The Last Hazen

Sometimes I still feel like I am 18.  I can feel this way because I have been doing some of the same things for the last 15 years.  We have always had a summer trip with my family.  The last 15 years have been at the Hazen Inn in Phelps, WI.  I love being with the same people and doing the same things we enjoy year after year.  We all had a few tears when we left this year since it will be the last.  We had a great time with my cousins and my kids second cousins and my aunts, uncles, brother, and sister.

Kirk and Axel

 Eva napping at the Hazen.

 Bryce and Charlotte, the youngest member of the fam.

 Last 7:30 am morning dip.

 Andrew in the kayak.

 Bennett and Sam jumping at the hot dog roast.

I love this house, I love this nest, in all the world this nest is best

Sometimes my heart and mind are so far from each other.  I used my mind to determine that we should move before Luke was in kindergarten, move while housing rates and mortgage rates are at historical lows, and move before possible inflation rates rise.  Normally I don't ever choose to leave something I like.  Dave and I drive our cars until they are not drivable anymore.  We don't choose to say goodbye, we just face the fact when the car does not work anymore.  I loved my first car, Ralf, the diesel jetta, that was driven so far the odometer stopped working.  My second car I drove until the floor rusted through.  I also have a liking for "poor old things."  I have an attachment to the kids who no one likes, the old men who can't tie their shoes anymore, or people with holes in their shoes.  So needless to say, I will miss my house.  I didn't expect to get so attached to the house with uneven dry wall, cracks, insulation and mold issues, a degrading garage floor.  My heart still calls this home.

Here are some photos of when we first lived here before all the changes we made.  This is nuggsie, Andrew, my nephew in the sink and playing basketball.

 Our family before six more kids were added.  Notice old chandelier and two tone windows. 

 Our house after we took out the carpet.

 Dave in the Napoleon Dynamite basement.

 Our house served us well.  I thank it every day.  I will miss it.  I might have to buy it back next time it goes on the market.  I love all the memories of the past 8.5 years here.  I will miss my 5 parks, bike trails, running paths the most... and the swing set in the shade.

 On the bright side, I never knew how happy bubble wrap could make a kid.  Luke was very protective of the bubble wrap and carried it throughout the entire store and couldn't wait to use it.

Alyssa Krause, MPT, DPT, OCS

After eight months of studying I passed the OCS test and now am an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist.  I thoroughly enjoyed studying however the eight hour, 200 scenario test was another story.  Forty-two percent of people who take this test fail.  I was glad I did not fail because I felt like I would have wasted $2,000 of test fees.  I always wanted to become an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist so now I have completed one more of my professional goals.  I love being a Physical Therapist and I think it is one of the greatest jobs. 

Fourth of July

I love the laughter of Luke and Eva playing with daddy.

 The Forth of July is one of my favorite holidays.  We had a wonderful concert at church, went to Big Cedar Lake, and spend the day with friends at the Brookfield parade and used their great new pool.

 Here is Lily and Eva at a play date at our house.  They are collecting things to attract butterflies.

 Luke and Casey.

 Daddy treating them to special gifts from their Home Depot trip.

 My childhood friend Lori and her Luke.

 We also saw Dave's family with special guests Aunt Diana and Uncle Ken.

Vacay Sway

I know quality time is my most prominent love language, but I am still surprised every time how much I like being with my family for the week.  I love seeing Dave every day and getting to play with the kids together.  We started off our trip at Devil's Lake.  It was so windy we needed chemistry goggles to see where we were going.  I had to re-do Eva's pony tail about every ten minutes.

Next we went to the Dells.  I wasn't expecting to swim the entire time we were there - but we did.  I don't know what I was thinking with the Dells being the water-park capital of the world.  Luke really does not like water parks - he was surprised that people were having fun at the water parks and he couldn't understand how many there were.  He prefers the more quiet ones (like pictured below).

We loved the place that we stayed - Wilderness On The Lake.  It had this beautiful pool below that was nice and quiet.  We had a two bedroom condo.  We also had a jacuzzi out on the balcony which the whole family enjoyed.  The kids went in without suits so I did not include the photos.

 The kids loved the Moose Jaw pizza.

 Eva talking to Grandpa saying how much fun we had.

 Story time by the fire at 7:00pm.

 I hope the kids have this much fun bringing the luggage in and out when they are 16-18 years old.

 Last dip in the pool after we checked out.

 Good bye Dells.  Thanks for the fun.

Madison Zoo

We had our annual trip to the zoo over the Memorial Day weekend.  We heard the lions roar, watched the giraffes eat special leaves, saw a porcupine with all his quills out and got scared by the goats.  I loved that Eva needed to be by me when she was scared by some of the animals.  It is nice to know I can help someone just by holding them and loving them.

 Pictured below is Eva with the bow and the tiger walking by.

While in Madison, we also went to see the new Union South my brother built.  It is a beautiful building and I wish it was there when we went to school.  I was starting to feel really old, like it had been way more than 11 years that I graduated, and then I saw two of my old room mates and as we talked I was reminded somethings never change.  It was so good to see them again.

We also went out to eat to celebrate our 9th anniversary.  So much has happened in nine years and I am so happy to have a home and family with Dave.