Celebrations

It had to come eventually - my high school reunion! Wayne and I went to Prairie du Chien, WI on the 28th to celebrate 15 yrs since I graduated from Martin Luther Prep School. My dear boarding school that I spent 4 life changing years at is now a boys prison so we were unable to celebrate on campus due to the inmates (which we always joked back then we were!) Just when I think I've grown up and moved on with my life, I go and attend a high school reunion and turn back into my idiot self. Oh, well. There was not a great turn out from my class (it was a multi class reunion) but we had a blast with those who were there - pictured is Tonya (my dear friend and Matron of honour in my wedding), Melony, me and Janine (fellow pastor's wife and good friend). We had dinner at the banquet facility we had our Senior class banquet 15 yrs ago and then our group moved on to the bar that our tutors apparently frequented in "the day" called the Sawmill or something. (We knew this because Janine married a former tutor - ha!) It was here the classiest of Prairie very clearly hung out. Pitchers of beer were a whopping $6, mixed drinks were $2.50. Janine and I had a very unfortunate experience on the way into the women's bathroom I wish I could erase from my memory. And we all took off when someone in the bar puked and we got our first whiff of it. Needless to say, Prairie itself seemed a bit dumpier to me than when I last was there but my brother thought it looked better and so did my Mom two weeks later when she and Dad drove through on their Harley ride. It's funny how different memory can be from reality. I was sad to leave without having Crab Rangoon at the Chinese place that was still there (maybe someday, Janine)! So while Wayne and I were gallivanting around Wisconsin/Minnesota having the time of our lives - or something like that- my dear Dad stayed with my children. Mom had left earlier that week for Arizona to attend the LWMS convention and Dad was up to the challenge. I'm pretty sure he hasn't changed a diaper since my sister (who's 26) and Mom said she could never recall a time she left us for a night and Dad stayed with the three of us. Nevertheless, he stepped up to the plate. Now, I don't know all the particulars of what went on those two days he was in charge but I do know that when we got back they were still alive, in good spirits and still alive! No really, he did a great job and we sure appreciated it.
On Canada Day our family celebrated by having burgers flavoured with Canadian seasoning and maple leaf cookies. After Zanna's nap we drove into Minoqua and stayed at a hotel with a waterpark. The four of us had a great time!! The fourth of July was also our 10th anniversary and Mom and Dad's 37th. The kids had their face painted in the morning - Zanna had balloons and Will had an eagle. We spent time with my Grandpa and Grandma and we all went out for Friday night fish fry - a Wisconsin classic! Reid and Brenda met Zanna for the first time and it was great to see them both. Wayne got me a beautiful James Avery charm bracelet and we'll go on a trip to celebrate this winter!!!
Here we are with my Grandparents, brother Reid and Brenda, Mom and Dad. Happy 4th of July!!!!

That's pretty much our 3 weeks in Wisconsin in a nutshell. It was a great vacation!!

Wild in Wisconsin

We left for Wisconsin in mid June. We drove 14 hrs through the night (a record thanks to Wayne's "efficient" driving). There's something to be said for traveling through the night - the big one is sleeping children that aren't driving us nuts. We also save money on a hotel, no lines at the border, and stopping for less meals. We got to Mom and Dad's and Wayne and I headed straight for a nap while the kids played with Oma and Opa. We celebrated my birthday on the 22nd. Mom made my favorite meal - chicken salad served in her antique chickens (you have to see to believe) and double crusted lemon pie. I usually make these things for myself if I'm celebrating at home but I must admit, it tastes better when Mom makes it!! After lunch, Wayne took off for the Seminary in Milwaukee for a week of Summer quarter. So for the week he was in school, the kids and I hung out with my folks. Will got a chance to attend their church's soccer camp the first two days we arrived and the week Wayne was gone Will got to go to their Vacation Bible Camp. He had a great time and Zanna made a new friend in the principal's son Noah. We'd hang out at church and wait for Will to finish up and Noah and Zanna would play together. Zanna worked all her charms on him and he tried to impress her by telling her he's potty trained - he's not! While we stayed at Mom and Dad's, Zanna slept in our IKEA castle tent we brought along. We called her the Princess of the castle and Mom got her a crown.
One of the favourite things to do was to take out the pontoon boat with Grandpa. Will got to drive and did a great job on the lake and Zanna drove on Opa's lap. She also did a good job as she followed directions to turn left, even it out, turn right - she loves to be in control!

Here's another picture of the kids on the boat with Aunt Brenda who came up with my brother Reid for a few days. The weather was fantastic almost the whole time we were there. We had so much fun!!

Summer is here!!

Ha! I just thought this was such a goofy picture I had to post it.
I know I'm way behind in this update and now I have to rack my brain thinking of what the heck we did the beginning of June. One thing we did was to go to the Medieval Festival at Upper Canada Village and spend the day watching jousting, play games, eat giant pickles on a stick and watch the knights in shining armor. In this picture, Will is making a candle by going around in a circle and dipping a wick into hot wax. We went with my friend Ruth and two of her girls. It was an extremely hot day and very busy and dear Ruth got to see the side of me that's hot and uncomfortable. Hopefully, she still likes me.
By the way, I have to laugh at the response to my GPS in the last post. 3 people wrote me that they have "feelings" for their GPS too! I was thinking about mentioning Bob as one of the family in our Christmas letter this year but Wayne thought that was taking it a bit too far. His brother and sister-in-law have a GPS that speaks like Yoda. Can you imagine?