Olson Family

2009-10-02T13:36:00.002-05:00

With Collin being in first grade it gave him the opportunity to join cub scouts. I told James he should take him to his meetings because it is more of a dad/son thing. Something they could do together. Well I was very surprised when James came home from the informational meeting and told me he signed up to be the Tiger Cub den leader. He is having a great time with it and is doing an amazing job! I'm so proud of Collin and James!

2009-10-02T13:33:00.002-05:00

Kade also started 3year old preschool this year. He also loves school. He was very ready to go and was like bye mom see you later!! It is only two days a week and I have loved the break of 2 hours so I can do some workouts!

2009-10-02T13:26:00.002-05:00

So it has been awhile since I have last blogged. We have been busy with the start of school and I have been using facebook more often. Here is Collin on his first day of first grade. He LOVES it and his teacher. It is the first year to go all day, eat lunch, and have specials like gym, music, and art. He leaves to school happy and comes home happy...what more could you ask for!

2009-08-10T21:09:00.003-05:00

A Day at the Lake. My parents along with my brother and two sisters took the kids to the beach for the day. We went to Lake Arbutus and it was a fun day of swimming, picnicking and boat riding. James stayed home in Appleton for a guys weekend.

2009-07-25T12:23:00.002-05:00

They had hands on things to do at the aquarium as well. Collin and Kade saw how they measured up against a big fish. Kade enjoyed playing at the water table. Collin had fun touching starfish and sea urchins.

2009-07-25T12:16:00.002-05:00

Our trip to Chicago. After 6 Flags we headed down to Chicago to spend the day at Shedd Aquarium. It was so much fun! Collin was so interested in learning about different aquatic life (Monday at the library we checked out books on coral, starfish, and crabs). We had the chance to watch a dolphin training session and divers feeding some ocean animals.

2009-07-25T12:11:00.001-05:00

Milwaukee Zoo. The boys loved checking out all the animals and had the chance to hand feed some birds. It was a great way to start our little vacation. The next day we spent at 6 flags. We got there when the park opened and stayed until 9:30. The boys rode there first roller coaster (Collin loved it Kade not so much!) No pictures though we were too busy playing!

2009-07-13T12:31:00.002-05:00

Neighborhood 4th of July cookout! The boys used sparklers for the first time and watched the teenage boys light off fireworks.

2009-07-13T12:29:00.001-05:00

Happy 4th!

2009-07-13T12:24:00.002-05:00

Collin had his birthday party at WildAir. He invited his classmates from Kindergarten and some other friends. He had a blast and it was fun to watch the boys have fun with opening the gifts.

2009-07-13T12:19:00.001-05:00

The two June birthdays celebrate together. On June 21st Aunt Laura turned 30 and on June 25th Collin turned 7. Aunt Laura went all out and bought Collin some cool birthday gear. She bought herself some as well!

2009-06-09T15:15:00.002-05:00

The day at Kara's farm ended with a trip to the pond. The boys and James went on the paddle boat. It was a nice warm day so the kids went swimming. They thought it was pretty neat we let them go in their unders!! They boys had a blast and even caught some tadpoles.

2009-06-09T15:09:00.002-05:00

We left for a little vacation to visit my parents to celebrate the end of Collin's school year. It may not feel like a vacation to some but we get awesome home cooked meals by my Dad. The kids LOVE Nana and Papa's house with all the land...and James and I get a little break because the awesome Aunts love to play with the kids. Th

is trip was extra special because we were able to spend a day with Kara on her farm. The boys love animals and here they got to hold baby chicks and rabbits, feed the horses, and play with the cats and dogs. Thanks for letting us spend the day Kara!!!

2009-06-02T13:33:00.001-05:00

More fun on the farm. Collin fell in love with the kittens. I think at some point he held all nine of them. We also went for a hike around the farm where we found an old kiln the boys crawled into. On the way out we stopped in the wildlife house and found some baby chicks hatching out of eggs. The boys sat and watched for a good 20 min before we had to leave. It was a great day!

2009-06-02T13:26:00.002-05:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we took a drive to a farm. The kids were so excited to feed baby goats with a bottle. Our kids sure are animal lovers and it was hard to get them to leave. Kade especially made friends with one little goat. There was a family nearby who kept telling their son in the stroller, "Kevin look at the goats...Kevin look over here" Well little Kade thought that meant his goats name was Kevin. Kevin followed Kade everywhere (mostly because I think the goat thought Kade had more food). Kade cried and cried when he left because he didn't want to leave Kevin.

2009-06-02T13:24:00.000-05:00

Kade showing off his new teeth!

2009-05-21T13:23:00.003-05:00

The school year is coming to an end. We are very sad about this! We loved Collin's teacher this year and now he is onto first grade and all day school. I have been spoiled having him around so much with the half day kindergarten it will be very weird to have him gone all day. This is the second to last field trip for the year. We went to the zoo and had a beautiful day! Siblings were invited along on the field trip so even Kade got to join the fun. The bunnies were the favorite of the day and I had to stop Kade 3 times from picking up the chickens. They had a blast!

2009-05-21T13:19:00.002-05:00

Touch a truck. While Collin was in school Kade and I headed over to an area park where they had trucks set up that the kids could sit in and explore. Kade "drove" a crane, ambulance, firetruck, semi truck, and school bus. Talk about little boy heaven!

2009-05-21T13:13:00.002-05:00

A night at the Museum. Last weekend was a busy weekend for us. Kade had oral surgery on Friday morning. Poor guy had two root infections that needed to be cleaned, four crowns put on, and

two cavities filled. Since he was so young he had it done in the hospital under anesthesia. Everything went well. Saturday morning was Collin's big track meet and Saturday night was the night at the museum. Our church and an area church rented out the museum overnight. At first Collin was not so sure about the idea but made a great friend and had a blast. Collin and his friend slept in the firetruck and Kade slept with Mom and Dad in the sports room. It was a really fun night filled with adventure!

2009-05-18T08:22:00.001-05:00

Collin had another cold and windy day for his all YMCA track meet. Nana and Aunt April where in the stands to cheer him on. He place third in the 400 so he got a ribbon and he shaved 5 seconds off of his 100. He also did the softball throw and the long jump.

2009-05-09T19:44:00.001-05:00

Collin had his first track meet today. He competed in the 400m, 100m and softball throw. The long jump and relay were cancelled due to the wet and cold weather. He was so proud when everyone was cheering for him. Next week we will compete against other teams and he is excited to get a ribbon.

2009-05-05T15:31:00.002-05:00

Collin and Kade with their new haircuts. Such handsome boys!!!

2009-05-05T15:28:00.002-05:00

Collin earned a free ticket to the Timber Rattlers baseball game for reading. Here are some pictures from the game. We had beautiful weather for the game.

2009-05-05T15:22:00.002-05:00

Collin's fun filled alphabet field trip. The class got to fish for letters, build huge letter stacks with boxes, dig in sand for the alphabet and buried treasure, have relay races and end the trip with an alphabet snack. Fun day!!

2009-04-13T08:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-13T08:26:00.002-05:00

The Easter Egg Hunt!! Easter morning Collin woke up around six to look for his Easter eggs. We convinced him to lay in bed with us until 6:30 so Kade could get some more sleep. As soon as 6:30 rolled around the boys were happily searching for eggs and their baskets.

2009-04-11T20:56:00.002-05:00

Dying Easter Eggs!!

2009-04-05T22:15:00.002-05:00

I didn't get many pictures because I was having too much fun. But we had our first cookout and fire with friends and neighbors. The kids and adults always have a blast!! Collin went to bed around 9:30 that night and was asking if we could have another one tomorrow. Here Kade and Anthony chill on the swing. And the five boys are making up games in the other picture.

2009-04-05T22:11:00.002-05:00

Collin lost another tooth. That is 3 so far! He bit into an apple and out it came. He left it under the pillow and at 5am he came running into our room that the tooth was gone but there was no money. So mom had to go in and help him find it. After that he fell fast asleep again! :-)

2009-03-31T11:21:00.002-05:00

Collin was chosen to be the BIG CHEESE this week in school. He came off the bus last Friday yelling as he crossed the street that he was chosen. He was so happy!! Each day he gets to bring in something for show and share and he is the special helper for the week. Today he got

to bring in a special snack (cupcakes) and his show and share was Kade.(Too Cute!!!) We all went in and we couldn't be prouder of our Kindergartner!!

2009-03-22T09:30:00.002-05:00

Pirate Party

2009-03-22T09:12:00.004-05:00

We started the party with taking the kids to Wildair to run around for some bouncy fun!!

2009-03-22T09:10:00.000-05:00

Kade is 3!!!!!!

Kade Then!

Kade now!

2009-03-05T12:57:00.002-06:00

Kade is almost three and when we went in for his hair cut he asked to look like a rock star. The stylist gave him a baby mohawk which Kade thinks is the greatest! Here are a few pictures of him showing off his new due. In the one picture he is saying "PEACE" and giving a peace sign.

2009-03-05T12:52:00.002-06:00

Collin dressed up for Dr.Seuss week. Monday was stripes, Tuesday crazy socks, Wacky Wednesday with wacky clothes, Thursday wear green and eat green eggs and ham, and Friday show and share two rhyming objects. Here is Collin with his crazy socks and his wacky clothes,

2009-02-18T06:47:00.001-06:00

Collin's 100 day school project. 100 lifesavers in the shape of a heart. He must still have Valentine

's Day on his mind!

2009-02-18T06:43:00.002-06:00

The few days we had nice springlike weather we were outside a lot!! The boys had the chance to use the scooters that Santa bought them. They were a big hit and the kids want to use them all of the time. Can't wait for spring to officially be here!

2009-02-07T13:08:00.004-06:00

Today was a beautiful day outside. We went the the backyard and made an awesome fort for the boys to play in. Our neighbor came out to help and join the fun! James and I had as much fun as the kids... especially James throwing snowballs.

2009-02-07T13:05:00.001-06:00

Fixing..Kade is having fun dressing up and fixing things around the house.

2009-01-31T15:23:00.004-06:00

Today we did something that was a first for us all! We rented snowshoes and went snowshoeing. The little ones for Kade were so cute! We all had a good time going almost a mile (which I thought was pretty good especially for a 2 year old!) We were out for a little less than an hour and a half. It was nice to be in the fresh air after being stuck inside from all of the bitter cold lately. I think it is something we would like to do again as a family!

2009-01-13T12:30:00.003-06:00

The boys are busy with classes at the YMCA. Collin has been involved in many swimming classes and is taking karate for the third time. Kade loves gym and swim where he gets to play 30 min in the gym than 30 min in the pool. Kade is now trying some classes on his own.

2009-01-01T12:41:00.002-06:00

The countdown!

2009-01-01T10:57:00.002-06:00

Getting close to midnight!

2009-01-01T10:48:00.002-06:00

All the kids made it until midnight!

2009-01-01T10:40:00.003-06:00

We took the kids bowling on New Years Eve. Alex was such a trooper and finished the games of Collin's, Nicholas' and Kade's. Jocelyn got her first ever strike!

2008-12-27T18:29:00.001-06:00

Sledding the day after Christmas. Collin, Kade, Mom, Dad, Aunt Laura and Michelle all went sledding the day after Christmas.

2008-12-27T18:19:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas from The Olson Family. These are random shots of the boys opening gifts on Christmas Eve and Christmas day from Grandma and Grandpa Olson and Nana and Papa. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have a happy New Year!

2008-12-21T08:15:00.002-06:00

A visit with Santa. Collin and Kade went to see Santa this weekend. The original plan was to go to the zoo. The decorate the zoo, the kids can eat dinner with Santa, and then a horse drawn sled ride through the woods. The weather did not cooperate though and it was too snowy to make the trip. We decided to head to the mall instead (not as fun). Collin was very concerned about how Santa could be at the mall and the zoo. We told him he was finishing up at the mall and was heading to the zoo after. He then said well if Santa can make it to the zoo why can't we? We responded well Santa has his sled and reindeer. Collin then said he wished he was Santa! Too cute!

Kade was just happy and kept pointing and saying Santa. He is really into Christmas this year! Every time we said we were going to see Santa he would ask..and reindeer too?

2008-12-21T08:05:00.002-06:00

Making Christmas cookies!

2008-12-14T16:00:00.002-06:00

2008-12-14T15:57:00.001-06:00

Collin had speaking parts in this years Christmas pageant. He did a wonderful job!

2008-12-14T15:56:00.001-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa Olson came to watch Collin in his Christmas pageant and we had a little Olson Christmas celebration.

2008-12-09T17:35:00.002-06:00

Snow Day Fun!

2008-12-09T17:30:00.001-06:00

What do you do when you come in from the snow..drink hot chocolate! It was a fun morning. Dad had to finish the shoveling though :-)

2008-12-09T17:25:00.002-06:00

What to do on a snow day...play in the snow! We had about 8 inches and Dad worked from home today. Collin, Kade and Mom went out to start the shoveling and have some fun in all the snow!

2008-12-08T10:45:00.002-06:00

After the decorating was done Collin wanted to have some fun with our camera. These are all the shots he took (I think he did a pretty good job!). As we watched him run around the house snapping shots it made us happy for one present Santa will bringing this year for Collin :-)

2008-12-08T10:38:00.004-06:00

Decorating the Christmas Tree. All of our decorations are up (except for the outside which we decided to skip this year). The boys always have so much fun putting the tree up. The asked all week and we finally did it Friday night.

2008-11-29T17:43:00.001-06:00

Fun at the Christmas parade. We had a group of seven kids all bundled up and ready to watch.

2008-11-22T10:42:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday to Dad! Collin helped make the cake and the kids drew him wonderful pictures. They had fun picking out balloons and decorating the house so Dad would be surprised after work. No laughing at mom's singing I was just getting over a cold HAHA!

2008-11-18T08:46:00.003-06:00

Family Fun Night at Collin's school. This fall the family fun night theme was football. They had obstacle courses set up for the kids, inflatables in the gym, door prizes, popcorn and Gatorade, and the kids had a chance to put on some football gear. Collin put on the black eye makeup and tried on the gear. These pictures are of Kade wearing a helmet and Collin with his friend Joe. Could they be future football players?

2008-11-01T22:15:00.003-05:00

Happy Halloween. The first picture is Collin and his friend Joe at Boo Bash. The Olson gang trick or treating:Kade the pirate, Anthony the pumpkin, Nicholas the soldier, and Collin the ninja. Jessica the cat with Homer. I went as an angel watching over her want to be thug.(Collin picked our costumes :-). We had a neighborhood party so Kade took a picture with Jane the Dracula. I thought Kade would be more scared of things but he would just laugh.

2008-11-01T22:09:00.003-05:00

Kade painting his pumpkin and Collin carving his. Well, mom ended up doing most the work...but it was so fun!

2008-11-01T22:02:00.003-05:00

Kade being silly on a trip home to Nana and Papa's house. Aunt April stuck him a big pot and pulled him around for a fun ride!

2008-11-01T22:00:00.001-05:00

Kade resting on a hike at 1000 Islands nature center. The leaves were such a cool color.

2008-11-01T21:56:00.002-05:00

The boys on a fall hike at Mosquito Hill. We had a blast! They saw frogs, a wolly bear, a walking stick and a snake. What could make two little boys more happy?

2008-10-06T10:16:00.002-05:00

We went to the little farmer for the day on my birthday. We always have so much fun picking apples and pumpkins. We made a yummy apple pie that served as my birthday cake. It was such a fun day!

2008-10-06T10:11:00.003-05:00

Football league at the YMCA. Collin is playing football at the Y this fall. He doesn't really enjoy playing but we are having him finish the season. His favorite part about football is the water breaks! This might not be his sport but it is so fun to watch all the kids play!

2008-09-23T15:22:00.003-05:00

Collin's class field trip to the apple orchard. It was a super beautiful day for the trip!

2008-09-18T09:38:00.006-05:00

Quarry Quest was another big hit for the boys! Kade grew leaps in bounds in the fact that he screamed and cried last year when we brought him up to drive the digger. This year he walked up without us and would have loved to go again. Collin's favorite part was "digging for gold" in the dirt pile and going up on the lift.

2008-09-18T09:38:00.003-05:00

Collin's first Communion. He was very proud about the whole thing. James even got a little teary watching Collin take his first Communion.

2008-09-02T21:07:00.003-05:00

Collin on his first day of school. Collin loved riding the bus (big step for mom!) I hope to get some bus pictures and some of him with his new teacher it was just too hectic today!

2008-09-02T20:46:00.002-05:00

I took Collin in for an eye exam before he started kindergarten. I was really surprised to find out that he has really really poor vision in his left eye. It is basically a lazy eye but not showing by a wandering eye. The doctor said his brain basically turns off his left eye. I was so surprised because he was able to pass the eye exam at his five year old checkup and his preschool screening I just took him in because it was free exam and I thought it would be good to have a professional one before school. Good thing I did. He has to wear glasses with a strong prescription in his left eye and a weaker one in his right. Hopefully, this will make him use his left eye more. I take him back at the end of the month to see how the glasses are working; if they are not working well he will have to wear an eye patch on his right eye. He has been very responsible with the glasses even thought we have had to go back twice in the two weeks he has had them for repairs (once was a fluke screw thing the other was Kade grabbed them off his face and bent them).

2008-09-02T20:33:00.002-05:00

2008-09-02T20:25:00.002-05:00

Fun filled week of vacation bible school. The theme was Power Lab which is so up Collin's alley! He was asking to do more experiments everyday.

2008-09-02T20:20:00.001-05:00

Boys and their blankies!!!

2008-07-25T13:44:00.002-05:00

The neighborhood boys playing in the backyard.

2008-07-06T12:10:00.002-05:00

Happy 4th of July. We went to the fireworks in the park. Kade was very amazed at them it is his first time seeing them. He kept reaching towards the sky and saying "Fireworks go boom" and when they were not in the sky would say "fireworks where are you?"

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-07-01T13:03:00.001-05:00

2008-06-26T18:45:00.001-05:00

While we were up north Collin celebrated his 6th birthday. His big party is on Saturday with all of his family and friends.

2008-06-26T18:41:00.003-05:00

Time for bed!! It was a slumber party every night. The smallest kids in with the parents. The two boys on the pullout and the girl of the bunch on an air mattress on the floor. Collin and Kade had so much fun with his cousins!

2008-06-26T18:33:00.002-05:00

Water Fun! Jessica brought up a car wash for the kids to run through and some water balloons. Kade went without a swim diaper so his shorts kept slipping down. He looked like a little Coppertone baby!

2008-06-26T18:28:00.004-05:00

We spent a beautiful week with family/friends at our friend Jessica's cabin. The kids had a blast. These are the pictures of James taking the kids on a ride in the boat.

2008-06-15T09:37:00.003-05:00

On Saturday Jessica, Mike, Nicholas, and Anthony met us to go on a ride with Thomas the Tank Engine. They had a huge Lego Thomas, activities tables with Thomas, a bunch of train tracks set up, and then we got to go on a train ride. The boys had a blast and Kade couldn't stop saying "choo-choo!"

2008-06-13T13:03:00.003-05:00

Kade made friends with the talking bird named Jabber. I think Jabber liked the tone of Kade's voice because if Kade would say "hi" or "hello" Jabber would say "hello" or "hi" back repeatedly. It was funny to watch!

2008-06-13T12:55:00.002-05:00

Building a birdhouse at 1000 Islands Environmental Center.

2008-06-13T12:50:00.003-05:00

It has been awhile since our last post because life has been just busy! We took Collin out to celebrate the last day of school. Here we are mini-golfing and playing games. We are looking forward to the long summer break!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-04-03T14:37:00.001-05:00

2008-03-25T11:57:00.003-05:00

Happy Easter!! The boys had fun looking for Easter eggs and their baskets. After enjoying some peeps they got all cleaned up for church.

2008-03-25T11:51:00.002-05:00

Coloring Easter eggs!

2008-03-25T11:44:00.005-05:00

Easter egg hunt at the zoo. It was really a nice set-up! The morning started with a nice breakfast with the Easter bunny including flying pancakes (they flipped the pancakes and the kids got to try to catch them on their plates!). Then we went into the zoo and the kids got to pick out 10 eggs. We then walked the zoo and had to find the egg station to turn in the correct colored egg. The kids got to trade the egg for a treat. Collin took some pictures with the lion and Easter bunny but Kade did not want to go near them! We had fun watching the animals (the favorite of the day was the otter!)

2008-03-25T11:29:00.003-05:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Kade!! We had a low key birthday for Kade at our house (the big party is this weekend!) Collin and Mom made cupcakes and Kade opened his gift from his brother (we are saving the BIG ones for this weekend). With Kade's birthday falling on Easter weekend we also went to a big Easter egg hunt at the zoo and dyed Easter eggs.

2008-03-25T11:26:00.002-05:00

Kade sleeping in his big boy bed. It took a few weeks and we had to put a lock on the door buy Kade is now sleeping in his big boy bed. If you notice the shirt it is just so appropriate right now for us!

2008-03-25T11:24:00.001-05:00

Another tooth gone! A few days later Collin lost his other bottom tooth.

2008-03-04T21:05:00.001-06:00

Collin lost his first tooth! He lost the front right one on the bottom (the left is ready to come out too!) He called Aunt April, Aunt Laura and Nana and Papa to share the news. He even asked if he could call his teacher!

2008-03-04T20:57:00.002-06:00

Here are some pictures of Kade with his little red cast. He will be re x-rayed on the 11th and hopefully the cast will be taken off. The doctor said it was the littlest cast she has put on. He is such a tough boy so having a cast hasn't slowed him down a bit. In the one picture he is being a ham for the camera. Can't you just hear him saying, "CHEESE!"?

2008-02-17T12:47:00.003-06:00

OUCH!! Our poor little guy decided to ditch the crib this weekend and ended up with a fracture in his arm. He has been such a trooper I think Mom and Dad cried more than he did. Having a cast on his arm sure has not slowed him down!

2008-02-17T12:22:00.002-06:00

Collin and his class singing in church for Sunday school.

2008-02-17T12:17:00.002-06:00

As Kade has gotten older Collin and him have become the best of buds. It is so fun watching the two of them play together. They love to play hide and seek and case. Here the two of them are playing ring around the rosies and cuddling.

2008-01-07T09:48:00.000-06:00

Aunt Laura and I took Collin to a big sledding hill. There was a rope that pulled the tubes to the top and four big slides to choose from. Mom almost chickened out but Collin was having so much fun she went down a few times too.

2008-01-07T09:45:00.000-06:00

Papa came out and we all built a snowman. He was pretty skinny but Kade thought it was fun. As I'm posting these now he is saying "man man".