Making the Most of Milwaukee

Day 142. I am glad that the kids finally have bicycles! Justin, Deuce, and Margo went up to a local bike resale, and got bikes for the three older kids. (Well, technically, he got 2 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday before church.) I had him take off the pedals of one of the bikes so Josie and Deuce could practice balancing first. I want them to skip the training wheels stage, mainly because they're already at the age when they could learn to ride without them. However, Margo's bike does have training wheels on it since she's only four. Anyway, I'm just happy that they finally have them! I know I also mentioned a dog walk and a clean porch. So, I guess I have to say that I took Carmen for a much-needed walk. Also, I busted my butt cleaning the front porch. I swept, vacuumed (that must've been a sight) and scrubbed our huge porch. I was so whooped when I stopped, and I didn't even finish the whole thing! Day 143. Learning to ride a bike is exciting! After churc...

Day 137. I'm grateful for a play date with my friend, Ally. It was a pretty typical play date. The girls made a huge mess upstairs, while Ally and I sat and talked. I was supposed to do housework while she visited, but that of course didn't happen. It was way more enjoyable to just chat with her instead of try to do chores. After they left, then I worked on getting the house in order. Later in the afternoon, the kids helped me. Good thing! Day 138. I'm thankful for Voxer conversations with Sarah. We talk almost every day on Voxer, but since I can't think of much else that was interesting that day, I'll write about that. We both tend to be long-winded on Voxer, which is especially nice when you want someone to keep you company while you're washing dishes or folding laundry. And it's a great way to talk without being interrupted. Haha Anyway, my friendship with Sarah has definitely grown as a result of all the time we've spent chatting o...

We had a full and fun weekend last Friday, Saturday, Sunday! Day 134. I'm thankful for a double date night with David and Angie! Around 5pm, they came over to our house with their four kids. Our babysitter, Skyler, and her mom (my friend, Sarah) watched all 8 kids while we went out to dinner and to a school fundraiser. We went to Odd Duck, one of our favorite tapas restaurants in Milwaukee. Small plates restaurants are great, because you get to try lots of different dishes and share them. The bacon wrapped gouda stuffed dates are SO delicious! I highly recommend. After dinner, we went to the Humboldt Park Beer Garden for a wine and beer tasting event. They also had a silent auction. One of the "items" we tried to win in the auction was a play date with Miss Clark, Deuce's teacher. It was also nice to be able to meet some other parents from the school. I had a few samples of wine and beer. My favorite was a Samuel Smith Organic Chocolate Beer. Then we grabbed so...

Another month has gone by. I really don't have any good excuses for not blogging other than life has been going on. But to be clear, life is wonderful. I was planning on not going into details about the last month, but I can't help myself. Get ready for a whole lot of gratefulness! I won't go into too much detail. So, without further ado, April 15 - May 12. And then, since there's more to talk about, I'll post this past weekend in a separate blog post. Day 106. Dinner at the Prices'. We spent several hours over at David and Angie's house. We had a yummy Italian dinner and great conversation while all the kids had a blast playing upstairs. Day 107. Our future garden. After Josie's swim lessons, I spent almost the entire day outside tilling the ground and pulling weeds. I got a lot accomplished, and I earned a sunburn! Day 108. Kayla's Playground. After church, I was supposed to meet some friends at a new park in Franklin, but due to unfo...