Who is this???

To end yet another month...is it me or is this year FLYING by...anyways, let me test our followers...can you tell who this is??? Leave us a comment with your guess!

Cuttin' It Up

One of the most requested craft/art activities is cutting paper. Normally it has been "free" cutting. They have a blast doing it. So today I drew shapes on different colored paper and had them cut it out. They loved it and were so proud of themselves. We then mounted the cut out colored shapes onto black paper to show daddy once he got home. They did a really good job! Here they are hard at work...

Nana and Papa visit & the Fair

This weekend Nana and Papa came to visit. They got to town on Friday so we headed to the county fair for fun and food. The kids had a great time...it was so nice not having to drag a wagon (or two) with us...one of the pros to this age! The other pro...being able to push off bedtime if needed. At the gate we entered in, we were able to feed the goats as we made our way to find supper. We ate supper and enjoyed a treat from Nana and Papa of creme puffs, then it was off to see the sights. The kids tried out each and every tractor and enjoyed seeing all the animals. It was a good evening.
Saturday Nana and Papa were in charge so we could attend a party for Jeremy's work. I was suppose to go scrapping in the morning but due to a migraine I was stuck in bed. Nana, Papa and the kids had a great afternoon together. Sunday morning was spent playing with them prior to them heading home.
Thanks again to Nana and Papa fo rcomign to watch the kids. We enjoyed your visit!
Zach leading Papa to the gate...
Tractors, tractors and more tractors...

The kids checking out the baby chicks...

Found a old co-worker of mine who was showing some rabbits...she was nice enough to take one out for the kids to pet...it was for sale but have not been able to convince daddy yet that they would be a nice pet for the kids to have...lol...

Zach checking out the Pot Bellied Pigs...

Nana and Liz checking out one of the horses...

Daddy and Alex saying "hey" to a horse...

We love our Nana and Papa!

The kids posing with the monkey Nana and Papa bought at the fair...

Nana and the boys playin...

Nana tickling everyone...

Papa getting in on the fun!

Our little Michael Angelo's

Today was like Christmas or their birthday repeated. These guys have so many toys and activities to do that some were stored away by me after they got them. My goal was to get enough space on their shelves int he guest bedroom to put all the games and activities. I thing I should note is that the kids love to play with games not how they are suppose to be played with, so I was not real eager to put them all out for them to be able to get to. I finally got the shelf space and got them all organized and started to introduce them to the new items. One of the items was a finger painting set that you paint and then "print" the painting on paper...pretty neat. The kids loved it. The toughest part was not the potential for mess but the waiting for the kids. Here are the pictures from the "art project":
Can you tell the excitement???
Rolling the paper on to print the masterpiece...

Very excited to get started...waiting is tough...

Working on his masterpiece...

Clean up time...

The pool is OPEN!!!

Well we have our pool setup and ready to go. We we not able to get in it for some time due to lack of swimming gear needed for a deeper pool. The day after my surgery we got everyone dressed and in some sort of floatation device and they went swimming with daddy. It was probably not the best time to go in as the sun was going down, but it was the start to our swimming season. So go figure the pool is ready to go, the weather is gorgeous and I CAN'T get it in! I did find the appropriate floatation gear, so all systems are a go. Thanks to grandma we were able to take a dip a couple days after getting in for the first time. Liz is for sure a fish, Zach did not need much encouragement to be a fish ad Alex would prefer me in the water. Tonight we had an impromptu dinner gathering that included some swimming. This time auntie Jean got in the water with Liz, Zach and Lexi. Zach and Liz figured out how to jump off the ladder and were having a blast. I can't wait until I can get in with them!!!
Swimming with Grandma and Lexi...
Liz showing off her swimming skills...

Zach leaping into the pool...

and Liz too...

Liz playing with Auntie Jean...

Surgery for Mommy...

So for months I have been having pain. At my annual appointment I discussed it with my doctor. I thought it was possibly endometriosis and she said that the location of the pain is normally associated with the appendix. Unfortunately I needed to rule out other things before surgery could be done for the endo. After all other things did not work, surgery was scheduled. It would the first time I would be completely put out.
So yesterday I got the call about the time I needed to be at the hospital....6AM! I was ok about the surgery until last night when I tucked my babies in. There are the horror stories you hear about, so it gets you thinking. I bawled after tucking them in. Mom came over to be there for the kids whe they woke. I cried when I hugged her before leaving. Jeremy took me to the hospital and kept me company while waiting for my time. I was asked a bazillion times what suregery I was having...not a bad thing, but can be a little annoying. The doctor came in and said she would be doing her part second due to a c-section she had to do. Then the anesthesiologist came in, ask me a few things, then asked if I had any questions...I told him he needs to make sure I wake up. While he was still in the room the general surgeon (who has 12 year old twin daughters) came in. So the anesthesiologist says to him 'ah, you are being upstaged...they have triplets'...lol. Soon after they all left they OR nurse came to get me...again the tears started flowing as I left Jeremy.
I will give all them that did a great job of distracting me. Here is how it went
first nurse 'you have triplets?!?!'
me 'yes'
first nurse 'wow, boy, girls?'
me '2 boys and a girl'
second nurse 'you have triplets?!?!'
me 'yup'
second nurse 'wow, boys, girls?'
me 'two boys and a girl'
third nurse 'you have triplets!?!?'
me 'yup'
third nurse 'wow, boys, girls?'
me 'two boys and a girl'
first nurse 'we need to get you a sign...lol'
Surgery went great. During recovery they got me back to Jeremy as quick as they could. I was home before naptime. I came home to a great welcome. The results are no endometriosis and an appendix that was starting to show signs of inflammation. So hopefully once I heal completely I will be pain-free.
The wonderful sign the kids and my mom made for me...there was also some homemade cards...
Watching for the car to come down the road...

Patiently waiting for me to walk thru the door...

The kids checking out my hospital bracelets...

Some thing(s) up my sleeve...

Since it is our 10th anniversary I wanted it to be special. Unfortunately our plans of going back to Jamaica on our 10th could not happen. The first thing I had up my sleeve was planning a getaway for our anniversary. I started with some ideas which ended up taking us to Cedarburg (a whole 20 minutes from our house). I reserved a room at a B&B there. I did surprise Jeremy with it prior to going since it did require him to take a day off and I wanted his input for what we wanted to do with our 24 hours of kidless time. When we checked in the B&B and got to our room there was a bottle of wine and a card wishing us a happy anniversary. One of the things we did with our time was taking the winery tour. I am (or should say was) not a big fan of wine so I was a little concerned about how I would handle the wine tasting part of the tour. Low and behold...I LIKE wine! I was just tasting the ones I don't like. We also went thru the shops and ate at a great crepe place. Later we went to the local brewery , drank some good beer, then to a pizza place for homemade pizza. Funny thing is...we were in bed and sleeping by 10pm. The next morning we hit a few more shops after checking out, then stopped at the last covered bridge in Wisconsin and then headed home. Our 3 r's (reconnecting, romance and relaxing) did not end there. We knew the kids were going to nap at my parent's house, so we decided to take a motorcycle ride to get lunch. This little trip turned into going to an ice cream shop in Horicon. We pass it every time we make a trip to the other side of the state and say every time 'we need to stop there'. We beat some rain on the way home and headed to get our kiddos. Thanks to my parents for watching them so we could celebrate.

The other thing I had up my sleeve was in regards to Jeremy birthday present. He has worked so hard supporting this family that he deserves a little fun time too. So I contacted some of his friends that also brew beer and setup a "brew day". We also got him some beer kits to make either that day or before. I did end up making him a cake and making dinner for him. He was very happy and surprised that I did that. He really does deserve some guy time, so I was happy to do it. Happy Birthday honey!

I had a lot of fun figuring these surprises out and planning them. Looking forward to the next one!

Happy 10th Anniversary

This day ten years ago I married my best friend. That day was perfect even though it rained. I never got one drop on me. We celebrated our union with our families and friends. Of course, the day went way too fast. That day I was so completely in love, who knew that I would be even more in love today!
For those that do not know how this little thing started let me take you down memory lane. Jeremy and I both attended UW-Platteville. We were both in fraternities. The first time that we met was at a fraternity banquet. It was a quick meeting and one not completely remembered...lol. Then a few months later we met again...this time in the bar. If I remember it correctly I approached him and asked if he remembered me. Then there was a meeting at my fraternity. I will never forget the day that I got the call. I was out the night before and stayed at a friend's apartment close to downtown. I got home the next morning extremely hungover. Listened to the message on the machine. It was him!!! He left only a partial phone #. I listened to the message about 10 times to make sure I was not missing the number. I proceeded to jump around my apartment like a lunatic. He did eventually call back and asked me over for a movie at his room in the fraternity house. I was on cloud nine! We watched Fargo. This was April 20th, 1998. We were dating even though both of us had the attitude of 'I will never find anyone' or 'will I ever find someone that won't hurt me'.
Jeremy graduated from college in May. He got a job in Macomb, IL. We did the long distance dating thing...saw each other on the weekends and talked on the phone daily. I then decided to move to Macomb and transfer to Western Illinois University. So the first time Jeremy met my parents was to tell them I was moving to Illinois with him. My poor daddy...he did the best thing he could...he walked away from the table we were sitting at. Although we did not make many people happy with this decision, it did work out for the best.
On July 3, 1998 Jeremy proposed to me in front of both of our families. Again on cloud nine! I moved to Illinois a few days later. Although our dating last a short amount of time, our engagement lasted two years. It could be considered love at first sight, we just knew we were meant to be together. The rest is history!
To my hubby...I love you so much. You make me smile and laugh. You have a great sense of humor, which has come in hand many times. You are loving, caring and tender. You have supported me thru some of my toughest days. You love me for who I am and accept who I am. You listening to me, even my long winded stories. You respect me. You can finish my sentences. I love you more everyday! I could not have ask for a better person to have by my side thru this crazy ride we call life.
Love,
Jen :)

Happy Independence Day!!!

Happy 4th of July!!! This years' 4th has been much different then any other. The local events started yesterday. The plan was to head to the fireworks in Kewaskum. We decided to take the kids to the local custard shop for some supper. They had a blast. They got to pick out the table where we were going to sit, so they were feeling pretty darn cool. they did a good job eating and once were were done we headed towards Kewaskum. The show started as we were on our way so we got to see a lot on the way. We were not plannign on going to the park where they were lighted off, but were hoping to get a good spot on a side street or parking lot. As we got closer to them the kids were not thrilled about the loud noises, so we headed to my sister's house even though she was not there. Her driveway is blocked by trees so we started to drive up a hill by her house and found a perfect viewing...could still hear them and see them. They really enjoyed them. We also far enoguh away from all the traffic and were able to get out quickly to head home, esp since it was past our bedtime. The kids were saying oooohs and aaaahs and even boom. A good time was had by all.
Here is Zach and Daddy waiting for our number to be called... Today's plan was be at home in the morning and then a party in the afternoon. We did some work outside this morning. Unfortunately, Zach seem to get overheated, so we stopped and spent some time cooling off in the house. We got ready for the party but were keeping an eye on Zach. We hoped the kids would nap on the way. They did for a bit on the hour drive to the party. We got to the party and the energy Zach got form sleeping soon wore off. With concerns about heat exhaustion, we decided to leave the party only after an hour of being there. We got back home and did a little putzing around, ate supper, then headed up the hill to my Aunt Deb and Uncle Jim's (they were in town for the weekend) house in hopes of seeing West Bend's fireworks. The kids had fun playing up there waiting patiently for it to get dark. Grandma and Grandpa showed up. Then my Uncle Kevin and Aunt Sue. Soon enough it was dark and they started...not just West Bend's but a few other place were visible from the deck. The kids enjoyed them. All in all a great 4th!!!
Daddy and the kids goofing around prior to leaving for the party...

Grandma watching with the kids

Summertime = Sprinkler time

Since we still do not have the pool filled due to some minor issues, I decided to try the sprinkler this afternoon. These kids love playing in water, pretty sure they get that from me...just ask my mom...lol. I figured the sprinkler would be a hit. Well first Alex wanted nothing to do with it, wouldn't even come out of the house...lol. So I took the other two out...turned it on. They really did not know what to do, so I tried to explain what to do. Finally I just took them by the hand and ran thru it with them. Although it was not a big hit today, we will continue to try it. Here are a few pictures of the event...