Christmas 2011

A few pictures from our Christmas so far. Olivia had a great time, she was VERY excited this year for Christmas. I think she didn't stop singing, reciting and just chatting for about three weeks straight leading up to Christmas.

She had so much fun Christmas Eve after doing a great job for the Church program, when we opened presents exchanged between us. Then, she was thrilled to see all the presents left by Santa Christmas morning. Then it was church again and then off to celebrate with family all day. With the extra added bonus of a great Packer Game.

This weekend she gets to party with the Pitz side of the family and still doesn't go back to school until Wednesday. Happy New Year!!

Veterans Day 2011a.MPG

A great tribute from our little school on Veterans day. God Bless America!

My Awesome Mary Kay Business

I know....I know, this is Olivia's blog and has been since before we even had the first picture of her but I had to include another very important subject in my life.

My Mary Kay business started when I signed on to be a consultant April 5th, 2011. Since then life has been even more exciting and promising then I ever could have wished for. The last seven months have been a whirlwind and a year ago I never would have imagined how many friends I would have today besides my own business to work out of my home at my own pace.

This past weekend I attended my first retreat with my national unit at the Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan.



Fabulous women from all over the country fly and drive to come to this yearly event that is put on by our amazing National Director Nancy Moser. Nancy has become a close friend since the day I signed my agreement. Even though she has 2,000 people across the country in her unit she ALWAYS has time for me. She is very humble and when you have a question or problem she makes you feel like you are the only person in the world that matters to her. She looks you straight in the eye and focuses on you until she answers your questions or helps with whatever your needs are at the time.

Since signing on I've also had the opportunity to make another Best Friend in my recruiter....now local Director...Michelle Krahn. These two energetic, supportive, amazing women will lead me to the top as long as I listen and follow in their footsteps.



Michelle and I live only 15 minutes apart and we are so lucky to have Nancy Moser only 40 minutes away. Nancy knew and was trained by Mary Kay herself and is now passing that on to all in her unit.



The women in this company are like no others and I am so proud to be a part of it. I never knew before that women could be so nice, uplifting, and genuinely thrilled to see others succeed.



We all had a great time at the retreat and learned so much from, not only Nancy, but the Sr. Nat'l Director and DIQ Director in Corporate Dallas that came to be the special guest speakers for the weekend.



All of the other Directors (19 including Michelle) spent a lot of time setting up and preparing for the weekend. They also were speakers/teachers/mentors for all of us consultants that are hungry to learn how they made it to where they are.



I came home with a whole new attitude about a lot of things and I can't thank all of these women enough and hope they know how grateful I am to be part of their lives.



It didn't matter who was worth millions or just starting a business, we all had sore hands from clapping, tired legs from standing...sitting....standing....clapping some more, sore faces from smiling and tired arms from hugging.......WHAT A GREAT FEELING! Thank you Mary Kay

Halloween 2011

I found the perfect costume for Olivia this year. We were lucky enough to find a "Pocahontas" dress that fit her perfectly and it was sooo cute with her long black hair. I bought her a turquoise necklace, put a braid in her hair and we were ready to go.



Since she had a cold she was getting over and didn't feel real well, and the weather did NOT cooperate for trick-or-treating again this year, we didn't go door to door like usual. We did drive to her aunt's homes though and finished up at Grandma and Grandpa's so she was satisfied with that....especially since she was loaded up with candy from all of them.




She also gets to wear her costume at school today and should have a lot of fun with the Halloween parties with her classmates.



HAPPY HALLOWEEN BIRTHDAY AUNT LYNN!! Finally 29, have a good one!!

Homecoming for Big Sister

Last weekend was Homecoming for Olivia's big sister Jenny. The day was spent shopping for last minute accessories, getting hair and nails done and then finally pictures with her friend Kaitlyn before the big dance. Grandma and Grandpa's home has much better photo scenery so we went out there to get some nice pictures. It's a little scary to see how grown up Jenny is getting. Luckily Olivia keeps us young.




Olivia does everything she can to keep the attention on her especially when it is Jenny's day. We managed to keep her out of some of the pictures.



It seems like yesterday that Jenny was Olivia's age so now I'm wondering how fast the time will go before I'm taking pictures of Olivia's homecoming!!

New Soccer Season

Friday night was the start of the new fall soccer season. Olivia is on the Black team this year and very excited to be in it. The first night is always focused on getting the shirts handed out and pictures taken so they practiced a little and played a little on a gorgeous Friday afternoon.






All the teams seem smaller this year with just 6 kids on Olivia's team. This is good because she will have more time to play and they only have 3 on 3 so she has to do more work than just chasing after the group of kids trying to get the ball.

She actually made her first goal! The whole group was packed in front of the goal with the ball but it was her final kick that actually got it in the net.

Lot's of fun and good exercise.

First Day of Full Day Kindergarten

And we're off to school. Today is Olivia's first day in Kindergarten and my first day home all alone in a long time. It feels very strange right now but I think I will get into the groove soon.




She was so excited for school to start, she was up and running around the house at 5:00 am this morning! I think it will catch up with her this afternoon and she will be getting to bed early.



She is growing so fast and changing so much my head is spinning today. I'm so thankful I have my Mary Kay business in full swing or I would be wandering around the house today running into walls.



And so, a brand new chapter in our lives has begun.....

Fun-Fun Visit

It's been a while since we last got together with Marilyn, Eleanor and Wesley but we finally were able to do it today. We've all been so busy this summer we almost didn't get it in before school started.




Even though they haven't seen each other for a while the girls go right to playing. And Eleanor's little brother Wesley tries to to keep right up with them.


Eleanor and Olivia are both 5 years old and are both starting Kindergarten soon. They are excited to start and are looking forward to it.



The girls still get along great and play hard when they finally get together. This time, Marilyn's Mom, Mary, was able to join us at Grandma Manning's home. The kids played for a couple hours during the morning while we all visited. Then we had lunch because the kids got "sooo huuungry!".



After lunch they had a little down time and watched a movie while the adults all kept visiting. Then later in the afternoon we all went outside to walk around and the kids got their second wind and ran for a while.



These visits always go way too fast but we had a great time with them again. Thank you Marilyn, Mary, Eleanor and Wes for coming out for a visit again. Already we are anxious to arrange another visit!!

A Grandma Weekend

Olivia had a great weekend and it was all about her two Grandmas. We spent Friday with Grandma Manning at the County Fair. Although it was pretty hot, we had a great time walking around during the morning and then after noon it was wristband day so we took her on all the rides she could handle.




It was nice to sit and relax in the park area in the shade when it got too hot in the afternoon. There they also had fun things for the kids to do like face painting, she got a fake tattoo and also won a t-shirt by throwing bean-bags through a hole. It was a great day and we really wore her out between the heat, the walking and all the rides.






Sunday we all got together with the Pitz side to celebrate Grandma Pitz's 80th birthday (which is actually today). Olivia's aunt Barb held the party at her house and it was another beautiful day. The kids went swimming in the pool and we had a great time visiting all afternoon. I think the swimming really wore Olivia out and she slept most of the way home. Happy Birthday Grandma !!





Coming this week......our next visit with Eleanor!! Watch for pictures!

Summertime Fun

Since June seemed more like March this year we all seem so busy now trying to fit all of our summer activities into August before school starts again.

We've been doing a lot of things but have not always had the camera with us so I have been slacking when it comes to updating the blog.


The end of July I had a Mary Kay booth at the Washington Cty. Fair on Friday and Saturday so Steve and Olivia came both days. Olivia is now hooked on roller coasters, tilt-a-whirls and even the ferris wheel (where she had to try to reassure ME there was nothing to be afraid of!!)

July 31st we went to Steve's work picnic which was held at the Milw. Zoo. That is always fun (when you have a little kid). We got in to the zoo, parking and many activities for free. Not to mention stopping at the company picnic site at lunchtime to eat, drink and visit with Steve's co-workers. Then it was off to more of the zoo. It was a long, hot day but very nice.

The next weekend we spent all day Saturday at the Milwaukee Air Show. That was also hot but is always a lot of fun to sit back an relax by the lakefront.




The following Monday, Steve took off of work and we went down to the Milwaukee Art Museum. Steve's cousin Sally works there and gave us the grand tour of the China Exhibit and some of the regular part of the museum. She and her husband Paul then grilled steaks for us at their beautiful condo overlooking the lakefront. It was a very enjoyable day.






This past Saturday we had tickets through the Civil Air Patrol to attend the Brewers Game. To help payback just a little bit of babysitting we had tickets to take Grandma and Grandpa along too. We tailgated before the game, had a great time watching the Brewers win against the Pirates and then we stopped for dinner on the way home.

Lot's of fun!! Now it is time to start thinking about getting ready for school and all-day Kindergarten!!