From backpacks to the Pack and everything in between

A view from the AT somewhere in Maine

Tim and Uncle Mike took a 10 day trip hiking the Appalachian Trail. While he was gone we....

Had a Classical Conversations 3-Day seminar in preparation for school this coming year. Gretta is to the far right, singing a song about countries. Then my phone ran out of power! The boys performed a song as well! They loved making new friends and learning new games. Today in the car I heard Sam ask Gretta if she wanted to play "Fruit basket upside" for quiet time. A CC game they wont forget, and one they haven't taught me yet, but apparently like to play.

We celebrated Phil's birthday on the 9th and mine on the 14th. For Phil's, we had a yummy dinner at mom and dads, and for mine, we went out to eat for lunch and dinner- woo hoo- thank you Lo & Jer and Mom & Dad...no cooking and clean up for a day! Tim asked what I wanted before I left, and I said just a call from him. We got to talk for a few minutes as he was on top of a mountain and had found reception-  another woo hoo!

And...our newest little nephew Jaxon Gerald Gremore was born on the 16th!

 Leila held him for a long time. She loves anything to do with babies!

Sammy did a great job holding his cousin too! They were all so excited!

Our ride back home, so glad to have Tim back (did I mention I love his new look??)

If you haven't been to the Book Worm Gardens in Sheboygan, it's one of a kind :) Over 60 story books represented by kid-friendly (yes, KID FRIENDLY!) little gardens of all kinds. Here is our group of friends taking over the moss-covered rock couch, representing a story book.

Cheese!

Leila walked behind this frame and posed like a natural :)

Phil and Danielle right before the Bellin 5K....looking ready!!

Sam, Gretta and I walked to Lambeau with them after we all polished off a heavy spaghetti dinner...oops, bad timing! We watched them run the last part of the race inside the stadium which was really cool- they did awesome!

The night before the race, Tim took the older three to a movie at the stadium. After some dark rain clouds along with lightning, the movie got rained out. We ended up renting the same movie and watching it at home. Late night for them, but they loved every minute.

Did I mention we live less than a mile from the stadium? Here is a sweet tradition of the players riding kids bikes after practice. See Clay?

So humble!

Bye for now!

This & That

We recently spent a week at "The Pine", a river flowage in Florence, WI. Tim took the boys up the first night to set up camp, then the girls and I came fashionably later the next day :) Grandma Lo and Grandpa Jer spent the first part of our trip with us.

Ice cream in Alpha...before this day, we always gave Leila licks of our cones, but this time, she took mine and said, "mine" (much resembling the seagulls on "Nemo") and would hardly let go! So I was the one to get a few licks from her cone.

I spy...

Here is our site. The weather was chilly at night...down to 40. By noon it was in the 60s. We swam, fished, cleaned the fish and ate the fish, read, took walks, and enjoyed each other's company.

This is taken at Kid's Day in Green Bay....the mayor began this tradition in 2003 where lots of businesses in the area are free to kids. Here we are at Leicht park. Sy was (a bit frantically) trying to grasp the slide as he came down, but he did it! And again...and again.... 

Well done, Sammy!

We spent some time at Bear Lake fishing; Gretta realed in 5 fish, and one put up quite a fight!

The kids stayed an extra day with GG, Gampy and Granny, & had a blast swimming, watching ET for the first time (on VHS, the kids wondered why they had to wait "so long" before the movie started!), and having s'mores in the microwave.

Sammy's last game was cancelled because of the clouds and lightning rolling in, but we had enough time to get a team shot with their trophies. 

Lou Lou getting ready to play in the sprinkler...

And here's Leila at GG and Gampy's. First she ran to the bowl, got in the bowl, and the bowl tipped backwards. Funny girl!

And finally...some photo booth pics from Chuck E Cheese. Until July.....

Endings and Beginnings

This is our latest addition; a 6x6 sand box. Tim built it in a day, and the kids have been in it each day since. Besides having sand grains in the tub and sink, I (and they!) are loving their new hobby :)

Sammy is a Yankee!! We play the Reds on Tuesday. They don't keep score, so both teams win!

So proud!

Is this how you hold a bat?

Posing for the camera at her last ballet class before summer. 

Future prima ballerinas...

Uncle Phil and Auntie Danielle brought home another Chinese outfit, so no more fighting over the red one, which has been repaired by Great Grandma more than a few times!!

We had some friends over last night, and the kids were playing 'relays' in the backyard. It was so fun to see Gretta have a blast trying to run so fast. The pic above is from Grandpa Jer's 60th birthday bash.

Sam fell out of his chair at breakfast time & he almost ran into the wall at church (thanks Gampy for pointing out the wall to him!!). Despite these regular "mishaps", Sammy rocks when it comes to sports. He is outside right now playing catch with Dad!

During one of their last swim lessons, the instructor asked Sy if he was ready to do his "bobs" underwater. He replied, "Quack". Over a meal the other day he was happily singing out loud "boom shaka lak" and we all cracked up. He certainly has a fun (and funny) sense of humor!

Here is our nephew Grey. Amber and Bri are expecting another little boy shortly!

Yum, this is too good to put down, or look up.

Daddy was gone one evening, so we made a twenty minute trip just to pay $1 for chocolate custard. MMMM!

Though vanilla is this guys favorite, he chose chocolate today!

GG with the clan at church. Sam and Gretta are sporting their Samson braids.

"This is a brain sucker..."- Leila joking around. J/K :)

Ahhhh....Spring!

I couldn't resist posting this one of Sam and his big grin (from March). These were some books he got for his birthday. Thanks Uncle Roj and Aunt Reena!

At GG and Gampy's for Easter; so excited no one could sit still! 

We had a yummy lunch on the grill and enjoyed a fire and great company (and a little bit of candy:).

We made a treasure hunt for the kids at Grandpa Jer and Grandma Lo's house. 

The kids did great finding their eggs, and got to choose some prizes from a treasure basket in the end.

Puzzles, stickers and candy, oh my!

Someone else picked these, but Leila didn't want to give them up. Stylin girl!

Lou loves anything she can accessorize with. These flip flops with pink bows were a huge hit.

Lickin the plate clean.

Can I have more please?!

Gretta spent a night in the hospital getting fluids after a bad case of the flu. 

The nurses were so nice, and Gretta even got to bring home that green pillow another child made.

A Movie-watching crew captivated by Madagascar (at least four out of five).

A bit out of order...Here are the boys at an easter egg hunt we went to which happened to have a fire truck parked in the lot. Smile :)

Gretta gave this to me just after I was wondering if the kids were retaining anything 

 I had been teaching them on the piano. The Lord's timing is perfect!

Here is Amy modeling Great Grandma's wedding dress (that Grandma made for her own wedding!) at a fund raising event earlier this month. So pretty!

Dancing the day away.

An evening at a fundraising event for an area Christian School proved to be probably one of our top five most unique dates, not to mention it was held at a former Packer player's home :)

Tri County Gym offers open gym where the kids can run around, jump on trampolines and try out the uneven bars. Afterwards, we're all tired out and enjoying lunch with friends! The boys look pretty out numbered here.

And finally...a family bike ride to the park with four littles, three water bottles, two burlees, and one very sad girl who wants to get off of the teeter-totter. 

"Just smile for the camera on three....one...two...." - Mom