Lambeau Field

I attended my first Packer Game today. Yes, I have lived my whole life in Wisconsin and this is the first Packer game I have attended. So I read the rules online before I go. No camera cases, but you can bring your camera in. Rick thinks I should leave my big camera home, but I insist I need it for my first Packer game. I carry the camera and have him put the bigger lens in his coat.

We pick up our friends Jenny and Todd Bartz and head for Green Bay. When we find a parking spot, we start getting the must needed gear on. We had snow pants, boots, coats, scarves, hand warmers..you name it..we had it. As we near the stadium, I turn the camera on so I can get a picture of the stadium from the outside.

For some reason it isn't working. I think to myself..well...maybe it is because it is so darn cold..then it occurs to me...I FORGOT THE BATTERY! (I plugged it in that morning to make sure I had enough power for the whole game) For those of you that know me...I hate not having my camera along. I start to go into panic mode. I am scanning the nearest businesses for a batteries plus..but see nothing. I am sure my experience is going to be doomed because I cannot chronicle this day.

So after we get inside, we go to our seats. We had four tickets, but they were two sets of two. Jenny and I head to section 122 on the 40 yard line. As we come out into the view of the stadium I am in awe. It was really cool to see the inside of Lambeau in person. (I am slowly getting over my camera dilemma). Jenny and I make it to our seats, which were really great seats by the way. We are the last ones to be seated and when we try to squeeze into our seats, it is SO crowded. I literally couldn't move my arms. Well we had the giggles after that. We both had food and there was no way to eat it because we couldn't move our arms..but I didn't care. The atmosphere was incredible.

It ended up just before kick off that Rick found two people to switch with us so we could sit with the guys. The seats weren't as nice, but we still had fun. (I felt bad for the people that traded with us because it was so tight back on the 40 yard line, and these two guys were twice the size of Jenny and I - I kept waiting for them to come back and demand their seats back - LOL).

Anyway, the fans are awesome at Lambeau, although not very forgiving when the Packers make a mistake or to the other team. Although when the Pack is doing good, the excitement level is huge and the noise is awesome. I had such a good time dancing to the music and high fiving people I didn't even know. What a great experience, much better than watching it on T.V. During half time I finally gave in and went and bought a disposable camera. The pics didn't turn out too bad. Best part of the experience...it started snowing in the fourth quarter. Nothing better than being at Lambeau in the snow.

Jenny and I inside Lambeau.

Rick, me, Todd and Jenny. (is that Santa in the background)

My two new friends. Although I didn't catch their names, they were fun dancers.

After the game. We were soaking wet from the snow.

Happy Thanksgiving

I have so many things to be thankful for it would take a ton of space to list everything. Most of all I am thankful for my wonderful family and that we have our health. My husband and kids mean the world to me and I am so blessed to have such loving, beautiful children.


We had two huge feasts to attend on Thanksgiving. The first was at Rick's mom's house. She puts together a beautiful meal and with appetizers I am usually full before the meal even begins. Rick's cousin Shannon and his family attend, along with his sister and her family and his parents and his Grandpa.


Our second meal was at my sister Heather and Jim's house this year. Along with our immediate family it was Jim's parents and his roommate Chad's parents and brother. Also attending were our friends Tracy Otto and her kids and Jesse Otto and his daughter.

Our hostess, Rick's mom Joanne.

Will and Papa Reno. They are such buddies.

At Heather and Jim's House.
Tracy and her niece Mikayla.

Our chef for the evening was Chad. He made one mean ham.

The next day we were at my mom's house and Lexi and Grandma started getting out the Christmas decorations. Grandma lets Lexi have her own little tree, which they decorated in their pajamas.

Opening Weekend of Deer Season...

Opening weekend of deer season brings out many traditions for many different people. For instance, opening weekend to Rick means going to his parents house knowing his mom has made fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, chex mix, chili, and ground beef sandwiches. It means singing the song "the second week of deer camp" in the truck with the kids on the way up on Friday night. It means meeting at the bar once darkness falls, confirming where everyone is going to be hunting and wishing each other luck for the next morning.

Although there were probably many bucks harvested on the first two days of gun season, I only have pics of two people that got them close to us. Out in Rick's neck of the woods (Little Falls), his cousin Nikki Egnarski got this giant on Sunday morning between Little Falls and Iola. It was 11 points, weighed 215 pounds, had a 17 1/2" spread and grossed at 169. With it being Sunday and all, Nikki has to wait until next weekend to celebrate this impressive deer. :(

Out in my neck of the woods (Pella/Leopolis), our friend Todd Bartz got this really nice 10 pointer hunting on his dad's land near Pella on Saturday morning. It had 10 points and a 15" spread. He did not have a weight available before posting, but looks like a good size deer.

Since I am not a big deer hunter, opening weekend of deer season means to me...well, getting together with my friends at the local tavern. Instead of going to Little Falls this year, I stayed close to my parents house and went out in Leopolis and Pella. Below is a pic of my friend Jenny, my sister Heather and our friend Katie.

Since I was a deer hunter widow, my date for the night was my friend Chad.

Heather and her boyfriend Jim.

Miley's Playdate...

My sister, her boyfriend and his daughter stayed with us on Saturday night because they had a wedding near our house. They of course brought their dog Lenny to play with Miley. These two go round and round for hours tackling and biting each other. Lexi has two stuffed animals that resemble each of them so I made the dogs pose. I probably should have fixed their eyes, they look pretty creepy, but too late now. (it was dark in the room). After hours of wrestling around, Miley would sit in the chair where she knew Lenny couldn't reach her and antagonize him from there.

Another generation...

A couple of weeks ago I posted some pics of my cousin Jenn's new daughter, Ella. When we went to see Ella for the first time at my Grandma's house, Jenn had brought a photographer to get some generation pictures with my Grandma and included Lexi and Will. I just received them this weekend and wanted to share. Will wasn't in the "picture mood", which you will see in the photos below, but they are still cute. I wanted to include a picture of Heather and I with my cousin Jenn. Here we are about a year older than Lexi is right now posing with Jenn and now 26 years later, my daughter and son are posing with her newborn. This photo is my favorite.

The photographer was telling Will that there was a monkey in her camera. I do not know if his facial expression is concentrating on finding the monkey, or if he is just giving her a dirty look. Priceless. LOL

Happy Birthday Heather

Happy 33rd Birthday to my twin sister Heather.

I hope you have a great day.

Thirty three years ago my parents were freaking out to have twins (who couldn't be more opposite by the way). Although we weren't terrible children, I believe my dad may be almost bald due to the fact of raising twin girl teenagers.
I couldn't decide which childhood picture to use of Heather and decided to be nice and use a good photo, although somewhat outdated.

Boy, did I find some that could have caused some embarrassment. :)

Heather and I on our 4th birthday.
Although I don't celebrate birthdays like I used to since I was in my early 20s, we apparently decided to celebrate our 29th birthday in downtown Appleton in 2004.
I believe those are jello shots in the syringe and is that a cig in my hand? (gasp!)
What is that?






Everyone REALLY wants to see one of those old pictures I was speaking of?






Well, O.K. - here it is. Sorry Heather - it could have been worse.

Since I am off on Fridays (at least until the end of the year) and the kids are off from school today, I get to spend my birthday with my two favorite people in the world. We might do a bit of shopping at the mall and go out for lunch. I awoke this morning to Lexi asking me if she could go downstairs to do something special. She came back up with a cookie sheet with a glass of water on it and a bologna sandwich for my breakfeast in bed. Wasn't that sweet? We split the bologna sandwich.

Brrr.... it's cold outside

We finally had a weekend, where there wasn't a whole lot going on. It was also very cold outside, so we had to find indoor activities to keep us busy. Although...they did go out for a bit while Rick was doing a last minute clean of the garage. Even though they were bundled up, they were back in within 15 minutes. So on Saturday we headed out for lunch and to the toy stores to make our list for the grandmothers and Santa. Afterwards Lexi had a play date/sleepover with her friend Alec. On Sunday the kids and I got Lexi's Easy Bake Oven out of her closet. We hadn't used it in almost a year. They had fun mixing up the cake batter, but weren't big fans of the finished product. (p.s. - it was a lazy Sunday so excuse the messy hair - we were lucky to have gotten out of our pjs)

Sunday night my friend Jenny and I took Alec and Lexi to see the Magic Tree House The Musical based on the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. Even though Alec and Lexi go to different schools, they have both been reading the series of the Magic Tree House. I had never heard of them until Lexi started bringing them home from school on library day. This was the only picture we were able to obtain from the show at the PAC in Appleton. Cameras were not allowed (they wouldn't even let us take their pictures in their seats before or after the show).

Rick gets a deer...

Rick took off work to go bowhunting today and ended up getting what Will calls, "a big buck". It was 10 points and weighed 180 pounds. Since he was alone in the woods today, he had to set the timer and take his own pictures. They turned out pretty good with just a little cropping needed.

1st Grade Pictures

Lexi got back her pictures that they had taken in elementary school. (we actually had her retake them because she looked like her eyes were scared on the first set)

Lexi - 2008

Me - 1982?

Welcome Baby Ella

This weekend we went to my Grandma's house to meet my cousin Jenn's newest edition, Ella. My family on my mom's side is somewhat small, so when an event such as the birth of a child happens, we make it an excuse to get together. Jenn also had a photographer there that took pics of Ella, Will and Lexi together which I will post when she sends them to me.

My Grandma and Ella

My aunt Sue and Ella

My cousin Bill and Ella
My cousin Bill seems to be Lexi's favorite whenever we have get togethers. She is relentless in teasing him and trying to get his attention or steal his hat.
Baby Ella - isn't she cute!