Feelin' So Fly

I finally took the time ( a whole 2 minutes) to add a new song to my play list. Toby Mac is my workout buddy, although he doesn't know this! For those of you who don't know who this is, he is a Christian rap artist that has been around for a long time. Anyways, when I am working out I usually have one of his albums playing on my ipod. When I am feeling really tired or need to get pumped up I listen to this particular song that you hear playing. It's one of my favorites!

Kinderberg Park

Today I went on a field trip with Casey's preschool class to Kinderberg Park in Germantown. This was on our list of parks to visit. It was fun but busy. I didn't expect to see so many kids their on a Wednesday morning.

We started our adventure by riding on a big yellow school bus! This was Casey's first time...very exciting. We sang "The Wheels on the Bus" (of course).

When we got there the water hadn't been turned on yet so we kept the kids busy with pictures and games. Here are the 9 kids that Casey has been going to school with this year. It was fun to get to know them.

Once the water was turned on it was a mad dash to have some fun. All of the kids from CCC were asked to keep their white shirts and scarves on. Good idea...however it made the kids extra chilly. Casey is the one in the bikini...just kidding, the red hat. Here Casey is by the playground. They had a lot to climb on and some pretty cool slides. Casey gave it a thumbs up!

*Side note: our camera has been sent in to get fixed so these pictures were taken on my phone...not bad hey???

Milwaukee Air Show

Oh my goodness! If you have never been to the Milwaukee airshow it is a must see! I heard about it on the news Thursday morning and put together a family outing to the lakefront to see it. Matt did some research and found out that if we sat at Bradford beach we would see the show perfectly. Let me just say...I think our seats were better than the seats that were paid for. Not to mention it was such a beautiful day that we enjoyed the water and sand as well as the free show.

Here are some pictures of the boys playing in the water. It was really cold but very clean. The airshow started at 11:00 and we got their around 9:30 with the hopes of beating some traffic and grabbing good seats (which we did). Unfortunately our camera ran out of batteries so I don't have anymore pictures to share than the beach shots. Hopefully Leah will email me some shots of the airshow and I'll post them later.
Although we had an amazing day, there was 20 minutes of craziness...we lost Casey. He had just asked me if he could take his shirt off and his bright yellow hat came off as well. About 2 minutes later Nick asked where Casey was...we couldn't find him. So we all split up trying to cover the beach area. In the 20 minutes that he was missing we had dozens of people (strangers) helping us. The walking lifeguards, the police, and those around us. The lifeguards and my mom found him on the opposite end of the beach. For those of you who have been to Bradford...that is a really long ways. We all prayed while looking for him and kept it together...God is good. It just goes to show, even when there are 5 adults, it is easy for your kid to go missing. There were thousands of people at the lakefront today...I am so glad he just wandered and was not taken. I learned a valuable lesson today...Casey does wander off and I need to watch him more closely.

Pewaukee Beach

Another park checked off the list! Friday we met some friends at the Pewaukee lakefront for some fun in the sun...ok it wasn't sunny at all, but it was still fun! Like Gretchen said, if summer won't come to us, we'll come to it.

You know the water is cold when Casey stays clear. Caleb on the other hand loved it! I really thought it was going to be the other way around. Just goes to show how your kids can surprise you everyday. I didn't even put his suit on because I thought for sure once his feet hit the water we would be going the other direction...not so!

Caleb also enjoyed his yogurt as you can see...

Casey kept busy playing in the sand with trucks and shovels. Conner and Nathan shared their toys so nicely with Casey. It was really fun to watch them play together. What a fun age!

Sussex Village Park

By far this is my favorite park yet! What a hidden gem. It is so hidden that my friend Jamie, who lives in Sussex, didn't even know it was there! So of course I had her and her sons Jack and Drew meet us there to check it out.

It has a HUGE play set, swings, a firetruck toddler area, a sandpit with a digger and much more. One of the best things about it is that we had it basically to ourselves! Jamie and I had such a nice time chatting while our boys were entertained with all of the awesome stuff this park had to offer. We were entertained for 2 1/2 hours.

Here is Jack and Casey climbing on the playground equipment

Caleb was trying to keep up with his brother (digging)

Casey and Drew (both need their nuks...teething)

Casey and Jack driving trucks on the road they made with the rake

The only bummer is that this park is probably the farthest on my list! Go figure. We'll have to go there when we want to play with the Poelzers!

Willowwood Park

After preschool today we went to Willowwood Park on Silver Spring in Menomonee falls to play and have a picnic. This is park number 3 out of 10 that I want to visit this summer (I better get moving on this). Casey gave it a thumbs up and so do I! They have a great playground, swings, a small sand pit, beautiful bathrooms, tons of picnic tables and shade as well as a large grassy area to run around and play.

Here are the boys eating lunch and watching other kids play

Casey really liked the slides. He wished he had two buddies to join him...maybe next time!

The climbing equipment here was unique and a lot of fun. Perfect for my little monkey.

Pike

Casey is in his very first swim class at the YMCA without daddy. This is a big deal because they have been taking lessons since Casey was 6 months old! In the fall Matt will start lessons with Caleb.

I took some pictures last night so you could see how well he is doing. The kids wear a bubble belt and swim with a noodle. His favorite part of class last night was playing basketball in the water. You can see this in the video clip below. I am so proud of my little PIKE!

Change Pointe camping 2009

Every year our Life group (Sunday school class) plans a camping trip in the summer. This year we went to High Cliff State Park on Lake Winnebago in Sherwood Wisconsin. It was a pretty park with nice trails. But I think we all agree that they could use some improvements in their bathrooms and beach area!

Friday night when we got there the weather wasn't the greatest...ok it stunk! It was cold and rainy. But, all 8 couples and their kids showed up and we had sloppy Joes and set up camp for the night. The kids sure didn't mind the weather...they had a blast getting soaked in the puddles.

Casey and Lilly had a blast playing tee ball that evening. Saturday was chilly, but no rain. The kids enjoyed riding bikes around and playing in the large grassy area across from our site. We spent some time down by the beach playing on the playground and throwing rocks into the water. Us adults played a few games of volleyball. Matt and I agree this was one of the highlights of the trip.

Casey and Matt climbed the tower 5 times while Caleb and I napped in the van.

Here are the boys on the merry-go-round. You can see the lake in the background...very pretty.

Here is the line up of strollers watching us play volleyball. They were very entertained.

Caleb and Calvin swinging away...how cute are they?

Jodi was nice enough to hold onto Caleb for me while I went to the bathroom..."mom! don't leave me with this crazy guy and his daughter!"

Casey rode his big wheel a ton this weekend. Every time a car would come he would ride over and park it in the grass. What a speed racer!

Here is Mel and Andy cooking us breakfast. They made homemade donuts, eggs, bacon, sausage, amongst other yummy stuff. What a treat!

Some of the kids took great naps on Saturday (not our of course). The rest of us hung out and ate junk food and played. Saturday night we enjoyed some fun fellowship by the fire after the kids went to sleep. We learned a new word or two and had a few good laughs.

Sunday was spent cleaning up and then playing by the beach. Of course it was the most beautiful day of the weekend! Oh well...despite the not so great weather, stinky port-a-potty's and lack of sleep, it was a great time filled with wonderful memories with friends.

Highlights

Last week we had a lot of fun. Here are some of the highlights!

We went to the Zoo a couple of times. Once with friends and once with family for Kids night. The boys never seem to get tired of it. Thank goodness for the ZOO Pass~

Here are Casey and Caleb enjoying snack time at the ZOO

Here we are by the monkeys, Caleb's favorite

The boys are watching the flamingos...my favorite this year. They are loud and fun to watch.

We went to a Brewer's game with some of our friends from church.
We parked off site and had a nice walk to the stadium.
Here are Matt and Casey with the
Brewer's stadium in the background.

Here is Casey with one of his best buds, Eli. They really enjoyed watching the game and sharing treats. Go Brewers!

Happy birthday baby boy!

Today is Caleb's first birthday! It is hard to believe that a year has flown by since Matt and I became the parents of two boys. What a blessing he has been. Here are some fun facts about Caleb:

• He loves to play with balls
• Right now he is learning how to drink from a cup
• Loves to stand up, sit down and stand back up (kind of like squats)
• Watermelon plays a close second to blueberries these days
• He has learned how to give zerberts (kisses that sound like farts)

To celebrate his big day we had some family over for a dump truck themed party. Here are some pictures of all the fun we had.

First we played pin the construction hat on the truck driver.
Casey's was the closest...he won a new truck (imagine that)

After lunch the kids took turns smacking the pinata with a bat!
Here's Riley giving the truck a good whack.

After cousin Cora broke the pinata open the kids had a great time filling their treat bags.
Casey was so excited to find lolly pops and starbursts.

Here's my little cone head waiting for his birthday cake!


I got a little crazy and made a couple of different cakes.
The one below was decorated by grandma Jill and Casey.

I had a lot of fun making the dump truck cake you see in the picture below.
Caleb looks real excited about it doesn't he?!

He ate his cake like a a real pro...that's my boy!

Last but not least...time to open the presents. Caleb got a few new toys, some bibs and cups, new nuks and some money and gift cards.

What a fun day! The Lord sure blessed us with a beautiful day
to celebrate such a beautiful little boy!

July 4th Celebration

Matt had Friday off of work so we decided to take the boys to the ZOO. The highlight of the trip was watching the seal and sea lion show. You can see from Casey's face how much he enjoyed it.The rest of the day was spent resting up for our big night. We had plans to drop Caleb off at grandma's for an over night while Matt and I spent some quality time with Casey at a party and parade. Caleb had been feeling under the weather all week (we thought it was just teething). We decided to go ahead with the plans and see what happens.

So we arrived at the Stanley's in Menomonee Falls for their annual July 4th celebration. They supply the meat and drinks and everyone brings a dish to pass. Before I could even get a bite of my yummy dinner my mom called and said that Caleb was burning up and hadn't stopped crying. We didn't want Casey to miss the fun of the parade and fireworks so we left him there while Matt dropped me off at home.

My mom and I took Caleb to Urgent Care to find out that he had a double ear infection...poor baby. Caleb and I spent the evening cuddled up while Casey and daddy had some fun of their own.

Here is Casey and Sara waiting for the parade to begin. Once it did...Casey was not on the curb anymore! I guess he wasn't a huge fan of being up close and personal to men on stilts!

Bright and early on Saturday morning my sister Leah and her daughter Hannah came over to watch Caleb so that Matt, Casey and I could participate in the Firecracker 4 (a 4 mile race in Hales Corners). Matt participated last summer when I was big and pregnant with Caleb. Some good friends of ours participate every year so it was fun to do this with them. This was my first race that I had run in and it was a lot of fun. The course went through subdivisions where people cheered us on and sprayed us with sprinklers. Casey enjoyed riding in the jog stroller as Matt pushed him.

After the race we headed back to Andy and Mel's house for some breakfast and fun. Below you can see Casey and his two friends Eli and Lilly taking a joy ride in the backyard. All of us parents agreed that this is what life will be like when they are 16 and riding around town together. Watch out world...here they come!


Matt's parents flew in on the 4th just in time for a barbeque and some relaxing around the fire pit. The kids were excited to see them and we are looking forward to a week of fun with Grandpa and Grandma!