family fun: Speechless Sundays - Daddy/Kid Night!
- 07/14/13 02:30 PM
So we had our weekly daddy kid night. My 4th in line, Grant, was the next in line! We had a great night. First, he picked out the menu, then we bought everything together, prepped everything together and then cooked together. Tonight's menu......
Caesar Salad; Grilled Asparagus with a tomato salsa and a cherry balsamic; Burger Bar with Jalepenos; Sherbert Freezes for dessert (Orange, Rainbow, or Lime) topped with Raspberries!
The night that the kid gets to cook....he gets a special pop or soda and mom always gets served first, but the cook doesn't have to clean up!
Grant … (3 comments)
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - Living the Life with My Youngest
- 02/17/13 01:49 PM
I love going to church. I go almost daily for a weekend mass or just for hanging around a bit in prayer at adoration. But Sundays are pretty much a mandatory thing in our family. When I joined Active Rain, my youngest was just a newbie floating around the Bettag household. Now, this little kindergartner is an over the top angel....just like her mother. Here she is looking her best with her Sunday best.
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - Something I Need to Confess
- 02/10/13 01:31 AM
It was a great week at the Bettag House. My oldest turned 14, tomorrow my 2nd oldest turns 12. But the fun here was with my 4th, Grant. Grant had his first reconciliation, a pre-requisite, prior to his first communion. I was telling people that I''ll probably go to hell for this, but I couldn't resist. Although a private confessional area, with a million kids, a lot of the priests had to create a makeshift area. So I had to throw my camera up against the window to capture this moment. Love it.
There's Something Really Cool and Innocent about this … (8 comments)
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - Sibling Freaks!!!!
- 02/03/13 12:29 PM
Gotta tell you, life isn't this simple. It's not this easy, and there is no magic pill, but I will say that when the stars align and the kids are rested and fed, it really doesn't get much better than this. Here is Grant and Tessa. They're both running around like freaks over the Christmas Holidays. Something about the holidays to put them both in the mood. Maybe it's the gifts, maybe it's just not being at school, maybe it's just having a lotta love for each other, but today.....it worked!
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family fun: Don Corleone Has Nothing on Me!
- 01/24/13 02:54 AM
There's a lot of responsibility when you're the head of THE FAMILY. Sure....I didn't really set out to do this. Just wanted to hang with the family, but when Don Vito Corleone went down, I got the call......as
THE GODFATHER....OF "THE FAMILY." I will tell you that I never thought that Facebook would do this to me, but, now, I'm growing into this role and frankly, it's quite hard to shake.
Let me take you back a year or so..... I decided that since I don't have a common name like Johnson, Smith or Jones, we needed a place on Facebook … (10 comments)
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - Making Your Kids Smile...Makes You Smile....
- 01/12/13 11:21 PM
Again....tis past week my kids and I gave mom a bit of reprieve by taking all 5 kids to our farm up north. Fortunately, close by we have a little ski hill that they call "Sunburst Ski Area." It's really just a beginner bump, but for all of my kids who don't know any different, it might as well be Vail, Colorado.
Here, I'm riding the lift with my 2nd boy, Jake and heading up the lift with him.
You'd think he'd died and gone to heaven. He knows that there's better slopes out there, but he's just thrilled to be … (7 comments)
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - Exhausted with Christmas
- 12/30/12 03:36 AM
So while the kids just couldn't wait for Christmas, it did have a tendency to take it's toll on them all.
Here is my 4th child, Grant. He's finishing some last minute shopping for mom and for some siblings....
But, alas, my 7 year old can't shop like mom can and is wiped out.
Good time sleeping in la la land of whatever 7 year old's think of.
It really doesnt' get any better for him....or for dad!
… (8 comments)
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family fun: Wordless Wednesday - My Son and the Drunk
- 12/11/12 10:34 PM
So I had my Green Bay Packer tickets to the game last week. My son and I spent the night prior to the game at our farm. Then we made the 2 hour jaunt to the game. The game was great. Great crowd, great revelry and a great win. For my son, as much as he loved the game, he loved the life experience that the fans gave him. Here, somewhere in the third quarter, we saw this drunk guy in the main concourse. People were cheering and yelling and the guy would only open one eye and shut back down … (5 comments)
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - The Next Generation of Riders!!!
- 09/30/12 10:56 AM
So....here's a grand finale summer vacation. One of the most expensive...and least enjoyable...times for me is the boring horseback ride. I used to work on a dude ranch and really like just letting it all out every once and a while. But for these three young bucks.....or buckettes....there is nothing more exciting than hopping on a flat, slow, hot and dusty trail. For me??? The only enjoyment I received was watching them eat it up like ice cream on a hot summer day.
… (8 comments)
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - Last vestiges of Summer!!!
- 09/23/12 12:22 PM
Gotta say that I love my summer. It was great and it was all about work, fun, and most importantly...GOD AND FAMILY! We had a lot of fun, and I think that I hate school more than the kids. I thought I was done with homework when I graduated law school.... Mostly I like the freedoms to do what I want to do with my family whenever I want to! Here's the last big vacation of our sumer at Washington Island, in Door County, Wisconsin!
GOD IS GREAT! … (11 comments)
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family fun: Wordless Wednesdays - A Very Proud Papa
- 08/08/12 01:14 PM
So, I take my boys up to Canada this year fo agreat week with my boys.
No cell phones. No internet. No video games. Just father and son time.
I had a great time with these guys. This is a small northern pike, only about 6 pounds, but for my boy.....it was nothing short of an awesome honeymoon with the great outdoors.
… (8 comments)
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family fun: Wordless Wednesdays - MY FRUSTRATION COMES TO A CLOSE!!!!
- 04/25/12 11:19 AM
I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating my life has been. Over the last 3 weeks we were struck by lightning, and even with a surge protector my modem and router were blown.
I had to have Comcast come out to get things back in order as well. As a result, I was able to just one post over the last 3 weeks.
I'm back in business. Here's my daughter, Claire, at daddy - daughter date night (on the left) having a great time on Hawiian night. I'm finally back...and it feels good!
… (6 comments)
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family fun: Wordless Wednesdays - My Zoo at the Zoo
- 04/04/12 01:58 AM
So for one day of Spring Break we are able to go off and spend time in Chicago doing things that we just normally won't do....not that we don't go to the Zoo, but we usually live the life of the Zoo and then, if we actually want to re-enact that experience, we go to the world famous...Brookfield Zoo. So, this was a big deal to we little people.
It's rare that we let our family out in public. Most people are fearful when they see to hearders and trying to manage their brood.
In any event...mom said we can to to … (6 comments)
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family fun: Wordless Wednesdays - Camping on Spring Break
- 03/28/12 12:36 PM
So I'm sitting here with my wife doing work. She is watching some flick about Marilyn Monroe and I'm contemplating life and my future with every step of all I do. In the meantime, I'm reminiscing about my childhood as my two boys are camping outside right now with their cousins. My oldest boys are 13 and 11, and their cousins are 14 year old twins. For me.....it doesn't get any better than this....
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - Happy Dad and Happy Daughter
- 03/25/12 12:31 PM
I gotta tell you that I love being a dad. It's been 4 years since we've had our last child, Tessa. Today we're heading to the Daddy - Daughter date dance, but Tessa isn't going. Rather she's been crying that older sister Claire is going to this Hawiian Themed Dance. So, in my best efforts to put a smile on her, I try to entertain. It worked...until I put her down to walk out the door. In any event....it's still fun being a dad!
I just love the look on her face. You don't even have to know the kid to … (5 comments)
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family fun: Wordless Wednesdays - Speed is Fun
- 03/21/12 12:10 AM
Remember when it was so cool to put your head out of the back of your dad's station wagon and open your mouth? Or maybe you put your hand out against the resistence of the wind and let it climb and drop? I was taking my daughter home this weekend and without her knowing just grabbed the cam and let it go. She said "heyyyyyyyyyy." I gotta tell you...I just love it!
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - Getting Ready for Summer!!!
- 03/10/12 11:36 PM
I used to work at a Camp in Colorado when I was in college. We had a 12 by 12 foot raft. I was the head lifeguard and the Atheletic Director. It was awesome. In any event, many years later, when we got our new house it came with a 1 acre pond. I couldn't wait for me to build the same 12 by 12 foot raft.
Guess What?
We get about 100 gallons a minute coming up through the underground springs and it's about 40 degrees. Yesterday we waded out to bring the raft back and today we're going swimming … (13 comments)
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - Sometimes the Best Gifts Need a Cleaning As Well
- 03/04/12 11:20 AM
So tonight is family night. I get to cook with my kids...but prior to the great night of cooking, I got both of my girls in the tub for a little rub-a-dub-dub. Claire, my 9 year old, and Tessa, my soon to be 5 year old, said it'd be great if we took a fun picture. So...while getting ready for tomorrow's school, I just couldn't resist! How fun!!!
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - Rock & Roll Family
- 02/12/12 10:54 AM
So the gift that two of my 5 kids wanted this Christmas was a guitar. I got Jake and Claire a guitar and we had the best of times for a bit. They loved the theory of rock & rolling. In any event, 45+ days later, it's changed in that it's just a bit of work. Of course, they have their meathead father, teaching them how to play. However, now they see a bit of reward for their hard work....and here's a bit of fun....during a lax moment.
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family fun: Speechless Sundays - I finally have a Teenager....And life...will never be the same!
- 02/04/12 04:03 PM
Kinda wierd having a teenager. I'm writing this post as 4 boys spend the night for the birthday of my eldest, Brett. You see he was born on ground hog day, but, of course, we're celebrating it this evening. Here he is with his brother, Jake, after Jake gave him his birthday present. The obnoxiousness is coming out, but by the crossed eyes of Jake, I can tell that he loves the adulation given to him by the older brother who usually beats on him.
It's gonna be a long life....SIGH!!!!! … (9 comments)
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So we had our weekly daddy kid night. My 4th in line, Grant, was the next in line! We had a great night. First, he picked out the menu, then we bought everything together, prepped everything together and then cooked together. Tonight's menu......
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