Last Week in Moments

Happy Father's Day to Brian! We made him a breakfast of scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes and praline bacon before he and H headed out to our friend Mike's to go out on his boat for a bit. We met up with them later, along with my parents, my sister and her family, for some family pickleball. Papa and C put a team together. It was all C's doing. They had matching crazy shirts, a sign and even a team name -- "The Gents." Fun.


Happy Father's Day to my very own Dad! My parents hosted Father's Day dinner for the family. I love having them around again.


The first bird hatched in our cardinal nest. The next day, another one did. And yesterday, yet another. (However, when I went to check it out today, I only saw two of the babies, and two eggs left. Yikes.) They are adorable. The nest is right by our outdoor sofa -- where I sit to watch Gretel so she doesn't get to it -- so today I got to watch both the mom and dad cardinals feeding them. It's pretty amazing.


We made it strawberry picking! I was going to make something awesome -- what, I don't know -- but we ended up just eating the strawberries on their own. So good.


C is at an overnight soccer camp for 3 days, 2 nights. He's rooming with three other guys he played soccer with this past year. I'm sure he's having an absolute blast. (That being said, I can't wait to pick him up tomorrow am).


Brian was in Dallas this week, so H and I had a night by ourselves. Unfortunately, I had C's soccer registration in the evening, but as soon as I was done, I picked him up and we went out for dinner. Thainamite, is what he requested. It was so nice -- I really like hanging out with him.

Last Week in Moments

Sunday morning, Brian & H left for Denver for a few days, while C and I stayed behind. He had a soccer game, soccer tryouts ... and a birthday party at Skateland.


C and I took a last minute trip to IKEA and Mitsuwa, where we split this amazing green tea, red bean and mochi sundae.


C was so excited to start tennis again on Wednesday. We were going to rush home since he had soccer tryouts in the afternoon, but ended up hanging out at our favorite beach for a little bit.


Brian & H had a great time in Denver. They went for Brian's work, which meant H got to hang out with and meet Charlie Blackmon at a video shoot. As a ball boy. They also went to Red Rocks, ate well (Brian's friend is the chef here), and went to a Rockies baseball game. They had a great time together.


I had to pick up dirt at the garden center the other day. I may not like gardening, but I can't help but walk in every single green house. They are so amazing.


H is our resident gardener. Everything he and Brian planted a couple weeks ago is doing really well. Will be excited to see what our garden grows this summer.

Art by C :: Pear

Sadly, we don't get much art sent home anymore. But this was my favorite from C's art folder he brought home at the end of the trimester.

Last Week in Moments

The boys both had Friday night soccer games. My parents came to watch C play at Uihlein, then ran over to the Bavarian SC to watch H, where they met up with my sister, her family and Brian. C and I met up with them -- for about 5 minutes -- but I ended up bringing C home. He was beyond tired, and went to bed as soon as I got him there. The rest of us, however, went to the Bavarian Bierhaus for some dinner and to celebrate Tim's birthday.


H had his U14 end of the year team party. Our friends hosted -- check out this gorgeous property! There was a row boat and an island. And maybe a little bit of trouble.


Last U14 game of the season. They won 4-2 in a pretty heated game. The coach on the other team was asked to leave by the referee! Too bad. Next year US Youth Soccer is changing their ages. H doesn't need to jump up (he'll be U15), but half of these guys will. H has been playing with some of them for 5 years. The end of an era. The good news is, H will be playing with 6 of these teammates in high school which is exciting.


After H's game, we went over to C's U11 end of the year party. What a goofy, fun group of guys. Just like H's team, 6 of them will be moving up to U13 (including C). Their season is not quite over yet (there are two more games this weekend), but it's been another great year.


I was so excited to discover a cardinal nest! Was thinking that finding only one egg probably wasn't a good thing though.


The boys had awards day at school. C got an award for fastest mile (5:49) and pacers (a sprinting thing). H received one for pull-ups and the President's Education Award! Pretty exciting.


I've given up on understanding this bird thing. The next day, I went back to check the nest and there were three eggs! The day after, there were two (boo...). And the last time I checked, there were four. Mama Cardinal has been spending a lot of time there so I haven't been able to check for a few days. I just love this stuff!


Lockers were cleared out, and the boys got to deal with their giant mess. The good news is, we went through it on the first day of summer vacation, so I get my table back.


Last day of school was a bit sentimental this year. 8th and 5th grades. Next time they will be together is in high school.


8th grade graduation. What a happy sad day. It's just so emotional, but overall, watching H grow up is really awesome. Isn't that our job, after all? I'm just so honored to be one of this guy's parents.

8th Grade Graduation

What a fantastic evening. H graduated from 8th grade! If I think about it too much, I get kind of weepy. I'm not going to lie ... this year has been a little emotional for me. But there is also so much excitement. I'm just so happy for him! 8th grade was his best year yet. Nina, Papa and Grandma all came to his graduation ceremony. The ceremony was really nice -- great speeches, a wondering job by the 8th grade choir, and the biggest surprise was being awarded the Jill Wiedmann Athletic Award for participation in at least three sports (soccer, volleyball, tennis), academics and teammanship. What a great honor! Afterwards, he had a dance at his school, while the rest of us celebrated at home with pizza. I can't help it -- I'm just beaming with pride.

Last Week in Moments

My friend (and CrossFit trainer -- she may look sweet, but she's not! Ha! This girl knows how to push me well behind my comfort zone) is getting married this summer so we had a party with the gym peeps for her and her equally awesome husband-to-be. Such a cute couple, and so much fun celebrating them.


Flower arrangements I made for the party.


C was invited to play with one of the U12 teams at a State Cup friendly game over the weekend. It was a bright and early 9:00am game in Appleton, but watching him partake in the official line up (first time -- he loved it) and score the winning goal made totally worth it. Even with the rain.


We went to Pinelawn for their annual Memorial Day service. The boys said Memorial Day is one of their favorites! Afterwards, we went to another party for CrossFit. Thank goodness I like those people.


On Tuesday, Amy was in town with Gracie to tour Marquette University. I'm so happy I got to meet up with them for a quick lunch before their tour! It's been way (way!) too long.


H was having a tapas party in Spanish class, and decided to bring Guisado de Cerdo Estofado con Legumbres (Spanish Pork and Vegetable Stew). It smelled delicious. C also had to whip up some S'mores Cookie bars that night for class. Busy!