Memorial Day Parade

Eating Brownie Bites and waiting for the main event.
Emilie dancing to the band.
Luke vigorously waving at the tractors.
Anna and Emilie on the walk back to the cars.

As part of our Memorial Day celebrations, we went to the Clinton parade that both Sandy and I used to march in as part of the band. My dad often marches with the VFW, but was in California this year for my brother-in-law's graduation from the LAPD Academy and 25th birthday party. Other than that, the parade was much like I remember it being -- short and with lots of tractors.

After the parade, we walked up to Great-Grandma Schut's house for some lunch. By the time we started the long walk back, some of the kids were pretty tired and starting to come apart at the seams, but Anna and Emilie seemed to enjoy the last leg of the journey. :)

Brad's Grandma's Birthday Party at the Park

The only picture I had of Grandma was a candid, but thought I should include it since this is a post about her birthday party.

All the great-grandkids (except Gabby -- Brad's cousin's daughter that was born 1 week after Emilie).

To celebrate Brad's Grandma's birthday on the 24th of May, we all got together at the Riverside Park Sunday afternoon, the 25th. Despite a forecast calling for rain, the only rain we saw was from the water fountain. It was really nice to get together, as we don't often see Brad's cousins and their kids.

The Zoo

See my sister's blog for better polar bear pics http://thepoolfamily.blogspot.com/

Nathan after he'd calmed down a bit.

The Friday before Memorial Day we took a trip to the Madison Zoo. I hadn't been there for probably six years (kind of funny, considering the fact that almost everything I do is kid-centered). And actually, I've been there twice now in the last month!

After making it past the hungry polar bear exhibit without losing any children, we went into the bird building. It was one of the few we could take strollers in, but my big SUV-sized stroller caused me to be a bit behind my kids (specifically Nathan). I could see him ahead of me, but couldn't get to him when the bird (parrot?) started squawking. The ceiling is pretty high in there and the noise resonated throughout and was very loud. Nathan was scared to the point of crying (not something he does a whole lot) and did his best to quickly get past that thing!

Sam in the Grass

Sam and Luke
Sam doing his best to hover.

Sam had his first experience with grass while my sister was here...and he didn't care for it much! He did just about everything in his power to stay off the stuff, but he was on an island of it (literally) and couldn't figure a way off of it that would allow him to keep him from touching it. So, he reluctantly conceded (since it appeared nobody was coming to his rescue anyhow) and we got some cute pictures from it.

Discovery Museum

Sam found a button to push.

Wow. I'm about to be really behind in posting, so I'd better do some catching up this morning before Sam's 1st Birthday party this afternoon!

Another trip we made while my sister and her family were here was to the Discovery Museum in Rockford. We've been there a couple of times now and it's a lot of hands-on fun for the kids. The kids especially enjoyed the water table -- after they got past the shock of us actually letting them play in it! Other fun things at the museum include the mouse-hole stairs (kids can climb up through a series of mouse holes) and the air exhibit (sending scarves through wind tunnels and suspending balls in mid-air).

License and Registration, Please

Brad's parents got Emilie and Bekah a princess car for Christmas two years ago. For the longest time (and even a little bit still now), Emilie was scared to death to drive it. She would hop in the driver's seat, but Bekah would have to reach her foot over from the passenger side to push the pedal. But Emilie always enjoyed posing with the car (she's kind of doing it here, but not like she used to). Anyways...Sandy's kids really had fun driving it up and down the driveway and, even though he's 11 years away from an official license, Jack did a pretty good job of manuvering it into the garage.

Walks Down a Country Road

Mom, Sandy and Leah finally making it to the
top of the "big hill".
Sam enjoying his free ride.

I'm not sure that Mom and Dad's road still counts as a "country" road (it's practically a subdivision out there compared to when we were little), but it's definitely more country than ours. The first few days the cousins were here we went for walks, but that kind of petered out (probably something to do with energy level and the ratio of kids : adults). The kids really enjoyed throwing dirt (at least I hope it was dirt!) into the field...I think they may have been in Clinton too long already at this point, if they thought throwing dirt was a pastime.

Luke and Sam

Sandy's youngest, Luke (will be 2 in August), really likes babies so Sam was right up his alley and would even sit still long enough for Luke to hold him. :) Luke was so cute -- he would get so excited to see Sam (all of us for that matter)! He's also a hoot...The first night they arrived, he showed off his "golfing" skills. He's a really good aim but has a pretty wild swing (to be expected when you're the same height as the object you're swinging)! One thing I learned -- If he hands you a ball when he has a bat or golf club in his hand, you'd better get rid of it fast or you might end up missing a hand! :)

Jack's 5th Birthday

It was a little breezy and sprinkled on us a bit, but we were able to get in some mini-golf in honor of Jack's 5th Birthday on the 13th. As you can see, Bekah and Nathan (and probably even Emilie) didn't really get the correct putting technique, but they had fun. Jack, on the other hand, really has a knack for golfing! We capped the night off with a trip to Culvers and cake, ice cream and present opening at Mom and Dad's.

Cousins Come to Wisconsin!!!

After what seemed (to Emilie) as years of anticipation, the Pool cousins arrived from their home state of Arizona (for now -- they will be moving to California this month). We spent just about every day over at my parents' house playing and having a great time. But, all good things come to an end and after arriving May 12th, they returned home on the 30th. The following posts will chronicle more of our adventures (what day wasn't an adventure?). We had a great time and have missed them already.