Movin' to Badger Country!

The Doran's are moving to Wisconsin. Seems almost funny that I started out in Badger and am going to Badger Country.  We are super excited for Lant, he was promoted to Service Center Manager of Fond du Lac (which means "foot of the lake".) Fond du Lac sits at the base of Lake Winnebago (see picture of us above) and is not far from Madison, Milwaukee or Green Bay.   I'm also excited to tell you that we have bought a house there and will not be moving again for the foreseeable future!  Max's main house hunting request was to have a basement and we've fulfilled his needs (well that and he seems to think he should now have the master suite, but isn't happening). Holyn already wants to head to Lowe's to pick out paint chips for her room.  I love her enthusiasm, and  I feel the same way.  We will close on the house on October 25th, just in time for Halloween (I gotta find the winter coats). I better start practicing up on my "you betcha's" and other Wisconsin speak.  Our realtor thought my accent sound like New Jersey!

Game Day

Holyn and Max had their first soccer games today and both at the same time.  Luckily, they played on fields right next to each other.  Holyn was thrilled to find out her team wore teal uniforms (her favorite color).  Max's team wore red and are sponsored by the Vincennes Firefighters.  Both kids ran until they dropped, Max even came home with a couple bruises.  Holyn tried to kill it every time she kicked the ball and ended up losing a shoe a couple times.  She didn't care and just kept playing. (No worries, I got her new soccer cleats). Holyn informed me after the game that I am now officially a soccer mom.

Soccer Sarcasm

Sarcasm is a favorite for our family and seems to happen regularly. With that said, Max started outdoor soccer practice on Friday, and seems to think he's an old pro at the game (he played at the YMCA this past spring).  He ran and kicked with his teammates on the field for a while, then took his spot as goalie.  Lant tried to offer some constructive criticism to which Max had quite the comeback.  He yells (because my children only have one volume setting) "Dad, don't talk to me unless you're going to encourage me".  Everyone on the sidelines cracked up, including us.  It's now become the new catch phrase at our house.

Kicks like a Girl!

Holyn started soccer practice tonight and is on an all girl team.  She let us know on the car ride home, she actually prefers to be the only girl on a boys team, but that wouldn't be the case this time around.  She did a great job keeping her eye on the ball and kicking really hard.  I love the faces she makes right before the boot.  Look at that intensity!  Her first game is Sunday, at the same time as Max's team plays their first game (of course, right? And somehow I volunteered to help her coach out too.  I might need to start taping my mouth shut or something.)  Max has yet to have practice due to the holiday weekend.  He will be on an all boys team, and I think he's just fine with that. 

Kindergarten Cop

As I waited to pick the kids up from school today, I witnessed this gem.  Max's class exited their building and waited with their teacher (which happened to be a sub.) for their parents.  Before Max even looked for me, he had to halt a burglary in progress.  He grabbed his teacher's arm for attention and shouted, "Miss Pam, Miss Pam, Damien has some toys from the classroom in his backpack".  I decided to stand back and watch this unfold.  The teacher called Damien back to the steps and asked him if he had anything in his backpack that wasn't his.  The child shook his head no.  Miss Pam asked him again and then held her hand out for his backpack.  He kind of shook his head sheepishly and looked down, but inside the backpack were the classroom toys.  Damien got scolded by Miss Pam (right in front of his parents no less, who didn't seem to have a pulse either) and all was well in the world again. Max then gave his teacher a hug and told her to have a good weekend (yes, my buttons were bursting with pride). We later asked Max why he decided to tell on his friend, and Max replied "I asked him if he was going to bring the toys back so all the other kids could play with them, and Damien said he loved them and he was going to keep them.  I told him I was going to have to tell the teacher".  Lant gave him the nickname "Kindergarten Cop".  By the way, nice work officer!

School Days, School Days

Holyn and Max are back in school already!  I can't believe that my baby is now a Kindergartner.  And our big girl is now in 3rd grade. Where did all the time go to? 

They posed for their annual school pictures in front of the garage. We also made a quick trip out to Dad's work to get a few words of encouragement (like behave Max) and then we set off to school. Holyn's class met in the gym to start the day, so Max and I joined his class in their room.  I filled out a couple forms before I let him know I was leaving.  He told me he'd like it if I stayed at school for the next 6 hours, but I declined his offer.  He didn't mind much.  But I did shed a couple tears in the car. After school they both came home with perfect reports and smiles.  Should be a good year.

Summer Vacation

Our summer started off with hot days, a trip to the hospital (Holyn had the stomach flu and needed labs, an X-ray and an IV) and a visit from Boppa and Papa Jim in Indiana. Unfortunately, due to her illness, Holyn even missed her dance recital. Poor kid. Lant and I found our way out to Las Vegas for some much needed relaxation while the kids ate junk food, went fishing and stayed up late (and spent quality time together) with Boppa and Papa Jim!

Baseball was fun this summer, but a real scorcher if you had to stand and watch. Holyn's team finished first for the season, but lost out in the tournament early. As you may already know, Max's team won every game (I did mention they didn't keep score right?) and thus were season champs too.

Other milestones we celebrated were Lant's birthday, Holyn's new glasses, Max's 6th birthday, the kid's new love for fishing, a month long trip to Iowa, the Doran reunion, the George reunion, swimming with our cousins, Happy Hour at the Hoyers and Holyn getting her tonsils and adenoid removed in Iowa. That pretty much sums up June and July for us. Oh yeah, and lots of Taco Tico and a few thousand water gun fights with Max.

We also got a visit from Joe and Grandma Ellen after our trip to Iowa. Along with Tom and Jess, we all braved Holiday World in Santa Clause, IN for I swear the hottest day on the planet. All the kids (I'm including Tom, Jess and Lant) had roller coaster fever and we practically had to drag them from the park. They also had the pleasure of witnessing Watermelon Fest here in Vincennes.

Good bye summer, let's do this again some time, like next year.