Happy Birthday Daddy

Now that our crazy scheduled has calmed down a tad, I can catch up to post some pics of the latest busy-ness. Jay always gets to share his birthday with goblins and ghosts as well as a long weekend thanks to teachers convention, so he didn't disappoint with his birthday time off! They took part in Kids Day at the Kohl center(and it was free!). He did call me at some point during the day, almost screaming into the phone, trying to tell me how much fun the three of them were having and what a bummer it was that I was at work. As you can see from the pics, they basically got a "backstage pass" to all that is Badger sports! I loved that as soon as Henry found out where they were headed he quickly ran upstairs to find himself a RED shirt and convinced Bryn to do the same.

Maybe just a tad bit more to grow before she fits into a basketball jersey.

Playing around with Mr. Richgels and enjoying their $1 hotdogs.

I SO wish I would have been there to see the "postgame interview" that they did with their friends Maya, Jocie and Eliot. The cheerleaders asked them questions about their favorite sports, what they were dressing up as for Halloween, and then it was broadcast throughout building. I am hoping they send up a copy of the interview so I can hear it for myself. Bryn told them she like football but is a fan of BOTH womens and mens sports (you go girl) and Henry made sure the cheerleaders were aware of his decision he was making between dressing as a ghost or a hippo (that's my boy).


Henry didn't need any coaxing to snuggle up next to Bucky but Bryn needed her daddy close by. Based on the pictures I can promise you that Jay enjoyed his day with H and B just as much (but probably more) as they did! Happy Birthday Jay!

Halloween party

We invited a few (well 6) of H and B's closest friends over for a Halloween lunch and get together with their moms Kristi and Courtney. Here they are patiently waiting for one of the two minivans to pull into our driveway.

The group shot on our front porch. We've got Sam the firefighter, Abbey who is Minnie Mouse firefighter. Lennon and Henry were both clowns, Aidyn was a very stylish ladybug, Bryn was a princess and Hadley was a bumblebee. Beckett, who didn't make this shot was a pumpkin.

Henry showing off his clown nose.

Hadley and baby Beckett.

Lunch was mini cheese pizzas that were supposed to resemble either ghosts or pumpkins(depending on the the cheese of course), scary mouth apples and jello jigglers cut out in halloween shapes by Henry and Bryn.

I really don't know what got into me since I am usually not the crafty mom of the bunch but somehow I got carried away. I swear it was the realization that next year my Mondays and Wednesdays will no longer be filled with all the fun and chaos they do now but will be pretty darn lonely. I think I have become so used to this schedule that I can't wrap my head around anything else, especially the thought that someone else will be spending "our days" with H and B, instead of me. Don't get me started.

Things were fairly calm as they were all serious with the art projects I had lined up.... bats made from egg cartons and colorful spiders with pipe cleaner legs.

Wondering where Bryn secured such a find for a princess dress? My mom just so happened to save the dress I wore as a flower girl for my Aunt Wendy and Uncle Russell's wedding back in the 1970's........ but seriously, isn't Shannon (pink dress) the absolute cutest thing ever?



After the bats and spiders were completed the party then moved as far away from the moms as possible and continued on in their bedroom. And when things got really crazy, this is where Miss Kristi found Henry on the bedroom floor.



Henry's shoes are made by the infamous Miss Anna, their babysitter, who gave them several pairs of her homemade creations. They are made of duct tape and couldn't be more perfect for a silly clown like Henry. Bryn wanted to know why all her friends just couldn't live with us in their bedroom. Hmmmmmm.

Hiking the Arb

It was a seriously perfect fall day last Sunday so we snuck in some fall hiking. Henry and Bryn are turning into mini naturalists lately. They are slightly obsessed with leaves and can easily tell apart red from white oak and wanted me to find them a sugar maple tree as soon as they spotted maple leaves on the ground. Once we got into the maple grove Henry was set on collecting sticks for his stick collection that he tends in our yard. Then he found the cool stump below....

Jay and his little hikers.

If you haven't had a kneecap....

.... you are missing out! Who knew the Piggly Wiggly in Suamico sells knee caps from Don's Bakery in Luxemburg. We now have learned the delivery schedule and plan to take advantage of fresh kneecaps whenever we head up to my parents. mmmmmmmm good

Sharing a kneecap and a laugh with Grandpa!

Harvest time

The last few weeks we have been picking and pulling all sorts of treats. Bryn was working up a sweat in our backyard garden trying to dig up all the carrots before our first real frost. Bryn NEVER gives up on anything and this includes carrots that are stuck in pretty solid dirt. She managed to get the majority of them dug up for me and was quite proud of her work and her dirty hands!


Then I stumbled across someone who was letting people come pick apples for FREE at his orchard right outside of Madison. It was a beautful day and we invited their friends Sam and Abbey and Miss Kristi to join us. Drama always follows us, and sure enough, as we were sitting back watching the kids run up and down the orchard hill the fun came to an abrupt stop. Henry wanted another apple and picked one off the ground that unfortunately had a hornet enjoying the fruit. Learned my lesson to have a bottle of benedryl in our car for these oh so common emergencies. Thankfully we didn't learn he was allergic so other than a puffy sore finger he was fine.

Their preschool class took a fieldtrip to a pumpkin farm and I took the morning off to chaperone. It was fun seeing their new friends and watching how silly a class of 4 year olds can be.

Getting lesson about gourds from the farmer.

Last but not least, we headed up to Green bay a couple weekends ago and helped Grandma pick the Seckel pear tree. The branches were loaded and easy for them to pick so our bags were full in no time.

Dance fever

Thanks to our friends Sara and Travis, the kids frequently have dance parties all to the music of their donated keyboard. They always seem to find the prerecorded Lawrence Welk-ish tunes or the beat box drum versions to get their groove on.

Poor Bryn, she tries so hard to be serious with her dancing partner and all she gets is twisted fingers....

Then it all ends in despair........

I have recently realized we are pretty behind on our blogging, so here is my attempt to catch us up, at least through the end of September.

We have an over flowing costume closet these days and for good reason, these kids (especially Henry) love to dress up. I'm sure you can guess what Henry is in his UPS outfit and cape right? If you guessed Batman you are correct. Bryn is a Bee princess busy at work sharpening pencils for some project.

Monroe Street Festival

We had perfect weather for this year's Monroe St. Festival. The street was full with hula hoops, a petting zoo, performing musicians, a bouncy castle and plenty of our neighbors, new and old. I think the kids tried everything there was to do and their favorite? Hula hooping on Monroe St.

It's always silly time with their friend Simon.

Jay was getting lessons in some sting/stick performing, with a watchful crowd.

Petting the adorable goats with Jonas.

OK, so I love hula hooping too. Jay bought me a new one(made by the lovely hula hoop guru) that we somehow managed to ride home on our bikes with.

Their new ride.

Grandpa surprised us one afternoon with a visit on his fancy scooter/motorcycle. That meant test driving of course for H and B.