Our little door guardian

What a surprise to open the front door and see this little guy just hanging out waiting for is next meal. he was so big and scary looking that he was just creepy. I wouldn’t use the front door until he was gone and instead used the garage door to bypass him. I was afraid he might jump on me and bite me. I am sure he is harmless, but he looked really scary. The kids of course loved him and we didn’t want to kill him because I would much rather have a spider at my door then some other gross bug. I don’t know where he went, but he is not there any more.

Ugh! He is just as gross from the inside as he is from the outside. he wouldn’t even move when I hit the screen. Stubborn eight legged horror! He was about an inch big from top to bottom. Anyone have any idea what kind he is I would love to know. I have never seen one like this before.

 

Harvest Festival

Just for something to do to get us out of the house for a little while we (me, Alex, Jack, Ann, and Mark) decided to go to a free festival that was being held at the state  fair grounds in West Allis to see what it was all about. It would have been a great day if the wind had not been so aggressive at trying to make everyone cold. We did have some fun though. We saw 1200 lb pumpkin, played in a giant pile of straw, saw some model trains, pet some farm animals (which included a tortoise) and even went fishing. We were freezing by the time we got home, but it was a nice little adventure.

They had so much fun playing in the hay it was ridiculous. Mark would chase them around and throw hay at them and they would run away because they didn’t like it, but of course they would come right back for more.

They did really good with the fishing. Jack caught one right away but then he was so sweet to his brother and helped Alex catch a fish as well.

Jack liked the tortoise best of all in the little petting zoo. He though it was pretty funny how fast he could move. Alex loved the little goats and would squeal whenever one came up to him.

Alex (finally) goes to work

Alex has been wanting to go to work with Mommy forever and now that Daddy works at the airport as well it has only doubled his frustration at not getting to go. Finally he had the opportunity to go and see what Daddy and Mommy do at work. Every so often we have company sponsored BBQ’s at work and we had one of those scheduled on a day that I happened to be off. With nothing else scheduled, I decided it would be fun for little Alex to go and see his Daddy at work as well as get a little food in our bellies (it was steak after all). Of course, my job isn’t all that exciting to a little boy such as himself because I don’t work right next to the airplanes and big equipment like Daddy does.

Everyone loved him, of course, and he loved being the center of all that attention. They got him his own set of ear protection as well as a safety vest so he could go out on the ramp near the airplanes. He was a little celebrity. Even the pilots in the aircraft waved at him!

He got to sit on the pushback (the vehicle that pushes the plane out of the gate) by himself and with his Daddy and he also got to be in the bucket of the deicing truck. It was so windy though that he almost got blown away!

 

Hopefully this little adventure will satisfy his craving to go to work with Mommy and Daddy for awhile. He sure did have fun and was upset when we had to finally leave, but  there is only so much time Mommy can stand being at work when I am not getting paid.

Konlock Reunion 2010

We didn’t get to go to the Heaton Family Reunion this year as it was too far away and our schedules with Andy working now would not accommodate such a long trip; however, we were able to go to the much smaller and considerably closer Konlock family reunion, which was held along Lake Michigan at Grant Park.

There was a lot of family and food and talking to people I have never met before and some that I have and don’t remember, but it was a nice day with nice people and we even went down to the beach to play in the water.

The boys were actually quite far out into the water and they said there was a sand bar that they could stand on. Jack was busy showing off his newly acquired swimming skills while Alex was enjoying being catered to by both his Daddy and Uncle Mark.

They played on the beach in the sand for a while so Andy and Mark could go out in the water by themselves. Alex would get sand all over him and run into the Lake to “clean” himself and then come back to play in the sand, only to have to do it again.

Alex was a little surprised here when he went into the water and the wave came in at the same time and he ended up deeper then he had intended. he didn’t cry though. He made his way back to the shore without any help. The hike back up the side of the hill was probably the worst part of the day. The mosquitoes were in full force and weren’t even deterred by the OFF we had drenched ourselves in. Plus, Alex didn’t want to walk after about two minutes and I had to carry him up the rest of the way. I was very sore the next few days because of it.

In all it was a good time. We wore ourselves out and ate ourselves full and the kids had a great time.

Jack is learning to swim

Jack was so excited to go to swim class. We had wanted to put him in one for a while but the time was never right. Now that we have more of a schedule going and Andy had the time off we decided to sign him up.

It could have not been more convenient as the classes are held in the local high school which is conveniently located just across the street from our house.

 

Unfortunately for the duration of the class only the adult that is taking the course with the child is allowed to be in the practice area. This is so that the kids are more focused on the learning aspect rather then who is watching them.

I am not a strong swimmer so I let Andy take the lead on this one and he took him to swim class once a week for eight weeks. On the very last day of class is when the rest of the family is allowed to go in and watch what the kids have learned.

 

  

Jack has improved 100%. He used to not like jumping in to the water and now he has no problem. He used to get scared putting hi face in the water and now he does it all the time.

His new favorite thing to do is to go to the local beach with his Grandma Ann and spend hours playing in the water. He is a regular little fish just like his daddy.

 

Although he still would not jump off the diving board by himself, he had no qualms about being dropped off by his teacher. Now that he has graduated this class he can enroll in a class that he goes to without a parent.

The classes come out in  book put out by the city every few months as the seasons change and they are very affordable. Next time I think we will sign both boys up. Jack can go into the next stage and Alex can take this class with his daddy.

I am so proud that he is not afraid to try new things. He really does enjoy the water, but always had issues with going in to far or getting his head covered in water. Now he is more comfortable and is learning the safety rules as well.

4th of July

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This was probably the first time I have ever been to an actual parade on the Fourth of July. We got a good parking spot and didn’t even show up early for it. We got a great spot for watching the parade that was in the shade and high up enough that you could see over the crowd of people. We had plenty of snacks and drinks and were lucky enough that the church we were sitting in front of had left the doors open so there was a handy bathroom. It was fun and not terribly hot. It was also nice to be able to participate in community events since this is now our community as well.

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After the parade, we went back to our house for awhile and the kids played on the slip and slide to beat the heat. We then went over to Andy’s parents house and Andy and Uncle Mark set off fireworks in the driveway until it was time to go see the fireworks display being put on by the city.

We found a good place on the side of the road that was just across the street from the park where the fireworks were being done. The show was fantastic, but it was hard to tell when it started because there were so many people shooting off their own fireworks. This was unusual to me because everywhere I have lived there have always been restrictions on people setting off their own fireworks due to the dry conditions and high chance off fires starting. The mosquitoes were out in full force, but it was a nice night to watch fireworks.

I know it is a little late, but I would like to say thanks to all the men and women who continually do their jobs and keep our country free. There is no other place I would rather live then right here in the United States of America. It truly is the promised land.

Safety Town

Jack’s Grandma Ann signed him up for a week long class on safety  called Safety Town. This has been a special class that the City of New Berlin puts on for children to teach them about the dangers of the world around them and how to follow safety rules like crossing the street with an adult, knowing what chemicals are poisonous, and bike rules.

Jack loves things like this and I think he likes to be on his own even more, so this was right up his alley as it required his grandma to drop him off and then come back and pick him up later. The pictures are from their graduation program where they show all of the things that they learned.

 

Jack got to be the leader when they were doing the street safety. He can really pay attention and follow directions when he is so inclined. 

I had to work, but both Andy and Alex attended the graduation along with Ann. They said he did really good. Andy took this same class nearly three decades ago. What fun for Jack to be able to follow in his father’s footsteps.