Milwaukee is awesome in August...perfect weather and tons to do.
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Monday, April 14, 2014
Catch up: August in Milwaukee
I am, quite literally, months behind on this blog. And with this baby coming in 8 days, I know I've got a limited time to get caught up before I'm eternally behind. So without further ado, I will try to post a few pictures from each month, with limited commentary :)
The Milwaukee Airshow over Lake Michigan...and the day Niels fell in love with airplanes
The girls and friends were much more interested in the sand than the airplanes.
We went to the zoo a LOT. And somehow the train ride is always the highlight.
We grilled almost every day. And I had mountains of zucchini which I learned to be very creative with.
Regular marshmallow roasts.
And backyard parties with the friends.
And what's summer in Milwaukee without the 110th anniversary of Harley Davidson? Bikers everywhere.
Milwaukee is awesome in August...perfect weather and tons to do.
Milwaukee is awesome in August...perfect weather and tons to do.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
7 weeks of family reunion
The last two weeks of June were Paul's vacation...we loved our time in McCall...and I had to add this video that I forgot...
At the end you can hear Hattie say, "Ah, she has chemicals!" Here's the back story: About 8 months ago we were swimming at our local pool. Hattie, joyously floating in her tube, kept drinking a ton of pool water. I warned her over and over, but being three, she didn't listen. Later that evening around bedtime, she puked. I explained to her that the water had chemicals in it that made her tummy sick. Now she thinks all bodies of water (even the bathtub) have chemicals and doesn't dare drink anything that doesn't come from a cup.
Once July started, Paul hit the books, studying in my parents basement for step 2 of his boards. That's why he is pretty much absent from the rest of the pictures posted from the summer...he was in the basement while we were playing.
We spent a few days with most of my family and some of my cousins in Donnelly, Idaho, and Hattie actually got the nerve to go tubing. From my scaredy-cat little girl, I was shocked. This the girl who only recently learned how to get in and out of a crib. But with Uncle Jonny beside her and her parents cheering her on (we didn't have swimming suits).
Anna loved the boat ride...she also loves jet skis, even though you get no reaction from her while riding. I ask her if she's having fun and she barely shakes her head...but when you take her off, she immediately begs for more.
Back at my mom's house, some baby kittens were discovered in a nest in a tree (to keep them safe from the hawk). They became a favorite and Hattie was constantly asking if she could play with the kitties.
And Anna turned 2! Hard to believe that it was two years ago that I was casually hanging out at my parents house when she decided to come 6 weeks early. Now she's a happy, healthy toddler who never stops running around, loves playing with her big sister, and wants to be a part of everything. She is finally getting more verbal and has mastered the word "please." I think she knows already that it'll get her anything. Anyways, we had a great party, especially since Uncle Jonny, Uncle Mark, and cousin James all celebrated their birthdays the same week, so it was a big party.
Of course she didn't really know what to do with the candles, and didn't appreciate the smoke.
And she finally understands what it means to open presents.
Here she is cuddling her new gifts: a pig pillow pet from Hattie, a baby doll from Grandma, and Minnie Mouse from Mom and Dad.
As you can see she loves them. 
And never lets them out of her sight. Even now that we are back in Lubbock and she has reunited with her old toys, Minnie and Baby are always with her.
Together with cousins Sophie and Jonas, they made play-doh birthday cakes.
I think the knife is a candle...?
One of the highlights of Grandma's house is the pool of course. Cousin Claire was Anna's best friend...seriously, Claire has a natural gift with children...all of the toddler's love her and Anna would ask for her by name...we miss you Claire!
Hattie waiting her turn for the slip and slide...
...on the run...
...and she jumps into the pool. I could quite get her to figure out the whole sliding thing.
And Rachel was just too cute.
We also made it out to the Malheur County Fair. After overcoming her fear of the huge cows, Hattie loved it...but not as much as Anna enjoyed her sucker.
I just love this picture of Anna. One morning after cleaning up breakfast I found her on the patio just enjoying the sunrise.
During my last week there, Lisa, Val, and I took the kiddos to Lake Lowell.
And we decorated yummy cookies at Aunt Lisa's house.
At the beginning of August, Paul left Oregon and head for Salt Lake City, where he spent the entire month of August doing a radiology rotation at the University Hospital. I originally planned to stay with my mom during August, having assumed that his rotation would have the usual ridiculous hours in medical school...but instead of working 14 hour days, his schedule ended up being a normal 8 to 5 job with no weekend call! So rather than staying in Ontario another 3 weeks without a husband, the girls and I decided to join Paul in Utah. This meant that I suddenly had no time to visit the friends that I had been planning on seeing during those three weeks. So if you are reading this from Ontario and are bummed that I didn't see you, please know that I am too! I really was planning on it, but we decided it would be better to stay together as a family.
We even had one day where everyone was there...except Spencer on his mission of course. The greatest part of the weeks spent in Ontario was being able to be with the sisters and brothers I love, spending time with my wonderful parents, and that those of us who live far away are able to come at the same time and all be together, helping our kids become friends and creating memories for them.
Still not done covering our trip...next time: 2 weeks in Utah!
At the end you can hear Hattie say, "Ah, she has chemicals!" Here's the back story: About 8 months ago we were swimming at our local pool. Hattie, joyously floating in her tube, kept drinking a ton of pool water. I warned her over and over, but being three, she didn't listen. Later that evening around bedtime, she puked. I explained to her that the water had chemicals in it that made her tummy sick. Now she thinks all bodies of water (even the bathtub) have chemicals and doesn't dare drink anything that doesn't come from a cup.
Once July started, Paul hit the books, studying in my parents basement for step 2 of his boards. That's why he is pretty much absent from the rest of the pictures posted from the summer...he was in the basement while we were playing.
We spent a few days with most of my family and some of my cousins in Donnelly, Idaho, and Hattie actually got the nerve to go tubing. From my scaredy-cat little girl, I was shocked. This the girl who only recently learned how to get in and out of a crib. But with Uncle Jonny beside her and her parents cheering her on (we didn't have swimming suits).
Anna loved the boat ride...she also loves jet skis, even though you get no reaction from her while riding. I ask her if she's having fun and she barely shakes her head...but when you take her off, she immediately begs for more.
Back at my mom's house, some baby kittens were discovered in a nest in a tree (to keep them safe from the hawk). They became a favorite and Hattie was constantly asking if she could play with the kitties.
And Anna turned 2! Hard to believe that it was two years ago that I was casually hanging out at my parents house when she decided to come 6 weeks early. Now she's a happy, healthy toddler who never stops running around, loves playing with her big sister, and wants to be a part of everything. She is finally getting more verbal and has mastered the word "please." I think she knows already that it'll get her anything. Anyways, we had a great party, especially since Uncle Jonny, Uncle Mark, and cousin James all celebrated their birthdays the same week, so it was a big party.
Of course she didn't really know what to do with the candles, and didn't appreciate the smoke.
And she finally understands what it means to open presents.
Here she is cuddling her new gifts: a pig pillow pet from Hattie, a baby doll from Grandma, and Minnie Mouse from Mom and Dad.
As you can see she loves them. 
And never lets them out of her sight. Even now that we are back in Lubbock and she has reunited with her old toys, Minnie and Baby are always with her.
Together with cousins Sophie and Jonas, they made play-doh birthday cakes.
I think the knife is a candle...?
One of the highlights of Grandma's house is the pool of course. Cousin Claire was Anna's best friend...seriously, Claire has a natural gift with children...all of the toddler's love her and Anna would ask for her by name...we miss you Claire!
Hattie waiting her turn for the slip and slide...
...on the run...
...and she jumps into the pool. I could quite get her to figure out the whole sliding thing.
And Rachel was just too cute.
We also made it out to the Malheur County Fair. After overcoming her fear of the huge cows, Hattie loved it...but not as much as Anna enjoyed her sucker.
I just love this picture of Anna. One morning after cleaning up breakfast I found her on the patio just enjoying the sunrise.
During my last week there, Lisa, Val, and I took the kiddos to Lake Lowell.
And we decorated yummy cookies at Aunt Lisa's house.
At the beginning of August, Paul left Oregon and head for Salt Lake City, where he spent the entire month of August doing a radiology rotation at the University Hospital. I originally planned to stay with my mom during August, having assumed that his rotation would have the usual ridiculous hours in medical school...but instead of working 14 hour days, his schedule ended up being a normal 8 to 5 job with no weekend call! So rather than staying in Ontario another 3 weeks without a husband, the girls and I decided to join Paul in Utah. This meant that I suddenly had no time to visit the friends that I had been planning on seeing during those three weeks. So if you are reading this from Ontario and are bummed that I didn't see you, please know that I am too! I really was planning on it, but we decided it would be better to stay together as a family.We even had one day where everyone was there...except Spencer on his mission of course. The greatest part of the weeks spent in Ontario was being able to be with the sisters and brothers I love, spending time with my wonderful parents, and that those of us who live far away are able to come at the same time and all be together, helping our kids become friends and creating memories for them.
Still not done covering our trip...next time: 2 weeks in Utah!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Absent
No, I haven't completely fallen off the edge of the world (although my Lubbock friends might have thought so). We were just traveling. A lot. Too much. But of course it has been wonderful.
We left Lubbock June 18th, the day after Paul finished his last exam of 3rd year medical school (yes, he's officially in his last year now). We had a long, 15 hour drive to Orem, Utah. Proof:
We took a drive up to Squaw Peak so the girls could see the view. Hattie: "I can see the whole world!"
We stayed 1 night and head 6 more hours north to Ontario, Oregon, where we would stay for 7 1/2 weeks. It didn't take long for the girls to quickly fall in love with Grandma's house all over again. Who wouldn't? 24 hour pool, huge yard, fresh strawberries, tree house, newborn kittens, fresh raspberries, chickens, swing set, trampoline, tons of toys, loads of cousins, 90 degree weather, and much more.
Thanks to our Science Spectrum pass, we got into the Boise Discovery Center free :) This was the Veterinarian hospital.
We went up to our family cabin in McCall, Idaho for a few days. Heaven. Absolutely one of my favorite places in the world. The girls loved the beach more than anything.
See what I mean? Beautiful. See what you missed out on, Iverson family!?!
And we hiked up to this little waterfall with Val and her kids.
Here's proof of our 4th of July celebration. Hattie LOVED the fireworks. I've always made her go to bed before they started in years past, especially since it doesn't get dark in Ontario until 10:30. So she was thrilled to stay up late and see them for the first time.
More to come...just needed to post this to get started! And to provide proof that we are still alive.
We left Lubbock June 18th, the day after Paul finished his last exam of 3rd year medical school (yes, he's officially in his last year now). We had a long, 15 hour drive to Orem, Utah. Proof:
We took a drive up to Squaw Peak so the girls could see the view. Hattie: "I can see the whole world!"
We stayed 1 night and head 6 more hours north to Ontario, Oregon, where we would stay for 7 1/2 weeks. It didn't take long for the girls to quickly fall in love with Grandma's house all over again. Who wouldn't? 24 hour pool, huge yard, fresh strawberries, tree house, newborn kittens, fresh raspberries, chickens, swing set, trampoline, tons of toys, loads of cousins, 90 degree weather, and much more.
Thanks to our Science Spectrum pass, we got into the Boise Discovery Center free :) This was the Veterinarian hospital.
We went up to our family cabin in McCall, Idaho for a few days. Heaven. Absolutely one of my favorite places in the world. The girls loved the beach more than anything.
See what I mean? Beautiful. See what you missed out on, Iverson family!?!
And we hiked up to this little waterfall with Val and her kids.
Here's proof of our 4th of July celebration. Hattie LOVED the fireworks. I've always made her go to bed before they started in years past, especially since it doesn't get dark in Ontario until 10:30. So she was thrilled to stay up late and see them for the first time.
More to come...just needed to post this to get started! And to provide proof that we are still alive.Saturday, September 19, 2009
July and August in Ontario
I know the summer is long gone, but I still have two posts I want to do so that I have them documented.
If you remember back the beginning of our summer vacation, we drove from Lubbock to the Grand Canyon, from the Grand Canyon to Utah, and from Utah to McCall. Then I was so busy having fun at my parents' house that I didn't post anything until my water broke and I was in the hospital. So here is a summary, mostly of photos (and there are lots of them), of the time I spent at my parents, both before and after Anna came.
Let's start with the Fourth of July celebration...
All the grandkids on the porch for dinner
This video is great...check out Paul and Spencer getting into it, Myra and Natali focused at the mike, Val practicing guitar in the background, and Isaac clapping the beat by the drums.
All the grandkids (except Hattie was asleep) enjoying their treat from the treasure hunt
Fireworks of course
There weren't many scheduled activities while in Ontario, just a lot of down time. Four of my siblings live within 40 minutes of my parents, and my sister who lives in Iowa was also there for the whole month. It was wonderful to be constantly surrounded by family. After being in Lubbock for the last year, I had gotten used to being on my own without family support just a few minutes or hours away. At the beginning of my trip, I was afraid that we had scheduled too much time in Oregon and that by the end of the trip, I would have felt like we had overdosed on family time. But at the end of the 8 weeks there, I was extremely sad to leave. I have been blessed with such wonderful parents and great siblings. I find I miss being with them now more than ever. I miss the simple things: watching Laura's kids walk over to Grandma's house every morning for breakfast, Hattie having cousins to play with, my sisters to chat with as our kids play, having pick-up-parties with the kids while singing "Eye of the Tiger," all the kids asking for trips to Grandma's freezer, wandering around my parents' yard with a pool, trees, swing set, and chicken coop. It really was wonderful for Hattie, and for Paul and me.
If you remember back the beginning of our summer vacation, we drove from Lubbock to the Grand Canyon, from the Grand Canyon to Utah, and from Utah to McCall. Then I was so busy having fun at my parents' house that I didn't post anything until my water broke and I was in the hospital. So here is a summary, mostly of photos (and there are lots of them), of the time I spent at my parents, both before and after Anna came.
Let's start with the Fourth of July celebration...
All the grandkids on the porch for dinner
My brother Spencer got us all addicted to Rock Band. By the end of the summer, all of the grandkids could sing ALL the words to "Eye of the Tiger" and "Living on a Prayer."
This video is great...check out Paul and Spencer getting into it, Myra and Natali focused at the mike, Val practicing guitar in the background, and Isaac clapping the beat by the drums.
All the grandkids (except Hattie was asleep) enjoying their treat from the treasure hunt
Fireworks of course
There weren't many scheduled activities while in Ontario, just a lot of down time. Four of my siblings live within 40 minutes of my parents, and my sister who lives in Iowa was also there for the whole month. It was wonderful to be constantly surrounded by family. After being in Lubbock for the last year, I had gotten used to being on my own without family support just a few minutes or hours away. At the beginning of my trip, I was afraid that we had scheduled too much time in Oregon and that by the end of the trip, I would have felt like we had overdosed on family time. But at the end of the 8 weeks there, I was extremely sad to leave. I have been blessed with such wonderful parents and great siblings. I find I miss being with them now more than ever. I miss the simple things: watching Laura's kids walk over to Grandma's house every morning for breakfast, Hattie having cousins to play with, my sisters to chat with as our kids play, having pick-up-parties with the kids while singing "Eye of the Tiger," all the kids asking for trips to Grandma's freezer, wandering around my parents' yard with a pool, trees, swing set, and chicken coop. It really was wonderful for Hattie, and for Paul and me.
Hattie enjoyed riding bikes every day
Spencer made root beer and explained the process of sublimation to the kids
Eating lunch with her other two-year old cousins Kate, Ansen, and Jonas
Spencer had never eaten fondue, so we had a party...yum.
Here Hattie is walking out to the tree house. That is where I remember spending my summers when I was a kid...we would play with our neighbor that we had ESP, explore the old abandoned houses, and jump across the ditch. I'm glad that old tree is still there.
My dad with his grandkids: Grace, Andrew, Hattie, Natali, and Myra
Hattie tries her hand at the drums with Dad before he leaves to go to Lubbock
My mom reading stories to Myra, Ansen, James, Grace, and Isaac
Laura's baby Owen. Hattie loves him. Even now this is her favorite picture to look at.
Hattie got her first hair cut...thanks Sharee!
And now it goes much curlier
Hattie and Sophie, who she calles "Ophie." They became best buds.
We had a sister in our ward take some family pictures for us.
I love this shot of Laura with her twins, Ansen and Jonas! It somehow captures a bit of what a feel about the summer...family, kids, and time together. I really loved watching Laura with her kids.
My crazy Patters
All 21 grandchildren with Grandma and Grandpa...check out Abby mid-air
The girls: Lisa, Me, Val, Sharee, Kerri, and Laura
All the siblings: Me, Lisa, Laura, Spencer, Val, Mark, and Sharee
Everyone in the family...except for Paul!
She learned to love the trampoline
But she mostly just runs or rolls around...Abby did most of the jumping
On the swing set, smiling at the chickens
A swing addict
We miss our cousins: Sophie, Paul, Andrew, Mack and Isaac
Ice cream with Kate and Claire
Hattie loved to feed the chickens. Every morning we would walk outside and she would want me to open the shed. She knew right where the feed was and would fill up the cup on her own.
Sand box with Jonas, Andrew, Grace and Sam
Spencer's 22nd birthday party. I can't believe my little brother is that old!
A visit from my friend Karli
We tried and tried to get a good picture of Anna before we left. This is the best one out of 20!
Hattie tries her hand at the drums with Dad before he leaves to go to Lubbock
My mom reading stories to Myra, Ansen, James, Grace, and Isaac
Laura's baby Owen. Hattie loves him. Even now this is her favorite picture to look at.
Hattie got her first hair cut...thanks Sharee!
And now it goes much curlier
Hattie and Sophie, who she calles "Ophie." They became best buds.
We had a sister in our ward take some family pictures for us.
I love this shot of Laura with her twins, Ansen and Jonas! It somehow captures a bit of what a feel about the summer...family, kids, and time together. I really loved watching Laura with her kids.
My crazy Patters
All 21 grandchildren with Grandma and Grandpa...check out Abby mid-air
The girls: Lisa, Me, Val, Sharee, Kerri, and Laura
All the siblings: Me, Lisa, Laura, Spencer, Val, Mark, and Sharee
Everyone in the family...except for Paul!
She learned to love the trampoline
But she mostly just runs or rolls around...Abby did most of the jumping
On the swing set, smiling at the chickens
A swing addict
We miss our cousins: Sophie, Paul, Andrew, Mack and Isaac
Ice cream with Kate and Claire
Hattie loved to feed the chickens. Every morning we would walk outside and she would want me to open the shed. She knew right where the feed was and would fill up the cup on her own.
Sand box with Jonas, Andrew, Grace and Sam
Spencer's 22nd birthday party. I can't believe my little brother is that old!
A visit from my friend Karli
We tried and tried to get a good picture of Anna before we left. This is the best one out of 20!
I am so grateful for a wonderful family...for siblings who care and parents who sacrifice. I am already looking forward to next summer. We love you and miss you!
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