Betty Brinn Children's Museum

Today we spent the morning at the Betty Brinn Children's Museum downtown Milwaukee with our play group.  Both Caleb and Joshua had a great time.  There were so many fun things to discover.  Some of our favorite activities included the train area, play area, infant area, and Tinkertoy exhibit.  Caleb scored his first hole in one and stomped on fish in a pond.  I have a feeling we may be spending a lot of time there in 2012! 

Morning with daddy

This morning the boys had "daddy time" while I was with my friends at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission wrapping gifts. They made their annual gingerbread train.

Three very different boys!

Not a day goes by that I don't think about how different each one of our boys are. It is amazing to me how God can create each one of us to be so unique.

Casey has grown into such a wonderful boy. He has a love for learning and creating. In just a few months of kindergarten Casey has learned how to read and count to numbers over 100. He really enjoys going to art, music and gym as well. At home Casey loves playing with his little brothers and building Legos and train layouts.

I would still call Casey my spirited child. When he finds something he enjoys he is very passionate about it. God is going to use Casey to do great things in his lifetime.

Then there is our sweet boy Caleb. I would have to say that Caleb has entered a very challenging stage. We call it the "testing threes".

Caleb enjoys being at home and doing his own thing. He enjoys playing with trains and balls. I think that he has adjusted well to being both a little and big brother.

Caleb is a sponge these days just like his big bro. He knows his colors, shapes and letters. Right now we are working on counting to 25. Art and the computer are things that he has started to show an interest in too.

We are looking forward to seeing Caleb learn and grow. He is such a loving person. I can't wait to see how his love for others changes the world.

Then there is our smiley Joshua. Joshua is a true "Joy". His little smile and giggle can brighten any one's day.

Joshua just turned 9 months old. He is a crawling, eating machine. He loves to play with his big brothers and their toys (more than his own). Taking walks outside is one of his favorite things to do. This is good since we walk Casey to and from school each day!

When I look at Joshua I see a little bit of Casey and Caleb in him. I would say he has some of Casey passion as well as a fun loving spirit like Caleb. I can't wait to see how he grows and changes over the years.

Tough Mudder

Matt and 11 other crazy men from our church life group participated in the Tough Mudder race in Indiana the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. With the most innovative courses, half a million inspiring participants, and more than $2 million dollars raised for the Wounded Warrior Project, Tough Mudder is the premier adventure challenge series in the world.

Way to go guys!

TRAINFEST 2011!

Trainfest at the Wisconsin Expo Center has become an annual event for our family. The boys love walking around and looking at all of the different train layouts. It is so fun to watch the excitement on their faces.

Commentator Casey telling us all about the trains

The boys love "ding-dings"

Caleb liked to get up close and personal with the trains.
Casey stood back so he could see the bigger picture.
Joshua's first of many Trainfest trips!

What's not to love about it?
Daddy and mommy took turns holding him most of the time!

Go Badgers!

Matt has wanted to take me to a Badger football game since we were dating in our college years. In fact, it is one of the things on our list of things to do in our 30's. I am happy to say we can check it off our list! We got four tickets from one of Matt's co-workers and so we invited our good friends Dave and Alyssa who are Madison Alumni.

We played Purdue, and quite honestly we beat the pants off of them. It was a good thing there were so many fun things going on (besides the actual game) because it was seriously the longest football game ever.

One of my favorite parts of the Badger game experience was the wave. If I can remember it went like this: normal wave, slow wave, fast wave, reverse wave, and then they split down the middle. The slow motion wave was the most fun to watch. I know my picture doesn't do it justice...but look at all that red!

My other favorite part of the game was the marching band! I was a bando myself so I can appreciate all of the hard work this band must do, they are amazing. I was excited to get my picture taken with a couple of the band members who came to serinade us with On Wisconsin (about 20 times).

The guy next to me is a total band geek!

Since we were beating the pants off of Purdue the seats were beginning to clear early in the 4th quarter. We were able to move down to some padded seats and cuddle up. We were waiting for the game to be over so we could see the band perform the famous 5th quarter!

Yay! The time had arrived and we moved way down front for the 5th quarter show.

The band was entertaining, but our friends were a hoot! Dave and Alyssa knew every word and dance move to all the songs. I think they belonged in the student section!

Matt and I tried to keep up with them. Here we are doing the chicken dance...I think.

What a funa and memorable experience. I'm so glad we were able to share it with such great friends.

Oh, and I have to give my sister a big thank you for taking the boys for us. I'm pretty sure they had as much fun at "The Reeds" house as we did on our date!

It was a very fun and unique experience. Matt had prepped me for the game and made sure that I wore a red badger shirt (my grey sweatshirt wouldn't do).

Halloween 2011

As the boys get older I think I enjoy Halloween more than I ever have. It is so much fun to see them get so excited about dressing up silly and getting treats!

The kids didn't have school on Halloween day so we invited grandma Karen and Auntie Leah and the girls over for a Halloween Party. We played some fun games and ate an orange lunch. Here are some snapshots from our time together.

I wore my pumpkin costume all day!

I love this picture of Joshua and Lucy checking each other out in their bee costumes

I could just eat this cutie pie up!

Dorthy (grandma Karen) and the boys

Hannah gettin' real serious about the pumpkin bowling

Ready for pin the stem on the pumpkin!

Not bad...

After our cousins left, it was time to grab a quick bite to eat and get ready to go trick-or-treating with some friends!

Casey and Caleb are ready to go. Joshie is ready to hand out candy with daddy.

Just warming up for the trick-or-treat marathon

The cutest little trick-or-treaters in Waukesha!