The Saunders

2012-02-06T17:54:00.000-08:00

So 2nd semester has started for Paige and her teachers are calling her "Abby." Obviously, there's a family resemblance.

It finally worked out for me to take Bella and Lucy to a movie, so Sunday 29th Paige and I saw Beauty and the Beast in 3D with them. Lucy wore her 3D glasses in every position imaginable, but she was really very good during the movie. I worried about Bella ate too much popcorn, but needlessly so as she told Kristin she was actually hungry after the movie.

Paige missed school last Monday due to a rash on her face we think was caused by a new cleanser she had just bought. Urgent Care had her cooling the rash with a cool washcloth, hydrating by running a vaporizer at night and calming it with hydrocortizone. They also prescribed an antibiotic just in case. It's much better, but I've scheduled an appointment with her dermatologist for a follow up.

And Paige missed school again this Monday because we drove down to Indy to partake in the SuperBowl festivities in Indy. This is probably the closest to Milwaukee the SuperBowl will ever be, and we had the lodging already set! Abby drove in from UW-LaCrosse Friday night—she never misses an opportunity to visit the Sears. We set out for Indy Saturday at noon, after Paige took her practice ACT. (Next Saturday's the real one!) And we arrived by 5:00pm because of the easy drive. Meg had already arranged for a sitter for Mia and Cooper, so we packed everyone else up in their Honda Pilot and headed for SuperBowl Village in downtown Indy.

Now this was Bryce's first outing of the week. Bryce was diagnosed first with strep throat the previous Friday, then with mononucleosis by Wednesday. Bryce was definitely ready to get out, but it was hard to watch him—a 14-year-old sportsnut—run out of steam at the big SuperBowl party in his hometown.

We were able to park Saturday night for only $10. We walked to SuperBowl Village where the main streets were closed off for pedestrians and vendors. Meg's husband, William, scored us entry to a SuperBowl VIP party on the 3rd floor of a building right on Georgia St., the main drag, overlooking all the goings-on. We were treated to a free food and drink indoors (it was drizzling and a little chilly outside) and Bryce was able to sit down for a while. It was cool to watch the zipliners buzz by a eye-level and get to see everything from above.

We didn't forget all about Bryn. She wasn't able to come along because she was running in an indoor track meet at UW-Parkside Saturday afternoon. We kept up with her meet via texts and found out that she ran another amazing 800. Can't wait to watch her in person.

And Paige's phone was being bombarded with news about her softball teammate that was in a car crash Friday night. You've probably all seen it in the news: the 9 teens in Campbellsport. Paige's teammate is one of the 6 survivors. Today she had surgery for her 2 broken arms. She also has 2 fractured vertebrae (one in her neck and one in her back) that doctors feel will heal by themselves over time. Paige has softball practice Tuesday night and maybe some of them will make a plan to go visit Jesse together.

Jeff and Abby got to see Meg's salon for the first time Sunday morning. Abby and Logan took measurements for all the new work I have to do: signage for the salon while Meg explained her payment plan for me: Scentsy Swap.

Sunday we were able to venture downtown again with Mia and Cooper in tow. This required 2 cars and parking had gone up considerably in one day. We found a lot (farther away than the night before) for $25. We stopped in the Westin Hotel for a rest and while Bryce was alone, he had a celebrity sighting: Betty White! She was accompanied by 2 bodyguards. No one else the entire weekend was so lucky. We all wore our Packers apparel and took some great pictures being able to see all the decorations in the daylight. We drove back to Meg & William's to relax at their home and watch the game.

Got up, packed up and left today. Really had fun.

Back to work. Yep, work. I got a freelance client that promises me work on a consistent basis. Kept me pretty busy this past week and they're great to work with. I'm meeting with them Wednesday to go over some minor details.

2012-01-26T04:16:00.000-08:00

Abby packed up her room and moved back to La Crosse last Wednesday. I still can't believe it's her last semester! She's secured another babysitting job, this time watching 3 little girls. And Abby's applying to stay in La Crosse for another year working on the staff of CRU, the organization she's been so involved with all along.

Paige finished her first semester of her junior year with final exams last week. She's knows what she has to do to get into college and worked hard. We've scheduled her first college visit at UW-Whitewater in April.

Paige had been complaining about not being able to see the board in class and having difficulty reading road signs while driving, so she urged us to get her in for an eye exam. The doctor was confused at first. Listening to her symptoms, it seemed an flat-out near-sightedness diagnosis. But as he swapped out those many lenses, he discovered her to actually be far-sighted. Her eyes were becoming so strained working to focus on things close up, that her eye just became too tired to focus far away. She picked out the cutest pair of frames and was amazed at the difference she was able to see when she put them on. She doesn't "have to" wear them, but is encouraged to have them on when on the computer or doing schoolwork.

I've been home so long I'm wondering how I'll adjust once I have to go to work again. I'm enjoying keeping every little thing organized and being able to do some serious research graphic/web design trends. I was assigned to an ad agency downtown for some overflow help last week, but only for one day. Nice place, but I guess the one day is all they needed. I've begun scouring the internet for jobs and applied for a handful.

2012-01-17T06:25:00.000-08:00

Wish Bryn could've been home as long as Abby over this winter break. We did meet up to have dinner with Bryn at Texas Roadhouse on Jan 8th to hear more about her trip to the Rose Bowl.

Abby's been working hard to make some much-needed funds for next semester. Hallmark has been generous with hours and Kristin had Abby help out dogsitting and watching the girls a couple times. Now, if she could just find their garage door opener...

We also found a "client" for the final graphic design class Abby has next semester. Her friend's (Kendal) mom recently went into the beading/jewelry business and Abby will work with her to create her logo and other business materials she may need. Last night we had them over for a photoshoot of her products to start Abby along.

Paige has begun indoor softball practices for her select team, the Sussex SunDevils. She's done a good job rearranging her work schedule in order to make it to 2 of the 3 weekly practices. (That means she likes it!)

Jeff accompanied me to an art show opening last Friday night for an old friend of mine. She worked as an intern at Norman Design about 10 years ago and now she's at the Milwaukee Public Museum and an artist in her own right. I was really impressed with her eclectic artwork and was glad I got to support her at the opening.

Speaking of art, this is Paige's beehive pot from her ceramics class. She's not wild about it, but I love it!

Bryn had her first indoor track meet Saturday at Carthage. (I placed a link to her schedule at the right.) I totally had the time to go, but never thought there was a meet coming up already! Bryn did exceptionally well! Coach put her in the open 800 and in a 4x400 relay. I called to congratulate her on her 800 time and she was happy with her results as well.

Jeff and Abby drove up to Appleton for Christopher's baptism last Sunday. Jeff said Abby got in a lot of cuddling time with the babies. Then they got to come home and watch the sad, sad Packer game. I stayed home with Paige to attend Generations of Faith and then she had softball practice. From softball, Paige followed the gps directions out to Bryn's dorm and stayed overnight since Paige didn't have school Monday. They watched the game, movies and danced with video games. Another priceless activity: Bryn tutoring Paige in chemistry for Paige's upcoming 1st semester final exams.

The freelance project for Hatco through my temp agency hasn't amounted to much work, so I turned my work focus inward and worked on my own website (link at right). I had fun photographing some items that I didn't have documented before and writing descriptions to let viewers know what my involvement was. Another step toward building my business is that I finally upgraded my dying iPhone3G to an iPhone4S. Now I feel confident to receive calls on it as the reception is even clearer. And I just ordered business cards that many have been asking for at the networking events I attend.

2012-01-06T13:48:00.000-08:00

I finished up my temp assignment at Readers Digest on December 22nd. That day was the last day the building was open before the entire company shut down over Christmas break, so I had kind of a lonely and therefore quiet last day. I'm really glad I pushed to work 3 days/week during the month of December so I could be more available to get ready for the holidays and for our college kids returning home.

Bryn was done December 8th, so she was home quite a bit before her friends were. Abby came home on the 21st. Her finals were later and she wanted to stay to help celebrate one of her roommates leaving for an internship in Minneapolis 2nd semester.

When Paige finished her final half-day on December 23rd, we headed up to Appleton to celebrate Christmas with Jeff's family. It was a picture-perfect White Christmas! Snow fell as we mingled with the Saunders, Stanleys and Hintzs that afternoon at Maggie and Tom's. We also visited Richard in Menasha and were treated to a fish fry near his home.

On Christmas Eve we gathered with my family first for an amazing service at Elmbrook, then over to Kristin's to open presents. We went to a later church service because Paige had to work, and that made for a long night. Bella and Lucy were tired, but managed to stay awake and help everybody tear open their gifts. Bella presented many gifts to Kristin, the favorite being some cardboard packing Bella decorated that Kristin was to wear like a sandwich board!

Abby left for her annual TCX conference in Minneapolis on the 28th. It's a leadership conference with the Campus Crusade for Christ she's involved with at UW-L. She was able to shadow the Events Planner which counts toward her internship credits for her Communications major. Hard to believe, but Abby will graduate in May! We've reserved our hotels rooms already!

And Bryn left for the Rose Bowl in sunny California the next day (29th). I drove her and her 3 friends down to Chicago to catch the Amtrak that would chug them (over 40 hours) all the way to Los Angeles. I picked them back up yesterday (Jan 5). Sounds like they had a terrific time and adventured to the beach and Santa Monica Pier for the Badger Pep Rally on Dec 31, to Sunset Boulevard for a fancy dinner on New Years Day and finally to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl game on the 2nd. The weather was fabulous the entire time. I'm still drooling to see pictures!

Jeff came with me to on the 29th to Chicago and after we got the kids off safely, we drove over to Craig's and wished him a Happy Birthday. He introduced us to his local hangout where we bought him dinner. Glad we got to do that especially since Craig's son, Clark, was gone to DisneyWorld that week.

Back in Wisconsin, Paige hosted a New Years Eve sleepover complete with frozen pizza and chocolate cream pie. Jeff and I headed to the theatre and wound up sitting in the front row because it was so crowded! And spent New Years Day at the Seeds watching the Packers game.

Abby's been picking up lots of hours at Hallmark over her break. Even taking some of Paige's hours so she can get to her softball practices that are now starting up. We had to deliver Bryn back to Carroll after a home-cooked dinner last night so she could get up bright and early for track practice this morning. Practice had started the beginning of the week.

I'm currently working from home for the beginning of my next temp assignment which is redesigning all the literature for Hatco, a foodservice equipment company. Next week, I'll be showing them my new designs for their 5 catalogs! Then we'll see where it goes from there. After this design stage, I'm really not equipped to do the further production work at home...

2011 Christmas Card

2011-12-16T06:13:00.001-08:00

Another digital ecard by Smilebox

2011-12-15T09:32:00.000-08:00

As many of you may have already seen on Facebook, we finally got our new furniture for the basement! Obviously we got the measurements right, as the delivery down the stairs took all of 10 minutes. And it looks and feels beautiful! I can't believe how great it looks with the rug! Bryn and Paige took full advantage of its comforts last night taking the basement space back.

Other even bigger news is Bryn's score to go to the Rose Bowl. One of her good friends, a UW student (obviously), purchased 4 tickets hoping she could get a group to go and made it happen. Her father used his frequent-stayer points to reserve them a hotel. We parents all talked about how to get them out there in a safe, affordable manner and yesterday we all purchased their Amtrak tickets from Chicago to LA. When I have time to surf, I've been researching how the kids can get around LA and what to do.

Jeff and I attended Paige's Junior Conference yesterday with her and her guidance counselor. This is part of a new plan by the high school to help kids get where they want to go after graduation by analyzing if they're on track with their grades, activities, college tours and applications. After hearing that Paige was interested in studying business, the counselor urged her to sign up for a UW-Whitewater visit and explore the different fields within business.

Abby was supposed to come home last weekend with all 6 of her roommates as they continue their "Hometown Tour." Their senior year is upon them so they're making the most of their last year together by scheduling visits to each roommate's hometown sometime during the schoolyear. With it being December (holidays, finals, etc.), only 1 roommate was available to come on Abby's designated "Milwaukee" weekend, so they decided to postpone. Paige was none too happy. Rescheduled date is still to be determined.

Jeff got to see the Pack go 13-0 last Sunday against the Raiders. His college buddies always go to one Packer game each year and this was it. Luckily the weather was pretty bearable for a game in Green Bay: 40° and overcast, but the game was pushed back to 3:15 so you couldn't rely on the sun making any impact. How 'bout til that crazy night game on Christmas Day!

It's official. I will be done at Readers Digest on December 22. My temp agency is already on it and has offered me to sign me up for a few classes they offer—at their expense—to help me into some Front End Developer jobs that are becoming more popular. Kind of scary to get into all that crazy programming, but that's where my job seems to be going.

2011-12-06T08:54:00.001-08:00

As luck would have it, just when I began my part-time hours, I picked up a freelance job! A past client called me to produce their annual calendar again for 2012. I really couldn't have planned it any better. I've met her for coffee twice and enjoy the project management/directing part of being a designer that does lack in my temporary gigs.

We hosted the Sears family over Thanksgiving and had a lot of fun with them bargain shopping, dancing with the Wii and just hanging out. Kristin actually hosted Thanksgiving dinner with Meg's family, Craig's family and Mom and Dad. We however continued our tradition of heading up towards Appleton where Maggie treats us all to a family-style Thanksgiving out at Van Abel's. Paige and I got the house guest-ready on our days off beforehand. Abby was able to get some work hours in over that holiday weekend.

We got Bryn back to Carroll Sunday after church at Elmbrook and Abby left with her rider later in the afternoon.

I went out for Mexican with the girls' babysitters, Wendy and Robin this past Friday night. Always a lot to catch up on when we meet. Robin definitely outdid us all with 2 weddings and a baby! I'm glad we still get together as I so love their company. Their kids are just a bit older than mine so I listen very carefully and try to learn from their good examples.

And the next evening Jeff and I cheered on the Badgers with my former college roommate, Polly, and her husband that now reside in Brookfield.

2011-11-21T05:47:00.001-08:00

Ahhhh..... I have off work this week and Paige has off school all week. My future at Readers Digest was resolved last Tuesday: I'll be working 3 days/week through December 22nd. I'm very happy with that schedule through the holidays.

Got together with my old high school buddy, Guy, last weekend. We had him over for dinner, then went downtown to the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre to see Lombardi. Wow! Was that good! Guy is a high school English teacher and is very interested in film as well and even he said the play was incredible. Glad to hear he's taking good care of himself after his heart surgery a couple years ago.

The Art Guild I belong to is painting wineglasses again and this month we all painted with a holiday theme in mind. I was quite pleased with mine and kind of hated to give them up (I did not paint all these pictured). Another member was able to get the glasses on the shelves of a local liquor store (Otto's). Proceeds from the sales go to our Guild's scholarship fund.

Celebrated my birthday Saturday with a very relaxing day at home, then dinner at PFChang's with Paige and Jeff. Had never been there before, but will surely go again! It was delicious! And affordable. Really glad Jeff had made a reservation, because the typical wait time for others coming in was 1 hour, 10 minutes!

Jeff got to use some of his company's season tickets and took Paige, Bryn and her friend Margo to the Packers game yesterday. The girls were so excited to go to their first Packers game! Too bad Abby couldn't partake—too far away. Even said it wasn't so cold there in the stands. The UW Band was there and paraded through the stands, and American Idol winner Kris Allen sang the national anthem. Paige commented on how many people were wearing blaze orange. After the game, Jeff took them to Kroll's for a burger. Traffic was heavy through Oshkosh, then let up after that.

We Skyped with Abby last night. They've got a couple dogs in the house for a few days and boy are they cute!

2011-11-11T12:04:00.001-08:00

The annual Hunt in Waubeno was last weekend, so Jeff journeyed north with his college buddies for a weekend of male bonding. Living in a household full of women, Jeff definitely deserves his hunting weekend. Jeff retold the stories of his classmates and their families to Paige and I when he returned Sunday evening. A couple of the guys now bring their sons up to partake.

While Jeff was in Waubeno, Abby came in from La Crosse. Paige had been missing her sisters. Abby and Paige went out and picked up Bryn Saturday and they all went to see Footloose. I missed out because I was re-ordering the proper couch for our basement at the furniture store. I heard Footloose was really good though! We all reconnected at Kristin's for pizza afterward. Convenient because Kristin lives part-way between Carroll and our house.

The couch fiasco... Jeff had sent an email immediately after delivery that went unanswered. Probably because our salesperson works part-time. Mid-week I called and was able to talk to her. I brought up the discrepancy between what the fact sheet lists as the couch dimensions and what we are actually measuring. She went and measured the same piece on her salesfloor. She called us back later that same night saying that that discrepancy is the manufacturer's error and we'd be able to return and reorder our custom pieces without any penalty ($)! Thank goodness. So the reordered pieces should arrive early January. Long wait.

Received notice Wednesday that my contract here at Reader's Digest has been extended through December 22nd. What? I guess I wasn't anticipating that at all. So this weekend I'm taking time to evaluate what availability I can offer them, if any. In the past couple weeks, I've received various freelance offers and even another temporary gig, but what will pan out and what won't?

And here's Bryn and Paige showing off their newly pierced earlobes!

2011-11-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

Poor Jeff had to work long hours the week of his birthday, so we didn't really get to celebrate. Paige and I really wanted to take him to The Cheesecake Factory for dessert! Guess we'll go another day.

I took off work last Friday and Monday just to have a break during my 3-month assignment of working full-time. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. Friday Paige had off school as well. My parents came down and I drove them through Greendale, where Readers Digest is located and showed them around. We used our 30% off coupons at Kohls buying Jeff birthday presents. Then we lunched at Ferch's and all enjoyed a malt shoppe treat! Paige got a lot of giggles trying to help Grandma figure out her new smart phone.

Friday night we met up with the Taorminas for a fish fry at the Schwabenhof. Haven't been there in a long time and it was delicious! We did have to wait a while because they were so busy, but it really was a great place to bring Kristin's little ones. Lucy kept us laughing at her sipping her "beer"!

Paige had a Halloween party Saturday night and her $2.50 mask from Bartzs was perfect to complete her cat costume. Jeff and I went to see The Ides of March. Very good movie.

We were so anticipating the arrival of our new sectional for the basement Sunday! It was supposed to come between 2-4pm, but it ended up being 6:00pm—in the pouring rain. The deliverymen tried and tried, but couldn't get the couch piece down our basement stairs. The tension was thick in our house that night. The couch remains wrapped in plastic in our living room until we resolve with our salesperson what our options are. It's really pretty though!

Both Paige and Bryn decided to get their ears pierced in the last week! Weird coincidence!

Lots of Halloween candy leftover that I don't like. Bummer. Not as many trick-or-treaters this year even though the weather was pretty decent. Jeff and Paige bought and carved their pumpkins Sunday.

2011-10-25T13:37:00.001-07:00

Today's is Jeff's 49th birthday! Think we'll have to celebrate this weekend though — so tough during the work week.

We're very excited for an email update we expect tomorrow about a new couch we ordered for the basement. When we first ordered the couch, we were told not to look for delivery until after Thanksgiving, but last Wednesday we got word that it may be coming as soon as this weekend! Ah! We will have gained back our basement finally after the flood took it out last April.

We went downtown with Bob & Deb Klimko for Gallery Night Friday night. We each had time restraints, but we made the most of what we had. Perfect weather for it. I got to see some fellow Guild member's art on display, but unfortunately the artists themselves weren't there to chat with.

Paige was supposed to head to Carroll to visit Bryn last weekend, but Bryn's cross country coach had other ideas. He scheduled a full-day practice in Ripon Saturday (where their next meet will be held), which pretty much cancelled out Paige's visit. With time back on her side, Paige was able to go to a haunted house up in Hubertus Friday night and then to a haunted corn maze in West Allis Saturday night. Perfect weekend for all these outdoor activities.

We hosted a chili dump Sunday during the Packers/Vikings game and it was a lot of fun. Many guests were a little leary about the whole idea, but all agreed that the chili turned out delicious. Loved talking to friends that we hadn't seen for months. Jeff, Paige and I will be eating leftover chili and cornbread muffins for quite a while as everyone was too generous with bringing side dishes.

Backing up a bit, Bryn did recover from her ankle injury to run in Oshkosh on Oct 15th. Jeff, Terry and I came to watch her run against the wind that day. Then we were invited to a teammate's home in Neenah for lunch after the meet. Drove to Menasha to get in a quick visit with Jeff's Dad. And finally went to see how Maggie and Tom were doing since Maggie's foot surgery. Finally we drove back to Waukesha to get Bryn as Carroll had a couple days off for a Fall Break. Bryn had the house to herself and did her laundry and kept up with her running.

2011-10-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to try smaller, bite-size posts. That way, I'm hoping to ease my way back in to blogging.

So I'm currently working full-time at Readers Digest (formerly Reiman Publications) in Greendale. It's a beautiful building and I love the neighborhood. Everyday, weather permitting, I walk the endless sidewalks of the village during my 30-minute lunch. I treasure that time to get away from my desk and computer. My job consists of designing and programming emails that get blasted to Taste of Home subscribers. I have free reign on the creative and I get to do digital work – bonus! My assignment here is through November 18, then I intend to take that next week off. Who knows after that.

Paige just wrapped up Homecoming week, having a blast playing in the Powerpuff game and joining 14 other girls to the dance. Pics are on Facebook, of course. She just got a card in the mail from Shelley, the owner of Hallmark, welcoming her to the store. Paige has a good job.

Jeff hasn't had to go to Virginia for a while which is nice. He helped coach the junior girls for Powderpuff. Jeff's almost finished with the wood trim in the basement after replacing the flooring this summer thanks to our flood. We just purchased a couch/sectional for the basement which will be delivered in November. Really looking forward to having another spot for TV watching. Teen Mom is not my favorite.

Bryn took charge and got herself back to running this summer so she could join the Carroll Cross Country team this fall. She's doing great. Abby and I went to watch her run Labor Day weekend at St. Norberts. Bryn recently "rolled" her ankle which put her on injured reserve for a week, but she hopes to compete this weekend.

Drove out to La Crosse the last weekend in September to visit Abby and check out Octoberfest. The parade seemed the most civil thing about it. We brought Theo along and he stayed with Paige and Abby at her house overnight. He loved it. Abby and Amy took us on a really cool bluff hike and we found a new dining spot.

2011-06-05T15:23:00.001-07:00

Another long break between posts as I have not found any semblance of routine in my life yet.

Clean up has been ongoing since the flood mid-April. We're constantly hosting various workers. In the basement, we've had a new wall drywalled and painted, existing cabinetry rehung, a new countertop installed, and ceiling tiles replaced. Jeff just order new materials to put in the floor himself so we can save a little $. Upstairs, we've had new carpeting laid throughout the living and piano room, new vinyl laminate flooring in the mudroom and all our baseboard back in place. Jeff met with the insurance adjuster and the restoration foreman last week to evaluate the condition of the kitchen hardwood floor and the meter says it's still damp, so we reevaluate in August. We're also discussing new cabinetry for the mudroom and leaving the utility sink out of there.

We were able to escape the construction a few time. Kristin and Carlo hosted Easter this year and we couldn't have been happier to eat a home-cooked meal. During spring break, Paige and I joined Kristin, Bella and Lucy for a 3-day road trip down to Indy to visit the Sears clan and finally see Meg's new salon. (Many more pics on my Facebook page.) We also got to celebrate Cooper's 5th birthday and see Bryce play baseball. The kids all had so much fun playing together. And we traveled up to the Cabin for a portion of Memorial Day weekend which was beautiful and restful.

Totally unrelated to the flood, but happening at the same time is our roof! Damaged by high winds last fall, we were always planning to have this done this summer. We found out we have CertainTeed shingles that are part of a class action lawsuit, so we may come by some $ that way. The roofers arrived last Thursday and should finish up tomorrow (Monday). We'll be very happy NOT to see roof granules from our deteriorating shingles littered all over our deck, front sidewalk and washed down the downspouts.

Luckily I have been off work for the majority of this time and have kept super busy reorganizing just about every drawer and closet throughout the house. Many trips to Goodwill, metals recycling and the dump.

Abby and Bryn have come home for the summer from college. Both will begin summer jobs next week. Bryn has been hired by our Park & Rec Dept as a playground supervisor. She'll be putting in 40hrs/week and will be tired! For now, she is completing an online course and likes to get some sun while studying and/or writing. Abby is trying to tackle two different internships as well as keeping her part-time job at Hallmark. The first internship is with Columbia St. Mary's hospital where I temped this past January – March. She will help out in the Marketing Dept where I was. The second intership is with The Cathedral Center, a homeless shelter for women and families in downtown Milwaukee. She will help with fundraisers, their website and any other marketing or public relations issues.

Paige just turned 16 last week so she will be checking in on her application with Hallmark to see if her sister got her in. That would be awesome! We got Paige 16 gifts for her 16th birthday and took her out to a Japanese steakhouse (at her request) for her birthday. Paige is scheduled to take her driver's test next Monday. Paige just finished up her high school softball season and led her JV team with homeruns and triples. Now she can rejoin her summer team, the Sussex SunDevils for their practices and games. (New link at right for Sun Devils schedule).

Jeff's done teaching at MSOE for this schoolyear. It's kept him pretty busy this spring, but now he's ready to jump on some of our own projects around the house.

Bryn just had her wisdom teeth out last Friday. She's recovering well. No reaction to the anesthesia like Abby. Thank goodness! Bryn just had two upper wisdom teeth that the doctor commented were located "in the skydome." He prescribed some antibiotics as a precaution to any infection that could occur in the sinus cavity because the teeth were so high up.

Abby just returned from a weekend in La Crosse to visit friends. You can tell she really misses that place this year. I'm glad she's confident enough to make the trip.

I get to work again (full-time) next week in Waukesha for an ad agency that specializes in healthcare. I got to temp there a couple weeks ago and really liked it. The office is very casual and the work is very similar to what I did at Norman Design. Biggest difference is that it's a larger company, so there's a hierarchy of checks and approvals that I really appreciate. I can learn from that kind of input. Otherwise, it seems that I'm getting more opportunities and will be interviewing at a couple places (through C2) to be put on a few companies' rosters as regular oncall help. So it's working out pretty well. When I'm home, I'm trying to learn a new way to develop websites and using my brother's company as my guinea pig. By subscribing to an online tutorial site (lynda.com), I'm learning as I go.

2011-04-22T05:04:00.000-07:00

Our house has been torn apart. Literally. The night of April 12th, I couldn't sleep. About midnight I decided to follow my usual remedy and came downstairs to fall asleep while watching TV. It worked! But I slowly awakened to the annoying sound of the dishwasher running. "But wait, it didn't sound normal... Whatever, I'm comfy... I didn't think I set the dishwasher to run again tonight... Jeff must have... Argh! The running water is making me have to go to the bathroom!" I finally decide to get up about 3:30am and OMG! The carpeting is soggy! And the kitchen wood floor is a giant puddle! I yell up the stairs to Jeff that we're flooding somehow and he flew down the basement to turn the water supply off. He stayed in the basement while I gathered every towel we owned. I repeatedly soaked up the kitchen floor with new towels then threw them out on the frost-covered deck to drip dry. When I couldn't soak up anymore, I joined Jeff in the basement. I had no idea the water was raining from the ceilings in the basement. I began the towel routine on the floors again after placing garbage cans, plastic bins and laundry baskets under spots where it was leaking most. Ceiling tiles literally disintegrated from being soaked with the water. Jeff and I were so cold and tired from hauling our damp mess out of the house.

We placed our claim online at 7:30am. No response. I called the insurance company at noon to follow up because we were worried about our saturated living room carpet that we hadn't touched. The insurance company assured us someone would call the next day (!) and we could do anything we deemed necessary to prevent the water damage from spreading. Jeff and I decided to cut the carpet where it was wet and take it out. Wow! The carpet and padding were so saturated they just poured water as we moved them out to the patio. At 2:30 we did receive a call from ServPro, the insurance company's restoration team, that they would be to our house within the hour. That's more like it!

So from Wednesday through the following Monday, our home was an obstacle course full of loud dryers and special floor mats with a zillion hoses. Paige, Jeff and I were forced to eat meals out then spend our evenings up in our bedroom to watch TV.

The fans are now gone and so is our carpeting, mud room flooring and basement flooring. Now Jeff and I have to resolve our claim and choose who will repair it all.

My parents came down Sunday and stayed til Thursday to help me deal with my mess. I purchased a workbench for Jeff online through Craiglist deciding since all our belongings were in upheaval, it was time to organize Jeff's tools that had been tucked into the little nook below the basement stairs. I enlisted my Dad to build one wall where we'd set up the work area and he did it in 3 days! Pretty spiffy! Now, the organization begins!

Last Wednesday (13th) was also Abby's 21st birthday. She told us her roommates opened a bottle of wine at midnight to celebrate. Kristin was in town for a tradeshow and took Abby out for dinner that evening. Abby called us later and sounded like she had a really great day.

I'm still unemployed, which for the past 2 weeks has been a godsend. But I have to admit, I'm getting a little nervous. A couple leads here and there, but nothing's come of them. So I've invented a project for myself: to redesign Jeff's company's website. It's been under construction for 3 years! Jeff says I can anticipate getting paid, but maybe a discounted rate. Right now, that sounds good to me!

2011-04-06T10:56:00.001-07:00

I'm back. Working full-time and personal blogging don't mix. I've finished my 12 week temporary assignment at Columbia St. Mary's (picture of their beautiful office building) filling in for their graphic designer who was on maternity leave. It truly was a fabulous experience – a perfect match. But now I'm home for a while til the temp agency finds me something new. Luckily I have a freelance project in the works that's kept me busy. Outside of that, I've updated my resume, my LinkedIn profile and created a logo for my freelance business. Trying to keep my skills sharp!

Looking back over the past 3 months I've neglected, here are a few of the Saunders family's big events.

We now know exactly what time it is in our kitchen again thanks to the purchase of a new stove! It's lovely and very clean. No more burners to clean now that I have a flat top.

And Abby's Prizm is $800 better than it was when we just had it fixed over Winter Break (new exhaust system and tires). She drove it home one weekend in February and as she was leaving to go back the power steering fluid completely emptied after just one trip around the block. Jeff filled it up and again! We had to let her take the van back while we took her car into the shop. Major injuries again: new belt, brakes (pads & rotors), brakeline.

Paige tried out and made the high school's JV softball team as their starting pitcher. Their first game was yesterday. I've added a link so you can check out her season schedule. Upon recommendation from the coaches, Paige also joined a select team, the Sussex Sundevils. Those games will begin in June (I don't have a schedule yet). Paige will turn 16 the end of May which means she can get a job and try for her driver's license! Abby's boss at Hallmark seems very interested in hiring Paige and Paige has the application to fill out. As for driving, Paige has completed 4 of her 6 Behind-the-Wheel classes so she's well on her way. In February Paige placed 4th at the Future Business Leaders of America Conference where she had to debate the benefits of businesses going green.

As of January Bryn officially changed her major at Carroll from Physical Therapy to Writing. She seems very happy with her choice, but I asked her to research job opportunities now so she can build supporting classes. Bryn joined the college track team, but is not able to participate at the meets because she still limps from removing the surgical screw in January from her bunion surgery a year ago. But she's a great team supporter: she attends every practice and every meet without fail. This summer Bryn has been hired as a playground leader for 5-year-olds with our local Park and Rec. She been assigned the early shift 6am - noon, but she's fine with it commenting that then she can just get on with her day!

Abby will turn 21 in just a couple days! My sister Kristin will be there to help celebrate. As a coincidence, Kristin has a tradeshow in La Crosse that day! Abby spent spring break in Panama City, Florida, with CRU this year. You can tell she had a blast by her pictures on Facebook. Abby is searching hard for a paid marketing or communications internship this summer in the Milwaukee area. She may have to settle for unpaid and then keep her job at Hallmark.

Jeff has become a traveling fool. Besides his monthly 4-day visits to the Martha Jefferson Hospital construction site in Charlottesville, Virginia, he's been to York, Pennsylvania and Denver, Colorado for new Johnson Controls building projects. Within Wisconsin, Jeff was driving Paige up to Horicon weekly for pitching practice.

We scheduled a family vacation to San Diego in August with our Hilton timeshare. Looking forward to the destination, not so excited about the plane ride.

2010-12-19T17:13:00.000-08:00

A free digital ecard by Smilebox

2010-11-28T05:20:00.000-08:00

Friday Nov 12th I drove down to Illinois to visit a client and then to IKEA to shop with my sister, Meg, for salon furniture. The client was Tek Packaging in Huntley, Illinois whom I've worked with to develop packaging for their GoPlate. My contact put together a fascinating tour of the plant that culminated in providing me with samples of my work. Then I met Meg at IKEA where we searched for chairs and tables to put in the waiting areas of her new salon. We found tables, but no chairs. After supper, Meg still had energy to search other stores, but still no luck. We stayed overnight and talked marketing, then left soon after breakfast the next morning.

The Art Guild was asked to help staff a Village-sponsored event that next day, Saturday Nov 13th. The Village opened a vacant storefront downtown and the Guild supplied the materials and helped children decorate Christmas stockings for a contest. It was fun, but I think the rain kept the attendance down.

And that evening, we attended the annual high school Scholarship Dinner and Auction. Always a good time. This year the venue was moved to Silver Spring Country Club and the food was fabulous! Jeff and I bid on a number of items, and only won one: a golf package. We sure had fun with Misasis and Zalowskis.

Jeff flew out to Virginia again for his monthly meetings that Monday (Nov 15th) and was back late Wednesday.

My 47th birthday was busier than I anticipated. The day before (Thursday) Aaron and Mike treated me to lunch at AJBombers. They have the BEST turkey burger and sweet potato fries! I started out with my Friday routine attending Step class at the Y. The membership card scanner played "Today is Your Birthday" when I checked in and I received a free guest pass. Then my class was subjected to 47 repetitions of a tough step thanks again to the birthday girl. From the Y, I showered and drove in to work to finish up a few things. John was on vacation deer hunting in Michigan so it seems I'm always doomed to work extra hours my birthday week. Then I ran around picking up things for Bryn's last-minute departure later that night. Don't worry, Paige and Jamie baked me a very chocolatey, yummy birthday cake!

So the Misasi family graciously invited little Bryn to come along on their trek to Colorado and surprise their daughter – and Bryn's best friend – Natalie during Thanksgiving break. The weeklong trip didn't exactly line up with Bryn's time off from school, so she discussed with her professors beforehand. Now if Bryn is able to get the work done while she's in that beautiful surroundings... So Jeff went to get Bryn from Carroll Friday at 5pm, so she could pack up and get to the Misasis by 9pm, so they could leave by 3am! We Skyped with Bryn Thanksgiving night. Bryn spent that day skiing, complete with a lesson in the morning. She returns early this afternoon and we can't wait to hear all about it. Bryn was a good little daughter and has sent me pics on her phone every once in a while to placate me.

Tuesday was a tough day for little Paigey. Her good friend, Jamie, enlisted in the Army and Tuesday was her sendoff. Jamie's family included Paige that day and took her to downtown to see Jamie swear in and say their goodbyes at the airport where Jamie heads for basic training in South Carolina. Jamie and Paige spent a lot of time together lately and there's going to be a big void.

Paige's conferences were that afternoon and I got to hear how sweet and quiet Paige is in school. Every teacher commented on how they're trying to get Paige to "open up." Funny. She's doing awesome in her Media Studies and business classes.

Headed to Appleton Thanksgiving Day to eat out at Van Abel's with Jeff's family. I love this tradition! I so look forward to that broasted chicken every year. After dinner, we relaxed at Maggie's for the afternoon. We chatted for hours. Paige even decided on her confirmation name with the help of her aunt: Deborah. Jeff and I received an early Christmas present from Terry and Paul: 3 bags of frozen fish Paul caught and frozen french fries!

My alarm went off at 5:00am so I was awake when Kristin called to announce that we didn't have to wait in line at our first store because she was able to buy it online. She had gotten up twice already that morning trying to see if/when it might be available online, and she just never went back to bed after 4:00. Wow! So we started at Target which was a total bust: first, there was no parking to be had. We get into the store and the lines are longer than I've ever seen there. So while I was in my non-moving checkout line, I purchased what I wanted using my iPhone and left everyone else in the dust! Next we hit Kohls, which is always productive, ToysRUs and Brookfield Square mall. We all went home and napped so I could prepare myself to work concessions at the season opening boys' basketball game. What a workout that was! We couldn't restock soda fast enough so people were complaining it wasn't cold. Jeff popped popcorn nonstop while people pulled aside waiting for their bag. We had to serve hot dogs on hamburger buns because we ran out of hot dog buns. And it took us til 10:00pm to get out of there. Unreal.

Last night we had the Taorminas and Abby's boyfriend, Mark, over for dinner. I was prepared with stickers as Paige and I had just returned from a trip to Michael's where she was looking for something to make her friend Jamie. Lucy and Bella were fascinated with Paige laughing at the faces she would make and retrieving her from her bedroom whenever they realized she was gone and they were missing her. We all started watching Finding Nemo, but it got too late so Lucy and Bella just checked it from the Saunders library.

2010-11-10T16:25:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday night was a flurry of housecleaning getting ready for the weekend houseguests. I was pooped after cleaning all 3 bathrooms! But along with that just-cleaned carpeting, the house looks fabulous!

My parents arrived shortly after I got home from work Thursday evening. Mom brought homemade cream of chicken noodle soup that we served for dinner. Yum! Friday morning I skipped my Step class at the Y and bummed around with Mom & Dad for the day. They came with me to the DMV to get my driver's license renewed. So glad to replace my old license where my picture had my eyes closed! My new picture is actually decent! After that we took a look around the new Woodman's where I picked up some good buys that included a couple bottles of wine.

Then it was off to Carroll for their Family Weekend. Bryn let us know she would not be available until 3:30pm — after classes, lunch and aquajogging. We picked up Kristin, Bella and Lucy to come along too. When we arrived at Kristin's I noticed a very flat back tire and Dad came to the rescue hooking up Carlo's new air compressor to fill 'er up. We all hiked up to the 4th floor to see Bryn's dorm room, walked the campus just a bit (chilly!), walking through buildings where we could. Then we packed ourselves back into the van bringing Bryn along for the not-to-be-missed monthly St. Anthony's fish fry. Timing was of the essence again as we had to have Paige to driver's ed class by 6pm, so we were in line by 5:00. Worked out pretty well.

Paige's Confirmation Retreat was rescheduled to earlier in the day Saturday. And when I say earlier, I mean they had to be there at 7:00am!! (Reason being that half of the kids at our church attend Germantown and their football team had a Div1 playoff game that afternoon.) Saturday was Jeff's side of the family's turn for Family Weekend and Carroll. They stopped by to pick Jeff up at 10:30am. Much nicer day for touring the campus. They lunched at the Chancery which I heard was quite tasty. Meanwhile my Mom, Dad and I looked at ranges. There was a too-good-to-be-true sale at the appliance/furniture store up north, so Mom & Dad thought we'd get an idea of what I like, then they could purchase up there. While the salesman flaunted the features of the new ranges, I kept thinking it'll just be nice to have a functional clock/timer and all 4 working burners! Went back to pick up Paige, Jeff returned from Carroll later that afternoon in time for another night out. We dined with another couple who took charge of where to go. They had an expiring coupon to use at a cute little place downtown Milwaukee. However, with no reservations, the wait was too long so they awarded their coupon to some others waiting to sit. We found another restaurant had really took notice of the No Smoking atmosphere.

Sunday was even warmer and sunnier than Saturday. Jeff had Paige out in the yard practicing her pitching. After a productive morning updating the Art Guild site and blog, I took a nice, long walk, then cut down the dead perennials in the yard. My parents called from the appliance/furniture store up north and the sale was just that: too-good-to-be-true. Jeff finally got to use his 2 rounds of golf he had bid on at a Silent Auction almost a year ago. Who'd of thought? Golf in November?

Iced chai tea. Awesome. You should try it. That's what I treated myself to at the coffee shop Monday night where I met a fellow Art Guild member to discuss possible fundraising ideas. She has lots of local connections. I have lots of big ideas. We present to the board this Thursday.

Jeff came home from work yesterday morning to meet the insurance claims guy about our roof. Not too thorough, but maybe because the wind damage to the roof was so obvious to him. He said we'll have something notifying us of the amount in the mail soon!

Bryn was able to borrow a friend's car this morning to pick up her new shoe inserts from the podiatrist. She'll have a couple weeks to break them in before we go to get her new running shoes for track around Thanksgiving. Apparently the track team is hosting Open Gym times already! Bryn wants to be in on all that.

2010-11-03T17:14:00.000-07:00

Made contact with the insurance company about the wind damage to our roof and an agent is coming out next Tuesday morning to review. Cross your fingers!

The Sussex Sundevils coach liked what he saw last Wednesday night and extended an invitation to Paige to join their U16 team. Paige also had a tryout for the Milwaukee Invaders on Saturday, but had already decided to go with Sussex. We also emailed the Columbus Xplozion coaches, turning down their offer to play there. I'm sure they understood the distance issue. We've heard rumors about an indoor tournament in the Dells so Paige is quite excited.

Paige enjoyed a couple extra days off school last week because of Teachers Convention. Didn't take long to fill up her time with back-to-back sleepovers. Friday night she was kind enough to fulfill her obligation for Family Movie Night and watched The Karate Kid with Jeff and me. I dropped off some homemade muffins at Abby's boyfriend's as he went to visit Abby last weekend. I'm glad he got out there. Abby doesn't have as much freedom to come home this year with her job at the gift shop.

Paige and I drove out to Sussex to see Bella & Lucy in their Halloween costumes before they went out trick-or-treating. I bet they had a blast - their neighborhood looked really fun! From Sussex, we went to Waukesha to meet Bryn in the PIT (eating area at Carroll) to have her sign some student loan papers that needed to be turned around fast.

I had taken all our Halloween decorations down because of that wind storm, but we got everything back in place by Sunday. I tried to get Paige to trick-or-treat with FBLA (business club at school) as they were collecting canned goods for the Food Pantry, but she couldn't find a friend that was going. Jeff and I lit the firepit we had moved onto the driveway and handed out candy from there. We kept warm by the fire drinking hot cider and when it was all over, we ate fresh-baked pumpkin pie. Perfect.

Drivers Ed classes for Paige began this past Monday. She goes every weeknight at the high school 6-8pm, so she's had to be a little more disciplined with her homework. Yep, at the end of November Paige will be 15-1/2 and can test for her temps!

2010-10-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

Paige and Miranda walked from school to Rotary Park to record portions of a Cross Country meet for her media studies class. Yes, Paige had already done this part of the "documentary" assignment, but unfortunately the teacher didn't remove Paige's recordings from the camera before lending it out to another student so all her filming from the September meet is gone. She said she captured a lot of the same elements she had before so she was happy. Now she has to edit it in the school media lab to complete the assignment.

Since Paige had yet another sleepover scheduled for Friday night, Jeff and I decided it would be "movie night" for us. Jeff came up with the idea to try out an historic theatre in Wauwatosa, the Rosebud. We settled into our comfy couch (all the seating there is couches), ordered a pint of beer and buttered popcorn and watched The Social Network in style! It really was a pleasant experience. And the movie was great! I highly recommend it.

Early Saturday morning I traveled out to Waukesha to pick up Bryn from Carroll because she asked so sweetly. A fellow Cross Country graduate asked her to go to the Sectional meet up in Saukville. I took Bryn back as soon as she returned so she get in her swim workout for the day. She's very diligent about staying on schedule with the workouts the track coach gave her. When Paige returned from her sleepover, she accompanied Jeff up to Appleton to visit his father. Richie's doing great after his 3 stent heart surgery. Rehab to follow.

We greeted parishioners at the 11 o'clock Mass Sunday. Paige sat with her fellow to-be-confirmants and had class after Mass. In the meantime, us parents had a meeting about when to schedule their 2-night Confirmation Retreat. Ugly. I say, just pick a date and deal with it. What's cool is that they try to do it in summer—"campout" style.

Jeff celebrated his 48th birthday on Monday (25th). Hard to make workdays feel special, but I cooked him a nice dinner and then Paige and I took him out to Kraverz for an ice cream sundae. But the birthday doings didn't end there! Jeff bought like 6 boxes of muffin and brownie mixes and baked them all to bring in to work for his birthday treat the next day! He said they lasted in the office kitchen less than an hour. And then we both moved furniture. I hired my cousin to clean the carpets Tuesday and it makes it so much easier if we can get as much furniture off the carpeting as possible.

So our carpets look amazing. Jeffrey does such a thorough job. Highly recommend him too: CarpetMasters. We're moving furniture back today and Jeff's excited to rearrange. Whatever. Got home from work today to find our outdoor storage chest for the kids sports stuff strewn across the backyard. Picked that up. Got back in the house. Doorbell rings. It's some guy who hands me his business card and says "I was just driving by and noticed your roof shingles flapping. I stopped because I'm a roofer..." Yay! I'm sure that won't be expensive.

Last night I had an Art Guild meeting where I showed off my latest creation: a blog. It's still in its infancy, but I received appreciation for promoting our little organization even further. You know with all this blogging and website creation I've been doing, I barely have time to work!

2010-10-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

Obviously, things have been hectic. Hence, my blog neglect.

Bryn got some time alone at home last week Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday while the rest of us went off to work and school. We were able to spare her the car 2 of the 3 days since she agreed to get us where we needed to be to make it work. So Bryn was able to get her beautiful blonde locks cut on Monday and visit the foot doctor on Tuesday to have molds made for her custom orthotics.

Paige fitted Bryn with one of her handmade knotted bracelets. Paige takes custom orders by letting you choose the thread colors. So far, Abby, Bryn and Maggie are all wearing Paige originals!

Paige started a new tradition in the Saunders household: she would cook us dinner once a week. Her specialty? Hamburger Helper. She served her first meal on Monday: Cheesy Hamburger Macaroni. Jeff and Bryn are in heaven with this new dinner staple. Not my favorite but I love that Paige wants to cook.

Jeff and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary on Tuesday, Oct. 12th. My parents, driving home from Chicago, stopped in at my work to serenade me with "Happy Anniversary" and brought Jeff and I a cake and flowers. That evening, Jeff and I dined at Amici's out in Richfield. I love the atmosphere there. The wine was delicious! So was the food.

We spent a fabulous couple days at UWL for Friends & Family Weekend. We asked Maggie if she wanted to come along and we were met with an enthusiastic "yes!" She drove down from Appleton Friday afternoon just before Paige was bussed home from school. From our house we were able to shoot straight out 94 for La Crosse. Just north of Madison, traffic stopped. It took us 1 hour to go 6 miles. We could see our intentions of getting to Abby's work before it closed at 8:00pm vanishing. When we finally reached the next exit, we took it! My iPhone GPS came in mighty handy as I navigated us west and north from Lodi to Merrimac — stop! As soon as I narrated that our ride would be taking us across Lake Wisconsin, we ran right into it! But how to get across? No bridge in sight, but cars lined up in 3 lanes... Ah! A ferry! What else could make our trip take any longer? Our frustration eventually left us as we watched the nostalgic ferry skim across the Lake in the sunset and we all smiled at what a happy accident this turned out to be. We arrived at Abby's work just to see her close up and walk to her car. Maggie invited her to have a sleepover in her room at the hotel with Paige complete with snacks and movies. Apparently, Abby and Paige pooped out before Maggie did. Saturday Abby gave us a walking tour of UWL ending with a souvenir stop at the bookstore. We dined at a local establishment, Rudy's, which was open for the last day of the season! Downtown, we walked the along the mighty Mississip and sampled ice cream and another local venue, The Pearl. We found sweatshirt and t-shirt bargains at a big sale at the Expo Center. Crossing campus, we drove up to the view from Grandad Bluff. Abby chose our eating spot for dinner and then we spent a long time browsing where Abby works in La Crosse, Tree House Gifts, which is huge!

While we were at dinner Saturday night, Jeff received a phone call from his sister letting him know their Dad was admitted to the hospital and having heart surgery. After hearing his Dad did well through the surgery, Jeff drove up to Appleton Sunday morning to visit him with his sister and nephews. All good. Because Jeff had to go to Appleton, I chauffuered Paige over to Beloit that same morning for a select softball tryout with the Columbus Xplozion. A little disappointing in that we drove 1.5 hours only to have Paige pinch run from 3rd to home 2X. No batting. No fielding. No pitching. The team invited her to lunch. In Janesville (no thank you!) after the game and to their next tournament, which is indoors Thanksgiving Weekend. So I guess they liked her in the end.

Monday Jeff flew out to Virginia again for his monthly meetings on Martha Jefferson Hospital. He flies in tonight yet. Yesterday I was able to attend a seminar instead of working which always perks an employee up.

2010-10-10T17:56:00.000-07:00

Menomonee Falls High School had its Homecoming Week this past week. Paige joined in and had a twin on Twin Day, found a Germantown T-shirt shopping at Goodwill with Jeff for Rival Day, dressed completely "sophomore blue" on Class Color Day and was able to choose from a multitude of spiritwear for Spirit Day on Friday.

Jeff and I tag teamed getting Bryn back and forth from Carroll to her orthodontist appointment on Tuesday. It was for a retainer check which Bryn didn't even have with her. Didn't even pack to take to college! Needless to say, they asked her to wear it for 24 hours for the next 2 weeks, then every night from then on. Bryn just conveniently heard the end date of "2 years" when she initially got her retainer, and took it upon herself to stop wearing it exactly when that 2 years was up. Other bad news... the orthodontist wants the dentist to check on having her upper wisdom teeth removed. The dentist had written Bryn off to this point.

The annual MSOE hunt was this past weekend and Jeff left for up north Friday before lunch with his caravan to Waubeno. Jeff was disappointed that the weather was so warm again. For the first time, a few guys brought their sons up along with them. Jeff said they were good and it ended up that the boys were the ones to shoot the one and only bird all weekend.

Bryn caught a ride home from Carroll with a friend Friday evening and got back just in time to catch another ride to the high school Homecoming game. Paige was at a sleepover so I had the evening to myself. I did a little more of my photo archiving, then watched a rental movie. Next morning, Bryn asked to take the car to check in on how Student Council was doing with Homecoming Dance decorations. That let me take a nice walk to the grocery store where Bryn picked me up when I was done. Bryn hung out with Paige Saturday night while I celebrated Dave & Carrie's 50th birthdays at a party at their house.

We all slept in this morning. Paige got a text from her freshman softball coach to call him and when she did, she found out he talked her up to a select softball team and got her a tryout. He's definitely her #1 fan. The drawback? The team is in Columbus. Like an hour away. Jeff also found a Milwaukee team that has an opening that'd like to meet her, so we'll see how this all rides out. I drove downtown to do my every-other-week office cleaning and let Bryn and Paige be lazy without me around. On my ride back, I called Kristin and invited Bella and Lucy to come over and bounce. We're certainly not going to have many more warm days to enjoy the trampoline before we take it down for the winter. Bryn and Paige chased Bella and Lucy around and around on the tramp. After that, we all put up some stretchy spider webs on the bushes outside and lots of window clings inside for Halloween. Jeff arrived back from his hunt weekend by 5:30 and I cooked chili, per Bryn's request, for dinner.

2010-10-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

The Art Guild started up another year with our first meeting this past Tuesday evening. Being around all those creative people really inspires me to draw or paint again. Thinking that will be my 2011 New Years resolution. I feel like I have to set a date, otherwise I keep letting the time slide by. We had a guest speaker that worked with these vibrant crayons that she applied with brushes like paint.

I felt so efficient on Friday simply by completing an astronomical amount of errands during the day. Nevermind that I missed my client's call 3 times because I was also supposed to be working from home. I delivered leftover canning jars to good people who can use them. I delivered hand-me-down clothing to a great family with girls a bit younger than Paige. We thought we found a bike for Abby on CraigsList, but never got a call back to come look at it. I scheduled an foot doctor appt for Bryn when's she's home next weekend to be fitted for permanent inserts per the request of her track coach. I shopped online for my goddaughter, Logan's, birthday present. After all that, I certainly deserved to be treated to the monthly church fish fry! Abby arrived home about 5pm and was able to accompany us.

Saturday was a day I was looking forward to: Carroll University's Homecoming and my 25th Reunion year. Jeff and Paige were up and running to get to her 8am pitching lesson in Horicon before any of Carroll's events were to happen. Abby was invited apple-picking with Mark and his family. So I headed out to Carroll late morning to catch the Alumni Art exhibit with Bryn. Bryn and I then headed to the bookstore to gear up for the day. Then we followed the music to the tailgate activities in the parking lot and met one of my college girlfriends and her daughter. We ate lunch and watched the Homecoming Parade together. The football game, which we seriously questioned if we would sit through or not, wasn't until 3pm, so we had a couple hours to kill yet. Bryn was a good sport and showed off her dorm room to Sue and her daughter and guided us through campus. Walking past a tailgate tent, I heard someone shout out my name. It was my good friend, Tim! He was there with his college roommate for the day. I questioned who sponsored the particular tent they were in and they didn't know, but were more than gracious acting as hosts and handing out beverages! Tim's daughter, Maggie, goes to Carroll too and she took a study break to hang out with us for a while. Jeff, Abby and Paige met up with us under the tent and we all decided we had the best spot in the house as we could watch the game going on directly across the street, drink and snack for free and be covered as the weather deteriorated and began to rain. We stayed til halftime then decided to go out for dinner and warm up. Bryn chose the Olive Garden.

Paige made her Fall Ball debut today playing side-by-side with the high school JV and Varsity softball team in their last game. Paige got to pitch 2 innings. She was also put in as a pinch-runner—everybody loves watching "Spidey" steal and run those bases! Of course, she scored. No sliding required. Her freshman coach was there watching and encouraging Paige. He's the reason she was invited to play. After the game, he came up to me and commented how athletic Paige is, how much talent she has, what a good attitude... And he texted Paige after we left that he already called the coach of a team he wants her to play on next summer! Good boost for Paige! So another chilly day outside. Luckily I planned my day right and went right into baking goodies for Abby to take with her back to school.

2010-09-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

Pictures of events get fewer and fewer as the number of my children at home decreases. And now I have such competition! So many people have commented on how much they enjoy Bryn's blog and what a good writer she is. Sorry people, but mine's just a narrative of my life.

Tuesday Paige stayed home from school as she got sick early that morning. She never got sick again, but she did sleep til 12:30pm that day. Jeff ended up staying home with her which enabled him to paint her bedroom ceiling. Tuesday evening I got to Zumba again and kept glancing at a woman I recognized. It took me a while to figure out she was from the hair salon I frequent. I didn't notice til on my way out that my stylist was actually there too! I totally didn't recognize her!

Jeff and I walked Paige's class schedule Wednesday evening during the high school Open House. We saw parts of the school we'd never seen before with Paige's courseload. She's taking 2 business classes that are held in the same room, but different hours. What a cool setup! They each have their own computer desk and very comfy office chair. And the teacher is uber enthusiastic! No wonder FBLA is such a popular club. Paige is also enrolled in a video/film production class that Abby and Bryn never took. The class is held in an actual studio. Paige mentioned last week the class rotated production roles while taping a "talk show." Later that evening, Paige got a call inviting her to participate in a local Fall Ball softball league with many of the JV and varsity girls. She's excited to be asked. Of course, the game was today at the exact same time as her first Confirmation class. She'll be there the following Sunday.

I finally got around to making myself presentable again by getting in to the salon to get my hair cut and highlighted. Love it. Just trying to blend in that new color (grey) coming in. From there I was off to the high school to help out with the Band Bunch serving a hot dog dinner before the football game. I know, I know, I don't even have a kid in Band anymore. But Band's been good to my girls and I had the time. Had a lot of fun and even made it on Fox6 News at 9 that evening with Tom Pipines! (I didn't get to see it.) Jeff and I along with the Seeds witnessed the first win of the season for our football team. Seeds invited us over for a nightcap after the chilly game. Dave opened his fancy Scotch for us to try. I settled for just a sniff. Definitely a warmer-upper!

Saturday I cleaned the office then ran errands: grocery store, WalMart, and Hallmark (October is coming you know!). Paige was supposed to have an all-day Confirmation retreat that was rescheduled. Somehow we didn't make the email list and didn't find out til that morning! Jeff and I stayed home and watched a movie and stayed up for Paige to come home. Paige spends a lot of time with her "big sister" from high school softball, Jamie. Paige went with Jamie's family out to a Japanese steak house! They said it was her birthday! And Paige caught a shrimp in her mouth from the chef! They have a lot of fun together.

Kristin, Evie and I followed our annual tradition and met at my house at 9am for the Cheery Cherry art fair. Again, a bit chilly. But I've found a heavy sweatshirt-like jersey of Paige's for softball that I purchased for her (and she's never worn) that's quite warm. We always seem to find something to buy. I convinced Kristin to add a scarf to her wardrobe. Isn't it cute? And she found the most adorable knit hat for Lucy. And we never leave without a giant bag of kettle corn from the yodeling kettle corn cowboy. Afterwards, we all drove over to Kristin's for lunch and to see their newly poured concrete patio and driveway. Bella was kind enough to model Lucy's new hat. I love it!

2010-09-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

Paige earned herself another pitching lesson by completing the routine outlined for her, so Jeff drove her up to Horicon again Tuesday evening. Paige asked her friend Miranda to come along and be her catcher for the night. Jeff really likes the coach and Paige seems to be picking up on all his advice. Now she's got another 3 routines to complete before he'll see her again.

I finally went back to my favorite Zumba class. Since the Y flooded at the end of July, Zumba class has been moved to an alternate location which does not have air conditioning. The one time I went during the summer, I was so sweaty and hot and nasty I decided to wait til the weather got cooler. I was glad to be back, the class is so fun! And much more comfortable.

Friday afternoon I drove out to Carroll again to get a copy of Bryn's driver's license and her signature on a student loan form. We have to do the same thing with Abby, but will do it via faxing and emailing. I also delivered art supplies to Bryn freshly purchased from Artist & Display. (I never mind shopping there!) Only stayed a half hour as I had to pick up Paige from school so we could make our brow wax appointments.

And Abby was hired by Tree House Gifts in La Crosse where her first day was Friday. She'll work one weeknight and every other weekend. We got to Skype her today and see that she's doing well in the new house and cooking for herself. If Bryn keeps up her new blog, I won't have to write about her anymore! Go Bryn!

That night, we took Paige out to Home Depot to pick out her bedroom paint colors. She started with purple, but it changed to 2 shades of blue that will match NONE of her existing bedding or curtains. One step at a time. She and Jeff worked on prepping her room Saturday: Jeff taping the woodwork and filling holes while Paige did a good overall clean up. Then after church Sunday, Miranda came over to help Paige paint. Again, Jeff supervised the project and it looks nice! Projects with the kids go so much more smoothly when I'm not involved.

Saturday night Paige was invited to a friend's house for a Hawaiian cookout and Jeff and I were invited to Seeds for a delicious lasagna dinner. We came home at 10 because that's when we expected Paige back. After 2 hours of unanswered texts and calls from us, I pulled my fleece over my pajamas and headed for the friend's house. Luckily the brother was awake at the computer and went to get Paige. It was obvious Paige and her friend had fallen asleep, but Paige still received a little lecture on the ride home about on how not to worry your parents.

2010-09-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

Finally Abby started her classes at UWL this past Tuesday. She's been working hard with her advisor coming up with different scenarios to see if she can graduate in 4 years. It will require her to take classes during summer and January terms, but nothing's for certain yet. Abby met with a family that she will be babysitting for every Thursday morning. And she interviewed for a shop at a local gift shop on Friday. I love the initiative, but cautioned Abby not to overload herself.

Paige shocked us this week by asking to drop Band class. It's just not a Saunders girl thing to do! We of course had a long discussion with Paige so she realized all the advantages and disadvantages, but she's determined that it's not for her. We signed the paper and she is now in InfoTech instead. With this new business direction in her courseload, Paige joined FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), a very active and competitive club at school. Jeff cleared out the other side of the basement for Paige to practice pitching at home. When she practices at home, she earns another pitching lesson from the coach in Horicon. We found out she has to recruit a catcher to come with her for her lessons. Lucky she has 3 friends who are all catchers!

I donated blood Thursday evening at a local drive held at the library. Jeff and I went for a walk afterwards since Paige was over at a friend's. Friday morning Jeff golfed in an outing through work and I followed my Friday routine going to step class in the morning. About 40 minutes into class (good heart rate going by then), I suddenly felt like I was going to pass out! I prayed I would make it out to a lobby chair before that happened. Luckily I did and sat there until my hands stopped tingling and I caught my breath. Guess not having a full meal after giving blood affected me more than I anticipated.

Terry organized a Brewers outing that night. Kayla and Nate came in from Whitewater, Terry from Appleton and Bryn from Waukesha. We tailgated at our house before heading down to Miller Park. Couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. Terry was smart and purchased the parking pass online with the tickets. I never realized that when you did that, you saved half the price! Terry also treated us to Club level seating so we never had to get up from our seats if we didn't want to. But of course we did. Paige got a warm cookie the size of her head! Kayla and Nate got passes to check out the swanky 300 Club. The game itself wasn't a good one, but the time we had was the best.

Bryn stayed overnight at home and Saturday morning she, Paige and I cheered on the Cross Country team at their home meet. It was sloppy, but this meet usually is. I went to encourage parents of the girls team to take pictures and email them to me for the team's site I maintain. Bryn went to see old teammates and Paige went to record the event for a Media Studies assignment. Paige will then edit her clips at school for the final project.

And today I navigated my way through our new Pick n Save a little faster after getting my car washed by Paige and her fellow Student Council members. I'm hoping to get a long walk in later today and Jeff is out doing yardwork.

I'm completely amazed at how my laundry has diminished since the departure of my two eldest, but then again, not. The evenings are much calmer, but that's part of having a routine again. It's quite lovely to come home where it looks just as I left it. I'm slowly cleaning up Abby's and Bryn's rooms and Paige is anxious to re-do hers. I think we're painting next weekend.

2010-09-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

Abby and Mark took a road trip up to Green Bay last Tuesday to watch the Packers practice, tour the Hall of Fame and Lambeau Field. Be sure to check out Abby's photos on her Facebook page.

Wednesday was Paige's first day of school as a sophomore at the high school. She didn't have to go in until 12:30pm which made each class only 5 minutes long. Not sure what the logic is in this short of a school day, but whatever. Paige found a few more friends in her classes, but still lonely in a few of them. That evening, Paige reported back to the softball field for her select softball team callbacks only to find out they weren't having them. ???? A missed email told us that the coaches didn't see enough talent to make a competitive team, so they just aren't going to have one at all. Jeff's hopeful to find another select team for Paige, it'll just be further vs. right in our hometown.

Thursday was Bryn's first day of school at Carroll. And she started her on-campus job on Friday. She'll get 5hrs/week at her desk job in the Physical Therapy Dept. She said it's pretty cushy. Good for homework I said. She's found a running buddy that also plans to join track. All sounds like it's going well.

Abby was a good little packer all week and had all her stuff set to go by Friday afternoon. She even labeled all her bins and bags! We waited for Paige to come home on the bus and we left for La Crosse by 4pm; Abby driving the Prizm with Paige which Abby'll keep at school this year and Jeff and I in the van. The traffic was typical Friday-before-Labor-Day busy, but we knew what we were getting into. We stayed the night at our favorite La Crosse hotel, Stoney Creek, and Abby stayed with us: Abby in the bottom bunk, Paige on top. We were all refreshed Saturday morning and invaded the house at 10am. Luckily no one else was moving in the same day. Jeff and Abby immediately commented how great the house looked since they had last been there. A couple of her roommates had certainly been busy cleaning and painting. Paige and I unpacked and sorted things out mainly in the kitchen and living room. Jeff had his duties completing Abby's loft and hanging up various hooks and decorations. Abby's job was certainly the biggest: unpacking her clothes. Even her Wonder Hangers couldn't afford her enough room for it all! She sent some back with us and Amy was happy to house a few pieces herself. The 2-story house is really nice with 5 bedrooms and 2 baths for 6 girls. I think Abby will love it there. Meanwhile, Paige recently posted on her Facebook "I am now an only child." She's still not seeing the benefits.

Back home on Sunday, it seemed a perfect day for me to fulfill a goal I had set for the summer: to bike the Bugline Trail from my house to Kristin's. It was so nice and cool as I trekked my way from the hospital (Jeff dropped me off at the trailhead there) out to Sussex. About 5 miles and 45 minutes later, I was in Kristin & Carlo's driveway. Kristin had hired Bryn to babysit that same afternoon so I got to see her and had made arrangements for Jeff to pick me up, then we'd drive Bryn back to Carroll. Kristin and Carlo took longer to come back than we anticipated, so Bryn was repeatedly driven to the "doctor" by Lucy, while the doctor (Bella) fixed Bryn's missing teeth. The Taormina van was followed home by our van each with a piece of a very solid desk Kristin and Carlo had purchased on Craig's List and enlisted Jeff's help in moving. We got it in and got dinner too!

2010-08-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

Terry and Kayla drove down from Appleton a week ago Friday to shop with Abby, Bryn and Paige. They all left our house about 4pm and returned by 9 their arms tired from the loads of goodies. Terry and Maggie were quite generous with their allowance for the girls. The girls all said they felt rich and famous toting all their shopping bags through the mall. Jeff and I were treated to a fashion show upon their return. The girls were all so giggly - you could tell they really had fun together.

I spent most of the day last Sunday volunteering as a "floater" for my fellow artists from the Art Guild. It was our annual Art in the Park exhibit where the public can watch the artists work out in the open air. The day was simply gorgeous and I was happy to feel a part of it all just by giving the artists a break by sitting at their stations for a moment or running to get them food and drink. I hope in the next couple years to have my own station.

Our family was welcomed to the Taorminas for a "goodbye" supper for Abby and Bryn before they go off to college. We ordered pizza from a nearby place that Kristin and Carlo recently discovered. Lucy and Bella loved coaxing Paige to run and hide on them. Bella showed off all her new school supplies to us.

I took off work this past week from Wednesday on to focus on getting Abby, Bryn and Paige ready for school. Wednesday was Paige's high school registration day which began with getting her hair cut and styled beforehand. Bryn came along to school and guided Paige through the various registration lines and walked her schedule with her while I paid the big bucks. Thursday was pretty quiet as Bryn was busy getting last-minute time with friends in but by Friday morning we were all packed up and ready to go move her in to Carroll. The move was a breeze. We simply drove into the dorm parking lot and were met by a group of students who swooped in the van to unload everything. Jeff was then ushered to some offsite parking and golf carted back to the dorm while the rest of us watched another group of students carry Bryn's things up to her room. Bryn's roommate, Emily, was already there. We all helped unpack, put away, and assemble various things in Bryn's room. Abby was instrumental in the process. Bryn and Emily decided on bunking their beds into an L shape. The really looks quite nice and they have a magnificent view.

That evening, Paige went to the annual Corn Roast at the high school followed by the first home football game. Abby and Mark went mini golfing then back here to make banana boats in the outdoor fire pit. Jeff and I got to chat with them for quite a while. Now that they're both done working for the summer they can enjoy this next full week off before school.

Yesterday Paige attended tryouts for the local select softball team. She looked really good. She wants to play 2nd base or outfield. We've spent some extra time the past couple weeks driving her to various batting cages, to pitching lessons and encouraging her to just throw the ball around with friends. Paige was asked to come back Wednesday for further review. Go Paige! Then she got to go tubing with a couple friends and eventually they all ended up here for a sleepover.

2010-08-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

Jeff flew out to Virginia the early part of last week to attend meetings on the big Martha Jefferson hospital he's been working on. He was happy he didn't have to drive (from the airport to Charlottesville is 2.5 hours yet) as he had just driven back and forth to La Crosse the day before to work on Abby's house and bring her home. Jeff said the flight was bumpy, but otherwise all was good.

He was welcomed home Wednesday night to Bryn's Bon Fire she had planned with friends that went on til 1am. The party was good. Bryn and Natalie bought goodies to make a variety of s'mores over the fire pit. And the very next morning, Jeff had to take off early to go a meeting up in Appleton.

Paige has been keeping busy going to waterparks, practicing softball for upcoming select team tryouts and a night of laser tag!

Jeff and I went with our friends, the Seeds, to State Fair last Friday night. We got caught in the rain a couple times, but we were prepared and could quickly duck into a beer tent, exhibit hall or animal barn. Jeff sampled a duck fajita and a bison burrito. I was quite content with my cream puff.

Bryn drove with Natalie over to Shell Lake to spend the weekend at Natalie's grandparents. Natalie leaves for college out in Colorado this weekend, so I'm glad they got to spend a lot of time together before they both left for school. Bryn said they had a great time swimming and boating and just hanging out.

Abby took part in Community Memorial Hospital's Wheeling for Healing last Saturday with her boyfriend, Mark, and his family. Jeff and I saw the morning news reporting from the event that day. We didn't realize it, but Abby and Mark rode the 33-mile race! Way to go Abby! She spent the afternoon at Mark's (recuperating!) swimming. She watched a movie with us that night and was in bed by 10pm! By that, you know she was tired!

Jeff and I went to see Abby "sent off" back to college from Elmbrook Church (where Abby attends when she's home) last Sunday. Kristin and Carlo belong to this church, so we coordinated a meeting spot before service started so we could sit together. We happily accepted to go to lunch with them— Bella and Lucy!—at Oscar's afterwards. So on the way home, I remembered that my college roommate, Polly, and her husband's home was on the way back to our house, so maybe we'd stop by and say hi. I'm the only one who had visited them earlier this summer. So we drive in on their long road, get to the edge of their cul de sac and are met with 3 police cars with the officers standing outside them. I got out to ask if we could drive in. "Who are you going to visit?" I told them and they suggested I call Polly and John to ask them to stay inside for a while because there's a "weapons situation." Of course I called, but then I thought "Why didn't the police call?" I didn't catch up with Polly afterward — figured there'd be enough neighborhood drama for her to deal with.

Tuesday I got to see a packaging design I did go on press at Outlook Graphics in Neenah. I really wanted to go to this particular print run because the client asked me and I worked there one summer during college. The place is a lot bigger than I remember. Our sales rep is going to drop off the assembled packages which I am excited to see. The product is called the Go Plate, and so far I've designed packaging for their generic colored plates, and their Iowa State branded edition.

2010-08-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

So the last time I blogged was the day before the big flood. All the kids missed it! Menomonee Falls recorded 6.5" of rain in less than 2 hours that Thursday, July 22nd. Jeff called me from work at 5:30, saying he was going to be late. I was in the basement with Theo as the tornado sirens were going off. I said "You cannot drive in this!" It was not even sprinkling by his work near the Zoo. Jeff did leave within a half hour only to see the dark clouds as he drove north and soon was in the thick of the torrential rain. He immediately was tending to the sump pump when he got home and we were both outside arranging the sump pump hoses to empty as far away from our house as possible. The creek behind us swelled higher than it's ever been. But it did stop. We did not experience any damage.

Friday Jeff and I drove downtown Milwaukee to Gallery Night where many art galleries are free and open to the public. It was a beautiful night and quite relaxing.

Saturday morning Bryn arrived back from Kansas City raving that this was the best Mission Trip ever. I think they liked working on reading skills with the kids. The Welcome Back Luncheon put on by Bryn's group was plentiful and delicious as always. So nice to have the kids come back to that and be able to share stories with their families right away. Paige came back from Pennsylvania later in the day. Needless to say, both of them were super tired and had very smelly laundry.

The following weekend (July 31st) we spent up north at the Cabin. Just a nice, relaxing weekend with no plans. Abby and I went with my Mom to the Shawano Farmers Market to pick up fresh corn on the cob for dinner. We were all able to get some swimming and boating in. Abby's friend, Amy (from UWL), met us at the Cabin driving directly from her camp counselor job. She then joined us back at home the whole next week.

We stopped in Appleton at Jeff's Mom's/Terry's for dinner on Sunday evening and to pick up a couch that Paul had found for Abby's house. The couch is forest green leather, which matches perfectly with the glider/rocking chair that Meg had given her the week before! So perfect. Then were treated to a yummy cookout with leftovers!

Just this weekend, Abby went to a wedding in Eau Claire for a classmate at UWL. She drove up to LaCrosse in Amy's truck on Friday. They packed up the couch and a shelving unit Abby got from Hallmark. Then drove with to the wedding in Eau Claire on Saturday. Jeff drove up and back today to get her, but also to work and clean a bit on Abby's new living quarters for the next schoolyear. Jeff brought up the kitchen table and chairs we got from our neighbors, the glider/rocker from Meg and a dresser from Mom and Dad. Jeff was able to install a shelf and rod for a makeshift closet along one wall of Abby and Amy's shared bedroom.

I accompanied Bryn to a Carroll Preview Day where Bryn was able to walk her class schedule, get in to see her dorm and room, meet her roommate, and just get reacquainted with the campus. The week before, Bryn was switched out of her triple room and assigned a new roommate who's from the area as well. As you can see, Bryn's room seems large for a dorm room and she has a great view! I took Bryn dorm shopping today - she's getting pretty excited.

2010-07-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I are experiencing a trial run of being empty nesters this week. Abby is down in Indianapolis helping Meg & William with their kids. Bryn is on a mission trip with St James in Kansas City, Kansas. And Paige is also on a mission trip with Good Shepherd in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Of course Abby is easily accessible this week and she is having a great time hanging out with Bryce, Logan, Mia and Cooper — and helping Meg with her new salon. Bryn's called in twice so far — but after we're asleep! — about 11:00pm. She promised she'd try earlier tonight. It's been scorching hot in Kansas City, but she always sounds like she's so happy (check up on her this week by clicking on link at right). Paige has been harder to communicate with and with this being her first year, we're just not sure what to expect. I did text her a bit last night. She's been grouped with college-age kids, not from our church, and they've demolished and rebuilt a porch so far. We'll be reunited with Bryn and Paige on Saturday and we'll meet Abby south of Chicago on Sunday to pick her up.

So let me pick up where I left off from my last post.

On the 4th of July we headed down to Summerfest where Abby, Bryn and Paige were lucky enough to see Carrie Underwood in the Amphitheatre! I brought along rain ponchos which seemed to ward off the threatening rain. While the girls were at their concert, Jeff and I found a nearby tent where a local band band was playing and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

The 5th of July marked Abby and Mark's one-year anniversary. Abby was quite excited for their big date where Mark treated her to a swanky Italian restaurant then gelato.

We celebrated Bryn's high school graduation with a party at our home on July 10th. We had a great turn out! Bryn did a fabulous job setting up her "shrine" in the dining room, pulling out all her awards and assembling the picture boards. Lucy was the hit of the party shooting everybody at close range with the tiger bubble-blower! Thunderstorms pushed the party inside twice. After 7:00pm when wave of kids started coming, we needed to move the party outside again.

Last week I finished up programming the website for Meg's new salon (salonsalonsuites.com). One little detail I can't figure out, but spent hours trying! Frustrating!

Paige is missing her final Little League tournament games this week and her coach couldn't be more disappointed. Jeff and I may go watch the final game this coming Saturday morning without her.

After we got all our kids off last Saturday morning, Jeff and I headed up to Appleton for nephew Mitchell's grad party. We brought Theo along because we decided to drive up north to spend the night and next day and treat Theo to some lake swimming. Since it was only the three of us, we took the little car and Theo got comfy in the hatchback. It did end up raining Sunday morning, but we were able to get in a cloudy boat ride after lunch.

2010-07-02T17:11:00.001-07:00

So my work has been crazy busy ever since Kevin left at the end of April. Norman Design has since hired a new employee, Aaron, and he started June 1st and seems like a very likeable and capable co-worker. Because we're so swamped, we haven't all been able to reach out to him much. So my extra hours continue...

Abby started working at Hallmark 9 to 5 Mondays thru Thursdays June 14th. And Bryn got a gig driving kids around to their activities as their parents work full-time. Abby and Bryn have been super at working out who-gets-the-car and when. Paige's softball season continues as Little League season is now in full swing.

Bryn and Paige participated on different teams in our local American Cancer Society's Relay for Life on the 18th. It started at 6pm and ended the next morning at 9am. Your team had to have one member walking the track at all times. The weather wasn't too cooperative with storms threatening and moving the event into the high school twice before midnight. They did get to be outside after that. Many teams had tents to nap in, some had campers and grills.

The weekend of the 25th, we helped Kristin and Carlo move to their newly-built house in Sussex. We were all able to help on Friday with Craig, Clark, my Mom & Dad and Carlo's brother, Sal. On Saturday, I was the only one available and so I went. Clark did a fabulous job cleaning up the old house before Kristin and Carlo said good-bye to it and Clark flattened most of the moving boxes for recycling when we were through. Craig thought Abby did a tremendous job organizing and stacking the boxes as we loaded them up into the moving truck. Kristin and Carlo had all the boxes well-labeled so we knew just where to drop them in the new house.

Bryn got her room assignment at Carroll. She will be in a triple with a girl from Menomonee Falls, Montana, and a girl from Illinois, Hailey, on the 4th floor of Swarthout Hall. Bryn has looked for Hailey on Facebook, but apparently there are 2 with the same last name; so Bryn's waiting for Hailey to contact her first.

Yesterday was Menomonee Falls 4th of July parade and fireworks. What a beautiful night for it! We were able to stake out a spot and the kids sat with me, Jeff and Dave and Carrie Seeds. Abby took care of her group by reserving a spot and bringing snacks and refreshments. We all came home right after the fireworks because tonight we're going to Summerfest! Abby, Bryn and Paige are going to see Carrie Underwood there tonight. Jeff and I are going to go and just hang out.

2010-06-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

Bryn graduated from Menomonee Falls High School this past Saturday. The weather was unpredictable to say the least: forecasts said it was to be 90° and muggy, but it ended up being 65° and overcast. The stadium gates opened at 3pm, with the ceremony to begin at 4pm. I had fun texting my friend, Carrie, who was on the other side of the field while we were waiting. Then tragedy struck – my camera battery went dead! Me, without a camera? We brought Bryn's along as a backup... memory full! Oh yeah! I also packed Paige's just in case – no memory card! Thank goodness for sisters. Kristin let me snap all I wanted on hers and delivered a CD to us Monday morning. All the senior class speakers were wonderful, and I kept a dry eye until the song. Two graduates sang a beautiful song about believing in yourself. My parents, Maggie, Terry, Kristin, Carlo, Bella and Lucy all came. Now it's party time for the next 2 months! We've all sure had fun reading autographs in the high school yearbook, grad grams and looking at lots of pictures. Bryn was awarded a Senior Athletic Award for earning a varsity letter all 4 years of high school.

Before the big graduation, Paige had an early Little League game and it was grandparents day! Paige is on the Cardinals for the 3rd time in her Little League career.

Paige has been watching Bella and Lucy whenever Kristin needs to put in extra hours. They sure have fun here on the trampoline!

June 4th & 5th Abby and Bryn took a road trip up to La Crosse for the State Outdoor Track Meet. Bryn had a couple teammates qualify and wanted to support them. Abby was able to contact her landlord and the carload stayed at Abby's new house she'll be living in next schoolyear. Nice that it was a free place to stay, but nothing's been moved in yet so it was pretty barren. They still had a great time.

Jeff went with Paige to her softball banquet on the 7th where the Freshman coach complimented Paige on her achievements, with her at the top of the stats for batting, pitching, runs and steals. I designed yet another t-shirt honoring their freshman team's unofficial Conference Championship status.

Last night, Abby and Bryn went to finally spend their JCP gift cards from Grandma Maggie for their birthdays. They called home shortly after they left. As any mother would do, you think the worst – they got in an accident. Not quite. They were stranded in the middle of a road because the muffler fell right off! Jeff drove off to the rescue and was busy googling the part when he got home.

2010-05-31T13:32:00.000-07:00

Happy 15th birthday to our youngest! Can you believe it? Paige got to begin her awesome birthday by marching with the high school band in our Village Memorial Day parade. Thank goodness it was much cooler weather this morning! Our family met afterwards to share birthday cake - which this year was custard at Kraverz - with Paige. After blogging, I will begin to prepare Paige's birthday dinner request: spaghetti and meatballs!

Since we've been so busy putting in extra hours at work, attending school year-end events, and with softball and track seasons ending, we decided to stay home this Memorial Day weekend. Jeff ordered 10 yards of mulch for us and we put our team to work! We got about half the yard done so we're happy. But Jeff heard his knee "pop" Saturday and has been limping ever since. That hasn't kept him from the yardwork, but us girls are trying to keep him away from it. While watering some of the flowers, Paige discovered a bird's nest in one of our hanging plants on the front porch.

So Paige's freshman softball team is the unofficial conference champ (not recognized at the freshman level) with their win over Brookfield East last Thursday! Paige was bummed that game as she was saved to pitch that final game, but the coaches determined that her batting average was better at games where she wasn't pitching, so they didn't have her pitch. The coaches kept yelling at her to "smile" when she was in the outfield. Since school ball is over, her Little League season can begin!

And Bryn wasn't able to participate as much as she had hoped with the track team. She's planning to head out to La Crosse for the Track State and watch some of her teammates compete this coming weekend. Bryn still attended every practice and meet, fully supporting her team. We visited the foot doctor this past Friday as Bryn is still experiencing some pain and swelling. The doctor prescribed some insoles and anti-flammatory cream and we'll see him back in a month or so.

Bryn had a big day May 22nd. She signed up Abby and herself to ride in the Bike A Thon, a fundraiser for her summer mission trip. It was a beautiful day. I was able to help out again with designing the t-shirts. Aren't they cool? I suggested the red color this year for community visibility. And I stuck around to take some pictures, help with registration and serving lunch at the park, where the halfway point is. Next year I swear I'm going to ride it!

In the evening, Grandma Karen and Grandpa Clark came into town and we all went to see Bryn and Paige perform at the high school for Jazz N Java. Such a nice event. The audience is seated at round tables and is able to purchase drinks and bakery while you listen to samplings from all the area schools' jazz bands.

May 14th I drove out to La Crosse with Abby's boyfriend, Mark, and packed Abby up from the dorms to move back home for the summer. Thank goodness Mark was available and willing. We ran up and down from her dorm room to the van, while Abby kept filling boxes and duffle bags! Then we treated Mark to Buzzard Billy's for lunch and then headed across the street for ice cream. Not looking forward to moving the big stuff into a house for her next year!

2010-05-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

The biggest news in my life is that one of my 3 co-workers quit 2 weeks ago. When there's only 4 of you at work, 1 missing makes a huge difference. And that difference directly impacts me. So I'm a 9 to 5 gal now. Temporarily. And it's 7:30 to 3:30. Hopefully my boss will begin interviewing replacements soon. My remaining co-worker, Mike, and I are cranking so hard at work. We barely talk.

This is the group Bryn went to Senior Holiday with last Friday night. We hosted the picture party. They had a lot of fun, except that Bryn had a track meet in the nasty, cold rain the next morning. The track coaches have finally put Bryn in a few meets, but Bryn's been disappointed with her performance. I think she just needs more time. She's very hard on herself. Bryn is filling out all her forms to officially attend Carroll next fall. She picked her grad party to be July 10th, so she could make it to all her other friends' parties already scheduled. I've been helping Bryn resize digital pictures of all her Art projects throughout her Senior Portfolio class - very impressive!

Paige was checked over by her regular doctor today and he gave her the green light to start back in to softball after her shoulder sprain a week ago Friday. Paige really gave her all she got that night with a big lead off first base, only to have to do a crazy head-first slide back when they tried to throw her out. She ended up landing on her outstretched shoulder and it was very painful to move. The urgent care gave her a sling to wear for week. Which Paige literally wore for one week. Paige also saw the trainer today who had her do some great stretches to ease her shoulder back into shape. Paige officially umped her first Little League game last weekend - check's in the mail! I think she liked it.

I had a great Mother's Day! Jeff and the kids took me to see Avatar at the IMAX! It was very cool. A little too much fighting, but the scenery was beautiful. I was also presented with new, very needed, fully assembled laundry-sorting bins.

Our stove is slowly dying. We never know which burner will decide to work or for how long.

Abby has finals this week and her boyfriend and I will be going to La Crosse to move her back home on Friday. Jeff's boss conveniently signed him up to attend a conference that day.

2010-04-25T17:09:00.001-07:00

Abby was home this past weekend and reminded me I had fallen behind on the blog. I forget how those college students depend on the news from home.

This time, I will journal backwards... So Abby brought her friend, Amy, home from UWL this weekend to take her to Miller Park and see a Brewers game. Jeff also attended the game with Terry, Paul, Kayla, Nate and some of Paul's family. Because Terry was involved, there was plenty of food and no one wanted for anything. They didn't get to see a good game, but I think all had fun. I stayed put here in the Falls strolling back and forth between the softball field where Paige was playing and the track field where Bryn ran. Bryn was put in her first meet Friday since her surgery. She ran the last leg of the 4x800 relay and got a very decent time! She's earned her spot back on the Varsity team now.

All this past week we didn't see much of Bryn as she rehearsed with the band for the musical, Fame, put on this weekend. She'd have all of 20 minutes between track practice and pit band practice to grab something to eat. So basically she was gone from 7:30 am to 10:00pm. She's looking forward to sleeping again this week.

One of my co-workers will be leaving Norman Design this week. Really sad about it. Obviously, John wants me to work full-time. I'd like to get a lot more out of my job if I'm putting that much time into it, so I think I'll pass.

Paige's softball team is undefeated! Paige is doing very well pitching. And a game doesn't go by without someone commenting on how fast she runs those bases. She's earned the nickname Spidey for her crouching stance and the way she holds her hands out when leading off base. And the coach calls her Wheels for her speed.

Last weekend I traveled to Indy to help celebrate Meg and William's 40th birthdays. They rented a bar & grill, hired a DJ and invited about 100 people to their 80s themed party. I rode with Kristin down there and with Kristin and Craig on the way back. It's nice the ride is so long so we could have a great conversation! The highlight of the party - without a doubt - was Meg's best friend, Betsy, karaoke-ing to Michael Jackson.

And the weekend before that, Jeff and I flew out to New York City! Bryn and Paige were already there on their band trip and we did get to run into them for pizza Friday night and at the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Ctr) on Saturday night. We had dinner Friday night with Melissa, my first co-worker at Norman Design, who now lives and works out there. We toured Central Park, walked through the Guggenheim Museum, took in a Broadway show and ferried out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Out hotel was in the best possible spot: we could walk 6 blocks in any direction and be in Times Square, Central Park... So nice.

2010-04-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Bryn was let out of school to play with the high school Wind Symphony for the Wisconsin Music Educators Conference in the Capitol in Madison. She had a great time.

Paige passed her umpire test Tuesday night, so will be scheduled to umpire at Little League games during the summer.

Wednesday was an absolutely beautiful day and both Jeff and I were able to watch the freshman softball team scrimmage against Germantown. Paige looked good pitching.

Abby was able to hitch a ride home from La Crosse Thursday night for Easter weekend. The girls had a lot of fun outside enjoying the warm weather that night.

Everybody was off on Friday except for Jeff. I went to the Y in the morning, then us girls did a little shopping to prepare for our upcoming trips. We made stops at Target, TJMaxx, and JCPenney. It was a lot of fun. Jeff rented the Best Picture winner, The Hurt Locker, from the library and we were excited to watch it that night. I found it quite boring and went to bed after the first hour. Jeff watched the rest, but wasn't so impressed either.

I woke up early Saturday morning and found myself grocery shopping amongst a store-wide Easter Egg Hunt! The store puts wrapped Easter candy throughout the aisles. Not a bad deal - there were lots of leftovers! Back home, it was a big laundry day to make sure Abby had hers done to go back to school the next day and Bryn and Paige's done so they could pack it up to leave on Monday for the band trip to Boston and New York City. Jeff is suffering from spring allergies with a headache, watery eyes, and congestion.

Abby, Bryn and Paige had to get up at 8:00am this morning to search for their Easter baskets. The Easter Bunny did something different this year: a scavenger hunt. The first clue was on the kitchen table. They had to figure out clues which led them to a page in the Bible, a message in Paige's email, and finally to the passenger seat of their car: "I call shotgun!" It was fun to watch. We all got ready and headed to church at Elmbrook, then for Easter brunch at the Odyssey. We got our turn to be serenaded before we left. Abby got invited to Mark's for Easter dinner this afternoon while Paige and Bryn finish checking things off their packing lists.

2010-03-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

Bryn was buried in paperwork early this week as she wrote numerous essays and filled out applications for several scholarships that are run through the high school. The packet was due Wednesday, so she began printing Monday night. I was so proud I had remembered to purchase another ream of paper. So of course, we run out of ink! Back on track Tuesday night, but Bryn had a track meet so Jeff and I had to collate all 20 sets consisting of 1 application form, 9 pages of essays, and 2 letters of recommendation EACH.

Paige endured 4 days of softball tryouts Monday through Thursday. On Friday, the teams were announced and she made the freshman team! She will be 1 of 2 pitchers for the team. Yay Paige! Her first game is Wednesday already!

Bryn checked in with Dr Barczak on Thursday and he recommended she not do the hurdles til after spring break, but was good with Bryn running whatever other event she was comfortable doing. Bryn's been participating in all the practices and at meets she's been helping coach and taking times.

Maggie and Terry came down to visit Saturday. We're so terrible about getting anywhere besides our own events, it's nice people take time to come to us.

Saturday was also my final day of work at Kohls. I really did like working there. It did get to be a lot to juggle schedule-wise though, and I just couldn't put anything in the way of attending all Bryn's track meets and Paige's softball games this spring. They really hate it if I'm not there to take pictures.

I entered a team into our local Incredible Trivia contest that took place last night. We hosted the team, Random House, at our home. Jeff and I have both participated in Lawrence University's trivia weekend back in Appleton. We were able to recruit 4 families and shared dinner and snacks throughout the contest which ran from 4 - 9 pm. We had access to 3 laptops and 1 iMac. The contest even included a "road rally" portion which was kind of a scavenger hunt that we sent the kids on and they had a blast bragging how they had overtaken the "ladies in the green van" to take 1st place! The kids also were very quick googling and calling in our answers. Toward the end of the contest, we received a phone call that our team was one of the top 5 finishers and we needed to come to the studio! We were then announced as the 4th place team and made our television cable access debut! We all really had a lot of fun and think we'll do it again next year.

Bryn was supposed to do some testing for the UW system today, but opted not to as she has eliminated UW-La Crosse from her list of college prospects.

2010-03-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

Back to me blogging. Won't be as clever as Miss Paige.

Paige was a good little girl wearing her rubberbands 24/7 throughout February and was rewarded by getting her braces off March 1st. She had them on a little over 2 years. She now has a clear retainer she only has to wear at night.

Bryn turned 18 on March 9th and when I asked her about having a party, she replied "I'm not supposed to know about it!" So I went with that and sent out evites to 20 of her closest friends for a surprise party. I had to have an inside man, so I relied on Natalie to help me out. Natalie and Paige both helped me make the guest list and get in contact with those I couldn't via email. Natalie's main job was creating a diversion for Bryn to get out of the house while all her guests arrived. Natalie's birthday is close to Bryn's, so Natalie got her to Fuddrucker's for dinner on Friday, March 5th. All the guests got here before Bryn and Natalie got back and did an excellent job parking far enough away from the house. When Bryn came downstairs, she was actually scared at first and jumped back when everyone shouted "Surprise!" Only 2 couldn't make it so it was a great turnout. They had cake and ice cream here, then were treated to bowling.

Paige participated in another demo, The Best of the Best, for Tae Kwon Do on March 13th. I wasn't able to go again (working at Kohls), but Abby was home for spring break and my mom and dad were down too so Paige had plenty of spectators. Paige played a part in the demonstration early on, then took 4th place in breaking a board and showing her form.

My parents stopped in last weekend on their way back from Florida. Unfortunately I had to work at Kohls everyday. Good thing having Mom here though: my laundry and ironing is all caught up! Dad and Jeff got to watch a lot of basketball. Craig (they stayed in Chicago with him before coming here) and Bryn both caught the flu germs they left behind though.

So Abby was home this past week and got to enjoy the beautiful spring-like weather. Hallmark got her in to work where one of her tasks was creating a Facebook fan page for the store. Abby got to see Mark play intramural soccer at MSOE, take Bryn to a movie for her birthday, take advantage of my Kohls Associate shop day (extra 30% off!), and get a massage, brow wax and haircut. We all got to spend some quality time with her this week which was really nice.

We're really pressuring Bryn to make a decision about where to go to college next year as many due dates are coming up fast. So to help her along, I took her out to Carroll Friday afternoon to visit their Physical Therapy department. Bryn has been offered a generous financial aid package there, so Carroll's very worth considering. She has to name one college on her school scholarship package that she'll turn in on Wednesday....

This past Saturday was Solo & Ensemble where both Bryn and Paige participated in several events. Both the girls seem to attract large audiences when they play which is unusual in this particular situation. Bryn will go on to State for both her solo and a trombone duet.

February 28, 2010

2010-02-28T17:59:00.000-08:00

What's crackalackin, this is Paige. My mom is at a StuCo meeting and she probably wouldn't have done the blog anyways if she were here because well, she's been slacking. Remember when she updated it every week?!
Anyways, happy late Valentine's Day!
Bryn went up to watch her best friend Natalie Misasi compete in a state skiing race. She took 5 in the state!
So Bryn had a band concert a while ago. Also, she's been busy with a lot of art projects. Apparently tomorrow is the start of "Spirit week" and I don't mean spirit like pep, I mean the teacher. I had a Pop's Concert like last week, it was okay. Upside: I got a shamrock shake! Downside: We had to wait like a half hour to get it because they ran out of syrup in the machine. At one point, they said they were out and I just about died inside.
I went to the dermatologist and they made me take a pregnancy test. It was quite awkward. Not like they thought I was pregnant or anything, it's just required because if I get put on this pill which I'd prefer not to start after reading the BOOKLET of side effects, if you're pregnant it gives your child serious birth defects. Like they have probably 0-1% of being SEMI normal. So yeah. That was just...interesting. Didn't think I'd be taking a pregnancy test at 14 years old.
Bryn can jog now, that's pretty cool. She'll be able to run by track season! I'm doing track until softball tryouts, and then I'll be playing for the Freshmen softball team (JV if I just suddenly become a beast during tryouts) I get to pitch at the open gyms, and I have to admit the first time I did I was basically freaking out since it was the first time I pitched since my lovely little hit to the face last summer. Well my big news is...I GET MY BRACES OFF TOMORROW!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY. You're probably not excited, but I've been counting down the days for a month now. After being told at age 3 that you were getting braces, and then going through the process of 2 years of headgear, spacers, bands, chains, and rubber bands, I think you'd be pretty pumped. If you've never had braces, you do NOT understand. Wow, our family's pretty boring. (Story of my life since Abby left.)
We had a big snow storm but of course no school cancellations. Theo really loved running around in all the snow.I was very dissapointed when I found out college spring break is only a week. What?! Let's be realistic, that is not enough time for a college student's spring break.
During MFHS's spring break Bryn and I are going to New York! It's gonna be sweet. And joy! Mom and dad are also going...the same week.
Mom dragged me along to clean her work and lied and told me she'd give me $15. I never received any money...what is this.
So we went to Tazino's to eat tonight. I. am. so. full. You go and get tons of food, eat it, and then you feel like 50 billioin pounds fatter. Sick. At least the food was good.
I went to my friend Becca's house with my other friend Jamie yesterday because we had to make a History video about WWII and Women entering the workforce. Gotta say, it was pretty dramatic. For real. Like there were two crying scenes. I mean, that is intense for a 3ish minute video. And to add to this greatness, I look like a stud in a suit with extra broad built in shoulders.
So uh, I guess that's pretty much it. Livin the Saunders life can be a little blah sometimes. It pretty much consists of: One Tree Hill, school, sports, Bryn & I making fun of mom, Bryn being sarcastic, Mom smiling, Dad farting and saying "whoops", missing Abby, and Theo spitting in random places and farting such horrible smelling farts that we need to evacuate the area. But ya know we have our fun times. After all we are the Saunders! haha. I feel like I talked about myself too much during this. I'm sorry. Have a wonderful evening all you cool cats reading this!

2010-02-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

Superbowl Sunday! I've got a time limit to blog today! Jeff is upstairs cutting up sausage and cheese for part our feast.

I drove Paige to her orthodontist appt Monday morning. She's been really good about wearing her rubber bands and was rewarded for it today! They officially scheduled her braces removal for March 1st! Paige wrote it extra big on the calendar. So she will have had her braces for just over 2 years. I reminded her that since she's only 14, she'd better wear her retainer as the orthodontist tells her because her teeth could move right back. Then after school I accompanied Paige to the high school Softball team meeting where they distributed information on open gym practice and tryouts (end of March).

Jeff returned home safely from Virginia very early Tuesday morning and went on his way to work and meetings. He commented on how lucky he was that his trip was in the beginning of this week, considering the recent snowfall dumping they've taken! Tuesday evening I attended a parent meeting for Paige's WorkCamp and found her our t-shirt design was chosen for the front of the shirt and I worked to finalize another girl's design for the back. Yea! All us parents also received our invoices for WorkCamp payment #1, and Paige has done such a terrific job fundraising, we don't owe anything yet!!! She still has a flower sale and a couple more volunteering opportunities.

Bryn went back to see the podiatrist Thursday morning where he took another xray and assures us she's healing well. He wants her now to walk without a crutch and without the surgical boot - which means regular shoes. She made it 3 hours during school on Friday - much more restrictive in a regular shoe!

Saturday morning Jeff escorted Bryn downtown to Marquette University to take scholarship tests in the school she would be enrolling in: Health Sciences. She also received a letter in the mail from Marquette that same day announcing she has been awarded $8000/yr for her academics and service. Nice. But need a lot more to make Marquette a player. Bryn's still waiting to hear from Marquette whether she's been accepted directly into the 6-year Doctorate of Physical Therapy program. While they were downtown, I baked communion bread for church all morning. We all Skyped Abby, then watched LOST (from Tuesday) together last night.

Today we had Generations of Faith at church this morning where we packed lunches for a homeless shelter. Then we had to find a swimsuit for Paige who has swimming in school (gym class) starting tomorrow. I bought a few black pieces at Kohls seeing that as of Feb 28th all us employees will be required to wear all black: no stripes, no polka dots, no colored shirt underneath. I've had on my blue and white all day to cheer on the Colts tonight! The local grocery stores are even in on in and I bought a big Colts cookie to celebrate later! I sent the picture to Meg who's in Miami living large this weekend!

2010-01-31T06:32:00.000-08:00

So our little school district has made the national scene! While the school dance discussion has made the local papers and TV news, Menomonee Falls High School has also been mentioned on Jay Leno! There's a great divide about not allowing "grinding" at school dances so much so that students themselves have organized an alternative dance off school property. Sounds like there'll be a very low attendance at the upcoming Turnabout Dance because of the new rules.

I dug deep into finding the best deals on our prescriptions. It turns out our mail-order pharmacy really does better than even WalMart's low-price prescriptions! But boy, did that take a lot of time on the phone.

Doing better at changing my shopping routine to include gift cards purchased through Scrip to earn $ toward Paige's WorkCamp. Best use of the gift cards is for the grocery store. Paige gets a percentage of the gift card $ amount toward her WorkCamp trip fund. I just have to think a week ahead!

Paige is getting ready for another TaeKwonDo demo. She has been flying around in the piano room trying to perfect this crazy new kick. Master Cory just announced the music they will be using so Paige has found it online. Her demo will be March 13th, but the routine has not been choreographed yet so she doesn't know exactly what her part will be. Paige is saving up in hopes of a new dog. She pulls Jeff over to the computer to view what's available at the Humane Society. Hmmm......

Bryn continues to train 3X/week after school in the weight room, determined to strengthen her right leg. We are pressuring Bryn to narrow down her 4 college choices. I'm thinking we'll go back to visit a couple to help her along. I think we have made our final choice for Bryn's Senior Sendoff picture! Senior Sendoff is a section of the yearbook where families can write a "good-bye/good luck" message to their graduating senior and include a baby picture.

Seeds got a new kitten we got to see and hold and play with on Friday.

I've had a full week without working at Kohls. It was really a nice break. Jeff and I took advantage of my weekend off and went out on a date to the movies to see Up In The Air, then to dinner afterward. We had a gift certificate to Panera to use and it was delicious! We came home to find out Bryn and Paige had Skyped Abby while we were out. We played a little Scattergories with Bryn and Paige. Jeff flies out to Washington DC today and is gone through Tuesday. He will be going out east about once a month because of a big hospital his company is working on in Charlottesville, VA.

2010-01-25T14:28:00.000-08:00

Monday Bryn and Paige had off school for MLK Day. Too bad Abby had to work. I had to have one picture of Bryn with her blue boot that she's been modeling for the past 4 weeks. This is her spot in the living room so she can keep her foot elevated. She's really come a long way: now she can even do the Wii Fit and walks around the house without crutches!

First day of final exams was Wednesday at the high school. I ended up having to drive Jeff to work so we had enough cars for the kids to get everywhere! Paige only had one final exam today so Abby drove her back and forth to school in the morning, then Bryn had to take Paige to her haircut when Bryn was done with finals in the afternoon because Abby had a dentist appointment! Paige brought in a picture of Abby for her haircut.

Abby and Mark ventured out ice skating Friday night. They had plans to skate outdoors at Red Arrow Park downtown which rents skates and has a cool Starbucks that overlooks the rink. Wouldn't you know it but a wedding had it reserved! So they drove over the the Petit to skate indoors.

We're noticing Theo getting older. He still loves to catch the frisbee, but when he gets up from somewhere he sure is slow moving!

Jeff and I began shopping for airline tickets to New York for our long weekend in April. Jeff spent most of the day Saturday trying to put back together the skid plate underneath the new Mazda 3 and now taxes has become a daily chore for him. We're very motivated to finish though, because then we can file the FAFSA for college financial aid! Saturday night all of us enjoyed family movie night complete with popcorn popped on the stove. We watched He's Just Not That Into You.

Abby packed up and headed back to La Crosse yesterday. She was able to find a ride. I was concerned that we really should drive her because of the amount of stuff she had, but her ride was someone who knows Abby well. She opened her trunk and exclaimed, "See Abby! I left it all for you!"

2010-01-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

No pictures this week. I think I'm not used to my new camera yet and Jeff's been taking my place at a lot of events with my extra jobs. I had to work til close (10:30pm) at Kohls 2x this week for the first time ever. It's a lot of work getting the store all straightened up before leaving!

I'm seriously considering stopping coloring my hair. It can't be good for your body. This will truly test my vanity. We'll see how long I hold out.

Paige started attending Softball Open Gym held once a week by the senior members of the high school softball team. The older girls give the younger attendees tips and just some good practice on their skills hoping to prepare them for team tryouts. Paige is all signed up for Little League for this summer whether or not she plays for the high school. Today Paige bowled to earn money to attend workcamp this summer with church. Thank you to all who donated. Paige was recognized for her fundraising efforts.

Bryn checked in with the podiatrist again Thursday morning and was given the OK to drive again. Boy, was she excited! She's to walk with one crutch (like a cane) for 2 weeks, then begin to try walking without the crutch. Her bone is healing well. She's also been encouraged to add cycling to her workout routine to strengthen her legs to be ready to run track. Bryn's big assignment now is writing scholarship essays. This should keep her quite busy for a while. She's also considering applying to Viterbo because they're really seeking her out.

Abby's been piling on the hours at Hallmark and looking for a possible internship for the summer. She'll be officially changing her major to Communications, so I immediately relate it to Public Relations. And of course, I'm helping the search.

We've all been utilizing the Wii Fit still. It really is a nice tool to have right at home to do some good core exercises.

2010-01-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

What a great week! Back into a routine and only 6 hours at Kohls!!!!

Tuesday night Jeff and I worked Booster Club concessions during the boys basketball game. We invited 2 other couples to work with us and we were quite a team! Abby and her boyfriend went out for dinner to celebrate their 6-month anniversary. Awww.....

Bryn and Paige were hoping for some more snow days this week as we accumulated about 10" over Thursday and Thursday night. The snow is really pretty and fluffy and nice to shovel.

Friday I had a beautiful day first attending my regular step class, then staying home and cleaning the rest of the day. My house really needed it after all those extra holiday hours working at Kohls! We met Kristin, Carlo, Bella and Lucy at St Anthonys for their monthly fish fry that evening to celebrate Carlo's 40th birthday. Jeff even bought him a birthday beer. Abby went bowling with a group of friends and invited Bryn along. Bryn said they helped her to throw one ball.

Saturday I did spend most of my day at Kohls and took a little extra time after work to go through those loaded clearance racks. The kids stayed home and cleaned at my request. Jeff had a big pan of mostaciolli ready when I came home! Abby's boyfriend went to the Purdue/Madison basketball game compliments of Abby's Christmas present. Abby was disappointed when her boyfriend announced he had finally found someone to take to the game. She assumed it would be her! He did invite her over to dinner afterward. All is good.

Today I grocery shopped, then baked and cooked. Abby and Paige went to church, then to the mall to spend some of their Christmas loot. Bryn had a friend over to tutor her in BioChem. This friend did well in the class and is now studying pre-Pharmacy at UWMadison. We're now focused on paying enrollment & housing deposits and finding scholarships for Bryn for next year. And the dreaded FAFSA! I'm getting better on my Wii Fit, but it says I really need to get on it more often!

2010-01-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

I tried eCards for Christmas this year and am pretty pleased. I think it gave everyone something fun to view, was "green", and very economical. My kids were disappointed with me changing our tradition, but I think our eCards will only improve year after year.

Abby's home from college til Jan 24th. Already she's been to Minneapolis and back to a CRU conference. Now Abby will fill her time with a lot of work hours from Hallmark.

Bryn had her bunion surgery on her right foot on Dec 18th. She was in a lot of pain for about 4 days. I'm really glad we timed it like we did: she only missed 4 days of school and I feel she's really ready and capable to go back tomorrow. She has a ride to school and helpers set up to carry her books as she's on crutches for at least another 2 weeks.

Paige hosted a New Years Eve party here and had a ball. All the guests brought a treat to share and they had fun watching the ball drop, DDR-ing, Wii-ing and playing air hockey.

I was so excited for this weekend: my first 4-day no-work weekend in a LONG time! Then I catch a whopper cold that spoiled it all. Needless to say, I did not make it to midnight New Years Eve. I did go in to Kohls for 4 hours on Friday, but had to blow my nose every other customer. Kohls did ask me to stay on after the holidays and I agreed.

Jeff has been stepping in doing a lot of the grocery shopping and running the kids places with my extra work. The super-cold day yesterday reminded us to purchase a new battery for the van. And another riddle for all us parents "What's with teenagers not wearing winter coats anymore?"

Last night, Jeff set up my new Wii-Fit and Jeff, Paige and I had fun seeing what the Wii thought of our weight and fitness status (did not match what we thought!) Hope I can stay disciplined and use it daily! All of us attended our family program at church this morning where Paige participated in Let's Make a Deal! and won the top prize of all 7 Fruits of the Holy Spirit. Everyone got a chuckle out of her as all the other contestants blandly listed the actual city they were from when they were asked, but Paige had to be different and was from "Switzerland." We de-Christmas-ed the house this afternoon. Couldn't stand the needles anymore.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-13T14:06:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Saunders household!

Our family was fortunate enough to take a 2-week driving trip out to Banff, Canada late last June. It was spectacular! We also had fun cheering our high school football team on to State this season. Weather couldn't have been better for those fall football games.

I'm still with Norman Design but have recently taken on 2 additional part-time jobs: cashiering at Kohls Dept Stores and cleaning the office every other weekend. Keeping me busy, but the retail job is quite a refreshing break from my quiet graphic design office where I sit all day. I've had fun getting involved with our local Art Guild, where I recently totally redesigned their web site. I also created a site for the girls high school Cross Country team that was a terrific outlet for the hundreds of pictures I take of them.

Paige is a freshman in high school. She plays clarinet in band and jazz band. Paige earned her black belt in Tae Kwon Do last spring and recently participated in a special routine with her Tae Kwon Do demo team. She pitched for Little League last summer and took a nasty line drive to her right eye that took her out for the playoffs. Paige will soon have to decide between Track and Softball as they are both spring sports.

Abby is a sophomore at UW-La Crosse where her major is now Communications and her minors are English as a Second Language and Art. This year Abby's rooming with an RA but already has her lease signed to live off campus with 5 close friends next year. Abby leads the Latino group with Campus Crusade for Christ at UWL. She still works at Hallmark whenever she is back home.

Bryn is a senior in high school. She wants to pursue a career in Physical Therapy but is still undecided as to where she will go to college. Bryn plays trombone in band and jazz band and runs Cross Country in the fall and Track in the spring. Band Revue just concluded its run, where Bryn was one of 4 student directors that wrote the script, set up rehearsals, did choreography and chose the music. Bryn attended Badger Girls State last June — unfortunately, the same week as our vacation. Bryn also volunteered on a mission trip again last summer, this time to West Virginia.

Jeff just celebrated 20 years with Ring & DuChateau. Jeff also continues to teach Senior Design class at MSOE. He was able to get together with his college friends in October for their annual hunt in Waubeno and Packer game, both in October. We've kept Jeff busy with many repairs he never thought he could do before: replacing a laptop screen and fixing a digital camera. However we did suffer a few losses after Jeff gave them his best try: washer, dishwasher, Honda CRV, bicycle. Luckily all replaceable.

2009-11-29T15:44:00.000-08:00

Mike, Kevin and I celebrated John's last day of vacation on Nov 18th by going out to lunch at Brick3, a great pizza place, downtown. We really enjoy the camaraderie we have when our boss is away. As it turns out, John didn't come back the next day anyway.

For my birthday (Nov 19th) Jeff prepared a super delicious meal from my Rachel Ray cookbook. It was a halibut dish atop smashed peas. It was so yummy! Then he even had cheesecake for dessert! That was a real treat. This was my first birthday where I was on Facebook and all those well-wishes were awesome to hear!

Nov 20th was a gorgeous day and we all headed to Madison for the high school state football games. Paige rode the high school fan bus. There were 9 fan busses from our high school! Jeff and I rode out with Dave and Carrie while Bryn followed behind in her car with her friends. We arrived early so we could see part of the Division 2 game where our nephew's team, Kimberly, was playing. We were able to meet up with Terry, Debbie, Bobby, Richie and Kayla and watch the 2nd half with them. Kimberly lost. We had to travel around to the opposite side for our Division 1 game against Marquette University High School. Menomonee Falls was tough and held Marquette to only 1 touchdown, but we couldn't score against them. We ate dinner at the Stadium with Bryn and her friends before heading back home.

Saturday Nov 21st, Bryn played in a quintet at our local Sentry store. The Sentry store allows the Menomonee Falls bands to come in to the store to help celebrate the holidays. Paige had another Tae Kwon Do demo practice and I worked at Kohls. I went right from there to the grocery store. Then to the couch where Jeff and I enjoyed watching Australia at home.

I decided not to spoil my day off Sunday Nov 22nd and opted to go in to work (Norman Design) an hour early Monday and Tuesday to get my biweekly cleaning in. I had enough cleaning to accomplish at home!

So Bryn and Paige had off school for the week. Excellent. I put them on maid duty because I had a busy week ahead, plus company coming for Thanksgiving. I attended conferences for Paige and Bryn at the high school Monday night Nov 23rd. All good reports. Very weird to hear Paige being described as "quiet". At the Art Guild meeting Tuesday night Nov 24th, I am still getting rave reviews on the new website as more and more members are becoming acquainted with it. Jeff ran the concessions stand at the high school first basketball game of the season Wednesday night while I worked at Kohls. Luckily Abby, Bryn and Paige were home to welcome Meg, William and family when they got in from Indianapolis. Abby, Bryn and Paige really did a top-notch job getting the house cleaned up!

Jeff, Bryn and Paige drove up to Appleton to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. They ate out at VanAbel's, then went to visit with Debbie and her family afterwards. Abby and I drove over to Waukesha to meet my family at Kristin's. We really teased my mom about the turkeys this year. We ended up not having turkey with our Thanksgiving this year. Not done. And we couldn't get over one of the turkeys which was all breast meat and seemed to jiggle. Abby, Meg and I got the lowdown on where to meet Friday morning and we were all back home around 6pm to tuck in early. (Of course, I didn't sleep that night.)

Friday morning Nov 27th we met Kristin and Mom at Kohls at 4:30am. The store was not as crowded as other years. We found lots of early bird specials there and felt good. We were already hungry and stopped next for our annual McDonald's breakfast. From there we went to Target, ToysRUs and Brookfield Square mall. It was 10:30am and knowing we still had to work that day, Abby and I bowed out and went home to nap. We were so relieved to see Jeff and William packing up the kids to play at Flabbergast so we knew it'd be peaceful for us to sleep. The kids had a blast there, relieving their cabin fever. Abby and I got back home to enjoy pizza with everyone at our house.

Meg cut Abby's hair Saturday Nov 28th before Abby and I went off to work again. Meg, William and family left soon afterward. Abby was able to get together with her close girlfriends that night while they were all home on break. Kendal came over for a Saunders-exclusive visit before they went. I pooped out again that night and Jeff and I watched Gladiator.

Today Sunday Nov 29th we all slept in in the morning. Very busy doing laundry, paying bills, catching up on the blog! Abby's boyfriend, Mark, got back from his family vacation and was able to see Abby this afternoon before she went back to La Crosse. She was very happy. They baked cookies together for Abby to bring back with her.

2009-11-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

Bryn and Paige played with their respective Jazz Bands at a jazz concert Thursday night. My mom and dad were down visiting Kristin, and ended up coming to the concert. They surprised Paige while she was on stage. And we were all surprised to find out Bryn had a solo! Band will quickly switch gears to focus on Band Revue - their big annual musical. Bryn is one of three directors and is being very secretive about story. All I know the theme is LOST. Stay tuned.

I kept Paige home from school Thursday and Friday: sore throat, super tired, cough, stuffy nose, bad headache. The schools are asking us to be super careful with this H1N1 going around. Abby came home with Amy for the weekend on Thursday. Abby will not be able to see her boyfriend over Thanksgiving and it was his birthday, so she squeezed in another trip home. Thursday night I had my orientation at Kohls. Yup. I signed up for a seasonal cashier job. I also trained on Saturday and Sunday learning the register, but have not been on my own yet. Probably when I go in on Wednesday night.

Abby and Mark drove Amy to Kenosha on Friday to catch the Metra train to Chicago where Amy went to visit friends for the remainder of the weekend at Northwestern. Jeff and I had a big night out Friday night. We attended the Menomonee Falls Scholarship Auction & Dinner. It was held at a local banquet hall and was very nice. We saw a lot of people we knew and had fun at all the different auction games they held. Dinner was great and there was even a DJ to dance to later.

Abby got on the schedule at Hallmark for the full day Saturday. Bryn is having trouble getting back on the schedule at Walgreens. They moved her from the pharmacy to cosmetics, and now it seems they just lost her! She's trying...
Paige had demo practice for Tae Kwon Do and was eager to have us listen to their demo song and show us where her part would be. Abby had Mark over for his birthday and made him dessert. Bryn headed up to Oshkosh to watch our high school football team play Appleton North to find out who would go on to State! Jeff and I wanted to go, but I had to be at Kohls til 6 and with Paige kind of being sick we stayed and waited for Bryn to text us. We won 10-0! So we'll be heading to Madison this Friday!!!!!

Sunday Jeff went to the Packer game with a bunch of people from his work. Luckily it was a great game to watch. He had a full day, leaving at 11am and returning 11pm. Paige accompanied Abby to church in the morning and Bryn slept in after her late night at the game. Then Abby was invited to Mark's for his birthday lunch with his family. I had to cook an early dinner so Abby and Amy could catch their ride back to LaCrosse at 5pm. I've got my sister's new salon logo done and now it's on to website designs.

2009-11-11T04:32:00.000-08:00

Jeff's Honda CRV is still sitting in the parking lot at his work refusing to start. We had to ask Bryn and Paige to find a ride to school the remainder of last week so Jeff or I could use their car to get to work. Jeff spent a lot of time on AutoTrader.com to find the best deals on the 2 cars we were considering: Mazda 3 and Subaru Impreza. So on Friday, we headed down to Evanston, IL where we drove one of each. The intention was to have lunch to discuss after both test drives, but we ended up just staying and sealing the deal on the Mazda 3. It's a fun car to drive and we're very happy with it. In the meantime, Jeff is working on finding a charity that will tow the Honda.

Last Saturday was such a picture perfect day, we couldn't pass up being outside for a football game. We drove out to Sun Prairie with our friends, Dave and Carrie, to watch our high school football team play in the quarterfinals of our Division. Each of us took turns shedding layers of clothing because the weather was so much nicer than we anticipated. It was a great game! We won 34 - 17! So now Menomonee Falls is on to play Appleton North in Oshkosh this coming Saturday night! Go Falls!

Bryn was asked to be a friend's sponsor for her confirmation. Quite a compliment. Bryn took her friend to church Sunday morning. Fitting. I've taken on another job: cleaning my office. John was looking for a cleaning person, and I volunteered. It pays good and it's only 2 hours every other week. I went downtown Sunday afternoon to work my first shift and I think I really spruced the place up.

Monday was Bryn's Cross Country banquet. Bryn was one of four team captains and you could see they were all emotional about their final season being over. The captains gave silly awards out to every teammate and the coaches.The coaches made several comments about how the captains coordinated extra practices and elevated the status of the team. Jeff is checking in with the HR person at work (regarding health insurance) to see how we should proceed with Bryn's bunion surgery. Bryn would really like to have it done so she's ready for track season.

Paige is now on the demo team for Tae Kwon Do, which is only for black belts who want to perform special tricks and/or routines. We purchased her a new, blue uniform and nun-chucks! Little scary. She'll perform for her first time for the Dec. 12th testing. I'm proud of how committed she's been to Tae Kwon Do and excited to see her in her blue uniform!

2009-11-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

Jeff returned home from Virginia safely Thursday night. His fellow passengers included Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl! I had a crazy work day and finally got home to Paige by 5 and got her to Tae Kwon Do.

Jeff left early Friday morning to meet up with Bryn at UWL for a Campus Close-Up. Abby and Bryn went for breakfast in the building where Jeff was to meet Bryn. Seems like UWL is 4th out of 4 colleges that Bryn is considering. I'm still glad she toured it because it'd be a good school for her program.

Friday Paige and I both had off. I did laundry and ironed most of the day. Paige got to wake up early to babysit Bella and Lucy. Lucy is potty-training and when she started following me a little too closely around the house, I put her on the toilet where she did her first poop! Lucy and Bella were really disappointed they couldn't bounce on the trampoline, but I couldn't let them outside in the rain when it was only 40°! We all had plenty of fun with stickers (Bella know where all my scrapbooking stickers are), puzzles, the piano and beanie babies.

I took Paige and her friend to look for pumpkins Friday afternoon. What a bust! There were NONE left! We went to 4 stands! Some farmer felt sorry for us and gave us these for $2 each. Friday night Paige went to an insomniac all-nighter with a church group. She had a lot of fun. She slept all day Saturday and woke up in time to go trick-or-treating with friends Halloween night. I didn't get pictures because they didn't go around here. But one of Paige's friends bought all 4 of their pumpkin costumes. I'm sure they were too cute. Jeff and I handed out candy to the chilly trick-or-treaters, then walked over to a neighbor's for a beer afterward.

Driving to work today, Paige texted me that she forgot to bring a class project to school and could I bring it? I was over halfway to work, so I called Jeff. Jeff called me back that his car wouldn't start. So I drove back home, to school, saved the day for Paige, and then in late to work. Jeff looked at his car at lunch and tried to jump start it, but no luck. He's back there now, seeing what he can figure out.

Bryn saw the podiatrist today and he rated her bunion as "moderate." Contemplating surgery... Tonight I picked up Paige's "lost" cell phone from the movie theatre! Yup! They called saying they finally found it, probably got lodged in between the seats. Paige is now opting to go back to her green phone. Good news: we now have an extra phone for next time. Bad news: there will be a next time.

2009-10-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

Bryn had her first band concert back on the 20th. The concert featured the Wind Symphony band, the Choir and the Orchestra. It was nice to see other groups we wouldn't normally see. The choir did that famous Journey song "Don't Stop Believing" you always hear on commercials for the TV show "Glee." Really cool to hear live. Bryn is finally 1st chair trombone. Unfortunately, because she's a big brass instrument we never get to quite see her when she's performing because they're in the back.

Bryn's coach took her out of racing the rest of the season. Disappointing not to participate in sectionals her final, senior year, but she wants to concentrate on working it out for track. I made an appointment for her to see a podiatrist to see if he has any suggestions on helping her foot pain. Bryn couldn't leave her team for the weekend, she cheered everyone else on at the Sectional meet on Saturday.

Paige, Jeff and I drove over to La Crosse Friday night to visit Abby for Friends and Family Weekend. Abby stayed with us in the hotel room Friday night and enjoyed the peace and quiet. The weather forecast sounded lousy, but it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day on Saturday. We walked around campus, but then chose to take Abby shopping for her Halloween costume rather than go to the football game. We did a drive-by of Abby's new house she'll be living in next year with her 5 closest friends. Very nice neighborhood. We'll have to wait til summer to see the inside. Paige stayed on campus with Abby Saturday night where they had a One Tree Hill marathon.
Sunday Abby had to part with her cell phone and was none too happy. Her screen would white out, then the entire display would read backwards! There aren't any at&t stores in the western part of Wisconsin, so we had to take it with us to find out what was going on. Water damage. So I had to send it in. Abby should have her replacement today. So poor Abby's been facebooking it and land-lining it for 4 entire days! And no texting!

We did get to celebrate Jeff's birthday when we returned home Sunday with a nice steak dinner and banana cream pie. Jeff's in Virginia. He flew out last night and will return Thursday night.

I put Bryn on the Amtrak today to La Crosse so she could have her time with Abby. Bryn and Paige don't have school Thu or Fri because of Teacher's Convention. I wonder if Abby will be happier to see Bryn or her SIM card from her old phone with all her contacts! Bryn's excited to finally have a chance to stay in the dorm with Abby. It's never worked out for her. Jeff will drive out to La Crosse on Friday and meet up with Bryn to tour the campus for a Campus Close-Up day she registered for.

So Paige and I (and Theo!) are holding up the fort. But not alone. Paige is having Miranda and Jennifer sleep over.

2009-10-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

Great day for a Packers game! Jeff went up to Lambeau with college buddies for their annual tailgate and game. One guy did a fantastic job organizing the tailgate. Jeff was assigned soda and water. He should be home around 6:30 tonight.

We got Paige a loaner cell phone while we waited for the insurance company to approve her claim. Paige loved going retro with her tiny loaner phone and remembering how to text without a full keyboard. Her replacement phone arrived in the mail Friday so all is good. Paige will be babysitting to cover the co-pay.

While Jeff was present at the monthly Booster Club meeting, I accompanied Bryn to the Badger Girls/Boys Potluck Dinner at the American Legion. The Legion is the organization that puts on the statewide Badger Girls/Boys program. Each student was asked to give a few minute report on their weeklong experience last summer to the Legion members. Upon presentation of their certificates, the Legion chose one to read aloud. It was Bryn's. Unfortunately, they repeatedly mispronounced her name as "Brian Sanders". It was excrutiating to hear again and again. Poor Bryn.

Bryn's Cross Country coach called me at work in the middle of the week. I was a little nervous. He was calling all the runners' parents asking them to recruit a "Fab 5" for their respective daughters. This "Fab 5" was to be a fan club for that runner encouraging them at this important conference meet. I contacted 3 of Bryn's good friends who didn't hesitate to say yes. Natalie even came over that morning (after Bryn got on the bus) to help make posters. And what good friends they were: it was really chilly Saturday morning! Bryn was the happiest I've seen at a meet, so I think it worked.

Abby called me Friday morning all excited that she's found a house to live in next year at La Crosse. It has 5 bedrooms, and there will be 6 girls living in it. They put their deposit down on Monday. This coming weekend is Friends & Family Weekend, so we'll surely schedule a drive-by. We Skyped with Abby today and she was very tired and sore from playing 3 Powderpuff football games yesterday.

I'm happy to say my two weeks of working full-time are over. I know: I'm spoiled only working part-time. But I guess I have a certain balance I like to maintain between family, work and myself. It wasn't hard being at work that long. But it was hard not having that time at home to clean, do laundry, organize bills, talk to the kids, etc. It seems like sitting at a computer all day shouldn't make you tired, but I sure didn't feel like going to the Y those days! It'll be nice to have Mike back at work. He emailed pictures of his new baby girl, Lydia, on Friday afternoon and she's a cutie! Finally, someone at work who can relate to having kids!

2009-10-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

Mike at my work had his baby last Sunday. A little girl they named Lydia. He is taking a 2-week paternity leave which requires me to become a temporary full-time employee. I'm more than happy to help out while he and his wife adjust to having a baby in the house. We've been king of slow at work, but took on a surprise rush job that turned out to be a ginormous project. Good to have the work, but I had my 40 hours in by Friday morning already!

Paige considered auditioning for the local community theatre's production of A Christmas Carole last Monday, but when the audition required a 3-minute singing solo with sheet music, it seemed a bit beyond what she was anticipating.

Abby was in town on Thursday with her art class from UWL to tour a couple art museums. She had a lengthy lunch break and called me at work to have lunch with her. We dined at the Public Market. It was good to see her again. Bryn had a cross country meet Thursday, but didn't run. She's been having some tendonitis issues in her achilles and with the conference meet next Saturday (17th), the coaches advised her not to chance it. So I didn't drive to watch this week.

Friday Jeff got picked up by 7:30am for his annual hunting expedition to Waubeno with his college friends. One friend wasn't able to go because it's too close to his wife's due date - and here we are sending ours off to college! Jeff got back by supper tonight and said he had a really great time. I'm glad the guys have kept the tradition up all these years.

I worked Friday morning, then went off to Carroll (my alma mater) in the afternoon for a new Alumni Networking event. The students were encouraged to attend and ask us alumni what we did with our degrees from Carroll and what words of encouragement we could offer them. Boy, did I meet the most enthusiastic and interesting art majors! It was so worth it for me to go and get re-energized! I do so much better talking one-on-one vs. presentations. I ended up going to the Y on Friday night because my increased work hours kept me from going during the week. Then Paige and I just hung out while Bryn went off to a bon fire with friends.

Saturday I got a lot of errands done: grocery shop, drop a ton of old computer stuff at the high school band's recycling fundraiser, drycleaners... Bryn worked all day. And Paige was planning her date.... New boy. I drove them up to the movies just before 6:00pm, and when I didn't hear anything by 9:00pm I started texting. Little did I know that they decided to see a 2nd movie. At 11:30pm, the boy's mother and I met in the theatre parking lot knowing we needed to put some stricter ground rules for dating in place after tonight. Paige ended up losing her cell phone at the theatre, so that's been a huge punishment in itself.

I thought the oven died yesterday. I broiled some chicken legs, then was going to slow cook them for a couple hours. The broiling went fine, but there was no heat after that. Overnight I figured out to check the circuit breaker, but that didn't seem to help. Of course, when Jeff came home he magically flipped the same switch and the oven came back to life. Go figure. It'll never die. I finally got around to scrapbooking Bella's 3-year page. I try to do it for her birthday, but that was almost 6 months ago! Better late than never I guess.

2009-10-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

Twas the morning after Homecoming
and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring,
not even a mouse.

Homecoming week overshadowed all other happenings of the past week. Themed days every school day helped with deciding what to wear every morning: Monday was Tropical Day (this year's Homecoming theme), Tuesday was crazy hair/hat day, Wednesday was class color day, Thursday was rival day and Friday, of course, was spirit day.

Wednesday night was the big Powderpuff game. Bryn was a major player being a starter. She played wide receiver and scored the 2nd touchdown for her Senior team. She was way excited! It was chilly out in the stands, but very bearable. The seniors won (tradition) 46 - 20 and will go down in the history books as the "most penalized team ever" with penalties of 300+ yards.

I drove up to watch Bryn run in Fond du Lac Friday afternoon. In the rain. Her coaches actually wanted to pull her from this race because of some tendonitis in her right achilles, but she fought to run. This is her favorite course as it's very flat, so runners typically get some of their best times. After the race, Bryn said she felt very relaxed while running and she did get her best time this year. She really needed that. I drove her back because Bryn was scheduled to work at 7pm. Jeff stayed back to welcome Abby home for the weekend and to get Paige where she needed to be for the game. We all sat in the drizzle and watched our undefeated team do it again, but I did convince Jeff to go home after the halftime festivities.

Our house was the host for Paige's group to take pictures at. I had fun and bought some pretty mum and gourds for decoration. Jeff and I cleaned the house most of the day to prepare. We welcomed Paige's date, Taylor, and 8 of Paige's closest girlfriends for pictures. Taylor did well amongst all the princesses. They went from our house to eat at UNO's, then to the dance. Jeff and I watched a movie before heading back to the high school for the Grand March at 10:30pm where we ran into Abby and her friends. We also ran into Paige and Taylor (the reason we came), to find out that they were just waiting for his dad to pick them up because they weren't doing the Grand March. His dad took them out for ice cream and delivered Paige home. We turned around and delivered Paige to her next gig, the bon fire/sleepover party. It'll be a big withdrawal today!

2009-09-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

Paige opted to cancel her Homecoming updo appointment to get a haircut that couldn't wait this week. Also, since she and her girlfriends didn't see anything at the mall shopping for dresses last weekend, I picked a couple up for her and luckily, one is a keeper. Paige is all set to go to the dance with a group of friends. I'm still waiting for an update from Bryn.

Tuesday night Jeff and I had separate assignments. Jeff attended the high school Band trip meeting while I went to my Art Guild meeting where I nervously presented a "work-in-progress" of their new site I've designed and have been programming. I had hoped to have it launched for this meeting, but now I'm resolved to have it set for the October meeting. The artists all gave me nice compliments, but not the constructive criticism I'm used to from my work clientele. So I guess that's cool because I pretty much can do whatever I want with the content and the design. Jeff got to socialize with a lot of our friends at the Band trip meeting. The kids go over spring break again and will visit Boston and New York. The itinerary looks fabulous! They won't be having a performance for us to attend, so Jeff and I will just drop in on them during a different activity while in New York. Warning: Be prepared for lots of fundraising requests from Bryn and Paige for this band trip and their mission trips!

Jeff followed Paige's schedule while I walked Bryn's at the high school Open House Wednesday night. Reminded me to follow up on Abby's CAPP credits for Spanish! There sure are a lot more kids at the high school with those 9th graders there now!

The Saunders took a turn hosting one of the weekly Cross Country Carb Crams Thursday evening. I prepared 3 pans of taco lasagna and served it with yellow rice and lots of fruit. Jeff helped to rearrange furniture to make more eating areas available in case the entire team of 26 decided to come. The girls were very rowdy, but polite.

The rain held out Friday for Jeff to get in 18 holes of golf on Friday afternoon with a couple of Dads from the area. Abby found a ride home from La Crosse and arrived about 4pm. She nearly toppled her boyfriend Mark over when he arrived here.

We woke Paige and Abby up early to watch Bryn run Cross Country out at Nagawaukee Saturday morning (a stop at Panera for bagels and coffee helped). Bryn always looks great, but she's very disappointed in her times this year. Too much pressure on herself. Her coach called her at home later in the day to check up on her. Paige had a friend sleepover Saturday night seeing as they were both committed to being at the same event this morning at 8:00am. Bryn volunteered also and drove them to the high school for Student Council's annual Senior Citizen Prom. Senior citizens in the area mark their calendars for this event where the students join in dancing and there's lots of food. Abby came along with Kristin and Kristin's sister-in-law to the Cheery Cherry Art Fair. Always some good finds at this one!

2009-09-20T12:41:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Maggie!!!! (At least she'll she I got this posted on her actual birthday, card to follow...)

Last Sunday we attended our church's first Generations of Faith program for the year. This program is replacing Sunday School at our parish. We get to mingle with other families and share breakfast while conversing and doing activities related to our faith. We were seated with Birschbachs and Erin and Bryn now have matching love ferns from the pots we decorated at the program. After lunch, Paige got to babysit Lucy and Bella while Kristin and Carlo walked through a Parade of Homes. Lucy only cried for the first 5 minutes, then both Bella and Lucy had a lot of fun skype-ing (video chatting on computer) with Abby and bouncing on the trampoline.

Tuesday morning was a mess. And it was all my fault. I saw on the orthodontist appointment on the calendar for 8:40am, so I let Paige sleep in a little longer and Bryn went off to school. I notified school about Paige's tardiness. As Paige and I were about to leave, I grabbed the reminder card from the orthodontist and discovered - it's not Paige who goes to the orthodontist today - it's Bryn! So I quickly texted Bryn and let her know. Of course, she has a test that hour. I drive Paige to school and explain my poor parenting skills to the Attendance Office. Yea.. I'm organized...

Paige is going to join the Demo Team with TaeKwonDo which means that at the beginning of testings, she'll perform routines and/or tricks with other black belts. She'll get a new blue uniform for this. She's excited: I get to buy her her own set of nunchucks!

Bryn and Paige had early release from school Friday so had some extra social time. I took advantage of this by working on the Art Guild web site. So hard to find large blocks of time to devote to this, but I am making serious progress. The first Art Guild meeting for the season is this coming Tuesday, and unfortunately I won't have the site live quite then. So I'm shooting for our October meeting. May bring in Jeff's laptop Tuesday to give them a preview. Abby and I had quite a text conversation that afternoon. She was homesick. I texted that her boyfriend stopped over at our house to purchase a Cross Country shirt from Bryn and she replied "You suck." I think she misses him too. Friday night we all went to the home football game. Separately of course. Paige won't even been seen driving to the game with us! Our team is undefeated so far this year and we played a really exciting game against a rival (Sussex Hamilton) and won again! The student fans stormed the field afterward. It was really fun to be there.

Saturday morning Bryn's Cross Country bus left at 6:20am for her meet at UW-Parkside (Kenosha). But Bryn wasn't there. She overslept and Jeff and I didn't set our alarm, so... I got to frantically get dressed and drive south at 6:40am! Thank goodness for Pop Tarts! Got her there in plenty of time and apologized to the head coach. He embarrassingly confessed that he didn't make the bus either! The bus had to drive to his house and wake him up! Bryn's times are coming down, but she's not happy with her progress. After the meet, Jeff took her out to the Badger Bus stop and she made plans to visit some friends at UWMadison this weekend. She couldn't arrive early enough to make the game because of her morning meet. We texted her to make sure she arrived OK and her friends found her. I bet she had a lot of fun. We're picking her up at the bus stop this evening.

Today we watched Bella and Lucy again as Kristin and Carlo get closer to building a new home. I'm glad for the interruption, because I have so many tasks that involve working on the computer, I really need to be forced to take a break.

2009-09-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

So these are the birds that make the sounds we wake up to practically every morning now. I think they're cranes and these 3 hang out by the creek.

Jeff and I went to watch Bryn run at her Cross Country meet at Greenfield Park last Friday Sept 4th. She cut over 20 seconds off her time from the previous meet. We picked up a pizza on the way home which made Bryn a very happy girl when she arrived home. Abby went with Mark and Paige with her friends to the annual high school Corn Roast followed by the first home football game. Jeff and I couldn't pass up the beautiful night and also went over to the field after our pizza to watch our team score a big win.

We woke up early Saturday morning to drive Abby back to La Crosse. Her scheduled move-in time was 10-11am, so we had to get out of Dodge by 7:30 at the latest. Getting Abby's stuff up to her room was a breeze as UWL has such a nice system of student volunteers who carry your items to your floor for you as long as you label them with your room #. Abby is in a new dorm this year and is rooming with an RA due to a housing shortage. She happily accepted early last year already. Abby's room overlooks the just opened, newly constructed football/track field and stadium. Just yesterday Abby was to partake in her first college football game at home - tailgating and all. Abby brought my bike to school this year as hers was stolen last year on the day Jeff and my Dad came to move her out.

Paige and I chased down the UWL mascot for this couldn't-be-missed photo op. Paige was sad she didn't do a "thumbs up" with the eagle.

After driving to La Crosse Saturday morning, we drove back across the state to Shawano in the evening to arrive at my parents' cabin. Again, the weather has been so perfect, Bryn didn't have to work or practice, so we enjoyed the lake. The lake was so busy that the waves were optimum for jet-skiiing! Jeff took Paige out for a wild ride. Kristin, Carlo, Lucy and Bella were also up north and we took a long pontoon ride Sunday afternoon.

We did leave Sunday night just so we could have Monday to get the house back in order after Abby's move.
Bryn opted out of UWAY (band program at UWM) this year with her added responsibility of holding a job. I think it's a wise decision. Senior year is a busy one.
Bryn had another meet yesterday and did about the same. She wasn't feeling the best and ended up feeling dizzy and puking toward the end of her race. Yuck! We talked about concentrating on hydrating better the day before the next race.
Colleges begin accepting applications Tuesday (Sep 15th), so Bryn's been busy with paperwork. She turned in ones to Carroll University (Waukesha) and University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) last week through her guidance counselor. Today she finished up her application to Marquette (Milwaukee), then she only has one left: to UW La Crosse. All these offer programs in her intended major: Physical Therapy with Marquette and Carroll having a shortened 6-year program that you're accepted into right away as a freshman.

2009-09-04T04:35:00.000-07:00

Glory hallelujah! Our digital camera has not been working for a couple weeks now. It just gives us a mysterious error message that apparently is only decipherable by the Canon repair dept and they're not sharing! We pretty much knew we were going to have to purchase another and I was OK temporarily taking pictures on my iPhone. But Jeff the Engineer couldn't let the camera go without a fight, so he took it apart last Saturday afternoon. Not seeing anything obviously sticking out or disconnected, he simply reassembled the mess and it now works! Who am I to question!

Bryn toured Carroll University in Waukesha last Friday and actually liked it! They have a unique 6-year, freshman-entry doctorate program in Physical Therapy which is what she wants to go into. Carroll was a great contrast for her to Univ of Minnesota, which she still likes also. It was fun for me to see all the beautiful building improvements since I went there back in the 80s. Bryn even got to meet with the Cross Country/Track coach who was very interested in her and talked running strategies with Bryn. Since we were so close to Kristin's, we stopped in for a quick lunch. Unfortunately, Lucy wasn't so welcoming and cried most of the time.

Bryn and Paige had their first day of school this Tuesday (Sept 1st). Each had a half-day with Paige going in the morning and Bryn in the afternoon. They both go to the high school now with Bryn being a senior and Paige a freshman.

With Bryn and Paige in school this week,

Abby has had a lot of time to herself to get ready to go back to UWL. One of her projects was making a quilt/blanket from squares she cut from old t-shirts. Kids receive t-shirts from so many events, the blanket really is a great idea for a keepsake. Abby went over to Kristin's last

Sunday after church to use her sewing machine to finish it up.

Abby also had several pictures printed and replaced all the pictures in her frames.

I collected the pots Abby and her friends decorated last summer and potted new plants for this year. Only one of the four plants from their freshman year survived! I'm hoping I made better (hearty) plant selections for them this year.

And finally we took Abby and Mark out for a "back-to-college" dinner at Stir Crazy last night. It was delicious. We all had fun watching the chefs torch our dinners in huge flames and then try to eat it with chopsticks. Hard to believe she's leaving us again tomorrow. It's been nice having her home.

2009-08-26T18:23:00.000-07:00

We have been getting some much needed rain lately. I took this picture as I was exiting the liquor store buying wine. It's actually a giant double rainbow, but I'm not sure you can make it out here on the picture. Aint' it pretty?

Paige and Bryn are all registered for high school. Bryn will be a senior while Paige will be a freshman. Their first day of school is Sept 1st. Paige had a special freshman orientation today that was basically team-building exercises. This year, the high schoolers will begin their day at 8:01am, versus 7:20 previous years, and go until 3:15pm. And they made study halls mandatory. This totally screwed up Bryn's schedule to the point where she was having to come in early (0 hour) to fit in the study hall! We took care of that!

Seems that Bryn has rededicated herself to running this year. She's been chosen as one of the four captains for the girls Cross Country team this year. Those four have led practices all summer long. They've inspired a record number of freshmen to come out. Their first meet is tomorrow and I can't wait!

And Abby's looking forward to getting back to La Crosse. We move her back Sept 5th and her first day of classes is Sept 8th. She'll be moving into a new dorm with a new roommate. Still the 4th floor though... ugghh! Jeff was helping Abby get ready to go back by purchasing a new laptop computer screen online for Abby (she stepped on hers) and installing it himself. Way to go Dad! It was very detailed and the parts were super tiny. Abby attended a leadership retreat last weekend with fellow CRU members as she hopes to help with the Latino community next year.

Last weekend we had lots of parties to be seen at. Paige got invited to a party that lasted all weekend! Her friend invited her up to their family's place near Prairie du Chein on the Mississippi. Paige had a blast fishing, playing card games, and driving the tractor on the farm and the golf card around the trailer park. Bryn went paintballing and to a bonfire. Jeff and I had friends over for wine Friday night, to a neighbor's big barbecue Saturday night, and to Bryn's Mission Trip picnic Sunday.

I got to play hookey from work yesterday afternoon and play golf with a client and my co-worker, Kevin. Our client is quite good, but was patient with us who don't lead that Country Club life. The course was beautiful and very challenging. I just enjoyed being able to play again.

2009-08-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

I can't keep my regular Sunday blogging schedule anymore. So it happens when it happens.

So last Friday (7th) was the funeral for Abby's friend's dad. This cut Abby's visit with Meg & family in Indy a little short, but it let us explore other means of travel. Abby ended up taking the Amtrak from Indy to Chicago. Meg had to have her to the train station by 5:30am!!! And I took the Metra train into Chicago from Waukegan and met Abby at Union Station. We dragged her bags from Union Station back to Ogilvie Station where we took the Metra back to Waukegan, and drove from there. Worked out great but Abby wouldn't let us take one extra minute to get a bite to eat because she wanted to get to the funeral and be there for her friend as soon as possible.

Jeff treated Theo to a nice cool sudsy bath in the kiddie pool last weekend. I think he really liked the cool water. And now he smells so nice!

Wednesday morning at 8am Bryn and her Cross Country teammates started their annual 24-hour marathon. They make a schedule so that someone is running the entire 24 hours, but each runner takes a 30-minute shift. In between they had fun playing Ultimate Frisbee, Ultimate Football and kickball. They also liked when the automatic sprinklers came on. The coaches brought in a spaghetti dinner. Paige is not digging the Cross Country thing right now and is holding out from going to practices. I'm having fun updating the Cross Country blog for the team and the school has even made it the Girls Cross Country link from their website!

So while Bryn was running and Abby was at State Fair with her posse, Jeff, Paige, her friend Miranda and I went to the Brewers game Wednesday night. A print vendor offered suite tickets and a preferred parking pass to my work so Kevin and John were there with friends as well. We enjoyed a good game - they almost won in the 9th - with great seats!

Jeff and I have been searching to replace our Honda CRV. After it barely passed the emissions test and the mechanic's quote of $2300 to fit it, we've had to get down to business. Jeff's always looking on the internet and we've test drove a couple so far. Think we've narrowed it down to a 2008 Mazda 3 or Subaru Impreza. Both are smaller hatchback cars with good gas mileage.

2009-08-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

My life just isn't following a routine lately.

I am so thankful to my good friend, Tim, from high school and college called me July 22nd to let me know that our mutual friend, Guy, was going in for open heart surgery at Froedtert. I was able to have a long visit with Guy that Friday, the day after his surgery. We wished our meeting was under different circumstances, but we were grateful we were pulled together again. Both Jeff and I went back separately to visit him in the hospital the following week and this weekend we're going to visit him back at his house. Guy's doing well and feeling strong, but there's a lot to monitor during his recovery.

Jeff took Bryn to tour the University of Minnesota last Friday. They really liked it. I think Bryn's going to have a hard time deciding. Bryn came home with a t-shirt. Abby, Paige and I then met them up at the cabin Friday night. Meg & William were already up there and the kids had a blast together. Then Meg & William took Abby back to Indy for the week. Abby loves spending time with those kids and made sure it fit into her summer schedule.

Unfortunately, Abby's best friend's dad took very ill last weekend also and passed away yesterday. So Abby and I are going to meet at Union Station in Chicago Friday morning so she can make it back for the funeral that afternoon. I'm going to take the Metra train from Waukegan in and Abby's taking the Amtrak from Indy.

Bryn started her new job on Sunday. She will be working in the pharmacy at Walgreens. Great job! She was recommended for the position by a friend. She's done a lot of training this week: on the computer, on the register and shelving. I think she likes it. And it's pays way above minimum wage!

Paige got invited to go to Great America yesterday with one of her friends and her family. She had a blast and rode every roller coaster! And another milestone... Paige went out on her first date tonight. To a movie. We asked her to make it a group date which she complied to. Of course we haven't heard many details yet, but I think it went well.

My office is really shaping up! John drove down to IKEA and purchased our desks and Kevin and Mike did most of the assembly. We tore down the original countertops that John started the company with and now we're each in a corner with a bit more privacy and ownership of our own areas. I've done a lot of vacuuming with all the commotion.

2009-07-26T13:46:00.001-07:00

It's Sunday afternoon and I've been helping Bryn lay out her clothes for her Senior pictures later today. The photographer likes to go outside in the evening when it's cooler and she likes the lighting at that time of the day. We mentioned that Bryn's a runner so the photographer mentioned taking her out to some train tracks... We'll have to wait and see.

Paige was hired to take care of a friend's cat all this week. She did good. We really didn't have to remind her. Paige was very busy this week riding her bike all over the Village. It was also Falls Fest all weekend (our Village's festival) so we've all been partaking, though not necessarily together.

Abby went to the Brewers game yesterday with a bunch of girls. Their tickets were Standing Room Only. I've seriously never heard of that at a baseball game. They ended up getting to sit down in the very top row somewhere. And they made the big screen doing the chicken dance!!!

Bryn arrived home from the Mission Trip yesterday afternoon. The families all worked together and welcomed them back with a taco bar lunch. It's nice to be able to sit and visit with all the kids before they tearfully say good-bye to each other. Bryn loved it. Again. And today the church held their annual Mass on the Grass and officially recognized the Mission Trippers.

2009-07-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

Abby asked Jeff to accompany her to the dentist last Wednesday for her very first cavity! She was nervous, but it was nothing 3.5 shots of local anesthetic couldn't cure.

Jeff and I drove up to Appleton last Thursday evening for a cookout at his Mom's. Both Maggie's brothers and her sister were there. We had a lot of fun visiting with everybody - even got to see baby Chayse. Jeff's Uncle Bob broke out his newest accordion and played for all of us!

Paige and Bryn both went in for their school sports physicals last Friday. Paige (5' 5.5") measured only one inch shorter than Bryn (5' 6.5") and the doctor said Bryn is done growing. Both are good to go for Cross Country this fall.

Bryn packed up and left for West Virginia on her annual Mission Trip bright and early last Saturday. They're all praying for cooler weather than they had in Mississippi last summer where it was close to 100° everyday. Bryn called us late last night and sounded pretty excited. She spent a day painting and preparing to can beans with and older woman yesterday (check link to Mission Trip blog at right). Bryn really likes working with her hands and is happy to be on work crew versus Kids Club.

After we said "So long!" to Bryn, we packed up Paige and 4 of her friends for Paige's belated 14th birthday party up at my parents' cabin. The weather wasn't the warmest, but the girls canoed and swam like crazy anyways.

We're refurnishing the office at work! John (my boss) traveled down to IKEA and purchased us new desks with cabinets. We're going to look so hip! Kevin has been doing the assembly work which is part of the IKEA experience. I assembled the legs. The biggest task will be the tear-down of our existing heavy-duty countertop that we all currently work on. We're having fun doing this during a typically slow summer.

2009-07-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Luckily I had another long weekend as my boss gave us 2 days off for the 4th of July. So I was off on Monday (6th). Didn't realize how much catching up I had to do yet! Took Abby to the bank to officially change her savings account from a kids' one to a grown-up one. Crossed my fingers as I took the girls' Prizm to have the emissions tested. It passed. Our Honda CRV is also up for testing and Jeff and I aren't so confident.

Bryn had a job interview at Walgreens Monday, then had to be drug tested the following day. So once she's tested clean, she'll be working in the pharmacy at our Walgreens! Congrats Bryn! She was recommended for the job by a former Cross Country teammate who currently holds that position. Walgreens encourages the pharmacy employees to nominate their own replacement when they leave for college.

Paige went to her follow-up appointment with a plastic surgeon on Wednesday (8th) morning and got encouraging news. She does have a small crack in both her orbital bone and nose bone, but the doctor was confident it will heal well on its own. He gave her the green light to go do whatever physical activity her heart desires. Paige was eager to play with her softball team in their 2nd game of the tournament that night. Jeff stopped at the sporting goods store on the way back from the doctor to buy her an outfielders mask that she would have to wear if she pitched. Her teammates were happy and surprised to see her back already. Paige didn't make the pitching lineup (I was relieved). She was a little gunshy and let a few balls get past her, but I thought she was very brave just getting back on the field. Her team lost and is now out of the tournament so I'm really glad she was able to play.

Jeff tried to play Mr. Fix-It again. Now with our dishwasher. It's begun to leak. I noticed it doing laundry this week and the clothes were wet already when I was throwing them in. My laundry heaps are directly below the dishwasher. Jeff thinks the problem is in the motor and knowing it's 8+ years old, doesn't think it's worth it to call someone in. So we're off to Sears' Friends and Family Night tonight!

Bryn and her fellow Mission Trippers were commissioned at mass this morning. They leave for West Virginia next Saturday at 8am! Abby and Paige are over babysitting their cousins, Bella and Lucy.

What a beautiful weekend! I washed the van yesterday and have to get back out there and clean the windows from the inside yet. Theo has really enjoyed hanging out with us in the yard and on the patio.

2009-07-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

Back from the Canada trip and feeling like I'm back to normal. Having a short work week certainly helps ease the adjustment!

This is our panoramic scene we designed at one of the several scenic pull-outs off the road. We were able to see tons of wildlife: 6 bears, 3 of which were cubs, deer, mountain goats, a wolf, elk, and a long-horned sheep. Every hike was well worth the trip. The lakes are all glacier fed so they're unbelievably pure turquoise. Our timeshare was luxurious and roomy. We just really missed having Bryn along. I posted pictures on Facebook so I'm not going to hoard up even more cyberspace by placing them here. You can view them by clicking on these links:
Canada Album #1
Canada Album #2

While we were in Canada Bryn attended Badger Girls State is Oshkosh. She was elected Police Chief of her city, Maple, and served as County Supervisor. She really liked her roommate, Tate, who was from Washington Island. Too bad it was during such a hot week!

Paige was so excited to get back home and finish up her softball season. Unfortunately her playing time didn't last long as she took a ball to the face when she was pitching last Wed. Everyone on both teams was very upset and after 2 very caring nurses helped us determine how to handle her injury, we jetted Paige off to the ER. She only had a small crack in her orbital bone that we'll need to see a plastic surgeon next week about just to cover our bases. The ER doctor felt it will just heal on its own. Paige's friends have come over to visit which is so thoughtful.

Last night was our village's fireworks and parade. We're all a little lazy today, but Abby and Bryn are heading down to Summerfest tonight.

2009-07-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

Forgot to mention a couple important events that occured before we left on vacation.

Paige graduated from 8th grade at North Junior High on June 11th. Next year she will be part of the first 9th grade class to be at the high school. After the ceremony, we hosted a small get together for Paige and her friends.

And on June 13th, Paige went back to complete her black belt testing. She only needed to break her board and she did it! She had to wait until we were back from Canada to receive her belt.

2009-06-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

Wasn't sure I'd be able to blog during vacation, but we do have one cable modem connection and it's before noon so my daughters aren't awake to fight over it yet.

Can't even remember what we were up to before our trip, but I'm sure it was all about getting ready. We left last Tuesday, June 16th...

Tue June 16
•left Menomonee Falls at 4am
•drove 11 hours and stayed in Bismarck ND

Wed June 17
•left Bismarck ND again at 4am
•drove 11 hours and arrived at West Glacier MT

•stayed in awesome cabin!

Thu June 18
•drove and hiked within Glacier National Park
•Going To The Sun Road closed in middle, so couldn't drive through park - had to go around
•little rainy and cool
•drove 3 hours north, crossed into Canada (we got in trouble for getting out of the car to straddle Canada/US border before officially going thru customs!)

•stayed in Waterton Lakes, Alberta where mountain goats and deer roam the city streets
•went out for local pizza and shopped

Fri June 19
•walked through Prince of Wales Hotel - awesome view!

•2 beautiful hikes through Waterton Townsite/Cameron Falls and Red Rock Canyon
•drove through supposed buffalo roaming area (Bison Paddock Viewpoint) - dad said they were playing hide and seek
•saw a bear!
•drove 4 hours further north to our timeshare in Fairmont Hot Springs, BC

Sat June 20
•tired of driving, stayed around our place
•timeshare is beautiful and spacious
•sun-shiny day, discovered uphill trail to hot springs and we all took a soak

•grocery shopped - prices much higher: cereal $7/box, chicken $9/lb

Sun June 21 *Father's Day*
•drove into the town of Banff for the day - largest city we've been in so far (pop=2500)

•celebrated Father's Day having lunch downtown
•explored the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel - huge!!!
•shopped for souvenirs
•saw a bear and wolf on drive back

Mon June 22
•rainy, staying in, doing laundry, maybe a puzzle

2009-06-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

Paige's birthday was Sunday and she had a grueling Little League game. They played the first place team and the game ended after 3 innings due to the slaughter rule (we were losing 22-2). Paige did not get a chance to pitch this game. Paige frosted her cake and we all indulged after our spaghetti and meatball dinner.

Bryn played in her last band concert of the year Tuesday evening. It was really pretty. Because it's the end of the year, a projected slideshow of all the graduating seniors in band is played during their last piece. I remember the photo we submitted of Abby for last year of her when she was about 5 years old blowing into Kristin's French horn. Abby checked out a college-age group at the church she's been attending while back here at home. She really liked it and will also be volunteering with the children's groups on Sundays. Bryn accompanied this girl on guitar Friday night while she sang "Heartless" by Kanye West - but the Kris Allen version - and "Everywhere" by Michelle Branch. The High School Student Council and Spanish Clubs co-hosted a benefit open mike Concert. Paige and Abby went to watch and remarked how good Bryn & Wendy sounded.

Then the Girls Track Banquet snuck up on us Wednesday night. Very informal. All the coaches did a really nice job bringing up each one of the girls and recognizing her contributions to the team. Bryn was noted for being such a great team player and versatile athlete because she was able to switch events and fill in wherever they needed her.

The Student Council Banquet/Potluck was held at school on Thursday night. Their club advisor is so great with remembering details about each and every one of those student members.

I'm still in my purging mode, and had a lot more to move out of the house on Friday. Trying to be green, I had several stops to try to recycle: cell phone store to say good-bye to my deceased iPhone, books to Half Price Books, clothing to Goodwill and used printer ink cartridges to the schools. My only refusal was the ink cartridges. Have to find a new spot that accepts them. The rest of the day I alternated between cleaning my fridge and baking bread for church.

Saturday morning Bryn reported to the Student Council Car Wash. Such a shame that they couldn't have had Friday's weather!! I think the kids still did OK because they pre-sell a lot of tickets so the customers are lined up already. Paige had another softball game and lost a close one. She went to see the movie UP! in the afternoon and finished the day by hosting a sleepover. Jeff and I stopped in at Carrie Borchardt's graduation party and had a lot of fun chatting with my cousins and seeing Dana and Ross's new babies! That night we had dinner plans with 2 other couples, so Bryn was kind enough to stay home and supervise the sleepover. We tried a new restaurant by Brookfield Square called Stir Crazy and it was delicious!! We all raved about our entrees! You can order a dish from the menu, or select exactly what you want by going thru a buffet line where the cooks stir fry it all up in front of you.

Paige played ball again today and pitched 4 innings and was terrific! She did suffer a few battle scars: hit by the ball under her right knee and sliding scrape on the other leg. My favorite moment of the game was when Paige was pitching for her 4th inning, and the opposing coach was cheering to his batter "Get a hit on her! She's (Paige) getting tired!" Paige immediately threw a strike and glared at that coach afterward. If you all know Paige, you can visualize that glare. But I give her credit, not much rocks her boat while she's on the mound. And she has quite a ritual before each pitch: with her back to the batter, she first swipes the dirt to the left a couple times with her right foot, then once with her left foot and then clears the pitcher's mark clean with her right again. Then she's finally ready. Whatever works!

2009-05-31T05:33:00.000-07:00

I am not lazy. The blog just wasn't high up on my priority list the past couple weeks. But I am grateful to Paige for being my guest blogger when I couldn't write.

This week started out with Memorial Day. We had such beautiful weather the entire holiday weekend and Monday was no different. Both Bryn and Paige participated in our village parade: Bryn rode in a convertible as she will be going to Badger Girls State in a few weeks and Paige marched with her junior high school band. Jeff and I were invited to a friends' home along the parade route to watch and picnic afterwards. Had a great time. Abby went off with her friends. Jeff and I were back by 1:30 to meet our first Craig's List buyer! Some of the better quality items that didn't sell at our rummage sale, I've put up on Craig's List. We'll see how that goes. Then I went off to purchase a few flowers to fill in around our terrace and some vegetables. The girls mentioned that they wanted to grow a garden. I decided to plant them in containers on our deck because I think they'll be easier to maintain and we've discovered a bunny family has taken up residence below our deck. We'll be growing red, yellow and green peppers and 4 varieties of tomatoes.

Bryn ran in the 300M hurdles, the 4x800M relay and the 4x400M relay in Regionals for track out at Oconomowoc Tuesday. Jeff and Abby drove out to cheer her on. Bryn did not qualify to go on to Sectionals and is very disappointed. Then Paige had her final Conference Relays track meet on Thursday. Paige was the 3rd leg of the 4x100M hurdle relay and their team finished 2nd!! Unfortunately a referee disqualified the team for one person starting too early.

Hallmark welcomed Abby back for the summer. She basically is available to take anybody and everybody's hours who needs to take off. She's acquired quite a few dates already. She's also been filling out job applications like crazy. Now that track's over, Bryn will be doing the same thing. Again.

Bryn went to Mequon to watch the Sectionals meet and root for those girls and boys from the high school who did move on. Some of the boys team qualified for state, but none of our girls. Jeff and I enjoyed a peaceful evening out of the patio when suddenly Jeff thought he spotted a skunk behind my chair. When he got up, we saw it was a cat: black and white, small and really fast! It took off down by the creek and ran up a tree. We put a little cup of dogfood near the base of the tree to coax it down and watched til it got dark. We saw it maneuver around onto various branches, but never all the way down. When we checked again Saturday morning it was nowhere to be found.

Bright and early Saturday morning was Paige's first softball game. She had to be there to warm up at 7:15am! The game started at 8:00am and Jeff saw a good game! Paige got to pitch 4 innings and struck out 7 batters. It all ended with Paige was on third base, the batter hit to 1st, the ball bounced off the first baseman's glove, bounced off, and Paige ran into home and scored! But the umpire called it a foul, they had to replay and the batter struck out ending the game in a tie. Paige's run would've won the game. Today she played again and it wasn't so pretty. The game ended after 3 innings due to the slaughter rule. Paige's team lost 21-2 - but Paige was one of the runs!!!

Abby, Bryn and I participated in the bike ride for Bryn's mission trip with St. James Saturday morning. Bryn and Abby rode and I helped with registration, taking pictures (of course) and acting as crossing guard for the bikers. Great day to ride! I'm hoping to recruit more helpers next year so that I can ride the trail! They start at the church in Sussex and follow the Bugline Trail 7 miles out to Fireman's Park out in Merton. There we serve them lunch (hot dog/brat, chips, soda/water and cookies). Then they turn around and ride back.

We ended the day with the Jazz N Java concert where all the jazz bands from all the Menomonee Falls schools play. I think it was the best ever! Bryn's brass section did a Java Jolt (intermission song between bands) and we got to hear an excellent performance repeated from Band Revue last winter.

Today is Paige's 14th birthday!!! Baked her a cake and we'll be having her favorite tonight: spaghetti and meatballs.

mom is lazy

2009-05-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

Okay so my mom has not been doing her blogs and people are starting to get upset. So yeah, I'm writing it for her. Anyways, this is Paige, and there's going to be a boatload of information in here since my mother has missed like two weeks. So a long long time ago Bryn and I had track meets. I'm going to guess that Bryn won or got second or something another since that would be typical. She got second in hurdles I remember. The last two track meets I went to I got first in hurdles both times, and second and third in the 200m dash. I have conference this Thursday that I'm going to for the hurdle shuffle, because it's an all relay meet. Bryn has either sectionals, regionals, or state sometime soon I don't know which one but whatever.

So for the past couple weeks our house has been rampaged by our whole family, actually mostly mom slash dad but same thing, for our rummage sale. Apparently we sold like 200 dollers worth of crap. Woohoo! Grandma Karen was here to help my mom on both days of the rummage sale. Grandma and Grandpa came in Thursday and left on Monday. I liked it because then I got coffee every single day! And because they're cool. They night they came in I had a band concert. I guess it was really awesome, although everybody was sweating like pigs and pretty much in the process of going blind from the bright spotlights in our faces. It was cool though. The fun part of the weekend was going to Bella and Lucy's birthday party. We got to hang out and play in the backyard, watch them open presents, and eat cupcakes. Unfortunately we got about zero good pictures, which of course really dissapointed my mother. Bryn and I had another track meet and we both did good, blah blah blah. Mom told me she got a really good picture of me running and went on about how you could see my leg muscles (beastly) and everything, but I thought it was repulsive so you are seeing me smiling and holding the silver baton before my relay.
Mom and I decided Bryn has enough track pictures and you already know all that jazz. Bryn and Mom went on this Friday to tour UW Madison. Note that the picture is just of the building, of course Bryn would not pose or even be in a picture facing frontwards, so yeah. There is this hilarious picture of mom in the middle of talking and holding an ice cream cone, but I don't think she'd be very happy with me if I included that. Sad face. Abby was on a retreat thing and Dad went to pick her up on Friday, so our house was vacant. I would've gone with to retrieve Abby but it was a half day so I was with my friends. Later that night I went to see Dance Flick with some people, dude go see it, it's one of the funniest movies, although some of it is disgusting, but most people laughed at it so I'm guessing it's funny if you're older, and most of you reading this are older than thirteen so it's all funny to you. Just so you know my birthdays in seven days. That's one week from today. The 31. 7 something PM. We went to McDonald's yesterday for lunch and discussed genetic traits, which led to Abby telling us that she used to only be able to roll her tongue upside down... but not she does it correctly... ?! I told her, quoting my science teacher, that if you have the genetic trait you have it, if you can't roll your tongue you will never be able too! But I guess Abby taught herself or something. Then we went through all the genetic traits and it got a little odd so my mom told us we were going to leave. Last night Abby had some dudes over. They watch a lot of YouTube videos that are kind of funny. Then they were just telling stories or whatever. Tomorrow I have to stupid march for band, which I have like rhythem problems or something because I cannot march and play at the same time so don't watch my feet if you are there. But it doesn't matter because I probably won't be playing at all times, it's tiring and apparently we're not allowed to take our instruments away from our mouths if we want to take a breath. Bryn gets to ride in a fancy car for Badger Girl's State, lucky her.
Yay I filled you all in! That is all of the Saunders's life for the past two weeks.
Peace

2009-05-10T06:03:00.000-07:00

Paige came in 1st in the hurdles and ran with the 4x200 relay in her track meet versus Port Washington Monday. I then accompanied Bryn to the Badger Girls meeting at the American Legion Post on Monday night. She had to leave early for a trombone lesson, so I stayed to keep up on all the details. Bryn's looking forward to Badger Girls! I was surveying the delegates for which would be a good pick to drive Bryn up to get there since we'll be on our Canada vacation. :( Bryn will get to ride in a convertible in our Memorial Day Parade!

I was finally treated to my birthday lunch at work on Tuesday. Little late - 6 months! But we went to a chic little Greek place on Milwaukee St and the food was terrific! That night I baked cookies to donate for Teacher Appreciation Week. Little did I know how handy those tubs of fundraiser cookie dough would be!

Bryn ran the 300M hurdles and 4x400 relay at Brookfield East's Conference Relays on Wednesday. I stopped at Kohls on my way there from work to get her a pair of much-needed (really?) basketball shorts. The weather looked iffy coming in and sure enough it began pouring in the middle of the boys 4x1600 relay and the meet stopped for a rain delay. We all packed into the high school gym. Just imagine the smell of 400 damp track athletes in one room. We resumed about 45 minutes later, but in the meantime I went to use my iPhone and got absolutely no response. I've never had anything like that happen and immediately realized it must've gotten wet through my clothing. I used a fellow parent's phone to let Jeff know.

Abby Skyped us Thursday night and as we were all talking, her cake was delivered! (My subtle hint to study hard for finals.) Surprise! I ordered her a birthday cake in April, but it wasn't delivered on her birthday, so I was entitled to another cake. Abby was going over pick-up details as she was bringing her good friend, Amy, to see Meno Falls this last possible weekend.

Friday I had an appointment at the Apple Store's Genius Bar to examine my iPhone. Confirmed severe water damage with a what looked like a doctor's tool that they look into your ear and mouth. No warranty coverage. No excuses. I'm not making any quick decisions and weighing my options. Friday night our new washer was delivered! It's huge! The deliverymen were none too excited when I showed them the route through the house to get the washer to the basement. There was a little moaning, but installation was quick!

Jeff made himself available to leave to meet Abby in Oconomowoc whenever she called Saturday morning. Jeff, Abby and Amy made it to Bryn's track meet in Mequon to see her run in the relay. Good motivation for Bryn. Bryn had run the open 400M just before they arrived. She was disappointed with her 400 time, but her 4x400 came in 3rd and she looked really strong there! The weather was really crappy again.

And today is Mother's Day. I just had a beautiful breakfast prepared by my 3 daughters (and Amy): quiche, pancakes, strawberries. Then they opened the patio door drapes to reveal hanging flowers and a birdbath. Life is good. We're taking Abby and Amy downtown to the train station later this afternoon for their first trainride back to UWL.

2009-05-05T16:46:00.001-07:00

This was a very big week. And you can tell because I didn't get to my blog Sunday night. Basically the entire week was getting ready for Bryn's Prom and Confirmation. Picking up the garter.

Thursday morning the dentist put on my permanent crown. I'm really surprised that the entire process was pain-free. Paige had a track meet in Cedarburg that afternoon that we opted not to drive out to.

Friday I took Paige over to a friend's house after track practice. Then Jeff and I went to Bryn's track meet. The meet was called the "Pre-Prom Invitational" and all 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers got to stand on a podium and received flowers. I thought that was very appropriate for a girls meet. Bryn's 4x800 relay team placed first and therefore was awarded flowers. We returned home waiting for Paige to call for a ride home. No call by 9:30pm, so I searched for the girl's phone number. Unlisted. My only choice was to just drive back over. The house was completely dark. The mom answered the door in her bathrobe looking at me quizzically. I explained I didn't know what time to get Paige. She let me in and there I discovered Paige in a sleeping bag. "Oh! It's a sleepover!" News to me. I explained I'd pick Paige up in the morning. The mom was totally understanding.

Saturday morning was Little League Opening Day. Paige had to be there by 7:45am. She was too perky at first. Once we got a donut in her from the concession stand and her friends showed up we were good. We helped Miranda's mom push her car out of some pretty deep mud with the help of a good Samaritan who had a tow rope and big truck.

Meanwhile Bryn went with Kendal to Confirmation rehearsal. Then to lunch. I met up with them at the hair salon to see Bryn's updo in progress (and pay for it of course). Kendal helped Bryn with her makeup before she went back home. We hosted Bryn's date and parents for a few pictures at the house, then met another couple at the park for more pictures. It was warm enough out, but a little too breezy. From the park, everyone headed to the high school for the Grand March and more pictures! The kids then boarded the coach buses to the country club for dinner and the dance. We headed out for margaritas with the Seeds! We were not able to stay up til Bryn came home (about 2:30am).

Sunday morning my Dad and Jeff put up the martin house in the backyard. This was my parents' and my Dad cleaned it up for our yard. Because we have such open space, we really should attract martins. The note from my Dad on the house said "Happy Bird's Day!" My Mom and I prepared the food and ran and picked up some that I had ordered earlier. We were all set when the guests arrived at 1pm. Mass was at 4pm and was really nice. Bryn was a giftbearer. I can't say how pleased I am with Bryn choosing Kendal as her Confirmation sponsor.

Beautiful week all around.

2009-04-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

Bryn is officially going to her Junior Prom! On Tuesday, she came home with the announcement that she has a date! The tickets have been purchased. Thursday we scheduled the updo appointment. Bryn bought her dress at the mall Friday shopping with her friend - so cute! Saturday we ordered the buttoneer from the florist. Now she just has to let us know where to show up for pictures next Saturday and we're all set!

Bryn and Paige both had track meets on Wednesday so Jeff and I had to divide and conquer. I went to Paige's home meet. She first ran the hurdles with great form. Her hurdles coach for this year isn't too experienced in the event, so he called over a high schooler from another area school who commented that Paige "is going to be wicked!" Paige also ran in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400. This meet was a developmental meet, so they were just racing against themselves. Paige's next meet is tomorrow (Monday)! After the meet we dined at Cousins with her friends. Jeff went out to Brookfield to watch Bryn run at the Lady Spartan Invitational which hosted 16 teams. Bryn took 3rd in her heat of the 300M high hurdles and placed 3rd with her relay team in the 4x400. She also ran earlier in the 4x800 relay, but said they didn't do too good.

Friday I excused Paige from track practice and picked her up when school let out to drive her out to La Crosse for Little Siblings Weekend. The college did a good job of collecting names to set up carpools, but let's face it: who's going to let their kid ride with complete strangers for 3.5 hours? Bryn ended up bowing out of the event, seeing as she was already committed to playing with the band for the high school musical and participating in a retreat with her Mission Trip gang. So Paige and I rode up on that hot, sunny day only to see it disappear into the clouds before our eyes accompanied by radio interruptions by the National Weather Service. We never did experience the rain though. We dropped Paige's stuff in Abby's room, collected a few things of Abby's to take back, and headed off to register Paige and eat dinner. Abby's friend, Sadie, treated me to a burger and fries in The Cellar. Abby and her friends had just come back from a Powderpuff Football practice. The tournament was to be held Saturday afternoon. I'll have to find out if the weather cooperated. Jeff is headed out to La Crosse today to bring Paige back home and to take the futon out of Abby's room - making the move back home a little easier.

Bryn spent the night at church Friday with her Mission Trip crew, eating pizza, playing games outside. Saturday they were scheduled to participate in yard service with a larger group. The rain kept it from lasting the entire day, but they worked hard outside raking throughout the downpours until noon. She came home, took a hot shower and a long nap until dinner. Jeff and I went to see the high school musical, "Back to the 80s," Bryn was in the band for. It was really good! I, of course, embarrassed her and went on stage afterward to take this picture of the band.

With all the girls busy for a day, Jeff and I started to seriously clear out the basement for our upcoming rummage sale in May. It's so nice to be able to do it together. Jeff unearthed quite a few long-forgotten items and today while he's gone, I'm going to see what I can make presentable. After lunch, we took a break and headed to Sears where we finally purchased a new front-loading washer! We went in knowing we'd only be purchasing a washer, but of course, the model we choose comes with free pedestals ONLY if you order the pair (washer and dryer)! We finally decide too bad. We like the washer, so we'll just pay for the pedestal. But when it rings up, the pedestal "zeroes out" - so we still get it free! The salesperson was even surprised! It'll be delivered a week before the rummage sale so we can put the old one out to sell.

2009-04-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

I called the dentist repeatedly on Monday hoping to schedule my appointment to fix my broken tooth. Apparently the office had the day off so I had to wait til Tuesday. They got me in first thing Wednesday morning and after determining that the root was not dead, continued to take a mold and sand down my tooth to prepare for my crown. Of course, as I walk out I see Ali's sisters in the waiting room and my entire left jaw is numb! So I can only give then a nod and a dorky half-smile. When I got to my car I decided to call in to work to explain that I was absolutely NOT going to be doing any talking at the 10:00 meeting that morning and embarrass myself further.

Paige and Bryn were off school all week for Spring Break.

Paige got a sleepover in (at someone else's house) Tuesday night and then a dad took them over to the Little League complex for some playing time. Nice.

Bryn's first outdoor track meet was held at Menomonee Falls on Wednesday. Because it was during Spring Break, it was termed a "developmental" meet where coaches are able to try girls out in events with no pressure to score. Bryn ran the 300 hurdles for the first time and came in 2nd. She also ran in the 4x800 relay which I arrived too late to see. But I did get to see her 4x400 team win! It was just warming up on Wednesday so it was perfect weather for a meet.

Bryn had to drive Paige to her 8:15am orthodontist appointment Thursday. (I already missed enough work this week.) Paige got invited to go bowling in the afternoon where I then picked her up and took her straight to Tae Kwon Do. Jeff and I spent the entire evening online and in AAA books making reservations for our way out to Banff this summer. These hotels are not even open yet and don't take reservations online so I did that Friday.

With Friday being the end of Spring Break, I hoped to entice my lounging daughters to help get the house back in order. Paige was anxious to jump on the trampoline so I recruited her to rake/thatch the lawn in that area. I took a turn when she was done. That is hard work! Paige and Bryn both went to see the movie "17 Again" with Zac Efron on opening night last Friday. They went at different times with different friends. They couldn't wait to see it and said it was good.

Saturday morning was beautiful!!!! Paige had softball practice and said she thinks she'll be playing 1st base alot and pitching! She's really excited about her team this year. I accompanied Bryn on a Marquette Open House tour. They offer a 6-year Physical Therapy program which saves her a year or two. The campus is beautiful of course. Bryn liked it. I commend Bryn on picking such a dedicated and competitive major. Marquette said about 1000 freshman apply to this program and 62 get in!!! We made grilling plans with Seeds Saturday night and let Bryn and Paige go out by themselves. It was nice to relate to parents going through the same stuff.

2009-04-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

Jeff went to watch Bryn compete in the Indoor Track Conference meet on Wednesday where her 4x800 relay team placed 2nd, and she placed 5th in the hurdles.

Thursday Paige surprised us by showing up at our house with 2 girlfriends all prepared for a sleepover! Thanks Paige! They behaved knowing Jeff and I had to get up for work Friday.

Abby arrived back home Friday afternoon and took off on a bike ride when Jeff and I got home from work. Her girlfriends came over with birthday presents for Abby that night.

Saturday morning Paige had no problem bundling up for a chilly softball practice. It's easy to see what kids really like to do. Then that afternoon Abby came along to Paige's Tae Kwon Do testing. This testing lasted longer because Paige was going for her black belt. Unfortunately, she didn't break her board, but she'll do it at the next one! I spent most of the day with Abby's laundry.

Easter Sunday we all dressed up and met Kristin, Carlo, Bella and Lucy at Elmbrook Church. Then we had a really super yummy brunch at Kristin's after! Kristin makes really good quiche. My girls hid (maybe not too hard) eggs in the backyard, then helped Lucy and Bella fill their bags. Lucy was so cute - she'd just point whenever she spotted the next one and would put on that surprised face of hers! We had to leave Waukesha early afternoon in order to get everywhere we needed to go yet that day. We first headed west to get Abby back to La Crosse. We took her out to the Olive Garden (yes, it was actually open on Easter Sunday) and celebrated her 19th birthday. From La Crosse we headed east to Stevens Point where we had a campus tour scheduled for Bryn the next day. So Jeff and I checked in to our hotel, but Bryn and Paige were treated to an up close and personal dorm experience by staying with Ali and Kendal.

We met Bryn and Paige at the dorm lobby Monday morning and joined the ViewPoint campus tour group. Really enjoyed the tour. One of the best I've been on. I met up with a college friend of mine who was touring with her son and had fun comparing notes. We got back home around 4pm, and were extremely tired.

I'm going to see the dentist tomorrow morning as I chipped a molar sometime over the weekend and will be investing in my 2nd crown. Yea!

2009-04-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

This week was pretty much all about Miss Bryn.

Because she scored so high at Solo & Ensemble a couple weekends ago, she was able to play her solo again at State which took place Monday evening. She again played beautifully, this time to a much smaller audience—me and the judge. (Lots of her friends come in to listen to her at Solo & Ensemble.) Best scorers at State win scholarships. Not sure when we find out the results.

Tuesday was Kevin's birthday at work and thank goodness for moms! Kevin's mom had him bring in an ice cream cake for our large office of 4, complete with birthday napkins, plates and silverware! It got an "Aww..." from me, as Kevin predicted. So yummy! No candles or singing though.

Wednesday Bryn competed in the 400, 4x800 and 4x400 in a very large indoor meet. Her 4x400 relay team was ahead til the last girl. Darn!

I wasn't able to switch our vacation week, so Bryn had to make a decision. She'll be attending Badger Girls State in Oshkosh while the rest of the family treks out to Banff, Canada. Of course I'm disappointed, but I was more upset by the speed in which she made the decision! We'll have to work out all the details when it gets closer.

Bryn also received a letter this week that announced she was accepted in the National Honor Society. Then another that she's been nominated to tour Europe in summer of 2010 with with Wisconsin Ambassadors of Music. C O N G R A T S B R Y N !

Friday night was a planned early night. And I was well aware of it being the 1st Friday of the month, which means church fish fry! I called Kristin & Carlo because I know they're usually up for it. We got to play with Bella and Lucy for a while before and after. Lucy was her crazy self at the fish fry making all kinds of faces!

Paige got to practice with her new softball team Saturday morning. She's excited because her 2 coaches this year are both college-age girls! Meanwhile Bryn was sitting in school taking the ACT. She was pretty nervous. I realized we hadn't filled in what 4 colleges to send her scores off to. Here are her choices: Iowa State, UW-LaCrosse, UW-Madison & Marquette. We've scheduled visits to UW-Stevens Point and Marquette over her spring break next week. And I just scheduled a visit to Madison in May. We'll probably visit Iowa in summer. Bryn wants to go into Physical Therapy or Athletic Training.

Bryn is off playing laser tag tonight which is a fundraiser for her summer mission trip. Paige is going to watch the CMA awards with me.

2009-03-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

Back to the wedding last Saturday (21st). Jeff drove with Abby and Paige up to Appleton and was able to be at Chad & Robbyn's wedding ceremony. There were lots of pictures afterward. Jeff was invited for a drink at Cleo's downtown with his family, but didn't quite know what to do the girls so declined. Bryn drove me up after her two band ensembles, we arrived about 3:30pm and met Jeff, Abby and Paige at the hotel where we got ready. From there it was on to the reception out in Freedom. I was not disappointed with dinner, as they had yummy broasted chicken! and a lot of it! Chad & Robbyn's wedding cake was actually cupcakes! They were color-coded by the flower on top: red for carrot cake, blue for chocolate, etc. So good! The girls danced up a storm with cousin Kayla and Mitchell's girlfriend, Sam. The pic is of the father-daughter dance – Jeff had his arms full!

Abby's spring break ended as I drove with her back to La Crosse Sunday and Jeff went back to Milwaukee with Bryn and Paige. I took Abby and 2 of her good friends out for Chinese because they've never been able do Chinese yet. It was fun just soaking in their conversation. Monday I spoke at UW-La Crosse to a senior graphic design class about a typical day on the job. I have to admit my presentation was a little dry. But it's hard knowing what to share and what to edit out! Needed more interaction with the students. Obviously my job is not a professional speaker! I returned home to happily attend my BodyFlo class. My body needed stretching after all that weekend driving.

Jeff's little CRV is still on the mend. Jeff still want to try (God bless him!) one more thing! Some gasket that's on order. The car is certainly drivable, it's just a bit noisy.

I got to see Bryn win the hurdles and her 4x800 relay at her track meet in Cudahy this Thursday. Go Bryn! Forgot the camera though - I know Bryn was disappointed. She also ran the 4x400, but I didn't stay to watch. They placed 2nd. In the meantime, Paige and a few other students went with her Science teacher to help at an elementary school Science Fair. They held animals for the kids to pet.

Paige got her Little League draft call and will be playing on the Cardinals again this year. Her best friend, Miranda, got on the same team for the first time in their softball careers! Miranda was over all day yesterday making an extra-credit movie to accompany their Oregon Trail journal for social studies. They used puppetry and it's pretty cool. If Paige doesn't go into some sort of video arts for a career, I'll be surprised.

Bryn has been selected to Badger Girls State! What an honor! It just happens to take place the same week as our trip to Banff (June 21 - 16). Poop. I'll be on the phone with our timeshare company working that out this week. I really hope we can move our vacation. Bryn played with the high school Wind Symphony at Menomonee Falls Junior Miss Pageant last night. I asked if she got a lot of flak for not being a contestant. She said she'd never do that physical fitness routine the contestants did.

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday I see the promise of spring as I see my crocuses popping up and today it's back to the winter doldrums with 4 new inches of snow! Subsequently, I'm making homemade chicken and dumplings.

2009-03-22T19:00:00.001-07:00

Well here I am in the UWL Library typing this week's blog entry. That's right. I'm staying overnight tonight in Abby's dorm room tonight. She's off with a girlfriend to make an appearance at a back-from-spring-break party. I actually thought ahead to have her drop me off here so I could blog and maybe do a little reading.

So this past week we've had Abby home all week. Not quite as crazy as when she was home over Christmas, but still very hard to adapt to having an additional schedule to incorporate into our lives. Abby was very fortunate to get scheduled to work over 20 hours at Hallmark this week. We all know college students need money! But of course working requires a vehicle to get there and back so we had to do a little rearranging with Bryn's car.

Tuesday I went in and got my passport picture taken. It only took 6 pictures to get it right. I'm sure it had nothing to do with me or my eyes. Abby got hers taken on Thursday - in 1 try. Then we went together to the post office on Friday to officially apply for our passports that we'll need for our trip to Canada this summer—and Abby will use again when she goes abroad one semester for school.

Bryn had her first indoor exhibition track meet on Thursday at Mequon. She looked excellent coming in 2nd in the hurdles (which I didn't get to see), 1st in the 400 and then ran in a 4x400 relay.

Paige stayed home from school Friday just to be safe. She went to bed at 6:30 Thursday night, wasn't hungry, complained that her tummy hurt. When I woke her Friday morning, she said she felt "like a noodle" and had a headache. Better safe than sorry with such a big day Saturday. Kristin brought Bella and Lucy over to see their cousin Abby. Bella let us know she was shy and asked not to be tickled. Bryn had a pasta dinner with her track team at the high school so I invited Abby's friends who were also home on break over for homemade mac n cheese dinner. The week went so fast that they really didn't get to spend great lengths of time together. They made up for it today. After dinner, they were off to their old grade school to see the annual Hoops Night, then topped the night off by having a big pajama party.

Saturday was a big day all around. Bryn and Paige started it off with performances at the school district's Solo & Ensemble. Both played beautiful solos. They rehearsed so hard and their accompanist did a great job. The only disappointment was that Paige's solo was cut short (actually in half!) by the judge due to time restrictions, which we had never heard of before. We commented to the parent helper and word found its way back to the band directors who got Paige in to perform and finish her piece. The disappointment was in the fact that Paige did not get to perform that 2nd time with her accompanist that she had practiced with so hard and so beautifully! :( Bryn got a 1* (highest you can get) on both her solo and her quartet which means she'll be playing it competitively again. While I stayed with Bryn for her later performances, Jeff took Abby and Paige up to Appleton for Chad and Robbyn's wedding in Appleton for the ceremony. And that's where I have to leave off because I haven't gone through the pictures yet!

Wish me sweet dreams as I lay on my futon tonight amidst piles of Abby's clean and dirty clothes! I speak to UWL tomorrow!

2009-03-17T04:15:00.000-07:00

I've been working so hard on my presentation for UW-La Crosse, I completely forgot to blog!

We celebrated Bryn's birthday last Monday (9th) during the hour and a half she was home that day. A couple friends donned her with balloons she got to carry around school for the day. Jeff took Theo in bright and early to the vet to get his teeth cleaned - which means anesthesia. Jeff picked him up at the end of the day and Theo was so out of it. He cried and cried so we kept him closeby all evening.

Wednesday (11th) evening the high school put on a Donkey Basketball game. Yes, students and teacher actually rode donkeys! The game was a fundraiser for the Junior Prom. My friend Carrie and I went because we were curious and wanted to see the all the kids. It was fun, but kind of strange.

Bryn and Paige had off school Thursday (12th). This didn't exclude Bryn from having track practice.

Friday we welcomed Abby back home for spring break. She was able to get a ride from a girl in Hartland so I met them out that way. She got into the van holding a goldfish she is pet-sitting and I therefore had to be cautious of potholes as I drove so as to not make waves. Abby's first assignment upon arriving home was exchanging her loaner cell phone for a new replacement phone at the cell phone store because we received the replacement 10 days earlier to our home address explaining we had 10 days to do so! It went smoothly.

Paige has had several practices with her piano accompanist for Solo & Ensemble and she says Paige has a very difficult piece and is making great progress.

Saturday evening Abby, Bryn and Paige met at the mall to dress shop for Chad & Robbyn's wedding this weekend. Amazingly, they all found a dress within 2 hours! And stayed within the $ limit I set! I think we still have to get shoes though.

2009-03-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

This is a pic of a recent job I've done at work and I was excited to see it in real life! It's a bus board for MillerCoors advertising their Free Rides program on St. Patrick's Day.

So I am supposed to be paying bills online right now, but I'm not quite ready for all that fun stuff yet. Maybe after I'm done blogging.

Bryn is in the middle of taking the ACT Prep class to prepare her for the ACT test on April 4th. The class is weekly and goes through each subject covered on the test.

Got a call at work from Abby's art teacher asking me to speak to her graphic design students at UW-L! So I'm signed up to talk the Monday after spring break which will be convenient with bringing Abby back to school. All I have to share is what it's like in the real job world for a graphic designer. I'm trying to put together a really cool presentation - hope I make the time to do it right! Cuz I'm certainly not going to just stand there and talk!

Friday we met Bryn and Paige's accompanist, Ms. Heins, for Solo & Ensemble. Ms. Heins teaches at their old elementary school, Ben Franklin. So Bryn and Paige each spent a half hour with Ms. Heins going over their solo pieces at Ms. Heins' home. Apparently, Paige's piece is quite difficult, so she needs more practice sessions than Bryn. From there, we drove to the Legion to meet Kristin, Carlo, Bella and Lucy for a fish fry. I put our name in right away as the place was jam packed. Unfortunately the hostess wasn't all that organized and nobody's name on the list ever got called. So Kristin just stood right in front of the hostess stand til we were assigned a table! We finally got to eat an hour and a half later! Luckily Paige entertained Lucy and Bella by taking them to the dance floor while we were waiting for our food to come. Then Bryn was off to a surprise birthday party for a friend and Jeff, Paige and I watched American Idol.

Saturday Bryn, Paige and I drove up to Appleton for Chad's fiancee's, Robbyn, shower. Great food and really liked the bingo game where you filled in the empty gameboard with guesses of what gifts Robbyn would open today, then of course as she opened them you marked them off. Paige won at our table. We were able to hold Chayse for quite a while. Then we played another game as a story was read and Paige won again! The shower ended earlier than scheduled, so I stopped at Shaffers who live just a block away. Only Tim was home, and since I came unannounced, I just chatted for about 10 minutes. Then me and the girls were off to the mall to get Bryn some running shoes for track. Kayla had recommended a great store! They analyze your foot as you run and they choose the shoes to fit you! Finished off shopping by buying fleeces, which is part of all their birthday presents this year for our trip to Canada this summer.

Jeff worked on the CRV again while we were gone and made us pizza when we got home. Then took Paige out to Hartland Ice Center because Jeff's friend Dave's son was playing in a hockey tournament out there. Paige really enjoyed the game and Jeff had fun with his buds and their kids.

2009-03-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

This was a tough week for the Saunders - most of it we saw coming.

I've been driving our Honda CRV to work because I work further away and it gets better gas mileage than the van. I warned Jeff that it had been sounding rather loud so he drove it to work and apparently the entire exhaust system is falling apart. Luckily, we have a 3rd car (not lucky for Bryn!). So Bryn hasn't had her own car to drive to school all week. And when she did get it to drive to her trombone lesson Monday night, she got her first speeding ticket! Poor Jeff tries every night getting another part and getting under the CRV, which is on blocks in the garage. It's still there tonight. To be continued...

Tuesday my parents came down to see Paige's Pops Band Concert which was very enjoyable. Instead of classical music, this concert is all more popular music.

Wednesday Jeff and I had committed to work concessions for the last boys' basketball game at the high school. My parents opted to stay another night planning to watch Idol with Paige. Paige got invited to paint t-shirts for her upcoming Dodgeball tournament. So my parents were alone. Nice visit, eh?

The completed, every-bone-labeled skeleton left our home Thursday. I told Bryn and Marisa that theirs has to be the best! Theo went to the vet on Thursday for a regular check-up and the vet commented on what a happy dog he is. :) When I came home from work I was surprised to find Bryn home as she was scheduled to work. Sadly Bryn explained that she had informed her boss about track practice beginning in 2 weeks and her boss decided that wasn't going to fit into her work schedule, so Bryn can be "done." Nice. Poor Bryn. After supper, I went over to another Student Council parent's home to help organize all the donated items for the Winter Carnival's Silent Auction. We got some great stuff, and I carefully planned my bidding strategy for Sunday as I helped assemble the auction baskets.

Friday I had to drag myself into work as we are very busy and a co-worker (very deservedly) had off. It's hard to complain about work when so many are out of a job. Paige had her afterschool "Friday Frenzy" where the Dodgeball tournament was held. Her team came in 2nd! Their name was the Foo Fighters and each kid had 2 of the team name letters on their shirt so when they stood together you could read "Foo Fighters." On her ride home Jeff and I learned that we were hosting a sleepover. As the girls were dropped off, we learned how many guests we were having. It was fine and Jeff and I had just planned to stay home and watch TV anyways.

Abby went to Kaukauna for the weekend to a friend's house and even went to visit her Grandma in Appleton! We've only heard about it because Jeff's mom called us to tell us. We'll have to get details from Abby later. Jeff coordinated a nice dinner out with 2 other couples for Saturday night. Paige was hired to babysit and asked to bring a friend because it was for 6 kids and it was a long night: 6pm to 1am! They both made a lot of money. And Bryn had a friend over to chill.

And Sunday (today) was the big event: The Student Council Childrens Winter Carnival. This is an annual event that I've become involved in because my children have been on the Exec Board of Student Council the last two years. Bryn and I had to be there at 8:30am for set up. It's kind of chaos but it all works out. We had to set up about 12 games, a concession stand, ticket booth, welcome table, posters for everything. I had such fun being the "runner" and taking pictures of all the high school kids! The Carnival runs from noon til 4pm. My sister and her family came and it's fun to watch them play. Lucy was fascinated with the dog on top of the big bouncy house! Bryn and I helped clean up til 4:30, then we came home so Bryn could have a nap and go on to her next event: a UWAY concert. Jeff went down to see it this time. We're tired.

2009-02-22T07:03:00.000-08:00

I called my niece Mia Monday morning to wish her a happy 4th birthday and she was excited! She thanked me for the baby stroller and told me all about her princess cake she had the night before. Abby even remembered to call her from college and I guess Mia raved about how "her Abby" called.

Bryn had Marisa over again on Tuesday to work on their Anatomy project and they got the arms and legs done just after school! Last Sunday they worked til 6pm completing the complicated pelvis, spine and shoulders. Their skeleton is going to measure about 7 feet tall when they're done! But doesn't it look great?

We made a big decision regarding Bryn's scheduling for the remainder of the schoolyear. Bryn will miss the last UWAY concert of the year because Confirmation is the same day. Knowing she won't be playing at the last concert, she really shouldn't be at any of the rehearsals beforehand because then it's not a true representation of what it will sound like. So I wrote a letter to the UWAY conductor explaining the situation. Of course he is disappointed, but a concert and confirmation are too much to cram into one day. So this opens up Tuesday nights for Bryn to move either work or trombone lessons into. Phew!

I went to battle a parking ticket at traffic court on Wednesday. Thought it'd be no big deal. Not. Bryn's car was ticketed in the high school parking lot for not having a parking pass in early January. Bryn does have a parking pass that we pay $85/semester for, but it was on the floor and not visible to the officer from his car. I opted to appear in court because I thought a simple explanation would bypass my ticket. The prosecutor was of course not understanding. What I still do not comprehend is that why the high school has all Bryn's vehicle information on file and the police don't cross-reference that before issuing a ticket. I thought a warning for a first-time violation would be fair. I was hot! And I've also written a letter to the high school vice principal voicing my disappointment.

We listened to another beautiful concert by the high school Wind Symphony Wednesday night. Then I attended Bryn's Prom Info night meeting Thursday night. Bryn's going to have a great spring!

Friday I picked up some more Silent Auction donations for the Winter Carnival. Then Jeff and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire. It was good, but not that I'd rave for weeks about it. It's hard for me to watch children live in such tough conditions. And I think that's why it's talked up so much: because it raises social awareness - which I'm all for.

The snow came down continuously Saturday morning. We were pretty much stuck inside as everyone, including the plows, were waiting til it was over. Didn't hear the final count, but I know we were predicted to get 5 - 8". I dropped Paige and her friend who had slept over at the movies Saturday afternoon while I grocery shopped. Then we ordered a movie-on-demand through our new TiVo last night. It took a little effort making sure we had all our account info online and linking it to our TiVo device, but we were watching Get Smart and munching on popcorn by 8pm!

Today Bryn and Kendal, Bryn's confirmation sponsor, go to a Confirmation event. Kendal's coming at 11 to catch up with us. Kind of like our substitute Abby. :)