Our Up North Adventures

Little Miss Sunshine

Cole the raccoon!

Cole the raccoon

Cole the raccoon

Pearl. An Albino raccoon.

Pearl. An Albino raccoon.

Hi everyone:) Over the holiday, we went up north. We have not gone all summer, so it was nice

to get back up there. We visited our favorite zoo up there, DeYoung Zoo.

The 2 raccoons that you see above are from the zoo. Cole is very well fed but he was very

restless. He was very cute. Pearl is an Albino raccoon. We have never seen an Albino raccoon before. She wasn't so cute! She was very restless and nervous. Everytime someone new

came by, she would come to the cage and stick her paw out. It was almost like she was saying,

" Free Me, Please!" It was sad actually:(

We love this zoo because of the cats. The tigers and the lions are our favorite. We they roar and you feel the ground shake, it's just amazing. We really had a good time.

We also took Nicolas to a Go-Kart track. It was his first time driving one and he also drove solo. He did great:) He only hit the wall twice. We were pretty impressed and proud of him.

He had so much fun that we went back the next day.

So, that was our holiday weekend. It's nice to get away every once in awhile. We hope that everyone had a great holiday as well.

The Museum of Science and Industry

A couple of weeks ago, we took Nico to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It has been 20 years since Vince and I were there. Boy, has it changed!!!!!

We had so much fun!! Everything is hands-on, which Nicolas loved. There was a section that was strictly for space. They had space suits, equipment, etc. that you could touch. A lot

of hands-on things.

Then we went to the Severe Weather exhibit. We love thunderstorms, so this was our favorite

exhibit. One day, Vince and I plan on a vacation of storm chasing in Tornado alley. Then there

was an exhibit about your body and how it works. Everything from showing all the nerves in

your body and where they are, to explaining how the heart works etc. Nicolas loved that as well.

He looked @ the nerves in your body and we were able to show him which nerves were

" broken " in my back. He now has a better understanding of what is wrong with me.

It was a really good time and we plan to go back soon. Well, I think I better go to bed now, since it's almost 1:00 a.m. We hope all is good with you & your family. We hope everyone

has a great and safe holiday. Lots of love to all:)

The Final Chapter in our Break-in Case.

Today, we went to court to hear the Plea of our "neighborhood scum"! He plead guilty to our case and to the felony case. Because he did ( finally ) enter in a plea, the sentencing phrase followed.

Being a victim, I had the chance to address the court.

I told the judge the impact his actions has had on us, & Nicolas. If he is placed on probation or

house arrest, he will commit more crimes. He treat this as a game and all he is doing is laughing @ the system. I said" Please give us our neighborhood back." Also, with school starting we are afraid for our safety. The judge agreed.... to a point.

His sentence is:

- One ( 1 ) year of probation.

- 30 hours of community service

- Drug treatment program

- Must go to school

- Must stay out of South Milwaukee and away from us!

If he breaks even one rule, he will be sent to Wales until he is 18 years old.

Wales is a detention home for minors. His lawyer said that " all parties involved should have handled situations better." That WE blew things out of proporation and that South Milwaukee police were harassing HIM & HIS FAMILY!!!!! THEY were the victims!! Yeah, she was scum as well. I'm not happy with the sentence. I know sooner than later, he will come around again & I wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it!! He is out on the streets now.

We are going to try hard to keep moving forward. This a** doesn't deserve anymore of our time. We are hoping for the best and trusting our angels with these. Wednesday is the first day of school, so that is our focus right now.

We hope everyone's first day of school goes smoothly. Love to all.

New chapter in our lives!

Hi all. Vince is now an employee at Froedtert hospital!!! He applied in July and was hired Thursday. He starts September 13th. One of the perks of the job is NO CALL, NO WEEKENDS!!

NO HOLIDAYS!!!!!

We finally have a life again. We can plan vacations and host holiday dinners etc. He has worked his butt off for so many years and we have given up so much for the job, that he deserves this. This will be

a good move, for all of us. The rest of the benefits they offer are really nice as well. Froedtert being a " teaching " hospital, this could be the " angel " we have been praying for.

Well that is all for now, but I will post soon. Love to all!!!

Summertime Fun

Nicolas, Anna & Logan

In early July, we went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. We go every summer. This year Vince and I decided that Nicolas was old enough to bring a friend or two along. He invited his 2 best friends, Anna & Logan. I packed lunches and we had a great time. His friends are great kids.

They go to school together and have been friends since 4K. When they are together, all you hear is the giggling and the laughter. They never fight!!! Their parents are real nice as well.

It's funny to listen to there conversations. They are always making Vince and I laugh.

The aquarium is really cool. We always start out with the sharks first. Then we always end up by the dolphins and the Beluga Whales. They have a whole floor that is just to view the whales and dolphins underwater. Every time we have been there, a whale or/and dolphin plays with the crowd and at times just with us. It's really cool to see. I could spend all day with the Belugas and the dolphins. They are my favorite!!!!

Well, summer is quickly coming to an end and school is fast approaching. We hope you are enjoying your summer. We would love to hear about your summer fun times.

Love to all of you!!!

Summer Swim Meet

Hi everyone! We have been pretty busy here. We are still working on our kitchen cabinets. It's been too humid to paint our fence or the back part of our house. We had water in our basement from the storms a couple of weeks ago. It was nothing too bad but still a pain to clean up. South Milwaukee got 6 inches of water from that storm. The day after the storm, we drove down to Grant park to see how high the water was there.

It was CRAZY!!!!!

The water was moving so fast and fierce that it took my breath away. Unbelievable!!

Well thankfully, Nicolas had his swim meet the week before all the rain.

We swam against Riverside High. Our kids did pretty well. It was a short meet because there were not a lot of kids there. So, Nicolas swam 4 events.

He swam,

I.M. 2.23.21, he took 1st place!!

25 Butterfly 27.25, he took 1st place!!

25 Freestyle 19.42, he took 2nd place!! This time is his personal best time for this stroke!!

25 Backstroke 26.13, he took 3rd. place!!

We are done now with swim for the summer. We start back up next month. This month is quiet for us, and that's okay. We need some down time. Next week, I have to take Nicolas to his school to get his picture taken and to pay fees, etc. Nicolas is not happy about it but he'll make it though okay. We hope you are enjoying your summer. Lots of love to you.

" May the Force be with You."

Hi everyone! This past Saturday, we went and saw Star Wars in Concert @ the Bradley center.

We got there early because there was so many cool things that you could see and take pictures of. There were professional people in costumes that were walking around. You could get your picture taken with them if you wanted. Plus, there were backdrops that you could stand in front of and get your picture take. Some people there that came to watch the show were dressed up like their favorite person. Adults and kids alike. It was good people watching for Vince and I. Some of these people went all out to dress up like there favorite character, make-up and all. It sure was crazy to see.

The concert was outstanding!!! It was about 2 1/2 hours long, with a 20 minute intermission.

They told the story with live music, bits and pieces of the movies and with a light show.

It was beautifully done. It was okay if you missed one of the movies, because you could still understand who was who and the story. I did miss one of the newer Star Wars movies but I was still able to follow who was who, who did what to who and so on.

The guy who played C3PO hosted the concert. Everything about it was incredible!!!! It was money well spent. We had an amazing time. It felt good to watch Nicolas's reaction to everything going on around us. From the concert itself to the people ( fans ) walking around.

He was in aw all day. That was cool for us to see.

Our 4th of July was very quiet. Vince was on call the whole weekend. So we couldn't really do anything. He was gone all day on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, Nico and I went to a friends house to watch the fireworks. Vince made it just in time to see them. So that was good. On

Saturday we had our first " Family Slumber Party ". We pulled out blankets, pillows and chairs so we could make a big tent in the living room. It's where we slept, too. We watched a couple of movies and shared popcorn and had ice cream. Nicolas insisted that we make a spot for Montana too. We did of course. She got her special ice cream too. She thought this was fun time but she relaxed after awhile. Luckily, Vince made it home just in time to show Nico how to make a tent. Which was something that Vince was looking forward to doing with Nicolas.

This was Nicolas's first time making a tent and sleeping in the living room. So, this was a big thing for him, and for us, too. We realized that he is growing up so fast. It won't be long now

before he is asking for friends to spend the night. WOW!!!! Where did the time go????

Other than that, we are keeping busy with school and swimming. We hope all of you had a great 4th of July!!!

Lots of love to all of you:)