Ashly's Mission Trip

Last week Ashly went to Denver, Colorado with a church group on a mission trip. They did various projects including working with kids, working with the elderly, landscaping and outdoor work and painting. Ashly was put in the group that worked with a day camp for kids all week. I think that was an excellent group to be with and she had a lot of fun playing with the kids.



Here is the entire group from our church.

On the way to Colorado they stopped at the Sunken Garden in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Sunken Garden

Sunken Garden

They also stopped at the Royal Gorge in Canon, Colorado. This is the tram they took over the gorge.

The Royal Gorge

The Royal Gorge...Ashly thought this sign was funny!

Ashly said this is her favorite picture and it was really pretty there.

Some art projects they did with the kids.

The kids at the day camp working on art projects.

The kids playing games.

Working hard...playing hard ? :)

Ashly said she adored these two little girls. And she said the girls cried when it was time for them to go at the end of the week. They have different groups come in every week to help with these children in a poor neighborhood. Ashly commented how she was surprised that Denver was such a poor city. I told her that is just the part of town she saw because that is where they need the help. I'm sure Denver has nice, fancy neighborhoods too!

This is Ashly's church youth director, Stephanie, who went and organized the mission trip. She got another job so won't be at our church after this trip. Ashly really liked her.

Kids playing.

Fun with sidewalk chalk.

A group photo of the kids at the day camp.

The beach and the ocean

I am excited to report that we brought the beach and the ocean to our very own backyard! We got a sandbox and swimming pool at FleetFarm today! However, we had to go three places to find sandbox sand! They are now selling colored sand (blue or green or pink) for $6.79 a bag. I wasn't going to pay that much for sand when I know half of it is going to end up outside the sandbox. We finally found some at Home Depot for $2.65 a bag. Much better!!! It took 7 of those bags to fill the sandbox!

Needless to say, Christopher was entertained with the new toys! I think we have a bucket of Ashly's old sand toys up in our garage.

And the pool! It ended up being super humid today so the pool was a hit!

Filling 'er up!

Ashly got home from her mission trip today at about 1pm. She had a fantastic time all week helping with the kids at the day camp at the Y. She has lots of pictures and stories I will post later.

Christopher was happy to see sister!

Emotional Day

When I picked Christopher up from daycare today they told me he had an *emotional day* Boys have those too???? He had his nuk and blankie at daycare...not a good sign! Usually when I pick him up he's busy running around, laughing and playing. Another nap might be in order this evening.... He is getting huge teeth in the back of his mouth. I'm sure that is causing some pain. It's pretty exciting to think he'll be able to chew his food better soon!



Here he is playing with play doh. I thought it would be fun to try, but he ended up 1) tasting it, only tried that once! and 2) continually throwing it on the floor. So we will have to wait awhile until that comes out again!

Here's his new toy box!

We heard from Ashly this weekend. She got to Colorado safely and they were having a good time. We won't hear from her during their work week. She is on her church mission trip right now and will return next Saturday! We miss her, but know that she is having a great experience.

Three Special Dads

I am so lucky to be able to do this blog today. I have three special fathers in my life and I am so proud of each of them for being here today. Each one of these men play a very special role in my life and each of these men once fought against cancer so they could still be here to enjoy days like today. I am proud of them for each fighting with courage and strength and knowing that it was worth the fight. And not a day goes by that I don't thank God that they are here for me, for my kids and for everyone in the family. I love you guys!!!









My dad, Glen, is a strong, dependable, honorable man that has always been there for me. Now that I am a parent and I see it from this point of view - I look back and realize I did not always make the right decisions, but no matter what I did, my dad was always there to pick up the pieces and he still is. Dad -I am proud to be your daughter. I love the man you are. And I love the dad and grandfather that you are. I truly respect you and thank you for all that you have done for me, said to me, and how you have loved me.

Chadd's dad, Glen, is a great role model for Chadd. I know that Chadd sees his dad as his hero and their relationship is very special to him. Glen is a great father-in-law to me. I've enjoyed the activities we've done together and he is so proud of Christopher. Every time he sees Cman his face just lights up! He's been a wonderful grandfather to Ashly, with their secret hand shake and all!

This man right here - now this is a man that has his head on straight! I respect Chadd's decisions as a father and I can't ever thank him enough for stepping into a role that was the most important thing he could have ever done for me - and that was to become a father to Ashly when she needed one the most. He is the rock in the family when the parenting gets tough. I tend to get lost in the emotion of it all and Chadd will help ground me so we can move forward and together we can raise a wonderful daughter who will be responsible, successful and happy in her life and a son who will hopefully follow in his father's footsteps and grow up to be the kind of man his father is. Chadd - you are a wonderful father and I am glad we are a team!

Double Datenight and Stunts

Last night we went on The Funny Four Father's Comedy Cruise on the Queen of Excelsior boat. We went with Cindy and Mike and had a fabulous time! We had a lovely plated dinner on the lowerdeck, then we all went upstairs and watched the comedy show. The comedians got the crowd quite involved and that made for an interesting show! I don't think I could repeat some of that stuff without it sounding offensive.







Here's Mike and Cindy enjoying a drink and the view.

Here we are enjoying some adult time!

This is my new stunt man! He thinks he is pretty clever when he stands up on his 4 wheeler. If this is genetic, he got this from Chadd!

CFO Gathering

Last weekend Chadd rode his motorcycle to La Crosse, Wisconsin, the city with the most bars per capita. It just so happened that there was a CFO Gathering - Central FJR Owners Gathering. So basically, anyone that owns a Yamaha FJR Motorcycle can sign up for the event. This was Chadd's first time. The second day they had a rally where they had to choose a route to ride with checkpoints that had point values. The goal was to get the most points you could in the 8 hour ride.

See those tires on the back seat? That's usually where I sit! More on the tires later.

This first picture is of an American Legion Memorial for fallen soldiers. It wasn't a checkpoint, but Chadd thought this was cool.

This picture is of a church and cemetery in the middle of nowhere. It is the location where Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect, was originally buried. I say "originally", because his second wife had him dug up and cremated with the ashes spread in multiple locations. Second wives can be like that sometimes!

Funny story. See the guy in the red jacket, well he approached Chadd when he arrived on his motorcycle and said "Are you Bill? Bill, the piano repair man?" Apparently, piano repair men travel by motorcycle in this part of the country.

This is a military plane that was flown in decades ago for a movie and then housing developments sprung up and the air strip closed so there sat the plane, along the highway. The motorcycle looks pretty small in comparison.

The Grumpy Troll Bar in Mt. Horbe, Wi. Just another checkpoint.

An interesting sculpture garden...yet another checkpoint. Nice cherries in the background.

Sprecher's Bar in Leland, Wi., town of, oh 50 people or so. Interesting tidbit on this bar, you can order a beer, buy a pistol and shells or a shotgun, shells and a hunting license. One stop shop! (Chadd's perfect store!!) They even had pickled turkey gizzards behind the counter. Another checkpoint. Chadd spent some time talking to the owner, Junior, who has been around forever.

Cheese shop. Another checkpoint. Chadd had to buy fresh cheese curds and bring them back. Did you know that the fresh cheese curds that are not refrigerated squeak loudly when you eat them? Just ask Chadd, he bought an extra bag for himself and ate them all at the end of the rally. The white towel that appears on the back of the motorcyle is a "rally flag". Chadd had to take pictures at checkpoints with the rally flag in the picture.

This is Saturday, back in Leland, Wi at Sprecher's Bar. Remember I said town of 50 people, well, while Chadd was at the bar, it rained and then a tractor parade came into town with a police escort. Small town fun!

So, back to the tires. Chadd won the grand prize for the rally on Friday which was a set of tires for his motorcycle. Here Chadd is posing as the Michelin Man with his prize.

So, Sunday morning it was finally time to say goodbye to Chadd's new friends and head home. It was a little challenging for Chadd to figure out how to get the tires home, but as you can see, he figured it out. Chadd and the tires arrived safely home at noon on Sunday.