Meeting the Chapas at the Zoo!

We met up with some friends at the Vilas Zoo last week. the weather held off most of the day until about 3 pm. The kids really had fun with each other. Cayden and Makenna really treat each other like brother and sister. It is funny to watch.

After being rained on twice, we carried on our day at Chuck E Cheese- always a big hit for the younger crowd. Here are some fun pics from our day.

Custer State Park

These are all pictures of our day (rainy) at Custer State Park. We hiked in the rain around Sylvan Lake (very cool), and drove on Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Highway. Very curvy road, very neat scenery and we drove through all six tunnels! The boys were terribly tired of being in the car by the end of the afternoon and Kieran was pretty carsick. In spite of the dreary weather, we are glad we made a point to go anyways that day. It really wasn't any worse weather-wise than any of the other days we were out there, so it didn't matter.

This ape was really hamming it up!

On the Kindergarten Trip to the Zoo this year, we got to see one of the oranguatans put on a great show! Usually they just lounge in the back corner, but this guy must've eaten his Wheaties! He was funny!

Update on us...Summer 09

Last Week of School!

Ms. Narveson was sad to see her kids go!
Mrs. Wainwright and Kieran had matching shirts on that day!

Cayden and Kieran on the very last day of school! Man, I was a basket case that morning. The last day of school was worse than the first day for some reason. The boys were stoked since we were leaving for the Black Hills on Sunday.

My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R

My bologna has a second name, it's M-A-Y-E-R

I love to eat it every day

And if you ask me why I'll saaaaaaay!!!!

Cuz Oscar Mayer has a way of

B-O-L-O-G-N-A

Camping..

Ready for a hike!
Our tent!! Raccoons liked to sneak in at night and push things around. Thankfully the tents we slept in were zippered off from the main area and they couldn't get in to where we were. It was freaky enough knowing they were 2 feet away.
Shiloh and Cayden chilling out in the tent. I think he was playing Mario Kart. I just like this picture...it is so sweet.
The boys took out the paddle boat for a awhile. The weather was perfect for our camping. Warm days and cool nights - no humidity at all. We did have a brief heavy, heavy shower on Thursday night. But we came through it none worse for the wear. Riley's forgot the rain flap for their tent, but we scrambled around enough tarps to cover the tent in time. Thank goodness!

We were joined by several more families from Oconomowoc and we had alot of kids running around. The boys had fun and it was a grand way to end the summer.

Cave of the Mounds trip

We took the boys to Cave of the Mounds a couple weeks before school started. It was a really neat place to visit. The boys spend almost as much time in the gift shop as they did in the cave. It was a cool (literally) cave, and the tour lasted about an hour. Just long enough for little legs. The formations were awe inspiring, but the pictures didn't turn out very well.

After we were done, we let the boys pick out one special thing from the gift shop. Kieran picked out a purple geode key ring and Cayden picked out a bad of sand that had gems and rocks hidden in it. He then emptied the sand into a pan and used water to wash away the sand to reveal the treasures inside. He loved it. We thought about going back there just to do that activity again.

Our meal at Johnny's Charhouse..

Cayden used my camera to film this during our dinner Saturday night at our convention in DeKalb. He took several videos that night to occupy himself while Jerod and I finished our yummy meal. I just thought it was funny to see how much fun he had with this.

In DeKalb again for the district convention....

How handsome are they?
Jeez, honey,,,,you can smile...
Such happy, smiling faces!!

We had beautiful weather for our convention this year, August 16-18. Jerod got to help in the bookroom with the new releases. That was pretty exciting for him. All in all it was a good weekend.

Circus Party time!!

The feared T-Rex!
Kieran's crab face...
Look at all the loot!!!
Give it all you got Cayden!!!

Our good friends in Richland Center hosted a circus party for all of the young ones. And what a party it was!! They don't feel comfortable having their names or pix on the blog, so I won't be posting any of that info.



But we had a scavenger hunt, a water balloon fight (which morphed into a rowdy "dad water balloon fight".) That was hilarious, until one of the kiddies got beaned on the side of the head. There was also a cotton candy machine, face painting, clown noses, and a pinata full of an extreme amount of candy!! Holy cow. My friends really know how to put together a party! I know it was alot of work, but it was a party the kids and parents will remember for a long, long time. Thanks!!!

To the pool we go..

Swimming lessons this year were a bit hit, as I figured. We did have a couple stormy days that cut the lesson short, but all in all they got in all of the skills they needed in order to pass. Cayden was in level 3 and Kieran was in level 2. Personally, I feel the classes are rushed and have way too many kids in them. So much is crammed into 30 minutes. If it is the same way next year, I may talk to the pool director. I wonder if any other parents feel the same.

So our house is officially off the market!. Some relief there, just hoping the winter treats us better this year than last.

Josh's wedding plans are going well. Both boys are in the wedding party and Jerod is an usher. They will all be so handsome! I am a little hesitant about getting Cayden into a tux. Hmmmm. We'll see how that works.

Fun at Governor Dodge...

We haven't been out to the lake very much this summer..(I find the sand and carting all of your stuff clear from the parking lot to the beach very tiresome and messy) But we did get there to meet some friends and play in the sand. The kids had a great time as you can see here. Later in August we are meeting the Rileys for camping for a couple nights. That should be a fun way to wind up the summer. Hard to believe that it we have only a few weekends left before school. Where does the time go?

Josh is engaged!

We would like to welcome Sara George to our family! The nuptiuals are slated for nov 22, 08. First day of deer hunting. Jerod is not real happy about that, but he'll get over it, I'm sure. We all love her already and it's not hard to see why Josh is head over heals crazy for her!

Here's Oliver!

He's just gotten soo cute and adorable!! We were at the park for an outdoor concert and I tried to get a couple shots of him, but these really don't do him justice with how squeezable he really is..We love him so much.

Last day of school!

(you'd think he'd smile...it is the last day of 1st grade for crying out loud)

Silly me, I forgot to get Kieran's last day! His was the day before and I totally spaced taking a picture that morning before we rushed out the door. Bad mommy!

Post-talk celebration feast! (at Culvers)

After Cayden's talk we all, and I mean all went to Culvers for frozen custard. The kids all crowded in a corner both and proceeded to thoroughly enjoy themselves...while nearby....
sat the teens and twentysomethings. The one with his arm around Andrea is her main squeeze...Frank. I'm sure we will soon welcome him into the crazy familia de Silvers.

The Wilderness Lodge trip

The spoils of a battle hard fought in the arcade...



One cool thing at the Wilderness is the indoor park that has the Wave pool. The roof is made of glass so you can tan year around, even when it is cloudy outside! In fact, they urge you to wear sunblock in the park. This is where the last 2 pictures come from.

So summer is in full swing..

Kowabunga!!!!



Here are some photos of what we have been up too. We tried to jump-start summer with a trip to the Wilderness Lodge in Wis Dells on May 29th. It was chilly and rainy, so we didn't get to use any of the outdoor waterparks and one of the indoor ones was closed for construction. But the boys had a fun time anyhow...