Saturday, December 11, 2010

Christmas Tree Slaughter 2010!

We went out and hunted our Christmas Tree. Before we went into the forest, we took our picture by a giant wreath. It's Cold! Found it, now let's kill it!



Oh no, Grandma succumbed to the cold!


Get something warm to drink fast!

Twas the night before Snowstorm

And all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a schnauzer, the Children were nestled all snug in . . . Donovan's bed? What the Heck is going on?

Monday, December 6, 2010

Its Christmas time - The Tree is up, Presents are filtering in

We went to a Christmas tree farm this past weekend to hunt, cut down and drag our tree. Donovan and Hayden got a special picture taken that we are using for our Holiday card this year. They had a nice time looking for a tree, playing with their sleds, hanging out with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Dan, and playing on the play structure and they were really good even though it was really, really cold out.

The tree is in the stand, decorated and presents are slowly but surely filling in the base of the tree. One of the more stupid things Kyle did was go shopping on Black Friday at 3:15 in the morning. While out and about, Kyle found two very special presents for Donovan and Hayden that Melissa wrapped tonight. Our good friends at Amazon shipped the remaining gifts, and Santa will hopefully come through in the clutch.

Meanwhile, Donovan and Hayden have been having fun sledding, playing on the deck with their dump trucks, shovels and loaders moving snow all around, and vacuuming. They can put their winter jackets on by themselves (but not zipping yet) and they get M&Ms when they put on their shoes by themselves. Once they can wipe their own butts, then life will be even better.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

All we want for Christmas

Donovan and Hayden are formulating their Christmas wish lists. After a thorough discussion this morning, here is the list:

(1) A big skinny Chainsaw that goes round and round and round and goes grrrrrrrrrrr grrrrrrrrr GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

(2) Remote controls for the Wii

(3) Peddle Tractors

(4) a watch

(5) No new clothes.

(6) donuts

(7) a new shovel for digging in mud

(8) something for momma

So there you have it. Go ahead and deviate from the list and break their hearts. I can't wait to see Santa's face when he hears number 1.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Halloween

Donovan and Hayden are all set for Halloween. They are going in costume as Bobcats (the contrstruction machines, not weak big cats). Right now though, they are watching Cars while wearing construction helmets. Very cute.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Hangin with My two favorite Peeps!

Melissa is gone this weekend, so it is a testosterone driven weekend of fun between the men of the household! We went out to dinner last night, went to Sears to look at lawn tractors, grills, and snowblowers, and then we went to the movie store to rent scary movies. Today was a little more weak. This morning, we woke up, ate donuts (not me), went to the farmer's market and looked at the crazy people, and then went to the Children's Museum. Now its nap time. I won't post what is on tap for tonight or tomorrow morning, but I will say their is some excitement to have popcorn during the packer game.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Bedtime Chatter

Ok. So right now, Donovan and Hayden are chattering in their cribs rather than going to sleep. The content of the discussion is a little disturbing. For example, we heard, "If you had a nail on your penis, then that would hurt!" Response: "That is gross, Hayden!" Then we heard from Donovan,"If you had a nightlight on your penis, then that would be funny!" This went on for a few minutes and involved different substances. Then we heard them talking about "blowing fire out of your penis as a one-man show at the circus!" What the heck are they learning at pre-school? I do remember the one-man-show in a book about the circus that we read, and he did blow fire, but that was out of his mouth.

Melissa just went up and ended this discussion and said, "Its night-night time."

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Singleton Days

The last two Monday nights, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Dan have taken one of the boys for some special time with grandma and grandpa. These are the first two nights that Hayden and Donovan have not slept the night in the same room (or at least most of the night).
Melissa spent a wonderfully pleasant night with Hayden last week, and last night Melissa and I spent the wonderfully pleasant similar evening (until the Packer game) with Donovan. Donovan spent time at Sears playing on the tractors, looking at yard equipment, trying on sunglasses, and walking the stroller all around the mall, and playing with the train table at Barnses & Noble.

It was a little wierd being out and about with just one. Following are my thoughts.
(1) At dinner and at the mall with donovan, not once did I sense the "looks of pity" normally bestowed upon me that I normally get as the parent of twin boys. Nor did I sense the "Oh . . . they so cute, I wish I had twins because I have no clue how hard life truly could be and I want to say something really stupid right now" look. Instead, it felt abnormally normal to go unnoticed.
(2) It is really easy to shop with two parents and one child present.
(3) It is really easy to focus your attention and adoration on the one child without another child present
(4) the present twin misses the missing twin more than you think
(5) You miss your kids no matter how many you have when they are not around.

I am looking forward to watching Donovan eat his donut in the morning. I am serious, it will be interesting to spend some alone time with him in the morning too. I don't know when the next chance will happen, so I'd better make it count.

Alright. Time for bed.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Pictures before we go to PreSchool!



Ummm . . . actually we are excited to go to school, we are not excited for pictures.

Camping this weekend!

Yo Grandma, you only have one chocolate bar left. Also, your marshmallows are probably in our fridge. And the graham crackers . . . . I guess we need to replenish the smores stash.



Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Pre-School and Summer

The boys began their first day at pre-school today. They were so excited to start, but a little ticked off that they didn't get to ride a school bus. They both picked out their back packs and couldn't stop talking about their cameras, back packs, and going to school over the last few days. Melissa and I both went this morning to drop them off. They did well.

Summer has gone by too fast. Following are some highlights and lowlights of the summer:
(1) Pacause
(2) Dinos went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in the stuffed animal hierarchy. Blue dinosaur has fallen the hardest.
(3) Hailey is greeted by the boys ("Goo' mornin' Haiylye"
(4) tricycles are slowly being replaced by scooters, at least for a day or two.
(5) camping is still a favorite
(6) Bob the Builder still rules
(7) Peeing on trees
(8) going potty all on our own (except for being wiped)
(9) holding daddy's coffee
(10) hide from momma . . . .

We'll write more and post some pictures from today.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Honor Guard

Donovan and Hayden's grandfathers both proudly served the United States. Great Grandpa Everett, a devote Navy man and submariner, recently got to serve our country again when he participated in the northeast Wisconsin Honor Flight which took off and landed at the EAA. Everett was welcomed home by all of us (Melissa, me, Donovan, Hayden, Karolyn, Carson, Sonja, Grandpa Dan and Grandma Sue)in the proudest of fashions.
We had a great time and we are very proud of Great Grandpa Everett!!!




Madison's Children's Museum

We went to the Madison Children's Museum today, along with all of the other children in Dane County other than my sister's kids. It was fun, worth seeing, worth going to again, but I have concerns. Frankly, I am confused. I am not raising my child to become Stanley Kubrick. I want my child to develop a normal imagination. Yet some of the displays and activities at the Museum are frankly creepy.

On the ground level, there is the pointless water room on the ground level smack dab on the edge of the Wilder Ness area which mixes a rustic native american theme with dinosaur bones. There is also the deafening musical instrument hut. They should hand out excedrin at the door before you go into that hut. There is a sheep/buffalo mix pulling a wagon and driver. There is also the lawsuit-waiting-to-happen slide with climbing wall that was probably sponsored by a personal injury firm.

On the upper level, there is a series of old-electrical contraptions that don't work, including a telephone booth with astronomy grafitti. There is also a wood City of Madison playset where kids can build small buildings (nothing taller than the Capital please) and use little cars and equipment. There is also four lego contraptions. There is the giant hamster wheel which D & H loved.

And that brings me to the "Hodge-Podge Mahal." If anyone can tell me what the heck the jungle gym with the tube and rust-looking cage structure, World War II mine-like bobbers, random snake slide, and even-more random screwed up 60's car is based on, then please enlighten me. Donovan and Hayden loved it, but I can only imagine some children will look at it and have nightmares as to how some twisted person could create something so . . . twisted. Here is a theme that you can make a playstructure with: Flowers, trees, or MMSD's sewer system. All would make some sense. Instead, I fear this will untap and bring out the even darker side of our children. A few other preliminary thoughts on the structure: If any child throws up in it, then good luck below. If your child gets stuck in it and you are over 5'8" or 200 lbs., then just leave and go have another child. It would probably be easier to give birth and raise that child anew than to climb and extract your child.

Madison's Farmer's Market

Donovan, Hayden and I went to the Farmer’s Market today on our way to the Children’s Museum. We had a nice time, but for all the wrong reasons. Donovan and Hayden enjoyed people watching, eating their $.43 apple (each), eating big honkin’ venison sticks, M&M cookies (thanks big dude at Stella’s bakery!!!), and drinking from their thermos. On the other hand, I had the jogging stroller with the cow-catcher front end which means only one thing: I get to imagine doing the following scenario--you cut me off, you get the stroller to the back of the calf, and I get to dole out a few punishing blows to people who stand in the middle of the walkway to fight over whether they should by Kohlrabi crap from this stand or from the stand a block-and-a-half back from the crazy organic farmer wearing the ridiculous hat and scarf in the middle of summer to draw attention to himself.

I didn’t purposefully hit anyone today. But I did get to tell a good man that Stella’s Spicy Cheesebread is the only reason to come to the Farmer’s Market. I was promptly corrected by an older lady that there are a lot of good places to shop at the Farmer’s Market. I forgot. Steep N Brew coffee is also a good place to go, but not a reason to go to the Farmer’s Market since Starbucks is also right on the trip.

All that said, I love the farmer’s market. It is one of the best people watching places in the State. Also, I can think of no greater bastion of hypocrisy or place to prove that you are a glutton for punishment than Madison's Farmer's Market. I’ll explain. A family gets into their car, drives ten miles in their SUV to purchase goods from multiple stores. The rest of Wisconsinites do that too when they go to . . . the Mall. Only going to the Mall has much less of an uppity feel to it and there is less price fixing at the mall (all the pints of raspberrys that I saw today were $4.00 per pint . . . you tell me something ain’t up). Also, when I shop at the Mall, I don’t have to be told by numerous people smarter than me that Israel is evil, killing fetuses is acceptable, or that I am not a good father because I do not attend marriage camp. Also, when I go to the mall, I am not forced to walk at 0.7 mph, shoulder to shoulder, on a cramped 10-foot-wide sidewalk, stopping every ten feet. So I guess it is not quite like the mall. Instead, it is like a group of cattle being lead to slaughter. But I like it anyway, especially because Stella’s Bakery gave my kids free cookies.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Is there a good restaurant in Sun Prairie?

Seriously? we have been perpetually dissappointed. La Tolteca . . . gross. The Cannery Grill . . . below average in every sense except atmosphere. Gus's . . . unremarkable.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

BF Marshmallows!

I tracked down some BF marshmallows at Pritzls the other day. They take forever to cook and they make a massive mess, but darn it, they are really good and the boys really like them!


Mo Fishin and Ridin' Dirtay at the lake!





Welcome Hayden and Donovan's new Cousin, Nathaniel James Schiffner!!!



Nathaniel sleeps alot, like this thing:

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

Fun with our new fishing poles! Guess who fell in the lake off the back of the pier, while clutching his pole?