Maddie
& Ben's Pic of the Day
AUGUST-2004
8/31/04
Mom &
Dad's 7th Anniversary
"The wedding photos don't do this place justice!"
"Hey, dreams DO come true"
8/30/04
"Victor Borge didn't wear shoes either, so shuddie-uppie!"
"You guys got about three years of bathtub shots left, then you're
outta here!"
8/29/04
"Mommy
let go so I can fling him to Toledo!"
8/28/04
"Don't worry dad, Elmo wasn't really blown up."
"Just the thing to wash down mashed green beans!"
8/27/04
"Hey, this dvd has a commentary track by Justine Bateman"
"Did that rap singer say what I think he said?"
8/26/04
Happy Anniversary Nana Nat and Popop
Saul!BBBBB
"If you expect some 'pushing around' joke, forget about it!"
8/25/04
Happy Birthday Uncle Dan!
"Could somebody spell-check this for us?"
8/24/04
Happy Birthday Cousin Sammi!
"We have one thing in common, daddy cleans up all of our poop!"
8/23/04
"Daddy
wants to buy Sammi a slab of beef for her birthday, what do you
think?"
8/22/04
"You
guys have a sick sense of humor, go bug Maddie!"
"I'm going to get Ben for this!"
MADDIE AND BEN'S
SUMMER VACATION!
8/21/04
"We
have no idea who's winning in the Olympics but we're still having
fun!"
8/20/04
"I
think I'm done with that sippy cup Maddie..."
"I hear you multiply like a rabbit..."
"Who said the Twilight Zone ain't fun?"
8/19/04
"I'm
creating a new game for Billy...it will be called Popbrotherball!
Weeeee, I WIN!"
8/18/04
"These
campfire stories are sorta hard to believe!"
"Let's
count how many people think this guy is Daddy's brother..."
8/17/04
"I'm
a natural, it also doesn't hurt that the smell of diapers doesn't
phase me..."
"Holy crap!"
"I hired that idiot with the red scarf for your 1st Birthday, your
friends will love it!"
8/16/04
"Now
I know how Garfunkle feels..."
"It's
ironic that we're in lake country and this boat's on a carpet"
8/15/04
"This
is even better than cake!"
"They're
right, white men CAN'T jump"
8/14/04
"Give
me 3 seconds and I'll destroy everything on this table!"
"I
got this guy wrapped around my lil' finger"
8/13/04
HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE JIM!
HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY COUSIN NICOLE!
"You
take the Pack & Play, I'm getting the bed!"
A fun trip was had
by all. We stopped at a motel in Madison, Wisconsin on the way, it
had a 24-hour indoor pool! Madison kept crawling out of her Pack
& Play and eventaully fell on her head. We bought a tent to cover
the Pack & Play which I then had Bob construct immediately. She
loved it and so did we. It kept her safe and sound and she could
still see everything. Thank Goodness for it. We went swimming that
night and then got up the next morning and did more swimming. Bob and
I took turns at the jacuzzi. I got up at 6am while the kids were
still sleeping and got to use the pool and jacuzzi with no
toddlers...ah the good life! We got to Minocqua around 5pm the next
day. I like to stop in Stevens Point at the Kmart and pick up last
minute supplies. Bob wasn't thrilled with this but I made it up to
him as we went to Bosacki's for dinner. We also managed a short swim
before dinner. After prime rib at Bosacki's, we went to a campfire
over at Camp Agawak and caught a glimps of the Gorchoff and Shimmy
families. The next day we hung out at our cabin...went swimming in
the pool and hung out at the playground. We went to Alexanders for
pizza where Maddie had a blast running around and playing skeeball.
Ben slept through it. We later went to the Minocqua-bat Waterski Show
and they really loved it. The next day it rained so we went to the
Northwoods Children's Museum in Eagle River. On the way we stopped to
see if we could do some laundry and Bob ran into Randy Wynn. At the
museum, Maddie played dress up and Ben enjoyed all of the toys. He
pulled himself up to standing and cruised along the sides of the
displays. For dinner we went to Paul Bunyan's where the kids enjoyed
giant size all-you-can-eat portions of camp style fried chicken and
mashed potatoes. We then went to the local bookstore and bought some
reading material for the trip. We ran into the Hiken girls and their
families. We ran into Josh Taxman at Murtaugh's and had a nice chat.
The next day we went to Circle M Corral, which we found out was in
its final days afer 35 years of business. Maddie had a pony ride and
was a real natural. We also rode the famous train, and later tried to
buy the Vienna Beef Hot Dog sign from the owners. Bob and Maddie rode
the bumper boats too. Circle M is closing for good this week. Bob
used to go there when he was at camp. They're selling it to
developers. I want to buy the train and put it in our backyard...That
night we went to a real Indian Pow Wow at the Indian Bowl in Lac Du
Flambeau. Maddie and I jumped on the field and danced with people who
were dressed in traditional Pow Wow garb. It was great. We had
Butterburgers at Culvers afterwards, where Maddie enjoyed coloring at
the play area. On Wednesday, we started to head out to Crystal Lake
but the weather looked strange. I stopped at a thrift store and found
some great stuff. I got a Blues Clues stuffed animal, sunglasses, a
leapfrog dog phone, another electronic play phone, a Blues Clues soap
toy, and a blue hat for Ben... all at the cost of $1.27!!!! We went
to Torpy Park where the kids ran around the playground and then
noticed the sky was getting quite dark. We hopped in the car and
drove a few blocks to the Antique Mall just as the rain started.
There's a diner downstairs with a 50's style setup, games and
mini-golf. Maddie had a blast playing skee-ball and loves the
motorcycle game. She ran around the entire indoor mini golf
course...it's huge. What a great place to be on a rainy day! For some
reason the waitress really likes Cher and kept playing her on the
jukebox. Maddie got lots of prize tickets for all of the games she
played and picked out a yellow comb in the shape of a Walrus. It's
good because she's a huge Beatles fan. She kept requesting that we
play The Beatles when we were in the car. We had dinner at Barb &
Fred's where Bob had his favorite prime rib. Then we ran over to Camp
Agawak for another campfire where we saw Harold, the Taxman's, Rob
Bond, MP and the Frieds. Maddie and Ben loved the campfire and Maddie
even recognized some of the songs. We also saw the Heilbronner's and
young Sarah entertained Ben the whole time. The next morning we went
to back to Agawak where Maddie and Ben enjoyed the trampolines. it
took a great effort to get Maddie off them. We ate lunch at camp,
went back to Eagle Shores and hung out at our cabin and ran around
the grounds. That night we got a babysitter who we have known since
she was a little girl...and is now going to college. Bob and I went
to see the musical play "Mishuganuns" at The Northern Lights
Playhouse. It was great! It's all about nuns who are on a cruise and
have to improvise a show when the cast of "Fiddler on the Roof" gets
sick. We had a late dinner and then went to Otto's where we saw Mike
Fried and Josh. There was some guy playing guitar and the girls (some
camp counselors from Austraila) were letting it rip and were dancing
and singing on the tables. I notice how people up there just love the
song "Sweet Home Alabama" and other hits from the 70's...what's with
that? We then went back to our cabin, Maddie and Ben were fine. They
had screamed for less than 10 minutes after we left and then fell
right asleep. Maddie woke up when we got home and wanted to see the
stars. I took her outside and she gazed at them all. She really loves
it up in the northwoods. The next day we went to Peck's Wildwood
Animal Perserve. As we were were on our way Bob asked Madison what
animal she wanted to see, to which she responded "a green puppy".
Anyhow, the goats loved Ben and tried to gobble him up. They ate his
hair, his hand, his foot. It freaked me out and I quickly whisked him
away. He was fine, thank goodness! Deer walk up to you at the park,
it's wonderful. It was a beautiful day. We saw a huge tortise, a
bear, a mountain lion, llamas, emu, monkeys, goats, birds and all
sorts of creatures. Maddie held a bunny, fed a goat and pet a deer.
She talked to each animal. She said "Hello Bunny, how you?" And
"Hello Deer, how you?" And "Hello Baby Bear, How you?" She called the
turtle "Franklin". That night we exploited the fact that we had a
great babysitter situation and went out to dinner at my favorite
place Norwood Pines Supper Club. I had the Friday Night Fish Fry and
Bob had yet another steak. We met MP there. Afterwards we went to The
Thirsty Whale and saw a cool band The Underwater People. They played
a lot of covers but you can't dislike a band who uses an upright bass
and a banjo...they were great. Then we went to the bowling alley and
sang some Karoke. Bob did the Rolling Stones "Paint it Black" and I
did "Crazy" by Patsy Cline. We must have past muster as no one beat
the crap out of us. Maddie wanted to see the stars one last time as
she woke up when we got home. She said "Bye Bye Stars". I actually
had time to read my new book (The Time Travellers Wife) and finished
it on the trip! I read it each night by the roaring fire in our
cabin. The last day we packed and had to get out by 10am...no small
feat with 2 kids and a carload of gear. We took some photos of the
kids at the lake. It was a another beautiful day. We said our
goodbyes the wonderful family who run Eagle Shores Resort and went to
the Bearskin Trail in Minocqua. We walked about a mile over the
bridge and took some video and photos. We walked around town, had
lunch at Otto's and then headed home. On the way home we stopped at
Kopps in Milwaukee, home of Bob's favorite hamburger. Maddie and Ben
enjoyed running around the strange cement gardens and had frozen
custard for dessert. When we arrived in Oak Park, Maddie said "We're
home!". It was another great family vacation...
8/12/04
"That
Harold & Kumar movie gave me the munchies!"
"It's
the 'Minnie Pearl' look, get used to it"
8/11/04
"THIS
is a Big Comfy Couch!"
8/10/04
"Ben,
stay in that exact position and keep your hands folded...even though
I'm not even drawing you at all..."
8/9/04
"I'm
climbing me ladder to get me pot of gold..."
8/9/04
"I
wave my magic fork and POOF there's cake!"
8/8/04
"Watch
this, I can tap dance in four states at once!"
8/7/04
"I
don't care if Elvis is alive and drinking bottled water, who's the
babe with the flag?"
8/6/04
"Oh
my gosh, I've got a ton of playgroup gossip to share with you!!!"
8/5/04
"Don't
worry, we've tamed the green eyed monster!"
8/4/04
Fun in the kitchen...
"The
kid on the box looks like he's happy...what's in these things?"
"If I could only un-bottle this stuff I'd make a fortune..."
8/3/04
"Okay
lady, I'll drive you to the sandbox but it'll cost ya..."
8/2/04
"Let's
live here!"
8/1/04
"I
enjoy her company AND she's a babe magnet!"
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2004 VISIT TO DADDY'S OFFICE
JANUARY
2002 VISIT TO DADDY'S OFFICE
MADISON'S
VERY FIRST PHOTOS
SEE
MADISON BEFORE SHE WAS BORN!
DECEMBER
2001 VIDEO (REALPLAYER REQUIRED)