Best Wishes, Max!

My sweet nephew, Max, is going off to UW Stevens Point in a few weeks. Max is a talented musician and has won numerous awards for his accomplishments on the piano.

Max is also a savvy business man. He has found various ways to make money on the Internet and has also worked at a summer camp playing piano for the campers.

Max is considering a number of degree options at this time, but we all hope music fits into his plans.

Best wishes, Max, for great success!

P.S. Please remember to call your mom!

Drifters Classic Car Club



1957 Chevy



Today we got to see some classic cars that ranged from 1927 to 2010 at the Drifters Classic Club Car 4th Annual Car Show at the New Berlin VFW post.



1937 Ford 5 window coupe



The cars were restored beautifully, but what we focused on was cars that were made in the years that we or our parents were born in.

The Larry Lynne Band played some good oldies tunes as patrons viewed the cars. Although the cars were beautiful, we actually went to the show to listen to the band.

Although we loved the classics, we were really happy to enjoy the air-conditioning in my 2002 Toyota!



1932 Ford





1957 Chevy





Larry Lynne Band



Waukesha County Fair

Friday night, we visited the Waukesha County Fair. This is the first of 5 county fairs that we will visit this summer.

Each year, the fair offers a variety of acts. This year, one of our favorites was the Muckers 4H cloggers. The kids had to learn 100's of dance steps. There were around 15 girls and one adorable 6 year old boy. They danced to Irish, Bluegrass, and Country music.

Very brave ( crazy) guy!



5000 gallon shark tank



The act that was the most amazing was the Shark Tank. The "shark whisperer" swam with the sharks, tickled their bellies, and provided narration while under water. He was a true showman and gave the crowd a real thrill.



Of course, the fair had a variety of animals. Our favories are always the horses, as well as any weird chickens. God truly had a sense of humor when he created some of these bizarre birds.

Although the temperature was over 90 degrees, we had a great time!









Kapona





Crested Polish Chicken







Expedition Dinosaur at Milwaukee County Zoo

Today we visited the Milwaukee Country Zoo to view the new summer exhibit.


T Rex

This year, the exhibit is called Expedition Dinosaur. The exhibit features animatronic dinosaurs. Animatronics is the technique of making and operating life-like robots typically for use in film or other forms of entertainment.

The life-like quality was amazing. Dinosaurs towered over the jungle-like setting. Their heads, tails and bodies moved, and some sprayed water at the patrons.



This was an absolutely a great experience and so worth the $2.50 to view it.





Stegosaurus















Celebrating the Creativity of my Brothers!



Roman loves the chair daddy made



Most of my family knows that we have a few inventors in our family. So, it really is no surprise that some of my siblings are talented and creative.

Recently, both my brothers have sent me pictures of their creations.




My brother, Jim, has made some beautiful Adirondack style furniture for his sons.

 

Jim is always cooking something!

My brother, Mark, has been busy remodeling his home both inside and out. He has made amazing light fixtures out of the most ordinary objects.

Both my brothers inherited my dad's creativity and talent.



Light from 1935 washing machine agitator





 

Light from a Minnow bucket ( so cool!)











Cutest Child Award!

My brother Jim and his wife Jackie's son Roman is about to get his first haircut. The tradition in the family is to refrain from a haircut until the child is a few years old.

Roman has beautiful flowing blonde curls and is the most adorable child. He will look great in short or long hair.

Another tradition is to enjoy a huge icecream cookie on the 4th of July which began when Jackie was pregnant with Vincent.

It sure would be fun to live in this household. Seven boys and counting.....

Celebrating the 4th of July



Mass of Humanity on Lake Geneva





Mary says "Hey."



This year, we decided to change up our 4th of July celebration due to my recent shoulder injury. Lou and I spent the day on the beach at Lake Geneva and then hosted a "dessert" party to celebrate our country's independence in the evening.

Lou defrosting a frozen water bottle.

This was the first time Stephanie's kids got to play with snakes. Emily became the snake expert by the end of the evening, and Matt had mastered the candle lighter well enough to light 4 sparklers at one time!!



Emily-A.K.A. "Snake Girl"



Pyro Children





We had giant bubbles, glow in the dark bracelets, lots of sweets and snacks, and a fire.





"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!"



LIttle Lucy was the star of the show, and was just as interesting as all the festivities. She handled the loud boom of the fireworks across the street like a real trooper, but by 11:00PM was getting a little tired. She did hold up a bit better than some of us older folks!!

It has been awhile since we all have gotten together, so this was a special night.





Mom and Lucy



Jeremy K.-a two-fisted eater.




















You Should see the Other Guy!

My brother, Mark, recently had a freak "gardening" accident. Although he thought it would be cooler to let the family think he was in a fight, the truth is, he stepped on a rake.






Eleven stitches!

 

Despite the pain and swelling, he spent the day after the accident working in the yard!! I am sure the rake was no where in sight!

Happy Fourth of July

This is a PowerPoint that I created. I took a fireworks tutorial and learned how to make fireworks-it is pretty cool.

I found some patriotic music on a website and just let it play as I recorded my PowerPoint in SnagIt.

So fun!!

Happy Fourth of July everyone!