Blake's First Day of 4K

Blake was very excited about starting school today! He woke up to a special "Back to School Breakfast" and "First Day French Toast!" I asked him what he was most excited about and he said, "riding the bus!" Blake will be in the PM class at Anthony School where Ms. Falkner is his teacher. We had the chance to see his classroom and meet his teacher last night. This morning we went on a walk to collect some flowers that he could bring for Ms. Falkner for his first day! We are proud of you, Blake, and we can't believe you are already starting school!

"Back to School Breakfast"

Blake on the morning of his first day of 4K! Grandma Bev might want to steal this visor from you Blake!!

Blake's "First Day French Toast."

The night before his first day at his Open House. This is taken outside of his classroom.

Heading out the driveway to get on the bus!

Happy Birthday, Randy!

Happy birthday to a wonderful dad and husband! Thank you for providing for us and for showing us so much love! Here's to another great year! Here is a picture of Randy and Blake and also one of all the boys before Blake and Randy went on his birthday archery shoot at the local conservation club.

Hunting Cabin

The new hunting cabin down in Buffalo County is complete! Here are some pictures from the outside. I will have to post some indoor pictures once we have it furnished. I am afraid that Randy may never come home :)

Furry Friends

It seems that we may have some new furry friends living in our yard. If you recall last summer we had our friend, Boots, the fox visiting our house from time to time. The boys would feed him bread. We haven't seen Boots now in over a year, but just this morning we spied 2 new friends taking up residence in our woodpile. We have seen the mama cat over the past few weeks in our yard, but didn't know for sure if she had kittens or not. Then this morning out popped her 2 adorable kittens from the woodpile! Blake and Bennett wanted to see how close they could get. The fluffier one was a little more brave. We set out a dish of milk, which they all 3 drank right up! Maybe we will have some new mouse catchers hanging around for awhile. That would be nice! Blake wanted to name the all orange and white one Peanut Butter, and the one with the gray tail, Chocolate Chip!

RCU Charity Classic

Last weekend the whole family ventured down to Phoenix Park in Eau Claire to take part in the RCU Charity Classic. Randy ran the 10K, I ran the 2 mile race, and Blake ran his first race (the 1/4 mile). He was so excited and by the end he was sprinting to the finish. Bennett was the family cheerleader for all 3 races. At the end of Blake's race Bennett turned to Randy and said, "My turn?" Next year we will have to have both boys race. Randy really improved his time since running this same race a few years ago! It was a very warm day, but also a memorable one!

Randy's Spring Turkey and an Announcement!

Randy and his good buddy, Kyle, ventured out this morning to slay a turkey together. The two of them have gone out hunting together several times, but haven't been able to harvest anything. There have been some occasions where they haven't even seen so much as a squirrel. This morning was different however! Kyle was doing the calling while Randy was doing the shooting. They came home with this HUGE 24-pound turkey! Thanks to Kyle for taking time out of his weekend to come down to help Randy get this bird! Although we probably won't be welcoming this turkey to our Thanksgiving meal this year, we are going to be welcoming a new baby Risler! We are very excited to announce that we will have an addition to our family on or around November 27, 2012! Just in time for the next hunting season!

California Trip

Randy and I were very lucky to have the opportunity to attend a trip for his work out in Laguna Beach, California at the end of April. While we were away, Blake and Bennett spent some time with Papa Ron and Grandma Claudia. While on our trip we saw dolphins and whales right from our balcony, caught up with some friends from past trips, and made some new friendships. The flowers at the hotel where we stayed at were amazing! I just had to get some pictures of that! One night we also had dinner at The Mission of San Juan Capistrano-- a place I had just taught my 1st graders about! So beautiful and so much history! It was great to get away, and of course, always nice to be home.