A fun Weekend

Hi All,
Our weekend started out with a Friday night visit & stayover from our 2 Grandkids, Kaylin and Shane.  Sean came down to go with Sarah & Matt to the new Harry Potter movie that started at 7:05PM. John picked the kiddos up from Sarah & Matts house after work and brought them home here around 6PM.  They had eaten supper at their house, so by the time they arrived here, they were ready for a snack to eat.  I got them some cheese and grapes.  And yes....Kaylin didn't forget, she asked to have some Jelly Bellys...ha,ha.  Time came for Kaylin & Shane to get ready for bed, so we got them changed into their PJ's and brushed teeth and then we watched Winnie the pooh.  Kaylin fell asleep first but little Shane was fighting it until he just couldn't stay awake any longer.  I just took him upsatirs and laid him down and he was asleep before I left their room.  Kaylin is at the end of a cold, but had some medicine to take if she had a coughing attack in the middle of the night.  She did around 2:30AM, so I got up and gave her some.  She must of drank it down in her sleep, because she doesn't even remember me giving it to her at all. Sean came home around 10PM so we talked awhile before we went to bed.  Kaylin & Shane knew that Uncle Sean was going to be there in the morning, so they were anticipating waking up on Sat Morning to see him.  When they awoke on Sat., they saw his car parked in the driveway and that was the first thiing they wanted to do is to wake up Uncle Sean.  I didn't think Sean would be in the best of moods, if I would have let them wake him up at the time they got up which was 5:30AM. Yes.....Kaylin was up first, but Shane would have slept longer if Bailey hadn't snuck into their room and jumped up onto Shane's bed and started licking him.  So both kids were up at 5:30AM and both kids were hungry for pancakes.  I then told them that I needed to make some coffee(I didn't pre-set the coffee maker to brew early) so after that was done, I started to fry bacon up.  Then we made pancakes with both kids stirring up the batter. After we ate we then washed up and got dressed for the day. John's headlight blew out in his truck a few days ago and he told the kids that they could help him fix it on Saturday.  So around 10AM John started working on that with a couple of helpers.  Lots of questions for Grandpa to answer too...Ha,Ha. I couldn't resist taking these pictures.  What great helpers!!!

After the truck's light was fixed we then put out the candy canes & spiral trees for our outdoor Christmas decoration's. Sorry...no pictures doing that.
We then went inside to warm up and have some lunch.  Grandpa made some grilled cheese sandwiches for all of us.  Shane fell asleep sitting in his chair so I took him upstairs for a nap.  Kaylin then came and sat on my lap as I and Sean were sitting at the table talking, all of a sudden Sean whispered "she's sleeping", so I laid her down on the loveseat in the livingroom.  Bailey already was talking a nap, so they shared the space.

Shane slept for 3 hours and we decided to wake him up or risk a little kid that will be staying up later tonight.  Sean woke him up so he could say good bye to him before he took off to go back home.  Kaylin had a good nap too about an hour and 1/2.  So both kiddos were rested up and ready for action. Kaylin, Shane and I went outside and rode bikes, ran around the house a few times, and John finished up the outside decorations and then figured out on how to plug everything in.  We then went inside to get warm and to prepare supper.  We had tunafish cassarole and boy were we hungry!!!  It couldn't get done fast enough.  All the running around outside in the fresh air makes a big appetite.  The kids were asking for snacks to eat, but we were trying to hold them off otherwise supper wouldn't get eaten.  Finally it was ready and we all sat down to eat.  Both kids ate real well and were looking forward to the promised ice cream cups for dessert.  Kaylin was the last one to finish her ice cream  she always wants to "savour" it to make it last longer.  She is so cute.  She just took little bites until it was finally gone. 
The next project we had to do was to decorate the Christmas tree in the livingroom.  The kids were all excited and wanted to take home a few of the "so pretty ornaments".  They had lots of fun and all the lower 1/2 of the tree is decorated.  I'm going to leave it that way, just to bring back the memory of them decorating it. 

The kids were starting to get tired then so we got PJ's on and settled down for the night.  John found a Tinkerbell movie on the Disney channel, so we watched that and both kids fell asleep watching it.  Both went up to bed and slept through the night.  Kaylin didn't even cough at all.  
I got up around 5:30AM and got the coffee going.  Kaylin promptly was up at 5:45AM and Shane followed at 6AM.  Bailey did not wake him, but he was up much earlier than usual. Maybe because he's not sleeping in his own bed at home.  Who knows????
It was a misty, foggy morning on Sunday but it was supposed to be a little warmer than Sat.  We ate breakfast of bagels with peanut butter and jelly and then got washed up and dressed for the day.  The kids went outside and rode their bikes.  The truck had to be moved so there was more room to ride in the driveway.   I then had to run to the store to pick up some things for supper, so the kids went inside and played toys with Grandpa. Matt & Sarah came around lunch time and then watched the great Packer game.  GO PACKERS!!!!  Shane was so tired so Sarah put him down for his nap.  My sister Dawn and nephew Andy came over to see Matt, Sarah & kids since they haven't seen them once last May when they visited.  We had a nice visit and got caught up on family stuff.  Dawn & Andy left around 4PM and then John grilled some hotdogs and hamburgers for supper.  I sat next to Sarah at supper and after we ate we were just relaxing and talking.  Sarah put my hand on her tummy and I felt the baby kicking.  What a wonderful feeling!!! I can't wait to meet him or her!  Seeing my daughter pregnant is such an unbelievable thrill and it amazes me that we've gotten to this point in our lives to be able to experience this together.  I know I'm sounding sappy,  and I don't want to say poor me, but I didn't have a lot of time with my Mom with my kids and I want to share as much of this time with her as I can.
John was fooling around with the camera while Shane was sitting on his lap...Here are a few pictures:

It got to be around 7PM and they packed up and left to go home.  We had a great weekend with the whole family.
Thanksgiving is this week, how fast has the year flown...
Hope to see you at both Thanksgiving gatherings! Safe travels to everyone that has to drive/fly.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Back From Snowy Up North

Hi All,
So...are we ready for some SNOW ??????  If not, oh well...too late it's up north and I predict next week we are going to see some of it down here.  We arrived up north this past Friday night at around 10:30.  For me it is a long and boring ride with it getting so dark early.  I slept for a hour and 1/2, so it went a little faster.  I'm not one of the lucky ones that can read in the car/truck, I get sick.
We pulled the trailer up with the lawn mower, our old gas grill to use up there instead of the charcoal grill and the power washer.  We are storing these things up north so we have more room in the garage down here.
We unpacked the truck and settled in and then after playing with Bailey to tire her out we went to bed.
Saturday morning we awoke to snow and got around 4 inches.  The temp was supposed to get up to 38 degrees, so it did melt some but alot of it stayed around.
Here are some pictures:
This one is Bailey not too sure what this white stuff was

Here are a few pictures that John took walking around the backyard and one picture of looking down the road.  The snow was real heavy.  Good for snow ball throwing and snowman making and no I was not in the
mood yet to make a snowman.  I guess I shouldn't complain, we've had a nice warm fall, so I guess it's time for it.

 

However, the wind picked up as the morning went by and sure enough, the power went out around 9:30.  I was going to make beef stew in the crock pot and hadn't started it yet.  I had up to 1PM to get it going in order to be able to have it done by supper time.  John then went out in the barn to re-arrange the boat, ATV's, snowmobiles in their right places to get to them easily.  I & Bailey shoveled off the deck , took the chairs down to the barn, took out my flowers from the barrel down by the end of the driveway and then went around to the fir trees in the yard and knocked off the heavy snow from the branches.  John has to get the rain gutters down also for the season until spring to put them back onto the house again.  The snow was coming down pretty good for most of the day.  I and Bailey got back into the house and by then the house was getting cold ( around 60 degrees).  We snuggled under the quilt from the back bedroom until John came back in to relax alittle.  We were deciding on what to do if the power didn't come on by late afternoon, we were going to come back home.  The power finally came on around 12:30, so I jumped up started getting the beef stew ingredients into the crock pot. John cut meat and I got the veggies ready and plugged it in.  It was still windy outside and we weren't too sure how long the electricity was going to stay on.  As the afternoon went by, the wind did calm down, so we lucked out.  The beef stew turned out really good.
Sunday, it was snowing again and before we left, it had snowed another 2 inches.  John got the rain gutters down and stored in the barn for the winter before we left.  We then left around 11:30 and arrived home around 3:45 this afternoon.
Another work week ahead of us, but looking forward to this next weekend we have the Grandkids overnight YEAH!!!!
Have a great week.

Happy Birthday Sarah

Hi all,
Before I tell you about Sarah's Birthday party, This past 2 weeks I and John have been struggling with a very bad cold.  I did finally go to the doctor this past Wednsday and found out that I have Bronchitis.  So I am on antibiotics for 10 days along with some cough suppressing pills to stop the hacking cough I have.  John still has to call his doctor yet to get checked out.  As of today (Sat. morning) I am feeling better and the cough is starting to subside.  Today I will be going grocery shopping and then John & I will be going Sarah birthday shopping. After that John is going to mow the lawn hopefully for the last time this year.  We will be taking the mower up north again to store it in the barn.  The big wind storm we had a week ago tipped over the wooden swing we have in the back yard which broke it, so John is going to cut it up with his chain saw and take that up north also to use for more firewood.  We also lost a part of our rain gutter on the West side of the house, so have to call someone to get that repaired soon. 
Sunday:  The kids & Grandkids are coming over today to celebrate Sarah's birthday so this morning it's a hurry up and get the last minute house straightening done.  Sean arrived at around 11:30 and Matt, Sarah & sleeping Grandkids came shortly after.  Kaylin & Shane had stayed over at Grandpa & Grandma Z's house since last Friday night.  Bud & Jane had a full house this weekend. Matt's sister Kate, her husband Ben and cousins Asher & River have been visitng from IL since last Wednesday.  So the kids were a little tired out with all the excitment.  We had a nice visit and because it was Sarah's birthday celebration, there were presents involved and when there are presents involved they need to be opened.  The kids were so excited to see what was wrapped up.  So before we ate supper, Sarah sat down and opened them up.  
Here is Kaylin helping her Mom with opening presents:

John and I gave her Menards & Jo Ann Fabrics gift cards & Sean gave her 3 pictures framed from the last pictures taken in Amsterdam by their good friend Erin.  They are just wonderful !  We then ate supper that Grandpa & Kaylin grilled for us.  Hotdogs, Italians, hamburgers & also grilled veggies. Potato salad, chips and fruit. Yum!   Then it was time for birthday cake.  Sarah wanted angelfood cake, so I tried to decorate it with store bought icing.  Kaylin helped by putting some Jelly Belly's on it and some pretty sprinkles added too. 

Here is Sarah blowing out the candles:

So then we all ate cake except for Kaylin, she wanted ice cream, so I had some of those small ice cream cups in the freezer for her.
Shane is really gettting into playing with trucks and cars.  Here are a few pictures of Grandpa, Kaylin & Shane playing with Sean's toy parking ramp he played with when he was little. 

Shane likes to line up all the cars in a row.  He's very particular where each one goes too.  If you pick one up and move it, he will take it and put it back to where he had it.  He's so funny!

Sean left around 6PM and Sarah & Matt & kids left around 7PM.  They were excited to see their pink & blue glow in the dark bracelets that I bought at the Halloween clearence.  We tried them out by going down in the basement and turning of the lights.  Pretty fun.

So that was our weekend, Kaylin & Shane are coming over to our house on November 19 & 20th to stay overnight.  Sarah & Matt have a wedding to go to.  Kaylin put in a request for Jelly Bellys so I can't forget, because she will not forget...ha,ha.
Monday:
John did call the doctor finally today and he has Bronchitis also.  He has to take antibiotics and take cough medicine to get better.   I just hope this is the last of the colds, but I have a funny feeling that we are not done yet...It's going to be a long Winter.....
Have a good week.

Happy Birthday Kaylin (Saturday) and Happy Halloween (Sunday)

Hi all,
This weekend our little Kaylin turned 4 years old!! How the years are flying by... She's getting to be such a big girl.  She's like a sponge, absorbing so much that it can throw you for a loop when she comes up with something out of the blue.  For instance she was telling us when we were up north that syrup comes from sugar trees (Sugar Maples). She catches on so quickly and doesn't miss anything. And she does not forget either !! Then there's the little girl that needs kisses and cuddling and snuggling & hugging, I could go on and on. Kids are so cute at this age.
Saturday was her actual birthday and birthday party, so we got to their house around 1:30PM and were met outside with lots of hugs and kisses.  Kaylin received a 2 wheel bike for her birthday from Matt & Sarah and we needed to bring the tire pump with us so she could ride it.  Shane's present to her were some real pretty brown shoes.  Kaylin just loves shoes.  She's going to need a separate closet just for her shoes!  So the tires got pumped up and then she took off riding down the street with Matt supervising.  Here are some pictures:

Then Grandpa & Grandma Zomboracz came then we all went inside to visit.  Sean, Matt's brother Bill, Lauren,Reese & Great Grandma Winters with Great Uncle Joe came shortly afterward. 

Uncle Sean had a surprise for Kaylin, so he asked her to come outside to his car.  Balloons!!!!!

Here is a picture of a little lion named Reese who's all decked out for Halloween:

Matt was making the ham and boy did that smell good!!  Kaylin opened her presents here are some pictures:
Opening some cards first from the Great Grandma's Clara & Rose

A computer, a fancy blue swirly skirt & personalized overnight bag from Grandpa & Grandma Z.

What's in this big box????

It is a present from Grandpa & Grandma W. It's a doll closet for Kaylin to put her 3 Barbies, several new clothes outfits, lots of shoes, purses, scarves etc.  She also got a pair of brown shoes with little flowers on them.

Kaylin also received a book of poems & a very cute dress from her Uncle Bill, Aunt Lauren & cousin Reese.
We then ate a wonderful meal and then we had some birthday cake/cupcakes.  Here are a few pic's:
Singing Happy Birthday to Kaylin:

Blowing out the candles:

A family picture:

On Sunday morning, Sean had a birthday surprise for Kaylin.  He took her to Build ~a ~ Bear at Mayfair mall.  She had a blast and got to pick out the color of bear and an outfit for it.  Sean asked her what she wants to name her bear.  She said "Bear" for now.  Here are a few pictures of their outing:

Then time came for trick ~ or ~ treat at 5:30PM.  Kaylin was a princess and Shane was Tigger.  Here are a few pictures of them:

Waiting to go Trick ~ or ~ Treating:

There they go.......

Too bad it was cold day, but they kept warm and got lots of candy....

I was going to come over to go along, but I have such a bad cold (John also) that I thought it would be better to try again next year.
Have a great rest of the week.

Long weekend up north

Hi all,
John & I went up north last Thursday night to meet up with Sean, Sarah, Kaylin & Shane for a long weekend.  Sarah has been looking forward to going "Up North" again for 2 years and we decided this was the weekend to go.  Sarah & the kids left around 1:30PM on Thursday afternoon and got up there around 5PM to get up there before it was dark and then she could get the kids to bed at a reasonable hour.  John and I got up there around 10:30PM.  We got unloaded and tried to do it quietly but Sarah heard us and came upstairs to talk.  We finally got to bed around midnight. On Friday morning, John, Shane & Kaylin took off the lawn mower & ATV from the trailer and then John proceeded to mow the lawn and mulch up the leaves.  Kaylin & Shane took turns mowing with Grandpa.  Here are a few pic's:



After they were done with that, we gathered up some wood from the wood pile and started a fire in the fire pit.  We roasted some marshmellows and made smore's..umm umm good!  Then we had taco's for supper and waited for Sean to come.  He had to work until 5PM.

Shane playing in the toy boat (notice the upside down sunglasses,ha,ha)

Here are the fix'ens for smores !!!  Yumm, Yumm !!!

Kaylin & Shane playing (and dancing) on the deck.

The kids playing on the ramp of the trailer.  Shane had no problem going up and down, but Kaylin wanted Grandpa to help her the first time.  after that she was a pro at it too!

On Saturday, John had a meeting for our homeowners association and after he came home we went down to the lake and tried to catch some fish....It was misting rain alittle, but we were hoping the fish didn't care.  After about a 1/2 hour of fishing and no bites, we decided to go back home.  The kids had fun though.

After lunch was over, Sarah put the kids down for naps and then Sean and I went to Wal-Mart to pickup some food for supper and some DVD's to watch with popcorn that night.  We ended up making a cheesy broccoli, cauliflower & vegetable soup.  It turned out really good.  John then made popcorn for us all and we watched, Alvin and the Chipmunks.  The kids fell asleep so Sarah put them downstairs into their beds.  We then watched the movie 2012, which I promtly fell asleep after the first 1/2 hour.  It was about 8:30 then.  Sean & John watched the whole movie.  Sarah fell asleep while taking the kids downstairs.

On Sunday it was raining AGAIN!   The kids were starting to bounce off the walls at about this time with not being able to go outside and play, so I though about how fun it would be to build a "Fort" downstairs in the rec room.  The kids thought that was a great idea, so we lugged all the kitchen chairs downstairs and found some sheets and built us a play fort.

The kids and I ate lunch in it and also "took our naps" in it.  We had a lot of fun....After the kids woke up from their naps, Grandpa took them outside to work in the barn.  They checked the boat & ATV's out.  Started the snowblower to make sure it ran good and put some more corn outside in the backyard for the deer. 
Here are a few pic's goofing around with the big fish pillow:

Unfortunatly, Sean had to leave to go home around 4PM and then we had some leftover soup and hotdogs for supper.

So now it's Monday and it finally stopped raining so we could get the truck and van packed up without getting wet.  Here is a picture of Kaylin wearing my bear slippers:

Both kids were excited about helping pack the van and really did lug alot of the items to the van.  What good helpers!!!  They also helped Grandpa load up the trailer with the lawnmower and snowblower to take back down south.  We ate lunch and left the cabin around 12:30.  Sarah followed us to Stevens Point where she took hwy 10 East to go to her house.  It was a fun weekend for the most part, until it started raining, but it was sure nice to be able to be with Sarah, Sean & the Grandkids but missed Matt not being there.  We were talking about how fun it's going to be next summer when we can go on the boat fishing.  The kids really seemed to like fishing I only wish they could of caught some.  Oh well next time.....
Have a great week.