Keats

Rest in Peace Kitty.  You were loved and will be missed.

Adopted  November 2005 - June 28, 2012

The Backlog - Milwaukee Zoo 2010

I have considerable backlog on my photos....haven't kept up with editing what I've taken. My blog has taken a backseat for pretty much the entire year of 2010 and since I should be doing a million other things, what better way to spend my time than to edit and post photos.

Today's post will be of the Milwaukee Zoo in late September 2010 when we went up for the Down Syndrome Awareness Day.



I think we can all relate to this Momma bear. The kidlets are off somewhere and it's time to take a relaxing bath.


Rut Ro. The twins have detected that Momma bear is in the jacuzzi.



Momma bear trying to ignore twin who is interrupting her. Can you just hear this baby bear whining to his mom through the imaginary bathroom door?


The reason we were there that day.


Charlotte and her cousin Aaron walking on to the next exhibit.

Crystal Ball

When I was at my Mom and Step Dad's house in September going through their things, I saw a picture on the wall of my Mom, me and the kids. I decided to tuck it into my suitcase and bring it home with me. I have it sitting on an end table next to the chair I usually sit in while in the living room. It was taken on Thanksgiving Day 2003, just 5 weeks after Charlotte was born.

I look at this picture and wonder what I would've thought if someone had told me in just 3 short years Mom would be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and begin a battle that would last for nearly 4 years......and that she (and my step dad) wouldn't be around for Thanksgiving 2010. I'm so thankful we were able to spend Thanksgiving 2009, their last, with them.

Some days are difficult. Not a day goes by that I don't think about Mom and Al. Some days I laugh over how silly Al was when he was in Grandpa mode, how he got Eric and Charlotte giggling. I miss his jokes, and I miss how he always took care of my mom. Other days I cringe when I think of all the missed opportunities I had for talking with my Mom but didn't. I miss my Mom's cooking, I miss hugging her, and I definitely miss spending time talking with her, just the two of us.

Even though we often wonder what we would do differently if "only we had known", I think it's probably a good thing that we don't know the future and what it holds. Life plays out as it should, complete with all it's joy, pain, regrets, and authenticity.

Family Vacation

Here are a few more photos from our trip to Puerto Vallarta.

Dad and Candace

The family - what is up with my kids?

I think this is only photo of me except one Mike took looking down my shirt at the Phoenix Airport. Not sharing that one of course. ;-)

Mike in the roof-top pool

Mike tries the waves

Our second favorite past-time while on the beach - dodge the waves

(First favorite past-time was sipping Coronas!)

Mr. Safety surfs safely

Still has the most awesome eyes ever!

Charlotte with her new friend from Montreal. The fact that neither could speak the other's language didn't deter these two from having a fabulous time together.

Posing after lunch with the Mexican Dancers sculpture on the Malecon

Dodging the waves

What Did She Say?

While in the north woods we spent a day at the private lake on my inlaw's property. I happened to be on the pier getting photos of Mike and Charlotte out on the row boat when I found myself in the position of capturing a totally boy moment. See, Zachary had already been in the water (in his jeans) and was changed by Mom and told not to go back into the water in his jeans. As his Auntie, who would never dream of snitching on him, I had to take the photos for the story they told.

The water calls me......

See how it goes splish-splash??

Hmmm. Momma told me something, but I can't seem to remember.

Oh I remember now. Don't chew on my shirt.

Wet jeans were made for decorating.

But that's OK. I can just slip right back into the water and wash the sand sprinkles off!

Randomness

We drove up to the north woods again this Labor Day. It may become an annual trip for us. We all enjoy the time we spend there hanging out with family, the weather is still nice, and the autumn foliage is just starting to turn. This trip was made even more special by being able to meet our newest nephew, Mason, who is the cutest little peanut I've seen since my own kids were
"lil peanuts". :-) I could hold him all day long! I've picked a few random photos of the weekend to share (and maybe I'll be able to post a photo of me if it gets emailed to me by my mother-in-law....hint hint). Stay tuned next week for a funny recap of an episode that I was able to capture on camera.

Charlotte, Eric, Zachary, and Aaron on a frog hunt.

Mike & Charlotte at the lake (Lake Ethel?)

The Cousins
(purely coincidence that they lined up in height order!)

Mike takes a dip in the frigid Lake Superior waters. Brrrrr......

Zachary has these amazing eye lashes.....

My Mother-in-Law's walking mop. ;-) Actually, Zeke (or "Z") is a very sweet dog.

There's Nothing Like Mama

Last week we headed down to visit my Mom, who is recovering from her latest cancer treatment. Besides our family of 4, we also went with my brother and niece, so our van was full of people and luggage! We had a nice time visiting, and as always, the time flies by much too fast. Here are a few photos from our trip.

My niece, Lynae

Uncle Tom helps Eric build a spaceship with Legos.

Grandparents are easily impressed by their grandchildren. Charlotte reads a book to her Grandma.

LegoLand

Eric is big-time into all things Lego. Since it's spring break, we decided to go visit LegoLand yesterday with the kids. Having a couple freebie kid passes made the trip less traumatic for me. I can't say I'd ever go back there (unless someone else was paying, lol), even though the Lego creations were really cool. For the $40 it cost for all of us to get in there, our kids each got one free white Lego brick with the entrance fee. What a deal! Well OK, we got to go on a dragon ride and see a short 4-D movie....plus go to the over-run play area.

I'm hard to please with my high standards. I think for $19 per adult, we should get something more than a walk-through of some Lego creations. I had hoped we could attend one of the workshops with a Lego master builder, but that was at 10:50 a.m. and that appeared to be it. Guess I dropped the ball by not asking when we got there, seeing as there were no signs anywhere about it and the cashier didn't even hand us so much as a site map (maybe he dislikes coupon users who bring their own cameras.) If I weren't trying to stop acronym cyber swearing, I'd be typing WTyouknowwhat, ya know?! In this case, entrance fees do not in any way equate to the value of the venue.

On the plus side, Eric has switched career paths. Gone are the dreams to be a carpenter. He plans to be a master builder of Legos. Sounds like a fun job, actually!

Hippo in the "jungle land" area

The kids with Batman

Indiana Jones

Eric was randomly chosen to push a button in the pretend Lego "factory"

Hagrid

Anakin Skywalker gone bad

Young Jedi Warrior

One guess who feels at home in front of the camera

Florida Vacation - My Favorite Photos

With nearly 800 photos, there's bound to be a few that stand out and speak to me. Here are a few of them.

Sunrise on our last day in Florida

Yay, Mike got a decent shot of me!