First Brewer Game

Jo-Jo gave us some bounce back Brewer tickets at the end of last year and we were able to find a night to meet he and Jillian for a game. The boys were pumped up! 

Awkward brother photo - but rockin' their Brewers gear! 

We did a quick tailgate and when Joe and Jillian arrived, they surprised us with a major upgrade in the ticket department! Thanks again Uncle Jo-Jo! 

Check out these great seats behind home plate! 

All they wanted all night was to see Bernie go down that slide...! 

Happy smiles! 

We had two rows of seats so thankfully the only people we were bugging in front of us, were Daddy and Jo-Jo! 

We haven't been to a Brewer Game in a while, so I was glad to find out you can still bring in your own peanuts and licorice! 

I took the kids to see the kid area and they climbed up into this huge mitt. 

We also got to do virtual sausage racing... It was pretty great! 

We stayed for the whole game (hoping for a final inning win...) so we got some cotton candy around the 6 inning... again - these boys were in heaven! 

James was happy to participate in the 7th inning stretch and tried so hard to read the words on the screen - but words like "zing, boom, tarrarel" are not every day words for this 5 year old - plus he didn't want to let go of his cotton candy - so instead we have a photo that looks like he ate a smurf and is singing the National Anthem! 

Isaac had a great time hanging with Joe and Jillian! 

Family photo after the game - we had a great time even with the loss - 

thanks for a fun night 

Memorial Day weekend

Long story short, the Rubles were in town, the weather felt like the middle of August - it was a true summer weekend at Pearl Lake!

When we were kids Memorial Day weekend was a work weekend. These kids are so lucky that pretty much everything is ready to go - ready to play!
They helped carry the splash island pad down to the lake.
Even though the water was still a little cool - but swimming was a priority.

We have 5 swimmers! Squirt guns out - every kid (and adult for themselves!)

Jimmy and Jojo are buddies!
I think this was after a jet-ski ride - nice hair James!

The boys are speedsters!

So much joy with this heat!

Lots of boat rides - hats, life jackets and pretzels - life is good! 

Patrick spent some time on the jet ski - just swapping out kids with each ride!

Some rare downtime on the pad - TJ and Grammy

Jimmy took advantage of the shade of the boat life and the cool breeze -
nothing beats a nap on the boat!

The guys on the boat - Corey and Niki both came to town and joined our crazy!

And when I say crazy - these two are a big part of it :)

Relaxing at the end of the day on the end of the pier.

Pearl Lake Selfie! 

 

Grammy and her boys

Major improvement on the paddling from last summer

Met up in the middle of the lake with a few other lake families!



Breakfast helpers -- yummy cinnamon roll casserole and two helpers --- they were really just waiting to lick the frosting spoons!

Grammy and Buppa have moved our old ping pong table up to the cottage.
We are all looking forward to many games in the train shed this summer!
Right now we are working on teaching the kids how to play...

Boys are getting better and are now trusted to run the A track on their own.
This was very helpful when the adults started a game of run around ping pong!

Jimmy is sharing his passion for the Bucky's on Parade with his cousins.
He is great and knowing where they are, what their names are and if he has seen it in person yet or not.



When the cousin's lost interest, he continued studying on his own!

One of the nights we had sundaes and Patrick constructed a banana boat.. just missing pineapple... maybe next time!

Family Photo on the dock!

And the true sign of a great weekend - it takes A LOT for this kid to crash in the car - and if he does, it is typically when we are more than half way home. This time, BOTH boys were asleep before we hit Hwy 21.

Happy Summer!

Becky's wedding in LaCrosse

We enjoyed a weekend in LaCrosse for Patrick's cousin's wedding while the kids went to the cottage with Grammy and Buppa. 

While everyone couldn't make it - we Ellestad's were still pretty well represented! 

There were two weddings on May 19th this year --- one in LaCrosse and one in England. 

The aunts brought a bit of England to LaCrosse with their wedding hats! 

One of Patrick's cousin's has a sweet little ginger that Patrick and John  wanted to eat up :) 

He loved dancing! 

Patrick and Becky --- Grandma Herrmann always said that Patrick looked a lot like Grandpa... and Becky looks a lot like Grandma --- see what you think below! 

Grandma and Grandpa Herrmann on their wedding day. 

I took a selfie in the bathroom to show someone my dress- but also really shows off that belly :) 

On our way out of the reception - Patrick stopped in the arena... 

There was some music playing and he was showing off his moves... now you know where Isaac gets it! 

Quick photo of us at the end of the night --- well almost the end... 

The hotel bar was closed so the family went and got their own coolers and snacks and we continued the party in the lobby! 

Great wedding Becky and Joe! 

Visit to Brookfield

We spent Mother's day weekend in Brookfield with the Ulrich's and had a great time just hanging in their town. We spent time at a local game bar - family friendly with all of the games you could want, video games, board games, darts and shuffleboard! 

The little guys liked the video games the best - James and John really liked the Simpson's Game. 

The littles were happy to play with or without money! 

We had burgers at another place that just happened to be showing Ghostbusters --- the boys were very entertained and we got a delicious meal! 

We ended our evening at Zoo Treats for ice cream! 

Sunday we had an awesome breakfast and then went to the Brookfield Zoo! 

The last time we were there it was NYE 2015... so it was awesome to be there in the warmer weather and with bigger boys! 

We had a picnic lunch (which we did are best NOT to share with the geese in the park!) 

A brief attempt at a Mother's day photo --- 

Lots of walking / running through the zoo, led to a few shoulder rides and a great nap on the way home!