A first time for everything...

Today was my first real Harley experience. Yeah, I did go to the museum. But there was a certain difference in what I did tonight. Jake had to staff the 25th HOG Anniversary (HOG="Harley Owners Group") as part of Harley's 105th Anniversary party. Basically, I went to a big party down at Miller Park. The parking lots that are normally used for baseball games were packed with Harleys. (It was hard to find a place to park my huge 7-seater "cage") It was an amazing sight; I wish I hadn't forgot my camera. There was food, of course; vendors selling biker "stuff", and concerts. Admittedly, I went only for three reasons. One, I wanted to get out of the house. It's Thursday night, my night to get a sitter...she didn't come last week and this week I was dying to get out. Two, Sugarland. Sugarland was performing tonight. I think they are amazing. I love their sound and thought it was be fun to see a concert. I was not disappointed. It was awesome. Third, and my primary reason, PEOPLE WATCHING. In this, I was very pleased. The Harley crowd is exactly (somewhat exactly) what you expect. Big, tough, burly, beer-drinking bikers. Although, may I clarify something I have learned about this group. Most of them are fitting of this description. When Jake first mentioned that going to these types of events (ie: Sturgis, Daytona Beach etc) was part of his "job", I was slightly dismayed. I pictured hunky, burly biker guys with big-busted, beautiful, blonde biker chicks. I imagined him staffing an event where half of the crowd was topless and looked like Victoria's Secret models. So jealous. Duh. Honestly, what was I thinking? Is there any segment of the population that has such a predisposition to be good-looking? Not really. I guess it may surprise you, as it did me, that the biker crowd is somewhat aged. Not old, but not what I had imagined. There is a great deal of rough and tough, but not as much "glamour" as I had imagined. I dunno. It's hard to explain. Nonetheless, it was a fun experience to be had...add it to the bucket list, right?

Music

Sorry, I hope the country tunes don't bug anyone too much. You can always pause my player or turn your speakers down. Most of the songs are just meaningful in the lyrics. (Except Josh Turner...I just think he has an amazing voice...he was at the State Fair the night Jake and I went...I heard him!) Jake teases me that the only thing that is holding him back from being perfectly perfect for me is to have a voice like Josh Turner and looks like Kenny Chesney. I admit, it wouldn't hurt, but I love him just the way he is! (Certainly he wouldn't have chosen me if he did!)

Fishin'

Just a few pictures of fishing at Fox Brook Park. Jake and Jared went fishing on Saturday and the kids were sad to be left behind. Last night, we went out to Fox Brook to make up for it. Even Sadie joined in the fun! She loved the fish!

The zoo, again

Ty has been asking for weeks to go to the zoo. I avoid it, I hate the summer daycare groups and big crowds. I gave in and was happy to run into the Millers' so that I had someone to chat with and the kids had comrades in crime. As always, we had fun...Ty is so much trouble! Can you tell?

Playdates

Just wanted to post of few pictures of recent playdates. This week, we had fun with the Waibel's at the park in Brookfield. Later, we enjoyed our other church friends in Sussex. The kids have had a good summer. I have a nice tan. I have often left dirty dishes and loads of laundry to take the kids out and about. I don't want to have any regrets come winter about how we spent our summer; and I don't think I will at this point. I'm so grateful for good friends and fun playdates!

Fairest of the Fair

Old pictures, but I'm still recovering. To say we had a fair day at the fair would probably be a little overstated and optimistic, but hey, it's been almost two weeks, I've almost forgotten the anguish! We decided to meet friends for opening day of the Wisconsin State Fair. It was only $2 admission with a donation to the food bank (and the kids were free!). Who could beat that? We parked about 8 blocks away from the fair, to avoid parking fees (individuals who live near the fair charge people to park in their driveways, garages, on their grass...it's like the kind of perk that they mention when they sell the house). Other parking fills up fast. I'm cheap, I'm also chubby, a little walk would do me good. We enjoyed the walk in. The kids got a kick out of all of the animals...cows, horses, chickens, ducks, pigs, rabbits...they did pretty good. However, I pushed it too much and by the time we were headed out, the kids were about 1/2 hours beyond time to go. Brooklyn had walked all day, but was tired. So she and Ty rode in the stroller while Sadie sat on top on the canopy and waved to her fans. The fair food smelled so good; but it's so pricey I wasn't about to buy something with three crabby kids only to have them either cry while I enjoyed it or complain that they didn't like it (or both). The 8 blocks to the car seemed much, much further. I had worn awful shoes and had to walk barefoot most of they way back because of blisters. I got the the car, and couldn't find my keys. I searched, but no luck. I had no patience for walking back to the fair to search, so I called Jake in desperation. He works only 10 minutes away. It'd be a nice break for him, right? So, in tears, I pull out snacks from my bag and keep the kids entertained with food. They did pretty good until Jake came to rescue us. He parked behind my car and walked across a small area of grass towards us. As he walked, he smiled and looked at the ground a few feet in front of my stroller. He picked up keys, tossed them to me and smartly asked "are these what you were looking for?" I burst into tears and he realized that he had found the spot where I must have dropped them when we were leaving to go to the fair. He initially thought I had found the keys somewhere in the deep recesses of my bag and had put them there to avoid humility. Funny guy. I was honestly just grateful that he found them and I wouldn't have to go back to the fair. The good news is that a few days later, Jake and I had the chance to go back to the fair without our kids...I indulged in fair food like Templeton on Charlotte's Web. Shame on me. I deserved it!

Summer Daze

Jake was out of town this week, so I tried to compose emails from each of the kids to tell about the days he was gone. I took all that time to write stuff, so I'll just post exerpts and pictures.

Wednesday, July 23 -- Sadie to Daddy

"You wouldn't believe how much sand I have eaten in the past two days. It's fabulous! You leave and Mommy adandons my awful fatty diet and feeds me sand! You'll be so happy, I am learning new tricks everyday. I'm getting so fast at crawling. Mommy needs to get up some gates now, I like to follow her around the house. I'm getting much better at pulling myself up and today at the park I mastered transitioning from sitting to getting down to crawl. We had a fun day today. In the morning, Mommy took us to the mall and we got some new clothes. I think I got more than anyone because I am the cutest. Mommy lost my swimsuit, so she got me a super-cute two piece. Are you okay with that Daddy? After that, we went to the lake and did so many fun things. We played in the water, ate snacks, chased birds, threw rocks in the water, fed fish, and ate popsicles. We also took a fun shower in a big shower at the lake; I think that was everyone's favorite part. We took late naps and woke up and ate dinnner. After dinner we just played and read books. Everyone was a little tired and grumpy..."