Reese Family

1.29.2014

Polar Vortex

Today was the first day back in school this week, after being off for two days due to the Polar Vortex. The temps were ridiculously cold and the kids were going crazy after being inside for so long. They haven't had outdoor recess in over a week. I decided the kids needed to get out some energy so we took them to Sky Zone, the trampoline place.

Also, Ethan got glasses. He actually loves them.

1.23.2014

Wednesdays

Wednesday are long days for our family. The kids head to school at 8am in the morning for a long day of learning. I help in Cole's class with math groups every Wednesday. As soon as the bells rings and school is out the race begins. It starts with 3 hours of gymnastics for Liv. I sit up above the gym in an observation room....it's a long time to sit still.

Then I run home to pick up the boys, hoping that they got all their homework finished. We grab some quick dinner and head off to scouts.

I am currently serving as Cole's wolf den mom. I have a loud, rowdy bunch of boys. Ethan and Cole generally like to come a few minutes early to play soccer in the gym before Scouts.

Last week we held a marble tournament for Scouts. It was actually pretty fun!

Then we get home by 8:30 and get everyone showered and ready for bed.

And then we wake up the next day and do it all over.

Try something new

Shawn and I went on a date today to the indoor shooting range. It's something we have never done before and we wanted to try something new. First we had a private lesson on basic gun safety and then were able to shoot on the range and try a different of guns. I ended up liking the Bersa Thunder 22 and Shawn really liked the Glock Model 19.

(Yes, we are wearing coats. The instruction room was freezing cold)

For a first time shooter, the instructor told me I did great. My very first shot was right on the bullseye, but then I got got a little less accurate :) I was surprised and how nervous it made me ahe instructor was impressed. He said the both Shawn and I were shooting like someone with 6+ months experience.Shawn pretty much nailed the bullseye the entire time with the 22, and then he tried the Glock and did great also. The instructor was impressed. He said the both Shawn and I were shooting like someone with 6+ months experience.

We shot on the short range at 17 feet with open sights. We were aiming for the chest with the smaller bullets (22mm) and with the larger bullets (9mm) we were aiming for the neck. Shawn pretty much decapitated his guy.

(Shawn said he had to act tough in the picture on the right because he was shooting a gun)

It was fun. Can't wait to go back and try again!

1.20.2014

No School

Today the kids were home from school for Martin Luther King's Day. Shawn and I spent the morning at meetings with plumbing and HVAC people at the new house. After our meeting we took the kids to SPIN Milwaukee. It is a restaurant downtown in the Third Ward with ping pong tables. We ordered our food, played ping pong while we waited, ate our food, and played more ping pong. We really aren't good at ping pong and had one to many stray balls fly and hit the ceiling, the wall, and many of the people around us, but no one really seemed to care. It was fun!

1.17.2014

Black and White Dinner

Every January we have our "Black and White" dinner. This year was no exception, but it was a little different. Right now in the duplex we are renting we can't even all fit around the table to eat together. So I knew that would be a problem having a nice family dinner. Instead of having our dinner at home, we decided to go out for a fancy dinner. We went to the Melting Pot. It was our first experience there and we had a blast. I asked the kids to dress up nicely because we were heading out for a nice dinner. Cole and Ethan both put on ties and dress shoes with their jeans, it was cute. We loved the Wisconsin Trio and Cheddar cheese fondue and everyone had their own entrée. We had chicken, pork, steak, shrimp, salmon, ravioli, and veggies. We finished the meal off with their classic chocolate fondue with peanut butter, and a amore fondue.

We also talked about our upcoming year and some of the things were are looking forward to and set some goals.

Here is our goal list so far....

Ethan

LEARN: better at juggling a soccer ball

GO: Wisconsin Dells, California, Visit Uncle Mike, and attend a professional soccer game and soccer camp.

NEW THING TO TRY: Different types of Sushi

Cole

LEARN: Algebra, more about human bodies, and better at throwing a football

GO: Camping and swimming on the beach, go to a museum, see the Grand Canyon, and go to California

NEW THING TO TRY: Skateboarding

Liv

LEARN:Tennis, ping pong, and learn more about Koala bears

GO: San Diego and Disney World, go camping and swimming in the ocean

NEW THING TO TRY: Horseback Riding

The kids also set personal goals for home, school, and each of their activities (soccer, gymnastics, Tae Kwon Do, etc.)

Shawn's big goal for this year is to pass his board exams in April and my goal is to move into our new house and get the kids started in a new school and new neighborhood with minimal stress and chaos :)

1.04.2014

Saturday

Liv attended her new gymnastic team class this morning. She was so nervous, but ended up doing great. She learned a few new tricks, like this one..

Cole and I spent the day loading up on Dayquil, Ibprofen, Afrin, tissues and basically feeling crappy.

Ethan had a busy day with Tae Kwon Do Demo Team, a Sunday School Party, and an Indoor Soccer game.

It's supposed to get really cold these next few days. In fact, school is already cancelled on Monday and possibly Tuesday. Here is the forecast with wind chills.

2014

We spent Christmas here in Milwaukee and then we packed our bags the next morning and headed to Utah for the week. Cole spent Christmas day throwing up, which he kindly passed on to his family. Followed by killer headaches, sore throats, runny nose, coughing and the works.