Fun in the Dells

Jake and Hannah on a recent day trip to the Dells ..... aboard the roller coaster "Hades".

I think that Jake is enjoying this just a bit more than Hannah.

Prayers for Robby

I really don't know where to begin this one because I really don't know what happened. All I know is that someone beat up my nephew Robby (from the Zilli side of the family) really bad. He has been in intensive care in critical condition for the past week. The doctors have performed brain surgery on him twice to attempt to reduce the fluid, swelling and blood clots in and around his brain. The guy who beat on him repeatedly bashed him in the head.

I can't even imagine how anyone could hurt someone as sweet as Robby. One version of the story that I heard was that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and happened to be there when this guy went off........

Robby (right with sister Chrissy and brother Nick) is in need of prayers for healing...

Hanging Out...

Just a typical evening at home......

Kendall (with her new shorter haircut) having a heart to heart chat with Coke.
Amanda, Ben and Kendall posing for the camera.
Hannah, Jake (who doesn't seem to know better than to sit on the counter) and Ben.

Yes, he has his grubby foot on my counter. Ewe!

Hannah's new laptop for college.

All of Jake's friends are getting ready to leave for school in August. A lot of dorm room/college shopping going on. Jake and I have spent some time together lately shopping for his room. It's amazing how much stuff he needs to move out.

Free At Last !!!!

Happy Day..... Amanda's teeth were released from prison today!!!!

No more braces - the end of another era.

Dashboard Lights at Midnight

This was the scene in my garage at midnight last night. Trevor came over to fix the dashboard lights on Jake's new ride.

That is Hannah and Alex supervising outside, Trevor crawling under the dash, Jake in the driver's seat, and Trevor's girlfriend Sara peeking around.

We had no way of predicting that less than a year after Jake took over ownership of the Suburban - the cost to fill the tank would be $160.00

So, he now is driving a 2005 Mitsubishi Eclipse with 5 speeds, a spoiler and a sunroof.

She Made It!

Amanda has gone back to playing select soccer rather than recreational thru the local club.

What's the difference?? Select is much more intense...... you have to try out, they have more pro coaches, more pro training and it is very painful to the parent's pocketbook. But, It is very necessary to keep the player skill level up for high school competition.

She will be ready for the school team in spring by playing for the club in fall and winter.

Spring 2003
Fall 2002

4th grade was the year she played for the "purple team". This was actually her 3rd year of playing recreational club soccer. The next year she went into select for the first time.

No photos of the new team as they are not allowed to practice together yet due to strict regulations for competitive soccer. Practice starts in August.

Memories of Lake Delton

Here are two photos of the former Lake Delton from past years. The Dells and Lake Delton have been my favorite place to vacation for a long time. Steph and I took the kids here every year as they were growing up.

Jacob on a speed boat that we rented and you can see the Dells Duck tour vehicle approaching behind him.
Both kids love tubing - here is Jacob on Lake Delton. This was the summer of 2000.

Lake Delton

While Amanda, Jocelyn and I were in the Dells we visited Lake Delton - or what's left of Lake Delton. It was unbelievable. This story made national news about a month ago. The lake overflowed, the dam broke and the entire lake emptied out into the Wisconsin River. It's gone- Just absolutely gone!

The sign outside the world famous Tommy Bartlett water show. This show made skiers in a pyramid formation famous. We have seen the show many times and it is amazing and entertaining. Didn't stop this time around...the water show portion is my favorite. They have everything in dry dock now.
The shoreline caved in as the lake emptied out and houses broke in half and fell into the lake - like the one in the far background. Another house broke off and went floating down the river. This video made national news also. Many people lost everything and there is no flood insurance here.
Amanda and Jocelyn standing on a beach with the lake in the background. I was surprised at the amount of tree stumps in the bottom of the lake.
The beach and lake. It was a man-made very shallow lake - about 12 -20 feet deep.
It looks like the beach caved in here - the little bit of water was very stinky.
The mill in the background is featured on all of the boat tours of the lake. The Duck boat tours pass by here every few minutes on a normal day. The Ducks are those WWII land and water vehicles used to invade Normandy and in Europe. They now are very popular tour vehicles here in the Dells. They splash into the Wisconsin River and then go out across trails and into Lake Delton. It is a great ride and lots of fun!
There were sink holes toward the middle of the lake - you had to stay on the very hard sand. We met up with a guy that took one step on smooshy ground and sunk instantly up past his knees. Luckily he got out, but he was quite freaked out about it. That is someone's tackle box to the left. It had been on the bottom of the lake.

Jake visited the lake right after it emptied out and things were quite different than what we saw and smelled. People's belongings from the homes that were swept away were everywhere, dead fish were everywhere and the stench was making Jake and Hannah gag. They almost tossed their cookies. It was much more tragic when they were there.

It was quite cleaned up when we arrived - but still very sad.

Clarissa's Wedding

On the 4th of July our former babysitter got married in the Dells - and I was the official photographer! I have known Clarissa since she was about 6 years old. Her first official babysitting job was taking care of my kids when she was about 12. Time sure flies....

It was an absolutely beautiful day and perfect for an outdoor wedding. The bride was just as beautiful.
Matt and Clarissa
Jake's friend JJ - Clarissa's younger brother- and one of the other groomsmen.
OOOOOhhhhhh
AAAhhhhhhhhh

Amanda and Jocelyn accompanied me to the Dells and enjoyed all of the waterpark pools and slides for an entire day after the wedding. Fun.

More Summer Fun

The kids have been very busy with sleepovers, boating, tennis, concerts, movies, swimming, tubing, wakeboarding, and of course, the annual Milwaukee tradition of Summerfest! WoW!!!



Yesterday, they were both out on the same lake, at the same time, on two different boats, each with their friends. They never even saw each other. Amanda tried wakeboarding for the first time and Jake was tubing. I give them credit for their courage with trying new things.



I asked both of them to take a photo......you can see that didn't happen. Glad that they both own a nice digital camera......



Jake also fits work into his social schedule and Amanda has been working occasionally for her Dad.



Summerfest - the world's largest outdoor music festival - or so they say........has opened for this year and both kids have gone down to catch the festivities.



Tonight, Amanda is there for the first time without her Mommy. She is with Kendall, Kendall's older sister, and her friend. They took the shuttle bus down and will return the same way.



Needless to say....I am a wreck. She had to endure lectures about strangers, staying in public places, not taking beverages from anyone and every other possible scenario I could come up with for staying safe.



I am happy to report that she has been texting me with updates to ease my nerves. Despite this, I will be on edge until she is home safely tonight.



Jake and Hannah went down last night to catch the Rascal Flats concert. They had a great time and also rode the handy shuttle bus in to the city.



I am working, doing laundry - an endelss task- and preparing for a journey to the Dells for a wedding. I am the official photographer for the event. I 'm excited about this "gig". I actually have 3 weddings booked this summer and some family portraits also.



I just finished a week of school at the Sally Ride Academy. I took a digital video/animation class for graduate credit that will count toward updating my teaching license for another 5 years. Two more class booked for this summer to complete the 6 credits total that I need.

So we are all BUSY!