Weekend Family Fun

Well, we're attempting to sleep train Jackson...again.  He did ok in his crib for about 2 months and then towards the end of the summer he was back in bed with us.  He is a snuggler and a cuddler and does not like to be alone...ever!  He is definitely the most difficult of our three kids in more ways than just sleeping habits!  

So, here I am.  Sleep training.  Again.  I have to be up for work at 2:50 a.m. but here I sit.  Ready to go in there, rub his back, tell him I love him and it's time for sleep and walk out without caving and picking him up to comfort him every twenty minutes.  What better way to pass the time than dinking around on the computer?!

Last Saturday we went North to Jason's grandpa's cabin (about an hour from us) and spent the day!  When we first got up there Jason helped Grandpa pull the raft and paddle boat out of the water for the winter.  Joe had a blast watching them with "bun-ock-wers."

After the work was done we all went on a pontoon ride around the lake before that was readied to be removed from the water for winter!

Helping Great-Grandpa drive

Beautiful fall colors starting to appear :)

This young loon let us get so close!

When we got back we fixed lunch and then Jason, myself and the kids headed into the woods to put up a ladder stand for deer hunting.  We must have been a sight carrying that thing into the woods with three young kids in tow (especially when Joe thought maybe the ladder, horizontal at the time, was a set of monkey bars...) but we made it and they did awesome!  Amelia even helped out by carrying ratchet straps the entire way!  

While we were working at setting the stand up Amelia set off catching frogs/toads and examining them.  They were everywhere!

Joe kept obsessing over when the "treehouse" was going to be done so once it was all ready to go he went up with his daddy.

Jackson was happy as can be on mama's back!

After finishing up in the woods, Jason and I got a little target practice in.

In the clearing where our target was there was a little visitor:

NO zoom used.  He let us that close!  Well, the adults at least since we kept the kids at a distance!  Amelia named him Chuck!

It was a long, full and fun day!  Jackson fell asleep before we even got out of the driveway (literally) and Joe didn't make it off their street - tired boys!

Why the Blogging Break?

Wow!  It's been months since I last logged on here...woops!  Why?  Honestly, I am not entirely sure.  Life happened and it kept me busy.  

This blog originally started out as a way for us to keep our families up to date with our lives and, more importantly, Amelia as she grew when we lived in Milwaukee.  It's been over four years since we moved back home and I have struggled with what to do with this space.  I've gone through spurts of posting often and then quiet times.  This summer was the longest inactive period to date.

The reasons we had for starting this blog no longer really matter.  We are within a half hour of all immediate family members along with many extended family members on Jason's side.  We see family as often as time permits.  In particular we see my family weekly between Thursday night dinners after speech and them making almost weekly trips to our apartment!  So why do we need a blog to keep family up to date?  We don't.  

With that being said, I don't want to end this space.  I am going to try and post again, as often as my crazy life allows me to!  I have this feeling that it may be less of a "here's what we did today" type blog and, hopefully, more of a journal for me.  Journaling is therapeutic (so they say) and I think having an outlet to express things on my mind will be beneficial to myself and my family.

Things are changing around here.  We now have a kindergartner (eek!) and Jason and I have recently been able to take (a lot) of time for ourselves which I think we are finding is important.  At the end of last month we went on a trip to San Francisco.  The best part?  Nearly all expenses paid!  I won a prize in a sweepstakes through our bank.  I have a Milwaukee Brewers checking account and each time I used my card from March-June was an entry into this sweepstakes.  Lo and behold - winner, winner, chicken dinner!  I won us a trip to San Francisco.  Airfare, hotel, tickets to two Brewer/Giants games and some spending money*.  Wow!

*We got the rest of our spending money from a stash of cash we had from garage sale profits, online sales and birthday money!!!

Just last night we got away again with a trip to the theatre to see The Book of Mormon!!!

Talk about a good time - my cheeks hurt from laughter by the end!

So, the quiet on here has been good.  Lots of family time.  However, I'm hoping this post will be a new start to this little blog that once was such an important piece of our lives.  Stay tuned!

If you have Instagram, look me up!  @shelleyfro