Ben Kantor is a toddler now, and other news

Ben is walking and talking. He says lots of words (his latest: kite, bike, bee, tree, duck ("wah wah wah"), drink, tub, baby. (I am told it is unusual for a 15.5 month old to know so many words, he knows several dozen, but most of them consist of just a few sounds {"oh" = open, "kee"= kitty, "ba"=bath, "si"=outside, you get the idea) He loves to play in the new Madison city pool--which is very toddler friendly-- the nearby park, and in our own yard in his little playhouse with the neighborhood kids, and of course with his cousins (Mike's brother's kids) who live a block up the street from us now (see below). He is a bit of a kamikaze on his little push trike, which he quickly learned to coast down our sloping sidewalk, terrifying his poor mother. See videos and pics at:

http://www.mathlearning.net/private/ben/200607/benJuly2006.html

His parents have been on the move, too! We moved to a house in a more family-friendly neighborhood right down the street from Mike's brother Dave and his wife and 2 kids, who are 4 and 6. Mom and Dad spent several weeks here helping out, which made it the whole process much much easier.

I am still a full-time mom, but trying to decide when to start working again part-time, or possibly starting school at the Population Health Masters Program at the UW (an epidemiology and health services research program). Not getting much knitting design done right now with an old house to fix up and settle into, and a VERY busy toddler. Not getting much of anything done in fact, but having fun all the same.

Vacation plans- We are hoping to have a vacation with Greg and kids somewhere nearby in August but summer is so nice in Wisconsin we seldom go away. Hope the Schettler Family Picnic happens again this year. Maybe we can move it to Swan Lake so Norm and Diane don't have to do all the work of hosting?

Summer Vacation

Vacationing started early for us with a trip to Florida in March. Bob's brother lives in Jupiter so we have a great time visiting them, sitting in the hot tub, swimming, deep sea fishing, watching some spring training baseball, shopping, golfing, and did I say sitting in the hot tub? At that time of the year, it's always just great getting on a plane to escape the cold and dreary winter and get off the plane where flowers are blooming and the grass is green! Bob and I can definitely see "snowbirds" in the future for us!

What's been the most unusual for us this summer is no high school baseball schedule to follow. We missed the ballgames somewhat, but not the hectic schedule. It's been a nice, lazy and quiet summer. Shane has joined the workforce, putting as much away as he can towards tuition this fall. We did make a trip over Memorial Day weekend to visit Mike, Nancy & Jordon in Minnesota. I just love their house on the lake and am really trying to persuade them that it would be a great idea to buy a house on a lake when they are ready to buy. They just keep reminding me how expensive it is...but hey, Mike's the banker...he should be able to figure out something!!

Bob and I celebrated our 25th anniversary this past week with a trip on the Fremont Mystery Dinner Train. It was a fun little 18 mile round trip on a train and with the murder mystery dinner, the couples on the train are working to solve a murder while the actors walk around giving you clues and telling lies! Kind of like being in a Clue game! It was something different for us, but we had a fun time...and no, our table did not solve the crime. We were not good detectives!

Otherwise, we've just been hanging around Council Bluffs and keeping busy with work, gardening, boating, fishing, reading, golfing and just enjoying the summer weather.

Patti

Schettler Family Picnic

It seems there is much interest in a Schettler Family Picnic this year, at least from the cousins. I can't even begin to imagine how much work it must be for Norman and Diane to host that event, but it is so much fun and so great to see everyone. I think we should have one. Is there anything we can do to help out with all the work and preparation involved so that they don't have to do so much? Anyone have any ideas? Suggestions on possible dates? We better hurry, summer is almost over!

how i spent my summer vacation by dawn

Well, even though summer has just started, I have already come back from my vacation. I was in the midwest with my family from June 16th till July 3rd taking in such events as an Ordination (Eric's brother, Lutheran Church), a double baptism (Charlotte's being one of them), Lisa's 40th, Marv's 68th, Karla and Tom's 10th (or is it 11?) anniversary, and Eric's grandmother's 85th. Whew.

As for the rest of the summer, the bulk of it I hope gets taken up with working on remodeling the basement to include a legal bedroom for Sebastian so Charlotte can get his old room (and more importantly, get out of our room). Beyond that it will be such obligatory summer goings on as swimming lessons and trips to the park.

Have a great summer!