Feline Friend

Nellie the Cat seems to be Therese's best friend these days.

I'm not sure the feeling is reciprocal for poor Nervous Nellie.

Playing in the Wisconsin Snow

When you live in Wisconsin, you shovel, you salt, you shovel, you salt, you shovel, you salt... and then you get out and play.

(Or at least you get your husband and kids out to play while you feign an abundance of important indoor duties and cozy-up next to the roaring fire playing Outdoor Photographer Shooting Through Glass.)

The Snuggles

There are times when you just need a major snuggle with your kids. (And your cat.)

Thanks, Hubby, for snapping the photo. I'm just sorry we didn't have you wedged into the bed with us.

Geo Bee Thrills

Every year, our homeschool support group hosts a geography bee. It serves at the preliminary level bee for the National Geographic Bee.

See if you can spot Anna Marie and Kathleen in this photo.

They all look so excited, don't they? Yeah, I thought so too.

Our Kalahari Adventure

No, no, we didn't go to Africa...

But we did finally take the kids to the Kalahari water park in the Wisconsin Dells.

The first photo shows the excited kids on the short drive up to the Dells. They could hardly contain themselves. The following photos give a little flavor of our overnight quarters, a very nice room that had a kitchen and dining room, helping us save a little money and some sanity too.

Joe and I managed to sneak out one evening for a quiet dinner inside the resort while the kids snuggled in for a Pay-per-View Disney movie. It's so nice to have now have daughters who are old enough to babysit.

In an interesting twist (ahem), two-year-old Therese had to give up her stroller for ten-year-old Kathleen who turned her ankle in the waterpark. The stroller may never be the same. ;)

Many memories were made. The kids are ready and raring to go back. The adults could probably wait a couple years.

Downright Gummy

William's favorite 8th birthday gift was from Grandma Kate and Poppy: his own gum-making kit. On this January evening, Joe and William are concocting a gum recipe. As you can see, they're both really getting into the ten minutes of kneading.

William has now become a master gum-maker in the house. Line up and place your orders. But be prepared. William has a thing for sour, really, really sour gum.

Leg Calculations for Good Health

We have an exercise video that the kids enjoy. After the exercise segment one day, William and Andrew decided to watch the feature about healthy eating. The exercise guru began explaining about the best proteins, saying, "The fewer legs the better. Fish is better than chicken, and chicken is better than beef."

I should have noticed four-year-old Andrew's wheels turning, but I didn't. (I was probably busy thinking about our less-than-ideal diet.)

A full minute or so later, Andrew pipes up and says, mostly to himself, "WHOA! Octopuses are really bad for you."

Twelfth Night

Following Italian tradition, Joe's side of the family throws a Twelfth Night celebration on the closest weekend to Ephiphany. We all travel up to his sister's house in Manitowoc and enjoy a weekend of family, feasting, and fun. It's the annual Leone event to remember. Here are a few photos of the (mostly cousin) merriment.

Banjo Man

Joe received a banjo for Christmas this year from his ever-lovin' wife. Six weeks later, you should hear him wail (well, if wailing is what you call it on a banjo).

One of the Good Lawyers

This is what my handsome hubby looks like when giving a talk on the importance of patent law (and on the importance of having a good lawyer, of course).