Special Memories Zoo

I've heard of the Special Memories Zoo in Greenville from more than a few people. I've been meaning to take the kids there but always forget about it. This morning turned out to be beautiful without a cloud in the sky so into the van we jumped and away we drove. What a great place! It is privately owned and operated, everything is paid for by the admission to the zoo. When we walked into the zoo to pay we met Mowhawk, a 5 month old Spider monkey that was just as cute as can be. We found out he gets fed Similac formula, goes to bed in a playpen at the owner's home at 10:30 every night and wakes up crying to be fed by 6 am! Just like a baby! Avery just loved it! Special Memories also has probably the best petting zoo I have ever seen! They had baby lambs, deer, bunnies, kitties, wolves, turtles, pigs, cows, alpacas, just tons of animals. Carter really cracked me up though. I didn't really know how he'd be in there, but after a few minutes I set him down and he was off! I think he made it a goal to touch every animal there at least once!

Memorial Park

Last week I took the kids to Memorial Park in Appleton in the morning before it got too hot. This by far is my new favorite park in the Fox Valley. The ground of the park is covered with soft foamy stuff, there's a "little" kids area and a "big" kids area, water sprinklers, trout pond, tennis courts, softball diamonds, walking trails and more! We had a blast! Here's just a few of the pics...

This is the water sprinklers I was talking about....nice and refreshing for a HOT summer day!

T-Ball

Avery started T-Ball the same week as Soccer, but I haven't had a chance to get the pics on here until today. She is loving it! Jason and I have both been able to go watch her and we're so proud of her eagerness to learn her new sport. She's even more excited to attend the Brewers game with Jason on the 6th now that she knows the rules of the game! Last week both her soccer and t-ball teams were given their team t-shirts. For soccer they divided the kids into 2 teams, one team was the pink team and the other the orange. I thought for sure I'd be getting a REALLY upset little girl who did NOT want to be on the ORANGE team, but she was just fine! She said "Mooo-om, Orange is the coolest!" At T-ball the next day she got a PINK t-shirt, while the other half of the kids had red! She was the happiest kid out on the field I think!

Little brother Carter cheers her on every practice!!!

Yep...it's official....I'm a Soccer Mom!!

Avery had her first day of Soccer today! So I am officially a Soccer Mom! Just need the sticker on the mini-van! haha! On our way to the field this morning I asked her if she was excited, she said "Yeah, but I'm scared too!" she didn't think she'd know any kids there and was nervous she wouldn't be able to kick the ball in the goal! My, her anxiety is starting early! I guess she gets that from me! As we pulled up a little boy and his mom from Avery's tumbling class had gotten there at the same time, so that made her perk up quite a bit! Here's a few pics of her practice.

Stretching out

Learning how to "dribble" the ball, can't tell by the pic but she's out there somewhere
Trying to kick a goal
At the end of practice they split the team up and played some boys vs. girls...the girls had NO chance!! They lost 4-0, but they had a blast!

And Avery as the goalie. I actually had to yell out to her to stand up. Guess she got tired and sat down right in the middle of the goal! But once she got some action down by her she was so excited that she actually stopped the ball from going into the goal once!

Father's Day

This Father's Day was also Jason's Birthday. So we spent Saturday and Sunday in Shawano. Jason went golfing Saturday afternoon with his buddy Mitch, I went shopping with Mitch's wife Erin, and the kids played at Mema and Papa's. Sunday morning we all got up and walked over to the Shawano Flea Market and then back to Bruce and Mary's for a delicious lunch of Corn on the Cob, Grilled fish and lots of other goodies (including a yummy cheesecake!!).

This was the easiest and most fun father's days yet because we found the BEST presents for each of our fathers. I have never seen Bruce drinking much other than Miller High Life...well maybe the occassional Sundrop! : ) This year we found a Park Bench with the Miller High Life insignia on it. Too perfect!!! Here's a couple of pics of Bruce with the kids sitting on his new bench.

For my dad my siblings and I went together and purchased him a Legacy Stone out at the High Ground in Neillsville. For those of you who are not familiar with the High Ground, it is a Veterans's Memorial in Neillsville WI. My parents have been long time members of the Board and have volunteered many a day out there. There was nothing more perfect for our Dad than this! He deserves it more than anyone I know.

This is the letter that I sent along with his Father's Day card since none of us could make it home to tell him in person.

We love you, Dad, and want you to know,
We feel your love wherever we go.
Whenever we have problems, you're there to assist,
The ways you have helped us would make quite a list.

Your wisdom and knowledge have shown us the way,
And we're thankful for you as we live day by day.
We don't tell you enough how important you are,
In our universe you're a bright shining star.


Dad you are our Father, Grandfather, HERO
And on this day just for you we've wanted to tell you
Just how much you mean to all of us!!
On August 2nd at 9:30 am we will all gather around our Hero.
And as you are honored for the life you have lived always remember
We are so proud you are our Father, Grandfather, HERO.

We will be placing a Legacy stone out at the High Ground in your honor. Dad, you have worked
Hard to make the High Ground what it is today and it's your turn to be honored!
We know you have really struggled the past year with your health and wish we could take all that
Away. We can't, but we can tell you that we are VERY proud of you and want to
Honor you in a special way this Father's Day.
We are looking forward to this delayed Father’s Day gift and hope you are too! Get ready for
Company! We are ALL coming home!!!! We love you so much!

Corn on the Blog (Jason's creative title)

Jason always makes fun of me because of my blog! I'm always saying "Oooh, I have to put these on my blog!" so last night when I said it about these pics he said "Ooooh, CORN ON THE BLOG!" Haha very funny!

Anyways, Carter had corn on the COB for the first time last night. Even after he ate every single kernal off he would not give the cob to me! He just loved it!!!

Little People

Last night I got out all of Avery's "Little People" toys. I like to pack away random toys and bring them out at a later time. When they stop playing with them usually. then when i bring them back out it's just SO exciting! haha! Had to get a few shots of the kids when i brought them out! They were playing so nice together! If you can see by the pics, I dug out an old remote control for Carter too! Maybe he'll stop playing with the real ones now!

Oshvegas Reunion

Last Friday night all of our good old friends from Oshkosh all got back together for a little "reunion" of sorts. It felt just like old times and I must admit...was a little weird being back with all the people that got me into all sorts of trouble!! Haha! It was great seeing everyone again and meeting the new significant others. I didn't take many pics of the night but here are a few that actually turned out!

The original Fletcher Crew...Andrea, Jeff, me, Amy and Sam
Sam, Andrea and Andy
Meesh, back from Seatle for a visit. This picture is such an oxymoron!!! This was at the very end of the night...and no, there was NO MORE BEER! haha

1000 Islands walking trail

The day after Avery's 4k picnic we went back to 1000 Islands Enviromental Center to walk the trails that wind around the river. It was absolutely gorgeous! It reminded me a lot of Cherokee Park where my mother had grown up. We used to go and walk the trails there every fall. 1000 Islands will be a fun place to come back to with the kids year after year too!

The trees next to the river were just amazing! Because of errosion you could see all the roots from this one.

If only I took this pic a half second later....Avery checking out the cabin by the woods. She jumped about a mile high...I scared her! haha!

The TeePee
More geese and their babies

Avery's last day of 4k

Avery's last day of school was a rough one for her! She loved her teacher Miss Bauer, and I think Miss Bauer loved her too! When I picked her up from school Avery was the last student from her class to wander out. She was holding Miss Bauer's hand and they both had the tears flowing! Amie (Miss Bauer) told me she had been trying to hide her tears all day but she gave up in the end when Avery ran up to her and told her how much she'd miss her. That night the school held a 4k Picnic at the 1000 Islands Enviromental Center. What a great place!!! There were at least 5 big rooms full of every animal I could think of (all stuffed of course!). The school provided hot dogs and the parents were invited to bring a dish to pass. I got creative and made a flip flop cake and "sand" desert, complete with sand pail and shovel to serve. haha!

Avery and Miss Bauer
Avery's best buddy Justin
Avery and a few girls from her class

Jazz Peak Performance

Avery's "peak performance" for her Jazz class was Wednesday night. She loved being able to show off to us what she has been learning. Here's just a few pics and the video of the performance.

Memorial Day weekend

We had a beautiful Memorial Day weekend this year! Sunday we spent the entire day outside! Every year we buy Avery a big expensive blow up pool and every year the darn thing gets a hole in it after only the 2nd time using it. So this year we went to Walmart and bought the cheapest one we could find (I plan on taking them to the big pool a lot this summer anyways). They had an absolute blast splashing around and playing with whatever they could find to play with in the water! We also got out the cool sprinkler Avery got for her Birthday from Jodi, Cal and McKenna! The kids got worn out, and mom got a tan (well....actually a sun burn, but it's as close to a tan as I'll get! haha!); what a great day!