2020 Stink Stank Stunk, But ...

Last night the question was posed, “Was there anything good about 2020?” And my knee jerk response was “no”.  Having had time to reflect, I know  that’s not really true. While we still find ourselves challenged and exhausted from this pandemic, there were plenty of moments this past year that were indeed good. So here’s a short recap of mine:

January saw myself and the kids ringing in the new year at Disney as always. New Years day two of my athletes performed live at the Citrus Bowl. Pre Pandemic things were looking up! My travel agency was seeing its highest numbers ever as we entered into our 9th year. There was a marked illness that passed through the kids and Daddy at the end of the month - a virus that had no treatments.  We would later suspect this may have been our introduction to COVID19.

February saw my Varsity Cheer team blaze a trail to 3rd and 4th places in their respective state divisions of Varsity Game Day, and Varsity Coed Small. At this point 2020 was looking to be our best year yet as a program. Coming off a winning season brought heightened interest and nearly 30 athletes ready to start the new season. 

At home there was excitement as our financial picture had made great improvements and we were excited for potential remodels at both homes, and paying off student loans. 

Little did we know we hosted what would be our last public gathering for 2020 - BoBears 5th birthday complete with a bounce house. Princess Putterpants attended her first (and what would later become her only) studio competition of the season. 

March crumbled all our high hopes quickly with the arrival of pandemic shutdowns. So much was a loss this month on so many different fronts, and to keep things interesting Bo marked the occasion with a broken arm on the first day of virtual school.

It was during this month I had a greater appreciation for the amazing teachers at our small school. They all did whatever they could to remain connected and engaged with the kids. Whether it was FaceTiming, sending video messages, or hanging out on Kids Messenger to assist a Princess Putterpants with monumental decisions (such as what American Girl outfit should she pack for her doll to wear camping)... these teachers adapted and met the challenges every day.

April saw us one month into the pandemic. Unable to sit locked up at home we fled north for the second month in a row, and camped.   If not up north you could find us at the campfire in the back yard with our bubble buddies.  This time spent with family have become memories that we will cherish forever. The weather didn’t matter, snow, cold, or beautiful — we kept our weekly dinners around the campfire steady. 

May saw this trend continue, and Princess Putterpants made her turkey hunting debut. Daddy calls her the turkey whisperer, having helped him bring home a big bird!

Brother Bear re-signed with his Army Reserves unit, receiving a promotion to Sergeant. While it has been his dream to serve our country, we cannot ignore the many opportunities the Army has brought him as well.  His time with the Army continues to provide a pathway through life.

Through the spring thoughtful surprises made their way to our porch. Flowers, plants, sweets and drinks!  We were into our third month of shutdown and the pandemic fatigue was strong. The leisure travel industry had practically ground to a halt leaving our family with just a single income. To have such kindness from friends and neighbors come to our door was to provide another moment of joy and hope. 

June was the month our sweet girl pledged her heart to God and was baptized among friends, family,  and her favorite educators at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.  While this is a decision she had made shortly after the shutdown occurred, she wanted to wait for the chance to be baptized in church. It was a moment of great pride for Daddy and I to hear her love for God and see her make this commitment all on her own.

July saw the kids and I returning for the opening of The Walt Disney World Resort.  While so much was different, it was still a much needed escape from reality. Taking advantage of travel credits and agent benefits, I also hoped that sharing my travels with clients would help them to feel the courage to do the same themselves. 

It did not matter to the kids that so many things they “know” and expect of Disney was now gone. They signed and waved to characters as their cavalcade sailed past us. There were new experiences and moments of magic even without the fireworks and shows.  And masks became a new norm for us. We came home refreshed and hopeful for the fall.

August saw more cancellations of events and festivals so we continued to camp and fill our time with some of the few open venues such as the zoo. Family time continued to be the centerpiece of this summer.

Brother Bear turned 26 and continued to work hard for his unit, having received word he would be heading out for training in early 2021.  This news was much awaited as it will be the step he needs to move up towards the MOS that will advance his personal and military career!

September was a triumphant return to school in person! Our family could not have been more excited seeing as both kids quit virtual school on day 3 all the way back in March! Finally, we felt a slice of normal return to our daily lives. 

October had the kids and I using the last of our travel credits and agent benefits as we headed down to Disney for our annual Halloween trip. By this time it was to make one final push to show clients traveling is safe. The trip also served as a distraction for me.  My High School cheer and dance teams were still on hiatus due to COVID, and I was struggling to keep positive while watching surrounding teams move forward with their fall seasons.

November had my patience worn thin and in need of something to look forward to as everything was still on hold for my teams, and COVID19 had officially hit our household. 

The weather was unseasonably warm for fall. I can only wonder if it wasn’t God’s grace. We had been through so many challenges, the losses piling up. And yet, we were given two extra months of delightful weather to enjoy outside with our friends and family. 

Our little BoBear, ever the optimist, began pulling out the Christmas decorations on November 3rd ... and so it began that we would celebrate Christmas a little earlier. 

December saw us moving forward in small steps. While the travel agency is still up and running, it’s now banking on the fearless clients who have booked for 2021.  I am in my third month of teaching at the studio, such a blessing as it keeps Princess Putterpants dancing. And, at long last, we had a start date for my high school teams! 

Finally it was Christmas! With COVID having invaded so much we were fortunate to be able to be with some of our family. Holiday celebrations looked different as there were no grand gatherings of family. We instead sent pictures and videos to our loved ones and enjoyed a little fun as a smaller unit. 

There were a lot of laughs, and many memories to hold dear.  The grandparents even stepped into the fun with some Ugly Sweater action!

Photo credit: L&A Photography 

To end the year, Daddy made his way up North for his annual ice fishing trip, while the kids and I said goodbye to 2020 with friends and great food.  There was gut busting laughter, smiles, and joyful kids the whole night through. High fives for everyone making it to midnight and pumpkin time right after!

2020 served as a reminder that in order to survive this thing called life, we are required to possess two traits - a relentlessly positive attitude and an equally strong resilience. 2021 will continue to bring the same hurdles we’ve been endlessly jumping over and through. However, it will be our frame of mind, our conscientious choice, to adapt and move forward that will leave us grateful for yet another year. 

And So It Begins...

Yesterday was the day.  We kicked off in this strange new world of "social distancing".  After a week that literally up-ended everyone's world, I found myself and children entering a dark school with just a few staff available.  The chat with Princess Putterpants' teacher reflective of the mood, sad and unsure of what's to come.  Collecting our work packets and learning materials for the week, we returned back home.  Our new reality for the next few weeks? We are home-schooling.

As a former early childhood educator, I feel confident I can follow through on instructions from the teachers, but it is a switch of gears to move from Travel Agent and Coach, to Teacher.  Over the next few hours I tackled the task of de-cluttering our living space so we could have learning space. All the while the news and White House conferences played in the background.  Commentators and speakers alike painting a grim picture, but asking the public to positively be in this together, all while staying home and separated. I can't help but think what irony it is that our overly social nation is really more acclimated for this than we realize. The age of Social Media having become a more natural person to person connection, than face to face connection is.

Following our family dinner the kids excitedly gathered their Leprechaun Trap materials.  While we may not be able to go to school, this special tradition normally done with the kids' teachers, could not go to the wayside just because we are bound to our home.  With the table cleared, the kids zoomed around the house collecting what they needed to make "The One" ... the trap that would FINALLY catch that pesky Leprechaun.  Unfortunately for my husband and I our children have a nasty habit of using our furniture as trampolines, climbing equipment, and track surfaces.  Case in point, last week Princess Putterpants found herself at ER after a jumping-on-the-bed-incident-gone-wrong.  Thankfully she was ok, just a little sore with her ribs and lungs having a slight battle with each other.

BoBear however was not destined to fare as well as his sister this night. After a slick run of the socks on the farm table bench, down he went, face first!  As I rolled him over, he sure was a brave boy with hardly any tears, but he said, "Momma I can't move my arm." and the flood gates opened.  Agreeing with Daddy the arm didn't look right we were off to the local ER.


With last weeks rolling shutdown of our country, right into this day ... I was nervous.  The entire drive (the whole 10 minutes) I worried ... would it be a ridiculous wait?  Will the waiting room be full of COVID-19 patients ... should I have grabbed his mask (thanking the Big Man Upstairs quickly that "Blanket" was along for the ride as I imagined it would do as a covering) ...  We arrived, and I carried BoBear in ... and to my disbelief the place was empty...  We were taken to a room right away, seen right away.  While the process of determining if there was a break or just Nursemaid Elbow is long enough -- it was not the endless wait I was expecting because we are in the midst of a pandemic.  This all feels so surreal ... not real ... strange.

PS. It is a solid clean break of the distal end of his right humerus.

So, here we are ... Day 1:
✔ School Work for the week picked up.
✔ Home converted to a learning space.
✔ Tradition of Leprechaun Traps carried on.
✔ An appendage break to sufficiently occupy our time while we are "off".

American Day

It’s baffling how fast “summer” has passed! Here in Wisco we’ve only managed to enjoy a couple weeks of actual summer like weather ... but the calendar says summer is over already!

Our 4th of July weekend has come and gone, leaving behind some fond memories of family and friends. As I browse the pictures from these past few months, I keep thinking how important this holiday is to me. 

Family has always been been the impetus, with the parade at its center. This year I celebrated nearly 40 years of appearing in our hometown parade. I follow along my father who spent decades in the parade with fire and rescue. The festivities of our towns celebration touch every corner of my memory from being a kid impatient to get on the fair rides; to my adult visits at the famed ETBT.  

Along the way things have changed. Some of our towns people have lamented those changes. As much as I want things to be as they are in my memory, I know that change is inevitable, and sometimes that affects our beloved traditions. Yes, the carnival seemed smaller ... maybe the beer tent wasn’t quite as full as normal? And choosing a new spot to watch fireworks from brought a little melancholy, as it also signified the first year in memory that my parents or any of my extended family was with us. 

This year our BoBear was very excited for the Fourth of July weekend because, as he excitedly proclaimed, he got to celebrate "American Day".  He was happy to tell everyone about it, and his zest for American Day brought smiles and giggles.  The greater message from watching him revel in delight of this very American weekend, was no matter what had changed ... it was still time together enjoying the freedom we are so very lucky to have.

Happy Labor Day to all! We wish everyone safe travels home from the last American holiday of the summer!

The Most Perfect Place in the World

Our family completed our second camping trip of the season this weekend. As I look back on the pictures in my phone I couldn’t help but think how very fortunate we are to enjoy the great outdoors as we do. Although we are repetitive Disney travelers, there is something simple and lovely about sitting around a campfire with friends at your side, and stars over head. I am just as eager to head out on a camping trip as I am to head to Disney.

This weekend was full of walk abouts, bike riding, and playing at the beach!  We enjoyed an impromptu game of tball with all the little ones from the loop we were camping at. It is always fun when things come together organically. I needed to burn some energy, as did the kids, so was looking for just 15 minutes of fun and movement. So, I set out the tball set and before we knew it other families started to join in. We got a good 30 minutes of laughs and an effort to instruct on the basics of baseball! As I said to a friend and fellow momma, the experience of baseball with young children is like herding cats.

When we are camping it's as if life slows down and I notice the changes in my children. BoBear has grown so brave and independent. He climbs without help, and pedals his little bike as fast as he can. He’ll run ahead of the adults but is always conscious not to get too far ahead.  He’s become quite the “boss”, or perhaps even a mother hen, as he was very practiced at telling others what to do, when to pause, and what to watch out for.

Princess Putterpants has finally mastered getting in and out of her top bunk in the camper. Although she has grown so much I am reminded she is still that sweet baby. She had the misfortune of wrestling with a bug that won the fight. A round of Benedryl knocked her out for awhile so we snuggled her up in her camp chair. As she slept peacefully with her little feet’s popped out from under her blanket, I couldn’t help but see the little baby in her that still resides while she is growing into a young girl. Even at 6 years her piggies still make me smile. 

Blackhawk Lake Recreation Area is among our favorite campgrounds to visit. It has a beautiful beach and lake that is perfect for fishing, kayaking, and simply sitting back to enjoy the breeze. It’s no wonder we can spend hours there without noticing. In 10 years so much has changed ... not so much at the camp ground but in our view. When we started visiting Blackhawk together, we were all carefree couples just starting our new lives together. Then as the years slipped by the babies appeared. Before we knew it the babies became kids. I hope they will always remember these years of camping together, and time spent making sand castles together at this beach.

As it goes with all adventures, they must come to an end. Not surprisingly, Jen’s fried donuts were a hit with the kids and adults ... and their tummies. It was a perfect way to wind down our last night of camp. Now at home sitting with my husband, talking about the weekend, we both noted how life has changed. Gone are the days of flip cup ... instead it’s hoping the right kid is drinking out of the right cup; all night fires that used to end at sunrise, now end at 10:30pm; and games of leap frog from a dare have turned into chasing after our children while they wander into the inadvertent sticky situation. I wouldn’t trade it for a moment however.  No matter how life changes, camping is for us the most perfect place in the world to be. 

We're Engaged!

Walt Disney World has always been a wonderfully magical place for CJ and I, and this trip was no less an exception. We left for "the World" they day after school let out. This trip had Joe and Cousin Shaun coming with us, and Joe's Mom (Julie), Step-Dad (James), Sister (Madeline), and Nephew (Mikey) flew down mid-way through our trip to join us. It was on Tuesday, June 16th that the most magical of all days occured. It was around lunch time when the boys and I were walking from our resort villa to have lunch at the resort restaurant. We had been attempting to meet up with Amil, our Disney Vacation Club rep, while on our trip - but to this point we hadn't been able to get in touch with him. On our way to lunch there is a preview center for the Vacation Club, and Joe said that he was going to stop in to see if he could catch Amil. I said I would come with, but he insisted that I go with the kids to start lunch, and I agreed cuz let's be honest when it is over 100 degrees outside, it is easier to agree than insist. So, off we went, and as Joe promised only a handful of minutes later he joined us. Joe explained that he was able to talk to Amil, but unfortunately it was brief as he had just arrived in his office from out of town, was super busy, and leaving to go out of town again the next day. Joe said to keep my phone handy though as Amil had promised to call. Just as Joe said it would happen, my phone rang and it was Amil on the other end apologizing that he would not have time to get together with us to take us out for ice cream. Amil did however explain that he had a surprise set up for us, and that we needed to be at Cinderella's Castle at 4pm, and "look like we're looking for something." Ok, so anyone who knows me and my zest for Disney trips - I have a plan for everything for every day. I know which parks to avoid and on which days and at what times... and though the Magic Kingdom is indeed my favorite of all the parks, I know instinctively it is going to be stroller hell at 4pm - I really didn't like the idea of being in that park that early. But, hey! If it means I get my ice cream, why not. We did have reservations at the Liberty Tree Tavern at 530pm that evening anyway. So, I kinda dragged my feet about it, but agreed to go. We returned to our villa and Joe announced that he was going to change into a cooler shirt. Imagine my surprise when he pulls out his nice button down shirt and starts to iron it... I asked Joe, "what are you doing?" to which he replied it was the coolest shirt he had. I was like, ok fine whatever. But then he is in the bathroom shaving--- now I am upset! As I said to Joe, I was still in the same clothes that I had been sweating like a pig in all day, my hair is piled on top my head, and now I was going to look like trash and he was going to look great. Now I felt like I had to change, and I didn't really want to! Thankfully Joe is patient, most especially when I am about to throw a fit. He suggests that I put my dress on because it would be "cooler anyway". And I know that he is right, but I pouted anyway because putting the dress on meant fixing my hair, and I really really had no desire to do either. Joe's persistence won out (as usual) and I changed and curled my hair. In the mean time Julie and James were headed out to the Magic Kingdom and had said they would meet up with us after our dinner. I was an inch away from telling the boys they could go without me, but finally, the boys and I were on our way to the castle. When we got up to the front the cast members were busy roping it off as there was an afternoon show coming and they were also preparing for the night parade. Joe freaked a little wanting to know how we were supposed to get in the castle if it was all roped off and I told him we had to head around the back of it. We arrived in the back of the castle, and just as I predicted it was indeed stroller hell, crying hot babies, whining fighting sweating parents - and Joe again freaked a little because 1/2 of the castle was again blocked off. I tried to remain calm as I again explained there was going to be a show. Keep in mind at this point I think I am the only one aware that there is a restaurant on the second level of the castle. Joe said he was going to try to find someone who could help us figure out where we were to be, the boys followed him, as I waited at the back entrance. I was so mad! I can remember thinking that I just wanted my ice cream and to get out of the chaos. That's it just give me my ice cream so I can be on my way! Well, Shaun came running up and said, "hey Carrie - Julie and James are here!" Ok, this is the one moment where I will admit the wheels started spinning in the direction of, "hey - what's wrong with this picture?" I mean, I knew they were in the park, but what were the chances that they would be here... So, I follow Shaun inside the castle and sure enough there they were and I was like, "hey what are you guys doing here?" Joe is so slick! He was Johnny-on-the-spot with, "I told them about our surprise and asked them to meet us here!" Went right over my head, I was like oh cool! Great! Joe says then that we get to have our pictures taken with Cinderella - that was all I needed to improve my mood! Pictures with Cinderella is waaaayyyy cooler than ice cream! I was so impressed with our DVC rep - what a surprise this was I thought! So, Madeline and I had our pictures taken - it was a lot of fun for us both! By this time it was getting close to us having to head in the direction of our dinner reservations, so I was like ok guys time to get movin'. But Joe said, "the guy said we were to wait to be seated upstairs." I was in disbelief! I was trying to grasp why we were so lucky that our rep would get us reservations at the castle for dinner, a place both difficult to get ressies for on top of expensive. The whole way as we climbed the curved stair case to the restaurant, James was going on about how cool this was, and sorry for hanging on our "coat-tails" but it was too cool to miss, and that maybe they should think about joining the vacation club if this is how they treat their members. I ate it up, I was in total agreement - I couldn't believe how lucky we were and was saying how much I would have to thank Amil. We were seated and had a nice dinner as well as an entertaining show by the Fairy Godmother and Cinderella's mice friends, Suzy and Perla.
When we had our pictures taken with Cinderella, the photographer had told us we would get 2 packages, and as we waited for our dessert, I noticed the photographer to my left which in turn reminded me that only one of our 2 picture packages had been brought to our table. Joe was sitting to my left and I turned to tell him we needed to catch the photographer about our other package. As I came back around a covered plate appeared in front of me, and I said more to myself than anyone else, "What's going on?" It was our waiter, who had been standing behind me but I never noticed. He lifted the cover of the plate as he said, "Did you order this princess?" he revealed this: James said I made a funny noise and that is when he realized he was missing the action as he tended to Mikey. It felt like the whole room had gone silent. Poor Joe was expecting the ring to arrive after dessert, so he was struggling to get down on one knee, in between our chairs. It didn't matter - my answer was yes! Can you see everyone in the background applauding?

This man really knows me - I had never told him what a dream it would be to have him propose at WDW, muchless at Cinderella's Castle!

After all of us had settled down, Julie explained the special family connection to this heirloom ring, and the story of her childhood connection with her grandparents and Disney World brought our connection full circle. I was so honored that she was willing to share with me this part of her family.

Pictured below is Joe and I with his Mom, Julie. She was instrumental in helping Joe plan the wonderful proposal. She had enlisted the help of our disney travel consultant Tammy to re-arrange our dinner reservations among other things.

CJ was happy, estatic actually... though judging by the mean mug he is wearing in this picture, you would never know it! lol!

and then we got our dessert! A white chocolate slipper with chocolate mousse on a sponge cake pillow, with berries. The words and decorations were all in chocolate syrup. I am sad to report that we never had the chance to actually eat it though...

And I can't forget Joe's favorite part of the story. As we were wrapping up our dinner at the castle, several other guests had come by and wished us congratulations. There was one gentleman who walked up to us and said that his 19year old daughter was too shy to approach us but he wanted us to know that what Joe had done had made his daughters day. He said that his daughter hoped that she would have someone surprise her as well someday, but she said that if I didn't tell Joe yes, that she would take him. lol! Just barely engaged and there's still girls trying to snag him! Sorry ladies - Prince Charming is all mine! (And he really is Prince Charming - did you know that not only did Disney use the German version of Cinderella, important to both our heritage, but in the opening scenes Prince Charming was hunting a deer! Unfortunately those scenes were cut from the final movie, but knowing it is enough for me!)

For all those wondering - we have indeed set a date for the wedding. We will be married on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 --- go ahead... ask me why a Tuesday.... Well 1st we were engaged on a Tuesday, but most importantly it is because we are getting married in Disney World! (and they have weddings every day!). We are going to be booking everything September 25th, and would love to hear from anyone who wants to join us for the wedding! We will be returning to Wisconsin on Friday, May 28th, and on Sunday, May 30th we will be holding a special repeat of the ceremony followed by a reception.

Spring Review

Spring had definitely flown by for us! But before I get to the really good post - the one that everyon has been waiting so patiently for, I figured that I would take some time to review our spring happenings! Easter was beautiful, as it was stressfull. With Dad's heart surgery on the horizon at the time, we needed a distraction. The Easter Egg Hunt at Mom and Dad's was a lot of fun! Haley looked adorable in her new Easter dress, and CJ was dashing in his suit that he has been getting a lot of use out of. Even Shaun and CJ got into the spirit of things and

searched for the eggs hidden just for them. Though a little joke played by Sarah helped liven up the hunt for CJ a bit more than expected!

At the end of Spring Joe's cousin Travis, and his wife Nikki, host a Memorial Weekend Party that re-knowned in East Troy as being The Party of the year. With live music from the country artists David Marshall Band people come from all around. CJ enjoyed some ladderball competition with his friend and neighbor Brady.
Joe showed off his special TRV's Pub t-shirt. His status as a pub regular earned him a shirt with his name on it - thanks TRV!
Travis gets the bonfire started! Joe had been waiting and working months for this fire by collecting 50+ christmas trees just for this occasion.
This spring Laura and I attempted to kick off our goal for a healthier lifestyle, so we headed down to Chicago's Millenium Park for the workout of our lives!
Chicago was host to SELF Magazine's workout in the park, and with the added bonus of seeing Biggest Loser Star Trainer, Jillian Michaels, Laura and I bought our tickets and headed south. Though we never did get to see Jillian, we definitely had our butts kicked working out. Despite the mud, it was cool, and we had a great time! We plan on returning next year.
Before our field of a lawn was trimmed for the first time, we had a pleasant surprise in the form of this tulip that randomly sprung up in the back yard. Joe's sister, Janelle, reported that she too had the same phenomena in her yard, and it was determined that it must be their Grandma Marilyn's way of letting us know that she was still with us.
After the appearance of Grandma's tulip, Joe and I were inspired to attempt a garden of our own, and we bought ourselves some seeds, a starter kit and off we went. Everything started out well, the seedlings seemed to be taking off...
but to date we have one stalk of corn, no beans, some onions, some baby carrots, and the tomatoes, peppers and pumpkins have all died off... We will try again next year!

8th Grade Graduate!

On June 10th CJ's took his rite of passage, by participating in East Troy Middle School's 8th Grade Graduation Ceremony. It was a wonderful event. After we went over to Lauber's for some celebratory ice cream (Grandma and CJ stand outside the parlor). Pictured below CJ receives his 8th Grade Diploma from his homeroom teacher, Mr. Parr, who predicts that CJ, "will go far" CJ stands with classmate and neighbor Kayla (who swiped CJ's fidora) and later with his longtime friend and classmate Timmy.

Progress

Small changes have been happening at the house. Because we are not going to finance any of the remodeling of the house, we are doing small projects here and there. Currently Joe and his good friend Danny have been working on replacing all the cast iron plumbing and preparing for the installation of our water softener and laundry appliances (that have been patiently waiting in the garage). Joe worked hard one weekend and put in our camp fire. Eventually the the stone will lead a pathway to a deck off the back of the house. We have enjoyed the nights sitting round the fire with family and friends roasting some smores and counting the stars.

On Mother's Day, Joe's Grandpa Walt surprised us with a great present. Joe and I had just been talking about how we could cut our lawn that was actually more like a field. We sat down to dinner with our parents, sisters, and family and wondered where Grandpa was - he was late and Grandpa prides himself on being timely. In the middle of dinner we hear this noise, CJ comes running in the dining room to report that Granpa Walt was outside... on a tractor? Sure enough! Grandpa had fixed up a tractor for Joe and I and drove it almost 2 miles from his house to ours! I caught a couple pics of Joe mowing the lawn, like the happy homeowner that he is. Cj has been making good use of the fire pit as he has become more social. Below CJ enjoys a campfire and smores with his friends on the last day of school.

Homework with CJ

CJ and I had a little fun the otherday as we are both studying the in's and out's of Photoshop. CJ had an assignment to manipulate pictures and so we sat down together to get it done. I think our results were pretty cool. This first one is part of CJ's 8th grade portraits I took this past fall at Mukwonago Park. We made the colors pop out and then texturized it with a tiling effect.

The next is again from CJ's 8th grade portraits this fall, but at Rainbow Springs. This one was a lot of work in that we had a lot of layers and adjustments. The effect was to make the picture look like a sketch. What do ya think?

The final image we worked on was a fun one! We took a picture of the Flying Dutchman, the movie prop that is at Disney's private island in the Carribbean, and merged one of CJ's fall portrait pictures to it. It is a hurried attempt, but I think we achieved our end goal of making it look like CJ is standing on the boat...

This is how I know he loves me!

I know Joe loves me when he shakes me awake at midnight, and as I look over my shoulder I see the orange belly and the little legs of a baby painter turtle just a-going! Yes, my love brought me home a turtle!

His name is Leonardo "Pudgie" (because he has a fat head) Davinci. Joe and CJ built a little beach and ramp for him. A warning to all worms - not unlike the TMNT's, this little guy will bring you down! He is hilarious to watch!

So, continuing with my theme: I sat down the other friday to have lunch with my little neice and nephew, Haley and Mikey. As I sat there "talking" with them and looking at my little kitchen (imagining what it will one day be) my gaze falls upon our refrigerator that is askew with the letter and number magnets the kids play with. Well before my love left for the day, he left me a message on the refrigerator. Let's hear it: "awww"! (I know! ain't he the best!)

We are sitting still with the house for the most part right now as we are uncertain what the future holds. Joe has been very fortunate that he has survived 3 layoffs at WI Oven, but if our economy doesn't come around, there are no guarantees. We feel that we can "survive" with our home the way it is until thing pick up. We may make little improvements here and there, but there is no hurry and we are happy with it as it is.

Workin' on my skillz

As many may know I have changed over from majoring in Education, to trying my hand at Graphic Design. As a part of that program, I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out Adobe's Photoshop. If you want to see my progress, view my scrapbook pages at:
http://www.scrapbookflair.com/caribear76

The pages here are part of my class assignments, and some are just for extra practice, enjoy!

Cha-Cha-Changes!

It should be obvious by now that I am playing catch-up with this already! Last night I posted about our new home, and today I thought I would give a peek into the things we have done since our closing January 23rd. Our house came short a few necessities. But, keep in mind it is almost 100years old, and it had been in the same family for that long! That being said, we realized that some things just don't change. For instance, our bathroom came with a tub - but no shower. The kitchen has a wonderful walk-in pantry, a itty-bitty little sink, and one appliance hook-up. That's it... no countertops... no cupboards... nothing else. So, the first project to be completed was by Joe and Grandpa Luedtke, to add the shower in. It is an interesting arrangement, as there is a full-length window right in the shower/tub area, added to the tiny problem of the tile not running the entire length of the area that gets wet. Joe came up with the brilliant idea of having not one, but two shower curtains to cure the window problem and most of the wall issue. I find that I discover something new every day in the old house of ours. For instance, the first time I took a shower I noticed the seahorse image left on the wall. Apparently they were in place for so long the paint faded around the wall-hangings. The next project was to give us a little bit of workable space in the kitchen. Joe and Grandpa Walt hung the cabinets that Joe's Mom gave us. Joe's cousin Josh helped get the cooktop hooked up, and Joe and CJ installed the countertop and shelf for the convection oven. With the tidy purchase of our refrigerator and the cooktop, we now have a mostly functional kitchen. We are short an oven, but no loss right now as everyone knows I am not a great cook by any means! While the boys were busy working on the kitchen, I was busy trying to put the pantry back in order. We had to remove part of the shelving and wall in order to put the shower in next door. In addition we removed the beadboard doors and partitioning as it just wasn't functionable. I love the beadboard doors however, so they will be moved into the mud room/laundry room. I spent some time removing linoleum and sanding the peeling paint down. After a trip to Dollar General I came up with a system to organize our food and dishes. I am pretty proud of my handy work! Keep in mind that all of these changes are temporary until we do the official make-over! The boys also took to the attic and re-installed wiring and some lighting. The original had to be removed prior to close as it was of the knob & tube variety (yeah raise your hands if you know that dinosaur term! lol!) and there was a lot of open splicing. Last on our list was a mailbox... uh huh - you heard me. So, apparently for the last couple of decades the little old lady who lived in our home had her mail hand delivered! It took us about a month to realize that we didn't have a mailbox! So here it is in all it's glory! Joe says it is the one with the detroit lean!