The Wiz and other weekend tidbits

Here it is, Tuesday already.

These weeks just go by so quickly.

This past weekend was another great one spent with the girls.

Alissa came here on Friday and took mom and I up to Oshkosh to celebrate Courtney and Paul's birthdays.

We met John there and all went out to their favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner.

After dinner, we went back to their house, opened goody boxes and had some cake.

John, my mom, the girls and I came back to Watertown while Alissa and Mallory (who also joined us) went out to celebrate both Friday and Saturday nights.

Here are a few photos from the night:

On Satiurday, John and I took the girls shopping at Walmart for birthday gifts for Paul and Courtney.

After that we watched Harmony for a few hours while the Budreau family went tubing.

We had a great time with her.

We took her to Macdonalds for dinner.

She loved the playland there.

After she was picked up, we spent the rest of the night watching TV and playing on the phones.

On Sunday, my kids did a fabulous job of singing in church and then we met Courtney and Paul in milwaukee to see the Wiz.

It was a great play and we all enjoyed it so much.

After that we all had dinner at TGiF at Miller Park.

Great way to end a great weekend.

Catch Up

Time just got away from me, yet again.

I need to catch up on last weekend and add this weekend's activities.

So, here goes...

Last weekend, Courtney, Paul,Tiz and Soli came here on Friday night.  We had a gun nigh of watching TV.  On Saturday morning, Courtney, Paul, and Tiz left for a cheer competition in Schaumburg.  John and I took Soli to the Milwuakee Art Mueseum.

The three of us had so much fun together.

Soli used her art book to look for all the art work and w:e found 24 of 26!

Here are some of our photos:

After our fun day at the museum we took Soli to Stonefire Pizza for some food and gaming.  We ate as soon as we got there, we were so hungry since we didn't eat any lunch.  The buffet is very good.  We played lots of games, Soli met a new friend and they rode the bumper cars and the other rides together.  She chose a lanyard and some pink teeth for her prizes.  We were ready to leave as the place was getting crazy and overrun with teens.

It was a full, fun day and there was more to come.

On Sunday we went to church and made plans to meet the rest of Soli's family at Mayfair on Sunday afternoon.

Courtney had left a few texts that said that tiz's cheer team had not done their best so there wasn't much hope for a first place, oh well, at least we were having fun.

We visited the Lego Store and Barnes and Noble at Mayfair before eating dinner at Five Guys.

It was a great meal with lots of fun conversation.

We love our Soli time!

Courtney, Paul, and Tiz arrived about 6:30 and Tiz was sporting a National Champion jacket which she got when her team won first place.

We were all so excited,

It had been a wonderful weekend for everyone!

It was spirit week at school and we only had three days this week so that was very nice.

My kids had fun dressing up in pajamas and crazy/clash clothes and enjoyed a pep rally.

On Thursday on went to Oshkosh with John on his way to work.

Courtney and I organized and cleaned all her closets as well as her craft room

We took 33 bags of donated stuff, and garbage out of that house.

They are getting ready for their move to Milwaukee.  They will live their for a year while Paul is on sabbatical.  The girls will attend Garden Homes Lutheran School.  I am so excited for them!  The school is 95% black so they will no longer be in the minority.

And, Tiz's cheer team got a bid to go to nationals in Disneyworld over mother's Day!  

The excitement just keeps coming for them!

We stayed at Oshkosh till Friday aftet John's work when the Courtney, Paul, Tiz and Soli left for another cheer competition at the Dells.

John and I enjoyed a night out at Bismark's with Louisa and Tim.  It is always fun to hang out with them and I hope they never get tired of hanging with old people.

Tonight we are going to meet Joan and go out with her.

Tomorrow we do church and then take it easy!

There now you are all caught up!. 

Ice Sculptures and a Visit to our Old Stomping Grounds

I wanted to do a little get away this weekend so when I read about the national Snow Sculpting Contest in Lake Geneva, I figured it would fit the bill.

I made a reservation for us at The Crossroads Motel which just happens to be the motel that John and my parents spent so much time at when we lived in Elkhorn.  They never stayed with us, choosing instead to stay at the Crossroads.

We arrived at Lake Geneva about 11:00.

It took quite awhile to find a parking place, but we finally did find one about six blocks from the lake which was a perfect distance and it kept us away from the crazy traffic.

WE had lunch at a potbelly sandwich place and then went down by the lake to see the snow sculptures.

They were very cool and there were lots of people.

It was quite an event.

At about 3 we headed back to Elkhorn and had margaritas and chips at a cute Mexican restaurant.

After that we checked into the motel.

It was nice enough but showed its age.  For $50.00 though we couldn't complain.

We decided to go to Sperino's for pizza and beer.  We had gone there 40 years ago when we lived in Elkhorn and we wanted to see if it was the same.

We were the only people in the place.  It was rather odd.  John liked the pizza but it was too cheesy for my tastes.

After that we went into the Pepperoni Pub which is next to Sperino's owned by the same family.

Had a few beers and then about 10:00 we went back to the motel.

We had to leave the TV on while we went out to dinner because it was so difficult to turn on and off.

This morning we woke up to at least 6 inches of snow.

The drive home was a bit slow on snow covered roads, but we made it just fine.

John did all the shoveling and now we are holed up waiting for the Super Bowl.

Here are a few photos from the weekend:

Early Birthday Celebration for ME!

The best made plans...

I had planned to have a  painting party this Saturday.  Courtney and the girls were going to paint as well as Julia for Tiz and Kaliyah for Soli and then a few other people.

It was a bucket list item, but the lady from Set Apart Art had to cancel when her mom had a stroke.

I didn't want to cancel the time with Julia and Kaliyah so they both were going to come over on Saturday for play dates.

Now to back track a bit:

On Friday night, John and I began my birthday celebration with a movie and beer and pizza at Biggs.

We saw The Greatest Showman, it was a good movie.

Then we had beer and pizza at Biggs, we hadn't been there for a long time and it was very good.

Now back to Saturday:

Courtney and the girls arrived around 11.

We decided to run out to Walmart to buy some canvases and paints so the girls could paint here at home.

They had a great time creating some great pictures and then they made slime, of course.

We took the girls out to dinner at Rock River Pizza.

It was a fun day all around.

There were some big messes after the painting and the slime, but they did clean up pretty easily.

We watched Harmony after dinner for awhile and then it was time for bed.

It had been a long day, fun but long and we were all tired.

On Sunday, my kids sang in church and we had our preschool registration.

That all went very well and another weekend comes to an end.

Next weekend, John and I are going to Lake Geneva for some ice sculpturing event to continue the celebration. 

 Here are a few photos from the weekend:

Celebrating my Baby's 38th Birtnday

We celebrated Alissa birthday this past weekend.

Alissa came up on Friday and Courtney and the girls also came on Friday.

Except for John, there were no men at the celebration.

The girls had no school on Friday and I had only a morning class, so when they arrived we went to Mullen's for some ice cream and then shopped in some of the downtown stores.

After Alissa arrived we had Little Ceasar's and her requested angel food cake.

She opened the goody box and had only two wrong.

Courtney, Alissa and I went out for a few beers.  Mallory joined us.  It was a good night.

Here are a few photos form the day and night:

On Saturday, the girls made some slime.

We watched few hundred slides and then Courtney, the girls, and I went out to enjoy the unseasonably beautiful weather.  We managed to find a little snow still left on a hill by the pool and sled down a few times.

After playing outside, we got ready for Alissa's birthday dinner.

She had chosen the Crafty Cow for her dinner.

Before going there, we stopped at Sweet Mullet's for a few beers.

We all enjoyed our burgers at the Crafty Cow.

Tiz told the waitress about Alissa's birthday and she got a complimentary desset which we all shared.

It was yummy.

Courtney tha the girls had to leave at7:15 today because the girls had to sing in church so they are long gone.

Alissa will leave in a bit.

It was indeed a very good way to celebrate my baby!

Enjoy your next trip around the sun.