Santa came!

Oh yeah! According to Gavin, the best Christmas ever!! Although he did say that Santa missed the EyeClops on his list but he figures he put it on too late. We got a Wii and a couple of games and Harry Potter 5. Quinn got doll house stuff and a rocking horse, Gaving got a lot of Avatar stuff, a telescope and Spongebob Operation. Owen got some spygear, Wiiplay, Perfection and much more. Each of the boys got play Shotguns for hunting game and there was loads of candy around. Santa left a note saying they were pretty good.?!?

Santa's Coming...

The kids have their stockings hung and they're ready for the man in Red. We'll wake up tomorrow morning and see if everyone was good enough (doubtful at this point), but he's been know to be lenient as I'm living proof of that.

Sledding Adventures with the Seilers

Took the kids out sledding today. It was a blast! Outside of their not being the ideal base for optimal sledding, the temperature was perfect and there was a light snow coming down. Needless to say the kids had a great time. All Liam had to say was "FUN" and "OUTSIDE!" Gavin is really getting the hang of the whole snowboarding thing and Quinn is just as fearless as Catherine. If we continue to get snow, Santa is sure to be able to land in Wisconsin with no problems!!!

Happy Holidays!

Seasons Greetings to all!! We are busy getting ready for Christmas and hope that everyone is having as wonderful a holiday season as we are. Snow has reached the shores of Lake Michigan and we are hoping that it sticks around, at least until Christmas! Owen and Gavin are eager to get their snowboards out and do some stunts off of the back deck and Quinn is just happy to be able to take part in anything outside. With any luck we will be able to see some tracks left by some reindeer and a fat man in a red suit when (and as I keep reminding my children "if" ) the time comes!

Our family has had a very busy year and lots to be thankful for. We've been blessed with some great teachers, so school is going well for the boys. Owen is loving 3rd grade, although the amount of homework that he has started to have to bring home troubles him sometimes (I hate to tell him it will only get worse;)). Gavin is thriving on all that is 1st grade and seems to be excelling at everything. Quinn is having fun with being 3 and entertains us daily with her little songs and dances. I will have to catch her in action one of these days as she is "shaking her booty"! House projects and work in general have been keeping James and I busy. We completed our bathroom remodel and are currently working on insulating our attic. We also are in the process of spiffing up our basement into a game room/exercise space. There always seems to be something that needs to be done! James and the guys have had a successful hunting season bagging a bunch of deer, a few squirrels and a couple bunnies (for more on that see their hunting website at the link on right). I completed my first half marathon with Megan and Lauren, and look forward to possibly doing a run in the spring, we will see how my winter training goes!

Watch for future updates as Christmas draws nearer. Good luck to everyone who was naughty and congrats to all who were nice! I know I was a little of one and more of the other...but I am not disclosing which! We love you all!

Wrap up for Soccer

For those of you who have been keeping up with our soccer players and their team, the final standings are as follows: 7 out of 8 games won with their final game being a loss with a score of 4-5. Although we didn't think much of the coaching this season, the boys had a great time and are looking forward to joining the spring league. Thanks to all who came and cheered them on with us!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween has come and gone and the official date hasn't even arrived! All of the parties we were to attend this year were completed last week, and Trick or Treating was today so we are already packing up the costumes and gearing up for the next holiday! This year, Owen was a cowboy, Gavin a skeleton, and Quinn was Ariel the Little Mermaid (complete with her "losing her voice" song)! I had fun making their costumes and thanks to Jane and Caryn for their help with anatomy!

Quinn turns 3!!

Our little girl has officially shrugged off the "terrible 2's" and made it to the land of 3's! So far they are not much different than the 2's... It was comfortably busy day on Sept. 29th. Not only did we celebrate Quinn's birthday, but the Seiler's and Gram V went pumpkin picking with us. Not being the sunniest of days and a little windy outside the city kept it cool but exciting nonetheless. Grandpa V and James took down the ugly tv antenna and installed a window while we were gone and then we grilled out, had a bonfire, opened presents and had cake! Quinn was happy and had a lot of fun! Thanks to all who remembered!

The Angels have run the race...and finished with smiles!

Many thanks to all! I would like to mention a special thanks for James and the kids, for carting us runners around today. Thanks to Jane for the beautiful sign, and to everyone else for your loving encouragement and support! We had a good run today and shared in an experience that will be hard to beat(for awhile)! I would personally like to thank my motivators Megan and Lauren and our motivation, Grandpa Lauerman, without whom I probably would not have finished as quickly. 13.2 miles under my belt and ready (in a few weeks) to talk about the next challenge!

Please go to our running website, link provided on the right, to view footage of our race day

2007-2008 School Year Starts

Well, seeing as I still haven't located our summer photos, I figured I would try to get back into the swing of things and update this blog.

School has begun! Our 1st grader, Gavin, has started his first year attending Monroe! We are excited as this now means that we do not have to trek to three different locations to retrieve children at the end of the work day! His teacher is, Mrs. Larson. Yes, that is the same Mrs. Larson that Owen had 2 years ago (can it be that long already?). He seems to enjoy school so far. As week one is wrapping up, we haven't heard any complaints about our little "ants in the pants" man so we are taking that as a positive!

Owen, now in 3rd grade, has Ms. Gauer this year. We attended open house last night and got to meet her. She seems right up his alley and I believe that he will have a good time in her class. Things must be going well because he stated last night (and I absolutely never expected to hear this...), "Mom, Dad--I have a new favorite subject. You will never guess what it is...(we guessed math, science, social studies, gym, art, computers...). Nope, it is none of those. I LOVE READING!!!! I found this great book...."

Needless to say, I nearly fell off the chair as he dove into a lengthy description of what this new book he is reading is about. All I could think in my mind was "Thank you, Jesus!" And I mean that in the best way possible! Hopefully the rest of the school year will be as great a success as the first week. I will have to keep you posted!

Up and coming summer review

I realize that this blog, which we used to be pretty faithful in updating on a regular basis, has not seen a new entry in awhile. All I can say is that the summer has kept us busy and we are just now starting to catch up. There will be new posts regarding our summer adventures and photos to follow this, just as soon as I can figure out where exactly they are on our desktop...so keep your eyes peeled for the up and coming...

Quinn at Riverwalk

We took the kids to Riverwalk today and the weather was outstanding. 80 degrees in Manitowoc, on the lakefront, WOW!!! The kids each got to feed the camel with Quinn thing the camel wasn't going to stop until he ate her hand (Quinn wasn't harmed, thought the picture might say otherwise). Then we watched a kids singer behind the YMCA and Quinn went on stage to perform with some other kids. She then proceeded to fall down the stairs on her way off stage (again, remarkably unharmed). We got an upclose look at the USS Cobia, watched a kayak demo and watched the coal ship come into dock (its HUGE!). Lots of bands, beer and music make the event more adult friendly than kid friendly but it wasn't bad.

Haircuts Galore at Jon's Cabin

Quinn and Gavin both got haircuts at Jon's cabin this week. Gavin chose to go with the "Aang"-ish mo-hawk look while Quinn took the contemporary "Pixie" hair do. Quinn was so good, it was scary. Jen picked the day after her best night's sleep, knowing she was already in a good mood that morning. We've save clips of the hair for the godparents if they want them. Send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope... (just kidding). We'll get them to you.

Jon's Cabin 2007

The Maurer's had a great time at Jon's Cabin this year. Except for two days which were extremely windy, we fished all week, with Owen taking biggest fish honors in the categories of Dogfish, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye and Bullhead in the family. His monster dogfish destroyed his fishing reel but we got it into the net which also broke after we got the fish into the boat. He also caught a very big smallmouth bass on his first trip out with Grandpa and Grandma. He also landed a nice 14" Walleye that was just under the minimum requirements to keep, a really big bullhead and a nice sized largemouth bass on the first day on just a leech at "Moonbar".

Gavin caught a handful of panfish which included two keeper Perch that tasted delicious and lost a nice dogfish after hooking it in what is now known as "Owen's Bay" in the Lund.

Jen also caught a dogfish as well as three northerns fishing with the grownups in dad's SmokerCraft. She also lost a large mystery fish, "another dogfish perhaps?"

James caught four small bass, a small walleye, and a rock bass just off the "Rock Pile".

"Rob's Bay" was fairly silent this week and we found a new bay, which we named "Gavin's Bay" to try out next year.

In addition to the fishing, Gavin sported a mow-hawk for the week, Quinn got a big-girl haircut, we did some disc golfing at the new course in Alexandria, some shopping in downtown Alexandria and a day trip to the Cabela's in Rogers, MN where we ended up getting two new Ugly Sticks that are "dogfish proof".

Take me out to the ballgame...

Owen and Gavin played their first Little League game tonight at the Expo Field at the Fairgrounds in Manitowoc. Owen had three hits and Gavin had two hits during the game. The game was actually pretty good for a bunch of 7,8 & 9 year olds. There were of course a few "circus" moments with balls being thrown here and there but overall, the kids had a great time which was the important part. We have videos of the boys hits which we will put up soon.

Springtime and Birthday's

As you can see the kids were busy on one of the recent nicer evenings with art, art, art. Their combined effort produced this lovely self portrait of the "Soccer boys". I guess they are really into the sport.

As for James, he celebrated his 36th big one! Many thanks to those who called and sent cards. His birthday was spent working...and upon his return home to a decorated dining room, we ate a huge pile of nachos and had angelfood cake with the Vater's and Seiler's out on the deck. The weather was overcast but lovely warm. Outside of feeling just a bit older, it was a day well spent!

GOOOOOOAAAAALLL x 5

The Maurer tandem of Owen and Gavin accounted for five goals on Saturday morning at their Manitowoc Youth Soccer games. Owen had a hat trick, depositing three goals while narrowly missing two others. Gavin also had a good day on the pitch during his game, scoring twice in his 30 minute game. Both are improving greatly with lots of backyard practice. There are still a few weeks to catch a game. They play on Saturday mornings so give us a call if you want the game times.

Lion King Musical: Amazing!

Jen and I went and experienced the Lion King musical at the Appleton Performing Arts Center this past week. I had gotten her the tickets for Christmas, even though, the loud lady behind us was proclaiming during intermission how she had been one of the first to get hers in January and that she needed to use her usher friend to get them that early (guess she hasn't heard of Ticketmaster Online yet).

The show was amazing from start to finish, our favorite part was when Simba finds Mufassa in himself by looking into the pool of water and the ensemble puts together the mask of Mufassa behind the curtains. It's cool how it just comes together and than WOW!. The music was outstanding (they are pros I guess) but it really does give you goose bumps.

The costumes are unbelievable! Zazu and Rafiki were hilarious. Scar was worth hating.

The show is coming to Milwaukee next February and the boys have the tickets on their Christmas lists already. Definately worth taking them to see it.

Rawley's Bike Trail

The Maurer's and the Seiler's spent this beautiful Saturday afternoon to bike from Walsh Field in Two Rivers to Point Beach State Forest for a picnic and play day. We loaded everyone's bikes into our rickety old trailer, picked up four footlong subs from Subway and headed up Lake Michigan's shoreline for a bike ride. The trip is 12 miles round trip so we went the first six miles and picnic'd at Point Beach Campground's play area where we brought out the soccer ball to work on Owen's mad skills. Don taught us a new move to learn and after lunch we jumped back on the bikes for the six mile return trip. The day was perfect and the trails are amazing. We are all a bit tired and sore but it was a great experience. Owen and Gavin each rode the whole way with minimal complaining (all from Owen) but I was impressed that they kept up the pace almost the whole way and had a little left over at the end. We're definately going to try another trail somewhere else this summer, maybe Kohler Andrae Park in Sheboygan.

Up North Trip

We spent last weekend at the Creagh's house at Camp Manitowish in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin. We had a great time over the course of the two day visit. We got up at 4 am on Saturday and headed out with most of the vanload which included Lauren sleeping a bit. We arrived in Minocqua just under three hours later and pulled into Paul Bunyan's Breakfast Buffet Restaurant. The food was great and the entertainment was even better as "Mr. Bunyan" himself made a guest visit and sat with us at our table.

After a solid breakfast we headed out for some geo-caching in the Great Northwoods. During the first find, we visited an abandoned summer resort area that had been reclaimed by the State over 50 years ago. Only the foundations and a small stairway remained. In addition to the cache, we found about one-two ticks on every member of our party. During our third cache of the day, we spotted a bald eagle over a small, pristine lake in the middle of nowhere. We found six caches on the day and Brooke gave Lauren a tour of Coon's Lodge before we drove the rest of the way to Camp Manitowish.

At Camp Manitowish, we walked through all the buildings and outdoor facilities. We also tried our hand at a few of the challenge course obstacles which was a lot of fun. On our way back, we peeked at the winter cottages available for week-long stays and saw four deer in the woods. Afterwards, we had burgers, brats, hotdogs and smores. Brooke won a game of Settlers of Catan and we went to bed with the windows open and a great Northwoods breeze circulating through the house that made sleeping perfect and refreshing.

The next morning, James watched the kids while the rest of the group took off for a 3-mile run. They spotted another Bald Eagle near the lakefront. After they came back, we had eggs and waffles and then headed out for a canoe trip around the bay. Everyone got paddles and helped out, including Brooke & Jay's neighbor Brent.

We circled the large bay, grounded the canoe in the shallows between the island and the land, backed it back out and went around the island. After putting everything back where we found it, we toured the haunted house on site and headed for home.

Thanks Brooke & Jay for a great weekend! Pictures to come.

Our new additions

When it rains, it pours...isn't that some famous catch phrase? I will begin my take with a trip to the basement where, in an attempt to take a chunk out of a mountain of laundry, I discover that our washer has decided that it no longer wants to agitate...at all. After an "information collecting" trip to a few appliance stores, a frantic search of ratings on the internet and a call to Grandma, we are now the proud owners of a set of "Fisher and Paykel"s. So far I couldn't be happier with their performance and the efficient 20 minute turn over for laundry loads. Thank you Grandma for the wonderful suggestions!

Next I would like to display our most recent additions to our upstairs bathroom project. The faucets complete our sink top leaving just some woodwork, stain and trim to complete the room. If only money grew on trees...!