Day at the beach...

Had a great Saturday...

Headed to the Franklin Library and got the girls enrolled in the summer reading program.  What  fantastic library... I feel like I am cheating on the Greendale Library... but it is awesome!

Then headed out to Idle Park Beach on Little Muskego Lake... what a beautiful day.  The weather was great.  The lake was warm.  The sun was shining.  And neither of us were working.  Couldn't ask for much more than that.

Came home to grill out some BBQ chicken, corn and potatoes... yum, yum!

These pics are us hanging out in the backyard... enjoy!

Children ALWAYS Speak the Truth

As we were driving to church this evening, Madeline decided that she'd like to play a game called "Who's Faster?"  She made up this game, and then we took turns.

Madeline started out with,

* "What's faster, a turtle or a car."  I replied with, "a car."  Very good Mommy.
* "What's faster, a bike or a motorcycle?" I replied with, "a motor cycle."  Very good Mommy.

Now it's Daddy's turn.  Daddy said,

* "What's faster, a helicoptor or airplane?" Madeline said, "a helicoptor."  So we talked about that a bit.
* "What's faster, a cheetah or a tiger?" Madeline said "a cheetah."

Now it's Mommy's turn.  Mommy said,

*"What's faster, an elephant or a rhinocerous?"  Madeline said, "I don't know.  Ask Lydia, she knows the most about elephants."

So Daddy then says, "Okay, I have one.  Who's faster Daddy or Brett Favre?" 

DEAD SILENCE IN THE CAR.

Not realizing that would be so difficult, Daddy said, "Okay, who's faster, Aaron Rodgers or Brett Favre?"

*Madeline thought about it and said, "Aaron Rodgers of course.  I would never say Brett Favre.  He stinks!"

Nice........

Swimming at Z-World

With no air conditioning, we needed to find a way to beat the heat this week.  John took the girls to Cool Waters pool yesterday, and I took the girls swimming to Z-World this evening (while John was at work.)

The pool couldn't have been more beautiful.  The water was PERFECT!!! And what a nice treat to have Janelle, Tiff and Nicole join us for a "dip." 

Lydia loved her ladybug floatie and Madeline is doing a great job in her life jacket.  Growing a few inches since last year has helped her take more risks in the water.  She's  a regular fish!

A visit to the ZOO

What a great day to hit the zoo.  It was 90 and sunny, but it worked out okay:)

The girls and I headed to the zoo with Kim and her niece Sierra.  Sierra is Madeline's age, and they enjoyed playing and visiting together. 

After venturing through the zoo, we watched the cows and enjoyed some nice cold ice cream.

Takin' in the elephants and hippos:)

Maybe we should have left this monkey at the zoo!

The girls on the train:)

Kimmy and Sierra ridin' the train!

Our NEW Patio

We have finally have a place to relax in our backyard while the girls play.  Our intention is to paint the furniture black; we don't want to blind our neighbors!

John and I are very proud of our work.  It was pretty physical and ridiculous in the heat.  But it's done, and we did it ourselves. 

We are so glad that we have a great neighbor who is a landscaper who got us started on the right track.  Thanks Carlos!!!

Koshuta Family 4th of July in Greendale

It was a record breaking day for heat...90, whew!  We finished our new patio early this morning, and then headed to the village for the parade and games...

John and his girls putting the finishing touches on our new patio.

Our beautiful girls!

Auntie Amy hanging with the girls...

Lydia waited patiently for the parade to begin.

Madeline and Lydia thought the visit from the firedog was pretty awesome!

Lydia was so entertained... she clapped and grooved to all the music!

Patriotism knows no age.

Nothing like ending a great weekend with a daddy snuggle:)

The 4th of July festivities begin!

Friday, July 2nd, Nunna and Auntie Amy enjoyed the afternoon with the girls.  They ventured to the village and took a long walk.  Ended up bouncing in the bouncy houses... isn't there an age limit on those things?!?!? There's a reason why they invented Aleve. 

While the girls "played", John and I were hard at work hauling all the sand and patio pavers in preparation for installation... whew... hard work.  Glad we are able bodied!

Saturday evening, July 3rd, Auntie Amy, Janelle, Tiffany, Madeline and I headed down to Gramps' boat to watch the BIG BANG!  Well, what a bang it was.  We took the city bus; Madeline's 1st trip!!! Very fun.  And it was definitely the best option; traffic was insane.

Madeline loved being silly with cousin Janelle on her first city bus ride!

The BIG BANG had 3 big bangs and lasted for an hour... by the end, Madeline was even saying it was boring.  It was alright... Gramps sure had his boat parked in the right spot.  Perfect view.

Madeline and Mommy... hanging at the fireworks!

Hanging with the Koshutas

Before we headed home for the weekend (last weekend...)

We stopped to hang out at Koshuta Island... and John went musky fishing with Jim... Jim caught 3 fish on this brief trip... very nice!!!

While John and Jim were fishing, we hung out with D'ant Dine, Douglas, Sam and Kate.  We had fun and helped Same and Kate try their BUMBOs for the first time.

Fancy fancy....

All the KOSHUTA COUSINS:)

Douglas now has a little cousin to squeeze...

Madeline loves being a big cousin as much as she loves being a big sister!

Cooking with Grandma

As we prepared for a day celebrating birthdays at the Schiffmanns, Madeline helped Grandma Jane in making a pineapple upside down cake for Aunt Mimi...

I think Madeline's favorite part was eating the marachino cherries!

Blue Ribbon Pics by Madeline

As I was scanning through Madeline's camera... I actually found some nice pics from ou weekend up north. Enjoy!!

The siblings...

Big Cousin Emma... Little Cousin Lydia

Grandma, Kristi and Sam

Uncle Johnny and Aunt KiKi stealing snuggles from Sam and Kate!

Family pic...?!?!

Uncle Jimmy with Miss Kate

D'ant Dine and Mr. Sam

Mr. Sam just hanging out at the beach... this was before both Sam and Kate were stripped down to their diapers:)

Madeline is OFFICIALLY A WATER SKIER!!!

Still playing catch up on our visit up north last week.

When we visited Aunt Mimi and Uncle Glenn's house... there were a lot of FIRSTS that occured...

Madeline went on the tube with her daddy...

Madeline water skied... all the way around the lake...

She did a great job and didn't even fall!

Douglas and Jim went tubing too!  Today was a "fearless" day at the lake!

Douglas also rode the HOT DOG with Jim and Gunnar... they all fell off and went in different directions... but as Madeline would say "they got right back on the horse and kept going."

John skied for the first time this season as well.

Madeline got to drive the boat with uncle Glenn.... whew... we are all safe!

Lydia took her first boat ride as well... she was not liking her life jacket... she preferred hanging out on the beach with her big cousin Emma.

Busy, busy day of firsts at the Schiffmann Home... thanks for hosting us all.

Doug's Birthday Party... Friday Evening

This was a big weekend of celebrating for our family...  BIG!!!

We celebrated Doug's 3rd birthdy, Jim's 40th (I think Madeline was more excited about this than anyone) and Mary's birthday.  Fun times...

Friday night, Jim and Diann hosted us for YUMMY pizza from OV... :)  And  fantastically yummy John Deere tractor cake.... mmmmmmm!

Fun visits and soaking up time with cousins... Uncle Johnny sure loved hanging with Kate and Emma!

Grandma's Girls!!!

Gunnar and his little man Sam!!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Douglas!!

Playing at Silver Lake Beach

Last Friday, we decided to head to the beach with the cousins.  Emma was still at horse camp, but Gunnar and Doug joined Madeline and Lydia (Aunt MiMi and Grandma and Grandpa Mittel too!)

The weather was overcast, but that didn't seem to bother the kids.  They loved the water, the beach and definitely didn't want to leave!

The kids had so much fun playing together, and of course, didn't want to leave!

Nothing like ending a trip to the beach with a nice warm bath.... ahhhhhhh.