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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!