Audra Baptism, Vacation Week Up North & Sean's Birthday Party

Saturday:

Today Audra Claire is to be baptised at St Boniface Catholic church in Germantown. The mass starts at 4:30 and there were 2 baptisms to be performed today. The Godparents were Matt's cousin's Derek & Laura. Audra was a very good girl and actually smiled while the Father was performing the baptism. Little Shane fell asleep during the whole thing !  We left and went over to Sarah & Matt's for supper and present opening. Here are some pic's:

Sunday:

Today we drove up north. We (John, I & Bailey) left the house at 8AM and arrived at the cabin at 11:45 AM. We unpacked the truck and then had lunch. John then mowed the lawn and I went to Walmart to go grocery shopping. You would think on a Sunday afternoon there wouldn’t be a lot of people shopping and a lot of the tourists would have left the area. NOT! Most of the checkout lanes were open with people standing at them. Oh well, what are you going to do? I came home and unpacked the truck and John helped put away the groceries. While I was gone, he swept the deck with the leaf blower and brought out the patio table & chairs. We decided to try to put up another hummingbird feeder again this year. The last time we put one out, the bear tore it down and destroyed it. We will have to take it down when we go back down south. John wants to call someone to drop off firewood so we can have a campfire this week when the kids come up here. Haven’t heard from Sarah yet as to when they will be starting out. It will be either this afternoon or Monday morning. We ate supper at 5:30 and are starting to wind down for the night.

Monday:
John had called Sarah last night and found out that she & the kids will be coming up this morning, trying to start out at 8AM. She called at 8:30AM and said that she was on her way. John and I left to go to the hardware store to get a fogger, life preserver for Audra, I wanted to get a ice cube bucket for the freezer. I also wanted to get a couple of hanging flower baskets for the deck. We found what we needed and by the time we got back, Sarah was about a hour away. They arrived alittle after noon and I had already but the hotdogs on and macaroni and cheese ready for lunch. Everyone had lunch and Audra was fed too.  Then John pulled the ATV’s out and parked them in the backyard to make room to pull out the boat to get cleaned up and ready to launch. The kids helped John wipe down the seats and he got the motor tuned up. Here are some pic’s:



Shane wiping down the pontoon rail



Kaylin vacuming the pontoon carpet

Dewey stopped by and chatted for awhile and asked John to help him put up the new ATV signs on our new route later in the day. It turned out Dewey called and postponed until tomorrow morning. We ate supper and got ready to take a boat ride around the lake. It was a little windy and thought it might be a little chilly so we put long pants on and took coats and a blanket. We took off from the pier and got out onto the lake. It was about 6:30PM at that time and the kids were all excited to be able to drive the boat. John had promised them to let them do that. Here are some pic’s of each doing that. It was Audra’s first boat ride too! She seemed to like it and promptly fell asleep. Bailey looked a little “green” around the gills, not sure what her problem was, she normally likes boat rides. Here are some pic’s:

Bailey not looking too good





Shane driving the boat





Kaylin driving the boat



We got back around 8:30PM and then Sarah gave the kids showers and ready for bed. They went down stairs to read a few stories and fell asleep. John, Sarah and I sat up for a little bit talking and unwinding from the day. We watched Leno and then I promptly fell asleep. Tomorrow we are going to go back out on the boat and have a picnic, do some fishing. Not sure what we will do in the afternoon…maybe nothing, just enjoy the good weather so far. It is supposed to be in the high 70’s today.

Tuesday:

I got up at 5AM and had the coffeemaker on auto brew so it was ready for us to have our coffee fix. Shane came upstairs and immediately ran into the second bedroom to be with Sarah & Audra. Kaylin then came upstairs around 6:30AM. Then Sarah got up at 6:45AM and fed Audra. Papa got up at 7AM. Shane is still sleeping yet. Bailey just got up and 7:30AM. We are still waiting for Shane to wake up again. It looks like it’s going to be a great day today….The sun is shinning and it feels like it’s going to be a great day !!!

Kaylin & Shane playing with the bubble guns...

Once everyone was up and dressed and after we ate some lunch, John, Kaylin, Shane & I went down to the lake to go fishing. Sarah & Audra stayed back at the cabin. It is a pretty winding day and John wasn’t too sure about how long we were going to be staying out. There were white caps for waves. John drove the boat to one of his fishing spots and dropped both anchors out. The wind was so strong that they didn’t hold us, so John drove us over to a more secluded spot where the wind wouldn’t hit us so hard. We got the kids fishing rods ready and casted out. It didn’t take long for them to have to reel them in wind the wind blowing us around. I guess the fish were hiding too because no bites….John then took off for the northern part of the lake and halfway there both kids fell asleep. See pic’s below…We decided that fishing was done for the day, so John just putted around the lake trying to keep us in the sun. It was a little chilly too. I tried to get Shane to lay down on the couch in the back of the boat, but he woke up and didn’t want to lay down. As soon as he sat up again, he fell asleep. Oh well, we tried. Kaylin snuggled up with me and we just took a lazy ride back to the pier.



Some fishing first...no bites



Then some marshmallows for a snack



Shane couldn't stay awake any longer...
A hard day of fishing...



Kaylin fell asleep soon after.
They both had a nice nap.

We got back to the cabin at 3PM. Sarah told me that Bailey jumped on a chipmunk or squirrel, didn’t know which, but there was a squeal involved. Thank goodness she’s up to date on her rabies shots and had her flea, tick & heartworm dosage for the month and (the most important)….didn’t catch whatever it was !!! We just hung around the cabin then and the kids played for a while. We decided on what to have for supper and then made beef tenderloin steak, & grilled Zucchini, onions & asparagus…very good, John is a ready great cook on the grill !!! The kids took a bath and then headed off to bed. Sarah got Audra ready and she went to bed soon after. I was falling asleep on the couch reading before I switched chairs and got my second wind.

Wednesday:
I got up at 5PM with coffee already brewed…YEAH! Kaylin was up at 5:45AM, John at 6:30AM, Sarah & Audra at 7:00AM and Shane was last at 7:30AM. Bailey snuck in there around 7...Usually she is the last to get up. Papa made pancakes and both kids were there to supervise. Little ones are easier to eat…See Pic’s:

Kaylin has a little friend (Brook) that is up visiting her Grandpa & Grandma’s cabin also here in the Minocqua area. It supposed to rain today (just a chance) and it looks a little cloudy. The sun has peeked out though so we are hoping the rain will hold off. It’s supposed to be 66 degrees today as a high, so not swimming weather yet. Sarah called Brook’s mom and asked if they could meet up at Torpy park and have a picnic lunch and then the kids could play for awhile. So this morning they got ready and left around 11:30AM to meet them there. While they are gone, I cleaned the cabin a little and John was outside washing his ATV. He and Dewey are planning on going for a ride tomorrow while Sarah, kids and I are going to town for some shopping. The rain moved in around 2PM, just misting at first, so I decided to take Bailey for a walk down to the lake. When we got back up the hill to the road I decided to go for a longer walk. We got to the first bend in the road and it started to rain more steady so we turned back. By this time Sarah & kids arrived back at the cabin. The kids were wet from playing in the rain at the park, so Sarah gave them a bath to warm them up. It was around 3:30PM then. The rain kept up the rest of the night so we stayed in and decided to have a popcorn night after supper. So we made supper (chicken breasts & hamburgers & salad). The kids were very excited about having popcorn, so I got the stir crazy going, the butter melted and made some good popcorn(according to everyone). Bedtime came and then we settled in for the night.

Thursday:
I got up at 5AM, coffee was waiting for me and I continued to read my book The Sisters of the Quilt. It’s a trilogy about a 17 year old Amish girl (Hannah) that is raped on her walk home and is told by her parents and the elders of the Amish church that she has sinned. She is not believed by her family and the elders of the church that she was attacked. They think she got pregnant by the Mennonite boy she has been seeing behind her parents back. She eventually leaves and goes to live with an aunt of hers (her dad’s sister) in Ohio who was shunned by her Amish group because she listened to music and learned to play the piano. She wouldn’t repent so they kicked her out of the group. They story follows Hannah though her next 5 years of her life living in the Englisher’s world Studying to be a nurse and how she finally returns to her Amish group. But as a different person. They accept her back and she finds happiness with the Mennonite boy that she left behind when she left earlier. John & Dewey left for their ATV ride at 9:30AM. Sarah, kids and I left to go shopping around 11AM. We parked and went to the Mall first to buy some new Crocks for Kaylin, who wore out her toe in one of hers. She picked out some new purple ones. Surprisingly because her favorite color is pink ! Then we went to the popcorn store to try out some of their samples and also to pick up some more popcorn seasoning. Of course we had to buy some cheese & caramel popcorn too. We then went to the candy store and holy cow!!! Those kids didn’t know where to go first….fresh saltwater taffy, fudge & chocolate or wrapped hard candy. What a decision to make. We finally decided to get Bud a bag of the taffy for Father’s Day and we then each picked out a piece of chocolate candy and also some pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate with colored sprinkles on them…Hummmmm good !! We went to lunch at the Polecat restaurant. Kalyin & Shane had Macaroni & Cheese and Sarah and I had a bunless burger with cottage cheese and peaches. We then had our chocolate & pretzel sticks for dessert….YUM! Then we made our way back the van and then went to WalMart to go grocery shopping. We had a list that made it go so much faster. As we were just pulling up to be checked out, they started broadcasting over the PA system that there was a fire emergency and that everyone should leave by the closest exit. We didn’t hear any sirens or see any firemen running into the store, so we just stayed in the checkout line and they broadcasted another 2 times and then it stopped. So we don’t know what the heck that was all about, but we got checked out and left to go home. We got home around 4PM and John was not home yet. After we got things put away, Sarah had the kids sit down and paint 2 mugs that she bought for them to give to John for Father’s Day. They turned out real cute..See picture…

Papa's Father;s Day Gifts from Kaylin & Shane

John got home around 5:30PM and by that time we had made a supper of Italians, hotdogs, salad & macaroni & cheese. He and Dewey went to Mercer and went towards Saxon and back to Mercer. He says it was a real nice ride and they went 90 miles round trip. We had a nice night.


Friday:
We all got up within a hour of each other this morning and the adults had their coffee to get going. I got ready early so I could get my 2 letters mailed that I had wanted to mail yesterday. We didn’t find a mailbox on the street or by WalMart. Another problem was when I put one of my payment coupons into the envelope, the address didn’t show, so I had to open the letter and push it down further. I needed to stop at Walmart again to get some scotch tape to seal the envelope to send it. I stopped at Walmart and got a little side tracked as I found myself in the girls and boys dept. buying outfits for the kids along with my scotch tape..ha,ha. As I went to checkout, I picked a line that had no one in it and as I walked up to the shelf where you can write out your check, the cashier said to me” you have a twin in the Waukesha area. I have a girlfriend that lives near there and she could be your sister.” I looked at her face and OH MY GOSH!!!!! This woman was my best friend in high school and a few years afterward !!! Her name is Debbi La Prade (maiden name Simonis). I couldn’t believe it!!! This is such a coincidence…The last time I saw her was about 25 years ago. After that she moved to Texas and then on to Florida. She has since moved up to live with her parents up here in the Minocqua area. I’m not sure the whole story, we were not able to chat with other customers waiting in line to be checked out. I gave her my cell number and she is going to Face book me tonight. She asked me when we were leaving to go home and I told her tomorrow morning. So I’m sure we will be getting together soon to talk about what’s been happening in the last 25 years. I’m still in shock as to how we got together. I came home and then found out that some of the clothes I bought were too big for the kids, so I went back to Walmart to get smaller and hoping that Debbi would still be there to chat some more. I got there and returned the clothes and then I when to find Debbi. She was no where to be found. I went an got Shane & Audra’s new clothes and went back to checkout, still I could not see her. I asked my cashier if she knew a Debbi LaPrade and she didn’t, but she said she could be on lunch break or worked part time. I’m looking forward to getting together with her the next time we come up. I left Walmart, fixed my letter and mailed it and then went to Wildwood Zoo to meet John, Sarah & kids there. I parked and met them just as they got there too. We walked around the zoo and the kids got to feed a lot of the animals. Here are some pictures…

We got home around 3PM and then Sarah & kids started working on Matt’s Father’s Day present. Here are some pictures:

We started supper (fish, green beans, shrimp). Shane & John got the green beans ready for frying up with onion & garlic See picture…

Kaylin was resting for awhile

We ate supper and then roasted marshmallows for the last time for this trip. We asked the kids if they wanted to go on a boat ride or roast marshmallows. They picked marshmallows. So after getting their sugar high for the night, we came into the house because the mosquitoes were coming out. The kids took a bath and went to bed fairly easy.


Saturday:
I got up at 5AM and had my coffee, read some of my book and then John got up. Boy, he’s up early this morning ! Everyone else got up within the next hour. Grandpa & Kaylin made little pancake dippin sticks and pancake dots. This is a new way of making pancakes with Papa and easier to eat for the kids. All were eaten and then Sarah got the final packing done and out to the van. The kids were dressed and washed and they were out the door by 8:30AM. They had a good ride down, but the kids were awake for the most part all the way down. They made it home around 12:30PM. Sarah didn’t have to stop to feed Audra, she was a good girl and waited until they got home to eat again. John and I started packing up around 10AM. Went down to pull the boat out of the water and got it tucked into the barn for another time. We ate lunch and then left around 12:30PM and arrived down here at 4:30PM. For being away for a week the grass in the lawn wasn’t too long. We had supper and settled in for the night after unpacking the truck.


Sunday:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN !!! Our boy is 28 years old today and was born on Father’s Day 28 years ago. We are celebrating his birthday over at Sarah & Matt’s today. Bud & Jane Zomboracz, Chris & Holly heard were there also. Here are a few pic’s:

I-Tunes Gift Card

Superman T-Shirt



Racing Tickets for Road America at Elkhart Lake















Sean's Superman Birthday Cake-He wanted a ice cream cake from DQ

















Kaylin was practicing for the time she gets to ride in a convertible in a parade and throwing candy to the crowd….Shane as her driver…ha,ha….See pic’s...



Shane's was of getting out of the car...just hop out !

HAPPY FATHER’s DAY to JOHN and also to all the other fantastic Father’s out there !!!! Hope you have a great day being pampered….

We left their house around 6:30PM and arrived home close to 7PM. We let Bailey out and settled in for the night. Back to work on Monday and get back into the routine again. Looking forward to going up north again.

Hope everyone has a good week.

Up North For The Long Weekend

Hi all,
Happy Memorial Day to you all and as we remember the War Veteran's in our families we are enjoying the benefits of their service to our wonderful country.
Thursday:
I worked a 1/2 day and came home to pack for the trip up north. Sarah & kids came over to the house around 3:30PM so she could follow us up north.  John then came home at 5PM who then we helped to pack the trailer.  We then ate supper and left around 7PM.  Kaylin & Shane rode with Papa in his super big pickup truck (Shane's description of John's truck), and I rode with Sarah, Audra & Bailey in the van.  We stopped at a rest stop to feed Audra & the kids & I took Bailey for her walk to go potty.  We arrived up north at 11 PM. We got the kids to go to be real easy.  Actually, we all went to bed soon after. 
Friday:
We got up and then Papa made pancakes with Kaylin & Shane.  Sarah, Audra & I went grocery shopping at Walmart while John & kids unloaded the trailer.  When we got home, then John, Kaylin & Shane left to go get gas, worms and then had to stop off at the ATV club treasurer to get paperwork for John to update the website.  Then they stopped at Dewey's to chat awhile.  While they were gone, Sarah, Audra, I & Bailey went for a 45 min walk. We got home and soon after John & kids came home.  John & Dewey had decided to go on a ATV ride on the new ATV route that was approved by the Town of Minocqua.  It was around 4PM at this time so before John left he & Sarah started the grill for supper.  I was watching Audra so Sarah could grill the hamburgers & chicken drumsticks.  The kids roasted marshmallows on the fire outside and then made smore's.  The kids told me that they roasted marshmallows for Sarah too.  They were very proud and happy to do that for her. 

John got home around 6:30PM and ate his supper then.  The kids took a bath and when getting out of the tub, I saw a tick on Kaylin's ankle.  I tried pulling it off, but it had attached itself to her already.  So I put some finger nail polish remover on a cotton ball and held it over the tick for a while.  Kaylin in the meantime was a real trooper since this was her first tick experience.  I then took the cotton ball off and pulled the tick off. It had released itself enough that all of it came off.  It was given a flush funeral as all of the rest that showed up during the weekend.  Then John  found 3 ticks while sitting in the rocking chair and before the end of the night, he had a total of 5 ticks.  Kaylin didn't feel singled out then because Papa had tick on him too.  We got the kids ready for bed and had a movie night for the kids downstairs.  When we were at Walmart she bought the Sound of Music DVD so she got them settled downs stairs on the floor snuggled up on pillows and blankets and soon they were falling asleep so she put them in their beds.  She came up stairs to feed Audra and then checked herself for ticks.  She found one on her leg too, so I pulled it off of her.  She told me that she was so glad that I am her mother.  I loved hearing that !!
Saturday:
I got up at 5:30 AM then Sarah & Audra came upstairs at 6:30 and soon after Kaylin & Shane followed. John was last to get up..oh wait....Bailey was the last to get up...it was 7:30 !!!Ha,ha...It was raining outside so we were hoping to see the sun soon.  John, Sarah, Kaylin & Shane went to the Minocqua Fire Dept (Volunteer) pancake breakfast and I stayed home with Audra. When they came home the sun was starting to peak through.  They had a great time there and "Fireman Dave" was a hit.  He took them on a personal tour of the firetruck and the equipment they use. The kids were so excited to talk about it.

AT 1 PM the piers were to be put in down at the lake. So we walked down there and there was already a nice group of people to help out.  Dewey had his skid steer & tractor to help move the piers to the water.  The kids brought a picnic lunch and I took some chairs to sit on. 

We watched the men work-It was a nice sunny day and they got the piers in about 3 PM.  We then walked home.John, I, Kaylin & Shane went to Walmart to get our fishing licenses so we could go fishing with the kids after supper.  Sarah & Audra stayed home. The kids fell asleep in the truck on the way to Walmart.  We woke them up put they wanted to be carried to the store.  Meanwhile, Sarah started the grill so when we got back we could get the meat on and eat hot dogs, hamburgers & Italians.  We ate and then got ready to go down to the lake.  John still had to get the kids poles ready with lines & hooks.  As he was doing this we heard some thunder so we left right away.  John & kids took the truck, Sarah, Audra, I & Bailey walked down.  We could hear the thunder & see lightening up in the sky.  It was getting closer...Here is what was coming...

So John said 2 more casts while it was lightening & thundering louder and louder and closer and closer.  It was getting scary then....I knew that we all couldn't fit in the truck once the rain came, so I took off with Bailey back to the cabin.  I don't think I ever had gotten up the hill from the lake so fast as I and Bailey did but I just knew we'd better get home ASAP.  It was starting to rain a little harder and I & Bailey were just getting to the driveway, when the truck passed me and turned in to it.  I & Bailey ran up to the deck with everyone right behind me.  Just as we all got onto the deck it just down poured!  We made it and timed it perfectly.   Needless to say there were no fish caught today.

It rained for about a 1/2 hour and then it looked like the sun was going to come out.  Sarah got the kids to bed and Audra was not having a good night. Very fussy, she's drooling alot so maybe a tooth is moving and is painful.
Sunday:
This morning is a little bittersweet because Sarah & kids are leaving to go home to Matt and to get their garden ready for planting.  The kids still wanted to get some fishing in before they left too.  Everyone was up by 7AM.  Audra had slept most of the night YEAH! We had pancakes for breakfast and then washed up and got dressed.  Papa, Kaylin & Shane left for the lake to fish off the pier.  They returned around 10:30AM and as the kids got out of the truck, you could hear them yelling "we caught fish, we caught fish"!  They opened the patio door and burst in and said "we caught 3 fish (Kaylin-1 & Shane-2) they were this big".  And they spread their arms out as wide as they could.  Thank goodness John took the camera with him just in case so here are the pictures of their 1st fish.  I'm going to print out a picture of each and hang them on the "Wall of Fame" wall in our hallway.

Kaylin even held the fish











They then ate lunch and then packed up to leave :(   They left around 12:30PM with extra grilled cheese sandwiches and with Audra fed too.  Sarah was a little apprehensive on the 4 hour trip ahead of her with the 3 kids, but she called us when she was about 5 min from their house (around 5 PM) and said the drive went amazingly well and the kids were great.  When they left John & I went to the Little Rice ATV club's annual fun raiser down by the bar Willow Haven on the Willow Flowage. John needed to talk to Dennis and get the member list for the website John is creating for them.  It was a fun time and we got home around 4:30PM. We made supper and then took a walk down to the lake.  We met Skip there and chatted for a while.  We then came home and decided to get the ATV's gassed up and on the trailer for our ride on Monday.  All of a sudden, we heard this rumbling and it slowly started to rain and then hail.  We still had the ATV's outside (on the trailer).  John yelled to quick help guide him into the barn so they wouldn't get damaged.  That was a real quick backing up but we got them inside.  When that hail came down on the barn roof, it was so loud we couldn't hear each other talking!  It only lasted a few minutes but the ground was full of pea sized hail.  We got back into the cabin around 8:30PM and settled in for the night. Boy! it's quiet in here !!!(no kids).
Monday:

We got up at 6PM and got ready for our ride this morning. It had rain very hard around 4:30AM and according to the radar on TV there is more rain coming.  This is my first ride of the season and John's 2nd.  It will be good to get out on the trails again.  We left around 8:30AM and arrived at 9:15AM at the Oneida County Trail system off of Highway 17 near Rhinelander.  The trails were beautiful and we put 52 miles on round trip and with the rain earlier there were alot of puddles to go through.  Funny...It started out at 50 degrees and when we got back to the trucks it was near 80 degrees what a difference in 5 hours.

We left to go home at 4PM.  John grilled out Italian's & hamburgers and had yogurt for dessert.  We were very tired.

Tuesday:

Well today we have to go pack up and go home. Although soon we will be up here for a week with Sarah & Kids again.  Unfortunately, Matt will be staying home then to supervise the installation of their new windows in their house.  We left at 1PM and got home at 5PM. 

Good thing is that we have a short work week!

Hope everyone has a nice rest of the week.

Is Summer finally here Yes ? No?

Hi all,
I'm hoping with the nice weather we've had in the last few days will start a pattern to come.  Maybe....
This last Thursday May 19th was my 35 years work anniversary.  I've seen this company's name change 5 times from the time I started on April fools day, 1974.  It started out as Wisconsin Telephone Company, then Wisconsin Bell, then Ameritech, Then SBC and now hopefully the last name change, AT&T. I quit the company for 2 years to have Sarah and Sean and was hired back then.  Here is the present I received from the company that I picked from the award catalog.  It's a Howard Miller clock with a curio cabinet on the bottom.

Thursday was also Bailey's 4th birthday and no, no cake or presents, but I did wish her a happy birthday before I went to work that morning..  :)
This last Friday:
 I took a 1/2 day vacation and went with Sarah, Kaylin, Shane & Audra to the Zoo.  It was Shane's 3rd birthday and it was such a nice day.  I surprised him when I pulled up to their house.  He watched me pull into their driveway to turn around to park on the street.  He said to Sarah "Who's that lady that's waving to us? and who's that lady in our driveway?"...ha,ha.  He didn't recognize my car right away.  He was surprised ! and then he said we're going to the zoo..are you coming too?  He's such a little sweetie... He told Sarah that when he turns 3 years old he will then be a MAN..ha,ha.
So we left to go pick up Kaylin from school (she didn't know I was coming either).  We walked into her school and were waiting by her room when she turned around and saw us and a big smile appeared on her face.  Her teacher let them go then and she came running right to me and gave me a big hug.  We then left to go to the Zoo.  Once we got there, we found a parking spot and then walked up to the front entrance.  Boy there were alot of school groups there on their year end field trips.  The kids were asking why those kids were all dressed alike (i.e. all blue, red, yellow, orange shirts).  It was Audra's first visit to the Zoo, so we got a family picture taken.  Matt came about a hour later to surprise Shane for his birthday.  He found us by the monkey island.  He bought the kids some big pretzels which was a big hit.  We then walked around mostly outside because it was so nice.  After walking around most of the Zoo, we made our way back to the train ride.  Shane was looking forward to this all day.  We got the tickets and there was only 1 car left, so we got in and little Shane was in awe.  I held Audra who was awake and she seemed to be very interested as to what she was doing and listened to the train blowing it's whistle and the clickity clack of the train tracks.  Kaylin enjoyed the ride sitting on Sarah's lap.  We then left the Zoo and went back to Sarah & Matt's house.  I left right away, it was about 3:30PM so I could get home around the same time John would be getting home.
Saturday:
Sarah & Matt had asked us to come over with the truck and trailer to help them get dirt for their garden in the back yard.  Rain was predicted, so we weren't too sure if we were going to get it done.  We wanted to surprise Shane with his birthday present early because if we did get a chance to get dirt, his present would be just perfect for that. John & I and Sarah & Matt bought him a John Deere tractor with a scoop in the front and a trailer to pull behind.  Shane loves tractors and trailers, so we thought we would strap his tractor onto the trailer and pull up to the house.  When we got there Sarah had the kids outside waiting and Shane said "Papa has his tractor".   Sarah then said "No, I don't think that's Papa's tractor, but who's birthday is it?  I think it may be for you".  Shane started running around and jumping up and down.  John backed the trailer into the driveway and once he parked, Shane & Kaylin climbed right into the trailer.  Shane was so excited, he didn't know what to touch first.  It was just precious and a priceless moment.  Here are a few pictures:

So here he is Farmer Shane with his John Deere tractor....
Uncle Sean came down and was staying overnight.  He brought 2 gifts for Shane's and told him that he could open one today and then one on Sunday for his party.  Shane opened his first gift and it was a super big black pickup truck like Papa's.  He was very happy.  He's been asking for a black pickup truck to play with and we just couldn't find one in the stores. So Sean went to Target and bought a blue Dodge truck.  Sean's friend Chris offered to paint it black to look like John's truck.  Chris took the whole truck apart, sanded it down and painted it black and did a real good job.  We then left around 6PM to go home.

Sunday:

It's Shane's birthday party today...and what a beautiful day it was.  Sunny & warm.  On the way, we picked up Great-Grandma Clara (John's Mom) to bring her to the party. We arrived at Sarah & Matt's around 11:30 AM and Bill, Lauren & Reese were there already.  It was so nice to be able to sit outside to visit.

There was a nice breeze that kept it from getting too hot.  So once Jane and then Bud came (Bud was up north putting in piers at a friends house), we ate and then had cake and then opened more presents. 

Sarah made Shane a real cute firetruck, here's a picture:

Sean gave him 3 t-shirts with a pair of shorts, Bill, Lauren & Reese gave him a baseball glove and Bud & Jane gave him a firetruck & savings bond.  More cards and some more money to spend too.

Aftermath of the present opening....
The kids played in the sprinkler that Shane got for his birthday.

Playing the Princess game

Papa & Audra talking:

We had a good time and there was great food. We left around 3PM and then dropped John's mom off.  Now I'm listening to the hail, thunder and rain with the severe thunderstorms rolling through our area.  We got most of the day in with out the rain, so that's good.
Have a great week.

Last 2 week update and Happy Mother's Day

Hi all,


It’s been a few weeks since my last update so here are a few things that have been happening in my life.
On the weekend of April 30th:
Sarah, Kaylin, Shane & Audra came over to visit on Sat. Matt stayed home to do some yard work. Sarah, Audra & I went to our monthly girls luncheon to Louise’s off of Bluemound Road while Kaylin & Shane stayed home with Papa & Sean. Sean came down to visit too YEAH! While we were at our luncheon, John & Shane were mowing the lawn after borrowing Great Grandma’s lawnmower. We store our lawnmower up north during the winter and the last time we were up there (beginning of April) there was still snow on the ground and we just didn’t think that we would need it yet.
Kaylin was riding her bike and playing with Uncle Sean while waiting for Papa and Shane to finish up the lawn. Then they all started picking up all the nails and metal scraps that were discarded by the remodelers on the west side of the house in the mulch area.
Here's some pictures of the kids playing on the rock in our backyard that Sarah & Sean used to play on when they were the same ages:

Back to the luncheon. My sisters Dawn & Denna were there, nieces Stephanie, Elizabeth & Emily too. Emily & her husband Chris live in New Mexico and had driven up for Easter. They were leaving the next day (Sunday) to go back home. We had a nice visit and food was very good. Audra slept all the time we were there, such a good little girl!!

We got back home around 2:30 and then sat around and visited. The kids & Bailey were outside playing with the bubble guns, while we watched and laughed. John and I had to start to get ready at 4PM so we could leave to go to Sheboygan for the retirement party given for our friends Ron & Lynn Mihm. They are our neighbors that have a cabin right next to us up north. They both are retiring at the same time. Lucky them! So Sarah & kids left when we did, Sean stayed home with Bailey and then his friend Chris came over to watch movies while we were gone. Sean was originally going to watch Bailey for us while we stayed overnight in Sheboygan because it’s a hour and ½ drive one way. But we decided to not to stay over up in Sheboygan and save that money for gas to go up north this last weekend. So we got home around 11:30PM and found the boys downstairs with drinks in their hands and watching some shoot’em up movies that only appeal to 20 something year old guys. John went to bed and I stayed up trying to get interested in the movie,(not sure of the name) but I gave up and had enough of the swearing and shooting and explosions. So off to bed I went too.

The weekend of May 6th:
John and I went up north last weekend so we could bring our lawn mower back down and to check on the place. Everything was ok. No snow on the ground and it was a pretty nice weekend weather-wise. On Sat. John & Dewey went to the Little Rice ATV meeting and John was asked to set up a website for the Little Rice ATV club. So next time we are up there John & Dennis will meet and get that started. I & Bailey stayed home and putzed. I made a Mother’s day present for Sarah and I can’t wait to give it to her. I can’t tell you about it yet, because then she will know about it before I can give it to her. We weren’t able to get together for Mother’s day because we came home too late from up north and they had plans to go over to Matt’s parents in the afternoon. So we are going to celebrate on this coming Sat.. Also, this Sat. is Kaylin’s dance recital at Hamilton High School and I am so excited and can’t wait to see it! She’s going to be a mermaid in the sea.

Sean was down this weekend too, and for Mother’s Day he gave me 2 beautiful plants to plant. One is a Honeysuckle vine and the other is a Butterfly Bush. Thank you Sean! I love you!!!
I took some pictues of them:

How wonderful I can’t wait to smell them and see the butterflies !!!
Also my Amsterdam tulips are up and blooming !! I thought there was going to be more of a color variety, hummmm maybe by the the "Mixed Colors" printed on the bag...lol. But ended up with mostly pink & yellow. I guess those were the colors of the day to be packed.

I've planted some "Parrot" style tulips on the other side of the garage, but they are taking longer to grow. They are supposed to be mixed colors also, so we'll see what I end up with.  I will take pictures once they have bloomed.

So that’s it for now,

Hope everyone that is blessed to be a mother had a Happy Mother’s Day !!!!

Have a great week…