Parade Pictures

Our village had a parade last Sunday....it's something that we all look forward to all year. It's an old fashioned, full-of-fun event! Gma and Gpa even came down to join us for the parade.

Andrew and some buddies hung out before the parade started...
We had high school bands, church bands, one -man bands and even men in skirts playing bagpipes...they played Amazing Grace...it was beautiful.
There were also these cheesy characters that are in the parade every year....they really need new costumes!!!!
But most fun of all, people in the parade throw candy and necklaces too....

No Sewing.....really!!!!

I made Anna a polarfleece no-sew blanket about 4 years ago and it had Dora on it. Well, at age seven, Dora isn't cool anymore.....so I took her to the fabric store to pick out fabric for a new blanket. This was very special because it was a blanket that we could make together. She chose a really fun flowered pattern for the top and a plain aqua colored fabric for the bottom.
We bought 2 yards of each and layered them with the patterned fabric on top. In each corner, we cut out a 5 inch square and then started cutting the fringe-all the way around.
We had a little problem because someone kept stepping on the project.
She personally tied every top and bottom fringe together....what a trooper. She was like the energizer bunny and kept on tying..... it took over an hour to finish!

Then she could snuggle with it....... and took it to a sleepover the next night!

Wordless Wednesday- Soccer Girl

Bella

I spoiled my dog, Bella, and took her to a lake so she could go swimming.....she's a Labrador, right? They LOVE the water. Well, who would have thought....she does not LIKE the water at all......maybe that's why she was taken to the Humane Society as a pup....she has a defective Labrador gene.

Here she is, in the lake, getting a drink.....that's it folks, as far as she went.......

We still love our non-water loving, gene defective Labrador......

Weekend Highlights

We got some work done this weekend....and playing too....
We did a little......

Crafting

and we did a little.......

Washing and Waxing

and it didn't hurt to do a little....

Organizing

and for fun, we did a little....

Parading

Shoe shopping with the Quad Squad.....

I took the gang shoe shopping yesterday....something that Andrew has wanted to do for the past 2 weeks...(he says his shoes "reek")

So, here is how you shop for 4 kids, spend $150 and get out in 20 minutes.......

Enter the store and have everyone scatter to find their "perfect " pair of shoes..... Mom helps Anna find the size and style appropriate for her skinny heels....

When selection is done, find Mom in the store, get the "toe check" to make sure the size is right, then take selection to the front desk and wait.




Unwritten rules for shoe shopping:

NEVER choose the same shoe style as your brother.

Always wear "good socks" when you try on shoes.....(No holes or big stains =) )

Try not to change your mind more than once...

Always shop on "Buy one, get one half off" day.

Combine the sale with rewards cash....so I got $15 off today...


That's it!!! The only thing I should have done differently was to pick up dinner on the way home...... hee hee!!

Here it is......

Well, here it is.....the first homegrown tomato of the season....isn't it beautiful!!???? No more Styrofoam store-bought tomatoes...... I wanted to eat this guy for lunch today as a BLT, but I thought I should be nice and let John have it, since he IS the garden caretaker... aren't I nice??
Oh, I can't wait to make salsa........I might need a few more of these....

Wordless Wednesday-- Look, no braces!!!!

Good Times....

Andrew had some buddies over last week and decided to cook for them.....here's Andrew at the grill.....cooking brats.....17 in all....(Eric is supervising.)
They played kickball until they were all hot and sweaty, then jumped into the pool.....
while others just sat and scrapbooked...

The Weekend we had 7 kids....

We headed up north with our 4 kids and 3 of their friends...yes, that's 7 kids...and 2 dogs too!! Here are some pictures from the weekend....

Cannonball!!!!

The girls were much more calm....
but it seems as though we saw more of their feet, than their faces....
and we took the doggies to the local dog park.....lots of fun- and it wore everyone out!

A Yummy Restaurant.....

Our family has a restaurant that we just love..... it's called La Chimenea. It has authentic Mexican food. Now I'm not a big fan of spicy food, but they can make the dishes with lots of variations....

John started his dinner with this......YUM!!
Ben really wanted to dance when he heard the music on the patio, but he held himself back...what self-restraint...
Luke was just happy that he had chips, salsa and guacamole to snack on before the meal.
This was John's dinner.... chicken fajitas.... they came out sizzling.....yes, all of this was his..... You're guaranteed to come home really full OR have leftovers for lunch the next day!!

Brewer's Game

Tuesday night we went to the Brewers game, courtesy of....Ben. He was nominated by his teachers in the Middle School for being a student achiever and won the tickets. Well, we ordered a few more tickets, upgraded them, and had a blast cheering on the Brew Crew.
Our family went AND Grandparents too. This was Gramma's first big league game and Gpa's second, so it was fun watching them enjoy the game... Gramma kept track of how many times per inning the "beer guy" came by.....averaging 5 or 6 per inning...
We saw Bernie Brewer slide down the slide 3 times.......3 homeruns for the Brewers!
Anna had her first "Dipping dots".....cookies and cream flavored...
and we saw the Sausage race.....the polish sausage won......
It was a nice, cool night to enjoy the Brewer's Game....too bad they played terribly and lost the game......oh well.....