Memorial Day 2009

Memorial Day was spent with the Pitz clan in Milwaukee. It was a long, busy day but also fun. We all arrived at Grandma Pitz's house by about 8:30 am for some breakfast and then everyone went to the Pinelawn Memorial cemetery for their Memorial Day service. Steve's dad was buried there three years ago and because he was veteran Grandma purchased a flag this year in his honor that will be displayed on his birthday, Memorial day and Veteran's Day. It was presented to his 5 kids during the service. It's a very nice tribute and everyone was able to get there for it so that made it very special and made Grandma very happy. After the service we all went back to Grandma's house for lunch and visiting. The kids had a great time playing whiffle ball Olivia ran and ran and ran. She had a great time too and we were barely out of Milwaukee when her eyes rolled back and she was zonked out for the trip home.

2nd Annual Pitz Get-Together

Sunday was our 2nd annual get-together with the Pitz side of the family. We met for at Timber Rattlers game in Appleton like last year with a lunch before the game and great seats all together to watch the afternoon game. Steve's cousin Sally does a great job of getting the family together and gets all the arrangements made for a fun day. The Rattlers even won 7 to 0. It was a good game and nice to see everyone again. The weather was pretty nice for May. Warm when the sun came out but not too cold when the clouds came over. Olivia had a good time and even watched some of the game. She especially liked the music they played and the funny mascots that were goofing around all the time. She likes to watch them from a distance but gets a little nervous if they get too close.

After an afternoon of hot dogs, her first taste of cotton candy, popcorn, chocolates and ice cream she was able to take a nap on the way home.

We even had time to get our garden planted after we got home and we all were pretty tired by bedtime after a really fun day.

Thanks for putting this all together again Sally!

Gotcha Day 2009 (Two Years Later)

Two years ago on May 14th we met Olivia for the first time. The whole trip is just a blur now and I can't remember life before getting Olivia. She has grown and changed so much in the last two years and has been nothing but a joy and wonderful addition to our family.
She is growing so fast and getting so smart. Every day she learns something new and teaches me something new too.
We just celebrated Gotcha Day with a nice Chinese dinner at home complete with tea in the tea set we bought in China right down to the fortune cookies.
We also had bought a cake because you have to have cake for a party! Olivia keeps asking me if this was her birthday and if she is now 3. It's hard to explain to her that she has about a month to go yet before we celebrate her 3rd birthday.
She did like her Gotcha Day presents though, just a coloring book, more sidewalk chalk and also a small jewelry box that we had bought in China to give to her.

Her new funny phrase......after I finish answering one of about 100 questions she has during the day she will say "Oh, ok, that makes sense". I don't know where she got that from but it sure is funny to hear.




Happy GOTCHA DAY 2009 Olivia!

Mother's Day, 2008

May 14, 2007 in Chongqing China

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was a lot of fun. It's hard to see on the picture but I got a "Camper's Kitchen". When we go camping we use tents and have a limited supply of conveniences but this kitchen set up will come in really handy for storing supplies and giving us some work space when making meals. It also has a sink with a drain for washing up dishes. Now I just need to get on the ball and book some camping weekends to put it to good use.

Early afternoon we were at Grandma and Grandpa Manning's house to celebrate the day. We were there for lunch and dinner and made didn't get home until bedtime.

Olivia was exhausted when we finally got home since she had to skip her nap for the day and had to keep up with all of her older cousins.
She also had to help Grandma open her Mother's Day present.....a new digital camera!

It was a really fun day with great food and good company.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!