Cruz's Birthday Party...

We celebrated Cruz's 4th birthday at Todd & Missy's house. Cruz's birthday is September 11. Brett, Sam and Todd were also included in the birthday party. Opening up presents...

Ann, Dane, Hunter, Brett & Ethan....

The Birthday Crew.....Brett, Sam & Cruz...

The partiers....Grandma Lila, LaNita, Amy, Pat, Sondra & Ann...

Bill, Paul, Tara & Lenny....

Bradley....
It was a hot & sunny day for a pool party. Dylan & Sam were busy shooting water at the kids in the pool.....

The pool was full of happy swimmers....Hunter, Ethan, Evan, Carter, Paige & Autumn...

Hunter peeking out.....

Carter......2 points....

Ethan, Paige, Carter & Autumn....

Autumn & Paige....

Cruz going down the slide.....

Carter & Evan....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRUZ.....

Minnesota Zoo

We took a trip to the Minnesota Zoo today. A friend, Barb, and her two children, Ethan & Elizabeth joined us for the fun. It was a beautiful day to be at the zoo.
When we first arrived at the zoo, Carter was able to touch a great big snake....a boa constrictor. Carter and his friend, Ethan, with Bradley.....

Carter was taking lots of pictures.......

Here's the zoo group....Ethan, Carter, Elizabeth & Bradley. Bradley and Elizabeth are both two. Carter calls Elizabeth, "Lizzy" and Bradley calls Elizabeth, "Beth"..........

Bradley and Elizabeth in the Butterfly Garden....

Carter & Bradley in the Butterfly Garden....

The Grizzly Bears finally wake up.......the kids run up to see them.

The kids take a break from walking and spend some time digging up dinosaur bones in the big sand area.

Carter was camera happy today and took lots of pictures. He wanted to share all of them with you, but he picked some of his favorites......

A snake slithering around.....

This is a leopard shark....

Pink Flamingos....

Crystal Cave Adventure

The good news is.....I remembered our camera on our trip to Crystal Cave. The bad news is.....when I turned on the camera, the batteries were low. It didn't take long for the batteries to lose its' juice.

Sunday after church, we headed to Spring Valley to take the boys to Crystal Cave. This is one of Carter's favorite places to visit. We thought it would be fun for Bradley to see it this year, too.

It was a fun day as the boys toured the cave. Carter's favorite part to the cave is to see the bats hanging upside down. Well, this year, he got a bonus when visiting the cave as we had a bat flying around us during the tour. At one point, I had to duck my head or the bat would have ran right into me. I didn't enjoy this part as much as Carter and Bradley did!! They found it amusing to hear me scream.

Carter wanted to take some special pictures of the cave to put in our family blog. Here are the pictures that he was able to take before we lost all the battery juice.

On our way home, Grandpa Bill was at Paul & Tara's house helping Uncle Paul build a shed for some of his tools. We stopped in to visit and Paul invited us over to their new firepit to roast some marshmellows and make s'mores. They made a firepit with an old tire rim and were excited to try it out. We had supper with them and roasted some yummy s'mores. The boys had fun playing with Autumn, and of course, picking at the FIRE!! Thanks Paul & Tara!!

--I'm back to work this week and the boys are at daycare. Grandma LaNita is going to babysit our little Toby and let him play with Shadow. Chad thought he might get a little lonely in the laundry room all day. Wednesday night Carter has Open House at Arkansaw Elementary School where he gets to meet his teacher and see his classroom. He is starting to get a little nervous about school starting......please pray for a smooth transition for him as he learns a new bus route and gets acquainted at a new school. I have Open House at Pepin Thursday night and Tara is going to help out with the boys until I get home. I have a 4-day weekend coming up with all my boys!!

----Have a great week everyone!

Where did the week go??

Last week is a little bit of a blur as there was always something happening. On Friday, August 8, Chad had surgery at the Oakleaf Surgical Hospital to remove his gallbladder that had two large gallstones in. We are thankful to our sister-in-law (& cousin), Shana, that she was able to locate the gallstones in Chad via ultra-sound, as he was having pain and a couple of attacks with them. His surgery was quickly scheduled on the 8th and Chad returned home on the 9th. He took the week off to heal and recover and was doing very well. He left Sunday evening to go back out on the road...down to IL. He feels good and ready to go back to work, but I hope he listens to his body if it gets to be too much. Please pray for continual healing of his body.

Last Sunday, the 10th, our family headed to Independence after church to help Grandpa Ed with the thank you notes from Meme's funeral. Chad and Grandpa put the stamps on, while Dad and I wrote the addresses. My mom organized everything. Thanks, Shana, for preparing all of the cards as it went very smoothly having that part done.

Monday, the 11th, the youth fishing contest begins, but with Chad being laid up, he wasn't able to take Carter out. The boys and I headed for the Alma beach with some friends so Chad could get some rest.

Tuesday and Wednesday, the boys played with their friends at daycare while I worked on my thesis. Tuesday evening, Grandpa Bill & Auntie Missy took Carter fishing with them for the youth fishing contest. Carter was very excited to tell us that he caught two fish, Dylan caught 5, and Paige caught 8!! They had a great time fishing. Thanks Bill & Missy for taking Carter out. Carter loves his new fishing pole that the Klimee cousins gave him for his birthday.

Chad was feeling better by Thursday and we made a family day of taking the boat out on Lake Eau Galle to go fishing. It was an uneventful day of fishing, but a good time on the lake and at the park. A babysitter came that night so that Chad and I could go out to eat (without kids!!) for our anniversary. We ate at Red Lobster and were hoping to catch a movie, but we were both too tired after a long day on the boat. It was our 9th year anniversary.

Friday afternoon, the boys and I met some friends at Lake Eau Galle and they played in the water. Chad came later with the boat and we took the kids fishing. I think Carter was the only one to catch something. We were able to do some tubing as our friends had a boat that could pull a tube behind it. This was a lot of fun as I was the "supervisor" on the tube!

Saturday was the last day of the fishing contest that ended at noon, so we took the boys one more time that morning and Carter was the only one to catch something. The picnic and awards were held that afternoon in the park. Paige & Dylan joined us for some fun in the park.

Sunday was a day that had too much going on and I couldn't get to both. Todd & Missy hosted a Family Fun Day with family and friends from church. Chad and Carter joined in on the pool party fun. Bradley and I joined some friends to check out a beach over in Black River Falls. Our family loves the beaches in the summertime, so I didn't want to miss this opportunity to check it out. It was definitely worth the trip as it was a very nice beach. The water was crystal clear as it is a beach that is spring-fed. The sand was white and soft. We decided that this beach will be an annual fun day for us. I was bummed that I missed Todd & Missy's pool party, as I wish I could have been two places at once. Autumn also joined us at the beach as Paul & Tara went to register for their wedding.

Of course, I forgot my camera on our adventures from last week, so I won't be able to share any pictures. I have this week off and then I'm back to work as inservice starts on Monday the 25th. We are fitting in a last swimming day today at the pool as they close this week. This week will be curriculum work for me, school shopping for Carter and myself, and haircuts before school starts.

Have a great week everyone!

Grandma Meme

We will miss Grandma Meme, but she will forever be in our hearts!

"...good-bye for now, 'Meme'
It was time for us to part
But know that you're in our memories
And live forever in our hearts."

Carter's Birthday Sleepover...

Carter was very happy to end the day with Abby sleeping over after his birthday fun. Tara, Paul & Autumn also stopped over to wish Carter a Happy Birthday and give him a present. His fun continued all day long.
The kids wanted to make puppy dog eyes with Toby for the picture. Here is their best one....

Toby, Abby & Carter....

The kids had a good time together!

The fun continued for Carter on Tuesday as Paige also slept over. They had fun playing together and having a sleep over. Grandma Deb, Grandpa Ken & Abby picked up Carter Wednesday night to go and spend a couple of days with them. Sounds like Carter & Abby had a lot of fun at Grandma & Grandpa's house! Carter also had a sleepover with Autumn Friday night as Paul & Tara were at a rehearsal dinner for a wedding that Paul was in. It was an exciting week for Carter, Bradley & Toby!!

Carter's Birthday Party...

We had a fun time at Carter's birthday party at the Wakanda Waterpark in Menomonie. Our families were able to join us along with two of Carter's friends.
You would have thought that we lined these kids up by height, but this is just how they were standing. Starting from the far left is Olivia, Madisyn, Paige, Dylan & Carter..... Dylan coming out of the swimming pool...

Paige with her great big smile....

Bradley & Chad enjoyed some time in the shallow end together. Bradley's favorite part to the waterpark was the sand area...

Cruz having some fun...

Cousins Evan & Dylan...

Big cousins Austin & Andrew enjoying the peas that Grandma Deb brought. It is hard to get these two to take pictures...

The birthday party group....
Andrew, Austin, Bradley, Abby, Paige, Dylan, Olivia, Carter, Madisyn, Evan & Cruz.

Carter opening up presents. He liked the card that Olivia made him.

Carter really wanted a new fishing pole for his birthday. Cousin Abby bought him a nice, new red pole that he was very happy about.

Thanks everyone for joining Carter for his birthday party and all of the wonderful gifts. We had a great time spending the day with family!!