Julia'sHome4Ever

Fall 2011

2011-10-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

The day started out sad but ended up being okay. We had to put our terrier Huey down this morning. He is 17 years old and has kidney failure. He was having so many accidents around the house and was blind from cataracts and could not hear. It was sad seeing him go but it was the right thing to do. I gave him a bowl full of treats for breakfast this morning.

This afternoon I needed a thought diversion so we decided to carve pumpkins out on the deck since the weather was so nice and sunny. Julia had fun with the yucky insides and seeds. Evan tried to find s unique design for his

Our neighbor Evan who is one year older than Julia came over and asked Julia to go jump in the leaf pile that his dad made. They had so much fun laughing and jumping and screaming and burying each other.

Happy Birthday Evan August 7th 2011

2011-08-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well today is the day that I can say that we have a teenager in the house....eeeeeek!
I really can not believe that my baby turned 13 today. He stands about the same height as me and I think he grows inches in his sleep. We had a large party with family yesterday to combine Evan and Julias birthdays since they are so close together. Julia wanted a dragon cake and Evan wanted an ice cream cake so I went to work! I always enjoy making cakes for the kids birthdays!

Wish us luck with the raging hormones of a teenager and the no's and why's of a four year old! Ohhh they have so much to learn even though they think they have it all figured out!

More Sanibel Pictures 2011/vacation

2011-07-29T20:52:00.001-07:00

More Sanibel Pictures 2011

2011-07-29T20:20:00.001-07:00

Vacationing on Sanibel Island 2011

2011-07-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time on Sanibel Island and found it hard to say goodbye. Julia and Evan had a great time finding all kinds of shells along the beach. Julia enjoyed making sand castles. Our family got to go kayaking for the first time and found it to be very enjoyable. John paddled Julia around and I was with Evan. We did get to see Mannatees coming up to our kayaks and dolphins and fish flopping around. It was funny watching these large fish jumping out of the water almost hitting John in the head. It was so relaxing just getting away. John and Evan got to go fishing with another group and Evan did catch a small fish but did not get to spend all that much time out on the boat. The beaches were so nice with very white sand. There were so many biking trails to explore with free bikes to use from our resort. We did get to celebrate Julias birthday out at a restaurant and she felt like queen for the day. I think she is convinced that her birthday is every day this week since we have not gotten together with family to celebrate as of yet.

More Fourth Pictures 2011

2011-07-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

Here are some home Fireworks Pictures

Happy Fourth of July 2011

2011-07-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

A Special Thank You to those who have served our country and for our freedom! Happy Fourth of July!

Had a wonderful time celebrating with family and our neighbors. Had our yearly barbecue and went to the fireworks twice this year! Went to a parade on the 3rd. There were several kids around us at the parade and a lot of competition for parade candy. Julia did get tackled a few times and got frustrated so she ended up running up to the floats and insisting on candy instead of trying to catch it which was pretty funny. One lady next to me said she will have no problem at all with the competition this year.
Julia made her own teeshirt design in preschool. She got to stamp her shirt with stars and the teachers helped write Proud to Be an American on the back. It is a little big but was the smallest that they had.

Of course John and Evan had to light their share of fireworks this year as well. Julia actually liked holding the sparklers this year which was a surprise!
Hope everyone had a great Fourth!

Strawberry Picking

2011-06-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

The weather in Wisconsin has finally cooperated and it was a beautiful day! I had decided to work on my yearly project of making freezer jam. We all went out strawberry picking. The wet weather really did take its toll on the strawberry crops for this year but we did manage to find quite a few small berries. I made 14 quarts for freezing. I like to freeze the jam so we can have it year round and it is fairly easy to make. Julia does not like strawberries but helped with the picking and did get to see one of her preschool friends Scotty there! We got to ride a tractor into the fields and then they assign you a row...John and I did a little row hopping since our rows did not have as many in them.
After the picking Julia played with the other kids in the play area and went to pet the goats. Had a nice relaxing day.

One Eyed Bandit!

2011-06-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

We took Julia back to the eye doctors after wearing her glasses for about 6 weeks to see if there was any progress. It turns out that her vision in her L eye went from 20/80 to 20/40 which was very encouraging. They now want her to wear a patch over her right eye to strengthen and improve the vision in her left and she has to do this for 4 hours a day. She does not mind it except for when we have to take it off with all of that adhesive...ouch! I am hoping that she does not need surgery....we shall see in July at her next visit. She is a real trouper wearing her patch. One child asked her why she had a bandaid on her eye and she said, "It IS NOT A BANDAID" in her I want to set you straight voice! She is really something else.
Here are a few pictures from around the house
My step father came over and went swinging on our swingset with her. She loves her Grandpa Allen.

Happy Fathers Day 2011

2011-06-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day to all of the blogger dads! I really miss my father every year and wish he could have watched me grow older and get married and raise a family. I know he is probably watching me from above!
I only took a few pictures from Fathers Day! It was a pretty low key day. We bought John a Kindle and I think he was really surprised that it was not clothes or cologne. He is one hard individual to buy for!
John took a half day off of work to visit Julias daycare for a special Fathers Day picnic and nature hike this past Friday. Julia was so excited and so proud to have her daddy there.
I took Evan and Julia to the local grocery store to decorate a cake for Fathers Day. Julia had so many sprinkles on hers....we had to turn it upside down in order to shake the sprinkles off of the words.
John is such a wonderful husband and terrific father and I am so lucky to have him in my life!

Julia Needs Glasses

2011-04-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

Thursday I took Julia to Childrens Hospital to see an opthomologist. She had failed a vision screening at daycare and the teachers were noticing that her L eye seems to wander when she looks at you. I started noticing it as well after they pointed it out. We found out that she had very poor vision in her L eye and is very nearsighted and her R eye is starting to show some nearsightedness. The opthomologist said that she would need glasses to try and strengthen the eye muscle and if she did not wear them then I would need to patch her R eye to strengthen the L at least 2 hrs a day. We are supposed to return in 6 weeks and if no improvement then she will need surgery. They dialated her eyes with drops and told me that it would take a week before her pupils would return to normal since it is harder to dialate Asian childrens eyes...which I found interesting. She did not complain during the visit at all and told the Opthomologist that she wanted Star Wars glasses..which surprised me.
We ended up going eyeglass shopping at the mall that afternoon and went to 4 different places. I did not bring the stroller so it was a regular glasses free for all. We had fun trying on different styles. The black pair that Julia helped herself to which I will post a picture of are too wide and thick for her but she liked them. I like her in wire rims...I have a feeling I will need the 2 pair deal at Stein Optical for 99.00 in order to have back up.

Baking for Easter

2011-04-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Every year around this time my mother makes a Polish yeast cake called a Babka. It has raisens and rum sauce and streusal and a glaze and is a good treat with coffee. The year that I tried to make the family recipe mine turned out undercooked and my sister attempted and hers was too dry. Last week Wed we decided to camp out at my moms and learn every step. It always is a full day project since you need to let the yeast rise.
Julia came in to observe a few times but my step father kept her entertained.
I have a picture of the finished product and hope it tastes as good as it looks

Thursday Julia and I made bunny cookies with a cinnamon nutmeg spice recipe and then we melted white chocolate and tinted it pastel colors for the icing. My house was smelling good.

Medical School???

2011-03-06T15:38:00.000-08:00

Julia was introduced to Evans old play medical kit and it was a hit!! She wanted to examine all of her stuffed animals and told me that everyone was sick and needed to see a doctor. She also played doctor with all of us and I caught a few shots of Julia examining John. I loved the picture of her examining his ear with such intent. She would say, "Your blood pressure is 1 over 3 which is very good!!"

Happy Chinese New Year 2011 Year of the Rabbit

2011-03-06T15:29:00.001-08:00

Hppy Chinese New Year 2011 photos

2011-02-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year 2011 Year of the Rabbit

2011-02-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone! I hope everyone had a nice celebration. Our family celebrated the New Year with the Families With Children From China and went to the yearly party at the Washington Fair Grounds! It was so fun to see all of the little children in their Chinese outfits as well as some of the parents and grandparents.
The Cricket Acadamy had the little dancers perform ages 4 through 12 and that was so sweet! Their was a demonstration on Thai Chi with the option of coming up and practicing on stage for a little lesson. The lion dancers were incredible as usual. Julia is still afraid of them this year even though she keeps telling me they are pretend...she had a firm hold around Johns neck as they paraded down the aisle.
I purchased another outfit for her for next year as well as a parasol and fan and another one of the Chinese lion marrionettes.
Julia and Evan decorated masks. Evans made a Green Bay Packers one. Julia made a cut out dragon on a stick and a Chinese Lantern. Julia made friends with Jenna and they had so much fun running around on stage with the other little girls and playing with their fans and balloons and Chinese yoyos. The food was very yummy....a Huge buffet of every kind of Chinese dish and eggroll and wonton! Julia enjoyed the Lo Mein noodles. It certainly was a full day of activities with no nap but we all had a great time!

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-16T13:28:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a terrific New Year Celebration to ring in 2011. We had a great time celebrating with our neighbors like we traditionally do. It is nice that the adults and children can all celebrate together! Julia actually stayed up until 2 AM and loved the party. She had her first glass of sparkling white grape juice and loved to play all of the games that our neighbor has in his basement...she loves the slot machines and air hockey table...yikes! We had a wonderful lobster and steak dinner and had a great time visiting with friends.

Christmas Day Pictures Continued 2010

2010-12-26T17:23:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T16:52:00.000-08:00

I think that this Christmas was so special for all of us since it was almost as if there was an awakening with Julia. Last year I remember reading the same Christmas stories to her and celebrating the same traditions but this year she was recognizing everything as if it was the first time she had ever seen it. Christmas is so magical through the eyes of small children! We went to Christmas mass on 4 PM Christmas eve. The church was so beautiful and when the Deacon told the Christmas story with Silent Night in the background and all of the children sitting aroung the alter you could have heard a pin drop with all eyes on him. Afterwards we had a small gathering at our house. Julia and Evan made the reindeer food and sprinkled it over the front yard so that the moon could shine on the glitter and show Santa the way. Julia was so excited about leaving the mild and cookies for Santa....or should I say Coffee and cookies this year:)
On Christmas morning everyone was so excited. Julia was happy to see that the scooter she asked for and Buzz Lightyear were under the tree. Evan showed some shock and awe at his new IPod Touch. After presents we went over to have buffet brunch with Johns parents at their assisted living dining room. Johns brother Jim made it into town from New York which was very special. Then off to my sisters for dinner and to see some more cousins and family.
I hope everyone had a Wonderful Christmas with family and friends

Gingerbread House 2010

2010-12-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

I went into a local cake store planning on only purchasing icing for my gingerbread men. While I was there they were holding a class on decorating gingerbread houses. I thought that Julia would love decorating a house with me so of course had to pick up the other supplies. Julia loved decorating the house. She kept taking the candy out of the boxes and slipping a few pieces in her mouth trying to look casual. I knew I was in trouble as her cheeks got bigger. Here is our final result

Happy Birthday John December 13 2010

2010-12-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday John.....Hugs and Kisses...Love you!!!

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

I can not believe that I am catching up on pics and posts since Thanksgiving....eek! I had hostessed Thanksgiving for John's side of the family this year. This was the first year I had made a turkey which did not turn out to be all that difficult. While I was bathing the turkey Julia asked me where the eyes were and the warbly thing under the beak....lol The hard part was getting everything out at the same time and keeping it warm,but with my mother in laws help we worked well as a team! John did not want me to take a picture of the turkey so I only have the table pictures. We could not fit everyone in the dining room so we ended up putting the younger adults and children in the kitchen at their own table.

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T18:04:00.001-07:00

Happy Hallooween!!!

2010-11-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a scarey fun Halloween! I had so much fun this year! Evan got invited to a 7th grade costume party where they went trick or treating and partying afterwards. He had a pretty interesting costume this year......frightening for Julia and a little for me as well. We had our neighbors over for a little early dinner and then trick or treating afterwards. I love the night trick or treating with all of the lit up Jack o Lanterns and scarey houses! I guess there is safety in numbers because Julia was not nearly as afraid with all of her friends. Julia went trick or treating with our neighbors Evan, Lauren and Ethan. It was so much fun watching the kids run up to the door and barely reach the doorbell and try and negotiate how they were going to ring it. Evan came home from the party with 8 pounds of candy and Julia had her fair share as well. Looks as if I may have to donate some candy to work! I have enclosed some trick or treat pictures and one of the pictures was John and Evan in their masks

Apple Picking

2010-10-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

We had such incredible weather here this weekend. I think it even hit 80. We decided to go apple picking. We went to one of the local orchards planning on picking a bushel but when we got there we found pretty slim pickings. Apparently this is the end of the season.....I guess the season started earlier this year. We did pick a 1/2 bushel of gold delicious and the other apples we purchased in their local store. We did find 3 nice pumpkins...Julia had so much fun walking through the fields and discovering grasshoppers and all kinds of other creatures along the way.

Evan's Volleyball Tournament

2010-10-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was Evan's volleyball tournament.One game on Friday night and 3 games Saturday and 1 game on Sunday. It was so much fun watching the boys play. Their coach really has a passion for volleyball and does an excellent job!! The boys took second in their division.

September 26th 2010

2010-10-10T17:25:00.000-07:00

Today was my mothers birthday and she wanted us all over to celebrate at her house. I think she enjoys having all of her children and grandchildren around her! Happy Birthday Mom and Many Many more! We all love you so very much

3 Year Pictures

2010-09-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

Thursday I decided to take Julia to her daycare, even though it was not her scheduled day for picture day. I have taken so many pictures of Julia but wanted to get more of a professional 3 year picture like I did for Evan when he was little. I dressed Julia up in a dress that I purchased for this next years Chinese New Year! I really can not believe how much she has grown. The outfits that I purchased in China seem so small and she really has not had much of a chance to wear them. Julia is really not a shy little girl but when all of her teachers were admiring her dress she was speechless...it also took a lot for her to smile for the photographer but we managed a couple of smiles.
I also wanted to acknowledge the Asian Moon Celebration on Wednesday evening. The night sky was so cloudy that you could barely make out the moon. It was a warm breezy night and felt nice sitting out on the deck. I called around to see if any of the bakeries or stores carried Moon Pies but no luck! We ended up with Little Debbie cakes and Evan crossed out the Zebra cakes and put Moon Cakes on the box...Julia did not know the difference. I do need to try harder next year...maybe get a recipe for them.

Funny Car Ride

2010-09-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

Let my preface this post by telling you that I took Julia for her 3 yr well exam yesterday which she passed with flying colors. Julia used to scream and carry on when the doctor wanted to do anything with her and this exam she was very confident and followed direction. The doctor would tell her to do something she would say "Sure". She needed the flu/H1N1 and the Pneumonia vaccine and she cryed after the shots but then was okay. Her doctor then said, "Julia you should not argue with your mommy when she says you should go to the pottie and Julias reply was OKAY.I took her to McDonalds afterwards so she could run off steam since the weather was not so great outside.
Today I had to go to the Mall to get some price adjustments on some items and Julia was in the back seat with her favorite mouse. She said that mouse was tired and needed to take a nap on her shoulder and then started singing Take me out to the ball game which is hysterical when she sings it. Then she said that mouse had a tummy ache and should try and go to the bathroom. She said that mouse still had a tummy ache so would have to take him to the doctor. I was to pretend I was the doctor. She then said, "Mouse has a tummy ache and will need some shots" "This is going to hurt mousie but then we can go to McDonalds and play and you will feel all better" "Doctor says that you should tell Evan Mommy or Daddy when you have to go Pottie and should not argue about it" "Mousie you are going to need some pull ups"
That was the Aha moment when I knew that she has been really taking in all of what was said and done.

Labor Day Weekend 2010

2010-09-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day weekend we decided to pack the kids up and head to the Wisconsin Dells for a couple of nights. We tend to like to stay at The Wilderness, which is the largest water park resort in America and is sooooooo much fun! When we arrived the weather was chilly so we took full advantage of the indoor water parks. Julia was fearless on all of the slides. She was under 48 inches so she could not go on some of the bigger slides. We took her down on a huge family tube that did not have height restrictions and we ended up going down these dark tubes at a pretty good clip. You should have seen her face....wish I could have brought a camera on some of the slides. I thought for sure she would not want to go again but she kept saying more and again and pointing to even bigger slides. The second day was warmer so got to enjoy all of the pools and slides outdoors. Julia took her naps lying on my lap for an hour by the poolside and then she was ready to go. Evan wanted to stay another few days but had to get back to reality!

Our Wonderful Neighbors!

2010-09-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

We have been blessed with wonderful neighbors all around us! Our next door neighbors recently moved out and a wonderful family moved in with a 3 year old boy Evan who Julia adores! Funny thing that her brothers name happens to be Evan so we call our neighbor little Evan and big brother Big Evan. Evan recently had his 4th birthday and it was such a fun party! The kids had a great time picnicing outside and squirt gun fights/water balloons. It was a picture perfect day! Here are a few pictures from the day.

EAA Museum Visit

2010-08-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

John, his mom and Evan all went to the EAA(Experimental Aircraft Association) in Oshkosh WI this past Tuesday. My mother in law recently moved and while cleaning out her condo she found her old stewardess uniform and hat from when she worked for Northwest Airlines. John decided to call the EAA and see if they would want a donation and they brought it out there. Evan had a great time seeing all of the various planes and Evan got the opportunity to ride in a two seater and fly it himself...it was definitely a thrill!

State Fair 2010

2010-08-08T18:36:00.001-07:00

We ended up going to The State Fair on Opening day this past Thursday! Got in for 2.00 per person with two canned items for the Hunger Task Force which I think is a great idea! We had out traditional cream puffs and headed toward the Midway to ride some rides! Opening day had ride tickets for 1.00 which we always take advantage of since Julia loves all of the Kiddie Rides. Evan out of the kindness of his big brother heart used to go on these rides with her and forfeit his tickets but this year she wanted to go all by herself! One of the carnees said she looks like Dora The Explorer as he put her on one the rides. Evan and John went on the roller coaster while Julia and I waved and took pictures! Did not eat any of the fried food on a stick this year. It seems like they love to fry just about anything they can get their hands on and put it on a stick. Julia also liked the animal barn and had fun petting the horses and talking with the goats and sheep!!!

Happy Birthday Evan and Julia

2010-08-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

Some additional Pictures.

Happy Birthday Evan and Julia

2010-08-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Evan's 12th birthday on August 7th and Julias 3rd birthday on July 26th. We invited the family for cake on Saturday. I went to a local bakery for Julias cake which was an edible image of her with the princesses....she was so excited. Evan wanted an ice cream cake so I lined a spring form pan with ice cream sandwiches and put crushed Oreos and milk on the bottom and then he picked out two flavors of icecream for the middle. It actually was an easy cake and very Yummy! Evan had his friend sleep over in the tent out back...I was hoping that the mosquitos would not attack. They tell me that they had about 3 hours of sleep....Must have been a great sleep over!

More Trip Pictures

2010-07-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

More Trip Pictures

2010-07-29T19:53:00.001-07:00

More Trip Pictures

2010-07-29T19:46:00.001-07:00

More Trip Pictures

2010-07-29T19:40:00.001-07:00

More Trip Pictures

2010-07-29T19:27:00.001-07:00

Our Trip Pictures

2010-07-29T19:07:00.001-07:00

Vacation Julias 3rd Birthday

2010-07-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Just Me and My Dad

2010-07-10T13:43:00.001-07:00

My favorite park picture

Just Me and My Dad

2010-07-10T13:26:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

A couple more pictures!

Happy Fourth of July 2010

2010-07-10T12:37:00.001-07:00

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!

Other Random Pictures

2010-06-24T19:17:00.001-07:00

I was going through my camera realizing I had been behind on posts but decided to post a few random pictures from around the house

Late Happy Fathers Day!

2010-06-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

I am so behind the times with blogging. It is so sad that my last post was Mother's Day and now I am posting a late Happy Father's Day! Life gets too busy some times.
I hope all dads had a great Father's Day or as Julia would say Happy Daddy's Day! I was a pretty laid back day with visiting and helping John's parents move! It is amazig how Julia has changed from this little shy girl who did not want any part of John while we were in China to always asking where he is and following him around the house. She loves her Daddy! Here are a couple of pics from the morning

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

Evan and Julias decorated cookie for Grandma..can you tell Julia loves
cookies

Julias Card to me

Evan's gift to me

My mom and I with Julia

I feel so fortunate and blessed to be the mom of two wonderful children. Julia has brought so much life and fun into the family and Evan is growing up so quickly and showing us that he such a nice caring older brother.

Today we actually did a lot of visiting and eating out. It was nice not to have to cook a meal. We first went out to brunch with my side of the family. John's mom was too sick with a head cold to go out so John dropped by to wish her well. We will need to postpone the Mothers Day celebrating with her. We hope she feels better soon!

In the evening we went out for a little Mexican food. Julia was so funny dipping her chips and loving Salsa. She kept telling the waiter...This is yummy!!! Needless to say that was about all she had for supper. I enjoyed my Margarita!

Evan made a Mothers Day gift in school. He took a white wooden spoon and down the front it spells out Best Mom Ever in noodles and the spoon has flowers in it....it was so cute...had to hang it up!! Julia made a card at daycare with a saying...she was so proud and handed the card to me saying Happy Mommys Day!!

Every year I thank God for having me be Mom to such wonderful children! I also think about who Julias biological mom is and where she is and what she is thinking on Mothers Day. I do want to thank her for giving Julia life and I hope she knows how much Julia is loved!

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

Happy Easter 2010

2010-04-04T18:32:00.002-07:00

Here is a continuation of Easter pictures from visiting at my Sisters Home

Happy Easter 2010

2010-04-04T18:32:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T17:56:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice Easter celebration this year. It actually started last night when I did sing at the Vigil mass at our church. It was a really beautiful mass and the songs were really perfect this year! John and Evan went to church on Sunday morning and before that Evan and Julia went hunting for eggs. The Easter bunny hides them around the house filled with candy and crackers and sometimes some coins! They then went looking for their baskets... Julias was on the dining room chair and Evans in the dryer! We had so much fun watching them search for their eggs. Julia was so excited.

We went to my sisters house for Easter brunch and to celebrate my nephew Christophers 12th birthday. She had a really nice party with a sit down brunch for 20 people. The Bunny and Lamb cake were so sweet.....she is the creative one in the family! The weather was perfect except for a few rain drops....it was nice not having to worry about a heavy coat. Wishing everyone a Happy Easter!

Is It Summer Yet?

2010-03-25T06:09:00.001-07:00

We are all getting that cabin fever waiting for summer to arrive. I have been having so much fun listening to all of the new words that Julia has been coming up with! The other day she said to me, " Mommy, Daddy is a nice man...Evan is a nice man......Mommy is a nice Mommy and Jewwwya is a nice girl........we are all friends." She has so much fun building towers with her Daddy and listening to her brothers crazy music and dancing to the beat!! Her daycare teacher, Miss Jill, gave Julia pigtails the other day and when I came home from work she said, "Mommy, Miss Jill made me pretty"(My camera battery died so I wasn't able to get pics) She insisted on sleeping with them in....you should have seen her hair the next morning...she is a restless sleeper. Everytime we are driving somewhere she usually will get upset when there is talking on the radio...she always looks at me and says Songs Mommy!! Evan will be a teenager in a couple of years ...yikes!! I keep thinking that I am shrinking because he keeps growing taller and taller! Baseball season is around the corner for him and it should be fun to watch some of the games.

There will be no pictures of Julia sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap this year....she likes him from a distance and will wave and blow kisses but when she is up close....there is a complete meltdown!!

Julias playtime fun!

2010-03-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

It has been so much fun watching as Julia grows up and learns about the world around her. I love watching her play with Playdough creating her own piece of artwork with a blob of dough and my kitchen utensils...she loves the drawer where I keep my utensils and investigates new ones each day! Another love of Julias is her dog Huey...he is 14 years old and pretty much goes with the flow except when Julia gets a little too affectionate. She watches me scold Huey and she now sticks her finger out at him and says No Huey...stop! I caught a picture of her sunbathing in the kitchen with Huey. Julia Loves doggies or puppies and kittys....I found a shirt with a cat face on it at a local store and she wants to wear it every day along with her black shoes with cat faces on them. She sits in the car with her cat shoes on and moves her feet up and down telling me, "Look mommy kittys are running" Evan loves racing up the stairs with her to encourage her to get ready for bed which requires a lot of coaxing! She discovered Evans MP3 player and loves to put it on and dance to the music...she can keep a good beat and she loves the music!

Happy Chinese New Year

2010-02-13T20:03:00.001-08:00

Julia trying to get comfortable with the Lion

Evan leading the Lion Dance

Julia wondering what she is all about

Chinese New Year Pictures

2010-02-13T19:49:00.001-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year

2010-02-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

Julia trying out chopsticks

Dance with fans

Evan and Julia making a Chinese Drum

Happy Chinese New Year...the year of the Tiger! We were so excited about being able to celebrate The New Year with the Families with Children from China. The celebration took place in our county at the Washington County Fair Grounds and was terrific! I could not decide what Julia should wear since most of the clothes that we purchased in China were actually a little small on her. I ended up with a dress that I recently purchased although now that I look at it it almost looks Scottish...lol Evan and Julia has so much fun doing all of the crafts. They were making Chinese lanterns and drums and sun catchers and stamping up inserts for cups with all kinds of Chinese symbols. There were so many things to shop for. I did purchase a dress for next year for Julia and one of the Chinese Tiger Marionettes. Julia was actually afraid of the Chinese Tigers this year and cried during the parade but then was okay when John took her around to see them up close. I could not believe how many little girls were all there with their beautiful Chinese dresses. The Chinese Lion Show was outstanding!! Some of the men played the drums and the cymbals as the Tigers danced up and down the aisles. Evan got the opportunity to go into one of the heads and parade around as well! I think I have had my fill of Chinese food for the week! It all was so good. I have so many pictures! Wishing everyone a wonderful New Year!

Happy Birthday Joseph

2010-01-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

We had a busy day yesterday so did not get to post. We first went to my nephew Josephs birthday party...he turned 10! My sister had a nice party with sit down lunch. She made a Nintendo DS cake for Joseph this year which was pretty creative. We then got home to have Julia slip in a quick nap before we were off to Evans classmates home for dinner. It was a wonderful evening full of stories and laughter and good food/good friends I could not help but think of Sierra and her birthday celebration yesterday. Happy Birthday Sierra..Hope you had a terrific birthday with your friends and family!

Funny Christmas Gift

2010-01-10T18:25:00.000-08:00

Kathie and Scott , friends of ours from our travel group, decided to send Julia a Christmas gift and said that she will like it but we will laugh. Kathie said she was sending me a hint before it arrived and to check my email. The background to this story is that while we were in China we all went to a restaurant called Lucy's where they serve fairly American food. We were all finished eating and John decides to place a lettuce leaf on Julia's head. I snapped the picture and Kathie sent this to me as a hint. On Christmas Eve Julia opened the gift that arrived and in it were two very cute cabbage patch babies with adoption certificates and bottles and change of clothing. I kept looking at the picture as a hint wondering what it meant and John was behind me and said...oh that gift is going to be a Cabbage Patch doll...what a very thoughtful gift!!

Thank You Long Overdue

2010-01-10T17:32:00.000-08:00

I actually have some time to say thank you to one of the wonderful families that we met while in China....Kathy, Scott and David. A few months ago John was on a business trip and planned on meeting them half way and I so wished that I was there. He brought back gifts and one that is so special is Kathie and Sierra while in China and then while home as well as Julia and I in China and she told me to insert a current picture...well I have been unfortunatly procrastinating but I finally got a picture. The poem in the middle is special! I never expected to meet such wonderful caring people. It has been fun sharing stories and we were so fortunate to celebrate Sierra's 3rd birthday with them in the hallway of our hotel...they had a room next to ours which was perfect!!

Kathie has such a big heart and I feel as if I have known her much longer than a year!

Happy New Year! 2010

2010-01-03T17:28:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful year 2009 was! I hope we have a terrific 2010! Our annual tradition is to get together at our neighbors home and ring in the New Year! It is fun since familes from the neighborhood come and the kids have as much fun as the parents! Two of our neighbors Tasha and Trony are moving to Texas so we wished them well ! Trony smoked ribs and chicken for our dinner which was really good! Julia actually rang in the New Year and I think she thought we were all pretty crazy. She was dancing in circles in the neighbors basement and enjoying all of the music .When it almost struck midnight I put her on a bar stool and put a hat on her and she was watching all of the noise makers and horns and streamers being handed out, and all I could imagine that she was thinking was those Crazy Americans!!! She was so cute in her party hat...she loved all of the Happy New Year necklaces! The kids also bring home grab bags with all sorts of fun things! Thanks Jim and Dena for another wonderful New Years Eve!

Happy New Year to everyone! I am looking forward to celebrating the Chinese New Year this year!

Continuation of Christmas Pictures

2009-12-26T13:43:00.001-08:00

My Sister Christine with Julia

My sister in law Lucy with Julia

My brother John with Julia

My nephew Ryan

My Step Father Allen with Julia

Continuation of Christmas Pictures

2009-12-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

Continuation of Christmas Pictures

2009-12-26T13:13:00.001-08:00

Here are some more pictures from the day!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was an incredible Christmas! Evan and Julia were so excited about Santa coming! We went to 4 PM Christmas mass which was so sweet. I usually sing in the choir at midnight mass but this year I decided to go to the earlier mass to be able to spend more time with my family! The childrens choir was so adorable and they had the nativity scene reenacted by the 2nd graders to a beautiful Amy Grant Christmas song. Julia was so excited pointing at them and telling me that that was Jesus mommy and daddy! We then had my side of the family over for drinks and appetizers which was really nice! The gift that Julia had wrapped in my previous post was apparently only a wrapped piece of cardboard...the outside decorating was actually the gift which I ripped apart thinking there was something inside...I of course had to tape it back...we all had a little laugh!

Christmas morning Evan woke up first and then Julia was crying out! No sleeping in when there are Santa gifts! Julia was very surprised to find her kitchen set all assembled by dada. My sister bought her all of the pots and pans and plastic food and canned goods and tiny boxes of cake mix. She now cooks breakfast lunch and dinner for all of us and is very proud! Evan was very excited to find his top gift which was the Wii. We had a lot of fun doing Wii Fit Plus last night. I love the tennis and the obstacle courses! We then went to John's parents for dinner! His parents yearly tradition is Shrimp Newburg with salad and trifle for dessert....all very yummy! We then stopped off at my moms house since she was having all my cousins and my uncle over from Madison. It amazes me how she cooks for 35 to 40 people at her house every year for Christmas. It was really nice seeing everyone I took Julia into the doctor today and she has another sinus infection and fever so another round of antibiotics...hopefully we will see some improvement soon. Tonight we are going to the Bucks game! Hopefully the roads won't be too bad...it is really snowing hard. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Two Special Gifts

2009-12-23T21:12:00.000-08:00

I had to post the two special gifts that were created by Evan at school and Julia at daycare. Julia brought home this package that is all wrapped and decorated and signed To Mom and Dad Merry Christmas Love Julia and has her picture on the top. She is very excited about it and has it waiting for us under the tree.

Evan brought home a wrapped gift for us as well today. He said that he worked real hard on it and could hardly wait for us to open it. Then he said that we should open it today since it is more of a decoration for Christmas. It is a Christmas tree made out of string that he threaded through paper. I love homemade gifts that come from the heart! I cry every year when they are given with so much love!

Preparing for Christmas

2009-12-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to catch up on my blog...seems as if there is never enough time in the day to do all of the things that I would like. This past weekend Julia and I decided to bake some cookies. Julia loves watching me in the kitchen and always wants to help. I handed her the bag of chocolate kisses and she managed to help unwrap most of them for the Peanut butter kiss cookies. It was fun watching her concentrate on the foil wrapping and she was so proud. I did get a picture of her with my mixer..it was off of course!!

On Sunday we all decided to go to the mall so that Julia could sit on Santas lap. I asked Evan to dress up in case I needed back up since I was unsure of how Julia would react....you see we had been to the mall once before and she waved at him and as he waved back she held out her arms for my sister and said help me help me!! Evan was not too willing to help since he is a 6th grader and it is soooo uncool to sit on Santas lap or be near Santa when you are in 6th grade. Julia seemed eager to go on Sunday and we waited about 40 minutes in line. She kept watching all the other kids and waved Hi to Santa and kept peaking around the corner at him. The elf that greeted us at the head of the line asked Julia if she was there for Santa and Julia nodded her head yes. She then asked Julia what she wanted for Christmas from Santa and Julia said, "A Choo Choo book and a bike.....a blue bike" I was shocked since this is the first I had heard of that...It seems as if Blue is Julias favorite color. Well Julia turned the corner to go to Santa and had a complete melt down. She did not want to go near Santa.....Santa said to me..I don't think she will be sitting on my lap...lol I sat down next to Santa real quick and at least got a consolation shot....Oh well...better luck next year! '

This is such an exciting Christmas that I don't want to miss a moment! I want to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Health and Happiness in the New Year! It is actually snowing here tonight so looks as if it will be a White Christmas this year

Happy Birthday John

2009-12-13T17:49:00.000-08:00

Today was John 's 20 something birthday....lol He always rubs it in how I am older than him...only 6 months! We had a lot of celebrating to do. We started out going out to breakfast with John's family. His niece Linden is home from Winona and shares the same birthday as him. She is 19 today! Then we had a Packer party at our neighbors house across the street. They are Packer fans 100 percent. They have Packer carpeting in their finished basement and their Christmas tree is loaded with only Packer ornaments. I happened to see Leroy Butler out at our local grocery store yesterday and had him sign a cookbook for her. I really was looking for something to bring as a hostess favor and it was there staring me in the face. We had a terrific time at the party and it was fun catching up with all of our awesome neighbors.

Evan and Julia made a homemade card for John which was precious. Happy Birthday John! I Love You and Hope for Many More Birthdays Ahead! I love celebrating and sharing each new year together!

Snow Day

2009-12-10T18:14:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we had a snow day and Evan's school was cancelled. We ended up with 8 inches of heavy wet snow! It was pretty from inside but a mess to drive in. Julia was so happy that her big brother was home. I wanted to take Julia outside to build a snowman since we have been reading so many stories about snowmen. It was kind of funny when I dressed her in long underwear, boots, hat, scarf, mittens and she just stood there like a statue. I went walking into the drift in the front yard and she followed and I told her she had to lift her legs up and she got stuck and I lifted her up and her boots stayed in place and her socks just came out. It was at the moment that I knew she had to stand and watch on the walkway while I put together my own snowman. Julia helped me with the finishing touches. I wanted to make a large one but Julia was too cold to stay outside. She took a fall right into a puddle in the garage and her mittens were soaked and that is when we went in. Evan ended up deserting us for sledding with his neighbor friends at a local park. Today was extremely cold so got caught up with a lot of indoor Christmas preparation! Donna Joe and Lauren...Arizona is looking great about now!

Happy Late Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

I did not get a chance to post on Thanksgiving. We were very busy. We actually celebrated with both sides of the family. We ended up going to a supper club upnorth to celebrate with my mom and stepfather and all of his kids and their spouses and children.....wow what a large group of people. I can understand why my mom would be overwhelmed with a grp this large for Thanksgiving. We then end up going to my inlaws house for evening Thanksgiving dinner. Two Thanksgiving celebrations and a lot of YMCA the following days!!! My mother in law wanted me to bring an appetizer and I decided on a veggie tray....needed some low calorie options. We all had a terrific time! Julia loved the dessert from Baskin Robbins which was ice cream decorated as a turkey. Tradition has been to wake up at 2 AM the next day and go shopping. I have gone to Best Buy every year and really have gotten good deals but the past few years have been discouraging since I find that people start camping out in tents at 5 PM the evening before. This year I set my alarm for 230 and IT DID NOT GO OFF!!!...must be a sign from above. I actually woke up at 530AM and I am grateful it was not later since I had to be at work at 730. I did end up at Kohl's and then went to Fleet Farm. I had a couple of good deals and a lot of long lines! Hope you all had a terrific Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Wishes

2009-11-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

Julia's Thanksgiving card/with turkey hand cover

I find myself thinking about all of the things that I am thankful for. Evan and I were talking about how we are thankful for the men and women in the service who are protecting our country and for their families who are making a large sacrifice for our freedom . I am thankful for all of my friends, old and new that have touched my life in so many ways. I am thankful for a loving husband and two wonderful children. I am thankful for my mom and step father as well as my sister/brother who have been extremely loving and supportive. I am also thankful for my father who made me a better person and pushed me to become the best person I could be! I am thankful that God had a plan for Julia and brought her into our home. I could go on and on and on but I especially wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Thank you for touching my life in so many big and small ways!!!

10 Month Anniversary

2009-11-12T17:08:00.000-08:00

I can not believe that it has been 10 months since our Julia came home. She has brought such Joy and laughter to our home. I will never forget our first meeting when she walked out in her pink corduroy pants and jacket with her Chinese name in tape across her jacket and the cutest pink patton leather shoes with charms! She looked around and held her arms out to me when the orphange workers said "Go, there is your Mama" She had big tears welling up in her eyes and she looked so afraid. I had so many mixed emotions at that moment....those of love at first sight and also of sadness that she was leaving the only world she ever knew. When we drove up to our house after the long flight home I could hardly wait to introduce her to her big brother who missed his mom and dad for two whole weeks! I whisked her out of the car and out of a deep sleep to walk into a place which was so unfamiliar. Evan cried so hard when he saw her and kept telling me how cute she was!! She just looked around and was very quiet!

Since then she has evolved into a very happy,high energy little girl! She loves to blow me kisses and giggles after each one! She is inquisative asking me, "What's that"??? and she always wants to see what is going on scooting a chair up or a stool and saying "I see" We truly have been blessed with two wonderful children! We have also been blessed with many wonderful friends who we have met along this journey in China! Wish we all lived a little closer but nice to visit everyones blogs! Happy 10th Anniversary Travelmates!!!!!

Halloween Pictures!!!

2009-10-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T20:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had trick or treat in our neighborhood. My husband seems to go wayyyy overboard with the decorations/which I love. We have a CD of terror music and a smoke machine and a goblin who is motion activated and swoops down with horrible screams. We used to have a remote control rat but too many of the small children were afraid of it.
This year Evan and John decided to go out looking for a mask for Evan to wear and they came home with a KISS mask and wig!!! Julia does not want anything to do with Evan when he puts that on! I was thinking that we could all go trick or treating together but Evan had to go on his own because Julia did not want him around her at all! I have to admit...he was pretty intimidating! Julia was a sunflower. Luckily I had a warm costume for her since it was about 35 degrees and windy! I borrowed a wagon from our neighbors so that we could cover a larger area in a shorter period of time. She at first did not know what she was supposed to do but after a few houses she started saying , "More Tucteact" She loves dogs and any of the houses that have dogs were a hit!!! There were a few houses where they would open up the door and she would push it open farther and stick her head inside and say "Dog???" One house was decorated with stuffed body parts coming out of the bushes and she kept staring at them as she walked by. I kept wondering what was going through her head! A couple of our neighbors had their dogs dressed in costume. One was a cow with a cowbell and udders and the other Jack Russel Terrier was a banana...they were do cute.
My brother and his wife came later with their son Ryan and we all had a pizza wine party!! Ryan dressed up as Woody from Toy Story! They sure did get a lot of candy.
I want to hear about everyones Halloween and look forward to looking at everyones blog!

Out to Lunch

2009-10-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Today my friend Beverly called and we decided to take the girls out to lunch at Mc Donalds. Beverly has 2 girls who were adopted from Vietnam, Lana and Ginger. Ginger and Julia shared their baptism day at St Mary's. The McDonalds that we went to has a wonderful play area for toddlers which I do not worry about since there are not a lot of big slides or places to hide! It was a lot of fun talking with Beverly and seeing the girls again. I managed to get a picture of them on one of the Jeeps.

Julia's Surgery

2009-10-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

Today Julia had her ear tubes placed since she has been experiencing too many ear infections this past summer that have been resistant to many different antibiotics. I was worried that they would cancel the surgery since Julia just started to have a runny nose and cough last night...doesn't that figure, is well until the night before surgery. It really is a very simple surgery but I have to say that it is never easy watching your child be carried away from you for surgery when they are young and do not understand!! Luckily the surgery was at 730AM and we had to be there at 600AM. Julia woke up and is so used to eating in her chair first thing after waking up and getting dressed. This morning she kept saying eat eat....as I was putting her jacket on and I kept telling her we will eat later! Her response was NO WAYYYY!! She had an anaesthesiologist who was Asian and was female which both were a plus!! The surgery lasted 15 minutes with about an hr recovery. I could hear her screaming,"MAMAMAMA" out of recovery....so I knew she was okay.

It was a good thing she could bring her stuffed puppy in because Julia does not go anywhere without her puppy! She did get to pick from a bin of stuffed dolls and she chose a flower!! On our way home she threw up all of the apple juice that they gave her in recovery! We found out that she needs ear drops 4 drops twice daily to each ear and they are supposed to burn....I am not looking forward to that!!! She is down for a long nap now....I hope everyone is staying well during this crazy H1N1 time.... I am so glad things went well today!! I am enclosing a couple of pictures from when we got home. I did not think that it was a good idea to snap pictures when she was afraid at the surgical center!

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-24T20:28:00.001-07:00

A Couple More Pics!

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

John was gone on business this past week and I am so thankful that he is home. I give a lot of credit to single moms!! It has been busy with volleyball practice, guitar lessons, conferences and work! I took off of work on Tues for Julias surgery. She is having ear tubes placed. I know that it is a quick surgery but I hate having her be put under without really knowing her medical history completely.

Today we carved our pumpkins. We were going to do it last weekend but we were afraid that if we carved them too early they may rot before Halloween. Julia rolled up her sleeves and was happy to pull out all of the guts and seeds from the pumpkins which surprised me!! We gave her markers so that she could color her own pumpkin. Our trick or treat is on Saturday night!! My brother and his wife and son will be coming over for a little Halloween party and trick or treat.

I am looking forward to seeing everyones costumes!!

Tonight we went to what is called The Feastable at our church. It is a buffet dinner with carved ham and turkey and different side dishes which really feels like Thanksgiving. We had a nice dinner and then ended up at the school Book Fair to purchase a few books for Evan and Julia. Julia was sooooo excited about the books! She LOVES BOOKS!!!!

Me and My Brother

2009-10-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

I had wanted to post a few more pictures from around the house. Now one of the pictures is kind of disturbing....you see when you have an older brother you end up with the most interesting toys! Julia loves the Nerf air gun that is Evans and likes picking up all of the foam bullets....whatever happened to the sweet baby dolls ( I think they are all napping)

I am also enclosing some pictures from a visit to my moms house one Fall afternoon.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Continuation of Pumpkin Farm

2009-10-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures of our day !

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

Today we took Julia out to Basse's Farm in Colgate WI to show her our yearly tradition. It was a sunny day but the wind was cool. We first got on the tractor hayride out to the fields to find that huge perfect pumkin. We have always walked wayyyy out to the outer parts of the fields to find larger pumpkins and the trick is carrying them back. I really do not know what Julia thought of the whole thing. She had this blank look on her face the entire trip out and back. I could say she was in awe but I have no idea. We did find some really nice pumpkins and Julia found a little one that she can decorate. John and Evan went into the corn maze which has a yearly theme and the aerial view this year was Mario from Mario Brothers. There are questions you have to answer about Mario and get them right to head in the right direction and get out of the maze....they made it! Julia and I took a ride around the pond on the train and tried the moonwalk although she was a little small for the moonwalk...she still had fun. Her favorite was the petting zoo with the Llamas and the slide. She loved the apple cider slushies!!! We ended the day by standing in line for the pumpkin launcher since Evan and John had to do this! For a dollar you can launch a small pumkin out of a cannon that is air compressed and gas generated and it has to land inside this large metal pumkins eyes nose or mouth!!! Julia jumped everytime the launcher went off...it sounded like fireworks being set off. She must think she has a pretty crazy family!!! Those crazy Americans!!!lol I think we will carve them next weekend since they rot pretty quickly if we carve them too early.

Apple Picking

2009-09-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today we were off to one of the local farms to pick some apples. I had heard that the weather was going to get cooler this week and we were going to have rain so we decided to venture out today. It was Julias first time picking and she had so much fun running around picking from the lower branches. I usually peel and slice up her apples but today she took the entire apple and started eating! We ended up with a lot of apples... I will need to come up with some low fat apple recipes before these all go bad. I know I can make some sauce and freeze it. If anyone has any good recipes let me know.

Happy Birthday Mom! September 26th

2009-09-27T15:15:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my mothers birthday and we got home too late to post! My sister decided to have us all over for dinner. She wanted all of us to bring something to contribute and wanted to make an authentic Polish dinner since my mother is Polish. She assigned me the Bahbka to make....which is a Polish yeast cake that takes about a day to make.....eeek! I got the recipe out from my mother and started making it on Wed morning and ended up finishing that afternoon. It was a lot of waiting around for the yeast to rise....I pulled it off, but I found out that I could have baked it a little longer....my mom said I learned for next time and I don't think there will be a next time :0) We all had a nice dinner and visit! Julia and her cousin Ryan had a great time playing the piano and helping grandma open up presents. I was so glad that my mom had such a great time! She kept telling us that it did not get any better than this with her entire family around her! Happy Birthday Mom....thank you for being the BEST MOM EVER!

Some Pictures from Around the House

2009-09-19T07:26:00.000-07:00

I am finally posting some pics from Thursday when I was unable to get into my blog to post due to technical difficulties. Julia and I were having fun in the yard and she was watching Elmo with her baby while I was making lunch for us. She is so captivated by Elmo. I have been learning several things about Julia every day. I know she is afraid of lawnmowers and cars driving by. She takes a few steps back into the garage and looks out as to what is making the noise when someone starts up the mower or drives by the house. She loves to run through the grass while I chase her and screams with a high pitch scream when she is excited. She could live on the swing set wanting me to push her higher and higher. She loves climbing and thinks she can climb the ladder really quickly to get up to the slide but does not realize that there are times she can miss a step....she is fearless. She loves chasing after bubbles trying to grab them all. She is fascinated by bikes and dogs. Our neighbor was walking by with her 4 month old son and her dog and Julia goes running after them screaming dog dog dog! She chases any dog that comes by our house!!!lol It is so much fun watching her grow from day to day. She loves all the Childrens songs and puts her fingers together and tells me Issy Bissy mama which is her way of telling me Itsy Bitsy Spider! I love how she makes a diamond with her fingers when we sing Twinkle Twinkle or how she shows me that the babies on the bus go Wah Wah Wah in The Wheels on the Bus! She is so full of energy and love! I am enclosing a few random pics from around the house

Our Saturday Away

2009-09-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday John's parents came over to spend time with Evan and Julia while John and I got to sneak away for the day to Madison. It was a real treat to be able to get away just the two of us! It was beautiful weather and we ended up visiting UW Madison and taking a trip down memory lane since I went to school there. We walked up and down State Street noting how many restaurants there are! We ended up having a couple of beers down by the lake at the Union watching the sailing club and crew club practicing and also the frat boys and sorority girls diving off the pier. I was kind of nervous leaving Julia for the entire day since I have not done that before except for daycare! My inlaws and Evan did a great job and gave us a wonderful much needed time away! I wish I would have brought my camera but did not have it with me at all!

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

Julia enjoying the childrens area!

Evan trying to win the race!

Always has to wear Mama's shoes!

Before the wave hits!

Julia on the bungee swings

Whew, I finally get to post our wonderful weekend to Wisconsin Dells.....greatest waterparks ever!! We headed out to The Dells on Saturday morning and stayed at a condo in The Wilderness. My sister in law Lisa and her friend Martha invited us to join their familes and friends for a fun weekend. The condos were really nice and were adjoining with full kitchens and family rooms. We went on so many water slides and body slides and relaxed on the lazy river with Julia. There was a really great ride called The Black Hole where you sit in a single tube and it shoots you through a tube with colored strobe lights and you end up in a huge reservoir where you spin and spin until you fall through a hole to the end where you get a huge facewash. The weather was perfect, in the 80's and sunny the entire weekend. Julia loved playing in the childrens area on the water slide there and running through the fountains. She also liked the bungee swings in the water. Monday we got to go to Mount Olympus water park after we checked out of The Wilderness and spent the rest of the day on the Go Karts and in the Wave Pool. Got a little burn on my shoulders and back but felt great being out in the warm sun! We ended up coming home at 815PM on Monday and then quick get ready for school and work the next day! Back to Reality!

Probate Court

2009-09-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

Well......this was not a place I ever expected to go!! Today John and I took some time off of work to go with Julia to Probate Court to finalize the adoption and get her Birth Certificate. It was kind of strange swearing in and answering all of the sometimes humerous questions that the judge asked of us! We did manage to get a couple of pictures. I of course was in my scrubs ready to go back to work afterwards:( We did celebrate by going out for coffee afterwards then straight to work!! On the drive back Julia started actually singing her version of ABC's and you could actually make out some of the words....which was so cute to listen to. The rest was either some mumbling or else lalalalalalalalalala.....

Evan's first day of school was yesterday.....I still can not believe that we have a 6th grader!! The 6th grade classed change classrooms for each subject to prep them for High School which I think is a great idea! Evan joined Volleyball this year and loves to play. The nice thing is having practices right after school.

Evan and Julia at the Park

2009-08-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

This is a late post since Julia and Evan went to the park last week but I am finally catching up from the week. I took Julia and Evan to a local spray park that we have....was kind of disappointed when I heard they were putting up a water park and we only got a spray park instead but......at least we can keep cool with it.

The water was pretty cold so it took a long time for Julia to warm up to the idea of getting herself real wet. She did meet another little girl who was 18 months who kept running up to her and giving her hugs and kisses.....Julia kept following her and she kept trying to grab Julia...was fun to watch!

Evan helped Julia afterwards climb and go down the slide and swing. She had a tantrum when we left so I know it was fun for her. The severity of the tantrum tells me how much she likes where we went!!!

Linden, we will miss you

2009-08-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

Today we went over to my mother and father in laws house to have brunch and wish Linden well as she goes away to college for her first year at Winona State. Linden is Julia's godmother/my husbands niece, and a terrific role model for Julia. Linden is kind and caring and really has a lot going for her. This past summer she was a camp counselor at the Y and all the kids loved her. While she was in Spain on her high school senior trip she purchased an adorable Spanish dress for Julia. I put it on Julia for the occasion. We are all going to miss her and all wish her luck as she moves away from home into the dorms. We all purchased small inexpensive needed items for the dorms such as toothpaste, antibacterial gel, extension cords, soap.....

My mother in law made a wonderful Mexican strata and fresh fruit and my sister in law made an italian tomato salad with fresh mozarella and spices...it was a really nice day so we got to sit out on the patio!

Happy 11th Birthday Evan

2009-08-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Eleventh Birthday Evan. I spent a wonderful day with Evan and enjoyed every moment ...except for losing my keys while shopping for school supplies....luckily found them! The day started out where I woke Julia up and had to keep her quiet so Evan could sleep in. I fed her breakfast and off to daycare. She could hardly wait to go play with her friends....she loves it there! I then went for my 4 mile walk which was peaceful and Evan called me 3/4 into the walk on my cell. I of course had to sing Happy Birthday! I left a note saying Surprise No Daycare today....be ready to spend a fun day with your mom! We started out going miniature golfing, then out to lunch and then bowling...all Evans ideas! I thought he would pick a movie but he said that he would not be able to talk to me then.....which I thought was so sweet! I have missed our one on one time together .
Evan if the most thoughtful, sensitive, caring big brother and son! We love you so very much Evan !!!!!

More Fair Pictures

2009-08-06T20:29:00.001-07:00

Julia was hanging on during the Dragon Coaster ride

Loving the Tea Cups! Evan loved to show Julia how to spin the cup

State Fair

2009-08-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

Julia and her new found friends!

John and Julia vs Evan

I think I like these messy cream puffs....hope you brought the wipes!

Evan feeding the Clydesdales hay

Julia had to use her hands to hoist herself up!

Today John took a day of vacation and we all went to our State Fair! We wanted to get an early start so the best we could do was arrive at 830AM .We happened to meet up with my sister and her family as well as Patricia and Mike who adopted Evy from China several years ago. Julia got to go down the Giant Slide with John...Evan actually wanted to race with them .Julia was not afraid and wanted to go again and again and again....unfortunatly would have costed a fortune! We then headed out to the pig races and met up with my mom and stepfather. Julia and Evan loved cheering on the pigs and goats and ducks who raced! The Midway had one dollar rides so Evan and Julia went on several. Evan was nice enough to take Julia on a lot of the smaller rides since she did not meet the height requirements without someone going with her. She was fearless on most of the rides....the roller coaster was a little much for her! The Clidesdale horses were my favorite!! Julia enjoyed all of the animals...esp the goats. We split some cream puffs and ended the day at 630 in the evening!

The fair tends to have a new food item each year...one year it was deep fried Snickers, the next was deep friend pickles and then deep friend oreos....all very healthy of course...lol

One of the new food items at the fair was chocolate covered bacon! We all had to try it since it sounded so unusual.....it was a little much! Good thing I have my Y membership.....

Well off to bed.....I took a day of vacation tomorrow and decided that I am going to surprise Evan. His birthday is actually tomorrow and he thinks he is going to daycare.....I am actually just taking Julia to daycare tomorrow and spending the day with Evan for his birthday! I will let him decide what he would like us to do tomorrow.

Evan and Julias Birthday Celebration

2009-08-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

Today our family got together to celebrate Evan's 11th Birthday and Julia's 2nd. I finally got my cakes frosted last night after work. It actually was a great day! Julia shouted Elmo Elmo as I was frosting her cake last night and Evan loved his guitar and amp cakes. Julia recieved a lot of really nice thoughtful gifts. She especially liked the Jack in the Box and my favorite was the Sonya Lee doll from my sister with the Little People DVD. Evan was just happy getting money and gift cards....he likes to shop for himself at his age. The kids all played in the back yard and had fun on the swings. Julia did not get her nap so had to put her down to bed early since someone was too overstimulated with all of the gifts and attention!

Happy 2nd Birthday Julia! July 26th 2009

2009-07-27T19:28:00.001-07:00

Where has the time gone! Julia finally turned 2 yesterday! I was up trying to post a video on our computer but had to abandon things due to too late and it was not working! We had a really nice party with just the 4 of us! Julia loved her new baby stroller and was pushing it everywhere! She had a little tea party with her babies and her new tea set! She actually kept her bow in her hair most of the time....she figured out that it was there in the restaurant and wanted dada to wear it....eeek!!!

I wanted to add the video clips of us singing Happy Birthday but for some reason when I try to download it says that blogger can not accept! I guess I could use some computer help....Donna would you be able to help?

Evan was kind enough to suggest sharing his birthday celebration with Julia for this weekend when the whole family can join us. I am making an Elmo layer cake for Julia and an electric guitar cake for Evan...I am still looking for black licorice strings for the guitar strings. Evan will be 11 on Aug 7th so we figured it would be easier to get everyone together one time since everyones schedules are so busy!

Kathie and Sierra thank you for the nice birthday wish! Sierra I love to hear you say Happy Birthday Julia!

Continuation of Duluth Trip

2009-07-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

I have a few more pictures to post. Here are some pictures of Downtown Duluth. I also got a few pictures of Evan and Julia in this incredible park that had thousands of different roses and fountains and gazebos and it all overlooked Lake Superior.

If anyone can tell me how to rotate the pics in my previous post...I would be forever grateful!

Visiting Grandma

2009-07-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful trip upnorth to see my grandmother. We left last Thursday and returned on Monday afternoon. My grandmother lives in an assisted living and had a stroke before we left for China in January. She lost a lot of movement in her left side which was difficult for her since she was very independent. We were so anxious for Julia to meet her great grandmother for the very first time. We stayed at a hotel that had a waterpark in it so that was fun for Evan and Julia. They also had a Bonfire every night with Smores and two of the nights they showed a movie off of the hotel outside so that everyone around the pool could enjoy it.

Grandma looked good and enjoyed our company. We had dinner with her at the assisted living on Friday night and met a few of her friends. My brother did drive upnorth on Saturday with his wife and son and my mother. It was nice getting together with everyone.

John initiated Julia to the waterpark even though the main word was "No" she managed to give everything a try! She loved it when the big bucket of water would drop a huge load of water on her! She liked the childrens slides. Tiki Tom (The Hotel Mascot) did show up for one of the Bonfires and insisted on pushing Julia on the swing....she Loved It!!

The drive was 8 hrs one way with a couple of stops. It was not as bad as we thought it would be....there was a little fussing but made it there and back in one piece!

Zoo Day

2009-07-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

Today it was fairly cool so too cold to go to the pool. HMMM what to do with an eleven yr old boy and a 2 yr old girl. Well we finally decided on a day at The Zoo. I finally purchased a Zoo Pass Membership so we can go all summer long when we are undecided....and we won't feel guilty about leaving early and coming back. They have a new exhibit where you get to go into the aviary,most of which are parakeets and cockatiels and some small parrots. They give you a stick with millet on it and they come down and feed on your stick. The elephants were in rare form performing tricks and Julia and Evan loved feeding the goats!

Happy Fourth of July

2009-07-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

Julia and Evan waiting for the parade to begin

Julia with Grandma and cousin Ryan

Evan and Julia with cousins Christopher, Joseph, John and Ryan
Hard to get everyone to pose!

Julia with her glow necklace waiting for the fireworks to start

My festive dessert!

Hope everyone had a terrific Fourth of July weekend. I was so happy to have Friday off and prepare for our annual barbecue! We mainly have family over and it looked as if it was going to rain /was overcast most of the day. Was in the 70's and was comfortable. Did not get Julia in her pool until today due to the weather being kind of chilly and the water needing to warm up.Julia was not as crazy about her pool as she was riding on our backyard swing...she is a swingin gal!

We were worried if Julia was going to be afraid of the fireworks but she loved them and kept clapping and signing ...More More! She picked up some sign language apparently in the orphanage. We went to the fireworks twice...first on the 3rd after the parade and then again on the 4th after our family party! The displays were both incredible as always! My husband Loves the Fourth...you can not keep him from going to the fireworks stands!!

Happy Da Da Day June 21st,2009

2009-06-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

Da Da...I just have to help unwrapping

Happy Father's Day to all Dads!! Today was a very busy day at our house. We went out to breakfast to celebrate Father's Day as well as my birthday and my sisterlaw and her husbands anniversary ! Many celebrations combined into one! After breakfast went to my mom and step fathers home to have a quick visit and then into the car to drive Evan to camp for the week! It is Evans first time at camp and he was so excited! Julia loved walking the camp grounds and investigating everything. She got so excited and started running around in her white sandals with her new outfit ....... she ended up running into a huge mud puddle which I just caught her sliding into.....so much for the white sandals!! I am going to miss Evan this week since he has been my helper with Julia in the morning before work! He helps me get out the door in time. I am sure that he will have a great time at camp with all of the activities that they have to offer.

We ended the day by scooping Julia out of her car seat and into the stroller for a continuation of her nap and our 4 mile walk. During out walk we picked up some takeout Chinese and had a nice quiet dinner at home.

John is a wonderful husband and terrific father to Evan and Julia...we want to thank him for everything! Happy Father's Day!

Haircut Day! June 6th 2009

2009-06-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

Wow I have not been blogging for awhile. There has been so many illnesses around our house that I am looking forward to opening up the windows and shooing the flu!! Julia had an ear infection that was discovered at a well check which did not respond to the 10 day course of antibiotics and so she still has the infection combined with bronchitis. I think she picks up so many things at the daycare and passes them on to her mother!! If anyone has any suggestions as to how to stay well when you are in daycare...I am all ears!!! On a brighter note....she is on her second course and is starting to appear a little bit better!!

Today Evan had a game this morning and won.....10 to 3. Did not get to go to this one due to tooo cold for mom and little sister! I did hear that he did steal home....he has the uniform to prove it....lol A couple of weeks ago he started pitching and did a very good job at his first time out....I think the parents are more nervous watching!

After baseball Evan and I decided to take Julia for her first haircut...she was looking kind of shaggy. I am trying to grow her hair out in the back but needed a clean up. We go to a kids salon that does a tremendous job. Julia was not too fond of getting her haircut but was mesmerized when they started blowing bubbles at her. She picked the pink sports car to sit in.

They did put a hair clip in....without her knowing....hope she will keep it in for the day.

John's brother Jim is in town from New York so we are meeting up with him tonight at Johns parents for dinner. Jim brought Julia the cutest turtle...its back lights up with stars that project on the wall and it has pictures of various sea creatures that light up as well...Julia loves it!!

I have been enjoying all of my travel mates blogs.....I am hoping to plan a reunion at Disney world in a few years if anyone would be interested!