Cami's Family Party

We started last week with a good bye to Grandma Aladodo on Monday as she headed back to Eugene, OR. It was tough for us to see her leave, especially since we don't get to see her very often. Ian had the most trouble as we had to call 2 nights in a row so to have her sing to him and tell him goodnight before he would even think about getting into bed. We think it is a blessing that the kids adore her and Papa Bruce.

The kids started Eastside Lutheran's Soccer VBS camp on Monday as well. It was a cool and sort of rainy and overcast for most of the week, which was a huge change from the very hot and humid weather last year. Cami had her first experience with soccer and enjoyed kicking the ball. I think she enjoyed socializing most of all since she was often seen sitting on the sidelines with one or two other girls talking while the other kids in her group played soccer. When asked what she liked the most about soccer camp, she replied "the freezy pops at snack time". I guess whatever brings them in to hear God's Word, right?

Ben had a great time playing soccer with the 6 and 7 year olds. He ran back and forth on the field and even got the ball a few times. No goals for him, but he worked hard and did a great job. He stated that his favorite part of soccer camp was having his friend, Zach, there. Zach is a friend of ours from our Korean Adoption Group.

Earlier in the week Dana and the kids headed to Wauwatosa to celebrate the Webers daughter, Kelly, birthday. She turned 3 on Tuesday. The kids had a great time playing together. We especially enjoyed the time catching up with them and eating the Suzy Q like birthday cake. It was delicious!

Friday night Justin's sister, Keri, and daughter, Natalie, came to visit. The kids like spending time with Natalie, age 2. It is fun watch them play together. Justin's parents came down on Saturday and we all celebrated Cami's upcoming birthday. We will be traveling the next few weekends, so this was the only chance we will have together to celebrate with grandparents and auntie Keri and Natalie before Cami turns 5.

Grandma and Cami playing in the sandbox.

Cami's birthday cake made by Grandma Sandy.

Cousin Natalie and Cami

Mom's Visit

Last week flew by. We started last Sunday with Vacation Bible School at Bethesda Christian Fellowship. The kids were excited to participate in Crocodile Dock. They sang, did crafts, and danced around. Our friend, Mimi, was also able to join them for VBS. Over 60 kids attended and seemed to have a great time!We anxiously await the arrival of grandma Aladodo on Thursday. We attended a play group on Thursday morning at the Vilas Zoo. The kids enjoyed seeing their friends from Eastside Lutheran School. We had lunch, looked at the animals, and took a ride on the carousel.

Justin came home early to take care of the kids while I drove into Milwaukee to pick up mom from the airport. Her flight was about 30 minutes early, but perfect timing once luggage was picked up. We had almost no traffic heading back to Madison and were able to make it to the Mallards baseball game. Justin's company was holding their Mallards game outing, which is always enjoyed. The kids were overjoyed to see Aladodo and tell her all about the Mallards. The kids enjoy watching the game, but have more fun playing in the kids area, eating cotton candy, and playing games.

Friday morning Aladodo and Cami went on a date while mom and kids went to a play group at the house of a friend in our Korean group. Cami and grandma went to the fabric store to find princess fabric, went to lunch at Red Robin, and then went to find nail polish and pretend makeup. They came home and painted their nails a beautiful Bright Pink color! After resting during the rest of the afternoon, we decided to order a fish fry for dinner.

Saturday started very chilly and unfortunately did not get much better. We had a party scheduled with relatives. My aunts, uncles, and cousins were all able to join us for a cookout. It has been quite some time since they have all seen each other, so it was nice that they were all able to come out to Madison on such a chilly day.

The boys enjoyed Sunday since it was their chance to have a date with Aladodo. Ian and grandma headed to Culvers after church to eat lunch. Ian LOVES fries and ice cream, and even managed to eat some chicken. Grandma enjoy a delicious Turtle sundae.

Ben decided for his date he wanted to go to see Ice Age 3D. It was a hard choice between that and a Mallards game. He also was able to go to Target and get a special GI Joe toy.

We spent the early evening at the park flying a kite that Aladodo brought with and playing at the park. It had been another fun filled day.

We had to leave early on Monday morning to take Aladodo to the airport in Milwaukee. We were going to drop her off and then head to the Milwaukee zoo, but the kids were very excited about the planes and wanted to hang out at the airport instead. We spent 2 hours watching planes,

running around, and eating lunch (originally packed for the zoo). They had a great time and were able to say good bye to Aladodo. We headed for home and made it to Eastside Lutheran for VBS soccer camp with a little time to spare. This is Cami's first year playing soccer. She wasn't too excited at first, but after yesterday, she is excited to head back there today.

The summer is flying by and in no time the kids will be headed back to school. We have several more weeks of fun ahead of us, including a trip to California (if flights are open for us to go stand by), a trip to Minnesota, and a trip to Illinois for a boating weekend with the Webers. After that, back to school and getting use to having a 1st grader and Kindergartener and meeting new people at the kids new school.

Fourth of July 2009

I have great ideas to write for our blog entries, however, somehow they don't get done in a timely fashion. I can't seem to find enough time to sit down and upload pictures and then write an entry. My days are filled with busyness with either just my 3 or my 3 with an additional 2.

Sometimes for fun we head out (me and all 5 little ones) and go to the park or a play date or to Target to pick up something that we need. The summer is flying by and in less than a month the kids will start school again. They are still both excited to attending a new school this fall. We are hopeful that Ben will still like it once he has to actually put on "handsome" clothes. He has

warmed to the idea that he will be wearing Docker style pants and polo shirts or dress shirts. He is a bigger fan of jeans and Tshirts, so it may take a while before he gets use to the idea.We

enjoyed our 4th of July weekend at Justin's parents house. We always enjoy the time away to the country. It is so peaceful. Ben had his first camping experience with grandpa. He was so excited to sleep in a tent outside. We thought that camping up north at grandma and grandpas house was the best place since there is a bathroom right inside the house and no worries about other campers being too loud.

The kids enjoy tons of space to run and play, going fishing by the creek, feeding the rabbits, and playing with grandma and grandpa.Each of the kids caught 3 fish while fishing with grandma and grandpa at the creek near their house. Ian was overjoyed and dance with delight when he caught his fish.

It was a fun and relaxing 4th!

The kids leaving the park by Keri and Joe's house

Ian is too cool in his shades!