Hubble's First Triathlon!

I never really thought I'd see the day when Hubble would do a triathlon. Not that he couldn't, but he's never been interested in it when I've done it or my neighbors (die-hard triathletes) have talked to him about it. But about five weeks ago he decided to train for a sprint triathlon and completed it this last weekend. It was amazing, considering the fact that the only thing his body has done for three years is sit at a desk. But I never doubted that he could do it. Once he decides to do something, he does it.

Last week of school

It makes me sad that another year has flown by and my babies are moving on to the next grade. They both had wonderful teachers and really enjoyed the year.

Brynn's class had a little performance on Wednesday where they showcased the songs they had sung this year. Love little faces poking out of pumpkins!

Julia's first grade teacher was Mrs. Avery. She was very compassionate and caring towards all of the children and Julia loved her!

Brynn had Mrs. Shea (with Mrs. Schulte as an aid) for her Jr. Kindergarten year. Julia had also had them when she was this age and we all love them. I can't imagine a better teacher for 4 and 5 year-olds than Mrs. Shea.

These are a couple of Brynn's good friends she made this year (Isabella and Ellie).

Football, anyone?

Jonathan has been obsessed with football lately. I have no idea how he knows about it (neither Hubble nor I are fans), but I think it started one day in Target when he tried on a way too big football helmet. So lately he's been telling me he wants to play in a "football show." "I think it's called a football GAME, Jonathan." "No, a football show." OK, whatever. The other day he was wearing his "football shirt" and he found a football at one of Brynn's friend's house. They said he could borrow it and he came home and wanted to put on a helmet. I told him that we don't have a football helmet, but he thought his bike helmet would do the trick. So here's my football player. I wouldn't complain if he decided to stick with it - it would give him a good outlet for all of his hitting energy.

Memorial Day trip to Texas

A few weeks ago, Hubble and I escaped to Houston (never really thought Houston would be someplace to "escape" to, but it was). Hubble's dad had planned a guy's fishing day with all of his brothers, uncles, cousins, etc. Also, Hubble's youngest sister, Dinah, is having her first baby (any day now) and her sisters were throwing a shower for her. So a family from church came and stayed with our kids and we went to Houston for a long weekend. We had a great time visiting with Hubble's family and my brothers and their families. It really made me sad that we don't live near family, but we enjoyed it while it lasted.


Nine out of the ten Hausman kids together at one time! It was really fun to be with all of them.

One morning I went with my cute sister-in-law, Natalie, and her son, Ethan, to go visit my grandmother, Dorothy. It was an idyllic afternoon. We found a beautiful park near Dorothy's retirement home and had a picnic, complete with pimiento cheese sandwiches (Dorothy's favorite) and a couple of games of Domino's afterward. Dorothy is always an inspiration to me. She's a 93-year-old widow, losing her memory, living in a retirement home and yet she's always happy and positive. I don't know how many times she said "what a beautiful park!" I love my grandmother!! I hope I'll be like her when I'm old.


Another morning, Hubble's sisters, mom and I had a girls' morning out with breakfast and pedicures. We had a great time!

Happy late, late, late Birthday, Julia!

Due to my recent obsession with gardening, I have become a very neglectful mother, wife, cook, maid, blogger, etc., etc. I even told my mom last week that I couldn't talk and I'd have to call her back when it was dark outside - so shameful!! Anyways, now that I'm one day shy of being a complete month late on documenting my sweet Julia's seventh birthday, I thought I'd try to put something down about it.
I can't believe what a grown-up little girl she's become. She loves to take care of her brother and sister and is so responsible and caring. She also has a great sense of humor and loves to laugh with her family and friends. I feel so blessed to be her mother.


We had a fun little party for her, complete with the obligatory craft, games, pinata, cake and presents. However, to my dismay, we finished about 20 minutes before the scheduled pick-up time. Now I'm not one of those control freaks who wants every minute occupied with great entertainment during a party, but I really didn't want the girls to start breaking out the new presents and spread all of the micro-pieces from the Polly Pockets and Littlest Pet Shop all over the house. So we turned on some Michael Jackson and Abba music and had a little dance party. I taught them all of my dance moves (the ones I had perfected at church dances so long ago) and they taught me a few of theirs. We covered everything including the Moon walk, the Sprinkler, the Cabbage Patch Kid, the Running Man and more (it's amazing how those things come back to you). It was hilarious to watch all of these little girls dance! I think we all had a good time and maybe we worked off a little of the sugar-energy.

Bend it like Brynn...

Brynn decided she'd like to play soccer this spring. So we signed her up with her friend, Isabella. They've only had one practice and two games, so Brynn isn't 100% sure of what she's doing. But she has fun running around the field with her friend, picking dandelions if she comes upon them, and taking breaks with fun snacks. Her soccer uniform is huge - actually I tried it on last week to confirm my suspicions that it was large enough for an adult and it is.

Her game was on a beautiful spring day last Saturday and the rest of the day, the kids spent the day doing what they love most - playing outside with our two neighbor girls (ages 9 and 11). Then that night we hopped on our bikes and rode on the bike path to Culver's to have dinner. That's one of our favorite things to do during the summer and I was so excited that it was finally warm enough to do it again. Maybe warm weather has finally arrived for good!

Spring Break

We had a fun spring break this last week. We stayed close to home and had a great time doing things here. One day, we spent over three hours at an aquarium/museum called Discovery World (that's a record for us - we're usually good after about an hour and a half at those kinds of places). The kids especially loved playing in a big replica of a boat. Another day we went to a fun art museum that had a craft room for children. Then at the end of the week, we went to the Wisconsin Dells, the self-proclaimed "Waterpark Capital of the World" (and people wonder what there is to do in Wisconsin...) The place is mainly a tourist trap with one huge hotel after another, each with a few indoor waterparks, plus all kinds of other touristy stuff to do. At first I wasn't thrilled with the idea of going, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. The girls were old enough to ride the big slides and it was a blast seeing their eyes get huge, out of either fright or excitement or both, as they whisked down the slides. Jonathan loved the wave pool and sitting on a "wave runner" shooting its water gun. Then yesterday, we finally enjoyed a true spring day. It was in the low 70's and we celebrated with a little yard work.