WISCONSIN - These Girls

One of the best parts of summer is hanging out with these girls. They are fun, spunky, smart, and have their heads on their shoulders much better than I ever did at their age. We've spent hours sleeping in the living room, watching movies, Supernatural, eating junk food, crying through Fault in Our Stars (seriously, I BAWLED) and much more. They are a super blast, and for some reason, let this middle-aged woman hang out with them. Love them a ton!

 Lauren

 Caitlyn

And their friend McKenna

WISCONSIN - The Lake

Nothing can beat the beauty of Wisconsin in the summer on the lake. I'm sure my children will look back at their summers visiting Grandpa and Grandma Carlsruh as some of the best times of their lives. They have gobs of cousins, lots of fun activiites, and hours upon hours of swimming, fishing, and boating on the lake. No wonder we come visit every summer for weeks on end!

This year, we had this amazing fun raft to play/rest/lay out on. It was amazing!

There's so much to do on the lake. Cora won't set foot near the lake, which I prefer. There's a canoe and a fishing boat. There's plenty of blow-up toys and a dog that likes to get in on the fun.

Abe took Ken's GoPro out on the lake and took these amazing pictures. He's really good!

On our last day with cousins at the house, we took a quick last dip in the lake. It was SO COLD. But the kids wanted to try out the GoPro in the water, and they had a blast. The sun was setting as they swam, and since it wasn't a hot day, there were no bugs outside. It was an ideal evening.

Emma and McKenna took some cool pictures (I love the shot of McKenna from under the water. I also think the bubbles look really awesome). 

 Cora, on the other hand, would have none of the water. She put her feet in and cried! And since Cora always gets her way, she got to sit on mom's lap and watch the kids swim instead.

 Ellie

 James

and Emma!

WISCONSIN - Pamprin Park

Pamprin Park, aka "The Pirate Park" is a fun playground built by the amazing football players in the area. We love playing at the park when we visit Grandma and Grandpa Carlsruh.

 James, Cate, Brooke, and Cora. 

 

Cora discovered a fun tunnel.

And Weston discovered a cool looking bug.

While the little kids played on the playground, the older kids played soccer, as seen here with Caitlyn, her friend McKenna, and Otho.

The weather was perfect - a hint of a storm that never came and a cool breeze. It would have been perfect, if, and only if, I didn't eek so much when a soccer ball whizzes past my face. Perhaps I should just stick with photography instead of soccer.

WISCONSIN - Strawberry Picking

Every year, we go strawberry picking as a family. Nothing is better than fresh strawberries. This year, since Riley was sick, I sent the kids on without us. Otho and Abe, being the amazing big brothers that they are, took charge of watching Cora and taking pictures of her with the GoPro. They did a great job. Here are a few of their pictures:

 Apparently, after filling up on strawberries, Cora had fun playing with the straw.

And some pictures from Grandma Carlsruh's camera:

And that night, we feasted on strawberries and a chocolate fountain. Yum!

WISCONSIN - 4th of July

Fourth of July in Green Bay is awesome! This year, like all other years, was spent relaxing on the lake, fishing, games for the grandkids in the backyard, and (best of all) fireworks!!!

The kids had fun with water balloon toss and musical chairs. 

This is what happens when you throw a water balloon at Uncle Randall. You WILL get thrown in the lake.

Caitlyn and Emma both tried to sit on the same chair, thus collapsing the chair entirely. We figured Emma won that round of musical chairs!

 Riley's patriotic face painting.


Cora's first sparklers. She loved and hated it all at the same time. When the actual fireworks started, she curled up against mom in fear. She didn't cry, but she clung to me as if her life depended upon it.

Fireworks by the lake. Randall puts on quite a show, and we all get front seats (sometimes those front seats are too close - as Otho learned this year when one of the larger fireworks came right toward him. Didn't scare him at all. He loved it!).

WISCONSIN - Bay Beach

 One of the must-see places in Green Bay is Bay Beach. It's an amusement park that's right on the lake. The park is free and the rides are only 50 cents-ish. We had so much fun going with our cousins. The older boys love their freedom since they can go off on their own and ride the big kid rides.

Our first ride (and the only ride I did with my boys) was bumper cars. I rode the cars two times in a row (first with Riley and then with Ellie). Man, that hurts my back! But it was fun ramming my car into my kids!

 Most of my time was spent with Riley and Cora on the baby/little kid rides. We had fun riding with our cousins Cate and Emma. All these kids were entirely too cute.

Cora loved riding on the rides like a big girl (she is growing up entirely too fast!).

 Cate on the carousel. 

  

Grandma taking Riley and Cate on the train (with a creepy photo bomb guy behind them).

2014 School Pictures

I'm really not a fan of school pictures. I don't like the staged look with the fake background. But here are some pictures from this school year.

Otho, 5th grade. Mr. Lambert

Abe, 4th grade. Mr. Loisel

 Ellie, 1st Grade. Mrs. Harvey and Mrs. Urui

Riley, Kindergarten. Mrs. Gutierrez