Nutcracker + Christmas + Family

We've had a whirlwind couple of weeks and I've taken about a million pictures...

Start waayyyyy back with Nutcracker Rehearsal at the Theater on Thursday night. Grandma and Grandpa were very kind to get Shelly picked up from school and to the theater on time since I was at work. Friday I took the day off so I could get her to the theater on time (again) for dress rehearsal. Grandma and Grandpa weren't left out of the fun, though, they took Eli for the weekend. Let's not forget Archer - he packed himself up and took off with the scouts for a weekend of camping. And. A beautiful dress rehearsal kicked off the weekend of performances.



Saturday and Sunday. Three performances, so many compliments to the dancers and of course the best dancer of all was Shelly. She had a new role this year, as a Sheep. She was the cutest one.

Archer made it home Sunday morning after a weekend with an entire Scout camp for their small group of five people. Did I mention that the Blizzard of the Century blew through on Friday night? The Scout camp was covered in 40 feet of snow so the boys spent the weekend sledding and snowball fighting and whatever else Scouts do when camping in the snow.

We had a little Christmas gathering with Grandma and Grandpa after the final performance on Sunday. We all breathed a sigh of relief that another Nutcracker season was closed. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for assisting with the taxi duties, and for hanging onto E for the whole weekend so he didn't have to see the Nutcracker four times. You two always come through for us!

Fast forward six days, Hello Christmas!

Remember when Archer was the same height as these Nutcrackers?

We enjoyed our traditional visit to the campground for the light show, a visit from Santa, and Christmas with the cousins. This was the year of Nerf and RC toys. I tried to tally it up. The addition to the F5 Arsenal is something like 120 Nerf darts, 4 Nerf guns, 4 quadcopters, 2 cars, 1 helicopter and a whole lot of Cracker Jack. There might also be somewhere around 1,000 new Lego? And who gave Elijah Graham 110 marbles?

This is what I know - the rule of "no small parts" is 100% broken because for the last three days I've barely been able to walk without stepping on a weapon or some kind of ammo. I also know this. There has been a lot of running around, screaming with delight, laughing as the kids and quadcopters chase each other around corners. All around, a happy Christmas season for all.

Archer Art

Archer's path through the woods reminds me of a place near our home. I'm not sure if that's what he had in mind, but it feels peaceful to me. I can close my eyes and picture his drawing, and picture this place that we've been to so often, and think of all the nice memories I have of that place. Nice work, Archer, very nice.

First Snow - First Shovelling

We had a little snow yesterday and the kids seemed shocked when we ordered them outside to shovel. Out they went. There wasn't enough snow on the driveway to keep them entertained so they moved on to shovelling the yard. Yes, shovelling the yard. There was some shouting and some snow throwing and they all came in laughing a half hour later. Welcome Winter!

Shelly Art

Way back in the summer of 2015, Shelly enjoyed a couple weeks of art camp. I promised to share a taste of her work, and never really got around to it. But, after a year and a half, we've narrowed it down to her favorites, and here's a little taste of her work. Enjoy!

Everything I Know About Baking Cookies

I learned from my mom.

1. Take the time to do it, it takes your mind off other things. 

2. It's a social thing, involve the family. Take the time to manage whose turn it is to mix the batter, who gets to add the next ingredient, take the time to let the rest of the family help. Invest in your relationships with your family. 

3. It's a social thing, share your cookies generously with everyone who asks, and with those who don't. Show up with a gift everywhere you go, invest, visit your family and friends. 

4. Show people they can count on you, we always know Mom will be ready with cookies, no matter what occasion comes up. Or maybe there's no occasion, but she's ready for us.

5. Ask for help when you need it, and maybe even if you don't. Are they done yet? Put them on this plate. Take them over there. See number 2.

Quality Time

Once upon a time, I wanted to have kids. Once upon a time I knew that I would be a mom who would never yell, a mom who would be perfectly patient with my lovely angels all the time. And oh, the angels. My children would be polite and kind, they'd never argue, they'd never have dirt under their nails, eat too much candy....

Are your rolling your eyes and laughing at me yet? When was that Once Upon a Time? Obviously, it was before I had children. Anyway, as part of my little fantasy land, I believed we'd have a healthy, homemade meal together every night. Go ahead and laugh some more. I don't cook, I hate it, and I'm not very good. When I'm do cook, it's not unusual for something to go wrong and for me to say, "ok everybody, pizza tonight!" after there's an awful taste to whatever it was I just pulled out of the oven. And don't forget the smoke. Usually there's a lot of smoke.

Alright, where was I going with all that? I thought we'd have Family Dinners. Here's reality. We don't have family dinners. Our schedules don't match up quite enough for everyone to eat at the same time. Our culinary preferences almost never match up. So most nights now sound like this...

Ok everyone, it's time to eat. Are you hungry? Come to the kitchen and find some food. Then I list the leftovers or the stuff that I'm willing to make tonight, do you want mac and cheese or grilled cheese or spaghetti? Everyone grabs something, eats as quickly as they can and rushes back to some other activity. It's enough to make you feel really disconnected and depressed about how we don't spend time together. But here's the secret success, here's our Quality Time. Once we're all home for the night, after Scouts, Ballet, Work, we all settle down on the couches in the living room. We talk about homework, we play the piano, we talk about anything and everything. And that's where the best part of our day sneaks in. We're in the same room together, not arguing for the moment, snuggling and reading and I can't even list all the good stuff that happens. But those moments are the glue that keeps us all together.

I know it looks like they're all busy playing with electronics. But they really are enjoying each other's company, laughing and playing games together. For real. They are. 

Cute Little Story - I walk in the door and say "You can see Orion really clearly tonight." Archer knows exactly what this means and runs outside to gaze up at the stars. Shelly and Eli follow him out, but everyone realizes its too cold and runs back into the dining room. Archer tries to point out Orion while Shelly and Eli crowd around him and they're all standing inside but leaning outside and it's too crowded there in the doorway but it's too cold and WHERE is Orion's belt? And that's why I don't worry about Family Dinner, we're stargazing.

Lion Cubs Explore Gadgets & Gizmos

Hey, did you know that Elijah is now a Cub Scout? Also, David is a leader. Their first outing together was to the Betty Brinn Museum in Milwaukee to learn about gadgets and gizmos.

David brought a collection of gadgets for the kids to guess what they are and what they do, that was the educational part. The rest was supposed to be educational but was mostly just exploring. They all had fun, I think - once we got upstairs the kids all scattered and we didn't see most of them until lunch time.

Thanks For Everything Day

I ran. I am so thankful that I can run - that I'm healthy enough to go out and run 3.1 miles. I'm super slow but I can run. And I'm thankful for that. And bonus - my phone app said I ran the race in 37 minutes. Official results say 30 minutes. I'll take it!

I came home and cooked only a little, saw some friends and family. I feel so blessed that I have people in my life who will accept soup, salad, cheese and crackers as a Thanksgiving Day meal. Because I'm just not up to the big Turkey Feast. Rachel and her boys, along with Bampa and Mamma joined us for a nice afternoon gathering.

Once everyone left, we all packed up and went to Uncle Todd's for the final event of the day. All the cousins were there and we were able to enjoy how old all the kids are getting - the holidays are getting quieter as the years go by and the kids get older and learn to stop screaming quite so much. It's a slow process, but we're making progress.  :)  I'm very fortunate to be a part of TWO wonderful families who are welcoming and caring. What an incredible thing to have.

A couple of the kids traded places and we ended up bringing home one of the boys and leaving our girl behind. I guess the cousins needed some more bonding time together...

I don't have many pics, I'm not sharing funny stories about the latest thing the kids did, I just have such a sense of peace and love over the last two days. This morning I sat on the couch while the kids played and I read a book for a couple of hours. I haven't read a book in way too long. And it was the perfect way to spend time with the kids on our day off. Thanks kids, thanks families, the last two days were just about as perfect as they could possibly be.

Hey World, Look Who's Six!

We spent the entire day listening to someone say, "it's my birthday, I can do WHATEVER I want!" with a big innocent smile on his face. When I told E that six years ago I got to hold him for the first time, he sounded shocked. He started asking me all about his skills. "Could I talk? Could I walk? Crawl? Could I say Dada? Mama?" Nope. All you could do was cry. No talking, no crawling, just crying. Nope, you could cry. And you had hair on your ears like a little elf. I thought you were a hobbit. I'll read you that book sometime. How did we get you? Well.... I'll tell you that story sometime.

We had the traditional birthday dinner, Chinese takeout as usual. Gift opening, cake, and then a battle against the T Rex at the end of the hall, putting the new defense to the test. They had enough ammo and only a couple of small equipment troubles but nothing that the older brother couldn't fix. Before long the T Rex wasn't challenge enough, and E's attention turned to more challenging targets. Archer fended off darts with only a couple shouts of pain, way to tough it out Brother!

Anyway, here's the thing. Elijah Graham is an incredible person, his wonderful big heart cares so much for all of us. Tonight he told me that he wants to marry me when he grows up, what a sweetheart! He's learning so much in school and from his brother and sister (most of it good!) and I am so excited to see where he goes in the next year or six or many more. Just whatever you do, E, keep that big smile of yours, the one that's almost bigger than your face and lights up the room. Keep smiling!

My Kid, My Inspiration

Well, Elijah Graham, you've inspired me. You set some lofty goals for yourself, achieved them, and now you're striving for more. Next time will be an even bigger accomplishment...

Birthday Weekend

Happy Birthday Husband!
To a wonderful guy, from the family, we're glad we could spend it with you. For better or for worse.

David took Eli to Scout Camp for the afternoon, an event designed to give new scouts of all ages an idea of what Scouting is all about. And boy did they EVER give the kids an idea. The Scouts are now allowing boys as young as 5 to join so Eli's getting a head start on the fun. Kindergartners are Lions. So. Introducing you to our little Lion Cub, Elijah Graham!

They let everyone try archery. And BB guns. Seriously???? Once again, what kind of mom sends her kid.... (See the January Archives for a previous moment with this same thought.)

Bows and arrows and guns. I think they did other stuff too, but that was pretty much all I heard about. Oh yeah, and the rockets. Good thing there were lots of dads there to help every step of the way. Go dads! Go David!

But that was just the start of the fun, once the boys got home, the Fortier Five plus Two Grandparents trekked to the China Lights show at the same garden where David and I were married. When we were able to make our way to the Exact Spot where we stood to get married, there was a 1,000 foot long dragon facing us. I told E that the dragon was there when we got married. And I spent the entire ceremony worried that the dragon was going to CHOMP me! Do you believe me? He nodded, he looked a little scared. Sorry, E, I was just kidding. Anyway, beautiful show.

When we had seen almost everything and taken almost a million pictures we braved the crowds again and tried to swim against the stream to get out. Whew. Poor Dad, his birthday fun light show turned into a bit of a struggle as he tried to corral E and find the van. Eli had way too much energy. The grandparents and mom were way behind and weren't offering any help with the rambunctious Lion Cub. Happy Birthday Dad, you get to spend time with your family. Nothing but sunshine and rainbows, right? ;-)

Now for the little surprise - we took Mamaw and Bampa home and all the kids jumped out of the van to stay in HC for the night. Happy Night!

David and I enjoyed a dinner that didn't include kids menus. We didn't have to tuck anyone in, remind them to stay in bed, tell them to quit talking, etc. Nice evening, thanks to Mamaw and Bampa. I hear they had their own fun movie marathon and such.

Next morning, time to get the kids home in time to finish school projects and get to ballet rehearsal on time. And funny thing, for the first time ever, E insisted on driving. How kind! He asked me about 30 times if he could drive, then he quit asking and just told me, "I'm driving!" There wasn't much arguing with him. Thanks for being the chauffeur for the day Graham.

Ok, outa time, gotta move on to the next activity. Keep moving, everybody!

JLS In the News

Shelly and Eli's school celebrates International Day of Peace with songs and pinwheels. Shelly's been doing this since first grade and this is Eli's first year. It's fun to watch how their pinwheel designs evolve over time. This year, rain brought the whole celebration inside. And this year, Shelly was in the front row for the photographer, you can spot her in the gray shirt with the American flag on it.

Bonus Pic - E wasn't in the newspaper but he was in the crowd too...

Brunch Revival

We used to do this thing where we had waffles every Sunday. Then we didn't do it anymore, and today we started it up again. The best part is that the kids are old enough to help.

Archer and Shelly took care of the smoothie while Eli manned the waffle maker. And for those of you who noticed, yes, Eli is on his third, maybe fourth day, wearing that same shirt. He finally took it off this afternoon, in favor of no shirt.

Bedtime Stories, Bedtime Songs

We read a story, tuck them all up and demand they stay in bed. Then. Eli looks up at me with his big eyes and scoots over to the very inside edge of his bed. He peers at me and pats the empty space in his bed. This happens every night. He doesn't talk, and I ask him what he wants. He pats the space again. I come back to him, tell him only for a minute, and lay down next to him.

He asks me for a song, I ask HIM for a song, and finally we sing. This night, we got a little silly, we had a couple extra people join us, it was a delight. Goodnight!

 

Piano Plus Some

Shelly's started taking piano lessons from a friend of mine, Ms. Heather. Tonight, the boys came along and we waited in the car. No time for sitting around, we decided to check the air in my tires. It's never too early to start learning proper automobile maintenance. Or it's just fun to play with the pressure gauge.

And then I lost them. The boys ran off into the woods at the end of the street and I knew they were gone for good when they discovered a fort.

Archer discovering the fort, Shelly holding the cutest guinea pig hamster she's ever seen

When Shelly's lesson was over she ran off into the woods to join the boys. I had no choice but to stay for dinner with Heather while our kids wore themselves out in the woods, and enjoying a Grand Nerf War and grabbing a piece of pizza occasionally as they ran through the house chasing their next foe. I completely lost track of how many kids there were and who they even belonged to (there's another kid? who was that? where did he come from???).

Finally, at 9:00 we were ready to leave. And it wasn't until we got home that I realized, Archer had ended up with a big scrape on his face and black eye. I'd never even heard him complain that he was hurt. All he would say when I asked him was, "You should see the other guy's face." So.... I wonder if Ms. Heather will still teach Shelly piano after this? I wonder what the other guy's face - her son - looked like?

Homework?

Shelly is at ballet class. I promised myself I'd run on Thursday nights while she's in class. Instead of keeping my promise to myself, I've started visiting Starbucks. Tonight I brought the boys and promised them treats if they would do their homework. Everyone was happy to comply. Its been our first "happy to comply" homework night this year. Ahh.... Warm chai, smiling children, doesn't get any better.

P.S. "Happy to comply" homework night only lasted till the hot chocolate ran out. Then it became like any other night, "comply grudgingly" homework night. Tally Ho, I'm happy with my warm chai.

Dinner

I thought maybe we'd do something fun tonight. Turned out to be a failed effort, but whatever. We tried. Not really very hard, but we tried a little.

Simple Idea: Build a fire, roast some hot dogs

Reality: Wood not dry enough, nobody tried to find any kindling, the paper burned too fast for the wood to catch on fire, out of five lighters only one actually worked, the wind kept blowing out the flames

Then I gave up, put everything away, and came inside. Cause it was a little chilly outside anyway, and we have a nice warm kitchen, and a convenient stove... But it DID get the kids outside for awhile, and it was nice to hear them laughing and playing together out there while I warmed up the hot dogs inside. And that makes for a successful evening.

Go, Dog, Go! Go, Eli, Go!

There's a book I read when I was a kid, maybe around Eli's age, I remember where I was when I read it to my dad. Red Fish, Blue Fish. I remember feeling so proud that it was the first book I'd ever read all the way through all by myself. I realize now that I may have heard that book read to me a hundred times before I read it to him, and perhaps I couldn't even read but I was just following the pictures on the page to know what to say. But that proud feeling has stayed with me. Now I get to share that feeling with my son.

Last night Eli kept asking when I would read him a book, and could we please read Go Dog Go? When we finally sat down and I started reading, I was happily surprised to have him take over. It took us a very long time, but we made our way through the entire book with Eli reading more than I expected him to. We had a combination of guessing, getting clues from the pictures and slowly sounding things out, but we did it, HE did it! He read it!

We read it again tonight and I was reminded of what it feels like to watch the world begin to open up to a child as they begin to decode those letters on the page. The secret code, the key to all that knowledge, and the door is starting to open up to him. Watch out world, here he comes!

 

Back to the Grind - Back to School

I had a wonderful seven years of staying home with the kids. For five of those years I was blessed with a job where I worked from home. This afforded me a great amount of freedom to attend field trips, go to the beach, take naps... I didn't really take naps. Seriously. I didn't wear my pajamas all day either.

 We decided that once ALL the kids were in school full time, I'd go back to work full time. Knowing that it would take some time, and I wanted to start full time in the fall, I started looking in January. By April, an opportunity that I couldn't turn down presented itself and I started my new job on May 2. That day marked the beginning of a big transition for our entire family, one we're still working out. 

Grandma and Grandpa stepped in to help with Eli chauffeur duties, getting him to school for the last six weeks of his 4K year. They created an epic Camp Snoopy Summer for the kids. Someday I'd like to write more about that.

But. Getting back to the task at hand.

I'm back to work full time. And in September the kids were back to school, all three, full time. Archer's still at JAMS, now a seventh grader. Shelly's still at JLS, now a fourth grader. And Graham switched schools from NP to JLS. He's a kindergartner and riding the bus with Shelly. There is some new independence and responsibility. There are new routines but everyone's doing their best to adjust. Here's to another great school year!!!

How Was Your Day?

Earlier this week Elijah was devastated when some classmates told him that his project was boring. Immediately I was devastated too, and defensive. I didn't do his project for him, I gave him the tools to do it himself. He drew a very nice picture. They brought fancy poster board projects with fancy lettering and blah blah blah. And they called his project boring. Punks.

Yesterday he was heartbroken again when he realized that he wouldn't have a parent attending his field trip with him. Who would he walk with him in the nature center? Tears. Not even Grandma and Grandpa? Heartbreak. In the end it worked out, he walked around with a friend and her mom, and I think he even had a good time.

This morning Archer asked if I could take him to the store this weekend to buy new gym shorts. His were stolen. Gross. We're six weeks into the school year and guess how many times I've washed those gym shorts? None. So. Someone snatched his (probably) stinky (very) crusty gym shorts. Yeah, we'll shop this weekend.

After school Archer informed me that his bike was stolen for the second time this school year. Again, six weeks in. And we're on our SECOND stolen bike story?? Both times its been returned, so far so good, I guess.

This evening I received a phone message just as an FYI - the principal fell and hit his head today and as a precaution was transported to the hospital by ambulance. School counselors are available for students who need to talk (why?).

Archer says someone told him that a sixth grader punched Mr. Principal in the head. Let the rumor mill begin.

Mr. Principal is expendable, there are like EIGHT principals at that school. Mr. Assistant Principal was seen throwing Mr. Principal through the window. He was heard saying, "There's only one true principal!" It was all orchestrated by the custodian who will be paid overtime while he replaces the broken window.

No, Mr. Principal was seen chasing the bike thieves...

No, Mr. Principal was seen riding away on Archer's bike while shouting, "I'm outa here! Freedom at last!!"

Shelly's holding out on School Stories for now, but I'm sure any minute she'll spill the beans on all the exciting news from her week. And while we wait, Archer is baking cinnamon bites that he learned how to make at school. This school thing is finally paying off, he's BAKING!

Camp. (Devil's Lake. Badger Trail something or other.... Scouts EVERYWHERE!)

It started out optimistic. "All the rain is going south of that area," Bampa said. "You'll be dry, nothing's coming for the rest of the weekend," he said. We were all smiles and party songs as we left HC. That lasted about 30 minutes. Then the roads were closed, the rains rolled in, and we just kept singing as we tried to find our way onto the freeway just to get out of town.

The rain did not stop for THREE WHOLE DAYS. But we didn't let that slow us down on our way to adventure. The kids singing at the top of their lungs to every song that came on the radio, sharing stories with each other and enjoying the scenery along the way made me smile to myself as we drove into the sunset.

Three girls, a boy and a mom arrived at the campsites at 9:30 on Friday night. We were the first there, the rain was coming down hard as we sat in the van peering into the night thinking about what to do next. The Boy Scouts were an hour behind us and we decided to get started on our own. We picked our spot, dragged the tarp and tent out, and got to work. E was in charge of lighting the site while the ladies sorted out all the tent pieces. And tried not to get covered in mud. Amberlyn and Annika had never camped before, never set up a tent before, and both were wearing their good school shoes. We slogged along.

By the time the Boys showed up we were just about done with setup, and when they came along to ask if we wanted help, we shooed them away with cries of "Girl Power!" We ended up needing a little help with getting everything secured before we loaded all our gear into it, but we were pretty proud of our accomplishment for the night. We all finally crawled into our sleeping bags sometime well after midnight, everyone in good spirits despite the rain and mud.

Next Day - The Hike

It was drizzling a little but not too cold. Scouts, parents, cousins, siblings, all lead by the fearless Senior Patrol Leader headed out into the woods. This is where the rain was a blessing. There were almost no mosquitoes. Oh, but the mud. The Mud.

Archer and I waited until 3/4 of our way into the hike before the mud fight broke out between us. I can't remember now if it was before or after I fell down and was covered up to my knees with it, but it was pretty much inevitable. And it was ok - fun even. I'm not afraid of a little (or a lot) of mud, it was all good CLEAN fun!

Later, The Dance. Where I proceeded to probably severely embarrass the children and we all had a seriously fantastic evening. We were about five songs in before Archer actually started dancing, but the Cousins, Sister and E didn't waste any time.

Speed round to finish this waaaayyy too long recap -

The food was great all weekend long (thanks Boy Scouts!)
There were NO injuries!!!
One scout shared his conquests from the dance when we all came back to the fire that night (there was KISSING!)
We bailed early Sunday morning to make it home in time for ballet and we have been trying to catch up on laundry ever since

Maybe we'll get to have a repeat performance again next year, maybe it'll be a little drier???

Tri Again

Shelly had so much fun with her first triathlon in May that she decided to try again in September. We didn't train quite as much the second time around, but she spent so much time in the water all summer, her swimming definitely improved. And with the new gear (speedy green bike), she would have to be faster, right? That heavy pink bike from May was history, now she has a light road bike with gears and she's done some practicing with finding the best gear for every situation.

Cue the Big Day!

We recruited a couple of cousins to join the cheering squad, and a friend of Archer's decided to try out the tri as well. Here's the gang before the race.

We knew what to expect. We're practically experts this time around. She even has a tri kit. Here we go!

Swim. They call the names, Shelly goes to the end of her lane, they blow the horn and they're off! I stood at the end of her lane cheering her on. The rest of our crew was in the bleachers up above and all was going wonderfully.

Her swim was 2:47 faster this time around (yay for swimming!). She finished up, went out for her bike and I went out to get ready also. She had asked me to join her for the bike but planned to run alone. She was doing well, handling the hills better than last time (thanks bike!) and we were cruising along. Then we got to the turnaround. And that's when everything changed.

Suddenly the wind picked up and I thought, the next two miles are going to be tough... The leaves were whipping across the road and hitting our legs as we pushed into the wind. I tried to shout encouragement to Shelly, in front of me, but she couldn't hear anything. This is going to be a long two miles, I kept thinking. It was hard. Then the rain. Torrential. Pouring out of the sky and across the road, it was being blown horizontal so that it was hitting our legs and arms and faces, stinging with every drop. It felt like hail, it felt like being pricked with pins with every raindrop. I wondered if this was what a hurricane felt like. We couldn't see in front of us and all we could do was keep pedaling, stay on the road and try to keep moving forward. The road where there had been no traffic was suddenly busy with vans and trucks moving slowly through the rain to try to find their children and pull them in out of the storm. I shouted as loud as I could to Shelly, keep your head down and keep pedaling! Keep your head down and just keep going!! "I'm trying" she screamed back at me. We turned down a couple of offers for rides, but then the lightening and thunder seemed as if it were right over our heads and all around us. We couldn't hear unless we yelled, we couldn't see anything, I heard what I thought sounded like crying. This was not a fun adventure anymore.

Finally, with less than a half mile to go until we were back to the campus and safety, a kind stranger invited us into her van and we accepted the ride. We were drenched. She took Shelly and our bikes back to the building and I tried to track down David. I didn't have my phone with me and it seemed like it took forever but eventually we all ended up back where we had started, inside at the pool. I found Shelly, the brothers and cousins, and surprise! Grandma and Grandpa had shown up sometime while Shelly and I were out on our bikes.

Once we knew that we had everyone, and David was back with the van (he had gone out looking for us), we were able to say all of our hellos and goodbyes. There were so many stories from such a brief time, stories of where everyone was when the storm descended on us and who got more wet than whom and whatever happened to our bikes? Wow.

We gathered all our stuff. Shelly's towel that had been outside in Transition and David said there was a river running through the area when he picked everything up. There was nothing dry. Time to go home. Guess what? As we gathered all the equipment and crew, the sun had come out. Beautiful sunny weather, just in time for us to pack everything up.

The bike ride was cut short and the run didn't happen at all. Disappointing. But the Best Tri Adventure Ever! Shelly's misery over the Hurricane Bike Ride became laughter and storytelling on the way home.

So, are we going to try the tri again next year?



Early Bird Tri - May 2016      September 2016
   Swim                 9:00               6:13
   T1                      4:07               3:13
   Bike                   36:39
   T2                      1:05
   Run                   18:25

Game Day

The boys have left the country and Mom is left with the two young cubs. We certainly weren't about to let the boys have all the fun. Bring on the baseball!

We brought Mary to join our fun and she was a great sport. We were such tourists, taking pics at every possible opportunity and enjoying every possible type of garbage food that we could find. We were just about bored out of our minds and ready to leave when FINALLY there was a home run and Bernie came down the slide and we got super excited to be there. Go Brewers! It wasn't enough to keep us there, though, we were done. Tired and time for bed.

Enjoy the pics!

Firecracker Four & Fireworks

Once again, our accidental tradition.

Sunshine, not too hot and not too cool, great company, we couldn't ask for a better Fourth of July.

Firecracker Four - Bampa and Mamaw ran the four miles. Shelly and Archer ran one point something miles and I stuck with the kids. Afterwards was lunch and a little pool time, followed by the trek down to Racine.

Pack up a bunch of snacks, blankets, chairs and cousins. Fireworks by the lake, spectacular as usual.

Another great year of celebrating Independence Day together with family!

Meet Alex. Also, Tour Madison

After Shelly's tri in May our eyes were opened to how inadequate her equipment was. Her bike doesn't even have gears. Plus it maybe weighs as much as she does. No wonder she had trouble with the hills!

The hunt began for a better bike and the best we could do was a bike in Madison. We made a road trip out of it and went to meet the new member of the family. Shelly fell in love with her immediately and has named her Alex. Welcome, Alex!

After that, food, of course. We're a hungry crowd!

And then, a visit to the capitol. We had a great time exploring the building. In the last picture here, you can't see it, but my cubs (young badgers) are standing next to a statue of a badger and doing their fiercest growls. Cute, right? :)