Winter in Wisconsin

If you're wondering why it has taken so long to post something, it's because there is really nothing to do in Wisconsin in the winter. Basically, we are just waiting for spring break! Ok, I guess we have done a few things . . .

Right before Christmas, Callie had her first ballet recital. She did great! I was a little worried that she would freeze up on stage, but she danced her heart out.

Jason and I got out for our one big dress-up night a year--his work Christmas party. We had to take advantage of Grandma Judy's babysitting before she left for Florida.

The kids loved finding the chewed up carrots that Santa and the reindeer left on Christmas morning. They thought it was pretty funny that Rudolph left a stuffed Rudolph pretending to eat the carrots.

Callie has been my lunch date a few times this winter. Here she is sharing mac and cheese with me at Noodles & Co.

A couple of weekends ago, we took the kids to Cascade Mountain to go snow tubing. They have a great tubing hill and a "magic carpet" so you don't have to walk to the top.

We have a fun Florida trip planned in March. We will spend a week in Marco Island with Jason's Mom, and then we are taking the kids to Disney World for several days. They have never been there, so we are all looking forward to it. Anything to get out of this frigid weather! It actually felt warm last week when it was 35!

Birthday Parties & Ballerinas

Connor and Callie had a joint birthday party last weekend at Gymfinity. I wasn't sure how a group of 7 year-old boys and 3 and 4-year old girls was going to get along, but they were great. The gym had lots of fun activities set up, and everyone had a sweaty, good time.

Callie's ballet recital is rapidly approaching. We got the costume today in class. She can hardly wait!

This is what Connor made one morning last week. Can he be any cuter?

That same morning, after we took Connor to school, Callie decided to have a "leap over" with all of her stuffed animals and dolls. Apparently, to have "leap over" you bring everything out of your room, pile it onto the couch, and wear a bunny ear headband. A good time was had by all.

Callie turns 4!

Before we get to the birthday fun, here are a couple of pictures.

For some reason, I have a really hard time styling Callie's hair. I think I do a reasonably good job on my own, but I just can't seem to do anything with hers. I have a hard time with a simple ponytail. Maybe her head is a strange shape, or her hair is too fine, or something. Anyway, I finally figured out how to do a french braid from one side to the other. I was quite proud of myself.


If you aren't living in Wisconsin, you might not know that October was officially "rain every day" month. Seriously, I think we had maybe 2 or 3 days that didn't involve rain.

Jason and I got the chance to see a Badger game. They lost, but it was fun anyway.

We had a family birthday party for Callie on the day before her birthday. She was obviously quite excited about the cupcakes.

I hadn't planned on doing another cake for her real birthday the next day, but Connor "guilt-tripped" me into it. It went something like this:

What kind of cake are we having for Callie's birthday?

None. We just had cupcakes at the party yesterday.

But, it's her birthday.

I know, but we celebrated it yesterday.

But, it's her birthday.

And so on. So, I ended up getting a Halloween cake at the grocery store. She didn't care where it came from, as long as it had frosting.

For Halloween this year, Connor was spiderman (again). We thought he kind of looked like Peter Parker with his glasses on, so we went with the combination costume.

Callie was a monarch butterfly. Not just a butterfly--she was sure to include the monarch part if anyone asked.

She was very excited to go to preschool, where her teacher Debbie was also a monarch butterfly. I'm guessing that is why she chose the costume.

We stopped by Grandpa's office in Baraboo for trick or treating.

Callie tried on some glasses. She looks pretty cute!

Fall Fun

Last weekend I took the kids to an apple orchard to pick apples. Then we came home and made my Grandma's famous applesauce. Callie was the apple washer, and Connor cut them up.



We also went to a pumpkin patch with our neighbors.

We were so excited to get our first tree today! It makes such a difference to have some structure in our yard. We have another, even bigger maple coming for the front of the yard.

You know you're old when you get excited about trees. Next up--bird watching . . .

Chicago Trip

We had a great time in Chicago last week. We took Amtrak from Columbus and stayed right downtown. Our first stop was the Cheesecake Factory right underneath the Hancock building.

Our next stop was the top of the Hancock building. We went right at sunset, so we got to see everything in the light, and then in the dark.


Then we stopped at American Girl Place. Callie really wanted a Kit doll, but we told her that might be a good birthday present. Instead, we got her a mini Kit doll. She was pretty excited about it, and insisted on sleeping with it that night. By the next morning, we had forgotten all about it. We must have left it in the bed, because it was gone that night. We figured it was tangled in the sheets and got taken away with the laundry. So, on the last night we went back and bought her another one. The morning we left, we found the original one between the headboard and the wall. So, now she has twins! Of course, she thinks it turned out perfectly.

The next morning we went walking on Michigan Avenue trying to find something for breakfast. They were having a ceremony for Medal of Honor winners, and there were lots of police officers around. One was nice enough to let Connor get on his motorcycle.


Next we headed to the Museum of Science and Industry. There were all kinds of fun things for both the kids and adults to see. They had a really interesting WWII exhibit that featured the first U-boat captured by the Allies.

Callie was a very excited farmer . . .



And a very scary astronaut. Watch out martians!

This is why we were glad we brought the stroller.

After the museum, we met my brother Jason and his girlfriend Roshelle at Navy Pier. The kids did some rides and we got to see some dancing pirates. It must have been "pirate weekend" because there were pirates everywhere!

On Saturday we went to the Field Museum to see Sue.

It turns out it was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which may explain all the pirates were were seeing. The kids got a kick out of making their pirate hats. They spent a lot of time decorating them to make them just right.

Callie took this picture--pretty good for a 3 year-old!




Luckily, Jason and Roshelle knew where we were going and we ended up walking from the Field Museum all the way back to our hotel, with lots of stops along the way.

Jason needed a bike to keep up with these two.

Connor proved that he inherited the Ritzenthaler jumping gene.

We had to leave around noon on Sunday, so we had just a few hours at Shedd Aquarium before he caught the train home. We all had a great time, and Connor was really sad to leave. He insisted that he wanted to move to Chicago immediately.