Sad Saturday

It was a sad day for us, but we tried to do fun things.

I showed Javier my friend Mary's book, "When did My Life Become a Game of Twister?" because they played the game Twister last night! :-)






We drove up to Chippewa Falls for an early lunch. A friend from church was selling brats to help sponsor a missionary trip to Haiti.




Here we are at the "Brat Barn"! Many different people use Brat Barns for fund raising. Our friend Debbie took the picture. She is the one going back to Haiti to help people. Debbie has been to Haiti several times. I wanted Debbie in a picture, too! :-}





Beautiful Lake Wissota!!!









The sun was in our eyes... !







Olson's Ice Cream!!! :-)





When we got back home, Javier handed out gifts right before we left to meet with Shelby.



Elizabeth said, "I couldn't smile much because I was sad." :-{










William not settling for a mere handshake. Bring on the hug! :-)

Ryan was at his softball game in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee is 5 hours from Eau Claire!!!
Soon, Javier and Jaime will be back in Spain. We all hope they both can come back next year, too!!! :-)

A Quiet Day

Elizabeth and Elizabeth2 (Don gave her the nick name of "Elizabeth squared"! :-D) made gluten free pancakes for breakfast. Then Hannah made another batch of pancakes from scratch, too!

Ipods and the computer were entertainment for the day. It was cloudy out, and we had rain off and on throughout the day.

For dinner, we had grilled steak, green beans, and corn on the cob. For dessert, we had baked bananas with marshmallows and chocolate, and baked apples with carmel and chocolate. We were going to make the dessert in the fire pit outside, but it was raining. It tastes much better when baked in the fire!The children played Twister tonight. We all laughed because it is a fun game to play and a fun game to watch! :-)

Thursday's Soccer Tournament

Today was a quiet day until Elizabeth's friend Elizabeth came over! She is very funny, and we laughed a lot!

The boys played in the tournament in soccer, this evening, and won! Javier assisted in at least one goal. Javier kicked a perfect shot once into the goal, but Christian, the other team's goalie, caught it. The next game will be on Monday. Last Thursday, Jaime helped the team win, too!
Everyone is wondering what will happen without Javier and Jaime playing on the team, even the other teams and coaches!We drove to Festival, a grocery store. We were only going to buy ice cream..., but we bought other things, too! :-}
We are sad that Javier and Jaime will be leaving in two days. I know that the Cramer family is, too. Thanks so much for sharing your boys with our families! We love them, and we all love you, too! :-)

Fun on the Chippewa River!

Hanging out! :-)

Breakfast--18 year old Rocky begging from Jaime! :-) Rocky used to be very shy, but she really likes Javier and Jaime! :-) Jaime left with Lesa around 10am, this morning. It was sad for us, but good for the Cramers! :-)

This evening, we went to Chippewa Valley Bible Church's Youth Group. It was held at William's Bible teacher's home. They live right on the Chippewa River. Here, Javier is on Keith's pontoon. He later got into another boat and went tubing! :-) I found a picture to document this!!! :-)Libby and Javier were talking before we left. Libby was Elizabeth's Sunday School teacher several years ago. Her husband, Stu (behind her to the left) sometimes also helped teach the class. Stu also helps with the Youth Group.

While we were standing here, about a dozen bats kept flying low over us, catching insects. A dragonfly also flew in between us and caught a beetle for its meal as we watched!

Action!

Jaime came to our house this morning while his host family sadly gets ready to go to a funeral. We are very glad Jaime can stay with us! We were sad because our friends who have stayed with us for two weeks are leaving. But we are very happy Jaime is now with us until ~tomorrow~! :-)

The children started to play Spanish Monopoly. Then we showed Jaime: Hannah's guinea pig named Hermie, my hermit crabs, and William's fox snake (also called a pine snake) named Jake. They started to play American football on the computer. We later (kind of!) held Jake and watched her eat (frozen that we thawed out, not live!) mice. :-)From 13:15 to 21:00, the children were at Action City and Chaos. They had a lot of fun! :-) William now loves having two brothers to play with! :-)We thankfully beat the thunderstorm home. We got a lot of rain, and there was a lot of thunder and lightning, tonight. The children played on their ipods and talked with each other before they went to bed.

Monday 26th

Friday, we went to Bible Truth Publishers to visit friends and (sort of) did a tour. Then we went to Cantigny to the First Division Museum and explore military tanks. We quickly walked through part of the Cantigny Gardens before we left. That night, it rained with (thunder and lightning) very heavily. We got a lot of rain!

The Rule's neighbor's yard was flooded when we woke up Saturday morning. We went to Walmart, and part of their parking lot was flooded, too. Later, Don took Elizabeth to a friend's house. Many roads were closed because of flooding. Some people and businesses also lost electricity. The children played games at the Rule's house. Then friends came over to visit--Stephen, Rene and their son Paul.

Sunday, we went to church. It is held in Bible Truth Publishers. Javier got to meet many of our friends. We ate lunch at the Rule's house. Stephen, Rene, and Paul were there, again. Then we started to drive back home to Eau Claire.

We drove on "back roads" which were not as busy for the beginning of our trip. Then we got back on the highway. We stopped in Madison, the state capital of Wisconsin. We all needed to get out of the car, and Don needed coffee. :-) Borders book store was a fun place to walk around for a while. :-)

We got back home around 22:30. We were all very happy to see that Jevon, Danica, and the girls were staying with us another day!

On Monday, we didn't do too much. We were all tired! :-) We took "family" pictures of Jevon and Danica, their girls, and the teenagers they enjoyed so much while we were gone! :-)

On Our Way To Chicago!

We have been in the Chicagoland area since Thursday. Wednesday afternoon, we drove as far as Janesville, Wisconsin to "break up" the trip.

Wednesday, the children went swimming in the pool at the Baymont Inn. We watched the end of an older movie and then went to bed. While we slept, it rained hard. It was still raining hard Thursday morning!

Thursday, we drove to my (Leza's) doctor's office in West Dundee, Illinois. When we make a long trip like this, it helps to get a chiropractic adjustment! :-)

For lunch, we ate at Portillos in the town of Schaumburg, Illinios. Portillos is our favorite fast food restaurant. Many years ago, it started as a little hot dog stand in the town we used to live in--Villa Park, Illinois!

We drove into Chicago and drove around into both the south and north sections of the city. We mainly drove on Lake Shore Drive, but also drove on what is called the "Magnificent Mile" (Michigan Avenue) where there are many stores you can go to shop.

From the van, we saw Soldier Field Stadium, the Field Museum, Sears Tower, Hancock Building, the Chicago River (which gets dyed green for St. Paddy's Day), the train tracks where Spiderman II was filmed, and many other things.

We parked the van and walked through two parks. The first park we walked through was Millennium Park. We saw the Cloud Gate (affectionately called the "Bean"!), Crown Fountain (the artist is from Spain!!!), Jay Pritzker Pavilion (where musicians were practicing!), the Lurie Garden, and saw a little of the Boeing Galleries (modern art) and the Millennium Monument from a distance.

We walked over to the second park which is called Grant Park. There we saw the famous Buckingham Fountain and a pair of street performers. It was windy which was good, because it was very hot and humid. We enjoyed when the wind blew water from the fountain at us! :-)

On our way to Addison where we would be staying with friends, we went to a very large Whole Foods store that was in Chicago. There we bought cheeses, New England clam chowder soup (creamy, not tomato based), and smoked salmon. This would become our dinner. :-)

We also drove passed both of the houses we had lived in. One home was in Villa Park and the other was in Addison near the Rule's home where we were staying.

July 18-20, 2010

Sunday
Taking two cars, everyone went to church at Salem Baptist.
After they ate lunch, it was ("much needed") ~~quiet~~ time! :-)
They ate dinner, then went to Lowes Creek County Park. They walked on the Fitness Trail and tried the chin-up bars, etc. :-)

Monday
Every time they go anywhere, they have to take two cars! Today, Jevon, Danica, Elizabeth, Javier, William, Hannah, Cali, and Kiki went to the Halversons. They are good friends of ours who own a dairy farm. Mike Halverson showed Javier how he milks the cows, and they also helped Lorna Halverson can beans. They also played hide and seek, tag, and other games with the Halverson's five young children.

Tomorrow, Javier and Jaime will go to the Mall of America in Minneapolis. :-) The Cramers are also planning to go. William will be staying home to play soccer, Hannah will be in Orchestra all morning, and Elizabeth plans to help Danica and Jevon around the house and also drive her brother and sister where they need to go. :-) We are also flying back home tomorrow at 23:57!!!

July 14-17, 2010

Don and I are in Marco Island, Florida, for Don's business conference. We left Wednesday morning on the 14th. Jevin and Danica recorded events, and Elizabeth took some pictures. :-) I still have not seen Elizabeth's pictures..., but here is what happened:

Wednesday
Javier helped William and Hannah pull--and scrape!--some weeds out of our driveway's cracks. (Fun! --Not!!!) :-}
The girls made gluten free cookies later in the afternoon. They made up new versions of a recipe without using wheat flour. The boys got to taste the cookies and vote on which ones they liked best! :-) That night, they played Clue for "game night".

Thursday
They all went to Meadowview School in town to play on the playground equipment. Meadowview is the elementary school Elizabeth, William, and Hannah attended.

Friday
In the morning, they went on a tour at Cody Cheese Factory. They got to taste samples of cheese. Wisconsin is well known for its cheese! :-)
For dinner, they went to Danica's Grandma Betty's house. They had a barbecue and then played Marco Polo in the corn fields! :-)
It was "movie night". They watched "Faith Like Potatoes".

Saturday
The host families went to a dairy farm in Chippewa Falls. Jaime may have done this (I'm not sure if he did), but Javier did not. Instead, they went to....
Big Falls... .
At first, no one saw the signs posted on the trees that said the park was closed because there was too much bacteria in the water. They were also surprised when they walked down to the river and saw that the sandy beach was not there! The river was swollen from a recent rain and the river was high!
And then...,
they drove over to Lake Altoona to go swimming. Javier has been here, before. :-)

I'm sure Javier will tell you about this with much more detail! :-)

A Crazy Tuesday!

Today was a busy day for me. I finished packing, did laundry, got Hannah to Orchestra and back home again..., and then took Elizabeth to Urgent Care. Last Tuesday, Elizabeth got stung by a bee on her foot. But suddenly this morning, a week later, it was all swollen, again!!! The doctor said she had a secondary infection and was also having another allergic reaction to the bee sting!

Our friends, Jevon, Danica, and their daughters Cali, and Kiki came to our house. They got here in time for dinner. Jevon wanted to stay to watch the boys play soccer, but couldn't watch the whole practice and scrimmage (a "practice" game that doesn't count). Jevon will be happy to watch the boys play on Thursday! :-)

We had ribs, potatoes, and peas for dinner. Don was the chef for this meal! :-)

Monday

The boys played soccer and American football on the computer, again, today. We also took a long walk in Lowes Creek Park. Some of the trails we walked on were Onion, Ridgeline, Skull, and Fern Gulley. They are more hilly and good exercise! :-) Earl helps pull me up some of the steeper parts of the trails! :-)

Javier stayed home at night while William went to a Bible Study with Don. We thought Javier needed some quiet time alone! :-)

Spain Wins!!!

This morning, we went to Chippewa Valley Bible Church in Chippewa Falls. We used to attend here regularly when we first moved to Eau Claire and always loved being there.

So we could watch the World Cup uninterrupted, we went to Sam's Club (a warehouse where you can by a lot of one thing and get it for less money). The children ate pizza while Don and I shopped. :-)

Watching Spain play!!! I saw the very beginning and the very end when Spain ~scored~!!! [I was also at Lowes Creek County Park photographing a bicycle event (and also rescuing Monarch eggs and caterpillars before an expected heavy rainfall) during the middle of the game.]

The children also went over to a different neighbor's house to take care of Doggie (a dog!) and Sassy (a cat). During a thunderstorm, the boys played soccer on the computer. I told them they should play soccer outside, tomorrow! :-)

Strolling (Through The Mall) and Swimming

Today, we went to MN to shop. The boys went to a book store and to Best Buy (electronic store where they can also play video games...), and met us here at the Maplewood Mall where they have a beautiful carousel (merry-go-round).

We ate at Arby's, again. They have healthier food for a "fast food" place. :-) Here both William and Javier are showing their curly fries (potato/french fries).

We have never been at Willow Falls this late in the afternoon. It was about 5:30pm (17:30) with beautiful lighting! :-)

It was coooooold! Javier tried to get into the river, but could not! Big Falls was much warmer! This is the place we have to climb back up a very steep hill to get back to our car. But it is worth it--to me!!! :-) I think for Javier, too! :-)

Butter and Butterflies

Javier is shaking a jar of cream. He watched me skim the cream off the top of the raw milk I drink. (I'm the only one who drinks raw milk because pasteurized milk makes me sick.) After we all shook the jar for a while, the butter was "washed" in cold water and placed in a jar. Butter is fun to make! :-)

In the morning, we released one Monarch and two Red Admiral butterflies. The children played the game of Life, games on the computer, basketball, and at night watched the movie "Toy Story Two".

These were the only two photos I took all day!!! There was not any memory space left on the cards for either of my cameras! I was also trying to work out conflicts in schedules..., and getting the van repaired. We never went on the walk I had planned. Maybe tomorrow... .

Thursday

Lowes Creek County Park walked on Rebench, Missing Link, the Fitness Trail, and Rad
Javier pointed out two twin fawns (baby deer) that were watching us! :-)

Javier got to met our neighbors Maddie and Megan, this year. They are leaving to go on a missions trip with their church, soon. We will be watching their dog and cat while they are away.

Soccer!!! This is Teagan and Jaime. Jaime scored three times! :-)

Javier and William
Javier got hit hard in the leg during the game, but is okay.

Jack and Javier--Cole from the other team is here, too. Cole was on Javier and William's team, last year.

They won! The score was 5 to 2. Jaime is here with Jack and his mom, Lisa Skifstad.

Javier and William did other things, too. They played basketball and with their Ipods. Now that the computer downstairs is working, they are playing games on it, too. :-}

Another Rainy Event!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010
After we fed and took care of our neighbor's dog, Javier, William, Earl, and I went to Lowes Creek County Park. Earl went down to the creek to cool off and get a drink. Earl does not know how to swim! :-{

We picked and ate black and red raspberries. They were good! :-)

We walked on a short trail named "Worm". There were many mosquitoes, so we did not stay too long.

William tried to get Earl to jump over this! This is part of the fitness trail.

We had breakfast for dinner! We had biscuits and gravy (a southern American favorite), scrambled eggs (with and without cheese), bacon, and muffins. Elizabeth's friend, Bailey, was over, too.

Earlier, the boys watched Spain playing football. Spain wins!!! :-)

We went to a Youth Group event up in Chippewa Falls. Chippewa Falls is about 25 minutes north of Eau Claire. It rained... and rained in Chippewa Falls, but not in Eau Claire!

The children could not play outdoor games. Instead, we stood in the family's garage while everyone else ate. (It was a little ackward.) Then we listened to a speaker we know, Darin Thomas. Darin's wife and I have lived in the same places!

Miguel Garcia was also at this Youth Group. He is staying with the Wahl family in Chippewa Falls. :-)