Evan, Nathan, Lydia, and Hans all still happy after biking 12 miles.
Check out my new bike!
This year for my birthday Nathan bought me a new* bike. (*new to me, it was bought at a bike swap for about half price!) It's wonderful. Seriously, I never knew biking could be so great. What a difference a good, high quality bike makes. After a few brief rides around the neighborhood we decided to hit the trail. There are several bike trail heads within a 30 minute drive from here so we did some online research, chose a trail, packed up the bikes, and gave trail riding a shot. It was awesome! The first time out we biked 12 miles! We went six miles from one town to the next, geocached along the way, turned back, geocached some more, and made it 12 miles. It certainly didn't hurt that it was a spectacular fall afternoon. We enjoyed it so much we went out again a few weeks later. I see more trail rides in our future, unfortunately I think they won't be until next spring.
During ABC premiere week these three fabulous ladies joined me for an evening of appetizers and laughter. We had planned to meet at Kari's house but due to some vehicle issues I wasn't going to be able to make it. Bekah tracked me down at school to let me know that since I couldn't make the party they'd bring the party to me. It was an awesome surprise. We all enjoyed the evening and should really do it again soon!
Something I've always wanted to have is a piano. We had a not-so-impressive keyboard when we lived in SD that didn't make the move. This summer we started watching craigslist and after a few months of keeping our eyes peeled we found this spinet piano for $100. After using the mini van like a truck and with some heavy lifting help from some two hulky high school boys we now have a piano in our dining room. It could use a tune up and has some preexisting dings but it plays well and is perfect for us. I've really enjoyed plunking away on it as I refresh my rusty piano skills. It's fun to play with the kids around and have them recognize the songs I play. Hopefully piano lessons will become a reality for them in the future.
Time flies! I know it's been almost two months since I've added pictures and updated the blog. What can I say? We've been busy. For six of the last seven weekends we've had plans that involved some kind of event or trip out of town or both. I'll try to get caught up with things here since there is a lot to share.
This video clip is from Quarry Quest which is a fundraiser for children's charities/open house for the quarry in Neenah. The boys attnded with Nathan last year and had a great time. Lydia was eager to join the fun this year. It was a great fall family day.
One Saturday in August we found our way to Kohler Andrae State Park on the shores of Lake Michigan for a day at the beach. We picnicked, swam, rode waves on tubes, explored the nature center, played in the sand, walked on the boardwalk through the marsh, found a geocache, & made the most of a wonderful summer day.
Left around the table: Melanie w/Cole, Ellen. Paula, Laura, Kris, Annie, Jenny, Stephanie, Stephanie, Joanna w/Ginny, Amy w/ Lucy
After dropping the kids off with each of their capable teachers a group of Martin Luther Moms headed to a local restaurant for breakfast. We all had a great start to our day.
Back on August 25th all four students in our family headed back to school.
Nathan headed to class before I got out the camera. His classes are only part time this year. Currently he's only in class two hours a day so he's continuing to work full time as a mechanic for a small company here in Oshkosh.
Evan headed to second grade this fall. I was a little worried since he'd said, "School ruins summer vacation." just a few days before school started. Despite this he continues to impress his teacher with his work ethic, to quote her, "Even if he doesn't like it he buckles down and works hard."
Hans is happily in first grade. I say happily because he nearly always is. His teacher even remarked that he smiles all the time in class and he's such a joy to have.
Lydia is only in school three morning a week but don't let that fool you, she's a big girl. All the doubts she had about preschool last year have been replaced with confidence. She eagerly heads to school ready for anything the teacher brings.
I hope all of the rest of the students out there have had just as wonderful of a start to the school year.
ps: Often I let the kids take silly pictures after their good pictures but I never actually do anything with the silly ones. Here I decided to let a little personality shine through.
Our last stop in Rapid was Dinosaur Park. We spent about ten minutes there on our way out of town letting the kids climb before we strapped them in the van for the trip back east. This was one of our favorite places to bring visitors, it offers a great view of town with the flat lands to the east and then the beautiful Hills to the west. Our last look until our next visit. What a wonderful vacation! Thank you to all of our SD family who made it such a joy.
On the last day of vacation it was time to say thank you. With the exception of the two nights camping, we'd spent our vacation at the home of our dear friends the Frees. We'd been spoiled with breakfast bakes, coffee cakes, parties hosted in our honor, nightly chats with Pastor and Mary, a guest room for us and another for the kids, laundry service, beer and wine, meal after meal of homemade goodness, and even more memories made. This was a huge part of what made our vacation so very wonderful. Thank you Free family. We're savoring the memories until our next visit.
Our kids with "Grandpa & Grandma Free" and "Uncle Jason."
Day five brought more fun. We started the day at Reptile Gardens. This place is impressive for any visitor but for kids who love animals, especially the creep type, it's amazing. We used to get the annual pass (which costs the same as a one day pass) and visited often. If anything being a few years older made this stop even better because the kids understand even more about the animals.
Next we headed for Story Book Island for lunch. This too was a popular place for me to take the kids on sunny summer days. We met up with our friend Paula and her six kiddos. It took about two seconds for the kids to make fast friends and enjoy playing together. It was good to catch up with what's new in each others lives.
Later this afternoon we visited one of the teachers Nate taught with, Pat. Pat was suffering from cancer and nearing the end so we wanted to see her while we could. She was weak but at peace.
Our next stop was Armadillo's for ice cream. This place is a RC tradition. Every local knows Armadillo's. We took Mary and Jason along with us for a mid afternoon cool down.
Then we headed back to Reptile Garden because the kids wanted to see a few more things. We had the chance to visit with Maddy, a former student, who works there and catch up with what's new with her and her family.
Our final stop of the night was the Busches' house. Here I brought the camera in but didn't take a single picture. We were too busy enjoying each other. The kids (all 8 of them) entertained each other upstairs, down stairs, outside, and in the pool. The grown-ups laughed, shared, and caught up. I got to see the work of two former art students. Our goddaughter is growing up so quickly. The night moved too swiftly and we stayed out way past the kids bedtime. Thank you Busch family, for the wonderful evening together. We look forward to the next time we can spend time together.
few months of keeping our eyes peeled we found this spinet piano for $100. After using the mini van like a truck and with some heavy lifting help from some two hulky high school boys we now have a piano in our dining room. It could use a tune up and has some preexisting dings but it plays well and is perfect for us. I've really enjoyed plunking away on it as I refresh my rusty piano skills. It's fun to play with the kids around and have them recognize the songs I play. Hopefully piano lessons will become a reality for them in the future.
Back on August 25th all four students in our family headed back to school. 
Despite this he continues to impress his teacher with his work ethic, to quote her, "Even if he doesn't like it he buckles down and works hard."
