Brady has recently participated in a few charity events - a bike ride, and currently, growing a mustache. I think Katie must be having a good influence on him!

Woke up Sunday morning looking for an adventure, so we packed the swimsuits and towels and headed to the Dells. Spent the morning at the waterpark, which both kids LOVED. Gracie was loving the shallow pool, moving about on her own and just loving the freedom. Now that we live in Sun Prairie we're about 25 minutes closer to the Dells, so these little day trips make more sense. Yay!

Let the Christmas events commence! Sun Prairie had it's annual lighted firetruck parade downtown Friday night - it was great! The weather was perfect and the parade lasted about 15 minutes, followed by Santa lighting a huge tree at City Hall. I was very impressed by how great all the trucks were decorated...very detailed and unique. Evan's favorite was the grinch atop a pile of presents (along with a live dog) and my favorite was a sleigh pulled by reindeer (ok, really it was firemen dressed as reindeer, but we loved it).

thanksgiving 2011.

Brady and Katie (his girlfriend) came home for Thanksgiving, but unfortunately, Aunt Kate did not. We carried on with the normal traditions, but it was weird without her here. I know my parents missed her. Anyway, it was bowling in the morning, Packer game, and a lovely feast at Unlce Steve's house with everyone there. No Black Friday shopping as I had to be at work early, and mostly, because we don't need anything. Very thankful for our new home, our wonderful family & friends, and our health. Looking forward to a couple of fun weekends coming up and then Christmas. I love this time of year!

For 3 weeks, twice a week, Evan had karate lessons. Well, we called it karate lessons, but it was more like 12 4-year-olds trying to listen to the instructor and the instructor trying not to yell at the kids :) Just kidding. They mostly did warm-up exercises, jogging and by the end a little bit of kicking and striking. I'm not sure if we would have signed him up for karate under normal circumstances, but it just happened that this was the only thing the Parks and Rec offered for his age group. We'll see if he does it again, although he did really like it and it was a nice change of pace.

Since we've moved to Sun Prairie, my mom has graciously accepted the offer to watch the kids on Monday, at our new house. My work schedule has changed for the better...I now am off on Wednesday's & Friday's (working (3) 12 hour shifts during the week and (1) 4 hour shift on Sat.), so I get more time with the kids and still maintain a full-time job at the newspaper.

Evan has started at a new pre-school, which we LOVE. He loves it too. He's already made a few friends and we ran into one of them at the library - who was very concerned about Evan's allergies. It was so cute...his mom told me that her son's birthday was the following week, and that Aiden kept telling her that his treat he would bring to school could not have peanuts in it, so his friend Evan could have some. So sweet.

We've also joined Prairie Athletic Club which will prove to be a great and often family escape for us. They have an excellent daycare that the kids can stay at while Eric or I workout. The best part - the indoor and outdoor waterparks. I envision lots of summer nights at the pool and winter nights at the hot tub.

So, we are settling in our new town quite well. From time to time I still miss the west side, but it's not a big deal. I'm thankful for Grandma who drives out to watch the kids and for Grandpa who comes over after work to help hang pictures and TV's on the wall :)

Here are a few pics my mom took on one of her days with Evan & Grace:

halloween 2011.

Yet another great Halloween in the books. Eric wasn't feeling well, so I packed up the kids and headed to the west side of town. First stop was Aunt Barb & Uncle Jim - Evan was so excited because Uncle Jim came in dressed as Spiderman. Then we were off to my mom & dad's house where we met Bennett & Tate for pictures and to trick-or-treat at a few houses. Around 5:30 we went to Mary & Austin's house. It's becoming our tradition...to sit on the driveway huddled around the firepit and then Evan can trick-or-treat on their street. It's great because there are tons of kids and the houses are close together. After a stop at Tom & Sue's house and finally Fran & Kay's, we headed home, exhausted. But it was great. Gracie was a tropper, too! She loved sitting on Mary's lap, warmed by the fire and watching the cars go by.

A few weeks back my mom & dad hosted a Happy Birthday Brunch for Aunt Mary's 50th Birthday. It was a nice day and a great opportunity for the little kids to see each other and tear the house apart :)