tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10350681867739773632012-02-16T20:07:56.485-06:00Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.comBlogger391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-81540695797156480492011-12-29T22:53:00.000-06:002011-12-29T22:53:49.019-06:00

Have to love having a few days to get organized.  Really thankful that my boss offered to let me take a few PTO days from 2012 and take some time off with the kids over their break.  I've organized cabinets, kitchen drawers, our closet and Ciera's room.  Tomorrow's goal- Utah's room and closet!  Other than that, I've been using Cozi on my new Dell and have a menu planned for the next 2 weeks

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-37108877485464230392011-12-25T11:53:00.000-06:002011-12-25T11:53:07.152-06:00

On Christmas Eve afternoon, Shane and I took the kids to volunteer as bell ringers for the Salvation Army outside of Walgreens. It is a great cause, and the Salvation Army does so much for so many people.  It was nice to see how giving people were as they hustled and bustled about getting their last bit of Christmas shopping done.  The kids smiles and 'Merry Christmas' greetings got a lot of

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-76624986793744085662011-12-23T11:48:00.000-06:002011-12-23T11:48:28.523-06:00

Ha!  If you look back at the previous posts you'll see that it has been a year and a half since this blog has been updated, and my how the kids have grown since these cute pictures were taken in the summer of 2010.  :)  I'll try to post some new pictures on here and also see if I can get back into blogging on a regular basis. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you and wishing you a

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-27754616962810847672010-06-27T00:06:00.001-05:002010-06-27T00:06:59.144-05:00

Thursday we took a break from our usually busy daytime routines and stayed home a good part of the day.  Lucky we did, or Utah would have missed finding this big hole in our front yard to play in.  This kind of opportunity doesn't come along very often: I missed the equipment coming in to yank the old dead tree out of our yard, but as soon as it left the kids came and told me and I grabbed my

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-24161241675986707232010-06-21T23:35:00.001-05:002010-06-21T23:37:46.164-05:00

So, this last week was a pretty busy one.  It seems like we are constantly going... which is good because we stay busy and have less time to be missing Daddy, but at the same time it gets exhausting after a while!  We had a slower day on Friday and Saturday afternoon, so we were able to get some rest in.  Here are some pictures from the last week in no particular order. The kids being super silly

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-50580140187091859942010-06-14T21:20:00.000-05:002010-06-14T21:20:25.249-05:00

Utah started basketball camp today and then tonight we went to the athletic club so I could school him in the art of not double dribbling or walking with the ball.  Hopefully this will help him out tomorrow!! Ciera's end of the year field trip to the zoo. We hung out with one of her best friends the whole day. We have a farm share this year at a farm in Sun Prairie and as part of our

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-4551645906685639152010-05-30T13:39:00.000-05:002010-05-30T13:39:32.135-05:00

{This was at the end of the afternoon after playing in the sprinkler. Marley was exhausted.  Max cam over to lay nearby.} {The kids are loving being able to pick up a puppy, even though they won't be able to do it for very long.} {Marley was chasing the kidss all over the place.} {Marley was in the water as much as Ciera was.  She was drinking the water, attacking the water and just loves

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-52027702294625070592010-05-29T15:25:00.001-05:002010-05-29T15:26:37.965-05:00

Marley is an 8 week old girl puppy who was the mellow pup of a litter of 9.  Max took to her right away... no barking at all.  They have been playing together and Max has been trying to hog the toys but in a playful way.  We've had Marley outside a good part of the day, and she loves running around the yard.  Max has been out there a ton of the day too, and his shock collar is working great.  He

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-10968952054298148542010-05-29T15:17:00.000-05:002010-05-29T15:17:41.962-05:00

{And a little bit of humor.}

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-37043028673330208052010-05-29T15:06:00.000-05:002010-05-29T15:06:22.293-05:00

We're not positive what happened, but the landscaping company that did our yard said that our tree damage might have been caused by some kind of fungus in the soil that attacks red maples.  Next week we'll be ordering a new tree, probably a birch instead, and they will replace it within the next few weeks.  I want to see some green leaves again!

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-4164448732229647762010-05-29T14:09:00.000-05:002010-05-29T14:09:49.105-05:00

Karate Promotion Test May 2010 The promotion test last night was really small, but it was a great test. Utah did great and now has right at a year until he will get his black belt! In six months when he gets his brown-stripe belt, he can start going to cardio class to get in shape for the very intensive candidate training that he will go through in the spring. Candidate training is 3 months long,

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-10141600831507649862010-05-28T11:02:00.000-05:002010-05-28T11:02:10.949-05:00

Utah and Ciera hanging out together.  Utah was playing games on his phone and I'm no sure what Ciera had.  They like to argue with each other lately and get on each others nerves like siblings do, so this was a sweet hanging out together moment.  Ciera has had that little stuffed dog since she was born but has been attached to it for the last several months. And... Utah's phone.  Which he

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-57066530985758325852010-05-27T10:14:00.001-05:002010-05-27T10:15:07.281-05:00

{A couple of weeks ago Ciera and I went to a nursery that was next to a farm while the boys were out camping.} ZOO DAYS{The zoo and the park right outside of the zoo.} {Getting a tattoo at the zoo... airbrush that is.} A Park in Middleton Demo days... the first of many

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-77091513549243099012010-05-26T21:44:00.005-05:002010-05-26T22:15:48.661-05:00

Shane left today and is now in Wichita, KS overnight. He will drive the rest of the way to Sheppard tomorrow. I was going to post several pictures on here tonight, but the blog is running slow so tomorrow I'm going to change the template so it will work better. I'll post several more pictures then and will try to remember to put them up on MyFamily as well.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-82406873157129251412010-05-21T09:08:00.002-05:002010-05-21T09:20:23.768-05:00

Shane will be leaving for Texas next week on Wednesday. He will be there for just over two months. Besides the tech school he will be in, and the graduate class is going to be working on, he is planning to spend his time playing golf. Might as well get it in while he can! If all goes as planned, he will be flying home for 4th of July weekend so we can enjoy some brief family time before he has

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-17783870451080918372010-01-22T21:02:00.002-06:002010-01-22T21:27:59.863-06:00

Utah had Team Eclipse tryouts tonight. I was very nervous for him because we really didn't know what to expect considering it had been two years since the last tryouts and this time they decided to make the current team try out. They were told basically that if they were doing good and what they needed to be doing then they would be fine, but that they wanted everyone to recommit to the team.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-24224291635886875522010-01-21T21:47:00.003-06:002010-01-21T21:56:37.440-06:00

These pictures were from awhile ago, with the exception of the 'snow cake' photo below. We did have a warm up this week, but not nearly as much as those of you down south. We wish! We're still in the freezing temps here.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-32288121793318140252009-10-04T19:42:00.005-05:002009-10-04T20:09:13.895-05:00

I was looking back through karate pictures last night and found some super cute pictures from when the kids first started. Because of how I loaded them on here I think most will be from more recent to oldest. It's been 2 1/2 years that the kids have been in karate now, and its amazing how big a part of our life it has become with Utah's participation in Team Eclipse and Leadership, and Ciera

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-81024132900755380162009-10-04T19:21:00.003-05:002009-10-04T19:42:48.115-05:00

Utah tested for his red belt on Ciera's birthday. He had a great test, had fun, and proved that he new his curriculum and was ready for a red belt. This was so cute. Utah and Jeff sparring each other. Jeff is tall, so to see him and Utah matched up together made everyone smile- of course knowing that Jeff would take it easy on Utah. He did it!! Utah broke his first board, on the first

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-63922225567952441542009-09-03T07:22:00.002-05:002009-09-03T07:32:50.673-05:00

The kids had a great first day at school, but are sad that summer is over. Now its time to get busy with homework and afterschool activities and try to get back into the routine of things, and unfortunetely that means less time to play with friends. Thankfully it will start getting dark earlier soon, and that will help reinforce the earlier bedtime.I drove the kids to school on the first day,

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-73077070978756411582009-08-26T15:41:00.002-05:002009-08-26T15:48:50.133-05:00

This week is a busy last week of summer break at the McCoy home. Thursday, the kids will be bringing their school supplies to school, and Utah will meet his new teacher. Ciera will get to see her teacher, but since she had her last year, it's not nerve-wracking for her. She loves Mrs. Keyes, so we know this will be another great school year for Ciera. Utah is excited because a couple of his

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-21873140665974537062009-08-17T08:11:00.003-05:002009-08-17T09:11:21.303-05:00

The last day of our vacation we went to Seaside Heights, a beachfront town that we used to spend time at when we lived in New Jersey. We didn't take the camera with us to the beach, but the kids both bought body boards that we all used to ride the waves with. It was a lot of fun. We'd told the kids about going crabbing when we lived in NJ, and they really wanted to try it. They were both

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-10595625297151929602009-08-16T17:28:00.005-05:002009-08-16T18:44:07.123-05:00

We saw quite a bit on our day in New York City. We ended up going a day earlier than planned because the weather was dreary and not quite a beach day. We started off about 11:30 and headed to Staten Island to catch the ferry over, just like we used to when we lived in Jersey. Utah stood by the rail on the ferry the whole way over, watching and taking in the sights. Although it was hazy and we

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-67293586687459921622009-08-16T16:40:00.005-05:002009-08-16T18:48:33.072-05:00

We spent a day at Six Flags in New Jersey and were most impressed with the Safari. We never went there when we lived in NJ because Utah was so little.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-61256460956362529622009-08-11T22:01:00.004-05:002009-08-11T22:21:11.796-05:00

We got to the Wildwoods Beach around 2:30 or 3 and spent a good 4 hours playing in surf and sand. Great day out and very relaxing fun time. Utah and Mommy floating on our backs and riding the waves in. Check out the dolphin jumping at the back of this boat that we could see from the shore. Dolphins! There were so many dolphins. Ciera playing in the sand. She was bored for a little bit

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-65147734033885543432009-08-11T21:28:00.004-05:002009-08-11T22:01:19.387-05:00

Yesterday we drove to Hershey, PA to let the kids experience Chocolate World. Of course, Utah went a couple times when we lived in New Jersey and he was little, but had no recollection of it. The really liked the ride that takes you through the 'chocolate factory' and then the gift shop was the best part of it for the kids. They both found souveniers to take home with them. We also did the

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-85768413450822143122009-08-11T21:15:00.003-05:002009-08-11T21:28:23.926-05:00

We had fun going to the river and letting Shane and the kids splash around in the river, but this state park was a little bit too much of roughing it for us. There weren't enough nearby activities, and even the 'swimming hole' in the river was a 20 minute drive away from the area that our campground was in. We had to drive back through town to get to this part of the park. It was HOT also. We'd

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-31110507082739159002009-08-11T20:51:00.002-05:002009-08-11T21:14:42.863-05:00

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-42795956419191631602009-08-10T18:53:00.002-05:002009-08-10T18:57:06.659-05:00

We've been busy the last couple of days. We spent yesterday morning in DC to look at the White House and then we went to the Six Flags that is near DC. After that we went to Patapsco State Park in Baltimore to camp and decided to only camp there one night and move on today to Hershey. We went on the Chocolate World tour and also did the Trolley tour. Now we're at a KOA and my battery is about

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-22623745456271254782009-08-08T21:20:00.004-05:002009-08-08T21:36:08.729-05:00

Today we explored a few of the Smithsonian Museums: The Museum of Natural History, Air and Space, Native American, and the Botanical Gardens. We took the metro a few blocks down from our hotel and it was so nice to not have to worry about trying to find a parking space, as well as being quite a bit less walking than the night before. The kids enjoyed the Museum of Natural History the most,

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-55237312353614574482009-08-08T21:07:00.004-05:002009-08-08T21:20:39.892-05:00

After we went to the National Zoo, we checked into our hotel and swam for a while to relax. Then we decided to go out to see the Lincoln Memorial. Once we got there, we ended up walking all over the place: the Vietnam Memorial, the White House, the Washington Monument and points in between. We enjoyed seeing everything, especially the World War II, which hadn't been there the last time we were

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-51008925553533337072009-08-08T20:44:00.003-05:002009-08-08T21:06:57.643-05:00

We went to the National Zoo right after we got into DC. It was hot (okay so low 80's isn't a heat wave- but it was hot!) and sunny and we were all wearing jeans because we'd been camping south of Pittsburgh the previous night and woke up to 49 degrees. We were a little disappointed in the zoo because we were only able to see one panda behind the glass and another way in the distance. After going

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-10054302719499609322009-08-08T20:37:00.003-05:002009-08-08T20:44:54.156-05:00

We decided to stop by the Pittsburgh Zoo and we were glad we did. The entrance is very impressive. You go up a VERY steep esculator. I'd never seen one that high or steep before. The exhibits were really nice and the layout of the zoo was good. We weren't impressed with the train ride we went on, but we would have glady spent more time there if we'd arrived earlier in the day.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-39729020231789674462009-08-08T20:26:00.002-05:002009-08-08T20:37:04.447-05:00

On the way to Washington D.C., we stopped in Pittsburgh and went to the National Aviary. We're loving our ZooPass, because the cost of admission to these various places we've visited or will visit would add up quickly. The kids really enjoyed the Aviary, and were even allowed to participate in the program where they have kids go out and hold up a stick with food on to feed these birds that

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-28236813483066085972009-08-03T21:10:00.006-05:002009-08-03T21:44:53.082-05:00

Yesterday Shane and I put off finishing up our end of summer semester class assingments and took the kids to Devil's Lake State Park for a relaxing family day. It was a nice warm day, and the park of the lake that we were at wasn't too crowded most of the time we were there. We cooked out, the kids played in the sand, and we attempted to fish as well with no luck. It was very relaxing to be out

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-79020289315026753432009-08-01T08:13:00.009-05:002009-08-01T10:37:49.165-05:00

Yesterday we went to the Milwaukee County Zoo. We had a really good time. We really enjoy observing Mahal, a baby Orangutan, who has a surrogate mom. He's only been at this zoo since Februrary, and has a surrogate because his birth mom rejected him. He was put with another Orangutan surrogate in Colorado, but then that surrogate died and zookeepers began the search for a new surrogate mother

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-72419734491666415312009-07-29T21:11:00.004-05:002009-07-29T21:29:58.395-05:00

Yesterday marked the end of the Giants baseball season. Shane coached Utah's team to a 7-1 season, which ended on a high point yesterday with a win. We had a make-up game because games were rained out last week. Our team was down until the final inning and came back strong with two homeruns, with bases loaded both times. The last one Shane said he wouldn't have really counted because it was the

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-86088486953187707812009-07-26T14:50:00.000-05:002009-07-26T15:08:07.423-05:00

Waunafest ParadeToday we went to the Waunafest parade in Waunakee so Utah could walk in the parade with karate. Ciera invited a friend to hang out with. The parade was very long and it was hot under the sun today, but Utah made it through the entire parade and had fun. Afterwards the kids went to the carnival area to play a couple games and get a snack.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035068186773977363.post-28617533988647843472009-07-25T20:04:00.000-05:002009-07-25T21:22:52.264-05:00

International Crane FoundationToday the kids and I went to the International Crane Foundation to give Shane some time to study in peace. It's located in Baraboo, Wisconsin, pretty close to the Dells and only five miles away from the outlet malls we go to occassionally in Lake Delton. We were actually very close to it last weekend. We're planning a trip to the Milwaukee Zoo soon, and since we got

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920591215547532105noreply@blogger.com1