Remembering Grandpa Wayne

Today marks six years since you left this world. We are still trying to understand exactly where you are, but we are reminded that you are always with us even though we can't see you. Mommy tells us that you are up in the clouds so that if we want to talk to you we can just look up into the great big sky. We figured out today that you must have jumped on an airplane on your way up to heaven because how else would you get up there!?! We are getting bigger and bigger every day and our little minds are always working so this year has been one of lots of questions. We asked Mom if we could just text you since you can't talk, but she told us that unfortunately you wouldn't be able to text us back. We also wanted to know if you could stop the snow from falling since it comes from the clouds, but Mom informed us that you have no control over that. We love playing peek-a-boo with you behind the clouds. You always seem to win, but we have fun none-the-less. A few weeks ago we took interest in your Musky up at the cottage. Lily has decided that she wants to catch a Musky (or mosquito as she sometimes calls it) this year with Mom. We discovered this year too that Ranger and Thunder are up in heaven with you. Mom said you probably walk them every day. We asked if you could walk Wrigley, and Mom let us know that you gave Wrigley lots of walks every time you came to visit in Arizona. She said you'd walk him so far and for so long that he'd sleep the rest of the day because he was so pooped out. He could definitely use some of those walks right about now after the long winter we've had. We tried out lots of your toys this year up at the cottage...the four wheeler, the snowmobile, and your boat. We've heard lots of stories about you and your toys and hopefully we can enjoy them as much as you did. We aren't sure how to feel on a day like today. We know that everyone here misses you a lot. They still share tons of stories about you and we are learning more and more each day about what kind of man you were. We don't really understand the situation in its entirety yet, but one thing we did come to understand this year that we will never forget is that you are our GRANDPA. We love you!

Three Goggles

It is almost time for tip off and we are ready with our "three goggles". Go Marquette!!!

Dr. Daddy

It was a year ago this month that I decided to pick a few fights (against a bathtub, a toy train, and a bed frame), and for those of you who can't remember I lost all three battles. Well, I decided after a year, that just maybe I was ready for another battle. Boy was I wrong! This time it was the Rhinoceros versus the blue chair, and the chair got the best of me and left me with a nice gash across my left eyebrow. I immediately informed Mom that I didn't want to go to the hospital like last year so she convinced me to at least go to Daddy's clinic so he could check it out (little did I know that the clinic is on the way to the hospital). After some deliberation by the grown-ups, it was decided that although the cut could use stitches, Dad was going to try to tape and glue it shut. If it didn't work I had to go to the hospital so I decided to let Dad give it a shot. The whole thing was a little scary (okay VERY scary) and I did put up quite the fight even though I got my way and didn't have to go to the hospital. Two and a half hours after the initial blow though I was all patched up and on my way for ice cream, and Lily was smiling because she got to come along for the ride this time. There is nothing a little ice cream can't fix here in our world!

Green Thumbs

The snow is almost melted and tomorrow is the first day of Spring so we decided to dig out the gardening tools and plant ourselves a garden. Not really, but we planted a lot of the seeds that we will eventually put in our garden. Daddy told us they need to get a head start if they are going to grow up big and strong. Our job is to watch the seeds every day to see if they grow and we're taking this responsibility seriously. Check back with us in about a month to see if the actual garden is underway. We think we've discovered some green thumbs here in our world!

Lions and Lambs

Spring is trying to make it's way to Wisconsin, and we are taking full advantage of it! With highs around 60 today we didn't hesitate to get outside and play, and play we did. Bikes, scooters, the Gator, lawnmowers...we used them all, and plan on doing it all over again tomorrow. Four days ago we were building snowmen and today we watched it all melt away. In like a lion out like a lamb here in our world (at least we hope)!!!

Winter Fun

We spent one of the last weekends of Winter up at the cottage enjoying everything great that Winter has to offer. Uncle Steve, Aunt Claire, and Elizabeth joined us for one evening too which made it all the better! We built not one, but two snowmen. They each only survived a day though after Wrigley tore the arms and face off of one, and the rain toppled the other. We went sledding, and then we went SLEDDING. We started small on a little hill, with Lily's first solo trip down resulted in her being taken out by a branch. I wasn't crazy enough to follow suit, but I did somehow end up in a giant sled being pulled behind the 4-wheeler which was awesome! Lily rode a snowmobile for the first time, but there was no way I was getting on that "flying machine". Lily was hesitant at first as well, but once on the only words uttered were "Daddy, go faster!" We also built a snow tunnel, which after some persuasion I climbed through. Uncle Steve managed to rig Lily's boots with duct tape since every time she took a step her foot sank in the snow and then her boot came off. After his tape job they didn't come off again until Mom pried them off. We loved each trip outside because they always ended in our coming inside for hot chocolate and cookies. Grandma also read us so many stories that I think she had them memorized by the time the weekend was over. We didn't think we could make the weekend any better until we heard the words candy store! After this weekend, it is official, we love Winter here in our world (although we're ready for Summer any day now)!

Play Ball!

After watching Lily at ballet for the last few weeks, I've been itching to take a class of my own. Today my dream came true and I started baseball. It isn't baseball in the traditional sense...we don't actually play a ball game. Instead, we learn all about the game and how to play it right. After arriving today, Coach Kyle realized he had forgotten to contact us about the time change so he gave me a private lesson so that we didn't have to come back. It was great! The first thing we learned was baseball stretching techniques. I didn't have much interest in that, and I think Coach Kyle quickly realized that we needed to move on to something else. That's when it got fun. I learned the names of the bases and how to hold a bat. He brought out the tee and I got to take quite a few swings all while maintaining proper batting technique (or at least attempting to maintain proper technique)...feet apart, knees bent, bat up next to my ear. He was impressed that I already twisted my back foot when batting, or what he referred to as "squishing the bug". I had a hard time remembering to keep my bat up though, but he said even grown-ups forget that sometimes so I was doing pretty good for a three year old. After taking some swings we practiced running to first base. That part was easy, but remembering to drop the bat was not. Since it was just Coach Kyle and me, he let Lily join in on some of the fun when we worked on picking up all of the balls I hit and catching. We learned that your eyes are the most important body part when it comes to catching...Lily and I both guessed your hands. Oops! We started learning how to throw to one another, but by that time I just wanted to see how high and far I could throw the ball. Mom and Coach Kyle decided to call it quits since we were having a hard time controlling our silliness. I'd call it a successful first lesson though and next week I get to play with all sorts of new friends! Batter up here in our world!

Water Tricks

Since starting swim lessons, we have been wanting to practice at home. Only problem is we don't have a pool, and it's still cold outside, so the bathtub will have to suffice. It gets pretty crowded in the tub and we bump into each other a lot, but there's water so that's all that really matters. With all of this practice Lily has learned that she can't hear us when she puts her ears under water and she thinks this is the coolest trick ever. I on the other hand am learning to balance multiple objects on my head. Mom keeps reminding us that we had a pool when we lived in Arizona, and after all this snow we're beginning to wonder what Mom and Dad were thinking moving to Wisconsin. Just imagine all of the tricks we could do with our own pool here in our world!