The Childs Family

Marley Rae's Birthday

2010-04-11T14:39:00.001-07:00

April 10, 2010 - Marley Rae turned a year old today! We hosted her birthday party at our house with family and friends.

Marley opening some of presents, this one, her piano, from grandma and grandpa was one of her favorites.

Marley getting her first look at her cake, she devoured the entire thing herself!

Marley enjoying her cake!

SNOW DAY!!

2009-12-09T08:10:00.001-08:00

This was the view out the back door this morning when I got up to let the dog out. She did not want go because the wind was blowing right in the door. I had to carry her out because she refused to go. She weighs 45 lbs... so that was fun.

Yay - winter has returned to Wisconsin!!

Our house in the snow. There is not much snow in the driveway because of the wind, it is all piled at the bottom. The picture doesn't do justice for the drifts at the bottom!!

A pathway from the back door. They say we only got 6 inches of snow, I don't believe it... we have way more than that!

Looking down the driveway across the street. The bare spot is from the wind, so less to shovel, however it is piled deep at the bottom of the driveway!!

The Governor closed all University campuses today across the state, along with all state offices. Every school district was also closed. I can't remember when that happened last.

Boy Scout Camping

2009-11-09T16:22:00.000-08:00

Some pictures from our camp out last weekend. You can't ask for better weather in November, 65 degrees! The boys cooked dinner and breakfast the next morning.

Roasting hot dogs over the fire...

Making pancakes the next morning...

Working on the Indian Lore Merit Badge...

Hazel, our new addition

2009-10-11T19:25:00.001-07:00

Here is Hazel, our new dog. She is a sweet mutt. A mix of Blue Heeler and Coon Hound. You can tell the coon hound when she barks. She is pretty mellow, but is a good runner. We adopted her from the Human Society, she came in as a stray so we don't know her history. She is nice mid size dog, short hair and loves to lay on the couch!!

Erika and Hazel

Max and Hazel

Hazel

Chalkfest, August 2009

2009-08-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

Justine participated in Chalkfest this year as an artist. Chalkfest is when local artists gather in Wilson Park and draw their art all over the sidewalks for people to enjoy. They are also judged and reviewed. There is music, and all sorts of stuff going on throughout the day. Start one in your city!

I know, I know, I haven't written anything for over a month. I was swamped with finals and getting some painting done on the house, both of which are now done!

Check out her art below...

More Marley!

2009-07-17T19:09:00.001-07:00

Here are few pictures of Marley - she is growing so fast! She is 3 months old already. And this is pretty much how she is all the time. A very happy and content baby, her mother is sooooo lucky!

Camping in Door County

2009-07-12T19:39:00.001-07:00

For the 4th of July this year, we returned to our tradition of camping in Bailey's Harbor which is on the peninsula of North Eastern Wisconsin. It is beautiful up there, surrounded by the Great Lakes. We used to do this every year when we first moved here, but have done other family activities over the 4th for the last few years. We changed to a new site, it was huge! Skott and Jodi came with us also and we all had a great time. We got a new tent this year, it is kinda big, 9x13, and 80 inches tall so I can actually stand up in it!! That is why I bought it! We also got a new air mattress, so we were camping in style! The camp ground is awesome, a nice pool, playground, free popcorn and tv in the game room, nice bathrooms and showers! We already made our reservations for next year! There is a big parade, craft show, music, food, all that fun stuff to on the 4th.

Here is a picture of our campsite, there were 4 tents for 9 people. It has a lot of trees, and parking for our 4 cars! We have the same spot next year.

Marley went with us to, it was her first camping trip and she did really well. She loved to look at the trees and especially the fire! She was mesmerized by it!

A picture of the kids just before the parade started, it draws a huge crowd.

This is Kenalee licking Jodi's dirty foot for $1.00!

Camp Phillips - Part 2

2009-07-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures of Boy Scout camp.

One of the many knots they learned...

The cabins we get, they are pretty nice, the "windows" open to!

This is a plane crash site they use for survival training. It is an actual crash, they just relocated it to the camp.

A map that shows the camp and its many lakes!

Camp Phillips - Part 1

2009-06-20T09:24:00.001-07:00

Last week we spent 5 nights and 6 days at Camp Phillips Boy Scout camp for Max's summer camp. It was a lot of fun and we did not get any rain!!! He earned almost two full rank advancements, 2nd and 1st Class Scout, we just have a few things to finish up. He also earned his Reptile merit badge and Mammal Study merit badge. There were about 250 scouts camp wide, with 33 of them just from our Troop. With the 7 adults that attended we had 40 people at camp. It was fun, noisy, active and a great learning experience for the boys. Oh and lots of fishing to as there are 4 lakes at camp. (Part 2 will have a few more pictures.)

Max at "Fort Knots", a group of platforms made entirely of knots!

Four-way tug of war.

Getting ready for the 5 mile hike. Gunder, Max and Sam

Getting their awards for the 5 mile hike. Sam, Gunder and Max

4 Generations

2009-06-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Childs came for a visit from Utah to see their first great grandchild. It was a quick visit, but a great time. We also had the opportunity to have Marley blessed in Church on Sunday. Justine's dad and her sister Carrie were also able to come to the blessing.

Top - Pat Childs, Jim Childs

Bottom - Nikki Childs, Marley Rae Larsen, Kelly Childs

Great grandparents enjoying some time on the porch with Marley.

Getting their first look at Marley.

A close up of Marley. She is changing soooooo fast!!

Memorial Day!

2009-05-25T18:26:00.001-07:00

We had a great Memorial Day this year, the weather was great! A little windy, but sunny and 70!! Started out with the parade, the grillin' out with some friends, which of course we ate way too much. And to finish off the day, makin smores in the backyard.

This is the Gold Star Mother's. They have lost sons in war. They toss a wreath off of the Veteran's bridge, it is quite moving.

Max marched in the parade with the Scouts.

Justine, Max, Kelly at the end of the parade.

Erika and Max - makin' smores in the backyard!

Spring Time in Wisconsin

2009-05-16T02:10:00.001-07:00

Spring seemed to come late this year, it was a long cold winter. But now that a few things are blooming I thought I would post some pictures for those who believe that we only have snow in Wisconsin!!

A few things are starting to bloom on our little hill out front. Other things are starting to grow to, and later on in the summer we will have Sunflowers and Black Eyed Susans' taking over this hill.

Last year Justine did a great job a getting some grass growing. However, the stupid people at Menards gave her annual grass, why would you want annual grass??? This year I went to True Value instead and got some perennial grass. I just planted this the other day so I hope it grows as well as Justine's did last year.

This is our little back yard. We put the patio in 2 years ago and we eat outside as much as the weather will allow. We have a little fire pit to that makes for a nice evening to hang outside and cook smores. We also planted a lot of flowers along the edges to so we hope those grow fast too.

Grandma and Grandpa time!

2009-04-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

We got to babysit for a little while today while Nikki got caught up on some homework. Ain't she adorable?

Marley Rae Larsen

Marley and aunti Kenalee, we let her hold her once in a while...

Marley and grandma Justine.

Marley and grandpa Kelly.

Heirloom Trunk

2009-04-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

While we were out in Montana my dad gave me this cool old trunk. It was made by my great-grandfather, Frank Raymond Koontz for his daughter (my grandma) Ethel Rae Koontz (Childs) when she was a teenager. We are thinking it was built about 1932 or 1933. Her initials are on the front of the chest. It needed a little TLC and some new paint. Since this is going to be Max's new toy box he got to choose the color. We were a little hesitant about the bright green color but it looks really nice. Below are some before and after pictures.

It was a little beat up and needed a little bit of repair.

Did some sanding, a few nails and screws, some of the pieces are oak I found out the hard way! I have a few broken nails to prove it.

Here is the finished version - we added some bun-feet to it

We also painted the inside to help preserve the wood and give it a clean look. I still need to add a hinge to help keep it open.

Marley Rae

2009-04-11T06:38:00.000-07:00

Here she is! Marley Rae was born on Good Friday, April 10, 2009. She weighed 8 lbs even and 19 1/2 inches long. She has lots of dark hair, very chubby cheeks and big feet! She is of course just perfect. Mom and baby are doing great, Nikki looked much better after it was over. She is great baby so far, she only lets out a cry when you tell her she has her daddies nose, she doesn't seem to like that! Daddy is doing great to, he to is relieved it is over and that all went well.

Uncle Max and Marley

Grandma Justine and Marley

Marley Rae

Pillow Fight!!

2009-04-01T19:06:00.001-07:00

In Eau Claire we have this great tradition of the April Fool's city wide pillow fight. It is held every April Fool's day downtown. It is sponsored by the artsy farsty magazine, Volume One. I guess people are now starting to dress up for it.

Max and James Kust getting ready for the fight!!

Max, Justine and Chris Kust as The Dark Knight.

Chris Kust as Batman, costumes are encouraged I guess... although Chris has been dressing up a lot lately... hmmmm..

Max getting ready for the fight!

Bulky Sleeves???

2009-03-30T07:19:00.001-07:00

Don't want bulky sleeves under that jacket your wearing?? Just cut them off! That's what Justine would do! And did. This was too funny not to share.

Green Eggs and Ham

2009-03-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

So it's St Patrick's Day, that means green eggs and ham for dinner! We had the missionaries over to join the festivities. We had, green eggs, ham, green jello with whip cream and brownies with green sprinkles. Max wasn't crazy about the green eggs, there were pretty weird looking.

Here is the spread...

Max is a little unsure about the green eggs...

2009-03-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

Friday night we did "Cosmic Bowling" with family and friends.

Erika and her friend Amelia

Max and Kelly

Erika and Nikki - she is due May 2

Adam, Nikki and Max with a Nutty Bar in his mouth

Justine and Max

New Font!

2009-02-25T06:16:00.000-08:00

New Font - here it is.

Justine's new font called "Just Flower Pots." You can find it on my.fonts.com. or on outside-the-line.com.

You click on the chart to enlarge it.

V-Day

2009-02-14T20:43:00.000-08:00

We had a great dinner at home for Valentine's Day. Nikki and Adam were over and we hired Max to be our server, and yes he earned tips. We had chicken, rice, roasted potatoes, rolls and red velvet cake for dessert. Later on we played games with Nikki, Adam, Erika and her boyfriend Derek. The last picture is of our cat Flip, he was laying front of the window this morning, longing for spring as we all are...

Max taking our "orders"

Max clearing the plates after a good meal...

Flip, starring out the window, hoping for spring....

Icebergs on the Chippewa River

2009-02-13T06:10:00.000-08:00

With the nice mild temperatures we have had lately, the rivers are starting to melt, breaking up the ice and creating "icebergs". I saw this yesterday at the Water Street bridge and it was pretty cool.

Max's School Program

2009-02-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

2/10/09 was Max's school performance. This is his last year at Lakeshore, next year he is on to middle school. It was themed sailing & sailors. The did singing and dancing. I have a short video clip of his dance, the music is from Pirates of the Caribbean. There are few pictures here also to look at. We were sitting way at the top of the bleachers so the pictures aren't the best.

Here is the short video, Max is in the white shirt doing the "sword fight".

Family Dinner Day

2009-02-08T15:36:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures from our monthly family dinner. We had great Italian food, spaghetti and meatballs, bread, and of course cookies and cake. Kenalee made a huge chocolate raspberry cake. That was her payment for using mom and dad's laundry facilities and internet to chat with her boyfriend T-Bo who lives in France.

We also played around of Disney's "Scene It" and Justine won, by a hair... which she had Carrie wax off of her big toe, but I wasn't allowed to post that picture.

Kenalee's master piece, chocolate and raspberry cake.

Carrie and Dennis

Mason, Aundrey and Max goofing around in Max's messy room.

Skott, Sherry, Dennis and Justine sitting around after a feast.

Kenalee, Jodi, Carrie, Nikki

Blue & Gold

2009-02-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

We had Max's Blue and Gold banquet this morning. He has now officially graduated from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. There was of course lots of great food!!

Max with his arrow and certificate.

Max with his pack and leaders.

Max signing the "bridge" to Boy Scouts. All the boys sign it each year, its pretty cool.

Fireplace Revived!

2009-02-04T06:08:00.000-08:00

So we have this really cool old fireplace in our dining room that we have cleaned and cleaned trying to get it to stand out. My wife saw the exact same one on an HGTV show and they painted it. So she decided to do the same. She paints everything, so not a challenge for her. See the results below, it looks great! And really brings out the detail.

Seminary Fun

2009-02-02T07:59:00.001-08:00

The early morning seminary kids had a rocking activity this weekend. Food, Guitar Hero, movies, it was a lot of fun.

Chris and Katie

Justine dishing out the goodies

Rock band

More rock band

Less Than Zero... And Fonts

2009-01-24T06:18:00.001-08:00

The title says it all! We are in for another Arctic blast for the next few days. You can see the forecast below. So that means we are not doing a lot right now, just staying home and trying to stay warm.

However Justine has been busy designing fonts. Here is the link to MyFonts where you can see her page and what she has been up to. She is going to visit her friend Rae next weekend who she is partners with in the font business. So that means she will probably be adding to this list of fonts... take a look and tell a friend!

http://new.myfonts.com/search/Justine+Childs/fonts/

For my Cousin Wendy

2009-01-19T18:34:00.000-08:00

So why do homework when I can blog? Jodi inspired me to start a blog rather than doing homework. And now that school has started I have a lot of homework to do! Both as a student and teacher this semester.

So I did a little digging and found these photos. Remember these Wendy? The top one is of my cousins Wendy and Cheryl when the came to California from Utah. This was one of their Christmas trips one year and they are enjoying the California snow! Are you holding a 110 camera???

This second one is at Magic Mountain one summer, in the photo is Wendy and a friend they brought with them, I can't remember his name... but there were getting drenched on a water ride called Roaring Rapids.

The last photo is of me around my

18th birthday when I went to Utah for a couple of days, this is at Wendy's house. She found a pair of crazy glasses that made us laugh for days!!

Scouting

2009-01-13T19:19:00.000-08:00

Last night Max was awarded the "Arrow of Light". It is the highest award you can earn in the Cub Scout program. Congratulations to Max! Next he moves onto Boy Scouts and all the adventures that lie ahead. Rumor has it we have a winter camp out next month, I am not so sure yet about that, we'll have to see.

This picture is a neat "test" that they did. They each had a piece of rope, and tied one end to the person next to them. In order for it to work, they had to work together and "trust" that the other person did theirs correctly. In order to test it, they all lean back and see if the knots hold. And they did!

Deep Freeze!

2009-01-09T05:58:00.000-08:00

So it's January in Wisconsin, that means COLD! To prove it, I attached the forecast for the next week. When the expected High temperature is not even above 0, (yes that is a ZERO) that is freezing! That is when the older cars don't start for a couple days. And with the low temp of -19, schools may be closed. They close at -20, but its just wrong to be out when its that cold. Remind me again why we live here??? LOL

So how do we stay warm? We own items like flannel lined jeans, polar fleece, long johns, etc... This year I bought a pair of flannel lined khaki's to where to work.

Speaking of work, although I have not found a full-time job, I did get a part time teaching job at CVTC that I am really excited about. My first class I teach is next Wednesday, which happens to be the coldest day of the week next week!! I also start taking two classes next week. If I survive this semester I will have 21 MBA credits complete! I have a feeling that 2 MBA courses is going to be a challenge. But I need to use my "free time" (aka unemployment) wisely.

Family Pictures

2009-01-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

Ok - I am learning to use the scanner to import pictures for our blog. So far, so good, but I need to work on the quality and layouts. Something for me to work on.

These pictures are from summer 2007, not to old, at least for our family!

The top picture is the whole family. Justine, Erika, Kenalee, Nikki, Kelly, and Max is in front.

The bottom picture is the kids. Kenalee, Nikki, Max and Erika.

We had a family reunion for Justine's dad this summer in Idaho, I will try and get a few pictures of that posted, although I am trying not to fill this with a lot of outdated stuff, but some.

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-01T09:46:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of our celebrations last night. We got together with some friends, had great food, went night sledding, played some games, and then rang in the New Year.

This is Justine and Cassie sledding. We were sledding at night, it makes it more adventurous when you can't see the trees as well. It makes it a little more challenging to get pictures, but it was definitely fun, and a little cold.

Kelly, Justine & Max.

This is Justine and Mindy making crazy faces...

Justine, Glenda, Cassie and Mindy ringing in the New Year.

Baby Marley

2008-12-31T13:39:00.000-08:00

Here is Baby Marley, at least that is the name that has been picked so far. You can never tell for sure until you see them in person. This is the ultrasound that Nikki had on 12/19/08. Due date is 05/04/09. We are thinking she will have her on the 12th as that is Nikki and Erika birthdays (and sometimes Mother's Day). Seems to be a popular date in our family!

Max - Scouting Awards

2008-12-31T00:45:00.001-08:00

So this is Max getting some awards at his last scout meeting a few weeks ago. He will be "graduating" from Cub Scouts in February, and moving into Boy Scouts. He has earned a lot of awards this year, and has the most belt loops in the pack! Way to go Max. The patch on the left is from the Air Show that the BSA hosted this year in Eau Claire. We got to go and camp overnight near the airport. Unfortunately most of it was rained out, but we did get to see the Blue Angels fly the second day. The patch on the right is from camp this summer.

As you can tell from the time this was posted, this may become my new insomnia past time instead of just the tv!

Lunch with friends

2008-12-31T00:30:00.000-08:00

So here is my first shot of a post with a picture. We had lunch recently with some great friends on a very cold day. John and Rae are on the left, Justine and I are on the right, and Laurie is in the middle. It was a great time, and good food to!

Our New Blog!

2008-12-30T15:06:00.000-08:00

Well here it is! The Childs family is going to try this blogging thing. I will work on getting pictures and things posted over the next few days. (As I learn how)

Maybe this will be a New Years Resolution, no wait, I usually don't keep those, so it won't be one of those. It will just be a fun project to put my new computer to use!!