in there, also some principaling, more DCEing, and then it was to the district for the last 8 years.

It was really neat to see the people (mostly principals), who he has helped with at their schools. Our Redeemer is one and so I know that the many things that he has taught the staff there will be taught to our daughters someday. All the kids, except Scott were there. The girls did stay home with grandma and grandpa (it was at the North Hills Country Club). We got to hear some amazing stories about Gary and all the great work he has done and that was only in here in Wisconsin. Chad spoke on behalf of all of us kids and managed to make it to about the last 2 minutes before he couldn't hold in his emotions anymore. He did a great job.

So here are a few pictures from last night.


Chad talking about his dad, he is trying to hold it in for as long as possible.
Grandma and Grandpa J
Grandpa J and his assistant Robin
Almost the whole family, well at least those over the age of 10.

Sickness

That's right, sickness season is here. We haven't had it as bad as others, but it has made it's round through the house. It started last week Monday when Chad came home right after school and went straight to bed. Both him and Maddie stayed home on Tuesday from school. Maddie was just very tired and had quite the snot coming out of her nose, so I thought it better for her to stay home. She had 4 kids gone from her class on Monday, so it is only a matter of time before they all share their germs. Wednesday was testing day for Chad, so he went to school for half a day and then was home early, also feeling much better.

So we were all doing pretty well for the next day or two, well at least until Thursday. I had a bad sinus cold and so I went to bed pretty early, Chad and Maddie had been up in Germantown for the evening and so I was sleeping by the time they got home. A few hours later we were awoken by Emma puking, she tried making it to the bathroom, but just didn't quite get there. She went back to bed for a few hours and then was up again getting sick. Maddie too, but we are pretty sure it was just reaction from Emma throwing up. So after getting everyone cleaned up, Maddie on the couch downstairs with a bucket, Chad on the futon upstairs, Emma and I in our bed (Emma had a bucket too), we were off to sleep for a few more hours. Lilly just slept through it all. Emma ended up missing grandparents day at school, she was so bummed, but we didn't want to spread those germs. So the rest of the weekend we took pretty easy. Chad had to work at Buy Costumes both Saturday and Sunday for baseball, so after Maddie sang at church on Sunday we headed up to Germantown to drop off Lilly so I could help in 3K on Monday.


Maddie and Lydia hung out on the couch on Sunday watching a movie. Doesn't Maddie just look like she is in a daze??Lilly just playing, trying not to get her sister's germs.


So we thought everyone was back up and running, the girls were doing great and Lilly picked up a little cough and so we were just watching her. Chad came home from school on Tuesday and again was right back to bed, he stayed home on Wednesday. Wednesday after Lilly got up from her nap, she had a fever and was having trouble catching her breath, so off the the doctor we went. We ended up with a double ear infection and the flu (no piggy flu), he just wants to make sure that there was no bronchitits either, she is doing much better with her being on antibiotics and actually being able to sleep without waking herself up with her coughing. So we have survived the last two weeks, the sickness seems to be gone for now and we are hoping that it stays away for the rest of winter.

So sickness we say stay away, we have done our time and want to be done with you.

Lilly

So today Lilly is 5months old. I don't know her stats, since we don't go to the doctor until next month. She is doing great, rolling both ways. Probably not as much as she would like, since most of her floor time comes after Maddie and Emma are in bed. She is "talking" a lot. She likes to hear the sound of her own voice and she also is starting laugh at being tickled, but also at her sisters in general. She also is able to scoot herself in a full circle and also backwards. We are figuring that by Christmas she should be crawling, just in time to get all those presents under the tree.

So here are some of those promised pictures of Lilly:

Here Lilly is practicing sitting- she likes to practice in the laundry basket while I fold clothes.

Taken a little by surprised.

Lilly is also starting to reach and grab at anything. Nothing is safe, especially her sisters' hair. She has got to fight back somehow, right??

Taking the first taste of cereal- she doesn't think it is too bad.

It is usually better when you can feed yourself though.

I Gotta Feeling

So one of my favorite new songs is "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. The line is "I gotta feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night." I didn't have a feeling, but have you ever had a day that was just an ordinary day and then it ended up being one of the best nights ever?? So yesterday (Saturday) I woke up tired, Lilly decided that she wanted to see what kind of night life we had between the hours of 12:30am and 2:30am, she as disappointed because there was none. So as tired as I may have been, I got up and started my day. Lilly, Emma, and I went to Wal-Mart for some staples for the Michigan State/Wisconsin game. Chad and Maddie went to uncle Kurt's football game and brought him back here for the game, uncle Ben came over and also my cousin Jared. While those boys watched the game, Joel, Ben, Sam, Emma, Maddie, grandpa, and I checked out Harvest Fair at State Fair Park. It wasn't bad, it was much better last year, but the kids still had fun.


When we got home, Lilly woke up a little bit and so I decided to get her back to sleep and was going to take a little nap with her. This was a little before 4. Chad and I were going to the Brewers game to sit in the Diamond Box behind the Phillies dugout, so I figured I could get a half hour nap in. So my uncle Kip called to let us know that they were down there and if we wanted to stop by them in the parking lot before going in we could. So we decided to get ready and get going. We made it down there about 4:30pm. We had a couple beers with them and then headed into the game. Eric and Jacquie were at the game to, so after playing where's waldo in the crowd of 40,000 we found them and had fun texting back and forth.

Can you see Eric and Jacquie??

After a two run walk-off by Braun we met everyone back at Kip and Susie's car.
After hanging there for a little while, we decided that it would be fun to visit uncle Ben at the AMF where he bartends. Jacquie wanted to bowl, so after some deliberation we decided to bowl a game, it was the original Heffelfingers vs. the In-Laws. We had so much fun and just laughed. Even though there was probably some sore muscles this morning from bowling, I think everyone just had a great time and it was just one of those nights that just happened. I always think that those can sometimes be the best kind. We were even home by midnight and so I got a good night's sleep.

Here is our Bowling Team:

Missing: Two weeks of our lives

Here is the missing two weeks in pictures:


We like to exercise. Actually Emma has mixed two of her favorite pastimes, getting her energy out and also playing dress-up. Emma is loving school and I think school is a good fit for her. We miss having Mrs. Willer as a teacher, but we know that she is learning all sorts of wonderful things.
We spent the night at grandma and grandpa J's while they were in Michigan with Maddie and dad. We hung out with aunt Lydia and uncle Josh. It was fun, we went to dinner, we laughed a lot, and Lilly and Emma had a little bonding time. Maddie and dad went to Michigan the weekend after Labor Day to help great grandpa Bickel celebrate his 60 years in the ministry. They went with grandma, grandpa, and uncle Kurt. I think Maddie enjoyed having a little adventure of her own. Since we were hanging out with aunt Lydia, we thought is would be fun to take her to the Zoo, so here is Emma and aunt Lydia posing as Emma's favorite animal.


We took in a Brewers game with Maddie and Emma on a Friday night. Dad and Maddie played a little gameboy while we were finishing up our dinner. Emma's favorite part of the evening was that she chose the Polish to win the Sausage race and he won. She was telling everyone that she picked the right guy. Maddie was so excited to go to the game, she doesn't get that they are out of the race, but she loves them anyways and it is just great to see her get all excited about it.


Of course we had our turn on the jumbotron, Maddie always says hi to the camera guy when we sit down and as soon as any music comes on, she is up and dancing. The Tuesday after this game I had MOPS and Mia's mom (Mia is in Maddie's class), told me that she saw us again up on the jumbotron (that is like the 3rd time she has seen us).

We are finally into a routine of school- usually Mon, Tues, and Wed are no problem with getting up, but once Thursday hits Maddie is wiped out. We have been keeping the weeks pretty low key, but the weekends always seem to be busy.

We have had two new babies born to some of our friends. Nick, Ashley, and big brother Eli welcomed Addie at the beginning of September. Ryan and Kate had their first baby Michaela last week. Just a couple more girls to add to the bunch.

Nolan also spent a week with us while Jana and Mike were in Hawaii. the girls loved chasing him as much as he loved chasing the girls. He did a great job with our carzy schedule and having to pick the girls up from school.

I know I have been slacking on my Lilly pictures, so I will try to get some of her this week.

Labor Day In Michigan

So we took the long weekend to head over to Michigan to do some visiting, but also to go to Chad's cousin's wedding. Jenny and Alan got married on Saturday, but since the girls and Chad had off on Friday we decided to head over on Thursday. Maddie made the drive with grandma and grandpa J and aunt Lydia right after school on Thursday. Emma, Lilly, and I picked Chad up from school and then we were on our way. We made pretty good time and pulled into Dimondale (grandma and grandpa Bickel's) about 10:30 eastern standard time. Everyone was still up including Maddie and so after a little visiting, it was off to bed.

Friday we got to visit with grandma and grandpa, Maddie and dad did some fishing, I made a trip to Meijers and then we took off for Wolverine Lake to spend the evening with the Heidens. We got to meet Aaron for the first time and the kids just had a great time playing together. Saturday morning Sarah was so nice to cut my hair and then we were off to Sterling Heights for the wedding. We all had fun and ended up dancing the night away.

Sunday we were back to Dimondale to celebrate Luke's 3rd Birthday. We had pizza, cake, presents, more fishing, whiffle ball, and again lots of laughs. We were planning on heading home on Sunday, but we were tired and the girls were having lots of fun, so we spent one more night. We got some cards in then it was off to bed.

Monday we got going and made a stop at Grand Mere State Park. Uncle Ben and aunt Christina came with us. We hiked the trail, went up and down some sand dunes and then played in Lake Michigan. We made it home in good time and it was nice to be back home, sleeping in my own bed. We have been back in the school swing and this weekend Maddie and Chad are heading back to Michigan with grandma and grandpa J. Nolan is coming on Friday and staying with us all next week while aunt Jana and uncle Mike go to Hawaii.

There are lots of pictures from the weekend, so enjoy.

First Day of School 2009-2010

Today was the first day of school for Maddie and Emma. They both could not wait for this day to get here, but I'm pretty sure that Emma has no idea what she is getting herself into. Lilly spent the night at grandma and grandpa J's since I was the helper in 3K. Without Lilly here, the morning went pretty smooth, now we will see how it goes tomorrow. We were off and there were no tears and it seemed like we could get there fast enough.






Both girls seemed to have a great day. I am hoping that Emma does okay on Wednesday when I don't stay as her helper. She seemed to not really be clingy, but you never know how it will go. Emma was so excited to tell everyone what she did today and to show everyone the craft she made. We went to McDonald's celebrate the first day of school. We went to go pick up Lilly and boy were the girls happy to see her. I think deep down Lilly missed them too. The girls were so excited that naps didn't happen, but on the way home from Germantown Maddie just couldn't keep her eyes open any more.


Not only was it the first day of school, but it was also grandma Heff's birthday. We celebrated with cupcakes after dinner that the girls picked out at Wal-Mart. I think they were enjoyed by all. Maddie is back to school tomorrow since she is going 5 days a week. That is going to be an adjustment for us also having to go to OR everyday. So we will see how the rest of the week goes. We are off to Michigan on Thursday for a wedding. The girls and Chad have off on Friday, so it will be nice to get an extra day in Michigan.

Last Week Of Summer

So we have started school, but you probably already read about that in the post above. So we spent the last week of summer enjoying all we could. We did make it to the Zoo on Wednesday and it was almost the most perfect day for the Zoo. It was nice and sunny- and not too crowded. So we did the normal circle at the zoo- saw everyone's favorite animal and then it was off for a train ride.





Thursday we spent a rainy day inside playing, coloring, and waiting for dad to get home from school. For being a rainy day, it actually went pretty quick.

Friday looked like it was going to be rainy, but ended up being a pretty nice day-that was until we were walking back to the car after the Brewers game and got poured on. So Friday we went to go get a Bumbo seat for Lilly that I found on Craigslist. We figured that since we were out in Menomonee Falls we would swing by grandma and grandpa J's house. Maddie decided she didn't want to stop at the house- so she spent about 20 minutes just sitting in the car. She finally decided that playing in the front yard was better then sitting in the car waiting. Grandpa Heff was with us- since he has Fridays off- and so we stopped for some lunch and then it was back home. Actually we did make a stop at a rummage sale, but I just got out. The girls were very disappointed, but I reassured them that there were no toys to even buy. Chad and I were off the the Brewers game that evening with Ben W. We had a good time and saw a good game. It was nice to actually see the game and not have to be running out to the concession stand for some cotten candy.


We got to see Prince hit a homerun, Coffey Time- he didn't beat his best, but was about 2 seconds more. As you can see from the picture they post his best time on his stats. We also got to see Hoffman pitch. The roof and panels were closed, so Hell's Bells were pretty loud.

Saturday morning, Chad was nice enough to let me sleep in a little. That was also because he was up at about 6:30am to have the BFL draft. Ben was also over for the draft. Maddie and I headed up to Germantown for a Mary Kay party- now Maddie didn't put any makeup on, but she did play Wii and football with uncle Kurt.

After the party was over, we headed over the district office to help grandpa J clean out his office. We all had a lot of laughs and had good times remembering lots of memories. We finished the afternoon off with an empty office and a couple of beers.



Maddie spent the time playing in the empty shelves.

After we got all the boxes back to Germantown, we headed back home. We decided to take a little walk down the Boulevard since there was a block party happening. The girls had fun listening to the music and then we saw Jan and Sharon out front, so we headed over by them so the girls could play with Lucy. We said goodbye to Alex for about the 4th time that week since she was heading off to college on Sunday. Yes, IT IS August, but Lilly needed a hat on. It only got up to about 63degrees on Saturday.


Sunday was the OR church and school picnic. Actually for church, g and g J, uncle Kurt, aunt Lydia, and aunt Kendra joined us at OR, so it was nice to have some of the family there. Grandpa was giving an award to OR school for NLSA. After church, Lilly was headed to Germantown for the night, since I had to be the helper at school. We headed to the picnic for just a short time, since we knew that Amy, Joel, Ben, and Sam would be coming back to the house after the Brewers game. We got home relaxed for just a little while and then when everyone got back to the game, we headed out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner to celebrate Grandma Heff's birthday, which is today. If you have a bigger group of younger kids, it is a great place to go, because it is once of those noisy places, so you can't even hear the noise your kids are making over everything else.

It was home to get ready for the first day of school.

Falling Behind

That's right, I am falling behind again. Good thing school starts in a week and we will have some schedule to work with. So when I last left you we had just gotten home from State Fair- I still laugh when I see the picture of Maddie and her scared face.

We had spent the next few days just hanging around the house and then on Thursday we packed up and were on our way to Iowa. We made a stop in Marshall WI- it is pretty much in half way between Watertown and Madison. So you may be wondering, Marshall, really?? Well let me tell you- the girls had a blast and didn't want to leave. They had no idea what town we were in, but we were at this place called Little Americka- they loved it. I have a feeling that wasn't the last time we go there. It had a roller coaster, jump houses, a ferris wheel, merry-go-round, bumper cars, go karts, putt putt, a monorail around the park, a train around the park, and all the kiddie carnival rides you can imagine. The girls loved it, even Emma- it took her one ride and she was hooked. The nice thing- you only pay for those people who are going on the rides, so like Lilly and I didn't pay, we just watched. You also pay for a "level" of rides, sorted out by height of person. So Emma wasn't able to go on a couple of the rides Maddie could, but she was also 2 dollars cheaper. I think Maddie is now hooked on roller coasters- there was a wooden roller coaster, and she went on it twice, but each time you got to go around 3 times. We spent about 2 1/2 hours there and when we left there were tears because they didn't want to leave.

Emma trying not to look like she actually likes the ride.


That is Emma's arm up and having fun- she just didn't want us to be right.


Waiting for the little kiddie coaster- look they actually like each other.


On the boats- I was surprised Maddie or Emma didn't try to jump in the water.


Taking flight- Emma is really concentrating on her pilot duties.


Emma and dad keeping that Zebra in line.


Maddie doing it all on her own- that is the way she likes to ride now.


Getting ready to go up on the Ferris Wheel- again Emma not so sure, but she was smiling in no time.

The Mad Mouse- looked a lot like the Whizzer at Great America


At the end of the big roller coaster


Going down the first big hill- Maddie even had her hand up, well almost


Getting ready to start the ride- I think this is the 2nd time on.


Lilly was pretty content to just hang out in her stroller and check everything out.


We got back in the car and were on our way to Iowa. We made pretty good time, even for a short trip I am always glad to be out of the car. We made it to Kirk and Jodi's, Leon met us there while Luke (he's a 5th grader) hid in the basement because he was afraid of our girls. The rest of the weekend was filled with seeing old friends, talking way past my bedtime (every night), going to the Kernels game with uncle Mike and cousin Nolan, going to the Children's Museum with aunt Jana and cousin Nolan, celebrating Trinity-Cedar Rapids 125th Anniversary, spending an extra night that led to way too many laughs to even begin to count. The girls loved playing with all their toys and by Friday morning Luke wasn't afraid of them any more. Hannah- who is the same age as uncle Kurt helped a ton and I know that the girls loved playing with her.


Front row seats at the Kernels game, right by the visiting team's on deck circle



Nolan I think was more entertained by our girls then by the game


Nolan and his godfather doing the grumpy face



Maddie and Nolan- she was more interested in Nolan then the game


Emma and her rally cap- they were playing the Wisconsin Timberrattlers, you needed a rally cap if you were a Kernels fan- 13-2 after 3 innings.


I figured this was just to hard to put into words, but it is just a great representation of what Maddie is.


The Timberrattlers are the Brewers single-A team


Chad tells me that this guy is going to be good- he hit one onto 8th Avenue over the left field wall in the 2nd inning.


The Janetzke kids and Jonasson kids: Lilly, Hannah, Luke, Joe, Emma, and Maddie.
Their mom, Jodi used to babysit for Chad and Kathy.


Monday morning came way to soon after we went to bed, but we had such a good time on Sunday night, it was a nice split second decision to stay the night. So we got our things together and started for the drive home. We stopped for lunch, but that was about it. We made it home and grandma was making an appetizer dinner and then we also had birthday cake, since it was my big 3-0 birthday and everything. The girls were just more excited that we were having cake on a random Monday. They helped with the candles and of course with the eating of the cake.


Finishing putting the candles on.


The final product


Uncle Kurt wearing the stupid helmet, but now I can't even remember why.


Chad started meetings on Tuesday and had them through Friday. We went and spent the night in Germantown on Tuesday because Emma had her Therapy Evaluation on Wednesday morning. We did manage a few hands of cards that night. So Emma had been diagnosed with Sensory Integration Disorder. She doesn't have as much trouble with the physical part of it- she can handle the itchy clothes or different textures of food, but she has more issues with the emotional aspect- like transitions from one thing to the next, needing to know where we are going and how many places we are going to go, she notices that things in a room have been changed around, she doesn't like interruption to her routine (bedtime, school, etc.), she needs warning if those routines are going to change. There are a couple of main physical ones too- that would be she does not like when a brush touches her hair and water that would be lukewarm to you and me is too hot for her. We are hoping to get some therapy in a couple times of month, but insurance is not real cooperative- and at other times we will have to adjust and make some changes in our reactions and also try to be proactive in certain situations.

Wednesday evening, Kate and Ella came to stay for two nights. Not too much Wednesday since they didn't get back until 6, but then Thursday we went to Stone Fire Pizza for their mommy and me breakfast. The girls had a blast playing on the jungle gym and also painting their faces. They even managed to eat a little breakfast while we were there.


Kate eating her cereal- she was a little disappointed that there wasn't any Cap'n Crunch- that is her favorite


Ella enjoying her coco krispies



Emma with her face drawing- this is after we had to scrub her hands since she colored them completely green


Maddie's face drawings- not as much as Emma, but she did manage to get her neck


Ella and her goatee- this was the first picture I never got her after she went back the second time.


Friday night Chad went to go get Kurt and they were off to the movie theater to see G.I. Joe- I told Chad I wouldn't go with him. So then Kurt spent the night, I think some video games were played- I was sleeping. Saturday morning I was off to a couple of rummage sales- I was planning on flying solo, but then miss Emma was up and wanted to go with me, so she went and of course found things she couldn't live without, i.e. dress up clothes, barbies, jewelry, etc. We were then off to Germantown again- this time to help rip up the backyard. They have been talking about clearing stuff in the back and so we started the job. By the time we got there around 11:30 they had cleared stuff around the big pine tree and between the rock wall. We helped with rebuilding the rock wall, clearing the big bush and all the things around there. The girls even helped, Maddie had on her work gloves and was all about dragging big branches over to the burn pile. We got a lot done, but there is still some more to do. The backyard will just seem so much bigger when there is room to run. We stayed around for some brats for dinner and then the whole day the girls were asking about s'mores, so I had run to the grocery store for those supplies and they had a blast roasting and eating their marshmallows.


Sunday we spent over at Jan and Sharon's having a little going away party for Alex- who leaves for college this coming weekend. It was nice to just sit outside and hang out in the beautiful weather. The girls just love going over there to be able to play with Lucy the dog.

Eric getting his practice in since he will be a dad in March


Chad started school yesterday and so we have been getting things ready for school to start for the girls next week. Maddie is so ready, Emma says she wants to go, but I don't think she completely gets it. Luckily I am the helper on Monday in her class and I think that that will make the transition a lot easier.

I think we are planning on heading to the Zoo tomorrow- we have been to the playground and are getting the last few days of fun stuff in before summer vacation is over.


Just a couple of pictures of Lilly from the playground today.

A new Do for School

Maddie and I went to go pick out a backpack for school today- while we were out I told her that she needed a haircut before school started, she decided that she wanted to get it cut today. Here is her new do- she looks like aunt Lydia who always sported the shorter hair when she was younger.

State Fair

Monday the girls and I ventured to State Fair while Chad was at school working. We went with auntie Susie, uncle Kip, and Jared. The girls were so excited to go- they just wanted to see all the animals. Of course the first barn we went into was the horses and it was a changeover day, so there were none in there. It was dog day so there was the dog show going on in the coliseum, so they both loved all the dogs just walking around and being able to pet them or just see them up close. We went over to Saz's to see cousin Alex at work. Maddie wanted to go on the big slide. She was just big enough to go on herself, so up the stairs with her potatoe sack she went (in the pic below she is almost at the top with the hot pink tank top on the right side)

Then down she went, she was good about half way down and then fell backwards and couldn't get up until she was all the way down at the bottom. I think that is what freaked her out the most.


So she got off, she was about white as a ghost- which is hard for her to do, since she is already pasty white, and she was shaking. She said it was fun, but also scary. She decided that a tatoo would make all the fear away. Her and Emma got a tatoo from one of the students at Hamilton- which is where auntie Susie works. Maddie got a Hello Kitty and Emma a Barbie.

So it was some walking through the exhibits and what not- a big pickle for Maddie who was disappointed that it didn't come on a stick and then some ice cream for Emma, Blue Moon of course. We saw pigs, sheep (Maddie will tell you about the one that looked like a referee), and then the Budweiser Clysdales. Emma loved that the horses had bows in their manes and tails.


Maddie got to ride a camel, Emma said she wanted to, but of course when she saw how big the camel actually was decided against it.


So Alex was getting off of work at 5pm, Lilly was getting some dinner and she met up with us. We sat and talked for a little while with her, Emma enjoyed some of her chocolate covered cookie dough, then Maddie decided she wanted to go on the big slide again, this time with Alex. So off we went over to the Big Slide again. Maddie made the trek up the stairs again, this time Alex carrying the sack, they got on at the top and off they went. She is still thinking it is okay in the picture below.



Here Maddie has changed her tune, she is not having fun, she made it all the way without crying, but has said that she will never go on it again. She is still singing that same tune today.


Emma wanted nothing to do with the slide and this is as close as she wanted to get- posing with the board cutout.


That was our adventure at the Fair. Thanks to Susie, Kip, and Jared for helping with the girls.

These are for Anne

Wisconsin Fish Fry

Being back in Wisconsin gives the opportunity to take advantage of having a Friday Night Fish Fry, but we have only been to a few in the year we have been back. Friday morning we headed up to Germantown to hang out and spend the night, but early evening (I'm talking grandma and grandpa dinner time) we headed over to Hartford to the Mineshaft for their famous $4.99 all you can eat fish fry. You might be thinking $4.99?? Really?? Can it really be that good?? Well the always packed place that seats many hundred, the 45 minute wait and the satisfied look of everyone leaving tells you that it is a good fish fry. We took g and g J, uncle Kurt, aunt Lydia and Kendra, then uncle Ben and Christina met us up there. It was good and we all went home full. Even uncle Kurt who said he didn't like fish fry, had a second helping of fish.

We headed back to the house, but made a quick stop at Cabela's- the big hunting/camping store. They have an aquarium with lots of fish- Maddie even saw a Northern Pike just like the one she caught at Bickel Camp. They also have quite teh collection of stuffed animals, deer, bears, porcupines, wolves, a polar bear, a lion, a rhino, even an elephant. It was pretty cool.

After our safari adventure we got home and even managed to get a few hands of cards in. We had some laughs and then headed to bed- I think Chad and Kurt played a game on NCAA Football or something.

Saturday morning everyone slept in since it was rainy and dark, we hung out for awhile and then after lunch we headed home. We came home and had some roasted corn and watermelon for dinner- it was yummy.

Sunday we decided that since it was so hot we were going to head out to Pewaukee to my aunt and uncles house- they live on Pewaukee Lake. They had the boats ready to go, the girls got some swimming in and then the dark clouds rolled in and in came the thunderstorms. They had fun even if they didn't get a chance to go out on the fast boat.