The Girls' First Cardinals Game

The girls go to go to their very first Cardinals game!  We went to Miller Park in April, but that was to see the Brewers play the Giants.  Jim got us all tickets to see the Cardinals play the Brewers as part of my Mother's Day gift.

 Well after Jim bought the tickets, the Brewers announced that all ticket holders would receive a $10 voucher for concessions upon entering the ballpark.  The Brewers are having a very rough season.  They hadn't been playing well at all, then their star player, Ryan Braun, admitted to using steroids and got suspended.  Very bad year for the Brewers.  So in an effort to "make it up" to the Brewers fans, they threw in free concessions to those still willing to come to the ballpark.  Getting $40 in free food was a heck of a deal, and Jim got the tickets really cheap too (I think $10 a ticket), so it made for a cheap family outing.

 The girls were in a bad mood when we first got there and wouldn't smile for me.

 This was our first time at Miller Park with the roof open.

 I did Eva's hair in what I call the "baseball diamond" style.

 The seats were not bad at all considering how cheap they were.  Miller Park is a very nice ballpark.

 Snack time!  I got Lena a giant pickle and she was happy as a clam.

 Eva enjoyed her pretzel.

 Frozen lemonade for the girls and cheese curds for me!

 Brain freeze!

 They were happier and more willing to smile after having had a snack.  (Probably bc I told them I would only get them snacks if they promised to smile for a pretty picture afterward!)

 The ballpark was kind of empty, which was nice because the girls weren't forced to sit still in their seats the whole time.  We could kind of spread out.

 Time for the sausage race!

 There they go!

 Chorizo crossing the finish line.

 I don't even remember what she was upset about this time.

The Cardinals won (of course).  Eva was pretty tired by the end, so she hitched a ride on Daddy going out to the car.

And she was out in no time flat.

A Visit From The Christensens

While we were on vicarage in Texas, we became good friends with the Christensen family.  Their son Erik was in high school at the time but was thinking of going into the ministry.  He followed through with that and is now a student at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.  Time really flies, because Erik is now a vicar himself!  We were overjoyed to find out in April that he was placed in a church close to us in Elmhurst, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.  Just about an hour south of Kenosha.  Erik's parents helped him move from St. Louis to Elmhurst, and they drove up to Kenosha to see us.

 After dinner.  Erik is great with kids.  The girls just love him.

 Looking in the porthole.

 Eva quickly took to Paul.

 We went out to the beach at Simmons Island.  Look at all the seagulls!

 It was really chilly for August.

 Lena went out to make the seagulls fly away.

 Paul, Kathy, and Erik with the girls.

 The next weekend, Erik was installed as vicar in his new church.  We went down for it and they let Jim participate in the service.  Erik credits Jim with encouraging him to become a pastor.

The girls with Vicar Erik.

It is so nice to have Erik so close by.  He plans on coming up to visit whenever he has a day off and wants to get out of town.  He also said he would like to come up when Jim hosts his monthly Confessions study at Messiah.

A Visit From The Krenzes

Our good friends from Michigan, the Krenzes, visited us.  They spent a couple of days with us while they were on vacation.  Lena and Eva were so excited to see Madelyn and Mackenzie again.  And they were super duper excited to have their very first sleepover with them. 

 Picnic!

 Matthew enjoyed it too.

 Swinging after supper.

 I think this is pretty much the cutest picture ever!  It would be a little cuter if my girls didn't have their bicycle helmets on though!

 Action shot of Matthew on the slide.

Sleepover time!  The girls listen intently (and giggle quite often) as Jim reads them a bedtime story.  Although it's called a "sleepover", not much sleep happened that first night!  They didn't quiet down until after 9:30.

 Despite not getting much sleep the night before, we thought the girls would have fun playing at a park down by the marina.

 Then we went down to the water to watch the ducks.

 Four girls at the fountain.

 They had fun. . . no butts about it!

 My little goof.

 Waiting at the trolley stop.

 Jumping up and down in anticipation.

 Group hug!

 Here it comes!

 The cool orange one.

 The girls wanted to sit in the back.

 Trying to get Matthew to smile.

Watching the world go by.

Thanks for visiting us!