Sunday, September 03, 2006

Summer Recap

Well, it's certainly been a crazy summer. Since Fall is upon us, we thought it would be a good time to take a look back at the last few months and catch everyone up.

May

Memorial Day - the traditional start of Summer. We took Gil and Freya (Karl's kids) to Kohler-Andrae State Park near Sheboygan. It was in the mid-90's in West Bend, and the mid-70's at the lake, so the cool breeze was a welcome relief. Gil and Freya practiced their excavating skills, and we got a chance to get into the lake (knee-deep, anyway).

June

Freya 'graduated' from Middle School in early June, and has started her Freshman year at High School. It was an unusual start, however, as she severely sprained her ankle the Friday before while roller skating. Crutches, an elevator key, and extra time between classes is not what any of us expected.

Karl participated in the Elmbrook Youth Hockey Association annual Golf Fundraiser with Al Williamson, Tony Stemberger, and Jake Heisler
. Though the day started off warm and sunny, things deteriorated in a hurry, and they finished in a cool, steady drizzle.

Karl and Freya visted the Comics exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum, and spent some time enjoying the lakefront, flying Freya's new kite.

Karl was in Martinsburg, WV for work, and took in a Suns game, where the played the West Virginia Power, a Brewers A-league affiliate. As we're all accustomed to, the night did not end with a Brewers win.

The annual Quad/Graphics Picnic was held on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and Karl, Signe, Gil, and Freya were all there, along with Karl's brother Daniel.

Karl's uncle Roy had his birthday party, and we got to see him in his 'birthday suit' one more time.

Signe's sister Shelly called us on the 19th to invite us to a private party at Miller Park and attend a Brewers game that evening. What Karl failed to realize til we had accepted the invitation was that it was the night of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Free Hockey or Free Beer - what a dilemma! Beer won out, and thanks to Chef Alex, Karl was kept abreast of the score via text messaging. The game was fun, the Brewers won, and everyone had a great time.

Signe's dad Pete, Karl, and Gil went to the Craftsman Truck Series race at the Milwaukee Mile. It was a cool evening for late June, and we were caught a little short on warm clothing. That didn't stop us from having fun, though!

Karl and Signe went to the horsepull in Deerfield on the 24th, and the competition and weather were awesome. That morning, we were in Madison for the Farmers' Market, along with some of our friends.

July

July was a big month for a few reasons. The weekend of the 4th brought the usual festivities, and we wandered down to the lakefront on the evening of the 3rd to take in the fireworks - a good show, but a little disjointed with the stoppages to reload and the display atop the USBank building. The next day, we ventured to Janesville to see Cullen play in the Little League All-Star game.


The next weekend was a big one for Signe, as she participated in (and finished!) her first Danskin Women's Triathlon. All the hard work training paid off, as the weather was VERY hot and took its toll.

Signe's Brownie troop held its promotion ceremony on the 10th at Ted and Bonnie's house. The girls were presented with their awards, and we all had dinner.

The 11th was Karl's 40th birthday, and he and Signe celebrated in style, heading to Bastille Days for an afternoon of culture (if Alligator-on-a-stick is culture, we must be in Milwaukee), Mo's Cucina for dinner and the Residence Inn downtown for a stay. Thanks to the folks at the Westown Association and their volunteer appreciation night for the people who help out at River Rhythms, where we won the gift certificates for the dinner and room! When Karl attended the event, he had no idea how much of a volunteer he was going to become.

The 29th brought Paul and Shelly, Cullen, Alec, Connor, and Signe's mom and dad to town for another Brewers game. Rather than tailgate in the 90+ degree weather, we opted for a pool party with Ted, Bonnie, and Kimberly, along with Kimberly's friend Eli. We headed over to Miller Park just before game time, and sweltered with 40,000 other people as the Brewers staged a fantastic come-from-behind win.

August

July finished off busy, and the start of August was the same, and Karl was busy moving all his worldly goods from West Bend to Milwaukee. Once that was done, it was time to unpack... 5 weeks and 2 parking tickets later, the garage is organized enough to park a car!

The first Saturday of August (the 5th) was Jimmy Buffett's concert at Wrigley Field in Chicago. No, we weren't there in person, but we were there in spirit. Ted and Bonnie hosted a party at their house, and we listened to the concert via Cliff's satellite radio. Since the pool was a balmy 90 degrees, it was the best seat in the house!

The 12th brought Kevin's (Karl's friend and fellow referee) bachelor party. The folks at Riverwalk Boat Tours did a fantastic job of getting us from Lakefront Brewery to the Milwaukee Ale House and back via the Rock Bottom Brewery.

On the 13th, Signe and Karl took Freya and her friend Claire to Great America. The girls had a good time, even if Freya didn't ride all the coasters! The weather was perfect, and we really enjoyed it.

The weekend of the 18th - 20th was Family Camping weekend (see post below)...

September

Labor Day weekend was fairly quiet, though we did manage to get to Maxwell Street Days in Cedarburg.

A busy summer, for sure! Now it's time for hockey season...

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