Laura Ingalls Wilder Day Part II

Each of the kids got to try their hand at churning butter, with a more modern churn. Elise didn't want to stop, and we were all a little disappointed we didn't get to eat it on something!

The kids' favorite activity of the day was washing clothes by hand. I couldn't pull them away. This actually prompted JJ to want to learn to do laundry at home. Yes! He's been learning!

Elise did really well at rolling the hoop. It is harder than it looks. There were about 10 kids all in this area in Laura dresses rolling hoops and it looked like they were on the set of the TV show.

All the little Almonzo look-alikes. JJ was the cutest, of course (on the far right).

A few of the many Lauras. Elise was the only one with red ribbons in her hair. She was proud to be the only one with that detail covered. Laura always had red ribbons in her braids when she was little.

Friends in Ohio in July

Bekah, Seth, JJ, Elise, Zeke
In July Megan, JJ, Elise and Seth traveled to Ohio. We stayed for two weeks, so we had lots of time to spend with family and friends. Here we were in the Bowling Green area visiting Jen and Israel and their kids. We had a great time just playing together, and visiting the BGSU campus with the big kids. It all ended too soon with crabby, tired kids and Megan had to head home early to spare us all!

Here you see Bekah, Elise and JJ on the sculpture outside Olscamp Hall at BGSU. It is the "Thinker" turned on its back, otherwise known on campus as "Thinker in the Bathtub."

Seth trying to get one last drop out of the Sundrop bottle. The unofficial drink of the state of Wisconsin. We start 'em young!

Nora Mercer, Elise, Seth, JJ, Trayce Mercer
Some fun times with Mercer cousins!

JJ, Elena and Kiersten Quinlan, Elise
Special "girlfriends" from Xenia. Spent the day with them, and they remember playing with the puppy and using lots of Kiersten's perfume! JJ just joins right in and makes the girl fun just a little rowdier than normal.

JJ's 7th Birthday

Seth tooling around while the boys hit the pinata. This is the first time JJ has had a sleepover birthday party. We limited it to his 3 boy cousins, Tucker, Isaac, and Griffin. They had such a great time being boys together.

Here they are scrambling for pinata candy and army men. Jonathan isn't trying to get some for himself, he's helping Tucker (several years younger than the other boys) get his fair share! The army men were a hit.

Tucker, JJ, Isaac and Griffin

JJ lovin' his birthday cake. I'm proud to say I did make that Lightning McQueen myself! It was worth the work to see how much JJ loved it.

Touch-A-Truck

In May Shawano County Highway Dept. hosted Touch-A-Truck. They have over 50 vehicles the kids can climb in. And the Sun-Drop truck gives each kid a pop! More caffeine than my kids get all year. Whew. JJ loved it all, and Seth loved anything with an oversize steering wheel.

As long as he could have both hands and both feet on the steering wheel, he was happy.

Elise really got into "driving" Seth around on the lawn mower. Maybe this is why now, at 15 mo., his favorite things are lawn mowers of any kind - Mo Mowa!

May Violin Recital

Mrs. Kristin Gontea, violin teacher, Elise and JJ

JJ and Elise played with Jonathan in their last recital of the year. They played Canon in a round. Jonathan played one part, and JJ and Elise played the other part together. They did a great job! JJ did a good job of leading Elise and keeping his place. Elise progressed so much through the year from not being able to play at all, to playing a more difficult piece with 2 other people by the end of the year! Great job musicians! And of course they looked so cute.

JJ Meets a Green Bay Packer Part 1!

JJ waits for a Packer to pick him. The Packers have this thing where every practice they come out of Lambeau Field where they suit up and ride kids bikes over to the practice field. It is a really cool thing I think only works because it is such a small city and people are so courteous to the players. The kids have to mind their manners and the parents are all very cool about it. What a neat opportunity. The Packers organization is so family friendly. This is the first time we've ever done this and JJ was stoked! A real Packer might ride his bike!

Finally a Packer chose JJ! It is #46 Devin Frischknecht. He is a rookie from Washington State. 358 pounds, 6'3" and 22 years old. He handed JJ his helmet and hopped on his bike.

Good thing I got this picture when I did because..

JJ Meets a Green Bay Packer!

Devin broke JJ's pedal off after just a few yards. JJ just pushed his bike and Devin walked, until Mom suggested he ditch the bike.

JJ then carried Devin's helmet for him the rest of the way through Lambeau Field parking lot, across Oneida Street, to behind the Don Hutson Center where Training Camp is held.

(out of order picture - this is once we got there, watching practice)
Mom and the boys enjoying some football. Mom wishes she could have watched more.
Go Pack Go!

Once JJ and Devin arrived at the field, Devin signed JJ's new Packer t-shirt, then took off to play some ball.

Seth enjoyed the whole morning. Such a boy! He was great at spotting the ball during practice and scrimmage!

Sand Lake Adventures

Yesterday we went up to Sand Lake (just outside Keshena) on the Menominee Reservation. We went with Jonathan's cousin Bruce, his wife Paula and their kids Griffin and Hailey. The weather was beautiful and the fish were biting! Everyone fished but Megan and Seth, and 44 fish were caught (bluegills, perch, sunfish). Paula, Griffin and Elise all caught huge bluegills or sunfish. All the kids caught a bunch of fish, and Jonathan and Bruce didn't catch many because they were so busy taking fish off the hooks and baiting hooks for the kids. They just kept reeling them in! Fun!
Seth was supposed to be napping about this time, so Bruce made a nice bed for him in the back of their Expedition, with the hatch closed, but the glass hatch up/open. I finally got Seth to stay laying down, after much crying. I crept away from the truck, then after a few seconds turned back to see if he was still down. Seth was standing up, peering over the edge of the hatch, and as soon as he saw me, said "HI." I had to laugh. "Hi" is his new word and he uses it constantly. Today he said "ball." Needless to say, to get him to sleep I had to buckle him into his carseat.
Paula and I heard a loon several times, then finally spotted it. So beautiful. And I saw a huge bald eagle fly over, then saw it perch on a log sticking out of the water not very far away. It sat there for a while, then when another one flew over, it flew off with it. What a beautiful day!

Elise's Goal in Life

Elise's new thing has been that she's trying to catch a squirrel to make a pet out of it. We have squirrels all over the place and our cat Huckleberry Finn is forever chasing them around. Elise must have thought that looked like a good idea because lately she's always scurrying around trees trying to catch one herself. She kind of hunches over and moves really slow and sneaky to get close to one, then when it runs, she chases it. She'll chase them around trees, and try to fake them out by running the other way around. It is really cute to watch. The scary thing is she gets really close to them sometimes. Must be the Pocahontas in her!

So I asked her the other day what she would do if she caught one. She said she'd put it in the cat carrier with acorns and water and keep it. And maybe catch one more so they could play together.

I hated to burst her bubble, but I've been a little worried about how close she is getting to them, so I told her that if she grabbed one it would probably bite her. She didn't seem to be put off my this at all and was in the yard today running around trees again. I wonder what the neighbors think?!

Seth's First Accident

Just the other day, Seth had his first accident in his new car. We should have known not to get him a red convertible. His driving is terrible and irresponsible. Of course, in Wisconsin, deer are always a hazard and even good drivers sometimes hit them. Thank goodness he has good insurance, and the deer wasn't harmed much.



Ok, just for your info, that is not a ceramic lawn ornament (I'd rather die than have something like that in my yard). This is a foam target for bow hunting practice (in the back yard).

More Baby Birthday Party

This is my favorite picture from the party. We wanted a group picture with party hats and we should have known the babies were not going to cooperate. Nora hadn't arrived in the row yet, and Seth and Josiah were bawling. Jacob and Drew kept trying to take each others' hats off. L-r: Seth, Jacob, Drew, Grant, Joseph, Josiah.

All the 1-year-olds enjoying their birthday cupcakes. Jacob got the award for most messy (he was hamming it up for the whole crowd of onlookers) and Seth got the award for most clean (he wouldn't touch his cupcake, even with the frosting removed, and commenced with sobbing). L-r: Seth, Drew, Josiah, Nora, Jacob, Joseph, Grant

Waiting for cupcakes took too much willpower for Drew, who was snitching animal crackers from Seth.

Nora, Jacob, Joseph, Grant

Seth and Drew look happy to be here! Happy Birthday!

Baby Birthday Party!

Trudy the retriever was a big hit at the baby birthday party. A bunch of Megan's friends in Book Club had babies turning one all around the same time. We had one big birthday bash for them all this afternoon. All seven babies (one-year-olds now!) brought their families and other book club friends came to help celebrate. Here Trudy is surrounded by (l-r) Jacob (and dad Mike), Drew, Joseph (and dad Travis) and Seth.

Seth and Josiah, two of the younger ones played so nicely together at the activity table. Signs of future friendship, we think!

Roxy had the brilliant idea to rent a bouncer for the older kids. It was wonderful. I didn't hear one "I'm bored" from anyone the entire time. L-r: Katy, Kate, JJ, Elise, Ethan

Thomas' dump truck was also a big hit. JJ kept hogging it, and had to be banned from it for a while so the girls could have a chance. Here Kate with big sister Hannah stop to pick up hitchhiker Allyson.

Seth and Jacob got right to playin' ball at the beginning of the party. They kept each other pretty busy for a while.

Seth's Family Birthday Party

Seth had his Pyatskowit family birthday party Sunday, April 26.
Seth with his Care Bear cake. This one is Make A Wish Bear, and Mom and Dad got him the stuffed animal for his birthday. It is a 1st birthday tradition in our family to get the bear and matching cake. Elise got Funshine Bear and JJ got Goodnight Bear. Seth did not eat any of his cake, which was no surprise after how he reacted to his earlier "birthday" cupcake.

Seth "opening" his presents. Tucker, JJ and Elise pretty much took care of it for him.

The Pyatskowit grandchildren. Hailey, Seth, Tucker, Kara, Madeline, Anna, Isaac, Elise, JJ, Griffin.

Seth really loves these blocks with their own bucket. Every day he dumps them out, then puts them (most of them anyway) back in.

Finally, a good picture of Mom and Seth!

Seth's First Haircut

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER


Jen, he loves the puzzle maze, as you can see!

April Ohio Weekend

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Mercer with Seth

Grandpa and Grammie Mercer with JJ, Elise and Seth

Seth and his Grandpa enjoying the nice day!