Easter in Brookfield

We were happy to have the Wissinks join us for Easter week-end.  We love having them just a bit closer than they were when they lived in Ankeny. We certainly like the 4.5-5 hour drive better than the 6+ hour drive.  Of course we usually have the advantage of choosing our time so that we can hit Chicago at a good time---Adam and Rachel aren't always able to do that. I haven't counted the number of trips made, either by them or by us, but I know that we see them more often than we did before. And we love that!

On that Saturday we went up to Sheboygan and checked out a children's museum there.  It is called "Above and Beyond" and it is very cool!  Jeremiah had a lot of fun there.

Hmm, that clown looks slightly familiar!

Making music

Manning the check-out at the grocery store.

I loved when he stopped checking my groceries,

picked up the phone, and said to me, "Excuse me,

I have to take this call."

Jeremiah and Grandpa building with magnets

The giant pin screen

Jeremiah is posing next to his "face."

Doing some serious reading in the old-fashioned school room.

Jeremiah wasn't sure that he wanted to go through this tunnel.

"I'm afraid of heights, Grandma!"

But once he did it, he loved it!

A fireman's uniform just his size!

I think this may have been his favorite area.

And Hope just enjoyed watching all the activity.

On our way home we stopped in Cedarburg, since it was almost on the way. Well, only a little bit out of the way.  We had a late lunch/early dinner at the Cream and Crepe Cafe, a favorite of the Wiers ladies. And you can't eat there without having a dessert crepe.

Just looking at this picture makes my mouth water.

We also stopped at our other favorite Cedarburg spot---Amy's, for caramel apples. I didn't get any pictures, though.

While hanging around at home Jeremiah and Grandpa got in a little baseball in the front yard. 

He helped Grandpa feed the birds.

 Jeremiah found one of Auntie Abby's old 'treasures."

And he helped Grandma make a pie for Easter dinner.

Hope got to take her bath in Grandma's kitchen sink.  She loves her bath!

Easter morning we found two little bunnies in the living room.

.

I had to post both pictures to get them 

both looking at the camera. :)

Jeremiah helped Hope find her Easter basket, which 

was easier than finding his own. I somehow

didn't get a picture of J with his basket. :(

One more of the cute baby bunny

Of course we all went to church on Easter morning.  After church there were Easter "bags" from Grandma with a few more goodies.

The Brassers joined us for dinner, and Aunt JoAnne brought a whole bunch of eggs that she had filled so that Jeremiah could have an Easter Egg Hunt.  So after dinner she went outside and hid them all.  She was pretty clever with some of her hiding spots---Jeremiah had to really look hard to find them all!

Jeremiah and Aunt JoAnne

Checking out all his treasures---lots of 

candy and even some money to 

take home and put in his piggy bank!

March---California Trip

It has become pretty obvious to me that this blog is mis-titled.  I think it should be titled "Playing Catch-up"  since that seems to be the recurring theme.  I am now two months behind, so here goes with my first catch-up post--our March trip to California.

We were in Redlands from the 7th of March until the 18th.  The first week that we were there, Matt was gone on his Washington DC trip with his students.  So we were there to help out with some babysitting and getting Josie to and from school.  Josie goes to school every morning, and they live just a couple of blocks from school, so we would usually walk her to and from school. Sometimes it would be just Josie and me, and sometimes we would all go, and sometimes there would be scooters or bikes involved for the kids. It's a very enjoyable walk on sunny, warm mornings, especially when you know that it's still cold and snowy in Wisconsin.

Sunday lunch at Panera

Frozen yogurt and yummy toppings 

at Major Brain Freeze

At the park

99 cent bubbles from Walgreens--

a great investment!

Faces painted by Mommy--she's more

creative than Grandma.

Evan's decked out for July 4--a little early.

Sometimes a guy just needs a little nap. :)

Fresh sand in the sandbox--

another great investment!

The Sunday morning pancake tradition continues, and Grandpa always has help when Josie and Evan are around.

When Matt came home from his DC trip, he had a week of Spring Break.  We had planned our trip so that we could spend part of that week there so that we could have some time with the whole family. And we managed to get in a few fun outings during that time.  The first day he was back we went to a children's museum in Temecula--Mr. Pennypickle's Workshop.  It is a very unique place with a  unique name--not like any children's museum I've ever been to before.  

Evan and Josie are ready to go!

Checking out the gears

The music area

In the basket of a hot air balloon

Evan's going to make that globe go flying....

...and there it goes!!

Not sure what this chair was all

about, but Evan liked sitting in it. 

Right next to the museum there was a display of all kinds of metal art pieces---all kinds of creatures made out of metal.  The guy who was working there tried to talk me into buying one to bring home to Wisconsin.  He said it could withstand the winter weather. :)  He had to settle for getting us to pose for a picture with the octopus. 

All good outings should include ice cream,

and this one was no exception.

Another day we went to the mountains and did some hiking at Forest Falls.  It was a very warm day in Redlands, but just very pleasant at the higher altitude.  It was a great day for a hike and a picnic lunch. We definitely saw evidence of California's drought--not much water in the stream, but we could see how high the water had been at other times.

Of course he got wet!

A lovely view as I sat and waited while

the rest hiked a bit farther.

Cheryl and Josie exploring

On Tuesday Cheryl had to work, so she missed our outing to the California Citrus State Historic Park in Riverside. The Visitors Center was closed that day, except for a school field trip that was there.  But we could just walk around on our own.  We saw, and smelled, lots of citrus trees in blossom. Beautiful! 

 At one of the highest points in the park--

a beautiful view from up there. 

Walking back down the hill

The kids got to ride their bikes, too.

Taking a little rest.

On our last day, we didn't leave until late in the afternoon, so we made a couple stops before going to the airport.  One stop was at Bass Pro Shop, where the kids really enjoyed the fish tank and all the animals all over. The elevator was a big hit, and so was the delicious fudge!

Checking out some ATV's

We also stopped at Victoria Gardens, a beautiful outdoor shopping mall.  The kids enjoyed a ride on a little train there. 

After lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, it was off to the airport and back to Wisconsin.  We always go home with lots of good memories, as well as pictures.:)

A Quick Trip to Michigan

We made a quick trip to Michigan the week-end of Feb. 28.  We fared much better with the weather this time, and had very good trips both ways.  In fact our trip back on Saturday evening was probably the quickest trip we've ever had.  No snow and very little traffic makes for a much nicer drive!

Since it was a quick trip, I have just a few pictures to share.

Hope woke up with kind of a
"bad hair day" situation. :)

She seems a bit concerned.

A head band and a chat with Grandpa

make everything better. 

Hope finally got to meet Aunt Marilyn!

After our lunch with Marilyn in Hudsonville, we went to Zeeland to go bowling. This had been Jeremiah's birthday wish---we were only about 10 days late. 

Discussing his form with his coach (Adam).

The ramp is the greatest invention ever

for young bowlers! (along with the bumpers)

Success!!

So.... a quick trip, but well worth it.  We  enjoyed a great dinner in Saugatuck before heading home Saturday evening.  We love having the Wissinks a bit closer than they were before.  4+ hours is much nicer than 6+! 

Next trip will be to California for about 10 days.  We'll be leaving just as the weather is starting to warm up in Wisconsin.  'Warming up' is a relative term, though---I think they're predicting 30's and 40's.  We're hoping for something a bit warmer than that in Redlands. :)

My recycling project---The Tale of Two Dresses

A few years back our church had a ladies luncheon that included a fashion show of wedding dresses through the years.  I brought my wedding dress out to see if it would be suitable to be used for this event---worn by someone else, of course. (I think I maybe weighed about 120 pounds when we got married---what a return Bob got on his investment!!) Anyway, after looking at the dress, I decided that it probably wasn't fashion-show-worthy---there were a couple of stains on the front, and also all of the trim had really yellowed over the years.

I got to thinking that maybe I could take the dress apart and save the fabric and maybe it could be used someday for something else, like maybe a baby's baptism dress.  So I took it all apart and threw away all the yellowed trim. (That probably was not a smart move--it probably could have been bleached white again.) And then I put the fabric away in a closet.

Fast forward a few years to 2014, and we found out that Rachel and Adam were expecting a baby girl!  So that got the wheels turning again, and I started looking for someone who could make this all become a reality. I found a seamstress here in Brookfield and she was very excited about this project.  I did have some nervous moments, because this all took much longer than I expected---I first talked to her last July or August, and I picked up the finished dress 4 days before Hope's baptism.  I was also worried that I wasn't going to like the finished project, partly because whenever she sent me pictures of it, she had it on a rather creepy-looking doll. It was hard for me to then picture it on adorable little Hope. But in the end, it turned out very nicely, and Hope looked absolutely adorable in it.

So here I am in my wedding dress on July 6, 1974:

 My 70's look--long hair??

 And here is Hope Caroline on Feb. 1, 2015:

The seamstress made the head band, too, from the dress fabric.

Hope is lying on a very special blanket,

made by her great-great-grandma Wiers!

It was such a blessing to witness Hope's baptism, and it was very special to see her wearing this dress.  The seamstress even managed to find some trim that was very similar to what was originally on the dress.  So all my worrying about it was for nothing--it turned out very well.  And my only real regret is that I didn't think of doing this about 6 years ago, so that Josie could have worn it as well. It is now stored away until.......who knows?