Baxtie's new 'do

I love Baxter long and shaggy, but he gets really matted, so it was time for some grooming. Now you can see the Poodle in this Golden Doodle. And ya know the best part? We got to spend $90!!! to get it done. What a deal. I don't even like to spend $20 for mine! And the boys have been going to "Darlene's Family Hair Care Center and Craft Shop" for theirs. Darlene charges equal to their ages. I wonder if she'd do Bax? Also, please note his fancy 'kerchef. GO PACK!!

California Trip!!

My brother and family live in San Clemente. It had been four years since our last visit, so this trip was well overdue. We had a fabulous week!! It was hard to choose which pictures to post...

The day we got there, we headed to the beach. The water was chilly, but the kids didn't mind!

Legoland was our next adventure the second day.

The girl cousins and their Daddies

Celebrating a belated Christmas

The weather was beautiful, so we took another trip to a different beach

The kids and their "waterfall experiment"

Overlooking Laguna Beach. It was beautiful!

We also visited our friend from high school, Gabby and her family.

And for my kids first time, we went ice skating! It was outside at a mall. This is an activity we will definitely do here in Wisconsin. Good thing we went to Cali to try it out!

We loved our visit. Many thanks to our hosts! Now, how about that move back to Wisconsin for both of you?? :) WE LOVE YOU!

Our Wilderness Adventure

Our Christmas gift from my Dad and Judy is to take us (and Judy's kids and grandkids) to a waterpark. We had such a great time!
Part of the gang the first day

Ted has perscription goggles. Although there isn't a lot of underwater swimming at the waterpark, he had them on most of the time so he could see. Also, after cutting his foot on the first day, he was seen wearing his now infamous red crocks on the slides and rides. Can't be too safe.

One of the favorite spots was in the hot tub that also went outside. Our group is in the front. Looks like the fellas behind us were also posing for the shot. They must have known it was going on my blog.

We had as much fun at the condo hanging out as we did doing the park!

In the evening, Ted took the boys back to the park, and I was comfy at the condo. Anna was a little sad she couldn't go, so Mindy's daughter Autumn entertained her by teaching her some cheers!

The boys stayed at the park until closing. Here they are the next morning, a little slow going. Ted calls them the hair brothers, and this shows it!

Mindy is ALWAYS the picture of fashion. Here she is, packing up the car, before the park opened the second day. The less we had to carry, the better!

Great memories! Thanks Dad and Judy!!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful, relaxing first Christmas in our new home!

On our way to church....

We were so glad to have Ted's Ya with us!

.....and my mom!!

Opening a few gifts Christmas Eve

Ben, Baxter LOVES his new toy! Thanks Pal!

The ONLY picture I took Christmas Day! Whoops!

Good friends, good times!

To continue the Christmas festivities, we headed to Elkhorn for the night to hang with our great friends, the Glogovskys and Websters.

One of our traditions is playing the game, "Pit". This time, the guys joined us after years of listening to the adults yelling, "2, 2, 2; 4, 4, 4!!" What a hoot. Mrs. G and Mrs. Web just kept going, after all of the Dads and I had to quit from exhaustion. This is Baxter's girlfriend, Scout. They are struggling a little bit with their long-distance relationship. Lucky for him, she belongs to the G's, so they got to shack up for the night.

Back at home, Baxter has a new friend, Cooper. I like to call him Baxter's "mini me". Don't worry Scoutie, Coop's a guy.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love all of the Christmas-time social stuff. Here are some of our fun festivities!


Us, and Ted's boss and wife at their fancy-smancy company party. A bit of an upgrade from the parties WE used to host at our house!

Ringing the Salvation Army bell. The family doing it together was a BIG draw

A family dinner parte at the new digs with the Teasdales and Cannarellas

Caroling in the 'hood. We rocked the hills. This is a lost art, and people LOVED it!

BUT--amongst (is that a word?) all of the busyness, take some time to realize what it's really all about: a baby coming to this world so that we may know Him personally, and spend eternity with Him! MERRY CHRISTMAS

Fun Stuff

What have we been doing, you ask? LOTS!!
The boy's former school has an incredible, although intense music program each Christmas (THE GLOVES ROCKED, ALECA!). We went back to visit and see the program. Kaleb was a celebrity rock star--his class from last year looped, so he hung with them for the afternoon, and had a blast!

We've had TONS of snow. Here are my guys and a couple of neighbors, creating "THE FORT". Today there's no school because we are getting more snow and ICE. Ted has instructed the boys to build up the fort today, so by the time the ice comes, it will be a FORTRESS.

Here's another creation, "THE GAME". They find everything they could possibly put on, and arm themselves with, and then Ted chases them around. Ted's weapon was a bag full of bouncy balls. Please notice his fierce helmet (Anna's santa hat and 'kerchef)

Ummm, Santa's.....worker?

And here she is on snow day. The boys are outside working with the fort. At least she's got a sweatshirt on!