Ian's fish

Here are two pictures of Ian's tank and his fish. He has five of them: Slicky, Treebon, Leopard, Slim, and Bob.

Ian's 7th Birthday

Ian's 7th Birthday party was this last Sunday. He had a fish themed birthday since that was our present to him - 5 fish and a tank. He has been really into fish lately. We have a Wii game called Endless Ocean where the purpose of the game is to interact with fish in the ocean and learn their names and habits. He loves this game and now we know more about fish than ever before. Anyway, that is why the fish theme and the fish present. Here are a few pictures from the party.





Grandma and Cousin Paige



Cousins Sophia and Paige helping Ian unwrap and clean up

Halloween ...... BOO!

Trick or Treating was actually this past Sunday from 3-6 pm. That has to be one of the most annoying things living here. Trick or Treating should be on Halloween at night. Who cares if it is a school night or it might be unsafe. That's what flashlights, glowsticks, and parent chaperones are for! Oh well. We still try to make it fun even if the kids can't see the cool jack 'o lanterns lit up. Ian and I paint pumpkins every year too - at least that can be appreciated in the daytime.

Cousin Jennifer's Wedding

This past weekend we went to Southern Illinois to my cousin Jennifer's wedding. It was warm for October, mid 80's. The reception was in a winery on a beautiful ridge with fall color all around. It was great seeing the Hilligoss family.



Grandma Hilligoss and Jennifer



The Wedding Party

It's been awhile coming....

... but I am back to writing on the blog! Sorry it has taken so long. There have been many distractions (camping, school, Wii, etc) but what it comes down to is that life has got in the way. :) So I downloaded all of the pictures on my camera and am going to post a few from the past few months.

Camping at the end of August

We went camping right before school started and it was cooler weather than normal. Great for camping, not so great for swimming, which is Ian's favorite thing to do whenever we get near a body of water or pool. Next year maybe we will go in the beginning of August or late July instead.





Brrr ....



Trying to warm up after swimming.

Prairie Family Days

Ian and I are reading Charlotte's Web so when I heard we were going to have a carnival at Prairie Family Days we were excited. We went early to ride the rides and play the games prior to fireworks. Sadly Pleasant Prairie had nothing like the carnival in Charlotte's Web. There were inflatable slides and mazes but Ian didn't want to go on them. The games were the saddest of the bunch. Old games in rubbermaid tubs that cost a ticket to play. Sadly, Ian played all of them and then asked me where the real games were. We really need to find a real carnival somewhere.

We were done with everything so early that we had to wait 2 and 1/2 hours for fireworks. That tried everyone's patience. The fireworks were good and set to Disney music (always a plus for us). But after all that waiting it didn't seem worth it.

Sophia's Third Birthday

Two weekends ago it was Sophia's third birthday. She had a Disney Princess party. Cinderella is Sophia's favorite princess. So many little girls! Three baby girls and Sophia in the extended family. Wow - a lot of pink! That is kind of a shock for someone like me who only has a boy. :)

Ian - the next artist of the family?

Today was the Kenosha Festival of Arts and Flowers in one of Kenosha's parks. Back at the end of school - we received an invite to the festival stating that one of Ian's art pieces would be in the festival. Ian wasn't sure which piece. We were excited - only one other kid in his class had a piece in the show. We went today and saw that the piece was his caterpillar made from an egg carton.



All of the little kids got "awards of merit" ribbons. Ian was excited about that. He was a little shy when we took his picture and when the reporter for the Kenosha News interviewed him. The article is at:

www.kenoshanews.com/article_comments/view_comments.php?articleNum=3264801

Our little artist! Ian has told us for a couple of months now that he wants to be an artist when he grows up. Maybe he can be. :)

Paige's First Birthday!

Hard to believe Paige is already one year old! Such a big girl! She loved her cake and presents - she is such a happy little girl.



Paige and Sophia loved the Elmo cakes.



Sophia helped Paige open her presents.




Paige loved her "Blueberry Muffin" afghan from Grandma Hilligoss.