Making the Most of Milwaukee

Last night I lay in bed reminiscing about visiting my Grandma Perryman in North Ridgeville (a suburb of Cleveland) throughout my early life. I can't believe it's been ten years since my grandma passed away. So many memories were created in and around her house. It took about three and half hours to drive from my hometown of Minster to North Ridgeville, Ohio, and it was always so exciting when we saw the huge "P" on the front of the house right before we pulled into the long driveway to the back side of the house. The house was designed by my grandfather and built when my dad was in elementary school. (My Grandpa passed away when I was 10 or 11.) It's a split-level house with a walk-out basement. We always entered the house through the basement door. We also slept in the basement at night. I remember that my parents slept on the pull-out couch and Meg and I slept on old cushions. I have fond memories of my Aunt Dinie and Uncle Scott singing songs to us before bed...

It's a good thing I love games, because that's what we tend to do when my dad's family gets together. And to clarify, we usually don't play games with established rules. By that I mean that the rules tend to be fluid and made up. For example, this evening we played a game of croquet. I've been playing croquet with my family for as long as I can remember. The course never looks anything like a regulation croquet course. The wickets are always strategically placed near natural hazards, such as tree roots or sticks. If you hit another ball you have the option to send that ball flying. If you get through all the wickets first, you become "poison" and get to chase down the other players' balls to "kill" them. Today we learned that croquet balls float, because two accidentally went in the water. In the past, croquet balls have been broken due to the aggressive nature of our version. A family favorite card game is Double Crank Hearts. Don't ...

It was a great day at the lake. I took this picture while sitting on a little bench near the water's edge. The morning started off quiet and cool. It got considerably louder and warmer as the day went on thanks to the kiddos. They were nonstop all day! It was one of those quintessential vacation days. I read a little, did a puzzle, ate a lot, went for a kayak ride (with Deuce), had good conversation with my family, and took a nap. The kids played outside in the pool, in the yard, upstairs, and downstairs. I know this because they left a trail of toys everywhere. There is currently a giant pile of LEGOs on the floor upstairs. Can you say "danger zone?" Anyway, here's a shot of the kids in the pool (thanks Marie!). They must be made out of rubber, because they kept jumping on their knees into the pool, as if there wasn't concrete underneath them! They sure had a blast! Justin also spent some time reading today. Piper joined him for a brief phot...

It's 6:40AM Ohio time, which means it's 5:40 Milwaukee time. Notice how I used a state and a city? That's because there are no cities around here. My hometown is rur-ur-al. I mean, it's not that Minster is the smallest town; there are smaller around here. It's just that there are a lot of small towns around here, pretty much all surrounded by farmland. Dayton, if you've heard of it, is the closest city, about an hour away. My parents' home is located right on a small lake called Lake Loramie. When they bought it, it was a small two bedroom, one bathroom cottage. After lots of renovating, it's a much larger two story, three bedroom, two bathroom house. I'm looking out the windows at the lake, watching the sun come up. Currently the sky is a combination of pastel blue and pink. The air is cool, but with a high in the 80s today, this breeze will be short lived. As I expected, yesterday was a busy day. I got the house nice and tidy (not counting th...

What a full day! This morning, I made oatmeal pancakes for the kids and myself. I splurged and put syrup on mine. After that we started getting ready for our first outing of the day: Konkel Park! It was such a beautiful day, so I'm glad we made a point to spend some of it outside. One cute thing that happened on the way there: Margo said, "Olivia is my friend, Mommy." I thought that was pretty sweet coming from a 2 year old. Anyway, we got there shortly before 11, played, ate lunch and left around 12:30. It wasn't a super long park visit, but lots of friends for me and the kids to hang out with! After that, we headed to Central Park in downtown Milwaukee. In case you're not familiar with it, this is what it looks like: As you can see, it's a big, beautiful, old building. We parked on the left side of the building, and then walked to the front (I was wearing Piper, pushing Margo in the stroller, and Josie and Deuce walked) before I realized that th...

As I sit here typing this blog post, there are toys on the floor of nearly every room, dirty dishes in the sink, a dirt pile that needs to be swept up, and loads and loads of laundry that need to be washed/dried/folded/put away. Meanwhile, my kids are playing, laughing, coloring, jumping, reading. There is a pot of water on the stove, boiling water for macaroni and cheese. Oh wait, now one of the kids is pooping. Wipe. Wash hands. Add macaroni to the boiling water. Take a breath and enjoy this moment. No one is crying or fighting or screaming or complaining. Josie, my oldest is coloring a paper plate and nibbling on  piece of bread. She was upset earlier because I wouldn't let her put butter on it. It truly was just a moment. Deuce, my son, and Margo, my second daughter, are now fighting over a plastic bin. Earlier, they were fighting over a dish towel. I should check the macaroni. I hate when I overcook it. Baby Piper is still napping. She's been sleeping for a w...