What we've been up to lately

It sure has been a while since my last blog. We've been busy. I know, I know, that's no excuse, right?

Since Charlie and Louis turned one (almost two months ago), it seems they have really changed a lot. They are not walking yet(although they try hard, as sudsy Louis is doing here), but they have their first words besides "Momma" and "Dadda" which they rarely muster out discriminately. Charlie says "light" and "hi". Louis says "dog" and doesn't stop saying it. I believe Charlie also can say "dog", but just not the way Louis spits it out. They are both getting molars. Or at least when they're really crabby and we don't have a reason to blame it on, we just say "They must be getting a tooth". But really, they do have more teeth poking through. And they make use of those teeth by eating sand...and lots of it.

George has been busy saying funny things. Saying "I want this for my birthday" and "this for CHristmas". I have started a funny sayings book just for him. The book is downstairs and I don't want to go get it. BUt I do recall that as soon as we left our driveway for River Falls a few weeks ago he said "Mom, get there fast!". Bless his heart.

I figure I owe everyone an explanation of what we've been doing since the end of May. We went to Walleye weekend, the big hoopla in Fond du Lac. They had giant slides, face painting, all that stuff that is normally at fairs. Nothing spectacular if you ask us, but it was free and the kids enjoyed it. Here is George going down the slide and Matt and George on the train in Lakeside Park.

The week after that, we vistited River Falls because Matt was gone for work a lot in June, and I needed to change things up a bit. It was a while ago, but I recall having a picnic in the park with cousins Emma and Noah and Grandma and Aunt Michelle, and the rest is a blur. Here are George and Noah jumping on the swinging bridge. I also recall from this trip Charlie had a blow-out at the McDonald's in Abbotsford, and all the kids traveled like a dream come true.

The weekend after that, some friends of ours were married in Appleton. We had a special visit from Grandma and Grandpa Zimbric to watch the kids during the wedding, and also that night since we stayed over in Appleton. It was our first overnight without kids since George was born. We learned that we need to do that more often. The day after the wedding, we all went to Breakfast on the Farm. Louis and Charlie loved the baby goats, sheep, and cows and screamed at them. Every time they screamed, they all moved away. Sorry, no pictures from this event.

The weekend after that was 4th of July weekend. We packed this weekend full of fun. It started out Friday night with a trip to the emergency room for Charlie. He had a massive bulge in his area, which turns out is a right inguinal indirect reducing hernia. Not a major issue in the short term, but it can get pinched off which then makes it life-threatening. We had a consult with the surgeon today (finally!) and he will have surgery next week on Wednesday. It does not bother him. After getting back from the ER, we decided to stick with the plans of Daddy having a campout in the backyard with George, campfire included. Other than that, we went to the 4th of July parade in Oshkosh, a fun little waterpark in Oshkosh, a cookout with some friends, and fireworks of course. Our neighbors were kind and offered to babysit Charlie and Louis for the fireworks, so next year will have to be their first official 4th of July. I think on Sunday we recovered/wished we were dead after all that. Again, no pictures. We were too busy chasing babies.

The weekend after that was a big, big one too! It was Matt's birthday, my dad's birthday, and River Falls Days. We decided to visit River Falls for the hoopla and be a part of my dad's surprise birthday party! I'm guessing he had it all figured out, but didn't want to spoil the fun and pretended he didn't. So River Falls Days started out with the parade on Friday night. This was a huge event for us, because George rode in Grandpa's fire truck. Within seconds of the fire truck in motion leaving the firehall, George squealed with glee and screamed "THIS IS FUN MOM!" He repeated that two or three times after that. In fact, we were in the parade line-up 30 minutes before it started and he would not remove himself from the fire truck. He loved it. The parade was a big one, over two and a half hours long! The next morning, Matt ran the 10K and finished 3rd in his age group! A pretty good finish for it being his birthday. After that, George "competed" in the kids waterfight at the firehall. Again, he had a blast. The water was freezing cold, but it didn't matter to him! Saturday afternoon was Grandpa's birthday party. I do believe he is trying to hide in this picture. The rest of River Falls Days was the typical carnie rides and hitting a few fine establishments while my courageous nieces and nephew babysat my three kids. As a side note to this weekend, Charlie started a pattern of having another blowout at the same McDonald's in Abbotsford as he did last time. Grrrrrrr.

That brings us to this past weekend. It was our first camping trip with all three kids, and dog, to Kettle Morraine with some Waunakee friends. Despite the rain Friday night and Saturday morning, and Louis screaming and crying inconsolably in the middle of Friday night, I came home on Sunday feeling surprisingly relaxed. At least all three kids did not make a peep Saturday night, and the rain stopped early on Saturday mroning. Other than that, the weekend was full of gathering wood, eating, chasing down kids, campfire, and catching up with friends that we wished we lived closer too. It was a weekend for remembering what really is important in life. Here is a picture of some of us at the top of Parnell Tower at the park.

And that brings us up to date! This coming weekend is Waunafest, so there will be plenty of pictures and stories from that. You just might have to wait a while to see them =)