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!