The Benes Blotter

80's in April!

2010-04-15T15:19:00.002-05:00

If you live in Wisconsin you know that you rarely get a day like today in April! All three of the kids were very excited to be outside...these pictures are taken before school!

The three amigos.

Action shot.

The pig-tailed one was VERY excited to be hangin' with the boys.

Can you feel the joy?

I can SEE her joy!

April Snow Showers Brings May Flowers?

2010-04-08T09:28:00.003-05:00

This is what we woke up to on Thursday morning, April 8th, 2010 (Dad's Bday) and the 4th day of spring break!

It was still snowing flurries when we woke up this morning.

Time to break out the winter coats!

Zoo time fun!

2010-04-06T08:58:00.006-05:00

On the first day of official Easter/Spring Break the kids and I went to the zoo! Jacob is wearing black, Haley, cousin Izzy, and Tyler in blue. We took in some sun and sights on Monday morning. If you look closely in the background there is a black bear taking a bath.

One of our favorite animals to see is the tigers. The momma had her baby cubs months ago and now they are playful children.

If you blow up this picture the momma tiger does not even look real! I loved this picture with the background and her eyes staring right through you.

All the kids were right up against the glass and this is Tyler giving some high-fives to the cubs.

We visited the lady lion. I believe she thought that Haley would be a good appetizer.

While Tyler could be her main meal.

Haley then gave lots of hugs and kisses to the lady lion.

Uh oh. Now we are in trouble. Big daddy lion came over to check out where his lady had been and what she had been doing! So she put on her growly face and tried to scare Tyler.

After a picnic lunch we headed for a train ride. Haley and Tyler rode on one side.

Jacob, Izzy, and I rode on the other.

Isabella had a really good time hangin' out with the Benes crew!

Having 2 out of 4 kids looking at the camera is good enough odds for me! It was a really fun and beautiful day. What a great way to kick-off our break!

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T08:26:00.003-05:00

Easter was a wonderful, sunny day filled with family and lots of eggs!

Isabella and Haley posing as only they can for the camera. The age difference is about 15 months and when I am out with just the two girls people just assume they are sisters. Then they give me the "poor you sad eyes" and tell me how much they look alike and like me. By this time, I just don't have the heart to tell them that Izzy is my niece and they are cousins. :)

Back to Easter...Izzy just couldn't get over that there was candy in all the eggs! This is her "oh, my!" face.

Seriously, when did my babies grow into these young boys? Tyler is in yellow and Jacob in blue.
This picture is my favorite of the day because they just look so big and handsome.

We hunted eggs 3x on Sunday. Once at our house, outside at Elizabeth's and inside at Elizabeth's house.

Everyone loaded up on hidden baskets and eggs filled with lottery tickets!

Jacob's basket took a tumble down the hill....reminds me of the "Jack-n-Jill" poem as his eggs came rolling down the hill.

Here are the boys racing around the house to find the eggs!

These two look a little mischievous! Tyler is attaching his new walkie talkie to his pants as they were secret spies for the day.

They really got into hunting for eggs!!

Thank you family for a great day and thank you Jesus for giving your life so we can have an eternal life with you.

St. Patrick's Day at the Zoo!

2010-03-17T14:46:00.004-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day and what a B-E-A-Utiful day it was!!!
I took Haley and my niece, Izzy, to the zoo this morning for some girl time.

Izzy spied a bunch of peacocks and could hardly contain herself. She showed Haley just where to look.

Izzy poses just right for pictures.

Haley on the other hand, has older brothers who taught her this smile. Thanks boys.

Yep, there it is again. I had lots of good laughs at me today by passing by moms as I begged for the perfect picture from these two.

Haley really wanted to see the cows. This is a progression of what happened when Izzy saw the cows.
Izzy: "Oh, this is kinda interesting. They sure are big."

Izzy: "Oh no, Oh no! Make this nightmare stop! Why are they still looking at me!"
Haley: "Mommy, mommy! Did you see all the cows!!!"

Izzy: "Auntie Erin, why are you still taking my picture....PICK ME UP!!"
(Notice the mom in the background thinking that I am the worst mom alive.)

Haley just loved the cows. I think she will be really excited to see the cows back in Nebraska on our next visit.

This seems to be the smile of the day.

Crazy Amazing Concerts!

2010-03-01T15:41:00.003-06:00

A friend and I went to Elmbrook Church and enjoyed an awesome concert! We saw Point of Grace, Mark Schultz, and Jeremy Camp live! And even better we had 2nd and front row seats!!!! Because of all the completely inspiring music I changed up my music player to showcase the artists we heard. I hope you enjoy the music!

Star-Studded Kids

2010-02-28T13:04:00.003-06:00

We had a very normal week with a couple of colds, croup, and lots and lots of Rescue Hero's!

This was the scene Saturday morning. All three got in on the fun!

The boys were feeling left out of my last couple of blog posts so they wanted to spice things up with a couple of "silly faces" pictures. Here is Jacob or a.k.a. Gene Simmons.

Here is B-Boy Bad himself...Tyler!

Of course not to be out-done...Haley or a.k.a. Audrey Hepburn made an appearance as well.

February Fun

2010-02-14T16:22:00.003-06:00

We had a great, big, busy week! It was filled with 12 more inches of snow, a snow day for the kids, and a late start the next day. So needless to say, we spent lots of time being stuck indoors and coming up with some creative ways to pass the time!

For Christmas Haley received a music box from Grandma Gail and Grandpa Andy. Inside the music box is a ballerina who spins around in circles to the music. So Haley dresses up just like the ballerina (hence the no-pants) and spins around in circles to the music.

She keeps the music box on the kitchen island so we can ALL enjoy the music and her dancing!

This is her "behind" look...no pun intended :)

One of Haley's dancing moves. But, more interesting in this picture would be the scooter that races through my kitchen all day long and her "gummy worm" that wiggles it's way through the house ridden in a parade of vehicles.

Snow pictures...we haven't had too much snow this winter so the kids were very, very excited for their snow day and a day to play in the snow.

OR as Haley likes to do...eat as much snow as possible.

The boys got some serious giggles out of laying down for the snow blower. They would position themselves to get buried by Brian and the snow blower.

I know we did this at a waterpark once, but it was water that dumped on them. They could have done this over and over and over!

Is it ice cold snow or nice warm sand? I'll take the later and palm trees, sun, and a beach. :)

Snow Day

2010-02-09T13:25:00.000-06:00

Here is what I am feeling like on this wonderful snow day!!!!

Any Given Day

2010-02-06T13:19:00.003-06:00

On any given day this is what you can find my daughter looking like....

Or this...

And this....

On any given day this is what a Minnie Mouse leotard wearing butterfly two year old girl looks like when she eats broccoli with dill dip. :)

Say "Cheese!"

Basketball Boys

2010-01-27T12:45:00.002-06:00

The boys started basketball a couple of weeks ago. They LOVE it! And with Daddy helping with the coaching, it is really fun to watch them together.

They have only practiced and scrimmaged so far, but this coming Saturday is their first GAME!

Tyler was taunting his sister from the floor. :)

Jacob said that he was sooo tired and needed to catch his breath. Can you imagine all the running those little legs had to do!

Starting guard (imagine booming voice) Number 5,....Jaaaacccoooob Benes!!!!

Or, as their coach calls them...."Give me the Twin Towers down here." Gotta love it!

So you might have been wondering what is going on with Haley lately. Well, she is very, very into dressing up (in the middle of winter.) I have been cleaning closets and she loves trying on everything. And we found this Belle costume with red shoes. :)

Haley also does alot of twirling in all her dresses and tu-tu's.

And that is about how long she will stand still for pictures. The End.

Send Snow!!!

2010-01-10T12:13:00.002-06:00

After some much needed snow this week, the boys got a chance to try out their snowboards in the backyard.

Tyler is in the black coat and Jacob in the red coat.

It is pretty cold outside but they wanted to try and brave it. Here is Tyler after a wipe-out, he just decided to stay there....frozen. :) He has been pretty funny lately doing anything that will get a laugh.

Jacob made it down the hill successfully! Kinda reminds me of the movie Rocky, can you hear the music in the background? ;)

As I write this, Brian took the boys to a real sledding hill to let them try out their boards. The temperature is currently -8 with the windchill so Haley and I didn't go. But, for some reason, 7 year old boys don't seem to get cold and have been begging since Christmas to go.
Expect to see more pics on that sometime soon! Also, crossing my fingers for no broken bones or trips to the er!

New Year's Ice Fishing

2010-01-01T10:31:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!

On New Year's Eve Brian, Tyler, Jacob and Grandpa Andy headed out to the ponds to try out their special Christmas presents...ice fishing poles and tip-ups! The temperature was a very windy chilly 20 (which is why the smart girls stayed at home!) Layered up and bundled to the max they headed out to find some fish.

Brian and the boys waiting for a fish.

The boys were very intrigued with the process of digging into the ice.

Tyler's first try at ice fishing....waiting for a fish.

Jacob scooping out his spot.

Tyler getting it ready.

The waiting for a fish to bite got to be a little too much for Tyler who either fell over frozen or is making a snow angel on the ice :)

I think the boys are smiling under there! They did not catch any fish, but they did survive the elements and had lots of fun!

Meanwhile, this princess stayed home.

On another note, Brian and I spent the New Year's Eve with friends doing a progressive dinner and a litttle snow sledding and riding the ice luge. Brian's trips down the luge took him into the trees and has the sore bones and tree rash to prove it! As he popped two Advil this morning he said it was well worth it!!!!!

Big, HUGE Thank You to my parents for spending the night and watching the kids for us! They had a wonderful time and we enjoyed a specially made breakfast by Grandpa Andy!!

THANK YOU!!!

Another Day, Another Adventure!

2009-12-30T19:12:00.004-06:00

Today started out bright and early. We even had to set the alarm clock during vacation!!! Again, we did not tell the boys where we would be heading for the day. But as we exited towards the public museum they were on to us! But little did they know that they would be experiencing their first IMAX movie. Wild Ocean was spectacular to see and even kept the 2 year old entertained with the humongous screen and loud music. After the movie ended Jacob told Brian that "that was the best movie I have ever seen!" We will definitely be going again! After the movie we headed into the public museum to see our favorite exhibits, which of course includes the butterfly exhibit.

Jacob was a pro at making friends with the butterflies.

We all took our chance at hoping a butterfly would hop onto our fingers.

Tyler was the man of the hour as four butterflies took hold of his hands!

Haley was quite happy with observing everybody butterflies.

She kept her hands pretty close to herself whenever we tried to give one to her :)

After the museum we headed out for lunch at a surprise restaurant. It's called The Safe-House but it's a secret agent cover restaurant so it goes by a different name on the outside. We figured that our super spy agent 7 year olds would love this! So, here is how you start your adventure...we found the door to the restaurant only to be all squished into a little room, with no door! Then a woman says "Welcome agents, do you know the password?" "Uhhh, no" we answered. Then, we had to prove that we weren't double agents so she said, "I will need you to form a circle and very loudly sing Ring a Round a Rosie." So we did and then a wall slide back and we walked down some stairs to the super spy agent restaurant. Cool stuff and the boys were VERY impressed! As we went to our table a family pointed at us and said "there's the one's that had to do Ring-a-Round A Rosie." Yep, you guessed it...we were on video camera upstairs and down in the restaurant you can watch everyone come in and do the same silly stuff!

After we ordered we went exploring. The kids loved the silly mirror.

This door said it was the "men's room" but Tyler soon found out that was a trick. There was all sorts of fun things like two-way mirror, secret camera, and to top it all off...a secret exit!

After all piling into a little room with a pay phone we put in a quarter to receive the secret exit code. After we punched it in a door slid open to a dark hallway, which all the boys made me go down first!

Here is the dark exit hallway exclusively for super spies!

Down another dark corridor....

And finally to the exit!

We had another fantastic day filled with family laughs.

The Benes Bowlers!

2009-12-29T18:06:00.005-06:00

Brian and I wanted to make sure that we didn't just let the boys' Christmas vacation quietly slip by this year. So we have made an extra effort to pull them away from the normal things we do and slide in a few fun family treats here and there. As we were brainstorming what to do on a Tuesday, came the wonderful idea of bowling!!!! By the way, we never tell the kids what we are going to do or where we are going till we are at the place, just to give them alittle extra anticipation! As we pulled up to the bowling building, my now 1st grade readers shouted out "Bowling!!!!!"

Did you know that even a 2 year old can bowl!!! Haley and Tyler liked their new shoes :)
(After we had finished bowling, Jacob commented on how funny his feet smelled.)

Tyler (in grey) and Jacob (in black) were extra excited when they discovered that this wasn't any old bowling alley....this was Rock-n-Roll Bowling! There was dance music playing, no lights on except for the black lights, disco balls, and colored strobe lights. What a FUN time we had!

You can see the colored lights that danced on the floor to the music. So much fun to try and catch them!

Daddy and Haley patiently watched as her ball slowly rolled down the alley to hit the pins.

She was always very excited when she hit the pins. The whole day was about giving "high fives!"

Little did I know that Brian was taking this oh so flattering picture of my backside ;) but, (no pun intended there either) I wanted to say that after bowling a Turkey in the first game, I think I got my moms fantastic bowling form! Thanks Mom! :)

The trip to the bowling alley was only topped off by eating hot dogs and soda while waiting for your next turn to bowl.

Stayed tuned for what comes next! :)

Christmas 2009

2009-12-28T09:21:00.003-06:00

Hope you and your family had a Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning was full of smiles, laughter and "this is what I always wanted" being chanted though the house!

After our morning at our house, we headed to my mom and dads' to be with family and eat lots of food! I think Haley is giving Isabella a hug, not too sure if Isabella likes her hug though. ;)

Look at all these cute kids and nobody wants their picture taken!

Here is the Benes family pickin' up the trash.

The boys received snow boards from Santa and couldn't wait to try them out! Tyler was a natural at finding his balance and working his board.

Jacob just wanted to go fast and have fun!

No snow board for Haley, just a sled, but she now wants a snow board too!

Don't mess with these two on the slopes :)

We even celebrated Brian's birthday yesterday amongst all the Christmas hoopla.
Happy Birthday Brian!!!! Hope your day was wonderful and full of family fun!

3rd Time's The Charm!

2009-12-20T13:40:00.004-06:00

Here we are...5 days before Christmas, what better to do then put up our THIRD tree of December 2009! If you read the previous blog entry regarding putting up our 2nd tree, I was really fond of that beautiful tree. Never wanted to see it to come to this.

The whole family has been fighting sinus infections for a long time now. The three kids are on their second round of stronger antibiotics to help kick and clear their sinuses. They each will be on the medicine for 20+ days. Brian and I have been having a sinus cold for a couple weeks now as well. Just this weekend it dawned on us, could we all be allergic to the real tree?!!! Everyone has some seasonal allergies so being allergic to the tree would not surprise us. Brian and I even talked about "toughing" it out till Christmas and keeping up the real tree (that is how much I LOVED my real tree!) But with all the kids coughing and blowing their noses (us too) we decided that we would take down our real tree and put up our artificial tree. Insert heavy sigh.

Tyler, Haley, and Jacob giving me one last smile in front of the tree.

Haley, please look this way!

No, no, please don't fall backwards! I need ONE good picture!

Taking the ornaments off the tree, again.

Tyler is barking orders to captain Haley to open the door!

Jacob was helping till he remarked, "Dad my eyes are itching." Hmmmm. Mystery solved?

Enter...3rd Christmas tree of 2009.

The boys did a great job of putting it together.

Working like a team of experts, which we all are by now, we re-dressed the tree. Haley painfully says "cheese" for me every time I ask :)

Hopefully we have learned something this year...no more real trees. I'll let you know in a couple of days! I also hope that my kids don't expect this every year, having 3 Christmas trees was pretty cool!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tree Do-Over

2009-12-06T16:42:00.003-06:00

Christmas with the Benes family is always full of laughs and surprises. The weekend after Thanksgiving is when we put our tree up. We have always had an artificial tree due to the kids allergies. This year we decided that we would live on the edge and get a real tree...asthma, allergies or bust! We had planned a big outing of cutting down our own tree at a tree farm. Sleigh rides, hot chocolate, the works! Well, we did not plan on 2 kids having sinus infections, pink eyes, or 1 recovering from sinus infection. Hmmmm. The responsible parents that we are, chose not to do the fun tree farm, in the cold and rain, but instead took a trip down the road to Menards and bought our first "real" tree for $14.99!

Here we are with our "prize" tree! We did not know a spruce from frasier and ended up with this nice soft needled tree. After a couple days, the tree started to lean, spread out weirdly, and all the ornaments started falling off!

This weekend we broke down and decided to do something about it. Out with the old (future swag, wreaths, and firewood!)

And in with the new!

The boys were very big kid helpers.

Ahhh!

Now these are the smiles of a happy family with a happy tree!

The tree has spread out into the whole corner and we couldn't be happier about the beautiful tree! I have decided that this is a female tree whose smell is so fragrant and branches are so far reaching that I want to hug her.

Yes, these children are quite tried of posing for pictures in front of Christmas trees.
We did learn lots of facts about Christmas trees and will be very prepared for our adventure next year!

Caught the Christmas Spirit!

2009-11-22T14:11:00.003-06:00

Brian and the kids took advantage of the wonderful November and broke out all the Christmas decorations, just in time for Thanksgiving!!! I have a feeling that Clark W. Griswald will be out buying more lights as the season gets underway. My husband loves Christmas too!

By the way, we are the first on our block to put up lights and turn them on. If you come for a visit, our house is easy to find!

I just can't seem to wait any longer and I have added Christmas music and a Christmas background just to help all you wonderful readers get into the spirit with me!

We Have "IT!"

2009-11-10T09:42:00.002-06:00

We have "it." Yes, "it." We have the "unconfirmed" H1N1. It cost's waaaayyy too much to actually get it confirmed but this is the only flu that the doctors are seeing right now. It started with Jacob and hit Tyler and Haley yesterday and me today. We are having lots of fun laying around and catching up with our cartoons.

Haley is resting comfortably, thanks to Tylenol.

Tyler is struggling with coughing, asthmatic symptoms, and fever. Did I mention crabby!

It started with Jacob this weekend. He has broken his fever (for now) but continues to fight with his lungs and coughing. But I am now an expert in Lego building!

I made a trip to Target last night to pick up a couple prescriptions for my asthmatic boys. While there I swiped the shelves of 6 boxes of flu protector Kleenex, 3 bottles of Children's Tylenol, 2 bottles of Infant Tylenol, 1 bottles of Purell, and 1 bottle of Lysol.
Do not come to our house!!! It spreads fast!

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-01T13:54:00.002-06:00

Happy Halloween! Trick or Treat!

Jacob, the Blue Knight. Haley, Little Red Riding Hood. Tyler, Transformers' Bumble Bee.

Why is it so impossible for all three of my children to sit, smile, and say cheese all at the same time!!!???

Hope you had a Happy Halloween! I have already had too many Butterfingers! Mmmmm!

Halloween Week

2009-10-29T08:02:00.002-05:00

Happy Halloween Week!

The boys are off of school till Monday so we are going to try to cram in a week's fun into a long weekend. Priority number 1 is to visit the tiger cubs at the zoo. Then...museum, mall, probably a Target, Walmart, Kohls, grocery store visit too. Wish me luck!

Happy 7th Birthday!!!

2009-10-23T18:51:00.003-05:00

Happy 7th Birthday to Tyler and Jacob! Today is their actual birthday but tomorrow we will be having their birthday party. We celebrated as a family by taking the kids out for dinner, complete with a big birthday sundae!

Jacob showing off his seven fingers and Tyler showing off his sundae.

Boys are all about really good smiles!

Not wanting to miss out on the excitement, Haley shoveled in some whipped cream.

Till tomorrow.......

Fall Fun!

2009-10-19T12:52:00.002-05:00

I had such a wonderful morning that I just had to share my morning pictures with you. After Haley, Isabella, and myself took the boys to school we headed over to the Milwaukee Zoo. What a beautiful day! It climbed into the 50's with alittle sun, blowing leaves, and colorful trees. Here is what the girls did today...

Checkin' out the pink flamingos from their side-by-side seating.

This was a first for us...The lion was pacing in front of the viewing window! Haley was not a bit scared! Sorry for the reflections, the sun was on the rise.

I think he likes the looks of Haley for a morning snack!

After that we were on to the cheetah's!

Aren't they cute!

Well we waited by the tiger exhibit for the baby tiger cubs to come out onto display. They only come out after 10:30am. This is one of the two with mommy in the background.

Here is proud mommy.

Here is another of the cubs. They were running and wrestling with each other just like my boys!

After a big morning of fun and fresh air, cousin Izzy gave in to a brief cat nap!

It is so nice outside today that I am hoping that the kids and I can get a bike ride in on our newly paved street!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-18T12:16:00.003-05:00

We made our annual pumpkin picking trip to a new place this year. Very basic patch without the fancy jumping inflatables, concession stands, and gift shop but really, really big pumpkins. At most pumpkin patches they charge you a certain amount of money by the pound but at our new place every pumpkin fell into a $1 - $5 range! This place also had the BIGGEST pumpkins I have ever seen and they were only $5! So, the boys had the freedom to choose which ever pumpkin they wanted and Haley said she wanted "a little one" which was very hard to find!

Here is Haley checking out the durability of this one.

Jacob was on a mission to find a big, round pumpkin so he can carve a wolf into it.
Take note of how big the pumpkins are around him! ($5! I love a deal!)

Tyler was looking for a big and slightly tall pumpkin to test out his carving skills this year.

We tried to get a "kids at the pumpkin patch picture" but, no one wanted to sit still!

Brian is carrying the winning pumpkins for the boys.
We will carve them next weekend and feast on roasted pumpkin seeds for weeks to come!

More Potty Mouth

2009-10-15T13:56:00.002-05:00

In continuing with the last blog entry...I picked up Haley from the Y childcare after working out and here is the conversation I had with one of the workers....

"Haley had an accident."
Me, "What, how, what kind?"
Her, "She wet her pants."
Me, very confused, "Did her diaper leak?"
Her, "No, she said she had to go to the potty and we let her."
"We thought she had undies on then realized too late that she had a diaper on."
Me, "Mmmm, ok. And why is she wearing someones shorts?"
Her, "Sorry, we didn't have any extra pants, but hers are in this plastic bag."
Me, "She is NOT potty training!"
Her, giving me the are you crazy look, "She might be ready!"
Me, deep breath, "Thank you, have a nice day!"

On a side note, we have been hit with our first official illness of the season. Jacob is home today and tomorrow with strep throat. Just can't wait to see who pulls the short end of the stick next!

Potty Training Princess

2009-10-14T13:00:00.002-05:00

This picture was taken back in August. After dinner one night Haley proudly proclaimed that she "had to go potty!" "Oh ok," I replied and daddy carefully put Haley on the potty while I ran to find the Dora special seat.

As she sat there thoughts of losing my baby came streaming into my head. Potty training...she's only 2! The boys were well into their 3's before I even came to this bridge, but I heard girls train faster...blah, blah, blah.

See how proud daddy is of his little girl growing up!

Every time I bring her to the gym or to church, she tells the childcare workers that she "has to go potty." She is always going for them, I mean they do have the cool little kid potty! Haley probably also heard another child want to use the kid potty so she said she does too ( I might have some problems with her when she grows up!) She doesn't do any of that at home and is completely happy filling up her diapers for me. Which I am ok with!!

I am in denial. I refuse to potty train my baby! Haley is our last child and potty training her would mean that I would never be able to take a shopping cart through the diaper aisle again! She would become this "big girl" that I am not ready to let her be. I know, I have issues. I just want to keep my baby, my baby for a little longer....or maybe just till Kindergarten :)

Morning time!

2009-09-29T14:27:00.003-05:00

A typical morning in the Benes house looks something like this...

Three crazy kids on a pillow train instead of the bus! :)

By the way, we turned our heat on for the first time this morning. It was a chilly 62 degrees when we were trying to eat breakfast...in the house.
Sure can't wait for the 39 degrees it is supposed to get down to tonight!

Catchin' Up

2009-09-24T11:16:00.006-05:00

I apologize for going "missing" the last couple weeks. We have been super crazy busy and I just wasn't finding the extra time to blog. But now, we have done so much in the past couple weeks that I don't know where to start or what pictures to even post. So stay with me, I am goin' try and catch up!

We packed it up and headed out to Nebraska for cousin Jevon's 1st Birthday!

The boys dream came true when we got an up close and personal tour of the Law Enforcement Building.

We played at the Children's Zoo.

Then we returned home, tried to get back on schedule and catch up on all the things we missed. But we still had time to make a trip out to the Apple Orchard to pick Macintosh apples.
Tyler is showing off his "pick!"

Jacob found this to be the best one!

Haley is enjoying the fresh fruit of the day.

We got a family photo!!! (Ummm, you might see this on our Christmas card.)

Izzy truly enjoyed her first trip to the orchard!

I also had the first MOPS meeting of the year. A BIG thank you to all my MOPS mom's for making it such a wonderful morning!

She's running the show!

2009-09-04T13:36:00.002-05:00

The first week of school has flown by. I miss my boys! I'm sure that I will grow to be ok with the silence but for now, I don't like it. Haley has fallen asleep the last 4 days before lunch time so I have just the tv to eat with. Even my hubby is afraid to come home for lunch, I might just talk his ear off! Anyways, the boys are loving 1st grade and I am so glad that they have gotten into the school groove.

Haley does miss her boys during the day, but she gets to do pretty much anything she wants now that mom is such a sucker! Like eating lunch in the recliner while watching "Dora!"

Or having her nuk (she's probably too old for it) and the boys' Lego's in the recliner while watching "Diego!"

I can't even let my mind think about when she goes to school!!!

First Day in 1st Grade!

2009-09-01T12:31:00.006-05:00

It finally arrived. The first day of school. (Insert big sigh and a few tears.) I loved having my boys home for the summer, I just loved the noise and activity that ran loudly through the house. Today, as I write this, Haley is napping and I ate lunch by myself. Quiet house. I know that I will grow to like this time to, but I secretly can't wait to go pick up my boys and hear all about their first day in 1st Grade!

The three of them were wonderful this summer. Full of life and lots of laughs!

Jacob was very excited for school!

Tyler too!

The boys together, great toothless grins.

Always a funny smile picture.

Why can't they stay little longer. :(

Jumpin' Jelly Beans!

2009-08-28T13:06:00.006-05:00

This week we made a fun trip down to the Jelly Belly Factory! We took the trip with some friends and even piled all these kids (see below) and two mommies into one van. It was a great way to spend a raining day!

Right when we got in line for the train tour we were all given little bags of Jelly Belly's, the first of many jelly beans to be eaten that day.

Haley is showing off her new accessory.

The kids were really excited about the train ride. But about 3 minutes into the 30 minute tour they were asking when were they going to get more candy. (It is a candy factory!)

The four candy tasters reporting for duty!

After a major sugar rush, we figured that we should eat something...pizza! While waiting for it to cook, the kids found a photo booth and all managed to squeeze in for one picture before Haley screamed...too many boys!

There are those smiley faces! They were just thankful that their wonderful, beautiful, and young mommies took them to a candy factory!!

Here is how we ended our day. Haley has found a liking to wearing the boys' underwear over her clothes. I don't know what is funnier, her puffy booty or the pink shirt paired with Power Ranger underwear! ;)

Crazy with Construction

2009-08-26T08:50:00.004-05:00

The city decided that our subdivision would be getting all new roads this summer. This week, it was our turn! What a cool experience to watch. All the kids, me included, spent lots of time watching the line of dump trucks file in and out while the "digger" tore up our street.

The line of 8 dump trucks starting forming right at 7am. The "worker guys" started down the street and worked their way towards our house but as 4:30pm grew closer they called it a day. They parked their "digger" right smack in front of our house for the night. After football practice we went out to explore our very own "digger!"

Sorry the pictures are so dark, fall is just around the corner.

They just loved exploring the trucks.

Let's measure how big they are compared to a digger!

This is where they stopped for the day. The boys loved playing in the hole.

The next morning (before 7am) was our turn! We camped out on our steps to watch the big day. It was great to see and oh so noisy!

Front row seats.

Best seat in the house.

We now have lots of dirt. The trucks are still bringing in truck-fulls of dirt and bulldozers are pushing it around. Looks like fun. I am not expecting any sort of black top for a couple weeks, but that will be another exciting day!

Polar Expedition

2009-08-24T20:34:00.006-05:00

Posted by Brian

This last weekend we packed up the family 4 door cruiser, strapped on the car topper and tied down the trunk on our way to a boys camping weekend with Jacob, Tyler, Daddy and Grandpa. When we made the campsite reservation 6 months ago, here was the vision we had - End of August, camping under the warm Wisconsin sun (probably mid to low 80s), humid, perfect days for playing at the beach and swimming and doing some fishing after dinner when it cooled off and the beating sun was going down.

In reality, we hit 72 on Sunday and didn't even crack 70 the other two days and the nighttime temp hovered in the low to mid 50's. Luckily the boys sleeping bags were rated to 55 degrees, so when it got down to 52, they were only 3 degrees cold.

It was still an awesome experience and we all had a really great time.

---Insert your own imaginary picture here---

As you can see in the pretend picture above, the camping trip started out with a bang as daddy forgot to close the car topper all the way and was able to add to the Germantown landscape some pretty colors of blue (the tarp that flew across the road), yellow (the ropes that were strewn across the ditch), white (the blanket that was in the oncoming lane) and black (the 55 gallon garbage bags filled with pillows and sleeping bags). Nice huh!

Once we got there with all our luggage intact, we hit one of our fishing spots. Jacob is showing off his first catch of the trip.

Here is Tyler showing off his first catch too.

Hey Jacob, are you having fun?

One of the best parts about camping is getting to stay up way past their bedtimes. You can see the boys and Grandpa Andy found a nice little spot to catch some small rock bass.

The next morning, after thawing out, we took out the boat and headed for our spots. Here is Tyler showing off his perch. (No he is not showing off the bait)

And Jacob after he put on his lucky fishing hat, was able to wrestle in this whopper.

Later that afternoon Haley and Mommy came out to have dinner with us. Here is Haley pretending to be the captain of the ship.

Here is a shot of our campsite. (And Grandma and Grandpa doing all the heavy lifting)

Haley showing off the poison ivy purple flowers. Kidding...at least I hope I am. She didn't complain about any itchiness or pain at the time. :)

It may look like we are making s'mores, but really we are just trying to stay warm.

My little daredevil, showing off.

Not to be outdone, the boys devised their own jungle vines and were swinging across the campsite.

They boys discovered the big dipper. (notice the flannel pjs)

Tyler with his first Northern Pike. What a proud little man he was. Unfortunately we couldn't keep him, but he put up one heck of a fight for a 6 year old and at 16 inches long was a nice first one for him to catch.

Remember what I said earlier about the temperature warming up to 72? Well guess what the brainiacs decided to do when it started to swelter. Yep, we threw on shorts and hopped in the nearest river to catch crawfish with our hats and nets.

Oh look mommy, Jacob with early stages of hypothermia....

The spoils of our river adventure.

Dueling crawfish....

And how does a boy celebrate a fun filled weekend....

Bird Bonaza

2009-08-20T11:13:00.004-05:00

The kids and I took a trip to the Milwaukee Zoo yesterday. We like to visit regularly during the summer. So on this particular visit the boys wanted to go to the special traveling exhibit that is there for only the summer..."Wings from Down Under." Here we get to go into this huge wire cage with bird food super-glued to popsicle sticks. We did it before but bad mommy forgot her camera so this time I was prepared and the kids were pro's at feeding the birds.

This is just a small sampling of what is flying all around. (I am pretty sure that my bird-fearing husband was ok with us going without him.)

I'm telling you, pro's! Tyler is on the left and Jacob on the right with two nameless birds in the middle.

The boys stretched and stretched to reach even the most stubborn birds. We were there in the morning to feed the birds, can you imagine how full these birds are by 6pm!

Of course Mini-Me wants in on the action! She was adamant about feeding the yellow one's!

Tyler so selflessly sharing his bird with his sister. Oh, how I wish there were more moments like this!

Haley was so excited and even giddy about seeing her favorite yellow bird up close!

Isn't she a brave little two year old! (braver than daddy!) Look at how proud she is of herself!

Now, by the time I took the next two pictures we had been feeding the birds for close to an hour. They were getting pretty creative and clever!

Tyler even got a couple birds to walk onto his hand and nibble at his fingers. He loved it! I think that feeding the birds is such a big deal for them because they are so allergic to feeding anything else. I know they really enjoyed being so loving to the animals and having this experience.

I just like the three ducks in a row picture. I will one day look back at this picture and say "remember when..."

Check that off the list!

2009-08-14T08:43:00.006-05:00

We have had a fantastic summer. We did another family outing to the Brewer game yesterday. Did you see the game, home runs, home runs, home runs!!!!! The boys (of all ages) had a great time!

We finally got a great family photo! (Could be on the next x-mas card!)

Here is a group shot of the guys and girl.

Any seat is a good seat in Miller Park.

This was Haley's first Brewer game. She really enjoyed watching the people around us, the fireworks, and loved seeing Bernie go down the slide.

My little Brewer fan! No cheerleader here!

But, we do have a testing 2 year old who wanted to see how far she could go without mommy chasing her down or getting run over by a beer man.

HONK! Got your nose! :)

"Yes, it is my first Brewer game and my parent's keep making me take these ridiculous photos."

Priceless.

Mercy Me

2009-08-11T08:59:00.003-05:00

My very thoughtful husband surprised me with tickets for a friend and I to go see Mercy Me at the State Fair. Oh, wow, what a wonderful night filled with worship and rockin' music! Brian was in talks with my friends husband and then, bam! Us ladies were treated to a kid-free night!

I wouldn't even know where to begin on this awesome concert. It was just amazing. So, because I love all the songs written by Mercy Me, I have changed all my songs on the blog so you can have a "mini" concert when you come to visit our family happenings! Hope you find comfort in the words to their songs and are encouraged by them. Enjoy!

Grandpa Andy's Day Care

2009-08-08T08:40:00.002-05:00

Grandpa Andy has surpassed the "What a Grandpa does" to the fullest extent. He so graciously said "yes" to watching my kids for two whole days while I could go to a fantastic leadership conference. He also added his 4th grandchild to the mix on Friday when Elizabeth dropped Izzy off for awhile too. So....Grandpa Andy had 4 kids in one house, with no access to a car, forced to have only the kind of fun that a grandparent can provide...good times, good times!

Usually we don't really know what goes on during these secret babysitting moments but my dad took several self-incriminating photos for me to share with the world! Here, if you look closely, you will see mid-day snack happening out on the deck with Izzy (in highchair,) Haley (at kids table,) boys at patio. Seriously, nothing but good times!

After lunch there were two really tired girls in the house but only 1 crib. Thus, the always practical grandpa found a great sleeping spot for Isabella :)

Of course it had to rain, which usually means indoor activities when mommy is home...but, when Grandpa Andy is watching them a rainstorm seems like a perfect time to "Sing in the Rain."

The boys even told me that they didn't have to wear shoes! Rule breaker!!
This morning it is raining again and Haley asked me for her "ubella." :)

Thanks dad for watching them so I could be renewed and refreshed. I really, really appreciate it. My kids will always have these precious memories of "when grandpa was here, we did..."
Thank you.

I feel the need.....the need for speed!

2009-08-01T09:43:00.004-05:00

Posted by Brian - (Some of these pictures are hard to see in their current size, click on them to make them bigger)

Feel free to put on the old Kenny Loggins track while you read this.
Yesterday we packed up the family cruiser and headed to Oshkosh for the EAA airshow. We are fortunate to have some friends with a hanger across from the actual show, so we could set up some chairs, have some great grilled food and let the kids enjoy the sights. The airshow is billed as the World's Greatest Aviation Celebration and it definitely lived up to the billing. Within 15 minutes of arriving, we got to witness the take off of the new Airbus A380 which is the world's largest passenger airplane. It was pretty cool! As you can see from the picture below, it took off going straight up and then continued to do a few fly-by's for everyone to see. After the Airbus left the actual show started with a bang. If you look closely, you will see some stunt planes circling a parachutist with an American flag attached to him. Pretty cool sight to see!

INCOMING Warbirds!!!

Tyler utilizing his binoculars to check out the planes.

Jacob trying to "catch" a plane for the camera.

Haley with her "noc-lurs".

Haley getting a plane ride from her big brother Jacob.

The warbirds in formation.

After the show was over, our friends let the boys get in the cockpit of their 4 seater plane. (Sans keys) The boys thought this was the coolest thing and got to turn on the lights and panels. They got a quick lesson on how to steer a plane and learned how to talk to each other on the headphones.

Maverick and Goose in the cockpit. If they could have taken it out for a spin the would have!
Thank you again for inviting us up to have such a great time. The kids will be talking about this for weeks and are already planning for next year.

Happy Birthday to YOU!

2009-07-29T12:44:00.003-05:00

I feel like I am always starting out my blog entries with "It's been really crazy this week." But....it has been really crazy this week! The kids are I are knee-deep involved in "Discovery Days" at our church, kinda like vacation bible school, and we are loving it! The kids, the volunteers, the love for God...it's been an amazing week. Jesus wants us to have child-like faith and where better to learn that then by surrounding yourself with 64kids for a week!

Before all the craziness started with did have time to have a backyard BBQ for my mom's birthday. We had a beautiful day to be outside and also pose for special pictures like this one of Nana and Bumpa with their girls :)

The boys took time to decorate the cake and the house for Grandma Gail's special day.

This picture was classic because the boys beat Grandma to blowing out her candles.

So we had a re-do...or a take 2!

We tried (again) to get a family photo. Jacob will give you a wink and a nod anytime!

Zoo-tastic Time

2009-07-25T08:09:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the zoo with Grandma Gail, Auntie Bethie, and Cousin Izzy. We had a fun-tastic time!

The boys somehow got everything they asked for on this particular zoo trip. (It helps to have a gracious grandma and an awesome aunt along with us!) We enjoyed a train ride, soft pretzels, popcorn, and blue slushies all afternoon!

Of course we hit our favorite "hot spots" at the zoo. Tyler has to see the Bongo, Haley now likes to see the Monkeys, and Jacob always needs to visit the Tiger. (By the way, Jacob lost another tooth on the bottom!)

Every time we go to the zoo we see something that we haven't see before. Whether that be the strange/loud noise a zebra makes when he's mad or checking out the hyenas "off stage" in their cages, we always see something pretty cool at the zoo.

That being said...we didn't expect the Tiger to jump off the tree and fly through the air towards the glass window!!!! He also leaped out of his wading pool and came over to the window to shake off all his water onto the glass. The kids went wild!!!! Izzy jumped into Grandma's arms! Haley was frozen in fear and the boys cheered.

"Get in my belly!" "Yum....lunch!" .......said the tiger. The zoo keeper said they call the shelf the boys are sitting on "the buffet line."

Haley wanted to be right up there with the boys but would never, ever take her eyes off that cat.

Here are some relaxing times with the girls. Izzy watches everything that Haley does. Now that Izzy can crawl she likes to be right were the kids are.....in the middle of the action, so to speak.

In a sing-song high pitched voice..."I'm not in my stroller. Nah, nah, nah."

Check out Izzy's teeth!

She took her zoo trip in stride and loved every minute of it.

The boys enjoyed their spoils of blue slushies. Check out Jacob's rolled back eyes and Tyler rubbing his belly. Ummmm.

Bye for now! Have a great weekend!!!

Cleaning out the Clutter

2009-07-20T12:56:00.003-05:00

The weather here has been very chilly lately. We found ourselves dressing for October temperatures in the middle of July. But we took advantage of this crazy cold weather to spend some time indoors cleaning. Now, the boys run in the opposite direction when I even mention the word but when I said that I wanted to clean out their toys, they were right there to help. Sort of. We (Brian and I) decided that we needed to downsize the collection of toys throughout the house. The boys (Tyler and Jacob) were not on board with this idea.

If you look closely there are 3 kids and a husband in this picture. All the kids thought it was great fun finding old toys and bringing them back to life (new batteries.) Even daddy put on the clown nose to boost everyone spirits.

Oh, here they all are! See the looks of excitement and fun! And their Grinch sized hearts when we told them we were donating their toys! Well ok...we are still working on the whole "giving with a gracious heart" concept.

The other exciting part of our weekend was when daddy caught two bunnies in his live traps. Those rascally rabbits will not eat our garden this year!

The three boys took the rabbits to a near-by park and released them into their new home.

Well, I am still overwhelmed with toys and clutter but after the 1st of many trips to Goodwill we will clear up some much needed extra space in this house!

Discovery

2009-07-17T08:57:00.003-05:00

Life with a 2 year old girl has been a brand new experience for us. Haley has a humongous vocabulary and understands almost everything we say. That being said here is the conversation we had the other day....

"Mommy, I have boobies."

"See!"

Yep, I see them. Hee Hee.

"Boobies fall!"
Now that is something I know all about!

Life with a toddler with two older brothers is waaayyy too much fun!

Have a great weekend!

Nana Stacker

2009-07-14T12:57:00.005-05:00

Well, sorry to say, but I am back to blogging. My humorous hubby did a wonderful job keeping up with the pictures while I was away. :) Haley and I just returned from a long weekend in Florida visiting Grandma Stacker or "Nana Stacker" is what Haley decided was her name (too cute!) My mom was also visiting but arrived a couple days before Haley and I blew in to shake things up in the retirement community!

The gangs all here, four generations of girls! I know that I will treasure this special photo. Haley really made herself well-known by sprinting up and down the halls, saying "Morning" to anyone who would listen, and racing into the elevators to push the buttons.

She drew lots of attention everywhere we went! Everyone would stop by to see the princess and talk with her. She found it interesting that there were lots of "Nana's" and "Bumpa's" all over the place!

Haley really took to Nana Stacker! She wasn't shy about giving hugs and kisses!

Everywhere we went Haley took her new pink purse with her. Stuffed with only things that she knows about, she shared them with Nana Stacker. Grandma Stacker just laughed every time we tried to take a picture...Haley ALWAYS says "Cheeeeessseee!" Then gives the camera the "scrunchy" face

On one cooler (89degrees) evening, Nana Stacker joined Haley and I at the pool. I snapped this great picture of my mother with her mother. Pretty neat, isn't it.

Haley showed off her swimming skills.

Her jumping in skills. (I call this "no fear")

Then her great snuggling skills. :)

One afternoon G. Gail, Haley, and I headed out to the beach to chase some birds.

We looked at the copper colored water and washed off sea shells.

We spent lots of time at Nana Stacker's house and just relaxed....with a 2 year old.

We did have to say good-bye yesterday but we have lots of great, wonderful, and long-lasting memories of our vacation.

FORE!!!!

2009-07-11T18:18:00.005-05:00

WARNING - The husband is writing a post again on behalf of his better half.

So let's set the stage here. Mommy and Haley are relaxing down in Port Charlotte, Florida this weekend as they visit Great Grandma. The last time I talked with them, they were going 18mph on their way to the local Cracker Barrel at 4:30pm for dinner before heading back to watch some riveting episodes of Matlock?!?!?

Anyways, we with the Y chromosomes decided to have our own relaxing weekend. And what is more relaxing than golf. Yes, me and my boys set out for a day of 54 glorious holes of miniature golf. OH YA!

Although I discovered I am not raising the next Tiger Woods (yet) or even a poor man's Shooter McGavin, they had an "awesome" time and are begging to go back tomorrow. Which just might have to happen. For who am I to squash the dreams of a 6 year old.

Here is a shot from one of the holes on top of the hill. I was just pleased no one tripped on the railroad ties as they raced the balls down the hill.

Don't mind the change of clothes, it is still within the same day. We just had to take a break at the Benes clubhouse for lunch and a new wardrobe.

Here is a photo of Jacob after his HOLE-IN-ONE on the longest hole of the course. He drained it like a little pro. (Albeit with a little help from the bricks on both sides and the end, but in putt putt it all counts the same)
Not to be outdone, Tyler drained his own HOLE-IN-ONE on a tough little water hole.

This next photo is about the moment that it became GAME ON! Jacob was being constantly reminded in a nice brotherly fashion by Tyler that he was not making his putts. It was amazing, something clicked in his head and he started taking the next strokes with a pro's precision. Check him out, he is trying to read the greens to drain his putt.

And of course we had to do some gross boy stuff while Mommy is gone.

And the weekend is only half over! :) Yee Haw!

C.A.M.P.I.N.G

2009-07-06T20:15:00.003-05:00

WARNING - This post is being written by Brian Benes (the guy who married the most understanding, beautiful, and forgiving wife of all time)

So what does CAMPING really stand for?
Can
A
Mommy
Please
Ignore
Naughty
Guys

Over the holiday weekend, the boys and I set off to our favorite campground to meet up with Grandpa Andy for a 4 day weekend of dirt, fires, lakes, rivers, mud, bugs, fishing, uncleanliness etc... and I thought I would give you a quick recap of some of our activities.

The first day we arrived, the boys were greeted at our campground by 3 kayaks and a canoe. They were really excited to see them and picked out the ones they wanted to ride within seconds. Since neither one had ever been in a kayak before, we decided in our own logical minds that the best way for them to learn was to put them in the kayak and push them out onto the lake to fend for themselves.

Amazingly they did awesome and got the hang of it within seconds. After that they tore off on the lake with Grandpa and Daddy chasing after them.

The next morning Uncle Tom came out to join us and we headed off to the Milwaukee river to test out their skills a little more. Again they did an amazing job and didn't tip once during the 4 mile journey down the winding river.

At the end of our river adventure, we waded out into the river and caught a few crawfish. You can see Jacob is very proud of this one.

The boys thought it was hilarious when the crawfish used his pinchers to get Grandpa.

They had so much fun, we went back to a different part of the river and caught a bunch more as "pets". (Yes, we were using our hats to catch them. Pretty resourceful if you ask me!)

Another favorite activity was catching daddy-long-legs spiders at the campsite.

And digging in the dirt with shovels and rubber mallets.

Don't forget about some fishing. Check out the monster that Jacob caught. We thought about having this one mounted.

Check out Tyler's "Sunny" fish.

And yes, sometimes it is just WAY too conventional to fish from land.

We did get saved during the 3 hour rain storm by Haley and mommy with the DVD player in the mini-van! Super mommy to the rescue! (We had Jacob, Grandpa, Tyler, Haley, Grandma, Mommy, Daddy and cousin Izzy all crammed in)

All in all it was a great trip with minimal bruises, scrapes and bumps. Can't wait to do it again soon!

Safety Town

2009-07-03T09:03:00.005-05:00

The boys wrapped up their "Safety Town" program this week. These are the pictures from graduation. The class taught the boys everything and anything about "safety." Safe bus riding, playground rules, fire, police, guns, pets, water....and the list goes on. Their most favorite part was riding the go-carts in "Safety Town" where they had to obey the traffic signs, not hit pedestrians, or play bumper cars with each other.

Tyler is rounding the corner like a NASCAR driver.

Look at his "look" he's giving me! Shy, daredevil, my baby!

Here comes his counterpart (Jacob) with white knuckles and two hands on the wheel.

At least he stops to give a wave in the middle of the street :)

They look like they are up to something!!!

The class separated into groups of 4 and the boys paired up with their friends from Kindergarten...the twin girls. These 4 are the best of friends and so sweet with each other. What do you think...future dates? :)

Not to be missed this week is Haley. Here she is enjoying the boys' baseball game with some pretzels and water.

Another classic shot of Haley trying to be just like her brothers. So fun. Look at the detail of her costume. Sword, drill, belt, viewmaster disks, cowboy hat...where's the tu-tu?!!!

Look who discovered the boys' cleats. :)

Happy 4th of July!!!

Mini-Vaca in Minnesota

2009-06-29T13:12:00.006-05:00

We spent last weekend in Minnesota with family. We actually had 1 rehearsal dinner, 2 weddings plus receptions, and one 80th birthday party/family reunion packed into a few days and sprinkled with lots of extras. Here is only a quick sampling of our 250 pictures that we took. It was super hard to choose only 10 photo's to share!!

We were able to spend some time at my mom's sisters' house. You can tell that we took full advantage of the pool (with diving board) and the sun. The boys (and Brian and I) loved launching ourselves off the diving board and into the 88 degree pool. Everyone had such a great time and even got alittle sun-burned, but it was totally worth it!!

Tyler, Haley, and Jacob enjoyed this floating "rescue boat."

That evening was capped off with my cousin's rehearsal dinner on a dinner cruise boat. We cruised around for 3 hours, enjoying the sunset and the regatta sailboat race going on in the background.

The next evening was the wedding. The 3 bears sure do clean up nice!

The boys put on their best smiles for cousin Alyssa. Also, they were so excited to wear a tie...just like daddy. (I wonder how they will feel about ties in 10 years :)

We blew off some steam at the Mall of America. The boys enjoyed the Nickelodeon Theme Park. Do you see us...drooling at the thought of riding all those rides? The boys could hardly wait to get in and go!

If you look in the middle (5 seats back) you will see Jacob and Grandpa Andy and in the seat behind them are Uncle Tom and Tyler.

Look at those "pure joy" smiles :)

This was our second wedding reception. By this time the kids were pro's at the dance part. Here Tyler (yellow), Jacob (orange), and Haley are catching the "Saturday Night Fever!" We have some really good video's that will be shown to their dates before their first dance.

Our weekend was capped off with Grandma Robben's 80th birthday party. Here Haley discovered that she loved walking in the sand and keeping the beach ball from flying into the lake.

We had such a wonderful time, filled with more memories than I can recount. Thank you to all the family we saw, it was great catching up with everyone!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-22T12:51:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful and warm Father's Day weekend. We spent all of Saturday at my mom and dad's and some time on the lake.

We wanted to capture a great family photo to mark daddy's day of 2009. We did our best :)

A trip to the park is not complete without a train ride. The boys loved it and Haley will learn to love it.

Jacob loved his carousel ride. But it was loooong. We got our money's worth!

Tyler and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer enjoyed every minute of the ride.

Haley just held on tight. After 3 minutes she began to wave to the crowd. Again, she will learn to love this too!

Mommy and her girl.

The boys patiently waited for something to bite. But boy do they look angelic sitting on the rocks watching the water. I loved the photo so much that I had to put the one below on too.

Nope, nothing, too hot. Better luck next time!

We are blessed to have the most wonderful husband and father. We love you!!

Week in Review

2009-06-19T15:18:00.003-05:00

Well, we made it through the first week of summer vacation! We had a crazy week with no chance to sleep in...yet. Here are some of our favorite picture moments from the week...

Haley has fully embraced her "terrible two's." My littlest angel expands her vocabulary daily, has an opinion about what she wears, and can flash you her "sassy-I-know-it face. If you have ever had a 2yr. old girl, I don't need to explain anything about this photo :)

We spent one night at the zoo for a special dinner and fun family trip. Tyler (on the right) insisted that this is where I take his photo. Jacob (on the left) didn't want to sit too close to his brother...I think that's called "The Buffer Seat."

Check out this beautiful peacock...look closer for the two terrors stalking it! The peacock then shook all his feathers very loudly, causing Haley to scream for safety.

Our week also included babysitting time with cousin Izzy. The boys pushed the girls around the kitchen for a LONG time. The girls loved every minute of it!!

Can't wait to see what the weekend brings!

Happy 2nd B-day Haley!

2009-06-15T19:21:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to my favorite 2 year old!

Haley loved her "Elmo" and "Big Bird" cake plus two candles and a bonus singing candle.

Of course her favorite part, and her brothers favorite part, was opening gifts.

She loved the dress-up clothes she received from her friends Olivia and Sofia. She wore them for the rest of the day.

Here Haley is helping the big guys get the pool ready. I think her pink satin skirt looks right for the occasion. :)

Haley then switched it up to a pink tu-tu so she could help daddy pull weeds.

She really got into the job, and so did her tush. (Look closely for the grass hanging from her diaper bum.)

"Oh, do I have a wedgie or is there something on my booty?"

"Maybe if I put my hands like so, nobody will notice all the grass stuck to my diaper."

"Oh, who cares anyway...Today's My Birthday, na, na, na ,na!"

But pirates Jacob and lookout Tyler have spotted her :)

Final Friday

2009-06-12T13:41:00.004-05:00

Well, it finally happened today. My babies ended their first year of school. Insert sigh. As we were driving to school this morning I began to reflect on this past school year, then I felt the tears coming. I told the boys to "stop growing up" and "to please stay my babies forever." Jacob proceeded to tell me that I could visit him anytime I wanted. Good to know.

Here is Jacob (on the left) and Tyler (has on the lighter shorts) on their final day of Kindergarten.

If we look back, here is Tyler (in blue) and Jacob on their first day of Kindergarten.

These days our photo sessions are not complete till we get a "silly faces" picture.

Then the peanut (who turns 2 on Monday) needed to be in a photo with the big boys too!

Here they are at school for an outside classroom shot. That's their principal behind them. Jacob and Tyler, you made momma proud this year!

Water Weekend

2009-06-07T17:11:00.006-05:00

This weekend we met up with friends on a lake. After 15 years of not skiing, I was actually able to get my had-three-kids body up out of the water and skied!!! Not to be outdone, my boys, were determined to ski. They have no fear of the water and loved every minute of it. Our friends had a child ski board. It's kinda like a board that is connected at the top so the kids could kept their skis straight. They both just loved it and went all the way around the lake (they slept well that night!) We all had such a wonderful weekend and it was filled with great memories!

Trickster Jacob kept wanting to spice things up and tried to go outside the wake. (He saw mommy and daddy do it :) When I put the thumbs down sign he then tried to snake back and forth inside the wake. What a dare-devil!!!

If you look real close, that's Tyler! He also had a great time going for his spin. The look on his face was priceless when he actually realized that he was skiing!

And this showman got up on ski's after not skiing since he was 10yrs. old. Go daddy!!!

Haley found fun on the trampoline. Especially when daddy would make her go high, she would just giggle :)

The next day was considerably colder but great weather for fishing!!! Tyler and Jacob would just plop their lines in and get bite after bite. The lake we were on was absolutely gorgeous and just crystal clear water. So clear that at the end of the dock the boys could see the fish just swimming around.

Haley was not a big supporter of the fishing. This is her "ewww" face when we showed her a fish. We couldn't even get her close enough to a fish to take a picture of her saying "ewww" at the fish!

To top off our weekend....we arrived home just in time for Tyler to lose another tooth! With him missing one tooth on top and Jacob missing two teeth on top, it is getting harder and harder for people to tell them apart!!!

Thanks friends for a wonderful, wonderful weekend!!!!

If Tyler and Jacob Had a Farm...E, I, E, I, O!!

2009-06-03T18:55:00.003-05:00

We recently spent some time on another of Brian's uncle's farm. We had such a wonderful, wonderful time! It's like we hit the jackpot on animals and with all the baby animals.

The boys spent 30 some minutes chasing goats through the fields. (They slept great that night!) They finally caught one and it took both of them to hold onto it!

Now Haley wasn't too sure of the baby calf. She climbed right up daddy's chest to avoid that crazy tongue!

Tyler enjoyed some one-on-one time with the 2 week old kitties. See this kitty (mouth open and screaming for his mommy) I really think he also enjoyed being held by a 6yr. old boy :)

Jacob also enjoyed spending his farm time chasing the chickens and catching this fine rooster. Later the rooster decided to work out his vocal cords and cock-a-doodle-do all afternoon!

Haley was spending time with mommy and Hannah's new Golden Retriever when she unexpectedly received a kiss from the 6 month. old puppy. She marched right over to daddy to tell her sob story of a slobbery dog.

The boys also got their chance to bottle feed a calf. I did too!!!

I also made friends with a baby sheep that the boys caught. Haley did not enjoy the furry creature as much as mommy.

Jacob, Haley, Tyler and cousin Jevon posin' for a traditional family photo.

Jacob and Tyler wish everyone a happy day! Cool dudes, don't cha think!!!

Good Times!!!!

2009-05-28T08:29:00.003-05:00

The boys and Haley have been super busy having lots of "firsts."

Tyler's dream is to one day be a police officer. He was imagining that he was getting the bad guys. They really enjoyed pretending on Aunt Sheryl and Uncle Steve's motorcycle. One day they hope to have their own. (Not if I have anything to say about it!)

Oh sooo cute! Look at my pretty princess!

She was exploring Grandma and Grandpa's flower garden.

Look at these two future best buds!

Boys will be boys and these boys just loved playing in the sprinkler.

Lots and lots of fun!

Great Grandma Pearl now has another grandchild to play Play-doh with.

My nephew, Jevon, is starting to try out new foods. Like this yummy piece of watermelon. Mmmm.

Now how about these 3! What a great sibling picture, no fighting just lots of fun!!

The newest little Brewer fan!!!

Cousins and Critters

2009-05-27T09:02:00.002-05:00

We had a fun day yesterday filled with visits to the Children's Zoo and quality time spent with 2nd cousins.

There are three families of children here and all the kids had a wonderful time playing "kitties and doggies" with each other as well as alittle Mario Kart on the Wii.

At the zoo the kids loved playing in the Bug Room. The zoo keepers allowed us to hold "hissing cockroaches" and huge hermit crabs. As well as "pet" silk worms. Jacob thought the cockroach was just hilarious.

Tyler thought it was pretty cool to have this bug crawl around his fingers. If you look in the bottom left corner you can see one of the hermit crabs crawling around.

Farm Boys (and girl)

2009-05-26T09:16:00.004-05:00

We went out to one of Brian's uncles' farm yesterday. We thought that he only had miniature horses, but to our surprise...he had enough animals for Noah's Ark! The kids had an absolute wonderful time and already asked if we could go back there today.

If you look closely there is a flock of ducks, baby geese, and two llama's in the background.

Jacob caught a duck. It was the thrill of the chase that made him smile so well.

The boys also enjoyed catching and holding the chicks.

Me.....not so much.

Haley was not afraid of any of the animals. She walked right up to the turkeys and loved chasing the baby geese.

Tyler got to hold a baby goose.

The miniature horses were a huge hit!

Feeding the horses and looking like future cowboys.

Daddy thought that Haley should ride the donkey. She was not ok with that. But, a good photo opportunity.

We have tons more pictures to post, so check back often!

Find a Fish?

2009-05-17T15:00:00.004-05:00

Brian took the boys fishing today.

They practiced casting.

And they practiced more casting.

They worked on developing patience.

Then they went to another lake and practiced casting again.

Then they gave up fishing and began exploring.

Exploring and being 6 yr. old boys.

They found lots of teeny, tiny shells.

And more being 6 yr. old boys.

Then they came home. No fish, not one bite, but lots of great memories.

Brewer Fever

2009-05-14T17:13:00.003-05:00

We've got Brewer Fever! We took the boys to our first Brewer game of the season today. It was a sunny, noon game with $1 hot dogs and soda's. Too good to pass up so we took the boys out of school early to enjoy some bonding time in the open air stadium at "Miller Park."

The boys were sporting their Prince Fielder jerseys and "tough guy" smiles.

We are still teaching all the baseball game rules and what a perfect way to do so...with the Brewers!

Tyler loved his new eye-wear. That is until it was time to take these off....kinda like a band-aid. Ouch!

CHARGE!!!!

From the moment we sat down in the first inning the boys start asking about the infamous Sausage Run. It doesn't happen till the 6th....lots of waiting! But, totally worth it to watch these 5 sausages run around home plate in a race to place first!

We want to give a BIG "thank you" to Grandpa Andy for watching princess Haley while we enjoyed some "big kid" time! :)

Happy Mommies Day To You!

2009-05-10T08:47:00.002-05:00

Happy Mother's Day from these mommies to you!

We celebrated a day early this year, then us mommies get all weekend to be spoiled!

I love when we actually get one great family photo! To have all the kids actually looking straight ahead and their hands not on each other's throats, THIS is a special memory for me.

THIS will be the boy's special memory!

Haley's Haircut

2009-05-06T12:49:00.004-05:00

Haley had her first "big girl" hair appointment the other day. My stylist and life-long friend Trisha, traveled down to our house to cut Haley's hair. Up till then she had been sporting a female mullet-type hairstyle. But now she has a girl style! Her first true haircut was at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World last summer and she cried and wiggled the whole time. This time she was a champ. It also helps that she loves Trisha and earlier the two bonded over a walk, hand-in-hand, through the backyard.

Haley just sucked on her nuk the whole time, letting Trisha cut away. I just loved this picture of her little head sticking out of the huge cape.

Super still. Don't move a muscle.

Haley had to stand on my lap so Trisha could get the perfect shaped cut. And Haley, she didn't mind this one bit. She looks awful serious doesn't she? I swear she liked it!

These photos have been brought to you courtesy of older brother and toothless wonder, Jacob! He is already mastering the art of self-photos :)

"Blue 42, Blue 42, Hut, Hut, HIKE!!"

2009-05-02T13:53:00.003-05:00

It is that time again....time for rec. dept. FOOTBALL! The boys are the oldest in their league now and seem to rule the gridiron. They loved every minute of it. Here are some pictures of our first game...

Alittle warm-up followed by stretching. Tyler has the hat on and Jacob choose to wear his sunglasses. Just some attitude to scare off the 4 year olds. :)

Tyler now switched to his sunglasses too, just in time to show off his dedication to the game by diving for his opponents flag. He got it too!!

Jacob is on his way to a terrific touchdown. He swung up the sideline and gave a little shout-out to his brother, who was cheering him on at the time.

Haley did really well at the football game. She took in a few plays while enjoying her snack.

But she quickly grew tired of watching football and enjoyed playing kickball with Grandma.

Jacob is looking on while Tyler takes a hit and lands on the ground. We are still working on this whole "team player" concept.

Another highlight was Haley's discovery of dandelions. What woman can say no to flowers! We had a great start to our weekend!

Pretty Pouty Pink

2009-04-24T14:59:00.002-05:00

Oh how I have waited for a girl...

Haley's first pedicure, complete with Pouty Pink nail polish :)

Crazy About Camping

2009-04-22T08:01:00.002-05:00

It has rained here for the last two days, non-stop rain, that makes time for lots of imaginative play. The boys decided that they would set up a camping trip in the hallway. All their favorite animals or dolls came along for the trip and they played together, no fighting, wonderful sibling play! I have been dreaming of this day!

Tyler's campsite. (Eyes are closed for pretend sleeping.)

Haley's first camping trip.

Jacob even turned on the nightlight for effect!

An Artist Is Born

2009-04-20T11:25:00.002-05:00

Haley's newest adventure has been discovering markers. I know that the boys' never, ever had markers till at least 3 years old (they have an overprotective mother.) But, this big girl just 2 months shy of 2 years old wants whatever her big brothers have and right now, that is markers.

With precision and "washable" markers in hand, Haley creates a masterpiece on a piece of Post-It notes.

Half the fun of playing with markers is trying to get the caps back on. The intense concentration of this task also requires her tongue to come poking out her mouth. :p

Finally Friday

2009-04-17T13:19:00.004-05:00

It is a beautiful, beautiful Friday! Sunny, 70 degrees, and daddy comes home tonight! The boys have been off of school on Spring Break this week so we have tried to keep busy. Anyways, we made the most of the day and spent the morning at the zoo. Here are a couple moments....

My three angels.

We took a ride on the carousel, Haley's first. The boys loved it!

Jacob, no teeth, was so excited.

Tyler wants to be a cowboy.

Haley didn't think this thing would actually move! This would be her "I'm not so sure of this spinning 'round and up and down thing" facial expression.

Ok, weeee! I LOVE it! "Ride, ride, ride," were the chants heard all around the carousel as the ride ended and I had to pry her hands off the pole. I believe we will be riding this alot this summer :)

Chip Dippin'

2009-04-16T18:15:00.002-05:00

I introduced Haley into the wonderful world of sour cream this evening. Mmmm.

There is just something about the taste of Frito's dipped in sour cream. Haley had to try it.

Funny thing, she never once ate the chip. She just kept scooping that sour cream straight into her mouth, at least for the most part.

Ooohhh yeah, that is good stuff. I call it dinner in my house. ;)

Barrette Bandits Strike Again!

2009-04-15T08:48:00.002-05:00

The boys are off this week for spring break and seem to already be bored 3 days into vacation. I was, once again, trying to finish getting ready when I asked the boys to go "entertain" their sister in her crib till I could get there. Here is what I came upon...

I witnessed Haley standing perfectly still while the boys put "pretties" in her hair. She is not one to be shy about looking good!

Even the back was done with care.

Jacob found one more barrette to add to the bunch.

She doesn't get any cuter than this!!!!

Hoppy Easter

2009-04-13T07:58:00.009-05:00

A belated Happy Easter to everyone! We had a wonderful Easter day. It started with Haley up at 5am and the boys to follow her lead with rising before the sun could. All our celebration hoop-la Easter egg hunt was over before 6:15am and that also means that eating candy began pretty early as well! We had gone to church the evening before so we had all morning to try out these new, cool, big-kid, bigger than my kids bikes! The boys' bday is in October so come spring we are always finding that they are in need of something for summer so the Easter bunny hops over bringing big presents to the boys.

Jacob (red) and Tyler (yellow) are so very excited about their new bikes! The size of these bikes are a constant reminder to me on how big my boys are and how fast they are growing up. I still remember them riding their Harley Davidson Big Wheels, now Haley will be riding those this summer. Ahhhh a nostalgic moment. :)

So we made the kids dress up in their Sunday Easter best and here is their cutie pics! Jacob is in red and also missing his two front teeth. Tyler is in blue and missing his bottom two teeth. Haley is just putting up with them. ;)

Don't you love their shirts all tucked in!!!! Handsome, aren't they!

Oh yeah, the Easter bonnet has come out!

I have waited a long, long time to have a girl. Pink, pretty dresses, and Easter bonnets.....that's what little girl's are made of.

This pretty princess has also stolen the heart of her daddy :)

Our afternoon was spent with family and of course, baby Isabella.

Haley just loves playing "mommy" to baby Izzy. Her she is gently shoving Izzy's nuk in her mouth whether she wants it or not! These two girls are going to be best friends, I know it.

Is it not so adorable that they have the same dress on! Not planned by my sister or I, just pure coincidence! Too cute!

It was such a looonnngg day but definitely full of fun. All kids were asleep and snoring by 7:30pm.
Brian and I also have been teaching the boys the true meaning of Easter using Bible stories and the Resurrection Eggs. The boys' really, truly get it! They have a child-like faith of God and Jesus. It is so special to hear them talk about Jesus' gift to us was dying on the cross and that someday we will be in heaven with Him.
Thank you God for a wonderful day full of celebration with family and celebrating Jesus has risen from the grave.

Egg-celent Morning

2009-04-11T09:07:00.003-05:00

The alarm clock went off at 6am. Ugh. "This is for the kids, this is for the kids, this will make the kids so happy" - this is what we said to ourselves as we dragged our tired bodies out of bed on a Saturday morning. With all the kids up and dressed we told them we had a surprise for them and headed out the door before 7:30. As we pulled into the grocery store they complained, then we told them....an Easter Egg Hunt in the grocery store!! Can you hear the excited screaming!!!

This was Haley's first egg hunt. She wasn't too sure why she was finding chocolate eggs mixed in with the cat food, but she went with it!

She came home with a bag full of candy that we don't need.

Now Tyler is a pro at egg finding. The boy's age group was in the baking aisle and they checked everywhere very carefully and didn't even break anything!

Look behind the flour boys!

Jacob is showing off his loot.

What a great family picture then in front of the cake mixes and cans of frosting!

The morning was filled with lots of fun and smiles, that is until the Easter Rabbit tried to come down by Haley. She clinged onto Daddy for dear life, then with a smile said "Bye-Bye." He is pretty cool, only from a distance. :)

Fond du Lac Fun

2009-04-10T08:21:00.004-05:00

We have had an eventful week here, or should I say that the kids have had a week full of excitement and lots of love from Grandma and Grandpa. Either my mom or dad has been here everyday this week to help out with the kids. The kids have certainly been entertained and having lots and lots of fun with G & G.

While daddy took the boys to swimming lessons, Grandpa Andy and Haley had some baby playing time together. She loves to play "night, night" and Grandpa found every baby and lovey in the toy room for her to snuggle. (Also, notice the lack of pants on this child!)

Yesterday we went and visited G & G at their place. The boys were very excited about their Easter surprise pogo sticks. After much practicing, falling, falling, and jumping they figured it out and now are non-stop pogo-sticking champs!

Tyler loves his picture of him mid-air and staying on for over 10 jumps!

Growing up my mom had a pogo stick, the really study metal real deal pogo stick. When I was old enough I would use her pogo stick at my grandma's house. I remember bouncing on it in the driveway, all the time, singing songs, and having fun. There is something addicting about the pogo stick, it's that or it the competitive drive to perfect it. As Jacob is here, in full concentration, working on his skillz!

While the boys practiced on their pogo sticks, Haley enjoyed her time on the swing. She has been perfecting her facial expressions lately.

Her famous silly face :)

And the clutch cheese smile!

Surgery Survival

2009-04-07T14:47:00.003-05:00

It seems like forever since I last blogged. Well, as many of you know, I had my gall bladder surgery last Thursday. I am still recovering and still having pain, but I have a wonderful mom and dad who have given up their own lives last week and this week to help take care of us. I also have a wonderful group of woman from our church who have most generously taken their time to make our family meals. What a great relief this has been for me to not worry about the details. Since I have been upstairs, asleep and unconscious for the past few days, here are some of the pictures I found on the camera.....

The boys decorated "Get Well Soon" chocolate chip cookie cakes for me! I still haven't had any to eat, but they sure do love them!

Haley and her chairs seem to have bonded together over the past few days.

Also, her clothing became optional as the week went on. Daddy did his best! :)

Seriously daddy, I just want to read a book to my baby, in my chair, with only a onesie on. Got a problem with it?

Apparently the baby stroller was a big hit too!

My mom read books with all three kids one night. All my kids just love, love, love having books read to them.

Daddy gives out powdered sugar donuts anytime he wants! Daddy your the coolest!

So, you must have been wondering what the boys were doing this whole time? Well, Brian rented them some new Wii games and this is what happened Brian is thanking Mario Kart for all the quiet time it bought him!

Jevon's Sittin' Big Boy Style

2009-04-01T09:23:00.004-05:00

Thank you to Brian's mom, Bev, for passing along this hilarious sequence of photos. Our nephew Jevon has been busy practicing his sitting up skills. Let's check in and see how it's coming along....

Hi, I'm cutie pa-tootie Jevon! I can melt your heart with my big beautiful brown eyes or make you giggle with my crazy curly hair! Either way, your gonna love me!

Okay, things are looking good! I've got this whole sittin' up business handled.

Wait! I spoke to soon! Grandma, put the camera down!! I'm goin' down!!!

Ok, enough pictures. Help please. Oh wait, there are toys down here. Cool! I'm good!

Sunday Surprise

2009-03-30T07:39:00.004-05:00

We woke up to snow covered streets on Sunday morning. Ugh. Snow, now? It has been so nice not to worry about snowpants and boots and just put on spring coats. But, back to Wisconsin weather reality check.

From a child's point of view, the boys couldn't wait to get home from church and get out to play in the fresh snow.

My mighty strong shoveler's took care of the driveway.

Tyler and Jacob were very proud of their block fort.

They were also very proud of this snow fort wall thing, with the ambush factor.

Wonderful Weather Weekend

2009-03-24T13:22:00.003-05:00

We had such wonderful weather this weekend that I wanted to revisit it today. We currently have whipping winds, cold chills, and relentless rain so let's look back to the shining sun and dry land we had this weekend.

Superstar Haley loves being outside and enjoys driving around town on her brother's bulldozer.

Kids of all ages love bubbles, including mine. Jacob is using bubbles that were found in our recent basement clean-out, they are from our wedding reception. I like to save things :)

We had visits from all kinds of family on Saturday, including Grandma Gail, Grandpa Andy, and cousin Izzy. Izzy is full of smiles and coo's now that she is approaching the 6 months old mark. She watches everything and is always exhausted when she leaves our crazy house.

On Sunday afternoon, we took a stroll down to the park for the first time this year. We can't wait to visit it all summer long.

If only I were alittle taller.

Haley really enjoyed the park, especially the slide..."go weeee!"

Haley made big strides going down the slide all by herself. (Notice the hovering mother.)

Tyler and Jacob like the swings and are starting to learn how to "pump" their legs to swing all by themselves.

It was a great weekend to relax and be outside. I am crossing my fingers in hopes that the rest of the week will look better than today!

Saturday Morning Madness

2009-03-21T20:09:00.004-05:00

On Saturday mornings Brian and I make a feast of a breakfast that begins with making Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes and ends with triple berry muffins. Our breakfast tradition also includes eating all things bad for your heart and waist line like bacon and cinnamon rolls. Topped off by flavored coffee for the chefs.

Now that she is older Haley loves helping stir the pancakes.

Daddy and his little girl are gettin' the fixin's ready. Brian is such a great example of a patient and gentle dad.

The boys thought that breakfast was taking too long to make so they set up a fort in the hallway.

Next, the costumes came out. Red Power Ranger and Zorro defending their fort from the intruder, a purple people eater.

Ta da!!!!

Haley has been asserting her independence lately as she has learned that she can undress herself. Zipper pajamas never stay on in the morning and pants never stay on in the afternoon.

A tu-tu and a diaper are a perfect wardrobe choose to complete our laid back Saturday morning.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T16:46:00.003-05:00

Happy Saint Patrick's Day from our green team to yours.
(Check out their form!)

Wishing for Spring

2009-03-13T09:48:00.006-05:00

This week has been crazy busy so I am posting pictures from last week when all was calm and warmer.

The boys are so excited when they get even 1 minute to ride their bikes. They have big plans for this summer which involves lots and lots of bike ride trips to the park.

For the first beautiful day in March we marched right off to the zoo to visit some of our favorite animals. Jacob's absolute favorite animal in the whole zoo is the tiger or as Jacob likes to call him "Tigerific." We make a visit to see "Tigerific" everytime we are at the zoo. Jacob loves it when the tiger comes to sit by the glass.

Haley was not too sure about the train ride around the zoo but still managed to crack a few smiles here and there.

Look very closely and you will see Tyler's absolute favorite animal in the whole zoo. Can you name it? It is the Bongo! Tyler just loves his stripes and antlers. A visit to see the bongo is mandatory for every visit to the zoo!

Tyler was so very excited for his first ride of the season on the train. It amazes me that the train ride never gets boring, to them it is like riding it for the first time...everytime.

Haley was busy learning new words like "peacock" and "monkey" and also making new friends. She was not the least bit scared of the peacocks, she even tried to give them hugs.

We adopted two tigers from the zoo. They fit perfectly at our house.

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Incredible Adventures of Buckaroo Benes and the Amazing Sports Show

2009-03-07T15:52:00.005-06:00

(Posted by Brian)

Today we all (Daddy, Mommy, Jacob, Tyler and Haley) set out in the family cruiser for a fun filled day at the Milwaukee Sports Show. (The Milwaukee Sports Show has become known as the place where it is OK for our children to pretty much break any and all common sense rules.)
Remember the old choose your own adventure books of the late great 80's? Well, that is going to be the theme of today's post.

Our first adventure consisted of two six year olds and two sets of bow and arrows. What do you think happened next? A) If you think everything turned out fine and no arrows were sprayed across the exhibition center into the kayak demonstration, scroll down. B) If you think an arrow did shoot across the complex landing in the stands of the kayak demonstration please send money for our newly acquired legal fees.

Whew...no legal fees this weekend.

So what are two 6 year olds to do after getting the adrenaline pumping by pretending to be Robin Hood? Why, move on over to the CO2 fueled paint ball shooting gallery and load up a gun full of 40 paint balls and make mommy grimace with fear. (I LOVE the Sports Show!!!)
So what should the Benes clan do next? A) If you think they should apologize to the owner of the white miniature poodle that now resembles a Twister game board and run for the nearest exit, please send over a reference letter that we can forward to PETA. B) If you think the boys were quite the marksmen and nailed the targets more times than not, continue to enjoy the adventure and scroll down.

Good, we avoided the whole PETA thing!

OK, so let's take a break from shooting projectiles for a few minutes and see what else we can do to give mommy her first gray hair. (Can you find the brownie pt in that sentence?)
Sweet! A 4 story rockwall! Let's attack! So both boys strapped in and took off for the ceiling. What a blast, their faces said it all when they got to the top! But what do you think happened next? A) If you think one of the boys turned the rock climbing safety rope into his own personal bungee cord, please pray for us and for any future Holidays or Birthdays please only buy safety equipment. B) If you think the boys acted liked they had been climbing rock walls their whole lives continue to scroll down.

Wow what a day! And we didn't even post the pictures of them shooting pellet guns at targets.

Well, what a better way than to choose how the late afternoon went. A) If you think we came home and all took naps, please close your eyes and imagine me scoffing at you. B) If you think we survived the Sports Show just fine, but ended up having to take one of the projectile shooting, 4 story climbing 6 year olds into the Emergency Room and that is why daddy is posting to the blog today, continue to scroll down.

Yep, you chose the right ending. Erin ended up taking Jacob into the Emergency Room this afternoon. Jacob has been battling a bad cough for quite some time and went on some strong meds last Thursday. He was still having coughing fits and after talking to the on-call doctors we decided to take him in to see what it could be. Hopefully we will know soon enough. I have a lonely brother who says the Wii is no fun without Jacob and a little sister who keeps going to the garage door to see if they are home yet.

A 3-Ring Big Top Kind of Day

2009-03-02T14:25:00.006-06:00

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages...welcome to the CIRCUS!

On Saturday we visited the circus for the first time and had some serious fun. Except Haley, the clowns were enough to give her nightmares until she is in her teens. Notice her death grip on daddy's coat, Sparkles the clown and her were not going to be friends.

Tyler and Jacob are now aspiring tiger tamers.

We had wonderful seats with enough room for Haley to walk up and down our aisle and the boys were excited to watch some of the animals go in and out of the hall passage on Tyler's side.

The boys loved showing Haley all the animals and teaching her what a horse says. It was a precious sight to see them all walking hand in hand.

One of the highlights were the dancing elephants. We oohed and awed with every move they made.

The tight rope walkers were right in front of us as they completed a 7 person pyramid.

The show was quite long but the boys loved every minute of it. Of course the highlight was the human cannonball. If you have never seen a man fly out of a cannonball (over 150 ft.) and land in a net, I suggest you do!

Haley Bailey

2009-02-27T13:13:00.004-06:00

When we found out that we were having a girl, we couldn't contain our excitement. A girl to go along with 2 boys was the cherry on top of our perfect sundae of a family. 20 Months into her life, Haley, has taught us many things including that a girl can get anything she wants when she tells you "pretty" or "love you." With her sweet smile and angelic voice she constantly surprises us with her readiness to learn (or keep up with her older brothers for survival.)

All I wanted was a picture of her pig-tails, but all I kept getting was a picture of just her tail.

See, I told you that she runs this house! Anything she wants, with that smile, she can have it! Haley knows just how to get daddy to say "yes."

Here are a couple pics from a visit with cousin Izzy. Haley is all about babies, she just loves them. She wants to be by Izzy all the time, getting her toys, blankets, and nuks. She is a very big helper.

Izzy on the other hand, "she's looking at me again," likes to have alittle distance between her and Haley.

The little mommy doesn't care, she'd pose for a picture all day long with that smile!

Now and Then....

2009-02-25T14:13:00.003-06:00

It has officially happened, my baby boys are growing up. (Sad lip, wipe tears.)

Here, Jacob and Tyler are enjoying lunch with their friends on their first field trip!

I remember when lunch used to be this. :)

I only think I blinked and the last 4 years have blown by. I am feeling a bit nostalgic lately. (Deep sigh....)

A Blizzard of a Weekend

2009-02-23T09:41:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful winter weekend here in Wisconsin. We woke up to snow falling on Saturday morning, about 6 inches. The boys could hardly wait to get outside and help daddy shovel snow or as Jacob likes to do, eat snow. He did tell me that he stays away from the yellow snow, ok, good. Since Saturday consisted of us being housebound all day, Sunday was packed full of weekend to-do's! With all the fresh snow on the ground you know what that means...perfect conditions for sledding! The boys have been waiting all winter for a day like this, the sledding hill all to themselves, sunny, and a beautiful blue sky. After church the boys hit the hill with their sleds in tow. After a quick lunch we were off to a community fair to eat cotton candy and win a few prizes. Then a brief stop at Cabela's to look at stuffed animals, live fish, and shoot guns (total boy stuff!) Our day was topped off by a visit from Grandma and Grandpa and all the Heidenbergers. The boys barely made it into their beds before passing out from exhaustion.

Here are a few pictures from the sledding hill....

Jacob and Tyler with their new speedy sleds!

Whoops, looks like they lost their speedy sleds and opted for a belly sled.

Tyler is all smiles and out of breath after climbing back up the hill.

Jacob is all ready to hit the slope!

Can't you hear the theme to the movie Rocky in this picture! They are the champions!

All Things Girly

2009-02-19T11:27:00.004-06:00

I think I have done my time with race cars, dump trucks, and boy noises. A girl in our house has brought babies, snuggling, and an explosion of pink. Here are some candid moments from this morning....

Haley is a girl with lots of personality, this is her "funny" face. She also loves, loves dressing up. She likes to put on the boys' cowboy hats, bunny ears, and bead necklaces. Here she is sporting her new look of a pink tu-tu coordinated well with her pink pajamas.

Of course I couldn't pull out a camera without her putting on her "say cheese" smile. Did I mention that she is a ham :)

Speaking of hams....:) Not to be out-done by their little sister, Tyler and Jacob enjoy some morning fun. Also, notice the barrier gate created to keep the pretty in pink one out of their stuff. I gotta give them credit for their creativeness with their tower of paper towels!