Monday, December 11, 2017

THE best visitors of all time

Ok, I'm really not just saying this because he reads the blog. I truly and really love it when the Ebbs' come to visit us. It's such a low key visit, low expectations, lots of great conversation, good kids, they're appreciative but know they should act like our house is their house, the whole nine yards. We don't see them nearly enough, and we don't visit them nearly enough. But, we did get the chance to see them in the summer, and it was as great as I knew it would be. The only downfall is that Tammy told me she'd send me pics and she didn't! So, I have these...

Like every summer, we have baseball and softball games. And Brian and Tammy just come along to all. Jack loves Nolan, and was excited to be able to be bat boy for them. It was awesome... they could not have been cuter together!
 And they also came to Abby's games, and brought signs! What better cheering and fan section could you have?

And then... we had hula hoop contests! These are some good hula hoopers! Tammy even brought prizes. I think Nolan might have won, but I may have discounted some of his scores (sssshhhhh!). In the end, Ava was declared the winner. The prize was a post card of flamingos hula hooping, and Ava couldn't have been prouder. Months later, it's still hanging by her bed. I love it!

Amazing family, amazing friends!!

Friday, December 8, 2017

Cubby

At the beginning of summer, Ava was in drama camp where they produced Peter Pan. I was so proud of her. She worked hard and tried out for Tinker Bell. She didn't get it, but she was ok with that. She was Cubby instead, one of the Lost Boys. She was the cutest Lost Boy I ever saw! They had four hour practices 6 days a week for two weeks, and then it was show time. It was amazing what they learned and all they did in those two weeks. I loved the show... all three times I saw it!







My favorite line... why are there no lost girls? "Because girls are too smart to fall out of their cribs!" 

Thursday, December 7, 2017

I have no idea

Sometimes he tries to be so cool. His hair and his clothes and his shoes have to be just right. And then other times he's such a goofball in his dancing and his jokes. He and Ava are either super loud laughing and playing or super loud fighting. Usually you can't tell the difference and one leads to the other. In this moment, they were clearly enjoying!


Note... Ava has Max's underwear on, both on her head and wearing them!


For the record, Abby has her own share of craziness too! I'm not sure what this is either! Funny is that there's no picture of Max in this post. I think we're just used to his level of craziness!

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

God bless Ava Christine

Ava made her First Communion last April... the last of all four kids. Like Abby, Ava wore my mom's veil from her First Communion, and also tried on my mom's dress as well. The picture she's holding is the picture of my mom from her First Communion. 


As long as we're on the subject of Ava...there are some other random ones. This is at a baseball tourney where we found these trees and other things to climb on. She's sometimes crazy, and strong willed, but as long as I don't completely shut it down, she will change the world some day. Last spring she threw a sweatshirt at me from the backseat, so I threw it out the window. Seriously child, you can't beat me! She's been following every older child to every sporting event ever, and she's finally getting into her own. It'll be fun to watch her and see what she does!

She looks so angelic! She was very excited about this day, and loved her dress. Even better is we borrowed it from a friend of ours!










Tuesday, December 5, 2017

What--Dave hasn't been working?

Well, it's not really true that Dave hasn't been working. I mean kind of, but there's still been a lot of work that he's been doing.

In May, it became really evident that the company he was with was not a fit. And not only was it not a fit, but I question their financial viability... things like he didn't get paid on time. So, it wasn't worth it and I encouraged him to just quit. And for once he listened to me! So, let the job search ensue. He had some interviews early on, but nothing he was excited about. And the kids were ending the school year, and I made the calendar for them starting in June. And on any given day, there were 2-6 activities that kids needed to be at. Everything from summer gym and cross fit to play practice and LaCrosse camp. So... I highly encouraged Dave to slow down the job search and focus again after summer. And either because he just didn't have time or because he listened to me, that's exactly what happened. While I got up and went to work early, he was home with the kids and playing taxi and refereeing fights and making up games and finishing laundry and cooking dinner and... everything. I had the good end of that deal for sure, and by end of summer he was ready for school to start!! And then the job search ensued, and two months later he got three job offers in the same week. A nice place to be! Long story short, he accepted a job with SAP and he starts in January. He's super excited and I'm super excited for him. But I'm also mourning the loss of a stay at home dad who's really good at it. I go to work, and I come home. And I wear the clean clothes he laundered and eat the food he made and shopped for and play games with the kids instead of doing homework and playing taxi. And he got the storage room cleaned out and the garage organized and cupboards whipped into shape. I've made a honey do list, and he gets it all done. It's been a lot of work. In January, when he goes to "real" work, he'll actually get to relax!

Monday, December 4, 2017

And why the end of an era?

Dave and I have been debating for a few months... Dominican or no Dominican in 2018? We've gone a lot of years, and each year is awesome but somewhat frustrating. And plane tickets alone are expensive for our family of 6. And Dave hasn't been working since March. And Abby turns 16 in 2018 and I want to get her a car so she can drive everyone around. And the littles have a week of summer camp (the same week they'll be gone) so we're considering taking the bigs on a "real" vacay... Europe maybe? So all of that left us saying... maybe we don't go to Dominican next year. Which makes total sense, but also makes my heart hurt. I mean, Ava's never actually seen the sky in the US for spring break! And we all do so much separately, I just love the time together, all of us. Actually laughing and disconnecting. And two years. In two years, 2020, Abby will graduate. And then what? But then Dave got a job that he starts in January, and taking a week of vacation that soon, at the end of a quarter, likely isn't in his best interest. And flights are still expensive. So what's a girl to do?

Well... a girl is to still go on vacation. But different. I have now booked flights to Cancun over spring break (our timeshare has a resort there too). And Dave's not going. And my mom is coming with. I have no idea what to expect, and I'll be sad that Dave isn't there to enjoy it with us. And the Roehls are going to DR the same week, and I'll be sad that we're not hanging out with them. But I'm hopeful that we find a place that we can go that's closer, and a bit cheaper, but that we can still be together and in the sun and have good food (and drinks!). We shall see!

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Dominican Republic... 2017 and end of an era?

Ah, Dominican Republic. I love it and hate it. We've gone 9 years in a row. Ava's never spent a spring break not in the DR. It's the sun and the sand and the relaxation. But leading up to it it's also the stress and wondering about the weather and the expensive plane tickets. This year was no different! Dave had been watching the weather, and of course it was torrential rain. The worst in history. My take is always, but at least we'll be there and not here. His take is always this vacation is going to be miserable. We have two very different viewpoints on life!

So, we landed with our vacation partners in crime the Roehls, got outside the airport, and sure enough. Torrential downpours! The ride to the resort was interesting as half the streets were flooded and cars still tried to go down them. Of course, we were safe and sound and slightly entertained by it from the safety of the inside of our limo. 

 But getting there was truly exhausting, wasn't it Wendy??
 We did a tour of the property on one of the first days. Since it was raining, and we couldn't really soak up the sun on the beaches, it was a fun thing to do. I've decided I NEED this bathtub with this view.

And then... we upgraded! Well, I should say, the Roehls upgraded us. They joined in our contract and now we're white bracelets and Chairman Circle members. Which comes with some fun access and perks, including that we can sell weeks there. Anyone want to book a vacation? Let me know and book through us!!

When we upgraded we got moved to a new villa as well. Beautiful pool and outside area. Truly... why go anywhere else?

They've grown up here. Ava was 9 months old the first time and Abby was 7. In other words, even the youngest is older than what the oldest was when we first came. It's hard to remember, but those first years were awesome but so much work. Ava was attached to me (quite literally at times, since I was still nursing) and Max at 2 was so much energy. He's still so much energy, but now he doesn't need us to make sure he's safe every step of the way!

My girls... I love traveling with friends!

Bathrobes and hats and shirts and bags and pillow selections come with our new membership. She owns it like a boss!

Hugh Heffner's replacements maybe?


Ocean... one of our new restaurants. Truly a beautiful place, beautiful pool, amazing food. Even Abby one night ate STEAK! and LIKED IT!

This girl and her sushi. Others got pizza, but not her!
 Or him... He's in his element. My adorable little entitled child. He owns it well, and he'll be a heartbreaker. But man, he thinks all of this is supposed to be his, and doesn't realize how lucky he is!

Abby... stop growing up!!!


A long day in the sun calls for a nap on the porch under towels.

Our personal barbecue... Don better watch out for his facial hair!



A bit cloudy some days, but that doesn't stop us from relaxing over the water.

If he can't sell vacation timeshares, I don't know who can!


Perfection...

Love... there just aren't enough years left. They're going to be gone. And once one goes, they'll all go. They may not have time for vacations, or they may have vacations of their own. I just want these moments to last!
 But him... I'll be stuck with him! :)


We travel so well together!
  It's the little things that Max loves!

Hair! she decided to sit and get all of her hair braided. I was worried she'd get too bored, or wouldn't like it. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. She loved it.

And it was adorable!

Every year... surf boarding!

Jump!


For Wisconsin kids, they sure look like they were made for the sun!

He's even helpful... sometimes! Shortly after this she ended up upside down with sand everywhere. I don't think she thought it was so helpful then!

Always friends everywhere. Pretty sure this girl only spoke Spanish. Ava and Max don't care--they'll play with anyone. Abby and Nolan were never that way, so it's really awesome to watch.


It's peaceful just to look at.

Stray dogs always! This one seemed to be our villa dog. Maybe it's because we fed it? Oops! but how can you not? We had so many leftovers, and she clearly had puppies somewhere.

So fancy for such a little girl! Dinner at Ocean...



Ocean World! We also get Ocean World tickets, which is nice because we can just go for a little bit and leave. If we pay for it it feels like we have to stay forever. The kids love to go snorkeling here... safe, controlled, yet still really cool. Even Ava went this year. She may have tried last year, but was a bit afraid.







This trip Dave took Max to the waterfalls as well. I took Abby and Nolan (and Mayur!) a few years ago, and it was awesome. But I don't know that I need to do it again. It's scary to jump off those cliffs and slide down the stone waterfalls! But Max was excited, and so they went. They both had a great time. It's funny how some people in the group get there and say they're not good swimmers, or afraid of heights. Ugh, what about "20-30 foot jumps into pools of water" did you miss in the description of this??






Ocean pool. Is there a better place to drink?

Or sleep?

Or eat?







And then it was over. We took the helicopter back to the airport. I was a bit concerned my tummy would not handle it well, but it was actually very smooth. And certainly the way to travel!

Abby saying good bye!