before you think I am amazing you should know...

I loaned my camera to my son the other day...

I then told him that I really wished I could claim these photos. 

He grinned and said "you really do"

Yes! I really do. 

I think they are amazing photos. 

um...yes, we kind of still have the cat. Her new mommy was going on a trip for Thanksgiving and we offered to watch her. 

MIke is home...

I have kept it on the down low because I did not really want the whole world to know that Matt and I were home alone but Mike was gone to Arizona the past 17 days for work. He is actually doing something really important there and I proud of him. He got home on Friday and life has been a crazy tangled mess ever since... First there was the matter of the cat...

Jenny found this little kitten in her tire well the other day. She has her hands full right now so I offered to foster it until we found its owner or a new one. She is a super sweet kitty. We however are not kitty people here. Despite the fact that Portis is madly in love with her and even showed great concern when her new adoptive mommy came to check her out...she is going to a new home today. 

Then there was the matter of the mouse...yes, a mouse came in through our dog door and tried to make a new home in our kitchen. It was of course pregnant and had it's babies in the Willits home for stray, lost or homeless animals. I had it trapped in one area right before Mike got home. It however broke free and tried to make a new home in our oven. Thankfully we were already onto it. My lucky husband got to come right home after a three hour flight and a 2 hour shuttle ride to move the oven outside. Then proceed to take it apart and shoe the mama and babies away. Fun times! 

(I did not take this picture btw, I pulled it from Flickr from another great photographer)

Oh..and then there was the crash! Yep!!! On Saturday an elderly man pulled out in front of Mike and collided. It was the first wreck he had ever been in and he had no one in town. It broke my heart. Mike spent the day filling out reports and taking the standard drug testing required by his company. It was a miserable day. I can honestly tell you that waiting in an urgent care center is my all time biggest stress. It was even worse when it was Matthew and I waiting for an hour and half for something that should take 5 minutes.  I want to vent here about it but I will just let you know that I really think hospitals should improve a few things.

I am going to end with one of my favorite photos ever. I did a shoot for the cutest family on Saturday. This is one of my favorites from it. This little boy's name is Bob. He was as cute as this picture shows him to be. 

Happy Sunday:-)

Saturday at the Dells

 The second day at the Dells always starts with a few hours at the dry play area and a large coffee for the moms. After spending a day in the water this dry time is much appreciated. 

 Then it is off the the wave pool...

 Shana and I played a joke on Huddy to make him think she knocked out my teeth. As long as I live I will not forget his shocked an horror face as he stared at me(specifically my teeth) for a good 10 minutes. Later that day I was playing with him in the wave pool when he lifted up the tube and said..."tell me about your teeph" I about died laughing. I told him how I had an accident and knocked out my teeth and these were only temps. To avoid a big long explanation of heeling, and dentist..I just said "my new teeth have to come in the mail" Without missing a beat he said "Oh...okay, but I never want my teeph to come in the mail" I said "No, you really don't" 

 Then it was back to waves as usual

 Matthew prefers to jump them...

 This is kind of my where is Waldo picture only it is where is Kaden. Can you spot him out there in the waves? 

 how about now?

 This was when I wondered if it really was Kaden or not. He spent his whole day on Saturday riding the waves and it was really hard to find him with the crowd.

 Yep..it's him!

 Matthew playing it safe

 Minnesota beach shots..Okay..Wisconsin beach shots..safe difference!

 Grandma Linda brought snacks with us and it was almost all Chocolate! The boys had to have been full of sugar.

 Matthew and Huddy had fun playing together.

 Kaden tried to join them

 Okay..these photos are for me. I just love the water. 

 I finally convinced them to play in the jets for me!

 I love this one of Huddy

 warming up

 Yes...Huddy could ask me for just about anything and I would say yes...same goes for Kaden, Hannah, Carter, Grace, and Nora...please don't tell them as I might have my hands full with new cars and college tuitions..

Then again...Huddy could just dig in grandma's purse. I loved seeing this. 

 The boys enjoying the last few minutes of the park

 Shana discovered by accident that the Dells now has a Dunkin Donuts and she was so excited to go. Seriously...I have never seen her so focused. She parked the car at the gas pump and flew inside.  I caught her chewing her hand off as she waited in line but out of the respect for our friendship I will not post that picture. She looked over to see me snapping her chewing her hand off and burst into laughter. 

 So kid.....can I hug you? 

 This is the house special! 

Then Shana got her prized DD drink(pretty yummy) and we hit the road...back to Roch just behind a huge snow storm that dumped and then melted before we returned home...now that is Monica's best day ever!!! 

Who do you want to be...

Matthew had to dress up like a parent tonight for Awana. Matthew was so jacked about this. He loved the idea of being his dad for the night. I loved this idea too. It makes me smile and want to cry at the same time.

Thank you Mike for being the best dad, husband, and friend a man can be. Counting the minutes now:-)

The Hunting Trip... a documentary by Matthew

Matt wrote this in school and I wanted to share it. 

The best day ever....(hope you want to see some pictures)

 One of the first things I ever did after moving to Roch was take Matthew to the Dells with Shana and Kaden. Huddy, was just a baby then and only crawling. I have always loved and valued that trip and I jumped when she asked if I wanted to do it again for Kaden's birthday. 

 The only exception this time was that we decided it would be a lot easier if we brought along mama Linda to help up. Going on the slides is a lot easier if you can rotate in 3s instead. If there is just two of you then being alone is always the only option. It also helps that Linda is no wallflower! She put the boys to shame when it came to going down the slides. She is a rockstar! She is no soak up the sun read a book granny. She is a slide riding..wave jumping..laugh making...swimming granny! I loved how exhausted she was and yet she waited until Shana and I said ...we are so done..before she said"Thank God" We love you Linda, and not just because you can outslide us.

 off to play

 Matt and Kaden had water proof cameras to use for the trip. Hopefully the pics will be good and I can post them.

 Huddy kept me laughing the whole trip

 He loved the hot tub

 Shana tubing with the boys

 It was really nice having the boys tube together this trip too. They sure have come a long way from our first trip.

 After playing in the water all day we were starving. Matthew suggested we go to his favorite place in the whole wide world...

 I worried that they would not remember Matthew, or that there would be different people and he would be disappointed. I also hoped that Kaden would love it as much as Matthew and get a fun memory like Matthew did. 

 I also worried that the Pizza I talked up would disappoint Linda and Shana. Well the experience was not like before...

 It was unreal! 

It started with the Pizza Chefs sending over heart shaped pizzas for all the boys! The waitress who was ADORABLE (and madly in love with one of the pizza chefs herself) said they were for the little pizza lovers at the table(Huddy got one too but he was in no mood to be photographed)

 T-Rex Kaden!

 Then our waitress brings out dessert for Kaden!

 They sang "Happy Birthday" in REAL Italian(as Matthew would say)

 YUMMY!!! Kaden I want to be you. 

 Kaden was so cute this whole night. He was so quiet and in awe. I loved seeing him like this. 

 Our waitress took our picture for us. Huddy was over to the side of me. He refused to be a part of our picture. He was just so exhausted. He was actually super cute, he just refused to be photographed.

 After Kaden got his dessert the waitress brought a truck pizza over for Matthew from his Italian buddy. 

 Matthew went to say Thank You and was once again invited back into the Pizza Kitchen! Bring your friend too!

 This is when I turned to Shana and said..um, we are probably going to be here a while:-) We both laughed. I was so excited to share this amazing experience with her. 

 This pizza chef is married to our waitress. She beamed ear to ear when she spoke of him. You would have though she had a hanger stuck in her mouth. I love seeing love like that. 

 This was our original pizza chef that taught Matthew the first time. Matthew thinks he is better than any sports or rock star out there. Shana and I giggled to see how mesmerized Matthew was by him. 

 This is probably one of my favorite pictures of the whole day. I just loved seeing Kaden so happy and hypnotized by the pizza chefs. He was loving every second.

 putting his hand made pizza in the oven. FYI: I really want one of those wooden spatulas, anyone know where I can get one?

 and now they teach!

 I want to send this picture to our waitress. It reminds me a lot of the pictures I have seen of Mike's grandfather Clair when he was young man. Dot and I talked recently about her favorite picture of him and how dear it was to her. I have a feeling our waitress would feel the same about this one. I may have to have it printed and send it. 

 I love so many of these photos. I had to post a lot. 

 He even threw it behind his back! This is when he told the boys he still needed practice. They said "WHAT" you do not!! They were such a good audience! 

 I love seeing both of the Pizza Chefs in this shot. 

 Can you imagine how amazing you would be at this if you had this kind of lesson all the time. This photo makes me think about skilled craftsmen passing on traditions. 

 Kaden is about to throw the pizza and it happened so fast that it was hard to catch. 

 Then Matthew tried

 Kaden caught it..

 Matthew caught it..

 I love this picture so much. I don't even care that it is not in focus. I wish that it was but I still love it. Kaden is so happy! 

 Then our pizza chef asked the other pizza chef if he could make the biggest pizza ever for the boys to see...he shook his head yes and the boys watched in awe.

 In a million years I could not tell you how much I LOVE this shot. It is probably one of my favorites that I have ever taken. 

 Anyone wondering what Huddy was doing as we all watched the Pizza Chef's perform pure magic for us?? He was totally sucked in too! They tried to get him back there but he said "No" he just watched.

 Look at that pizza..I think it looks like a nightgown. Too big for them to cook even.

 The boys were loving this.

 See how thin it is!

 WOW! 

 Time for them to catch it, and then it was done. 

 Matthew said "That is why I love it here, they treat you like you are family" 

Yes, they really do. It is an amazing place. I could have cried on the walk back to the hotel thinking who knows maybe that was our last time going there. 

 Kaden on the other hand was the happiest kid alive on the way back. He was grinning ear to ear...He said "MOM!! THAT WAS THE BEST DAY EVER"

 The name may be Carvelli's but it really should be called "Unreal" 

Matthew and Kaden will spend their whole lives trying to find a restaurant that makes them feel that special. You know those places we visited as a kid that we just never forgot? 

 We got back to the hotel super late. The best thing about a water park is that it makes it impossible to have any connection with anything electronic(unless you count the poor dad that was working on his laptop by the wave pool...poor guy) I loved being disconnected from everything. It felt so nice. Poor Shana had at least 12 messages on her phone when we returned to the hotel. She totally had a panic attack that Jeremy's plane had crashed(he was flying to Malaysia for work) About 4 messages in she realized that it was just birthday calls for Kaden Bug...who had already drifted off to sleep after his best day ever. 

Boy...Linda might be great but she sure looks bad in the morning! 

(Speaking of this mask...Shana, I loved going to Walmart with you at midnight! I laughed myself silly)

I will post the pictures from Saturday soon:-)