Getting ready for xmas

Getting ready for xmas

The xmas tree went up soon quickly as we arrived home from our thanksgiving trip. Noah did most of the decoration himself. Then of course, later in the week, it's time for our xmas card project. You'll have to guess which picture (s) made it in the card. Last year was the first time Noah got into the fun of the season. This year, Joel was just thrilled to see santa! He kept going back to give him a hug. The magic of childhood is just so precious!

Kick's Unlimited

Kicks Unlimited

Here are just some photos of the boys in their martial arts class. They really have done well. Joel barely made the cut-off based on age, but the instructor said he is the most focused 3-year old ever. Noah is learning all his moves very well and slowly becomes more confident about himself. They both seem to like it, and Daddy is able to keep up with all the chauffering for now.
Ai-Yah!

Goodloe's Farm

A day at the Goodloe Farm

This year we had the perfect way to work off the extra calories by spending the day outdoor at the Goodloe's family farm about an hour outside of St. Louis. Uncle Trip really showed the boys and even Mommy a great time. There were some safety concern with the four-wheeling and off-road jeep trek, but all in all, it was fun. Bo would have loved it, too!

Thanksgiving in St. Louis

Thanksgiving in St. Louis

We were back in St. Louis after a few days at home, now for Thanksgiving weekend. SO much food and fun. The boys got to play a little golf, a little football outside and even had a campfire at night. We even sneaked in an early birthday celebration for Kun Yai, too.

The new Miles(stone)!

Meeting Miles

November marks the arrival of the newest cousin. We got to make a trip down to meet Miles after he was a few weeks old. The boys, especially Joel, were very happy to see the new cousin and of course, to visit with Nolan and Parker, too. Then just a week later, we got to see him again!

Halloween parties

This year it seems like we really got a good use out of wearing costumes.
Noah was Black Ninja and Joel wanted to be Spiderman again and Batman! We had school halloween costume parties. Then, Joel's friend has a costume party at her house. We even went to Capitol Square Halloween events, some trick-o-treating, visiting the Children's Museum, Veterans museum and even a Magic Show. Then, of course there was our neighborhood trick-o-treating. Noah was more into it this year. Joel was a little spooked by all the home scary decoration but loved the candies. Bo, of course, loved to greet the cute trick-o-treaters at the the door.

Halloween 2011

Madison Fire Stations Open House

We missed our tradition of Fitchburg Fire Department visit this year since it was the same day as Noah's birthday party. We did make it up by going to Madison Fire Stations Open House instead. There were fire trucks everywhere all around the Capitol. The boys were in for a treat. They also got to learn to "Stop, drop and roll...".

Madison Fire Safety

Mommy's special day with Noah

Mommy has a little museum and dinner date with Noah. He proves to be the best date ever! Mommy is so proud to stroll hand-in-hand with this little gentleman anytime. This will be a start of a new tradition-a special alone time with one boy at a time.

Mommy's special day with Noah

Noah's 5th birthday

This year we decided to have an official birthday party for Noah now that he's five. Children's museum was the location, and Noah got to pick which friends he want to come to the party. Nolan made a special trip with Ta-Ta and Yai-Yai to help celebrate as well. Everyone seems to have a good time. Since the party was earlier than his actual birthday, Noah got another mini party on his real birthday, too. What a lucky boy!

Noah's 5th birthday

All about Bo

All about Bo

Since Bo is a part of our family, this blog update is dedicated to Bo.
He turned one in August, and is almost 80 lbs. He is a playful puppy, full of energy and loves to be around people. He gets to spends the day with mommy when she is off from work. Our favorite activity-a trip to the dog park!

Eplegaarden visit

Velkommen til Eplegaarden - da apple orchard vit da Norvegian exposure! That's what they say at Eplegaarden. While daddy was busy at work, we spent our morning picking apples in the uncharacteristically warm October day. We must have eaten almost 10 apples while picking different types of apples. Then, we got ready for Halloween by picking out some pumpkins. Noah tends to pick the odd ones, odd shape, odd colors, odd wary bumps. Joel likes to pick the one with the long stem. We visited the kiddy haunted house and did not get our money worth, since both Noah and Joel ended up in tears. Thank goodness, Daddy finished work by then to rescue Mommy. The corn maze was a hit, though. We'll see next year.

Sunny day at Epelgaarden

A nice autumn day...

We were surprised by a warm front this past weekend. The plan was already to spend outside as the boys joined mommy and her friends to do some fundraising in Step Out 2011, the walk to raise fund for diabetes research. The boys sort of understand that having diabetes is no fun. Noah said, "that's when people may have to take shots when they eat candies." After the walk, we spent the afternoon at the zoo and Vilas park. The autumn colors are getting to be beautiful. What a nice present for us all to enjoy!

A nice autumn day in the park

Joel's first field trip!

Joel's first field trip Sept 2011

Just like Noah a few years ago, Joel now gets to go on his very own field trip.
He went before in Baby Bjorn when Mommy chaperoned Noah's trip to Eplegaarden, but this time he gets to run free at Appleberry farm. He got to enjoyed fresh apples, tractor hayride and a tour of the facility-showing how apple ciders are made. We even bought some apples and cider to share with the family, too.

A visit from Ikey and Ellie

Visit from Ikey and Ellie

Ikey and Ellie fell in love with Bo when we went to Castle Rock earlier in the summer, that they have to visit again. While Daddy and Uncle Peter played golf in very cool weather, we got to enjoy a nice brisk fall day at the farmer's market. We brought some fresh local produce home to prepare our dinner, too.

Taste of Madison 2011

Taste of Madison 2011

It's one of our favorite event at the Capitol square. However, it signals the end of the summer when it's time for Taste of madison, which takes place close to labor day holidays. We tried a little of everything, but the boys sure love their ice-cream. Daddy skipped the stop at World's greatest brats this year, though. We enjoyed different types of music, but Noah seems to favor country!

Dog Park!

Prairie Morraine Dog Park

Since we now have a new family member, who also loves the outdoor, we end up going to the local dog park quite often. This way, Bo gets to enjoy, too. Happy dog, happy boys, happy family! A great way to enjoy the time outdoor, I must say.

Summer birthday parties

Summer birthday parties

Joel is a little social butterfly. He has so many birthday parties this summer. It did help that most were at the same location. He is now a pros at singing birthday songs.

Summertime in Madison 2011

Summertime in Madison 2001

It seems like we traveled a lot this summer. Truly we spent a lot of time in town, too. Of course, we took the advantage of the mild summer we have here in Wisconsin. Noah and Joel are busy with karate and swimming. Joel was accepted to the class as the youngest member because the instructor told everyone that Joel is the most focused 3-yo he has ever met!

Madison Children's museum August 2011

Madison's Children museum with the cousins

What better place to take your cousins when they visit Madison? The museum is on the top of the list, of course. Parker gets to enjoy it more now that she is SO mobile. We made it to the roof top this time, too. Kun Yai especially loves the rooftop sun oven and sampling squash roasted in there. Joel's favorite-what else, puzzles!

Happy Birthday, Joel.

Joel's 3rd Birthday, 2011

What is more special than celebrating birthday with people who love you?
Joel got a visit from his cousins, Nah Kao, Nah Nit and his grandparents.
He chose spiderman again. He sure knows what he likes. This year, Joel did enjoy the cake more and loves the frosting. In fact, this year, we essentially had a cupcake for him to practice blowing candles for the entire week. He is a pro now.
My little baby is THREE!

Castle Rock Lake 2011

Castle Rock Lake 2011

The theme for this summer seems to be water. We tried out the whole "up north" thing that all the people from Wisconsin seem to do in the summer. Our up north was Adams county-about 2 hours from Madison. Bo the dog got to tag along on this vacation. We also got a visit from the Kim family. We spents a lot of time on the lake on our rental pontoon fishing. However, the catch for the weekend, 2! And we think it's the same poor fish that we tossed back. The first catch was Joel's and the second was Daddy, when he just left his pole alone.
Another favorite discovery for the boys was campfire scary story. Uncle Trip and Daddy were all tired from story time at the end of the trip. Thank goodness to wound-up kids from too much S'Mores. We'll definitely do the "up-north" again next year.

Epworth-Luddington, MI

Epworth-Luddington, MI 2011

Uncle Trip and his family want to share this special place with all of us, so we got to visit Epworth. It was such a fun adventure for the boys (all 3). We started the trip with taking the ferry SS Badger across lake Michigan. The week on Epworth was filled with beach time, boat time...Noah went on jet ski for the first time. Daddy also tried sail boat, which was harder than it looks. It was definitely a story book place. Epworth is also known for its beautiful sunset. We got to enjoy that daily. Best of all was that all the familiy were in one place.

A trip to St. Louis July 2011

St. Louis visit, Parker turned ONE!

We took a short trip to St. Louis to help celebrate Parker turning ONE.
Yai-Yai was a little sick, so Joel gets to go cheer her up. He also got to enjoy full attention from both grandparents for the day without sharing with any cousins.
The rest of the weekend was all play time with the family. Fun for all!

June in Madison 2011

June in Madison 2011

Summer time in Madison sure has a lot to do. This year, the newest activity is T-Ball. Noah is in the team called, Hooks, coached by Daddy and Coach Jamie-next door neighbor. Teammates include Connor and Riley from next door. So, Noah has a lot of fun each time. Poor Joel really wants to play, but he is about 2 years too young... However, Joel does get to keep up with his brothers in just about everything else, including fishing. If only Mommy and Daddy will have enough energy to keep up with the boys :)

NYC 2011

New York City 2011

We took Amtrak from Boston to NYC. What a great way to travel, beautiful coastal view, and Joel got to wander around a bit. The theme of NYC trip was visiting toy stores and staying cool by going to the museums. NYC in the eyes of 2 and 4-year old. We stayed right by Central Park, so we visited Central park often. Of course, went to the zoo. Despite the 90 degree weather, we really explored the city. The boys got their fill of riding the subways, crazy taxis before having to head home on the airplane, which by now seemed mundane to them. As wonderful as all the sights and sounds of the big city, we were all ready to leave in the end. As Joel put it, "I want to go to 5266 stoneman dr!" (that's our home address if you didn't know).

A visit to Boston

Boston 2011

Mommy has her annual meeting in Boston, so the family gets to come along. First trip to Boston for the boys. Daddy took them around site seeing, while Mommy was hard at work. We got to visit some of Mommy's friends (Pi Fern's family-with Max and Zack and Uncle Sam AND Auntie Manali and little Suri) and made new friends along the way. We even got a surprise visit and met up with Cousin Isaac, too!

Madison in May 2011

Madison in May 2011

May arrived soon and passed by quickly.
We did spend a lot of time outside. Swimming lessons kept us busy. A new hobby this year would be fishing! Who knew!?! Madison is known for it being "granola-y", and yes, Daddy now takes up vegetable gardening, too. We're going to be so healthy this year.

Celebrating Nolan's 4th Birthday

Celebrating Cousin Nolan's 4th birthday

As it thawed, that means, ROAD TRIP. This marks the first of the year...for a trip down to St. Louis to celebrate Nolan's 4th birthday. We were treated with summer-like weather down south. The cousins love to play together. Joel and Parker seem to enjoy each other's company as well.

It's warming up!

It's warming up!

The beautiful thing about living in Wisconsin is the change in season. Winter can get long, but it makes all of us appreciate the warmer months that much more. The boys (Bo included) seem to love the changes all around us. Noah finished his golf lessons, got 2 trophies and declared that "I'm going to be a great golfer like Ta-Ta!"

Flat Stanley

flat stanely

Cousin Eli has a class project about the character in a book series of Flat Stanley.Noah and Joel helped out by showing Flat Stanley different sites in Madison.Hope Flat Stanley enjoyed his trip in Badgerland.
Joel certainly enjoyed visiting the train show, in particular.

Joel at the Train Show

Winter fun 2011

Winter fun 2011

Back from Thailand, we were faced with real Wisconsin winter.

Snow-snow and more snow. We even had a snow day with no school-no work this year (except Daddy was on call, so he still had to work). The boys kept active indoor and outdoor this winter.

Thailand Adventures 2011

Thailand trip seems forever ago now. Yes, we did go and had a wonderful time. The trip was back in Januray with all of Mommy's side of the family. The boys had many great adventures. Planes, trains, automobiles and crazy little long tail boats across the sea to Bon Island. Why, we even rode on elephants in Chiang Mai. If only the trip isn't so long...but for sure we'll be coming back to Thailand again soon. Enjoy the photos.

Thailand Part 1 (Chiang Mai)

Thailand Part 2 Bangkok

Thailand Part 3-Phuket

Thailand part 4-going home