Punta Cana Vacation

Last week the three of us got back from a wonderful vacation in the Dominican Republic. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Punta Cana and it was beyond amazing. My parents took us on the trip and two of my parents dear friends came as well.

We thought Kate would do well on the trip but we had no clue she would do as great she did. Every day instead of having to go back to the room to nap, she did so right on a lounge chair and her naps were just as long as if she were in her crib. It probably helped to have the real-life ocean/waves sound her noise maker emits.

Sound Asleep

Just Waking Up

The resort has so many different pools, each catering to a different demographic, but we didn’t spend a moment at any of them. I’ve never seen such a beautiful beach filled with powdery sand and absolutely zero rocks both in the ocean and on the shore. It made for the best swimming I’ve ever experienced. Given that, we spent all our time there. In fact, here's a little video of Kate enjoying the beach.

My Folks Along With Shelly & I

Shelly & Kate Enjoy the View

This Weather Will Work!

It's a Tough Life

On top of that, the resort was absolutely gorgeous, the service was beyond incredible and it was a vacation I’ll treasure the rest of my life. Besides that, there’s actually quite a bit more to report. Kate had her first hair “trim” before we left, but you’ll hardly notice it. We’ll post video of that as well as some updates regarding our basement remolding project on Friday.

Basement Renovation

The ball is officially moving on our basement renovation project. My brother and I broke ground to rough in a space for a half bathroom a few weeks ago and just this past Friday and Saturday, the project got into full-swing. Andy Woldt (Shelly's cousin) who owns his own construction company came up along with my father-in-law Chris and three of us got to work.

By the time Saturday evening rolled around, I was shocked by how much we had completed. As the day went by Friday and into Saturday, I found myself laughing more and more at the thought that I was going to try and tackle this part of the project without calling in the experts. It was quickly clear I would've been in way over my head. The level of expertise Andy and Chris had was unreal and I'm so thankful they were here. Their craftsmanship and quality is readily apparent! So, if anyone's thinking about finishing off their basement without calling in an expert, let me save you some time.....don't bother!

Once again, thanks so much to Andy and Chris for all your hard work. Greg, thanks for coming Saturday and giving us a hand as well.

We'll continue to update the blog with updated pictures as we move along in the process. These pictures are of the work completed this weekend.

Happy Birthday!

I am a horrible wife for not giving my wonderful husband a timely birthday shout-out on the blog. John celebrated his birthday (I'll let you guess how old he is) on the 24th and thankfully we were all healthy to celebrate his special day. Given his birthday was on a Tuesday, we celebrated with his family on Sunday. We headed over in the afternoon and feasted on Deb's spaghetti and rum cake before John opened his birthday goodies.

While he wasn't all that excited for his birthday, we were all excited to celebrate and recognize what a great husband, father, son, etc. John is. One of the best parts of my day is when he walks through the door after he gets home from work - not to mention seeing first-hand the love he has for Kate. We simply couldn't ask for a better husband and father! We love you so much!

Kate helping Daddy open his gifts

Alright, a Grill Daddy!

And the most comfortable Packer pants known to man (yes, I've already tried them out).

You can't go wrong with Lambeau Field barware.

And rum cake!

Rotavirus Running Rampant

We've had quite the difficult week since waking up Saturday. Poor Kate had gotten sick in her bed and then it continued all morning. Since then she's gone from getting better to worse to better to worse. We just can't seem to get ahead of these symptoms and while she's a little fighter, it still breaks our heart to see. So much so, that Shelly and I both had little stomach bugs that lasted all day Saturday. However, I woke up Sunday fine whereas Shelly was far worse and wasn't able to go to work until today.

This is our first time experiencing Rotavirus (funny, I thought Kate had a shot to prevent it.....how does that happen?) and its been awful. It seems as though both Shel and Kate are on the turnaround so we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Lastly, we went to my parents house last week for the Badgers Rose Bowl game....which turned out poorly, but we had a good time anyway. Here's some pics:

Woah....that's a big Santa!

Kate, in utter shock at the final score!

Winter Days

Well, we finally got some snow just in time for Christmas. New Years weekend Kate finally got to enjoy it. Here's some of our favorite pics.

Really Mom & Dad, the Coat with the Don King Hair?

Alright, I'm Ready....Let's Go!

Faster Dad, Faster!

Last but not least, enjoy this hidden gem of a video. Kate and Brooke battle it out for queen tongue-sticker-outer.

Happy Everything!

There is certainly a lot to celebrate lately! First, I would like to wish our dear nephew, Benjamin, a happy belated birthday! He turned the big 3 on the 30th! He wasn't the only one that celebrated a birthday on that day though. His uncle, Godfather and my baby brother also turned another year older. I won't share his age since his response to my birthday text stated, "Thanks for the reminder".

We also had a very Merry Christmas and hope all of you reading did as well. We spent Christmas Eve at the Weiland's and then headed to West Bend on Christmas morning to celebrate with the Burch bunch until Tuesday. We certainly missed the Virginia Burch's, but were so thankful to see the rest of the family.

With all of the traveling and getting off of our schedule (Jen, I know you can relate), we decided to ring in the New Year at home - just the three of us. Being the party animals we are, we were all asleep before midnight. However, I could tell when the clock struck midnight as I awoke to fireworks going off all around our house. Much to my surprise, John took no part in it.

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May 2012 bring you much love, happiness and laughter!

I was able to snap this picture of Kate and Grandma & Grandpa before she ran for the hills.

Kate and Grandma having a good time.

Opening up a gift from Uncle Greg, Auntie Laura, Brookie and Choo Choo

What Christmas wouldn't be complete without a little Jersey Shore trivia game?

We're normal.

Like mother...

...like cat.

Belated Thanksgiving Post

Given that Christmas is a week from today, I suppose we should recap our Thanksgiving. Typically I have to work the day after Thanksgiving so we enjoy the holiday with John's family in Green Bay, but this year I had off so we spent it with my side of the family. We celebrated the holiday with some of my dad's side of the family in Eau Claire. It was fun to see my relatives and visit our college alma mater.

After we enjoyed a delicious meal and a Packer win, my parents, sister and niece and nephew headed back to my sister's house near Minneapolis for the remainder of the weekend. We enjoyed watching Toy Story (about 3 times), going to the park, and of course, playing with Chuck.

We'll post a few more tonight, but until then enjoy some pics from that weekend and we hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

The Three Amigos!

John & Kate Get Ready to go Down the Slide

Daddy & Daughter Walk Home from the Park