State Fair 2010

Fun Pictures from the Wisconsin State Fair!

My Mom got to meet an ex-Packer!

And the boys got to see dinosaurs!

No trip to the State Fair would be complete without a ride down the Giant Slide!

Milwaukee Tourists

We went on a mini vacation to Milwaukee in July. Although we go there often, it's usually for a purpose, so it was nice to have time just to visit .

We started our day at the Art Museum...

...stopped for lunch and ice cream on the lakefront...

....Went for a walk on the Riverwalk...

...Even saw "The Fonze"....

And after a delicious dinner in Wauwatosa, ended the day with Jeremy having his firt tast of Kopp's Custard!

Random Summer pics 2010

What a busy summer! Here are some random fun pictures from the summer... Jeremy is again an award winning journalist! Here is is the night he won two more WBA (Wisconsin Broadcasters Association) awards. This summer, he also won a Regional Edward R. Murrow award!

I couldn't pass up including this picture. While in Schaumburg, IL for our friends' Tony & Katie's wedding in June, Jeremy felt he needed a hat to keep the sun off his head... What a handsome fellow... I FINALLY convinced Jeremy to buy a suit (with the help of Tony and Katie who asked him to wear a dark suite when he stood up in their wedding). It was a pinstripped suit, and I think it looks fantastic!

The crazy Wisconsin weather this summer made for some beautiful skies--and a few double rainbows!

Jeremy gave me a hammock for my birthday--actually, he wanted me to pick it out, so he made me a mini-hammock out of string...it was interesting... :)

Playing Tri-onimos at our 6th annual Rhythm and Boom picnic together.

And, the revival of the Dairy Queen Cake (my favorite) for my birthday...Hooray!!!

Summer of Landscaping

The "Summer of Landscaping" is more accurate than it sounds! We finished our Paver walkway on Memorial day, May 31, and I began landscaping our yard on June 1. The final piece of sod went in in late July, although, I was still working on some other "curb appeal" items until August.

Here's the Front before:

And after:

Not only did we landscape the front, but the entire back. It started out with no plants (other than the large trees in the far back of the yard), so we had our work cut out for us!

Here's the back Before:

And the after:

I also did some landscaping in the back corner of our yard. What had been a muddy and shadded area with a dirty shed, is now refreshed with a little mulch, some new plants, a couple of replanted shrubs (previously in the font yard), and flowers. Plus--a perfect place to relax on a hammock on a nice summer day! What an easy change!

We also spruced up the side of our house. Before, it was just a blank slate of grass running into the house, but now, we've built up the ground around the base of the house, and transplanted some Sedum bushes from the front along the side!

One of our first landscaping plans to be implemented was our new garden. All of the brick for the raised garden came from our font rock bed (which is now thankfully gone).

We quickly realized we may have over planted...

Which was obvious by the later part of the summer...

I finished landscaping 2010 with some dirt and sod that built up the land to be even with the edge of our side driveway...

It was so much work, but completely worth it in the end! We get some many compliments from neighbors, friends, and family!

Along the way, we gained some additions to our family...

Our new puppy (to be named...)

Our birdhouses were a hit right away, and we have a new backyard bird (I think it's a finch)

Connor's Bday 2010

In the midst of our summer of landscaping, my cutie nephew Connor turned 3! He is a big fan of "pretend" playing the guitar, so he had a Rockstar party!

Make a Wish!

I think that this might be my favorite picture of my Dad ever!

Grandma and Grandpa bought Connor a tent for the yard...here are Grandma and Connor playing in it! Connor did pretty well with gifts...good thing he got a tent so he had somewhere to put them all!

DJ Connor...I can't wait to go see him in the clubs!