4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!

Elijah says, "Happy Birthday, Grandma and Aunt Katy!" Grandma opened her birthday presents before we headed back to the Milwaukee area for some fireworks.

We helped Grandma celebrate her birthday with dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.

A birthday wouldn't be complete without balloons and a special treat!

Isabella and Sienna eyed Grandma's hot fudge sundae. Of course, Grandma was nice enough to share with the girls.

After dinner we headed over to Pewaukee Lake for some 4th of July activities. We missed the water ski show, but we enjoyed the live band and found a great spot along the lake to watch the fireworks. (Thanks for the recommendation, Sarah!)

Mike looked at this picture and said, "We look old!" News flash...we are getting old!

Mike walked Elijah around in his stroller until he fell asleep. He slept through the fireworks until the grand finale woke him up!
We enjoyed a great 4th of July!

A Beautiful Day

We finally had some warmer weather, so we took advantage of it by enjoying some outdoor activities. We spent a little bit of time at the new community playground in St. Germain.

As always, Elijah loved the swing.

He also checked out a wiggly seat.

Isabella made it across the lily pads.

We also checked out Crystal Lake which has a great beach and crystal clear water.

The lake is small enough to walk all the way around it, so I took a walk while Dada played in the water with the kiddos. Grandma, Papa, Dada and the girls went in search of frogs and walked all the way around the lake earlier.

When we got back to the cottage, we went for a boat ride so that Isabella and Dada could swim in the middle of the lake. Isabella took a turn driving the boat!

Elijah promptly fell asleep on our boat ride.

The deep water was really cold, so Isabella and Dada got in and out quickly.

It was still warm enough to soak up some sun on the dock in the late afternoon.

Papa relaxed with Elijah.

The girls had fun splashing around in the lake.

We ended the day with a beautiful sunset over the lake.

There was a clear view of the moon, too!

Fishing

The girls did some fishing with Dada and Papa off of the dock.

Isabella got a bite!

She reeled it in all by herself! See the fish in the bottom right corner of the picture?

Isabella caught a sunfish.

Dada tried to get Isabella to kiss the fish before Papa threw it back in the lake.

Waiting patiently for another bite... This is why I don't like to fish.

Sienna reeled in a sunfish, too!

Elmer's Fun Park

The weather has been a bit too cold to swim or go in the boat, so we decided to spend some time at Elmer's Fun Park. Papa and Sienna had fun racing Dada and Isabella in the go-karts!

Sienna seemed to be holding on for dear life! Two hands on the wheel, Papa!!
Papa and Sienna are in the lead, but Dada and Isabella are hot on their trail.

Dada and Isabella

That woman doesn't even know that she's racing them! Who is having more fun, Dada or Isabella?!?

Papa is laughing at Mike who "accidentally" took another lap because he apparently "thought" that the checkered flag meant one more lap. Never mind that every other person pulled right in! Last, but not least...

We did a half hour trail ride with Grandma and the girls while Papa kept Elijah busy. Sienna and I rode Cuatro the Rock Star, and Dada and Isabella rode Maverick. Our horse's name was so appropriate since Sienna is four (cuatro) years old and she likes to pretend to be a rock star.

Sienna said good-bye to Cuatro.

Elijah liked the horses, too, but he was too small to go for a ride.

Fun in Northern Wisconsin

We just started our two week vacation in Wisconsin! We were supposed to make this same trip last summer, but Elijah's surgery put a bit of a kink in our plans. We are so happy to finally be here! We are spending the first week with Mike's parents at my parents' cottage in Northern Wisconsin.

The girls love to feed peanuts to the chipmunks (aka the "chippies"). My dad left each of the girls their own can of peanuts.
We're going to have some happy chippies!!
Grandma and Papa enjoy the campfire with us!

Roasting marshmallows!

The first s'more of the season! Yum!!

Grandma trying to contain a wiggly Elijah!

Isabella helped Dada haul more wood to the firepit.

Isabella had a hard time biting into her s'more with her very wiggly tooth. She stuck to just marshmallows and chocolate after that!

Papa and Elijah

Snuggling by the fire