farewell 2577 lost dauphin rd

this past weekend the kids and I drove to de pere to visit nana and g. pops  and say farewell to my parent’s house (ie: sort through all of my high school and college junk). I left on thursday so that charlie and me could go to a packer game on thursday night. It was the last preseason game and a perfect time to get charlie to his second packer game.

charlie on the way to the game.

it was hot! 94 degrees at kickoff – 6pm!

we were hustling it into the stadium and just missed the flyover inside the stadium, but heard and saw it right outside the stadium. I didn’t think it would happen since it was a preseason game, but I wish I would have thought about it. because I didn’t have a chance to warn charlie about the planes or the noise and it really freaked him out. flyovers are LOUD and you kind of forget until you experience it. he pulled it together quickly and we ran into the stadium.

you can see how flushed he is here from the heat. he was so pumped about watching the players throw the ball!

charlie was REALLY tired. he had a bad nap the day before and no nap that day because we drove (and he won’t sleep while driving!). he was exhausted and hot, but did really well considering. charlie is sporting the hat that his uncle dan wore ALL the time as a kid.

the next morning – claire had to show off her balancing skills and the hat.

 can you tell my parents were purging their house? there was a lot of reminiscing and playing with old toys. I even had my mom’s wedding dress on at one point, but thankfully no one snapped a pic. she can still wear it too, but sadly we didn’t get a pic of that either! (mom – put it on and take a picture! please??)

edited to add: my dad found a picture of me in the dress. had to post it. 

eleanore enjoyed running around in auntie suz’s old cowboy boots.

suzanne and I used to play with this doll chair and bed. the girls loved it (I actually took it home), but instead they liked to sit in it themselves and lay in the bed with a baby doll. they crack me up! claire in the doll chair.

a sweet sibling moment (these are getting more rare).

eleanore getting into mischief – climbing on lightning to try and get up on the piano.

another great reason to visit GB for the weekend was that meg and dan would be in town for a friend’s wedding. they arrived friday early evening so we quickly headed out on the boat. I will definitely miss skiing on the fox river. although it is always a bit green it is great for water skiing.

soon to be bride & groom – next weekend they get married!!

I was getting ready to ski and claire was already getting hyper aware of what I was doing. she was very interested in my life jacket.

“da!”

“don’t worry g. pops, we got this covered”

charlie was also getting a bit nervous, but once I started putting the ski on he was more interested in the shaving cream my dad had put on the boots for me to slide my feet in than anything else.

claire and g. pops checking me out in the water. I love claire’s focused face.

ellie was already in a state of panic.

and I’m up. ellie was screaming!

like this.

she screamed for a bit. you can see me waving to try and calm her down. who knew they were so concerned for my wellbeing.

one of my cuts. not too big because that would send me flying across the wake 100 mph and that would freak me out.

charlie waiting to get my ski when I stopped.

my mom had saved my brother dan and tom's lego creations. charlie LOVED them and actually took them home. uncle dan was so patient with charlie as he would break pieces off (sometimes intentionally) and then danny would have to fix it. you would hear charlie say "uh oh." then a pause "uncle dan! can you come fix this?"

while in the garage the girls managed to find their way up on g.pop's harley. then charlie joined in too.

the only time the girls are still is when they are reading a book. 

charlie had his last ride on the skid steer.

charlie even went with g. pops to deliver the skid steer to its new home. not sure that is exactly how g. pops explained it though.

claire had a little diaper rash while we were home so she was airing out while cleaning. how cute are those buns?

now for the farewell to 2577 lost dauphin rd. for those of you who don’t know my parents sold their house. moving is not a totally new thing for my parents. we have always lived in the green bay/depere/allouex area, but often moved houses every 5 years. my dad loved to fix things up so we would often move into a great house – just out dated - and my dad (and mom – bless her!) would slowly remodel it. then after my mom got everything just perfectly decorated we would sell and the process would start over. it was a hobby for most of my younger years. after I went to college my dad got the itch to build his own house (and I mean – really build it. mostly him doing the work, being the general contractor, etc). he sold the last house that he had had built and bought 2 different lots on the opposite side of the river. one that had a teardown house on it and the other an open lot to build a house. that house became 2577 lost dauphin. they have lived there 8 years now and it has lots of memories for me. most important to me are that bill proposed to me in the front door to this house and we had the majority of our wedding photos taken in the yard with the beautiful landscaping (that my parents did themselves!!). I am sure my parents will have a much harder time leaving this house because of the amount of blood, sweat and tears they have poured into it. however, it is a great time for them to move to bozeman, montana and build a house out there and see what having the mountains in their backyard feels like. I’m excited for you mom and dad. I will miss the house, the beautiful landscaping, the evening dinners on the patio, the boat rides, waterskiing, the green murky water, having lots of space to put the kids when I came to visit, but I will cherish the memories we made in that house and can’t wait to see how much fun we will have in MT! get ready to grip it and rip it!!

these house pictures are for my memory (because I now recognize how much it fades – ok - disappears with time). enjoy!

the front of the house – with my grandma matzke’s (my mom’s mom) irises in bloom. I know my mom is especially sad to leave those. that is also the front door where bill came flying in to propose after we had been broke up for a week (it’s a long story).

the back view. we had most of our wedding photos up the stone steps and on the hill and patio.

the stone steps. I think my dad had a huge crane and placed a lot of those boulders and stones around the landscaping himself.

bill and I had our “first meeting” on our wedding day at the top of the stone stairs. it was supposed to be just us and the photographer, but I found out later everyone was peeking out of my dad’s office window on the top floor.

my parents and I mulched ALL of the landscaping the week before my wedding.

the vines are grape vines. when everything is in bloom it is incredible!

my mom has made TONS of scrumptious meals in this kitchen.

many great memories of sitting by this fire while we open gifts and laugh. the heat that fireplace can throw off is unbelievable!

lots of big family meals eaten here. my mom is a wonderful cook.

and just this past weekend – the honey badgers peeking their little faces through the railings and giggling. so precious. hey mom – your desk was always that clean, right?

congrats mom and dad on making this house a home!