Spring visit at DeYoung Zoo!

This is what happens to a squirrel when he eats a peanut that had Cayenne pepper on it. My father-in-law and husband was bored one day and thought, " Wonder what would happen if we sprinkle a little Cayenne pepper on this peanut?" They did and here is the result. That poor thing laid there for a good while before he dunked himself in the birdbath. He is laying on a

metal peanut plate. His little tummy was on fire and the metal felt good against his

burning tummy!! No worries, the squirrel was okay after awhile. The boys got a good talkin to from us though.

Boys will never grow up!!!!

Montana ( 12 years old ) and Nicolas. Best of friends!! Montana loves going up north, too.

She loves laying in the backyard and running around chasing Nico.

Nicolas firing a BB gun. The first time he has held a gun and fired one as well. If I had it my way, it would be his last time, too.

My handsome boys!!

Nicolas holding 2 baby lemurs!

This is Bud DeYoung with one of his very spoiled lions. This lion will only eat if Bud hand feeds him!!!

Nala the lioness. She is 17 years old.

This is Nala's 3 rd. husband, Samson. She didn't like the other two, so she killed them.

Lunch time!!

Just playing with his favorite log.

We have been visiting DeYoung's Zoo for about 4 years now, and we love it. He has about 3 dozen cats plus bears, reptiles, and farm animals. He is expecting a baby hippo soon.

They were recently featured on National Geographic Wild ( NatGeoWild ). When we were

there, the crew from NGW were there filming. They are taping enough footage for 3

more shows. If you get the channel, check it out. It's a great place to go if you like the

big cats and bears. Though the years, Nico has held baby tigers, bear cubs, a " joey ",

a wolf pup, lemurs, and many more.

We go every time we're up north. Try and stay cool everyone. Love to all:)

Vince Strongman Bontempo!!!

Hi everyone. Well, the day finally came. This past Saturday was the competition in Madison.

It was so much fun. It was alot harder than Vince thought it would be. But he now

knows what are his strong points and his weak points. Some of these events are

impossible to train for. It was a very interesting group of guys there, too. But,

everyone was so nice and supportive of Vince, so that was good. I was real nervous the day before and the morning of. But once we got there, all of my nervousness went away. It was replaced by

excitement! We couldn't wait for this thing to start. Nicolas was so proud of his dad. He followed him around everywhere. He was constantly taking pictures of Vince, himself, the sky, etc.

This was hard for Vince, but he never, never gave up! I was certainly a beaming wife that day!!!!

I really can't express how proud I am of him!!

He is already starting to train for next year. We are certainly going to look into buying a " pull sled " that he can attach weights to and pull it around for practice. Plus, other things that will help him improve.

So here are his scores. He placed 37 out of 45!!!

This one is called the Log Press!! He beat his own record. He lifted 235lbs. A new PB!!!!

The next 2 are the Sled Pull. They were 565 lbs. that he had to pull 75 feet.

He pulled it 17 feet, 10 inches.

This one was the Tire Flip. The tire weighed 600lbs. He was able to flip it 5 times.

The last event was the Farmer's walk. They filled those cans with concrete and then they had to walk 150 feet with them. 350lbs, Vince walked 75 feet!!

We hope everyone is doing well.

Happy Father's Day to all of you dads out there! Enjoy your special day!!

My back up-date.

Hi everyone. We have some news that we want to share with you.

In May, I had a CT Scan of my spine. It's been 4 years since the last scan, so I guess I was due for one. What they found is discouraging for us. I have a " nice size " bone spur that is resting on

my spine @ L5. They are not sure how I got it, but it has to be removed soon. This month

we are meeting with 2 different surgeons, so we can make the best choice for are family.

The doctor said that having hardware in already, will make this surgery a challenge.

We will keep everyone posted as we move forward. Remember, we would love to hear

from you. We want to hear about what is new with you and your family. So, please send pictures

and/or reply to us.

Take care everyone and much love to all of you:)

The next chapter in the local criminal

Hi everyone. We have an up-date on the break-in that happened in March that we want to share with you. On 5/26, I went to pick Nicolas up from school and the " loser " and a friend were there. He is NOT allowed on school grounds but there he was. As I waited for Nico, they started staring at me, pointing, and throwing up gangs signs. Then his friend charged at me. He ran full force at me, veering off at the last minute. They laughed and continued the harassment. We went home right away. We called the police and filed a compliant against him.

The following day was worse. Nicolas and I were walking home from school when I noticed him

and his friend following us home. We called the police right away and they ran back to his house.

Police showed up and questioned them and of course they lied. The cops let them go. Now Nicolas

knows what is going on. It took us a long time and a lot of talking to make him feel safe again.

I'm showing him how to unlock the front doors and we had to sent up a " code " word and where he should run to, to get help.

The crossing guards and some of the moms know as well, so they will help if needed.

We called the Police Chief of South Milwaukee to complain and to our surprise she called us back. He has 5 criminal charges on him that are pending, including ours.

Our case was given to CCC on 5/24. They have 40 business days to review it and send it to the ADA. He has 20 business days to review it. If he feels that it's worth the time to go further

then he gives the case to a judge to review it. Then we go from there.

We can't get a " no contact order " until the ADA has looked at it.

So, we are going to call the ADA on Monday( again ) and let him know what has been going on.

If need be, we will be the BIGGEST pain in the ass that he's ever had.

For the time being, we walk home with other parents and kids to be safe. Just 4 more days

to go. It can't come fast enough. I hope this all makes sense. I'm trying to get all of the facts in this, so I'm sorry if it doesn't.

We will keep you posted as we move along. Lots of love to all of you.