Vacation

On July 29th we moved into our new home. 

A bunch of people from Green Bay 1st ward came over on the evening of the 7/28 to help us load up our truck.  It went incredibly smoothly, mostly because Becky had spent the last month of so getting us ready.  Everything that could be was boxed up and in the garage.   I came home early, picked up the truck and Sam, Ben, Tabby and I moved the smaller boxes on.  Yes, even Tabby helped!  She was excited to help!  By the time people from church arrived all we needed moved on was the big stuff.  Couch, piano, table.

On the morning of the 29th a bunch of people from Green Bay 2nd ward came over to help unload the truck.  Enough that, again, it went incredibly smoothly.  Except for our couch.  It simply would not fit through any entrance.  I mean, if we took off the front door it would fit through the doorway, but couldn't make the immediate corner it needed to get past the closet.

We didn't do much unpacking, just what we needed to use immediately and what we needed to take with us on vacation.  Because we left on the July 2nd.

7/2 Drive to Lincoln

7/3 Visit with Becky's Grandma Muggy for an hour or so.  Drive to Laramie

7/4 Fourth of July with Sherry's family.  No fireworks in Laramie, booo.  But they still had their big community Fourth of July celebration and that was a lot of fun.

7/5 Drive to Salt Lake City.

7/6 - 7/8 Marsh Family Reunion.

We Stayed at Joel and Kirsten's place. 

Tabby and Elizabeth discovered they both like Disney Princesses and were immediately best friends.

A bunch of us hiked some moderate difficulty trail.  Moderate difficulty means it was harder than a long walk, it included some scrambling over rocks and there weren't, like, signs or anything, but it wasn't really hard hiking.  Except that we took four year olds.  So I went up mostly of the way with Tabby on my shoulders.  Most of they way down was steep enough I couldn't to that so she walked it, but down was easier.  Fun even getting hoisted over the steeper parts she couldn't make.  Then back on my shoulders for the last 1/2 mile or so.  Yes I'm whining.  But it was pretty.  The falls at the top of the trail were nice.  Jenny and Eric were nice enough to wait for Becky, Tabby and me.

My brothers, sisters and our spouses went out to eat one evening to a Mexican place called the Red Iguana.  Fun dinner.

We spent a morning at some park. Copper Park, maybe?  Right at the foot of Kennecot Copper Mine, anyway.  Played some games.  Played on the playground, took pictures, saw a WWII monument with my Grandpa Marsh's name on it.

That afternoon the kids went to water parks.  Teens to Kowabunga Bay, younger kids to the Kearns Community Center.

The hightlight of the trip for Tabby was the evening we went to Jeremy & Leah's.  Leah had a couple of neighbors bring over their horses and everyone got to ride those two, Loco and Maverick, along with Leah's horse, Ginger.  Most of the cousins stood in line for horse rides, took their ride and went off to play.  Tabby got her ride, jumped back in line for another.  Then back in line again and again and again until they finally had to tell her rides were over.

 Played Dominion (brought by the Penrods) with my brothers, Ben, Mark, Marcus, Isaac, Adam and Joseph.  Fun game.

Went to church with my parents.

7/9 Looong day of driving back to Lincoln.

7/10 Visited another hour-ish with Grandma Muggy.  Drove back home to Green Bay.

As we were getting ready to leave I mentioned to Tabby were going to our new home in Green Bay and she asked, "Can we just call it our home now?"

Yes we can.

We've actually been in the house close to two weeks now if you exclude our vacation time.  Most everything is unpacked.  Becky's Dad came up yesterday and we got some stuff we needed worked on finished . . . like a gas line that needed capping, an outdoor faucet replaced.  Little things that you notice want doing the first week you're in a new place.  There are a few more, like the mailbox wants straightening, the yard needs weeding.  We'll get to them.

We're back into our routine.  At least our summertime routine.  I go to work.  Becky has Tabby signed up for swimming lessons.  The boys play on the computer and do chores Becky assigns them.  Last night Becky and I actually went out for our Friday movie.  We saw Snow White and the Huntsman at the budget cinema.  We liked it.

Family Pics

We got a couple of family pictures.

And I found a good picture of Tabby I wanted to post.

Memorial Day pics

So much has been happening since high school graduation.  Let's start with the Memorial Day pictures Becky took and I never got around to posting.  We went to Mikey's place, he took us boating, we stopped for a couple pictures at Eau Clair Dells on the way home.

School is Out!

You know this kid?

He is done, done, done, moved on.

Graduated Thursday, May 31st.  Moved to Sheboygan Monday June 4th.  Got an apartment with some friends.  Got a job delivering sandwiches for Jimmy Johns.  Got accepted at UW-Sheboygan.

Yay Jack!

Dancing with the Stars

Way back in it's first season we watched several episodes of Dancing with the Stars.  I thought it was alright, but it didn't really catch on at our house.

Something was different this season.  Maybe the excitement of having one of our very own Green Bay Packers on the show.  Maybe having our own little girl excited to watch it with us.  Or maybe the judges were serious when proclaiming over and over that this was by far the best season ever.  Whatever the reason, we watched it pretty religiously here this season.  Becky, Tabby and I anyway.  And sometimes Ben.

Tabby absolutely loved the show.  Every dance, "Dad, I love that dress.  And those shoes and earrings and that hair.  Will you get me that dress?"

Of course, often the answer was, "That's not really a dress, Tabby.  It's just a bunch of tassles."

"I love that tassle dress.  I want one."

"Well you're going to have to wait until you're old enough to buy your own dresses, I'm afraid.  I'm not buying that one for you."

Eventually she caught on that Becky and I want her to like the more modest dresses.  Then her comments became, "I love that dress.  I'm going to buy it when I'm old enough."

Ah, man.

So, anyway, the show.  Fun, fun, fun.  I mean, there was such a positive energy among everyone that participated.  They were competitive, everyone wanted to win, the bar was set high early and everyone worked hard to meet it.  But it was so obvious that despite the competition everyone really liked each other.  They weren't just cheering each other on for the camera, they were genuinely thrilled to see each other do well.

Our man, Donald won it!  woo hoo!

As exciting as that is, as happy as I am for him, I am kind of ashamed to admit he wasn't my favorite.  I mean, he was definitely in the top four.  I would have placed him third, but what do I know?  All of the top four were amazing.  I think the toughest vote to watch was the one that let fourth place go because only 3 couples got to the finals.  Any of the top four could probably have won the whole thing.  Especially tough because number four was Becky's favorite, TV host Maria Menounos.  She was the first to get a perfect score from the judges .

My favorite was Katherine Jenkins, an English Opera star who consistently got the top or near the top scores every week.  If I recall correctly, she was the first to get a 10 from the judges way back in week 3.  Well, maybe Latin hearthrob William Levy (who placed third in the end) got the first ten that same week, I don't remember who actually performed their dance first.  But Katherine got 2 tens and William only got one.  So there.  Katherine was also fun to watch because, despite winning week after week, she always seemed so nervous that she was on the verge of getting sent home.  Like crying on the verge of puking from nerves.  I guess she was worried that her relative lack of name recognition here in the States would hurt her in the viewer voting.  So every week she was just overcome with joy to still be on the show.

In the end I guess she was right about the voting.  She scored a perfect 90/90 on the three finale dances to Donald Driver's 89/90, but the Packer Nation pulled through and voted Donald the winner!  Tabby was happy about that. Donald was her favorite.  And he really was good.  Hands down he had the most fun dance to watch all season with his finale free style.  I  mean, so fun that one of the judges was literally up dancing on the table.

We'll have to watch for next season and see how it measures up.

We Bought a House!

Ashwaubenon. Southwest suburb of Green Bay. Out towards the airport. Great access to the highway. About 10 mins from work (compared to 20 mins from the northeast side of Green Bay). 4 BR, 2 bath place on a quiet street. We close on June 29th and plan to move in the 2nd weekend in July.

Becky, Tabby and I are very excited. It's going to be our own home! Tabby absolutely loved house hunting. The realtor hardly had to sell the houses at all . . . she just let Tabby go to town telling us who would have which room and why it was the perfect place for us. Every house we looked at. So, of course, Tabby is thrilled that we are buying "her favorite".

Sam and Ben have mixed feelings. They're both happy to exchange their current crowded bedroom that all 3 boys share for each of them getting their own room. They're both unhappy about moving away from friends they've made the past two years.

Becky feels guilty about that and is very, very concerned about how they'll adjust in their new schools. I'm afraid they have a somewhat unsympathetic father. I moved going into 9th grade and again going into 12th. I was disappointed with both moves at the time we made them. But I got through them just fine. That second one, my family left Wisconsin for Arizona my senior year of high school. Even at the time, even not liking it, I recognized that with only one more year at home my own interest in the move took a back seat to everyone else's. Looking back with the experience of being a parent, I don't think badly about it at all. That first move? The one when I was closer to Sam & Ben's ages? In 9th grade from Utah to Wisconsin? One of the best things that ever happened to me, I think.

On top of that, when my family moved, it was a 1500 mile distance. No internet. Mail took a week to deliver. Long distance phone calls were prohibitively expensive. I really was losing friends. Sam and Ben are moving 10 mins across town in the age of instant messaging. I think they'll manage just fine.

Jack really doesn't care at about this move. He's leaving, hopefully, in June to live with some friends in Sheboygan.

Silly Republicans

There is a house near Edison Middle School with this sign its front yard:

I saw that and laughed myself silly. Mostly, I have to admit, because I think "Recall Santa" is a losing slogan and am tickled pink to see Republicans slapping it on their lawns and bumpers. Also because the analogy is so totally ludicrous.

Scott Walker is not Santa Clause and Santa Clause is not a government office. At least, not here in Wisconsin. Maybe, maybe, if Santa had taken office and torn apart the Christian community, threatened future Christmas celebrations, by busting up elf unions . . . maybe then the analogy would have some merit. Since that's not the case, the slogan speaks more to the myth centered politics of those who use it than it does to what's actually happening in Wisconsin.