To Grandmother's House We Go

On our second day in Wisconsin we drove up north to visit my grandparents on my Mom's side of the family.  It's safe to say that this is my hubby's favorite place to go in Wisconsin.  It think it reminds him of his home in Canada.  The Red River flows right across the street, and Jim went fishing in it any chance he got!  We also have a bonfire every night, play card games, hang out, play outside, and eat yummy food together.  Not to mention, the scenery and fresh air up there can't be beat!  Here are a few pictures from our first day "up nort" as they say.

Grandma and Grandpa's house

Brady became quite the little fisherman as well

Haylee was pretty good at catching fish too

Cute Haylee

Tralee swimming in the Red River

I'm not sure why, but I really like this picture of Haylee

Going up river to fish

Tralee is quite the model, always posing for pictures.  I LOVE it!

This is my favorite picture of Tralee from the trip.

Grandpa relaxing in his chair

There's always good food available at Grandma's.  Hunter made sure to eat as much of it as he could!

Playing Sheep's Head.  Ever heard of it?  

Grandpa playing some Sheep's Head with everyone

More card game playin'

August Brunch

Jim, the kids, and I flew to Milwaukee, Wisconsin last week to visit my family there.  The day after we flew in, my Nana planned to have her "Christmas Brunch" in August to celebrate the entire family gathering together.  I was able to see some family I haven't seen in a while.  It was very nice!  As always, Nana's meal was delish!  I'll let the pictures do the talking.

All the food.  Num num.

Hunty was hungry and ready to eat!

My cousin Brian pouring the bubbly 

Jimmy poured the "Mormon bubbly"

Nana thanking us all for coming.  She was so happy to finally get all of her family together!

She's pretty amazing for an almost 90-year-old!

The kiddie table

The feast is on!

My folks!

After brunch the little ones went out on Nana's deck to blow bubbles

I love this pic of my favorite lil' cutiepie!

When brunch was over, we drove back to my brother's house and Jim went frog/tadpole hunting with our nephew, Brady

Hunty tagged along

We found a baseball in the ditch!

Sunday family bike ride - just like the old days!

Our family bike ride to the old  homestead.  Many memories were made there! 

After a good meal, a nice walk, and fun bike ride, it was time to kick up our feet!

Random Recent Photos and Life Update

We've been in our new home a little over a week now.  So far, we LOVE it!  This area is very nice, and there's lots to do.  Everyone in our neighborhood has been kind.  We go to church with a few of the families around here, and our new ward family has been very welcoming.  We've used the community pool everyday, and as a result Tralee has become quite a little swimmer.  Hunter also seems to be warming up to the water!  Tralee's school is right behind our house, and we've played basketball, climbed on the playground, and rode our bikes several times on the school grounds.  There are bike/walking trails all around us which have been well utilized.  Our new home location is close to everything, and we're settling in quite nicely.

I was worried about a few things when we decided to make this house our home.  One worry was the fact that we're in a townhouse, and I was concerned about the whole sound factor.  I really didn't want to disturb or be disturbed by our neighbors, but I honestly haven't heard a peep from them.  I talked to some other residents, some who have lived here since these homes were built, and they've never heard their neighbors either. . .some of which had newborns.  They must have built these homes well, and included some nice soundproofing barriers!  Hooray!  The other issue I had was the fact that we didn't have a fenced in yard for Corky.  That hasn't really been too bad either.  The kids love taking her for walks, and there are A LOT of grassy areas in our neighborhood.  It's nice to go on little walks with the kids, and Corky loves the exercise.  Also, we live on an end unit and our yard area is quite large, so no problems!  Lastly, this place is a little smaller than our last home.  I wasn't sure about squeezing into smaller square footage, but it also forced me to go through and purge a lot of things we don't need.  That's been so nice!  Plus, the overall look of this house is nicer than our old place.  We gave up square footage, but gained a more custom look.  Overall, my concerns haven't really been relevant!  Score!

So, here are some recent pics since the move:

Hunty playin' some b-ball outside of the school.

Tralee wanted to dress up and go eat at a fancy restaurant.  This was her outfit of choice.

After dinner we parked downtown and walked to a frozen yogurt place.

I was happy to be on a family date, can you tell?

Eating yummy Aspen Leaf fro-yo

Before church today.  I can't believe how big my kiddies are getting!!

We still have a lot of unpacking/organizing to do, but this place is starting to feel like home.

My Lil' Boyfriend

Can't get enough of him!

Our Little Angel!

Hunter is almost always running around sans clothes. Can't keep him covered. The only exception is angel wings, he will sport a pair of angel wings on occasion. Silly boy!

Tralee Learning to Ride

Jim taught Tralee how to ride her bike without training wheels in May.  She had it down after about two practices, by the third time she was a pro.  Now Tralee wants to ride her bike all over the place!

While it didn't take Tralee very long to master the bike, it took me a while (I've been busy) to finally get this post up about it!  Here's a little video (if you care to watch) of Tralee learning to ride.



Here are some pics from the first day: