First Day of School 2011-2012

First day of Kindergarten for Miss Lydia.

Second Grade here I come!

Headed to Third Grade!

Walking to the van through the road construction and fog.

On August 24th the kids headed to school for the year. I'm not sure where the time went but Lydia is a kindergartner this year. Here there is only all day kindergarten so she's a full time student. She was ready and eager to join her brothers at school. We had a wonderful summer of adventures and memory making but it was time for them to hit the books again.

Pool Pass

Hans about to splash down.

Evan taking the plunge.

Lydia's turn.

Nathan demonstrating a dive.

This summer we decided to purchase a pool pass for the community pool here in Oshkosh. The pool has lots of extras such as slides, a lazy river, sandbox, a zero depth area, basketball hoops, and a diving board. The plunge slide and diving board were the last things to be conquered this summer. Both boys went off the diving board and Hans even likes it. All three kids have discovered that they like the plunge slide and that they can swim even when the water is over their head. During the hottest stretches of summer we went often, even twice a day a few times. It was a hit and we're looking forward to swimming here again next summer.

Photo Shoot

Evan age 8, Hans age 7, and Lydia age 5 1/2

Summer 2011

This summer I tried my hand at taking the kids pictures. I took lots. Some of them were goofy, some were silly, some I messed up on, and some caught the kids just as I wish I could keep them forever, my sweet, happy, precious kids.

Summer

Butterfly House

Elated Evan

Laughing Lydia

Happy, Happy Hans

Look at all the monarchs

We've been up to Mosquito Hill several time for hiking, geocaching, snowshoeing, and even to learn about bees. This sunny summer day we went to explore the butterfly house. The screen tent was filled with flowers, trees, and thousands of locally caught butterflies. There were also several volunteers to answer questions and educate us about butterflies. With some patience and slow movents each of us had the chance to feel some real butterfly kisses.

Circus World

We found some wild animals.

Playing with the fun house mirrors

Tiny the elephant and his team.

Silly little doggies and a monkey riding shotgun.

Let's go to the circus! We decided to do one better and check out the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI. The kids and I had all earned free tickets through our library's summer reading program so we met up with my friends Bekah and Steph and there kids who had the same tickets for a day of circus fun. There were shows under the big top, elephants, dogs doing tricks, acrobats, a carousel to ride, real circus cars to check out, history to discover, and friends with which to enjoy it.

Eagle River Weekend @ Seven Mile Pinecrest Resort

Tubing behind the pontoon.

Nate and Lyd with the boys behind.

Tammy and Jacob relaxing on the boat.

Captain Michael.

Joanna's turn in the tube.

Tammy taking a gentle cruise.

The view of the cabins and some of our group from the boat.

Does anything say "Up North" like the call of a loon?

Happiness!

 

We caught lots of fish.

Lydia on the beach.

Jacob having some time in the sand.

We love kayaking.

How 'bout you?

Raft jumping is the best summer sport.

Cousins making memories.

EAA 2011

Tweet-Tweet

"Look we caught a grackle!" (w/ the neighbor boy)

bird retrieval

Evan and Grandpa Smith built a sparrow trap for Evan's 7th birthday. It lives in our yard during the summer and has caught many sparrows, a few squirrels, and even a chipmunk. One day the kids were delighted to have caught a grackle in it. When a bird is caught it is carefully removed and sometimes put in the small tent in the first picture. The kids "observe and study it" for awhile and then release it so "it doesn't get so scared it has a heart attack." Who says summer vacation isn't educational?

Hans turns 7

Birthday treat filled with berries and topped with ice cream.

Opening gifts and receiving birthday wishes via phone calls.

Excited for presents!

Later in the week we also had a gummy fish filled blue jello bucket.

On Hans' birthday he woke up at my parents as the kids had been there for a week of "kid vacation." Grandpa made made special breakfast before the kids and I hit the road for home. On the way we stopped at Uncle Michael, Aunt Tammy, and cousin Jacob's place for lunch and a visit. After playtime and presents we made it back to Oshkosh. Here we dined on grilled pizza and fruit topped ice cream cones at Hans' request. While spending the day traveling might not seem ideal Hans was happy to have been able to have breakfast, lunch, and supper all with different family members. That pretty much describes Hans: easy going and happy. Happy Birthday our dear boy, you make our lives happier and better. We love you so much.

4th of July Tubing

Lydia and Evan out in the tubes.

Next up Evan and Hans.

Nate and I took our turn.

Brian really, really tried to roll Nate and James as he pulled them around the lake.

Our last stop on our eleven day journey was my parents' house for a little Independence Day festivities. My younger brother Brian had brought his boat so we spent some time during the afternoon at a local lake tearing up the water. It was a great way to spend the final leg of our fabulous vacation.