Adoption Agency Picnic

Finally blogger is working for me!
We attended the picnic that the adoption agency puts on every year this past Saturday. It was held at a really nice park in Cambridge and Eleanor was there too! There were a lot of families there with children of all ages and from all different areas. There seemed to be a lot from the US...Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, etc. But there were also some from China and Guatemala that we saw.
They had a nice picnic lunch of brats, hamburgers and hot dogs. Everyone brought their own drinks and a dish to pass so there was a lot of food.
This park has a really nice beach and a lot of people went swimming but Olivia and Eleanor stuck to the playground slides and swings.
Later in the afternoon all the kids got a chance at smacking pinatas. Eleanor didn't want much to do with this but Olivia got in there a little bit. It only took the first pinata for her to discover there was candy to be had in these things!
With the help of Jenny and I she did get some candy but she doesn't move real fast yet like some of the older kids. She always wants to hang back and observe what is going on first before she just jumps into anything.

Toward the end Olivia actually threw the Smarties back on the ground and went after her favorite.....lollie pops. She and Eleanor enjoyed their candy but they both missed their much needed afternoon naps so we all headed home after the pinata games.

The day was a lot of fun and we got to spend some time with Alan, Marilyn, Eleanor and Wesley again.

It was also interesting to meet some of the other adoptive families and their kids. Hopefully we can keep attending this traditional picnic get together for the next few years.

First County Fair - "FUN!"

Olivia attended her first County Fair and got to see the real live animals we read about in so many of her books. She had a lot of fun. We went early on Saturday morning so we could watch the horse pull. We all love horses so this is very interesting for us and those huge horses are so impressive.

The best part though is to go inside the track when they are done and talk to the owners and see these beautiful animals up close.


As usual, Olivia didn't seem one bit afraid of them and even got a couple kisses from one of the horses.

One very nice owner invited us right over to pet his horses and we stood and talked with him for quite a while. We learned a lot about how much work it is to feed and train these big animals. You can tell the owners really love working with them though.












For being so huge they are really docile, friendly and gentle. It's a real treat to get up close to them.




















Then Olivia tried her hand at riding! This is the first time on a pony by herself (of course I walked along). It was very cute....I asked her which horse she wanted to ride and she knew right away. She pointed to the furthest one from her but it had the same color/markings as the full sized horse she rode with me in Wisconsin Dells. I asked her if she was sure and she was determined to pass up all the pretty paints and went right for this little red/grey dappled pony. She loved it but for what you pay for these rides it should have been a lot longer. She wanted more but didn't make a fuss when I said we were all done.
She got to see sheep and goats, chickens, bunnies, cows, pigs and even got to pet a python. She isn't afraid to try anything.

For whatever reason, she especially had fun riding in the little kids train. Jenny went with her and she talked about riding in this on the way home. Everything she talked about on the way home ended with "Fun!".
The weather was perfect again and we all had a lot of "Fun!"











(Riding around in the "Toot-Toot Fun!")

A Couple More Pictures

More Pictures From Mirror Lake Camping

Feeding the friendly deer.

Feeding the hungry...or greedy goats.

Camping at Mirror Lake

We spent Thursday through Sunday camping at Mirror Lake and had a great time again. It was just the five of us this time but we kept very busy. We arrived Thursday afternoon and set up our camp (we still use 3 tents) and made a great meal of chicken breasts and veggie/potato boat. Jenny's tent site was all sand so Olivia had her own sandbox next to the tent. It kept her occupied for long stretches when we needed to get things done. The weather was perfect all weekend, even a little chilly at night but there were a lot more mosquitoes here than at Governor Dodge a few weeks ago. We had to spray up a lot.

On Friday we hiked all the way around the park in the morning and rested after lunch while Olivia took her nap. Then we rented a fishing boat w/motor and tooled around the lake for about an hour. It is a beautiful lake, not real big, but not nearly as crowded as Devil's Lake. Olivia enjoyed riding in the boat and thought she was pretty cool with her orange life vest on. There is a nice sandy area where we usually stop and enjoy the scenery and go swimming along the way.

When we got back to the campsite we grilled a salmon along with sliced zucchini, onions and peppers and baked potatoes. We even made the campfire cake and it turned out really good!! (Yes, Lynn and Nancy, it didn't turn into a charred hockey puck this time!!) It was definitely a do-again. (what ever happened to the simple camping hamburger/hot dog menu??)

On Saturday we had the left over potatoes with eggs for breakfast and then headed into Wisconsin Dells. There we stopped at "The Deer Park" where Olivia got to feed goats, see horses, pigs and all kinds of animals. The best part is the deer, they have a fence to keep the people back but the deer can come under the fence at will and wander right in among the visitors. Of course, the park sells treats to feed them. We all enjoyed this, the big bucks even had velvet on their antlers that we could feel. I'll be including pictures in the next couple blogs, I have so many cute pictures from the whole weekend. Olivia squealed when the deer took the treats from her hands, she really had a good time there.

From there we found a g0-cart track for Kyle and Jenny to ride around and then decided to try horseback riding. Yes, another first for Olivia! She rode a real horse for the very first time and loved it. She rode with me and I wasn't sure how she would handle it but she had a great time (watch for the pictures). Our horse was called "Chief" and she would pat him and say "Good Boy Chief". A few times when he wanted to catch up to the horse ahead of him he would trot and instead of getting scared she would laugh and say "run-run!" I can't wait to get her on a pony ride at the fair. Saturday was an exhausting day and when we got back to camp we made a pork roast but the garlic bread was soggy because it thawed out. Oh well, not everything works out perfectly every time.

On Sunday we had pancakes and then packed up to head back home after a very fun weekend. It is nice to get back home to recuperate. No more camping trips planned so far and school will be starting in a few weeks.

I'll keep adding camping pictures as I can, it takes a long time to get them uploaded but I'll get them out there, they are too cute to keep to myself.

Playing in the sandbox.

A Pitz Get-Together Day of Baseball

The Timber Rattlers game in Appleton was on Sunday after a busy day Saturday at the EAA.

Many of Steve's Aunts, Uncles and cousins live in the Appleton area since that is where his parents grew up and they try to get together whenever they can. This time a Timber Rattlers game was set up and luckily we were able to make it. We had the Leinie's Lodge reserved with lunch and drinks and had great seats right behind the visiting team's dugout. The Rattlers won and it was a fun game to see. The facilities were very nice. It was the first time we had ever been there and we were very impressed. Steve's brother Bob and his wife Cindie were the only other ones from his immediate family to make it there but it was nice to visit with the relative we rarely get to see. I don't even know most of these relatives that attended but hopefully these get-togethers are organized each year and we can all get to know each other better. They are all very nice people but with busy lives it is hard to stay in touch very often.

Olivia did well but didn't nap until the ride home. It was a very busy, exhausting weekend but now we have a few days to relax and catch up before we head out on the next camping trip coming up this week.

Thank you goes out to Sally (front row, next to Olivia) for setting up this fun day!!

The EAA AirVenture 2008

We spent all day Saturday at the EAA in Oshkosh. Steve and Jenny are really into the airplane/fighter jet thing, but Olivia and I had a good time too. The weather could not have been better. It was hot but there was such a nice breeze all day that it was very comfortable.
There has not been too much that scares Olivia, she always just goes with the flow but the F-22 Raptor that you see behind us in this picture was a little intimidating as it thundered past the crowd in the afternoon air show. About 3 seconds after it passes by the noise shakes the ground and your body. It is very impressive. Olivia clung to me and wanted me to keep my hands over her ears when it went by but she never cried and would peek up at it every once in a while. She really liked the other airplanes that weren't so loud and liked to wave at them and say "Whooooaa, big airpane!!!"



We got there early and walked around for a few hours looking at everything. We were able to bring in our own lunch and water so we camped out in the afternoon to watch the air show. Around nap time I had to put her in the stroller and walk for quite a while. She slept and got a good nap in to get her over a little tired crabbiness and the rest of the day she was very happy and had fun.

She even got to sit in an "airpane" that was more her size.

It was a long fun day but a very busy weekend since on Sunday we went all the way back up there again to attend a "Pitz Get-Together" at a Timber Rattlers game in Appleton.

I have pictures of that outing too so check back for that update. I'll get them out as soon as blogger.com lets me!!

Stay tuned....