The Milwaukee Art Museum

Wednesday, March 24th Brett, Katherine, and I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum. Wednesday is the free day at the museum, and I couldn't wait to get there! We parked by Veterans Park and walked over. They were not happy about wearing nice clothes on a 'No School' day. Once they got in to the museum, their attitude changed. They both asked to use the camera.

*Brett checking himself out in the mirror

*Is Brett scared of his sister or the mummy?

*Brett with the painting: Far From Home

*East is the Place

*Campbell's Soup Cans

*Schrank Our take on Lucy Pevensey and the wardrobe!

Katherine's favorites: I liked the big splat one because it was like Jackson Pollock. I was happy to see the Campbell soup cans, because I learned about Andy Warhol in school.
Below are the photos Brett took. Some are typical of Brett: food and animals.

Brett: I took these pictures because they caught my attention. My favorite was the dog catching the hedgehog.

*Still Life With a Crab

*Poultry Park

*Noah and the Animals

*Moses and the Tablests of Law

*Portrait of a Terrier

*Two Young Men in Powdered Wigs

*Flowers in a Terra-Cotta Vase

*Settee

*Homer and His Guide

*(I forgot to write down the title)

*Winter Scene

*Early Morning

*Shepherdess

*Young Girl Braiding Wreath

These are my two favorite paintings in the Milwaukee Art Museum.


I must say it was a very enjoyable trip to the museum. I had the most fun watching Katherine look at the art work. She would look at every angle and actually study each piece...quite fascinating!

When we were done, we walked back to the van and drove to Whole Foods. Their pizza is on sale on Wednesdays. We ordered one and did some shopping while waiting for it to be done in the stone oven. It was a wonderful day!

Oshkosh and Sherwood

Tuesday, March 23rd found the three of us traveling to different parts of Wisconsin. We were in Oshkosh in the morning and got to Aunt Esther at a perfect time. She had just finished breakfast. We wheeled her to the game room and started playing cards...Rummy 500.

I had taught Brett and Katherine so they could play with Aunt Esther, too. Brett got to watch a dog show (It's Me or the Dog) on the big TV. It's always an added bonus to be able to watch cable TV! We stayed until it was time for Aunt Esther to go the dining room for lunch.

After grabbing a quick lunch we drove to Sherwood. We were met by a very happy 3 year old. Andrew was especially excited to see Katherine. It was a sunny, beautiful day! We took advantage of the nice weather and walked to a park. The kids (and Nathan) had so much fun playing. I even climbed up this interesting ropes climber.

*Katherine, Nathan, Andrew, and Brett on the climber

*Katherine, Fatime, and Nathan

*Katherine, Brett, Andrew, and Nathan on the swings

After a while we left the park and drove to High Cliff State Park. Nathan & Chrissy are blessed to live so close to it. We walked up the steps to the observation deck and then played at the playground.

*Brett giving Andrew and Katherine a ride

*Nathan playing with Andrew, Brett, and Katherine

It was getting late in the day, and Brett was getting a headache. We drove back to their house. Brett took two Advil and took a nap. Katherine and Andrew played while we worked on supper. Nathan made great burgers, but my favorite was the broccoli/coleslaw salad! Nathan and Brett played basketball, Andrew and Katherine played in the basement, and Chrissy and I sat in the kitchen talking. It was a wonderful day that had to come to a close. We said our goodbyes and told Andrew that we would be back this summer.

*Katherine with Wangerin and Andrew

*Katherine, Brett, and Andrew with DD

*Nathan, Katherine, Brett, Chrissy (and the twins), and Andrew

*A tired Andrew and Katherine

Visit to the Domes, and Witness the Battle of the Books

Monday of our Spring Break was filled with fun. Brett and Katherine went walking with me. They didn't walk so much as play with the other children...Charley, Norah, Conall, and Thalia. Then we spent time at the Domes. The kids didn't want to go because it is boring, but they sure seemed to have fun. We met up with friends and saw others when we were there.

*Snail #1

*Snail #2

*Palm tree

*Brett, Katherine, Ethan, Thalia, Lauren, Conall in the Arid Dome

*Ethan, Benjamin, Lauren, Thalia, Brett, Conall, and Katherine

*Brett's monster

*Brett and Ethan staring off

*Katherine and Brett in the Show Dome (which was being worked on)

In the afternoon we drove to Lamb of God Lutheran Church for the Battle of the Books. Our friend, Anna was in first place entering today's finals. It was interesting and fun to watch. Anna's team won! Afterwards there was ice cream (and all the toppings you could imagine) for everyone. Definately a good time!

*The team listening to a question

*Conferring the answer

*The winners

Kyle's birthday party

Today we went to the Rupes' house to celebrate Kyle's 9th birthday. Lisa made a special cake for herself and Kyle, a white bundt cake with chocolate frosting and sinful brownies for the rest of us. We drank tea from a Russian tea set that Lisa bought in 1994 and had never used. They were so beautiful...I'll have to take a picture of the set the next time I stop over. The grownups talked politics and/or Army stories while the kids played.
The coffee table was filled with chips, salsa, guacamole, and a tray full of veggies. Kyle took many chips, but did eat a couple carrots and some broccoli. It was a cold first day of Spring, with snow covering the grass, but it was nice being together with the Rupes.

*Ella and Katherine having drinks

*Brett and Kyle

*Kyle looking at his new Nerf gun set from his grandparents

*Kyle and Fatime

*singing "Happy Birthday"

*Kyle blowing out the candles

*friends

*two nine year olds

*cousins: Maddie and Ella

*Ella and Katherine playing with the marble game

*Kyle and his Uncle Jeff

*siblings: Lisa and Jeff

*cousins: Brianna, Ella, Maddie

*Brett and Kyle

*friends

*Ella, Fatime, Lisa, Katherine

Happy birthday, Kyle!

Friday, March 19th

Logan called from Animal Kingdom today. He has gone on two rides and is having fun! He found a t-shirt and beach towel that was cute: Pooh Bear standing next to a tiger and says, "Tigger, is that you?" I reminded him to take lots of pictures. Thankfully, he did remember his camera when they left the hotel this morning.

I had a day off today because of parent/teacher conferences. It was so nice to get errands done and some work around the house. We went to Mount Olive's fish fry in the evening. I am telling you it was the best fish fry ever. Then it was time to head to MLHS for Position Day. Our team played at 7:00 and 7:30 P.M. It was the first time for us to see how they would perform in competition. We lost the first match but won the second.
They all did well in some way. It's going to be an exciting season!

Thursday, March 18th

The buses arrived safely and on time: 8:00 P.M. The kids had free time, so Logan and a few others were walking around outside of their hotel. Logan said that it was really hot there. He was bummed to hear that Marquette lost their game.

After school Brett, Katherine, Lucy, and I stopped at the Rupes' house. Today is Kyle's 9th birthday. It was a quick "Happy birthday to you!" and visit. Then it was time to get homework done before volleyball. We had a busy evening...Jim & I are coaching the 7/8 grade boys' volleyball team. Practice was from 5:00-6:30. Then we rushed to Milwaukee Lutheran for parent/teacher conferences. By the time we got home, we went over Katherine's memory work and sent her to bed. Brett stayed up a bit to read .

MLHS Band Trip (3/17/10-3/27/10)

It took many shopping trips to Kohls, Target, Trader Joe's, and Walmart to get everything he needed, and Logan was all set on Wednesday, March 17th.
We arrived at 6:15 P.M. to a packed parking lot.

Brett helped Logan carry his belongings to the bus. Brett has the heavy carry-0n (from Mr. Bartz) with all the drinks and food, all the essentials...water with electrolytes, chocolate bars, gummy penquins, chips, licorice, cookies, and apples.

There were three charter buses being weighted down with luggage, instruments, uniforms, carry-ons, teenagers, and chaperones. God bless those chaperones!

Jake, Logan, and Peter have gone to school together since they were in Kindergarten.

As scheduled, the buses left at 7:00 P.M. Ten days is a very long time, but we believe this experience will be good for Logan. We pray that he and the others will be safe and enjoy their time in Florida.