Washington Island, WI


Ang, Grammy with Vivian and Kathy hanging out by the dock.

There was a lot of fishing going on that week. A fish was caught by (almost) all.

Jay buried on Rock Island beach.

Viv's first encounter with sand and COLD water. She was happy to be outside, but unimpressed by the beach.

Hello....Kyu!!
We got to meet my new nephew!!! On our way back from Washington Island, we stopped by my brother and SIL's house. I think Kyu really took to Ally and Eric...yes, Eric. Who knew?! He was so sweet and beautiful and delicious. I know it sounds like I'm describing a cupcake, but he IS all those things! The second day we were there, he missed his morning nap and you would have never known it. He was so good and happy.

Although given a binky by the adoption agency/foster parents, Kyu never had an interest in one...until Vivian showed up! He liked hers and sometimes got it in his mouth, but mostly played with it and chewed on it. I offered to let them keep it, but it DID say, "Daddy's Little Girl" on it.

I wish I had more photos of our stay, but we were very much enjoying being around Kyu and taking him in. The camera seemed to always be wherever we weren't. My nephew is smart, witty, adorable and very, very, very much loved!!!!!

It's no secret. I want a Jeep Wrangler. I've always wanted a Jeep. In high school, my mom told me I couldn't get one, because of the way I drove- too fast into the turns-I would roll it. Of course, she was absolutely, totally...right. But, now I am a more responsible driver and could handle it. It is my dream car.




Since we do not have, say, $10,000 to get a Jeep and the tires I'd want for it, I will live vicariously through Vivian.


My Aunt Marilyn sent me a giftcard for Babies R Us. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. The other kids all had a walker and loved it. They all walked really early which may or may not have had anything to do with the walker. Vivi's legs are almost long enough to reach and be able to do the Barney Rubble. It should be no time at all before she's cornering around the kitchen with no roll-over fears.

*On the milestone front, Vivian rolled over today. She has been really, really close for a week. She did it all by her little self today with Ally and I as witnesses.

**Our vacation photos are on the way. They are on Eric's work computer, so I will have to retrieve them. Much fun had by all.

On to happier events.....my nieces!!! My sis and her girls came to visit Sunday and her hubby joined us on Wednesday. The girls cracked me up each and every day. H's laugh is absolutely addicting and T captured my heart.


Here is T giving me the booty dance.

Ally and H reading books before bed. I told H how I used to stay over at my cousins house who also had a trundle bed. On top of that, H's middle name is same as our cousin - named after her because my sister was born on cousin's birthday. Did you follow all that?

Mia and T on Cody.

Max got to work right away, catching frogs, fish and turtles. Those fish had never felt as much love as they got from a 2 year old.

We had two cameras snapping moments the whole time they were here. You'd think I'd have more pictures. Maybe just maybe my sister will send me some of hers??????? :)

So, after a fabulous week with my sister and her family, we had to end the week on a baaaaad note. Pictures of my adorable nieces will come, but first.....

We done got robbed.


We headed out to Ally's t-ball game around 5:45 and sometime between then and 8:30, someone came into my house and took the 42" flat screen tv. I came home with a screaming hungry baby and rushed to sit and feed her. I look up and my stomach dropped. Shit. Now, what bothered me the most was that someone came into my house!!! I was so mad, I could only cry. Really, the tv was not that big of a deal (at the time) :) It was upsetting for so many other reasons. I wish I could come up with a word that describes the feeling, but violated is the only one. It sounds so cliche, but it fits. On top of the feelings of violation, we now had three kids who were scared to death. We all slept in our room last night and I am praying there aren't long-standing fears for them. Eric and I didn't discuss this in front of them, but we wondered if this was a random thing. Usually we have at least one extra vehicle in the driveway, but the van was getting serviced, which meant the truck was being used. They saw this and knew someone wasn't home? OR, were they watching me and knew my routine? Had they been watching me???? There's that word, violate, again!!! OR, could this have been carried out by an acquaintance, or an acquaintance of an acquaintance? Someone who "heard" we had a tv worth something? At the end of the day, we were lucky. No one was hurt and it was only the tv. They could have cleaned us out of the computer, camera, wii, etc.

As we were sitting in the living room last night going over the events of the evening, an interesting conversation erupted. It went like this....
Jay: I'm so mad at the robbers, I want to cuss at them. Can I cuss at them?
Me: Well, I'm not sure that would really make you feel better.....
Ally: (Without waiting to verify if my response was actually a yes or no) .... Those m***** f******!!!!
Well, wouldn't you know, it DID make us feel better!! We/I laughed so hard tears came from my eyes. I know, I know. Very wrong. With my potty mouth, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often, but I feel the situation called for it.



And if the tv wasn't sad enough, the bastards stepped on Vivan's toy and dented it. I hope they also broke their ankle.

Some of the ladies doing the "Macarena". Who said cowgirls don't know how to partay!!!?

Mark with Viv. Notice the guns in holsters on her jeans? Those were a gift from the Wright's to Vivian.

Soooooo trailer trash. Jay couldn't walk 10 feet away from the trailer to pee, he had to do it standing in the doorway.

The trailer is old, rusty and bearing the nickname the "Rolling Terd", but it serves it's purpose. It gets the horses where they need to go and Eric and the boys were able to sleep in the living quarters comfortably. Now as far as the whole family sleeping in it? Not on your life. It's also a good thing Ally slept in her friend's trailer both nights.

This would be Ally's friend, October. They took colored hair spray (we had these on hand for "crazy hair days" at the school - our colors are red and blue - perfect for July 4th decorating) and decorated Vanilla and October's pony. They got just a tad carried away, but it was fun to watch. Vanilla has the flag on her neck and starts on her butt.

Which one was more wiped, baby or daddy? Doesn't matter, they both fell asleep.

Cool picture.

Max on the rundown. He scared many people again this weekend with his speed.

Ally and vanilla rounding the barrel.

For some reason, Al doesn't like using a cap gun. She prefers to shoot with her finger :)

Pretty kick ass picture. Eric took first place on Sunday!!

Al shooting.

4th of July Weekend:

We spent our holiday weekend in Wooster, OH at a cowboy mounted shooting event. The kids and Eric all rode. This weekend, the kids got to practice shooting the real guns on the ground in addition to riding the course and "pretending" to shoot with cap guns.

Jay meant business. He tied for first place with his shooting. (The man helping him is Tony and he's wearing a union suit, which many of the other adult riders chose as their attire. At one point, they all walked around with toilet paper hanging out of their butt flaps)

Just love this picture.

Jay was on Cody, but he wouldn't go fast enough, so he eventually rode Vanilla.

This is just a cool picture.