Memorial Weekend Coming Up

We are heading up to Minoqua this weekend for our annual fishing weekend with my brother's family, my parents, and my uncle's family. We went last year. We've been doing this for a good 15 years now. We are all looking forward to it. I am sure the boys will like it even though looking after them will require another vacation for recuperation for me and Trisha.

And here's hoping we catch some fish or my dad might be a little bummed. Here is a video from a few years back after not catching any fish (it will be pretty boring if you don't have your volume up).

But really it is a great time and should have a post of some pics/video when we return.

Damien Meets the Easter Bunny

Damien met the Easter Bunny after Mass on Easter Sunday. I think he liked him!

Damien's 2nd Birthday

Damien had a lot of fun turning 2 on April 21st. We celebrated by having a birthday party on April 16th, where Damien received his "dream" gift...a play kitchen...and enjoyed playing with family and friends. He also got a special "carousel cake" made by Grammy to celebrate his special day.

Damien's actual birthday landed on Holy Thursday. Mommy was home during the day, so she took the boys to the zoo, so Damien could do something fun for his birthday. Mommy also made Damien his favorite meal for dinner: meatloaf and mashed potatoes. He had oatmeal raisin cookies for his birthday treat.


On April 26th, Damien had his 2-year-old doctor's appointment. Since there were no shots, I think he actually enjoyed the appointment. He felt pretty proud wearing a stethoscope and sitting well for the doctor. Damien continues to tip the scales: 35lbs (98th percentile) and 36.75" (95th percentile). No wonder our backs hurt so much! :)

Straight to the Heart

Last night, for no particular reason, a song from my past (not sure if it was high school or college) randomly popped into my head. I remembered very little from the song--just the chorus. So, out of curiosity and memory's sake, I went to my phone and YouTube'd the song (the fastest/easiest way I thought of in which I could listen...).

Well, it didn't take long for tears to be streaming down my face. I soon discovered that it probably wasn't a coincidence that this song popped into my head. The song has so much meaning being Holy Week, and even more meaning now that I am married and Andy and I are the parents of two young sons. I wanted to share this with whoever felt like listening. It definitely touched my heart, and I pray it may touch your hearts as well.

Watch the Lamb

Finally Spring!

We've had a very long winter here in Wisconsin, and I think it was particularly hard for the boys...well, at least for Damien! He absolutely loves being outside, and his outside time was limited during the cold winter months. The last couple days here have been relatively warm, and I was off work, so I took advantage of the time and "heat" and took a couple afternoon field trips with the boys. We were able to get out of the house and enjoy the best of Madison! (The temperature is supposed to drop at least 20 degrees tomorrow, so we had to get out when we could!)

Henry Vilas Zoo (4/12/11)















Checking out the otters (above) and watching some swimming seals (below).
















Olbrich Botanical Gardens (4/13/11)

Damien liked petting the elephant in the Thai area of the gardens, and we watched a muskrat play in the water for awhile from the bridge. The boys were definitely interested in the bright Thai Pavilion, and I thought that it was neat that there were "Lenten Roses" (I saw red, white, pink and yellow), given that we are celebrating the last week of Lent before Holy Week. (I just discovered that those flowers are nicknamed "Lenten Roses" due to the fact that they bloom in the spring, typically during the season of Lent!)

Morning at the Children's Museum

We took the boys to the Madison Children's Museum this morning. They had a great time, especially Damien. They had all kinds of gadgets and contraptions designed for kids. He was still most interested in opening and closing doors, which, for those of you who do not know, has been his favorite thing to do for over a year now. He did take an interest in water works area.

It wouldn't be right if we didn't open and close some doors.

Water works:

Blaise enjoyed it too:

What's up with the Spock eyebrow, Blaise?