A quick jaunt...

July 10 - 15

Sam had a meeting up in Green Bay, Wisconsin - so we packed a bag and rode along.

First stop: Wisconsin Dells - MooseJaw (Beer and food), Mt. Olympus (love the roller coasters and go carts, Paul Bunyon's for breakfast, we even had an Old time photo taken with all of us. Fun time!

Second Stop: on to Green Bay. We saw Lambeau Field and stayed at a cool hotel called the Tundra Lodge. Also, we had dinner at Brett Favre's steakhouse - good food, a bit pricey...

after Green Bay, we drove south. Had a quick stop in Johnson Creek (Sam's work meeting) and then down to Chicago. We ended up coming in on Saturday a couple hours earlier than a Cubs game and decided to try to get some tickets... We really lucked out with the tickets we found! Third baseline, four rows from the field .... That had to be the unexpected highlight of the trip! Jim Belushi was on hand to throw out the first pitch and then do his famous back flip off the pitcher's mound. And what trip to Chicago would be complete without PIZZA - we headed to Giordano's - YUMMY!

This trip involved lots of togetherness in the CAR! A lot of driving but overall a pretty good time. Our last stop was Dixon for a visit with D & J, and to celebrate Keale (15th) and Ellis'(11th) birthdays. Grandma was equipped with a cake and presents. Can't get any better than that!

P. S. Keale got a new camera from us for her birthday and she took some pretty good pictures with it! Explains why she is in all of them!

It's the Big no-more-braces Reveal!

June 28

Keale with her braces on (for 2 1/2 years) and....

then without! Yeah - we are very excited to say the least! Sam says Keale has a "Million dollar" smile... I agree

Weekend in the Woods...

June 23

First, Keale, Gage & Ellis had their own treasure hunt set up by our hostess! Thanks AnnEtta, they really enjoyed the challenging clues!

We had lots of time for visiting, games and all the great food! And of course, for looking and following little AnnBrielle around. She is so darn cute!

Where there's smoke, there's fire eventually... And we had all the pyrotechnicians available to burn up the old doghouse...

And a Big thanks to Gabe, for getting that tire swing all set up...

the Walker kids really enjoyed it!

And what weekend would be complete without smores around the fire! I think we were all there... (I think Kelly may have been on the phone?....)

Thanks for a great evening all!

Gage is 13!

Gage is finally a "Teenager"! Yikes, now there are two of them to deal with! Here he blows out the candles. And the other two are the neighborhood boys plus our good friend Matt (they have matching swim trunks - not planned) getting ready for the traditional "treasure" dive into the pool. I think there were even dollar bills at large this year! Gage also had a pinata - although I think he was the third person to hit and it was done!

May 19 Weekend - Grandma & Grandpa Finch Visit!

Gage was confirmed on
Sunday, May 20.
Mom & Dad came down to
celebrate with all of us.
Another great weekend!
Don't we all clean up real nice...

Goodbye grade school...

Ellis celebrated his year as a 5TH grader with a spring musical that involved all the 5th grade classes.
Yes, he was smiling when it was all overwith!

Ellis also had his 5th grade DARE graduation. He did not read his speech but that was the plan! He did however, get several awards at the ceremony. Including a Citizenship award, Presidential Academic Excellence award and one other award. Yeah Ellis! After 10 years at Progress South Elementary - our family is no longer at that School. It's hard to believe that Ellis will be a 6th grader this fall...

Yeah! The pool is open...

April 12 - The water may have been a bit cool (that's what the heater is for) but it didn't keep the kids out of the water! What a great spot to read on a hot day - Keale!

Anyone up for a swim?

spring sports for the Walker kids...

Keale played volleyball with several friends this spring and they ended the season in Second place! Gage (pictured) and Ellis both played flag football this spring. Sam ended up coaching Gage's team. Ellis' team ended up tied for second place. And he did have several touchdowns, interceptions, and good passes.