Pumpkins & Trick or Treating

Cleaning out pumpkin guts.

Nathan the expert carver and Lydia as advisor

Hans, Lydia, Joanna, Evan

Joanna came to visit us just before Halloween so she helped with pumpkin gutting and carving. Then on Halloween the pumpkins decorated out steps while we trick-or-treated with a bag of Jelly Bellies (Hans), a pumpkin (Lydia), and a smurf (Evan).

First Flight

On a sunny Saturday Nate, the kids, and Joanna found their way over to the hangar to check out some airplanes and play for a little bit. While they were there Nate's co-worker Al was getting ready to taking his plane out for a jaunt around the Oshkosh skies and he generously offered to take everyone up for a ride. Everyone was happy to take him up on his offer and the kids all enjoyed their first flight in a general aviation aircraft, Evan even got to sit in the front seat and control the plane while it was in the air. Enjoy the slideshow!

Monsters

The kids had some time off from school during October. One thing that we did during this time was make monsters. Each of the kids drew a picture of a monster they'd like to make. Then we went through my fabric stash and they found fabrics that would work for their designs. We cut them out, sewed them together, stuffed them, and, voila', we have three little monsters.

Monarch

While biking home from school one day on the bike trail that runs along the river we peddled past a patch of milkweed. Evan, being Mr. Bug-Man himself, spotted a monarch caterpillar and begged to take it home with us. We housed it in an empty aquarium until it wove its cocoon. After waiting what seemed an eternity, the butterfly emerged ready to take flight.  It was released in the backyard and flew off into the wild blue yonder. A little science lesson right at home.

Bay Beach

Since moving here over three years ago we have talked about taking the kids to Bay Beach Amusement Park up in Green Bay. Nathan remembers going with his grandparents years ago and I think it's something of a right of passage if you live in north east Wisconsin. Tickets are a quarter and most rides are one or two tickets so it's a very reasonable family outing. After exhausting the rides we had lunch and then explored the Bay Beach Nature Center which is nearby. We all had enough fun that I'm sure we'll go back again sometime.

These are the moments...

Evan reading aloud to Lydia & Hans. Children's laughter=one of the best sounds ever.

Labor Day Weekend

Feeding the chickens is a favorite Grandma's house activity.

Who doesn't love a fish fry? Mmm, mmm, good.

R&R around the campfire.

The kid table! Almost all the cousins.

A frog, just one of the many critters caught.

Another critter, a salamander.

This Labor Day weekend found us vacationing at my parents' house. I say vacationing because we set up camp in their camper and set up our kitchen around the fire ring. Much of our weekend was caught in pictures. One highlight that wasn't was a paddle Dad, Brian, Nathan, and I took up Horse Creek on Saturday morning. Dad and Brian teamed up in the canoe while Nathan and I each hit the water in our kayaks. We saw songbirds, a muskrat, an otter, a family of swans, and discovered paddies of wild rice. Add family, friends, and food for the remainder of our visit and it was just about perfect. Thank, Mom and Dad for a fabulous weekend.

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.