Friday, September 9, 2011

fun with the fam!

every summer jen and her 4 kids come out to wi to spend a few weeks at my parents' house. so we pretty much move in as well and enjoy as much time with them as possible.







we usually make it over to valley fair. this year we happened to go on a day when the temps were in the triple digits. i would never do that again! we pretty much camped out at the waterpark for most of the day and eventually headed over to the rides around 4 or 5 pm.


everyone had bright red faces all day long, so we tried to stay as hydrated as possible. despite the heat i think everyone had a good time.











we decided to ride a pizza train that is located in scenic spooner, wi. let's just say that won't be an annual event. it went about 10 mph the entire time, it was hot, stinky and the pizza wasn't great. toby and micah were the smart ones, they brought along books. we'll chalk this one up to "you live and learn".









of course my sister and i had to squeeze in as much shopping as possible. we usually had a few "shopping buddies" along for the ride. but we managed to tire them out.....



elle got a fabulous new haircut!

we also had some birthdays to celebrate. ryan turned 2 and elle turned 7. joel took ryan to breakfast to start off his special day.

gotta have some balloons and streamers!



then we opened presents and decorated cupcakes at nonnie and gramps' house. so much fun! :)










we miss them all and can't wait to see what adventures next summer has in store!


Thursday, June 9, 2011

Lauren is 4!

we had a small pre-party for lauren with just the 4 of us. joel took her to breakfast at ihop (they gave her an ice cream sundae when the server found out it was her birthday. it's not everyday you get to eat ice cream for breakfast!) and then later on in the day we opened presents.

after the party guests arrived, we started the afternoon with crafts.

even though it was a little chilly outside, we bundled everyone up and headed outside to have some fun with bubbles.

lauren received so many wonderful gifts from her friends.

bring on the cake!

lauren and her party guests. i'm so thankful for all the sweet little ladies in her life. happy birthday, lauren!!