Fun in Laona!

We met Debbie, Michelle and Joanie at Lambeau field on the way up to Laona...and had to play a few games!

Dinner to start off the festivities!

Michelle and Joanie

Debbie's friend Cami is getting married this weekend in Laona, so we are using it as a perfect opportunity to get in some sister time! 

Bud and Rita and Steve and Sue graciously opened their homes to us and after we get settled in we went off to dinner.  Then we sent the wedding party members off on a Forest county scavenger hunt.  The winners were very creative and persistent...way to go!

More wedding news tomorrow...

Mini road trip

 

 

After church on Sunday, Chris, Kristin and I decided to take a little road trip to Sheboygan.  We had a few leftover birthday gifts for my mom, and Kristin was hankering for a Sheboygan cheeseburger.  On the way we missed a turn and found the greatest little park!  Here are a few pictures from the adventure. 

The view from our little park

Kristin doesn't like hiking..here's her solution

Chris and Kristin

Lake Michigan!

We did make it to Sheboygan, got to see Mom and her new friend Jim...and the lake!

Badger Game Day

On Saturday, Frank and I used our season tickets to go to a game together...a rarity!  And the game turned out to be a rare one too!  The Badgers sets an all-time scoring record with 70 points!  Poor Bucky and his push-ups...

An added bonus was the fact that the Chinese champions that I am teaching this semester were honored during one of the game breaks.  They are a courageous and amazing group of individuals!

It was a beautiful day...

Goodbye Goldie

We have been blessed for many years by the presence of a silly, one-eyed dog named Goldie in our home. After a week or so of going downhill, we lost her today. We will miss her...

Happy Birthday Mom!

It's my Mom's birthday! After celebrating many times with many friends in Sheboygan, she came over to Madison for the night. We started off with a terrific dinner at Sprechers followed by a relaxing night at our house. Tomorrow she is off to a health fair and then back home...probably for more parties. Happy birthday Mom...we love you!

Fall is apple time!

Every year we go to the orchard, and this year was no exception. We went to "Epelgarden" this year, a Norwegian orchard (if there is such a thing) and had a ball!





Colton and Kristin did all the work...I just went along to take pictures!



We collected two kinds of apples with plans to make pies and sauce...more to follow...
Later...here they are!!

Fall in Wisconsin

I love Fall! The trees put on a show and the walks are filled with views like these. And all the while the weather is cool, clear and bug free...amazing!

Giese get together!

All summer long Frank has wanted to get the Gieses together and now that summer is ending, we finally did it! Thanks to some fancy coordination by Bev, the whole gang came for dinner. Frank cooked up his famous fish fry and we told stories and laughed until we cried...







The night ended with a football helmet raffle and even though Bev didn't win, she got to try on the prize...



Thank you all for a great night!

This is where I work...

Unbelievable!

The Lake...

I love Wisconsin in September!

Our own little Ironman...

Kristin's friend Chris had access to VIP passes to the ironman events this weekend, so Kristin experienced a triathlon of her own:

Friday night pre-event dinner at the Monona Terrace



Saturday Expo events


Saturday evening dinner at the Melting Pot



Sunday morning pre-dawn swimming start





Sunday finish line



Needless to say this took a great deal of training and she was exhausted!

Growth groups

Here is the project I've been working on...I asked some of the growth group leaders at church to talk about their groups. My hope is that others will get a sense for what happens within them and will consider joining one...it was inspiring to hear what these people said...enjoy...

It all depends on your viewpoint...

I was hiking the other day and the trail led me to a rock face. If I would have relied upon the view from the trail, I never would have gone on because it looked like a dead end.



But when I climbed up on to the rock and experienced a difference viewpoint, I saw the possibilities of the rest of the trail! (Bear Grylls always suggests getting a bigger perspective in the wilderness too!)



So glad I sought higher ground!

Special first day preparations...

Kristin went all out this year to put her best foot forward...ha, ha!!!!

First day of school

Our neighbors and I are experiencing two opposite ends of the "first day of school" spectrum.

Theirs-first day of kindergarten...



Ours-first day of the final year...





Either way, wow...