Stay Tuned...

Sorry, I've been having some problems getting pictures on my blog. Please stay tuned for an updated post. I hope all is well with everyone. We have been busy, very busy.

Sweet Corn!

Natalie loves her sweet corn!

Salsa

We made fresh salsa on Saturday. We didn't have a recipe so here's what we used. It was very tasty and found out it was delicious with whole wheat Ritz crackers. (We ran out of chips.) I have to give Jesse the credit as he did most of the work.

2 large beef steak tomatoes
2 medium roma tomatoes
2 banana peppers
2 green peppers
2 red peppers
1 sweet onion
2 ears of sweet corn - from the grill
2 garlic shallots
cilantro
lemon juice - 2 lemons

The N.E.W. Zoo

We took Natalie to the N.E.W. Zoo in Suamico, Wisconsin (just north of Green Bay) a few weeks ago. We got there early...fed a few of the animals, her favorite animals to feed were the big 'goldfish'. She didn't really enjoy the animals niffin' (sniffing) her hand. I was able to feed a giraffe, that was pretty cool. They are one of my favorite animals but of course I didn't get a picture.

If you ask Natalie what she liked about the zoo she will tell you, the train. We took the 10 minute train tour (it's not a very big zoo) and she loved it. She didn't say a word the entire ride.

We had some ice cream, she also loved that, and we were home before lunch. It was starting to get busy when we were leaving...just in time to get out.

Here are a few pictures from the zoo...

They were playing hide and seek.

Natalie loved the jungle gym.

This was one crazy duck.

Choo Choo!!!

Nice shades!

GO PACK GO!

Yes, I am still a Packer fan. I live in God's country (according to my dad)! I do miss Favre...but the season must go on. I wish him all the best with his new team. GO PACK GO!


The Lovely Ladies...(Left to Right) Me (Liz), Valerie (co-worker/friend), Gretchen (friend) and Jenn (co-worker/friend)

I was able to go to the first pre-season game on August 11, 2008 with a few of my friends. We had a blast. I was pregnant for the three games we went to the first year we lived in "God's Country". It's completely different when you can enjoy a beer or two or three...I think you get the point. I had a really good time!



Here I am with Gretchen, her husband Tim, grew up with Jesse and they live in Green Bay. At this point, I've had a few and borrowed the helmet from the awesome Packer fan who was lucky enough to sit in front of us.


Here I am with two of my co-workers. On the left is Valerie, she likes to help us out by watching Natalie when we need a baby-sitter. We really appreciate the help and Natalie loves to hang-out with her. On the right is Jenn, she used to sit in the cubicle next to me until I switched departments. I miss being able to talk with her everyday. She is a great person and tons of fun!

First Family Camping Trip

We had our first family camping trip over the weekend with my siblings. We headed southwest to Cambria, WI (near Portage) and stayed at Deer Creek Campground. Check them out at http://www.deercreekcampground.net. We had fun...Natalie really enjoyed the experience. The picture above shows Natalie with her cousins Brett and Even trying to set-up Rodeo Golf.
My sister Ellen and sister-in-law Jesi having dinner...

Smile Jesse...

My brother John with nephews Brett and Evan singing "Hurt So Good" on Saturday night karaoke.

Hanging out around the campfire...

Natalie with her cousins Easton and Evan, playing around in the tent...

Natalie and Easton ready to head home...

Natalie and Evan swinging on the playground...

The kids...(back row from left - Evan 5, Easton 3 and Brett 6) (front row from left - Tyler 10, Natalie 2 and Lexi 14)

We survived a thunderstorm Friday night where a tree in the campground was struck by lightning. We were all able to enjoy karaoke on Saturday night. The girls sang "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (out of key). Lee sang "Why Don't We Get Drunk" and I mentioned that John sang with Brett and Evan. It was nice to take a shower at home and sleep in my own bed on Sunday.

We were also able to get in a few baseball games as Tyler had a tournament in Portage. His team won two games and lost two games on Saturday morning and afternoon. He will know his stats if you ask. He's a walking ESPN encyclopedia of sports information.

Fourth of July 2008

We spent our Fourth of July weekend on Lake George in Rhinelander, WI. We were able to share a cabin with some friends from Kiel, WI (James, Nicole and their two-month-old 'baby Logan'). We arrived at Lake George on Wednesday night ready to enjoy our weekend. We had a great time...we were able to do some fishing, took a boat ride around the lake, saw three parades in two days, we relaxed and had a few cocktails. We also threw in a few games of Sequence along the way.

Natalie caught her first fish on Thursday...and she has quite the fish tale to tell. Her fish was "this big" and her arms stretch as far as they will go. Don't tell her I told you this, but she was afraid to touch it (she says she touched it but that would not be the truth).

Maddux also had a great time with their dogs, Sadie (Golden Lab) and Buddy. Maddux was lucky enough to enjoy the water (he only fell in once).

We came home on Saturday with lots of memories, lots of laundry and Natalie has lots of bug bites (she looks like a connect the dots picture).

Here are a few pictures from our weekend...we hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday.

More Claire Elizabeth Hoepner

Here is an updated picture of Claire. We were able to stop and see the Hoepner's the begining of June. It's always nice to visit Amanda, Ben and of course, Claire. Natalie enjoys seeing 'baby Claire' as well. She has even saved a seat for 'baby Claire' in our car. Very cute!

Claire Elizabeth Hoepner

I'm very honored to be Claire's God-Mother, the God-Father is Amanda's brother, Erik. She is a beautiful little girl with two great parents.

Wii

We purchased a Wii a few months ago. And love it! Jesse's mom was here over the weekend...here she is boxing against Jesse.

Soccer mom...updated

I picked up my new soccer mom mini-van on Friday. But I'm not affraid to admit that I love it. Natalie now says, "Ride momma's orange." I guess she likes the color too!

Potty time!

I'm not an expert but Natalie seems to be catching on to this potty training thing pretty quickly. We took the pull-ups off last Friday and today was her first accident free day. Yeah, Natalie! She is really getting the hang of this potty stuff...we are so proud. She has also been accident free the last two nights. Keep up the great work, kiddo!

Natalie loves that she gets to wear big girl underwear. She says, "No diapers, Big girl!"

Natalie is the only one in her class at day care who wears underwear. All the teachers are pretty impressed; I just think we are the only parents brave enough to try potty training with-out pull-ups in a day care setting. I think I need a bumper sticker...Proud Parent of An Underwearing 2-Year-Old!

First Post

Here we are...blogging. I've decided to give this a try. I'm hoping to stay connected with everyone a little bit easier. I will be able to add pictures of Natalie more often; that way everyone will get to see what I'm lucky enough to see everyday. I've included the most recent picture of miss Natalie...the picture was taken when the temperature was about 85 degrees. The next day, the temperature dropped about 25 degrees. Only in Wisconsin can you have that kind of difference in one day. Gotta love it.