Grandma's Cookies

Grandma Knodel was always known for baking too many cookies at Christmas time and for giving everyone socks for Christmas.  We miss grandma very much this year and will also miss her cookie and socks traditions.  In rememberence of Grandma Knodel her cookie recipes live on... ;-)

Here is one of my FAVORITE cookie recipes from Grandma Knodel.

Kiss Cookies
1 1/4 cup softened butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 1/4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients together until nice and creamy.  
Use a small or medium scoop and form cookie balls.  Dip or roll in colored sugar sprinkles, or cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Put on cookie sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes.  Place pure chocolate kiss on top of cookie - press into the cookie just a little bit - then put back in oven for about 2 minutes.

Simple and delicious!  Thanks Grandma Knodel!

A-Team! You Go Girl!

Mariah has a new found love of throwing herself through the air.. yup, you guessed it.  She's a cheerleader.  This is her second year in cheerleading and she made the A-Team for both girls and boys season!  She had try-outs on Friday night and came home about 6pm with a smile from ear to ear.  Her and her good friend Paige will both be flippin' around with the 8th graders on the A-Team!  Great job Mariah! 

Merry Christmas!

Voge Christmas 2009

Every year a member of the Voge Family hosts the annual Christmas Party on the Saturday before Christmas.  This year it was our turn.  This was the second time that we hosted this large party.  Anyone that is a Voge somehow in relation is invited to this party.  We had an awesome turn out and everyone had a great time.  We spent many hours socializing and catching up with one another and enjoying delicious food and drinks.  The kids played video games and some of the adults played card games.  I learned how to play Speed and tied with Shannon on my very first game.  I posted a couple pictures on flickr, but here is one of Mariah and I acting goofy around midnight after the last couple people went home. 

Merry Christmas! :-)

What a Great Weekend!

This was a wonderful weekend.  We had so much fun with family and friends, the weather was wonderful for playing outside, the family was healthy... definitely a great time. 

On Friday I took a half vacation day and met up with my friend Lindsay (in town from Iowa).  We toured around Burlington and had a very nice lunch at Charcoal Grill.  After our lunch we did some shopping at Kohl's,  then found a nice coffee shop in downtown Burlington, and then went and got pedicures!  It was a very relaxing and much needed ladies-only adventure. 

On Saturday we went to Menards and bought some of the trim pieces for our basement.  Cory has been working hard putting up the drink ledge and trying to get it ready for our big Voge Family Christmas Party this coming Saturday!  Cory also bought a motion light projector for the front our our house... I am not a big fan, but Mariah and Cory were so excited about it and I couldn't tell them no.  It is a machine (small) that is in our front yard and projects images on our house (moving images).  Right now it is set to project large snowflakes that fall down the front of our house.  It is pretty, but I don't think we live in the right location for something like this.  People drive past our house too fast to be able to see the moving snowflakes.  Cory and Mariah seem to like it though, so I am sure it will be staying. 

On Sunday Cory went to church to continue getting the powerpoint and tvs working during the church services.  While he was at church, the kids and I got ready for the Bears v. Packers party at my brother's house.  The party started around 11:30am.  Scotty and Shannon had tons of people over and lots of great food and drinks.  We had a great time - even though the Bears lost - and some of the people even did some sledding after the game. 

Definitely a great weekend... now on to my week... :-)

Busy Night with the Kiddos!

Last night was Parent's Night at Mariah's school and Cowboy Christmas at Ethan's daycare!

First we went to Mariah's school and watched her cheer for the girls basketball game.  I know that people like to brag up their kids, but Mariah is AWESOME with cheerleading.  She seriously has talent!  I think I might have to look into getting her more involved in gymnastics and competitive cheerleading instead of soccer.  She definitely found something she is wonderful at and that she loves.  Great job Mariah. :-)

As soon as Mariah was done cheering we rushed over to Ethan's daycare for his Cowboy Christmas musical.  Cory and Ethan had to leave Mariah's game a little early so that Ethan could get ready for his big event.  Mariah and I met Cory and Grandpa Karl at the church (daycare) to watch Ethan.  Ethan did so good and sat so well in front of the church.  There were so many people and a couple kids were crying, but Ethan did fabulous!  He looked so handsome as a little cowboy. ;-)

Things That Scare Me!

Crazy drivers and Woodman’s!


Last night I was driving down to Hwy 50 after picking up Ethan from daycare. I was in a 55mph zone and going the speed limit. Out of nowhere a older car appeared behind me and was literally driving on my bumper. I was terrified that he was going to hit me. He was driving so close that I couldn't see him in my side view mirrors and when looking out my rear view mirror I could see right into his front window. He was pushing me to the point that I couldn't slow down and I had to drive about 70mph for fear that he would hit me. I couldn't pull over, couldn't turn... nothing... I was stuck! Ethan was in the back seat and I was so worried that this guy was going to cause us an accident. So.... "hello 911... there is a guy driving on the bumper of my car and he is swerving back and forth over the yellow and white lines on the road..." finally we got to an area of the road where there were two lanes. The guy quickly changed lanes and I was able to get (and report) his license plate number. I continued watching him swerve all over the road... I hope the police caught up with him!

After my frightening driving situation I continued to head to Woodman's grocery store/super scary large warehouse full of giant items... I know there are people that love Woodman's, but I have to admit that I am not one of them. The place scares me! I walk in and I have no idea where I am going. It is so huge and there are way too many items to chose from. Seriously it is a scary place. I told Cory that he has to go in there with me to protect me if I ever go back. It is overwhelming! I guess I am truly a small town girl.... I think I will continue to shop at the local Piggly Wiggly... the one and only grocery store in Union Grove. ;-)

What a great weekend

This past weekend was absolutely wonderful!  We had 4 days off work and school and plenty of time spent with family and friends!  Who could ask for anything more?!  On Thursday we all gathered together at my mom's house for a delicious Thanksgiving feast.  No one left hungry...!  There was so much food and lots of great conversation.  We all enjoyed relaxing and catching up with one another. 

On Friday my mom and I woke up bright and early (well it wasn't so bright...it was still the middle of the night) and we went SHOPPING!  We shopped from 4am - 11:30am!  This was our longest shopping adventure yet!  We got lots of great deals and shopped until we ran out of room in my Trailblazer. 

Then on Friday night our friends from Iowa stopped over for dinner and hang out time.  We had a great time with them and Ethan and Logan played so well together. 

Capturing this picture was truly a miracle.  I looked at Ethan and said E, go give Logan a hug.  Well Ethan walked right up and hugged Logan and Logan happily hugged Ethan right back and I managed to get the picture of this 5 second moment!  It was absolutely precious as you can see.  :-) 

Quickly after this picture... things started to change.  I wanted to get a picture of Lindsay and I holding our boys.  We have been taking pictures like this every year since we were pregnant with the boys.  Well this year Ethan wasn't a huge fan of being held and getting his picture taken....

Yes, I was holding on to Ethan with all my might and he was not at all happy about it. 

LOL better luck next year. :-) 

P.S. We miss you already McGowan Family.  Hope to see you again soon!

On Saturday the family and I went to church to decorate for the Christmas Season.  We watched the guys put the lights on the beautiful tree and Mariah helped hang ornaments.  Cory helped run the wiring for the new TV monitors and speakers around the church.  Mom and Ethan played in the toy room and Ethan learned how to scramble pretend eggs and feed a pretend baby.  I... well I walked around and took pictures. :-) Yes, that is one of my main jobs in life. 

Check out more pictures from November at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ckbartlett/sets/72157622874192642/show/

On Sunday we woke up early, hung out around the house, then went to church.  Ethan is a handful in church and really has no understanding of "sit still".  He wants to climb under the pews, throw trucks, screech from time to time... and make sure that everyone knows that he is present.  I definitely think we have begun the terrible twos... oh our precious little man ;}

Thanksgiving!

This is another action packed week.  Mariah got her bottom braces on Monday.  After that appointment I took the kids to the doctor's office for their flu shots.  Guess Monday wasn't their favorite day, but the rest of the week gets better.  On Thursday we are going to my mom's house for lots of food and relaxing family time.  Then on Thursday night we break out the sales ads and plan our early morning hunt!!  This is a tradition that started a couple years ago and it's something that I look forward to every year.  I have my shopping list created and I am ready to find the best bargain. 

Not only is Black Friday an amazing shopping day, but it's also Cory and my 5 year engagement anniversary!

Ethan's Bedroom

Ethan's bedroom has a new look!  We painted over the light yellow walls and gave him "big boy" colors of brown and blue.  He is doing great with saying blue, but he keeps asking where the yellow went?

All the activity!

Oh the crazy days with kids, dogs, fish... and a husband! ;-) Cory was out of town for the past couple days and finally got back late last night. Managing the house without him seemed really difficult this time. Normally I do fine on my own, but this time was different. I don't know what made it different... the only thing that changed was that we have fish now. Really all I have to do is turn on their lights in the morning and feed them, but for some reason that was a bit too much to add to my early morning schedule; however, I managed!

This weekend I have two Pampered Chef parties! The first one is on Friday night and the second one is on Saturday morning. I am looking forward to the back-to-back shows and hope that they are both very successful parties! I also have two catalog parties going on right now and I just closed a large show this past Monday night. I am really loving selling PC. I wish I had more time to focus on it, but for now I am managing.

I haven't been completely happy with my day job lately. I was very frustrated for a while and ready to transfer in to a different position. Well, I've had two wonderful opportunities to transfer within the past month but I decided to pass on them both. I am at a point where I am learning to focus on the positive with my job. I will no longer let this job defeat me and get me down. I am looking at it as a challenge and doing the best that I can. I am pushing the negativity aside and running with my head held high. I began this new positive focus about a week ago and so far so good!

I also joined the Wellness Center that is two buildings down from my workplace. I adjusted my work hours to 6:30am - 3:30pm which allows me to take a 1 hour lunch for hitting the gym! I have my fitness assessment today and I am sure I will fail with flying colors! LOL I have gained so much weight this past year and am so out of shape. I really hope that this lunch hour work out is exactly what I need to help lift my spirits and get my back in shape! Your prayers would be greatly appreciated! :-)

I could go on and on with my posts today, but I will end it here. More from me later!
Kelly

Trick-or-Treat

Trick-or-treating started out as a family adventure this year, but quickly changed to an adventure with Mariah, her friends, and myself. Ethan was fighting a nasty cold and after about 15 minutes out in the cold air, we decided that Cory should take him back home. Hopefully next year we will all be healthy and able to share the experience as a family!

Active little MONSTER

So last night Cory, Ethan, and I went to the fish store to buy some gravel, salt, and a heater. We were there for about 10 minutes. Ethan goes crazy in the pet store because he loves animals and there are two cats that live in the store. Well we went and got the fish stuff we needed and set it on the counter. Then Cory went to look at heaters (for about 5 minutes) and I followed Ethan around... here is what happened... no touch, no touch, nice, no touch Ethan, careful please, gentle, okay, how about we play over here, oh... Ethan get down from the cat tree, yes... kitty... pet nice, good job Ethan, oh, don't rip kitty's tail off, okay no touch Ethan, put the glass fish bowl down, yes look at the kitty on the kitty tree (oh, dog collars... how much are these) SMASH.. oh crap... Ethan just broke a fish toy.... (I am picking up the fish toy now) Ethan, get down from the cat tree.... that was about 2 minutes of the 10 minutes that we were in the store!! WOW, boys are A-C-T-I-V-E!!!!
Then we stop over at my friend Jeni's house. Ethan was being very good and Cory and I were talking to Jeni and her new adorable baby, Giana. Before we knew it Ethan was walking on Jeni's picture frame which had glass on it. I snatched him up quick and handed him to Cory. Seriously... I looked away for a split second and he is trying to be destructive! Thank goodness he didn't break the glass... that could have been a really expensive evening.

My First PC Party

I had my first Pampered Chef party this past Friday night at my sister's house. There was a wonderful turn out and a lot of orders. I had a lot of fun with this party, but also learned a lot of things that I want and need to do differently. Lots to prepare and organize before my next party this coming Friday! One a week should be perfect for my schedule. Now I need to figure out what I want to use this extra money for... I am thinking a new bedroom set, new living room furniture, new TV for our bedroom and for the kitchen... there is always so much to buy! :-) I have a feeling I will be selling PC for a loooooooooong time!

Awww and HA!

Awww:
This weekend I looked at Ethan and put my finger by my eye and said "I"
Then I put my hand by my heart and said "LOVE"
Then HE pointed his finger at me and said "YOU"
ADORABLE!!!!

HA!:
I was asking Ethan to repeat the words that I was saying because we are trying to get him to talk more. Well randomly I said Ethan, can you say hippopotamus... and Ethan said "DADA". HAHAHA!!! Cory didn't think it was as funny as I thought it was! ;-)

Tired

I am getting tired. I have so many commitments all the time. Cory and I are always working on our house, at our jobs, at side jobs... We are missing out. Why do we keep doing this? We want so much in life and have so many goals. We are always trying to get more for less so we continue doing so much ourselves. We are pretty good at burning ourselves out, but I am not sure how happy we would be if we didn't do this. With that said.. I just needed to post this to say that I am tired. I feel like I don't have enought time for the kids, for myself, for my house... I am working full time, selling Pampered Chef party time, and still doing hair on the side for a handful of people. The extra money is nice and the time with friends is also great, but when is enough... enough?

Interesting Week...

My week started out wonderfully. I signed up as a consultant for The Pampered Chef on Sunday morning, then hung out and relaxed all day Sunday. Work has been nice all week long... not too busy, but busy enought to keep the day moving along. In the evenings I have been taking online classes for pampered chef and learning all about the company (I can't believe how organized that company is!). I have been trying new recipes from my PC cookbooks and loving everything that I have made so far! Overall my week started out wonderfully. Then as the week went on... things started to go down hill. I had a discussion with an old friend that brough up a lot of burried away hurt feelings... I totally bombed weight watchers for the week... and I tried to have the discussion again with Cory about having another baby. God how I wish he was on board... So, now it's Friday and I am actually wishing it was Monday again. Well... I wish I was back in Monday's mood anyways. Ugh... hopefully the weekend will be better.

Pampered Chef

I am now a consultant for The Pampered Chef! I am very excited about this and would love to have a show in your home!! If you would like to host a party please email me at kel.bartlett@yahoo.com. I will eventually have a Pampered Chef website, but don't have everything put together yet. I am looking for two more October bookings if anyone is interested! This is a great way to have a "ladies night" "family night" or just to get friends together. Significant others and children are always welcome, but I will let you make the final call. I would love for you to host a theme party or just a simple cooking show! October is a great month for asking your friends to arrive in costume! November would be a great month for "comfort food"... and there is always the option of "death by chocolate"!

Also, if you are looking to earn some extra income, reduce your full time working hours, become a SAHM, or even get out of the house 1+ nights per week... please talk to me about become an independent sales consultant. This is a great way to make money and stay connected with your friends and family!

Happy Baking!
Kelly ;-)

Dining room

Let the laughing and jokes begin... I am painting the dining room AGAIN. ;-) This time I am painting it red to match the kitchen. I love red! I will post pics on flickr when I am done.

Ethan's Vocabulary

Shoe or shoes
Mommy
Dada
Puppy or puppppeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyy
vroom (in a low and scary voice)
beep beep (he tries to drive everything)
rarrrrrrr (he thinks he's very scary)
WaWa (Mariah)
All Done
The End
Meow (cat)
Hat
Hair
Nose
Eyes (he says this very clearly)
Ears
Belly button (some times he points a little to low...)
Baby (he craddles his arms and rocks them when he says this and it sounds like Beebee)
Uh-oh
Mine
Mwahh (loves to give kisses)
Mmmmm (usually means he's hungry)
NO (usually yelling at the dogs)
He also makes monkey and elephant noises.
He is learning new words and sounds every day and everything he says is getting clearer and easier to understand. It is amazing watching him grow and develop.

The Fish Tank Returns!

Cory and I used to love spending time setting up our fish tank, picking out new fish and just watching them swim around. It is a very relaxing hobby and is supposed to lower stress levels. Well, with that being said... the fish tank is back! We tend to run a very busy and fast paced household and simple things that reduce stress are greatly needed. Over the past couple nights we moved around the furniture in Cory's office and brought the 75 gallon fish tank up from the basement. We took the kids to the pet store and looked at some pretty colorful salt water fish. Mariah and Cory found some great fish (that we will buy soon) and Ethan enjoyed running up to the tanks and "rarring" at the fish. ;-) I will post some pictures on flickr once everything is set up.

Feeling Guilty

Okay, so I am in a "mood" today and I am feeling a little guilty. I am becoming a crabby stressed out person. I hate that Cory and I work all the time (work away from our regular paid jobs). Yes, I like to complete projects, but I am over them... completely over projects. I don't even like changing room colors any more because I don't want to paint. I just want to play with the kids. Instead though Cory and I spent Friday night at Carpetland. Then Saturday morning I went to Mariah's soccer game with Ethan while Cory stayed home and worked. Then all day Saturday Cory, Ethan and I were at home depot and menards picking out deck lights and getting more supplies (after dropping Mariah off at Isabels). Then Saturday afternoon / evening we worked on the deck while trying to keep Ethan entertained and out of trouble. Then we put Ethan to bed and kept working on the deck. Then Sunday morning we worked on the deck and then went to Carpetland and signed the paperwork and then went to my mom's for lunch. Then went home and worked on the deck until 3ish. Then I took a nap and then we watched the game and hung out. I really don't want to do any more projects. I want to hang out with friends and family and drink around a campfire and relax. We must seem extremely boring to our kids. We really need less projects and more play time with the kids, but how do you do that? How do you finish the house (year 4) and work full time and take care of daily things and play with the kids? The kids (family and friends) are my top priority in life, but it seems as though playing and spending time with them are what I end up doing the least.

I really need a reorganization of my life!

My mom is officially retired

My mom's last day of work was Friday, September 18, 2009. That lucky lady! She is now retired and enjoying the "good life". She claims that she is really busy this first week... at least she is busy doing fun things like visiting her pa and step-mom and going to Chicago to see Jersey Boys... ;-) Have fun mom!

Rude...

Well, yesterday morning I went to Isabel's to pick up Mariah (because she stayed there Saturday night). I was in their back yard and Isabel says "you gaining weight... Kelly, you pregnant... you gaining weight" I said no. Isabel said " none of my business huh... you just look... " and she patted on her stomach. WTF?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!? The NERVE!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. Ya know.... I know that I have gained weight over the past year, but... why do people have to say such rude things?!?!?

Cortisone Shot take Two...

Cory's first cortisone shot definitely helped him, but he said it hurt like H-E-.....! You get the idea... Unfortunately he needs at least one more shot. So, today we are going for shot number two! After this shot he will be starting physical therapy.

Cortisone Day

About a week ago Cory and I drove up to Milwaukee to see a neurosurgeon for Cory's back issues. We were told that surgery would more than likely fix Cory's back; however, we are going the route of cortisone first. Please say some prayers for Cory today. His injured disks are causing shooting pain and numbness in his right leg and foot. He has been in constant pain for about 3 weeks now and we are praying that he gets relief today. Cory will be going for a cortisone shot this afternoon. He is nervous about it, but very hopeful for some relief. Please pray that this works for him! I really want my happy "ogre-like" husband back!! ;-) Love you honey!

Pediped Shoes

I HEART pediped shoes. I recently bought Ethan FIVE new pairs!! They are the best shoes ever for little kids! He is wearing the flex soles now and they are so bendable and squishy and perfect for his developing feet and body. I was introduced to these shoes when Ethan was about 10 months old. I bough a couple pairs of the original soft bottom "crib" shoes and realized that these shoes DON'T FALL OFF!! Woot Woot! That is when my addiction started. Ethan is 19 months and has now owned a total of 11 pairs! :-) check out these shoes! http://www.pediped.com/

Rules

We all have rules to follow and when we don't follow them we have to face the consequences...
Yes, Mariah is grounded for one week. On Sunday afternoon we were over by the Thur's (Bailey's house - Mariah's BFF). Mariah asked to spend the night there and I said yes as long as you come home and do your chores and clean up your room. As soon as that is done I will bring you back to Bailey's house. So we went home and Mariah did her chores... or so I thought. After I took her to Bailey's house I went in Mariah's room to gather her laundry. I decided to open her closet door and yikes! out comes clothes that were shoved on her closet floor. So, I began to look under her bed - where I found a wet towel - looked in her entertainment center - more clothes - on the side of her entertainment center - yet more clothes! I let her stay at Bailey's house that night, but I kindly gathered all of her clothes that were not in their correct spots and I piled them in the middle of her bedroom floor. There they sat waiting for her to get home the next day. Needless to say, she is grounded from her TV in her bedroom and from friends for one week. Then yesterday I asked her to vacuum the bedrooms in addition to her regular daily chores... well she claims that she forgot... so I now have an I-pod in my possession until her memory comes back! happy preteening :-)

Addition Blog

Today I decided to create a blog - in addition to my current family blog - where I could share updates and funny stories about my kids! I will vent here, share my concerns, tell embarrassing stories, share my love for my kids, and remind you daily how entertaining the tasks of parenting can be.

Wednesday

Welcome to HUMP DAY! The middle of the week and I am very ready for it to be Friday! Today Cory and I will be driving up to meet with Dr. Block. He is a neurosurgeon and will hopefully have some positive insight for Cory regarding all of his back issues. The mention of surgury has come up, but we are praying that we don't have to go down that road.

On a positive note... my friend Jeni will be having her baby girl, Gianna, today!! Gianna is going to be a very loved and very spoiled (in a good way) little princess! I can't wait to meet her. :-) Good luck Jeni and Kavin!! I will be thinking of you guys!

Daily Blogger

Well I am not much of a daily blogger... but I have been trying hard to become a weekly blogger! I love reading other peoples blogs and have decided that I don't need to wait for a big exciting story in order to blog... I will just share my daily/weekly thoughts with anyone who cares enough to read my blog. :-)

We had a pool.... we lost a pool... soon we will have another pool!

We put up a pool over the past couple weeks. We were working hard all day Sunday to build a deck that will attach to our current deck and pool. We noticed that storms were headed towards us so we cleaned everything up outside and went inside. About 5 minutes into the storm.... we lost our pool. Our 3 place ATV trailer flew about 20 feet through the air and landed on the side of our pool crushing the side. We have to replace the entire wall of the pool because it is all one piece. Just when the weather finally started to get warmer...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ckbartlett/sets/72157621868481195/show/

Shopping shopping and more shopping :-)

I decided that this year I am going to start my Christmas shopping early - way early - TODAY! I always wait until the last minute and spend way too much money around the holidays, but not this year. I am creating a list with a budget and I am going to buy a couple gifts every month. Let's hope this helps to keep me organized and on budget!

I owe this organization of my funding to Lindsay. She challenged me a couple months back and even though I didn't really follow her challenge... I did change my spending habits. I now have a savings account! WOOT WOOT! It's so much more fun to spend money when I know that I am getting good deals and creating a savings account at the same time. :-) Thanks Linds!!

Summer

Can't it stay summer all year long? I love the summer days and nights and love when it stays light out past 8pm. Ahhh.... :-)

Christmas in July

The Lofquist's started a new tradition this year. Every year the Voge Family has a Christmas Party and we all agreed the once a year isn't enought to get together, so.... Dawn started "Christmas in July". She had the first annual party at her house on July 18, 2009. We had a great time swimming and playing water volleyball. Lois Langdon took tons of pictures! Check them out on our flickr site.

Harley Museum

On Saturday night we went up to the Harley Museum in Milwaukee and had dinner at Motor for Scotty's birthday. He turned 28 on July 31st. Mom made his cake and it turned out awesome!! The food was great, the atmosphere was nice, and the outside view was beautiful. The Harley Museum in on the river in Milwaukee. The place was amazing... Harley definitely has a lot of money!

2009 Racine County Fair

The kids and I had a blast last night! We went to the fair and met up with my sister and her family, my mom and Harry, and my brother and Shannon. We ran in to lots of friends and had some yummy fair food. Ethan played a game where he got to pick ducks from a little river and he won a black and white tiger. He carried the tiger around the entire time at the fair.

Mariah is all grown up now and decided it would be more fun to walk around with her friends instead of hanging out with her mom and brother... :-( She was really good though. Every time I called her cell phone she would answer on the first or second ring. It is scary and exciting to watch her grow up....

We stayed at the fair until 10Pm last night so we are all exhausted today. We watched the truck and tractor pull and then the COMBINE DERBY - LOL!! This was the first year that the combine derby came to our fair. It was so exciting to watch! There were about 10 old combines all painted and decorated. They crashed together until there were only 2 combines left driving around. Ethan thought this was the greatest thing ever. He was cheering them on and clapping his hands.

Pool time fun

Wow... I wish we had 80 degree weather year round!! Last night I got home from work and the kids and I decided it would be a great night for swimming. We relaxed and played in the pool for about an hour! The water temp was 86 degrees....aaaahhhhh. :-) I love summer!

Busy...busy...busy....

As many of you know... the projects NEVER stop at our house. This summer we built a huge swingset for the kids, we did lots of landscaping and built a fire pit, and now we put in a pool! The pool is up and running and we had the heat up to 86 degrees yesterday. It felt like bath water! We are working on building a deck to connect the pool to our current deck. Cory and Harry have been digging the holes to get the deck started. Can't wait until this project is complete. I am exhausted...

Don't the kids look like they are having a blast?! LOL (this was before the heater was working...)

Welcome to the world Charlotte!

Charlotte Grace Cantrell was born to Megan and James on 7-25-09. Charlotte joined the "5's Club" at 11am. She weighed 9 lbs 14 oz - GO MEGAN!! She is healthy and absolutely adorable!

We will miss you Grandma Knodel

Grandma - Harriet Knodel - passed away on July 7, 2009. She passed peacefully and a wonderful funeral was given for her on July 11, 2009. The funeral was a true celebration of Grandma's life. She touched so many people's hearts and will be greatly missed. We love you Grandma Knodel.

Mongo, our soon-to-be new puppy!

We took a beautiful drive up to Osseo, WI this past Saturday to meet our new puppy, Mongo. Mongo is an English Mastiff and is only 4 weeks old. He is absolutely adorable and loves to lay around with the tip of his tounge hanging out. Mongo will grow up to be about 200 pounds!! These types of dogs are considered "gentle giants" and are great family dogs. Mongo will be joining our family on July 9, 2009. We can't wait to bring the little guy home. Thanks Jeff and Joy!!

Landscaping

Cory and I have been working really hard the past couple weekends. We have been building retaining walls/flower beds around our deck and planting lots of flowers. We are very happy with how it all turned out!

Wedding Fun

Cory and I went to a wedding recently and they had a photo booth set up. It was tons of fun! Here are a couple pictures. :-)

Our Doggies...

Rex and Oscar are relaxing on their new bed and waiting for their new brother-puppy to arrive. The kids and I surprised Cory with an English Mastiff puppy, MONGO. We get Mongo in early July!

Summer projects

Cory and I have been really busy working on projects outside. We are putting up retaining walls for flower beds, a firepit, a play set for the kids... the list goes on! Here are a couple pictures of our accomplishments.

Ethan playing in the corn field

Mariah helping with farm chores

April 21, 2009

Wow, looks like I haven't done an update recently! So much has been happening the past couple of weeks. Ethan is walking a little bit, but he still prefers crawling. We try to make him walk as much as possible and he gets very excited when he succeeds. Ethan had his 15 month check up yesterday and he is 30.5" tall and 23.12 lbs. The doc said that Ethan is a very health little boy. :-)
Mariah has try outs for track tonight after school. She likes to stay very involved in sports and somehow she still manages to stay on the A honor roll. We are very proud of her!
My dad had open heart surgery two weeks ago today. He is doing really well and following all of the rules from the doctors. He had a tear in a valve in his heart and the wonderful doctors at St. Lukes in Milwaukee were able to fix the tear and get dad on his way to recovery. This surgery was completely unexpected and has caused a lot of schedule changes for the rest of us. Cory does morning farm chores for dad and Scotty does afternoon farm chores. Dad also has 15 cows that are having calves within the next couple of weeks. Three of the calves have been born already. One passed away, but the other two are doing great.
Cory and I took off from work last week to spend a nice week at home with the kids. We had some really nice weather days over our week off and spent some time outside. We also went down to the Museum of Science and Industry on Thursday. Mariah and her friend Paige had a really good time playing with all of the science exhibits. Ethan loved looking around at everything and learned some noises like mooooo and peep.

Ethan is finally WALKING!!

Look at our little man go! , originally uploaded by Bartlett's picture pages.

Ethan has been taking 2-3 steps here and there, but last night he finally took 12 steps!! We are so proud of our little man!

WI Dells March 2009

We recently took a trip to one of my favorite places... WI Dells. We stayed at The Wilderness in a three bedroom condo. The condo is connected to three large indoor water parks and many other play areas. We shared the condo with two other families; The McGowan family, and the Geryol family. The McGowan's live in Iowa and have Logan. Logan is 5 days older than Ethan. It is so fun watching the boys play together. Ethan was all about the water, but Logan was not a huge fan! Fortunately, Logan did have lots of fun on the trip regardless of what this picture shows! :-)


Here is a picture of Ethan, Olivia and Logan playing on the soft slide. The kids had a ton of fun in this area! The Geryol's have two kids, Dominic will be 3 in a couple months and Olivia is 17 months. Dominic and Olivia play very well together. Dominic is one of the smartest little boys that I have ever met. He is full of stories and instantly makes you his new friend. Olivia had a great time playing with Ethan and Logan. It was so fun seeing all of them together because they are all so close in age.
Mariah brought her friend Bailey with us. We didn't want to make her spend the entire vacation with a bunch of little kids! Fortunately Bailey was a great escape for Mariah and allowed her to have lots of fun. The girls went off on their own and checked in with us from time to time. They had lots of fun going on the water slides and playing in the ball castle.

After a long day of playing we decided to stop and grab some ice cream. This was a huge hit for Mariah and Ethan. I think Ethan truly adored his sister that evening!!

Click here to see more pictures from our trip to the Dells! Can't wait to go back next year!!

Visitors from Scotland!

We had a really nice time this past weekend. We hung out at mom and Harry's house and ate way too much food! Ben, Sarah, and Edie were in town from Scotland and stayed with mom and Harry on Friday and Saturday night. We went over there both nights and let the kids play together. Edie is about one month older than Ethan. Edie and Ethan had a great time playing together and the rest of us enjoyed taking lots of pictures of them!

Beginning our blog!

Hello friends and family! As many of you know, Cory and I started a picture website a couple years back. Well times continue to change and we strive to keep up with those changes; thus the creation of our BLOG! Please save this link to your favorites and check in on us all the time. I will keep our picture pages updated through flickr so feel free to continue checking those.
With much love, Cory, Kelly, Mariah, Ethan (and Rex and Oscar - our dogs).