Consistant

Yep, a day late and a dollar short.....that's me.

I always remember the birthdays of people who are special to me.....

I just consistantly forget to extend wishes to them. I blame my father for this trait.

Thanks, Dad

Damon's was March 16 - yeah I know, just a little late here.....hey, be happy, Nick's was in October and I remembered (but forgot) him also.

So, hope you had a good one cousin!

I believe that Damon is a "Coke" man now.

If anyone is wondering where Trav is.....

He was about 3 feet over and woudn't move. He also stuck out his tongue on this particular shot. I was mad at him at the time for this, and permanently chopped him out of the photo. Now, I wish that I still had him in there.
with "Ma"
Hey, the Smurfs called........they want their tux back!

I was looking for an original photo....here's Damon and June on their wedding day.
Not your traditional pose...
Looks like you "graduated" from Smurf -wear to the Barney collection!

Soccer, Soccer, and More Soccer...

Every day,..... day after day, ......after day.......

Photo from tonight's game. The score was 1-1 - Again!

Amanda has been getting a lot of playing time in her games which is sooo cool.

This photo was taken at home after Friday's game. Our little Coke is now 3 months old. I posted this photo because it is so gross. Yuck!!!! Coke is giving Amanda a victory kiss.
We also try to catch some of Hannah's games - when they are not at the same time as Amanda's. Jake sometimes runs between the two. What a nice big brother .. :)

So Close!

Game 2 of the season was a thriller.... right down to the final seconds.

Final seconds of the game, the ball bounces off of Amanda's hip on a rebound of another player's kick...and it came this close to going in the goal! She never got another chance at it.

This would have been the WIN. Instead the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

We were supposed to play Waukesha South tonight, but they cancelled...no team.

I'll have to see if cousin Nick knows the story on this....

*They bussed this replacement team in from Middleton, WI to play us instead.

Hannah's Soccer

Amanda, Jocelyn, Jacob and I all went to Hannah's first soccer game ...

go Hannah!
They lost in overtime ... 1-0

Bummer

Well, (Bummer) for Hannah anyway .....

Truthfully, her school is a rival of ours..... So, it really didn't hurt too much that KM lost :)

Freshman Year - Soccer

Yep, Amanda made the soccer team.... Congrats Princess!

It was sooooo cold for the first game. Her poor hands were freezing.
This girl is about to have the ball taken away from her.....as Amanda comes in from behind.
This big smile is for her very first goal of the season. She got her name in the newspaper and everything! Cool Beans !!!!

First game and first win of the season...

Final Score 7-0

One Last Look...

It's barely 40 degrees outside today, cloudy and YUCKY!

So let's go back to sunny, warm Florida for one last look at Spring Break 2008...

Jake and Amanda ready to go parasailing.....looks like Amanda's not too sure about this.

(That's okay, cause Mom's not liking this either)
Jake and Hannah coming in for a landing.
Up, up and away!
A trip to the local Winn Dixie turns a bit silly...
Big Brothers!
Huge waves.
Red flag day. No swimming in the gulf due to dangerous rip tides and currents.
Wave runner fun :)

Storybook Ending........NOT !

The picture postcard ending just didn't happen........

Remember.. that we arrived on Saturday? Well, on Sunday we noticed that our truck was having a wee bit of trouble shifting from first into second gear. And there was this lovely clicking noise that went along with the struggle.

Off to the local mechanic (who was recommended by our hotel front desk staff......thanks a bundle for this one). Five hundred dollars and two new catalitic converters later....we were back on the road again.

But wait!......

You didn't think it would end there did you???????

If you are old enough to remember the TV show Hee Haw.....you'll remember a song that went something like ..."If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all"

The car made the SAME clicking noise and had even MORE trouble shifting as we drove away from the shop.

Yes, this is where the tearful call to Steph and my Dad took place.......

They both said the same thing....."Get to a GM dealer"

One Yellow pages book and a 20 minute drive later...I arrived at Preston Hood Chevrolet in Fort Walton, Florida. (I left the kids on the beach - no sense in everyone's trip being ruined).

Needed: One new transmission.

And no, the car will NEVER make it home without one.

So, it's now Wednesday and they are taking the transmission apart to find out what parts are needed to rebuild it. Throw 4 very bad U joints in there for good measure also.

Now it's Friday, mind you we were supposed to leave Thursday night, and the other group from Wisconsin is leaving. One of the parts for the car has still not arrived - there is a problem getting parts for a 4-wheel drive Suburban down there. Apparently they don't get much snow!

We had to pack a small bag and send Kendall back to WI with the other car as school starts on Monday and there is no hope for us getting home anytime soon. Her parents didn't want her to miss any school......good news....she gets to ride back with Jocelyn and Taylor. Bye, Kendall.

One more tearful call to Wisconsin, as the car sits up in the air at the shop....

Steph calls down and gets the General Manager of the dealership on the phone. Basically, I think he told him to get that part delivered...NOW. The part did come sometime Friday, but not in time for closing and oh, by the way, they don't work on weekends. Steph even told the guy that he would pay a mechanic double to stay and do the work. No luck.

The bright side ???.......it's snowing in Wisconsin ! HA HA HA!!

Four extra days of hotel/ food costs, one 3 day rental car, and one $3,100 shop bill later....it's 4 p.m. Monday and we are ready to hit the road.

A BIG THANKS TO STEPH FOR PAYING THE SHOP BILL !!

Funny, I had called him before we left and asked if he could bail us out - should something expensive happen..........

We made it home by 12 noon on Tuesday, dropped the kids in the driveway, and I hit the road in my car by 1 to drive to Prairie du Chien (to pick up Cocoa). Arrived there after 4 and stayed to visit for an hour or so......got back home at about 9 p.m.

I don't remember Wednesday........

Paradise

Sunny and 70.....it just doesn't get any better !

We finally arrived in Florida on Saturday afternoon.

Clear the way to the beach.........

Amanda, Hannah and Jake went parasailing. I couldn't go in the boat, so I watched from shore.

I don't do well with watching my kids go 400-800 feet up in the air. Too scarry.

We had to visit the famous Fudpuckers restaurant and see the live aligators.
Photos on the beach.... they had to do this to keep "the Mom" happy.
Yep, we found one (or a hundred)...our annual tradition.
The girls....we met Jocelyn and Taylor in Florida. They came down with Jocie's family and stayed at our hotel. They all spent a lot of time on the beach and shopping. We all had dinner together a few times also.

Stay tuned for the storybook ending to our vacation....

Spring Break - Part Three - Howdy Cousins!

Imagine a big old Suburban pulling up with 5 tired, dirty, crabby people inside. We had basically been up for 32 hours and on the road for 22. (Not counting a cat nap here and there).

None of us had seen a toothbrush, hair brush, clean clothes or a shower in 2 days.

What a sight (and smell) we must have been.....

Travis and Dawn welcomed us into their home despite all of this .... We got cleaned up and felt much better, although the drivers were still not too lively.

We decided to stay on for a good southern meal, a bonfire and a good night's rest. Dashed out the door bright and early the next day hoping to finally get to Florida!

Say "Pepsi" Mary ! The girls were sooooo cute!
Kendall is giving Elise a few tennis pointers...
Happy to hanging out with the "big girls".
Go to their blog and check out the Alphabet song. We received a live performance !
I just like this one because she is so small and he is so tall.

Future tennis player?
Not sure about this soccer thing, but the ball definitely matches my outfit :)

Strollin' with Dad.
That sun is sure bright today .... heard it's snowing in Wisconsin.
Wanna hear my song again?
Chillin' and a little soccer.

A big THANKS to Travis and Dawn for everything.

Spring Break - Part 2- Welcome to Alabama

The plan was to arrive in Alabama by noon and have lunch with Cousins Dawn and Travis and their girls. The handy GPS guaranteed a noon arrival.

Apparently the GPS cannot account for traffic jams.....here we are on south interstate 65. Not exactly breezing along at 70 mph.
Cars as far as you can see and many out enjoying the sunny day... especially those of us from the great white north!
We missed lunch, but got to have the "Sonic" experience at about 2.

Add 2 hours to the 6 or 7 we were already delayed with the doggie fiasco!

Next stop Travis and Dawn's.

Spring Break - Part 1 - Doggie Dilema

Time for the annual spring break road trip! Hmmmm. What about the dog???

Well, Mom & Dad offered to take her, but she is not potty trained, and I just can't do that to them.

Steph also offered to take her (he opted out of this years' annual event), but she would be miserable locked in her little cage for the long days that he works. Not to mention that Rocky and Sadie don't exactly enjoy her company...

So....my solution....take her back to her birth home. She is loved and welcome there and she'll be with her sheltie Mom "Vera" and my friends Susan and Ken.

Good Plan. Yes, it is 2-3 hours west of here and out of our way, but we'll drop her off and jump on a southbound freeway and head to Florida. No Problem. Right?

Wrong! Here is how this brainstorm turned out....

Jake, Hannah, Amanda, Kendall and I left here at 4:30 on Thursday after school was out. Jake had borroweed this really neat GPS - so we typed in our destination. The GPS sent us on what IT believed was the shortest route. This crazy machine had us on more back woods dirt roads that are surely yet to be discovered ...

But we made it! Dropped off the dog and headed to the nearest interstete highway.

OOps. Did I mention that the nearest interstate was 3 hours away and it didn't go south?? We basically back - tracked and then went south. It was after midnight before we hit the freeway that we wanted...

It was a Rand McNally disaster, but we kept our spirits up....after all, we were finally on our way to Sunshine!

WE MADE IT !!!

Yes, we made it home. Finally ! It is a long story (hang tight- I'll fill you in)..............but first, if you are going to get stranded somewhere.......... may I recommend Florida!