one year later

Well, it has been almost a year since we added to our blog. Shame on us. It's not that we are busy or anything!!!!

Well, a lot has happened in a year. We went to the North East in April for Olivia's Bat Mitzvah and it was great. Olivia did a wonderful job and looked beautiful. We saw lots of friends and family that we hadn't seen for a long time. We were there for one week and only had two kids with strep and ear infections, not bad, that also means we had two kids who didn't!

The summer was fun, Julia got her braces off, lots of activities and a few camping trips. Oh, did I mention we added to the family in August? Yes, an English Springer Spaniel named Calvin. I know you are asking "What were you thinking?" the answer, "I WASN'T". All in all he has been great, he chewed up a few pair of underpants but hey, who needs underpants? Less wash for me.

Another school year started and the kids are all doing great.

Mom, Kim and Emily met me in Chicago in October for a weekend to celebrate my birthday. It was a great time.

We took the RV to South Carolina over winter break. A lot of driving but well worth it. We went to see Kevin, Jilian and Ella who turned one. Pop Pop and Bonnie drove up from Florida at the same time. We went home via North Carolina and got to see Grammie, so we did our share and everyone can come to us now.

Hmmm, what else happened over the year. Grandma Anita came a few times and Kim and John came too. We always love visitors.

Giants beat the Packers. We silently cheered!!

Well, we'll try not to wait so long for another posting. Hope everyone is doing well.

GO Giants!

2007 Blizzard

Just when we had some warmer weather to melt a lot of the snow we had on the ground, a new storm rolled in. It snowed about 4 inches on Friday night and about 8 more Saturday night. It's Sunday afternoon now and snowing again!! We did have some fun outside this morning. Sunday school was canceled and we played with the neighbors for a while. It is a very wet, heavy, backbreaking snow!!

Indoor Soccer Fun

The girls have been playing indoor soccer for the last two sessions and we are quickly approaching the long (not long enough) 4 week break before outdoor starts in April. I have both girls on the same team which I coach with another friend. I will be the first to admit that I am not an unbiased party but I am of the opinion that both girls are very good! During the outdoor season I coach Josh's team and that is always a blast although I hope it does not conflict with BMX racing this year. Enjoy>

Hot Action in Wisconsin

Since our last post things have not warmed up! In fact, we have had about three straight weeks of zero or colder temps. Tomorrow we are suppose to see the low 30s which will seem like summer. It is funny what people here do when it turns 30 after being really cold. You see people running around with shorts and no jackets (go figure?). Anyway here are some photos of Julia's latest basketball game.

We have also included some recent photos of "Gabe" the elephant. He is a very big boy now and has moved on to underwear. This is a big milestone for Mom & Dad because as most of you know we have been in diapers for the last 10 years straight.

Finally, Julia has succeeded in making her own poncho which she has insisted that we post on this site for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoy.

Check back in a day or two for some soccer pictures!

Boys will be Boys

Sorry for the long delay we have had some "issues" here at the Thistle farm in Wisconsin. Josh managed to put a good size hole in his head which is the result of being chased around the house on the hardwood floor in socks (amazing how slippery that can be). He also learned that the stair case has some very sharp corners. No worries, he is back to normal (whatever that may be) and we hope there is not much of a scar.

On another topic we are having some of the coldest weather on record and as I publish this my computer is telling me that the outside temperature is -9F. That is #&**@$#ing cold! If you add in the wind chill they say it is -15f to -30f. I took a picture of the thermometer for proof. In the 6 years we have lived here this is by far the coldest weather we have seen. It is somewhat difficult catch you breath in these temperatures. I guess that means no outside bike riding.

Not to be outdone my Norm (my brother Kevin) I decided this years winter project would be a wine cellar. I have kept wine in the basement for years but they were located in a dark corner that really was not much on viewing. The cellar you see is not yet complete, I still have some work to do and some furnishings to collect. Oh yea, I am working on my collection of one bottle (good vintage) from each of the originally classified 1855 Bordeaux Chateaus. So if you feel like sending me a nice bottle of Mouton Rothschild or Haut Brion please do!

Update on Holiday Fun

With this posting you will see our basketball star daughter Julia tear up the other team with her unstoppable drive to the hoop. Our theatrical star Joshua in his first holiday program at school. And finally, Gabe on his first (yes we know he is 3, but we have not yet let him experiment with fire, I think that's good??) candle lighting during Hanukkah. Enjoy

Oh yes congratulations to my Bro and sister-in-law on the birth of their first child Ella, nice job!!

Winter in Wisconsin

Well December 1st came and so did our first snowstorm. Believe it or not it was the most snow we had in one snowfall since we moved here 5 years ago. We had about 12 inches. It was also the kids first time they had a day off of school due to snow. Julia was happy because she was supposed to have a "mean" substitute that day. Joshua said it was "the first time he had a day off in his whole world." Tough life that kid has had. Good old Danielle said, "How cheap, that means we have 3 days off in a row." I wonder when that will change? I guess I should be happy she loves school so much. Although it has been very cold, and getting four kids dressed in snowpants, coats, hats, gloves and boots isn't always fun, I must say it is beautiful. Especially at night when the neighborhood is lit with Christmas lights. We have snowmen and snowflake lights in case you can't tell. Just trying to keep everyone happy. Well keep warm, we'll post more soon.