Brewer Game

Joe and I like to try and get to Miller Park for a Brewer game at least a few times every season, and now that the kids are older they like to go too. For Father's Day we bought Joe tickets for a Friday night game and we all had a great time tailgating and watching the game from the nosebleed seats along the right field side.

This past Sunday our church hosted its annual Brewer outing, an event we had never attended before for various reasons. I am perfectly happy to watch a Brewer game from the nosebleed seats, but a member of our church works within the Brewer organization and the seats he reserved for us were MUCH more fun than the nosebleed seats. We were literally within shouting distance of Corey Hart and every time a ball was hit towards right field you could see it coming right at you. Here was our view.



Despite the Brewers pathetic play on Sunday, the game was still a lot of fun to watch and cheer. Hank loved following all the high school boys around.



And after the game the kids got to run the bases again, as they are able to do following most (all?) Sunday afternoon games.

Hank after rounding third base.



You can kind of see Madeleine's head poking up here (she's wearing a pink hat).



And Elisabeth running home while grudgingly holding Daddy's hand.

Doctor's Park

Out of all the Lake Michigan beaches I've visited (well, on the Wisconsin side, anyway) I think Doctor's Park in Fox Point is my favorite. It's only minutes north of the city, but it feels so unaffected and pristine once you made the hike down to the beach from the parking lot above. And on a day like yesterday, with a soft breeze coming in off the lake and good friends to chat and play with, it was the perfect spot to spend an afternoon.

Here is Elisabeth digging in the sand with a friend.



Madeleine with two of the three girls she'll be attending camp with in just a few weeks. The third girl came down to play later too, but I forgot to snap a picture--rats!



Hank had a ball on the-- what are they?--piers? breaker walls? The mass of kids enjoyed seeing how nimbly they could jump from one rock to the next and, of course, loved jumping in the water.



And as an added bonus for the first time ever I made the trip both down AND up without pushing a child in a stroller or carrying a child! I know it was only a temporary reprieve but, still, I appreciated the break.

Independence Day 2009

OK, so we celebrated Independence Day what, two weeks ago? Yes, I'm just getting around to posting pictures now. I'm going to blame my tardiness on the fact that we've been (or at least felt) unusually busy.

We started out the day as we usually do with the kids and me sleeping while Joe ran up to reserve a good spot for the parade and, as usual, he scored a great spot which was easily able to accommodate family and friends. Prior to leaving for the 11:30 a.m. parade, some of the neighborhood kids occupied themselves by decorating their bikes and riding up and down the sidewalk yelling (which, actually, aside from the American flags, isn't a whole lot different than what they do every other day).



After the parade family (Dad and Diana with Cloence and Blake joining us later) and friends headed back to our house for a cold salad and sandwich spread that included this seriously fantastic pasta salad that I copied from the Pioneer Woman. Try it. It's just fantastic.



Another shot of the food, this time trying to get a side view of my pregnant belly. Before you say, "Oh wow, you look so small!" let me just forewarn you that that comment grates on my nerves like no other. Yes, I'm tall. Yes, I carry my babies up and down more than out. For what it's worth, my belly is measuring larger than the weeks I am pregnant. Bottom line is, I may not look as big as you thought you did at this point (caveat: if you carried multiples, you win), but I can't breathe, walk or go more than sixty minutes without going to the bathroom so, trust you me, I am plenty big for this stage of pregnancy (33 weeks).



After we ate we sat outside chatting for hours while the kids played happily and quietly for just as long (a 4th of July miracle!) until about 7 p.m. when we headed to a local park to watch the fireworks. Dad had brought up sparklers for the kids so they entertained themselves with those for awhile as we waited until 9:30 for the show to start.





We finally got home from the fireworks around 10:45 p.m. Even Madeleine, who never admits fatigue, confessed that she was pretty tired so all three kids went right to bed, as did all two remaining adults and all felt satisfied at the end of the day that it had been another great Independence Day.

Candy

Question: What is fun about fun size candy bars?

Answer: Nothing. Absolutely nothing, especially when you're craving a serious sugar fix.

Book Recommendations

I'm doing some belated birthday shopping on Amazon, thanks to generous birthday gifts from Bob and Alex. In addition to some non-book items I'm interested in, I also confess I do love to have a pile of brand spanking new books waiting to be read that no one else has thumbed through, creased or otherwise left their mark (yes, yes, I know I have issues, but I figure if inhaling the smell of a brand new book is quirky, then I'll embrace the weirdness).

So, recommend away. What should I order? Some are some recent good reads? Or a favorite book that everyone should read?

Birthday Parties

Today a neighbor friend celebrated his third birthday. Instead of a full-blown bash with party favors, presents and organized games, kids of all ages congregated in the birthday honoree's backyard to sing to the birthday boy, watch him blow out his candles and, amongst themselves, organized a few impromptu games of Duck, Duck Goose and a few other games I wasn't familiar with. The kids happily ate their cake and drank their juice while the grown-ups chased newly toddling toddlers and chatted. Start to finish the party lasted about an hour. And you know what? No one missed the party favors. The mother was happy to have only a few homemade cards to deal with instead of piles of toys that would be forgotten tomorrow. Every child there was happy and smiling and had a fantastic time.

It's nice to be reminded sometimes of how nice and enjoyable simple can be.

Grounded

It's really not fair that by doing the right thing and grounding a certain eight-year-old for slapping her brother (across the face, no less!) is more punishment for me than for her. Her best friend just rang the doorbell asking if Madeleine could play. It was so tempting to just say, "Why yes, she can..." but alas, I did not. So here I sit on this gorgeous day paying bills and balancing our checkbook with a disgruntled eight-year-old in tow. Fun, fun, fun.