Sunday, July 26, 2009

Visit from Grandma Gold

Grandma Cindy came to visit last weekend. Everyone enjoying her time in Madison, and I think she enjoyed it also. Amtrak was delayed and the girls returned to Madison Saturday evening. I played in golf tournament fundraiser while Christine and the girls went to pick Mom up, but our team did not end up victorious.

On Sunday we went to the Dane County fair. We looked at the 4-H exhibits and animals, but the highlight was Michaela's first pony ride. Christine and Michaela both loved that experience, with Christine's joy edging even Michaela's. I actually thought Michaela and Danielle preferring and petting the ducklings rather than the chicks at a petting zoo was more cute. Danielle actually pinched the poor ducklings bill, causing the duckling to cry and attempt to squirm out of my hands.
This picture is not from the Fair, as for some silly reason we did not bring our camera with....oops. Instead it is from today at Waunafest, a Waunakee festival.

Grandma Cindy watched the girls Sunday afternoon while Christine and I went to the latest Harry Potter movie. We had mixed reviews on the movie, but it was awesome to get out alone. It's a bad sign when the last time we went on a date together was the last time Mom kicked us out of the house alone.

The women hung out on Monday and Mom watched the two girls before I got home while Christine had golf league Monday evening. Tuesday before hoping back on the train they stopped at the zoo.

The break of having someone else to watch the girls was awesome. Christine and I both felt energized and happier overall, with those feelings carrying all the way through to this weekend even while I worked at school. Christine is slowly getting boxes packed and I am still working on my third chapter (even though I defend in just over a week).

Too close to home

Yesterday morning we were reminded of how bad things can get in short order. 3640 (one building away from us) in our apartment complex started on fire around 8. The fire department quickly put out the fire, but it was already too late for an elderly lady. Luckily not many of the units were occupied due to renovations, I only hope everyone had renter's insurance for smoke damage.

Here are the local news reports.

http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/459655
http://www.channel3000.com/news/20176623/detail.html

Even though it wasn't you specifically on this fire, Steven thanks for being you and what you do!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Toofers :)

As Danielle is getting bigger and bigger, I realize...she is almost 1 year old! Danielle has gotten her teeth much sooner than Michaela and now her top two teeth are coming in as well, so here is a pic that shows off her pearly whites.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Tidbit on Danielle



I have not posted in forever and I thought it was time. I took the picture above intentionally for use on the blog.

Danielle is such a good eater and thoroughly enjoys all finger foods, though as her hair is getting longer (and thicker) she has a new habit of grabbing at the hair above her ears resulting in a hilarious look and I wanted to share it with you.

The other two are just the girls being silly:



Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Free Beer: Wisdom with Age?

Nitty Gritty was the source of burgers and free birthday beer tonight. I enjoyed the night with all three of my girls, but it made me wonder....when did I start to enjoy free beer again? Was it when Michaela was born or perhaps Danielle? More than likely it is that darn dissertation, but that is just a guess.

Here is a lighter moment I had today from an edited picture....a vision of pouting.

4th of July Weekend

We spent the 4th of July weekend with Alan, Christine and Sophie Long at their home near Detroit. This was the fourth consecutive year we spent the holiday with them, but the first year at their house instead of Alan's parents in Toledo.

We decided to leave early Friday morning (2:15 am) with the hopes that Danielle and Michaela would sleep in the car, of avoiding traffic in Chicago, and arriving in time for lunch. We were successful in the last two, but sleeping was not common early in the drive. Michaela remained awake throughout the morning looking at Chicago's many lights and signs. Danielle and Christine did get a bit of sleep but not much. We stopped at Benton Harbor, MI for breakfast around 6am. The girls got clean diapers and slept the remainder of the drive. Upon arriving we got the grand tour of the house. We spent most of the day lounging around talking and playing with the girls. Christine Long and I failed miserably at Hand & Foot losing two games, with the first game conceded after three hands we were so far behind.

Michaela woke up sick on the 4th, we suspect from exhaustion the day before. She napped while we took a walk but woke up in time for the neighborhood parade. Michaela filled her pockets with candy, although none of the girls got to eat much of it. The parade stopped at the neighborhood clubhouse and Michaela got a closer look at a firetruck. We chatted with the firefighters about Uncle Steve and they opened the truck to give a look inside, but Michaela was too scared to actually step inside. I'm sure she would have been braver if Uncle Steve was there.

We packed a picnic and headed to a park for lunch. Michaela and Sophie played together wonderfully. Michaela proved to be the bully exuding her age dominance (8 months) over Sophie even though Sophie probably had the weight advantage. At the park Sophie ran from Michaela for nearly 15 minutes, with Michaela chasing her as a daddy lion. After naps we played at a splash park and in their backyard (complete with swing set, sandbox and climbing trees) before grilling in the evening.

Alan and I lost two games of Hand & Foot to the Christine's that night. We concluded that I suck at cards, but of course the flip side is that my Christine rocks...so you decide (although I prefer the later explanation). Fireworks were first set off around 8:30. Of course the extra noise was too much for Michaela to sleep and around 10 I finally opened the window shades to let her watch the Fireworks from the upstairs bedroom. Fireworks stopped around 11 and Michaela was asleep when we checked on her shortly after.

Gwinny (their scaredy cat) actually made a surprise appearance Sunday morning and hid under a chair. Michaela loves cats and repeatedly laid on the floor to see her. Sunday the girls went to the zoo and the guys went golfing. We ordered pizza and the little girls played in an inflatable pool. The girls fell asleep within ten minutes of leaving at 8 pm and the rest of the drive home was uneventful. We finished 'Pandora's Daughter' a book on CD while driving.