Thursday, July 29, 2010

More Trip Pictures



More Trip Pictures




More Trip Pictures



More Trip Pictures



More Trip Pictures


Our Trip Pictures


Vacation Julias 3rd Birthday

What a whirlwind in a few days. We decided to take a family vacation to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina and we were going to leave on the 23rd and return on the 28th but Mother Nature made new arrangements for us! It rained 8 inches in Wisconsin on the
23rd with major flooding and we awoke at 3 AM to check on our 7 AM flight out of Milwaukee only to find that it was delayed not only once but twice and then was cancelled. The airport shut down all morning. We could not get a flight out of Milwaukee and our vacation was paid for so we decided to drive to Chicago and spend the night there close to the airport so we could take off on the 24th in the morning. Well we booked the room and went out to dinner and went to the pool there only to find out that the storm followed us....it rained all night and into the next morning. John went down in the lobby to check on our flight on the 23rd and the entire desk was swarming with people trying to get rooms due to cancelled flights. The next morning we decided to go to the airport and chance it. We got to the Delta desk only to find a line about 1 1/2 hr wait to get to the desk....luckily we were early. We did make the flight out although it was late and the connecting flight in Georgia had already left. The next flight to Myrtle Beach was at 6 PM so we went to the desk and got a stand by flight with two seats at the tail of the plane and one in the middle and one up front. I thought we would NEVER GET THERE! The resort was nice and the beach was beautiful. Julia loved playing in the sand and making sand pits to catch the water. John took her up on his shoulders into the ocean and kept jumping the waves with her...she was screaming with excitement! Evan and I found some beautiful shells. The hotel pool was so much fun. Evan had a great time diving and Julia had her water wings on and she was fearless. She kept standing on the side saying catch me and she would dive to the side of us and go under and then bob back up and start kicking and trying to swim...she wanted to do that over and over again and she was having a great time. We ended up celebrating her birthday at the Broadway Beach area and took her to Johnny Rockets for her birthday lunch. The entire staff came by to dance and wish her a Happy Birthday. She just sat in awe staring at them and not saying a work or cracking a smile...We also took her on a carousel ride which she loved and wanted to go on over and over again. I took her into a store called Sparkles which is a little girls boutique and the girls sprinkled her with fairy dust and made a big deal that it was her Birthday. I did wrap up a Beach Ball and gave that to her for her gift and she was so excited.
Evan wanted to go play miniature golf and in South Carolina the miniature golf courses are very impressive. I could not believe that Julia actually got a hole in one and had great follow through with her shot...she was a natural. The Myrtle Beach walkway that is all Cedar and runs along the ocean is very impressive... We went walking on it one night and the moon was so bright over the ocean and so beautiful.
One of the attractions is a huge blow up water slide which Evan had so much fun on.
There is also a pier that is in Myrtle Beach where any of the tourists or locals can fish off of. We went out to see what they were catching. They used shrimp for bait and were catching these silver fish with massive amounts of sharp teeth and sharp spines. One of the fisherman had a live one he was showing Julia but she did not want to touch it but was very curious. There were a lot of Jelly fish around as well. Enough of my rambling....we had a great trip and I am posting some of the pictures.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Just Me and My Dad



My favorite park picture

Just Me and My Dad






Julia had such a great time with her Daddy at the local park that I thought I would post some pics from the evening! She is not afraid of climbing on the larger play areas and is always watching the bigger kids. There was a Chinese girl playing with her friends and she must have been about 10 and she asked us if we were Julias parents and then after we said "yes" she said um um ummmm well....I used to look like her when I was little. It was so cute...Julia kept staring at her and she kept staring at Julia. I often wonder what goes through Julias mind at that moment.
She had such a fun time that she slept so sound when we got home. By the time we got to the car she said Thank you...I had a lot of fun! I love the pictures of her running up the hill with John as the sun was setting

Happy Fourth of July 2010



A couple more pictures!

Happy Fourth of July 2010






Just wanted to say, "Thank You" to all of the men and women who have served or are serving our country! Happy Fourth of July!!! John's favorite holiday! John and Evan love to go fireworks shopping! I had to come along with Julia to chaperone this year. Do you know that they actually have shopping carts at the fireworks store! John and Evan were walking around with stars in their eyes and the workers were very happy to help them spend the money!
We had our yearly party with family and it was a really nice day! Everyone brought something to pass so it made my life easier. We supplied the meat and drinks. Had a wonderful time watching the Menomonee Falls fireworks the night of the 3rd as well as watching the parade! Julia loved the parade and they kept throwing her the little tootsie rolls. When she figured out what they were she kept them in her fist and would not let me take her goodie bag away! The clowns in the parade scared her but when they did not pay any attention to her she kept telling me,"I am not scared of clowns" I think she was trying to convince herself.
The fireworks were wonderful both on the 3rd and the 4th! This year my brother and his wife and their son Ryan who is 4 went to the fireworks with us and that was fun!
Julia was more interested in moving her chair from place to place rather then watching the fireworks...she definitely has a mind of her own!
Hope everyone had a great Fourth! Hi to all of our travel group...we love you and hope to be able to get together in maybe a couple of years for a reunion!