oh, and PS, thank you cousin jack for reminding me to mention: i promtly performed when mom dragged me off the golfcart today!! i went totally limp, until she put me on the ground, then i yelled as loud as i could & kicked my legs!!..it was so much fun!! but i didn't get to get back on the cart? that part confused me, i thought for sure my new tantrum technique would get me what i wanted!..hmm..maybe i'll try that trick again later..i'm sure it works?!

we finally made it to the zoo!! grandma mary & mom & i went to visit our local caged animal friends. it was indeed full of many many other kids as well!! it was chilly in the morning, but warmed up when the sun came out about three hours into our adventure! we saw lots of animals but i was most interested in the lots of machinery & golf carts & wagons that populated the grounds!! they were everywhere!!! while we were waiting for the birds to come out, i was finally able to get my hands on a golf cart! (daddy, notice it is the batmobilecart!) (oh, & the birds never came out for their scheduled appearance!) there was a fancy tractor, a land rover, lots of golf carts that represented diff animals, & even a train! i was sooo tired, but i fought really hard to keep my sleepy eyes open! grandma & mom said i only missed the penguins & polar bear exhibits, & an elephant ear ;) (phew! i was worried! i will be able to see them next time they said! )

for my loved ones in the midwest, for goodness sakes HANG ON!!! sounds like those tornadoes aren't letting up real soon!! i'm sending you some extra angels to hold on to you when those storms push through!!

better go rest now, tomorrow is a big day-i've got my pots & pans scattered on the kitchen floor & i need to try out each lid to see which pots it fits on ;) (yes grandma, the floor is clean;) and then i can go play outside, mom says it'll be lovely out :)

good morning to you! i grew again last night! mom says i weigh at least 35 pounds! i'm not really that heavy, i think she's just silly! last night we had dinner with the strattons at old town pizza, a very cool historic & tasty place!! it was real good to see them as it has been too long!! on your left here is a picture with my train, a friend of grandma mary's made it special for me!..isn't it wonderfull?!! that's about it for now, sorry we haven't been keeping you updated more often! mom's coffee must be a decaf batch cuz she seems to be running a bit slower these days ;)

love you, have a good day :)

ps, note my summer attire here?!?!...sheesh...

Dear local weathermen, don't you think this has gone on long enough? please raise our temperature & let the rain slow down so i can go outside to frollick amunst the critters. pretty please? thankyou, charlie.

well kids, want to tell you all we love you so very much.

( just found out about another house teetereing on distaster from those awesome tornados!! ruth & jeff's place was hit by the storm we were delayed by leaving minneapolis! (even tho mommy really enjoyed watching it out the window of the plane!) they are all okay, just a lot of mess & repairs! and cousin nathan's was hit last weekend too. :( again, nobody was hurt, thank goodness :0 )

anyways, i want to personally (as personal as this page gets right!?) thank each & every one of you for making our trip special. mommy (grandma too!) really looks forward to her wisconsin week each year. even though we're so far away, she says we hold you very close to our hearts! even those of you who we don't visit for very long with! being with all our family gives us really warm fuzzies! kinda like when she see's me kissing my kitty, Action. and a special thank you to uncle mikey for taking me on my very first ever four wheeling adventure!! (sorry uncle brian, know you offered!) And a thank you too to barb & vanessa & family for letting us stay at your home, we had so much fun! and thank you too to oma for letting grandma stay with her, i know they enjoyed that also :) oh yeah, & feeding us too ;)
ps, next year, mommy thinks she can convince grandma to babysit me for an evening so she can go party with her uncles ;) we'll see about that!!! of course she also thinks she can convince uncle luke to join us too!! anyways, thank you all for all your smiles & visiting with us and we can't wait to see you again next year. love you so very much.
so mommy is pretty delirious (i apologize for her babbling...) so she is off to bed, i kept her up all night again last night! she says it is a good thing i'm so darn handsome or it might not be okay! hugs & kisses all around :)
pps, can you believe we found some "charlie's chicken soup cheese" to bring home!!?? HA! it really does take like chicken soup!!

while we were gone our iris

blooms popped!! (maybe mom will get a better picture tomorrow!) these iris bulbs came from my great, great grandma's (mommy's nana) house in kansas!! how cool is that!? & they are most beautiful!! our roses all came out too while we were gone! our yard smells sooo pretty :)