FIELD DAYS

Tuesday was Field Days at Jake's school. I volunteered to help set up, do crowd control for Jake's class & pass out Bomb Pops after the kids were done playing their games. Allie helped me do it all & was really good throughout the whole ordeal, in spite of the heat! She got to try out the games to ensure that they worked once they were set up. The games were done by 6th grade students & several of the girls know Allie pretty well from other volunteer things we've done, so she was on cloud 9 with all of the attention.

Tomorrow is the last day of school...I can hardly believe that Jake will be a 2nd grader & Allie will start Kindergarten. Where did the time go?? We are looking forward to a full summer...lots of time will be spent at the waterpark. Jake is playing baseball this summer & has a couple of Scout camps to attend. Allie is playing t-ball & preparing for her dance recital in June. We have a couple of weddings on the calendar as well. I'm guessing that school will be starting again before I know what hits me!

Jake tries out "Plunger Ball"
Allie & Ben work together during a relay race.
Jake balances a tennis ball while running.
Jake & Emily try not to drop their ball.

LONG WEEKEND

Scott was off during the long Memorial Day weekend, so we accomplished a lot over those 4 days!

On Friday, I finished up the Talent Show. It was a fantastic show, no glitches & TONS of fun. The teachers even complimented the committee for a great show! On Friday night, we went to a friend's house to grill out. The kids played baseball in the back yard and had a great time.

On Saturday, we got up bright & early to head to visit my family. Scott, Jake & Michael went golfing for the day. The rest of us went to Will's girlfriend (Anne) graduation party. After the party, we went back to my parent's house for some R&R. That evening we went to the Pierce's house and joined them & the Ericksen's for pizza. The kids (& Scott & Gopher) ran like crazy people in the back yard playing Freeze Tag & Ghost in the Graveyard. I'm not sure who had the most fun!!

On Sunday, we left early and went to Williamsburg for some shopping. It was a successful trip & we have the bags upon bags of stuff to prove it!! Once we got home, we decided to go see Shrek the Third & to try out dinner at a new Mongolian restaurant, which was great.

On Monday, Scott played with his new power washer & got our deck, patio furniture & grill shining. I worked inside all day cleaning & catching up on laundry. After Scott grilled out for dinner, we finally sat down & watched a little TV.

School is out this week. We had Field Days yesterday, a picnic & end of the year performance on Friday. On Thursday, we have a summer kick off party. On Saturday, Jake has a Twilight Camp & then we are into the next week, which appears to be filling up quickly!! Our summer looks to be full of tons of fun things...

This group was called the "Chicks with the Flips"...Jake thought that they should join the Olympics! This group did the Cha Cha Slide & was a crowd favorite!
This group of 4th graders danced to Thriller & it was AWESOME...
These boys danced to KC & the Sunshine Band's "Boogie Shoes".
Here are the Pierce & Ericksen kids with our kids. (l-r Allie, Grace, Jake, Ethan, Andrew & Isabelle).

THE CHICKS ARE HERE, THE CHICKS ARE HERE!!!!!!!!

Jake's classroom had an incubator & eggs in it for the past 20 some days. On Wednesday morning, the kids came to school & found 15 new baby chicks had hatched. The chicks will live in the classroom until tomorrow & then be taken off to a local farm.

SURFIN' USA WAS A HIT

Jake's group performed this morning in the Talent Show. They did AWESOME!! They were definitely a crowd favorite. Jake told me this afternoon that he had 2nd & 3rd graders stop him & tell him that they did great. The group is already looking forward to next year's act!

Mandy, Maddie, Ben & Kim came up to see Jake's performance. The cousins played really well together. Allie was really sorry to see them go.

RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY

On Wednesday, we had a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Phase 1 of our new playground at school. To see it all come together after years of planning & fundraising was pretty amazing. Jake got to be one of the 10 kids holding the ribbon (due to my fundraising efforts & Scott's installation help). Now it is on to Phase II....

Jake is on the far left end holding the ribbon. The rest of the kids are ones who had parents involved in the planning, fundraising or installation of the playground. Part of the new playground is in the background.
Jake is on the left end. He is chatting with his friend!
Here is our group by the National Program for Playground Safety sign. That group worked closely with us to help us decide on the safest equipment for our kids.

SCOUT PICNIC

On Sunday, we had our last den meeting for Tiger Scouts. We handed out awards, had a picnic & let the 14 Scout (& their families) play games in the yard. Next year, I'm leading a Wolf den. We split the den in half so I will just have 7 boys, which will be much easier.

CATCHING UP

I have done quite a bit of subbing over the last month. I enjoy it so much, so hopefully next year I can either continue to sub or get a job!

We held our annual garage sale on Saturday. I got rid of TONS of stuff & made a little money. The kids LOVE garage sale day. They get to run pretty freely, watch TV, eat snacks & do what they want (within reason). They were exhausted that night. I went out to dinner with some friends on Saturday night & when I got home at about 10:30, the kids AND Scott were sound asleep in chairs & on the couch with a movie in the DVD player. It looked like a rough night!

The Hansen Talent Show is on Thursday & Friday this week. I have a ton of running to do to be sure all is ready. Jake's act performs on Thursday & he's really excited. We are having practice tonight here & again on Wednesday once we get the stage set up. Kim, Mandy, Maddie & Ben are coming on Wednesday & will stay for the show on Thursday.

NICK'S PARTY

Jake was invited to his friend Nick's party. It was at the Wellness Center & the kids had the ENTIRE pool to themselves. Nick invited 8 other kids & since the pool was their's all alone, he said that siblings could come too. Allie & Jake were exhausted when they were done!

MOTHER'S DAY

Allie & I went to Cedar Rapids to spend a girl's only Mother's Day together along with my mom, sister & niece. We had lunch & went shopping. It was a ton of fun & may have to be our new tradition. While we were gone, Jake & Scott made "meat" for breakfast & played golf...sounded like a manly kind of day!

Jake made me a clay bowl in art class. He also wrote me a very cute note, I will treasure it always. Allie made me some flowers at preschool, again a keeper. All in all a great day.

WOLF SCOUT

Jacob is no longer a Tiger Scout. He graduated to Wolf Scout on Monday night. They had a cute little bridge ceremony where he walked over & became a Wolf. I thought maybe he would say that he was done with Scouts after this year (I hoped)....he has decided to try it again next year...guess who the leader is AGAIN??? When will I learn to say "no"????

Here is a picture of Jake holding Maddie from this weekend...I can't get enough of her (neither can Jake).

Jake, Ben & Allie enjoy some popcorn at Nana & Papa's house. They had a sleep over & loved EVERY minute of it!

KIM'S SHOWER & BACHELORETTE PARTY


Allie & I went to another shower for Kim this weekend. Her sister & aunts threw her a great shower. She got tons of awesome gifts & we had a good time.


Mom & I went to dinner on Saturday night with Kim & her friends/family for her bachelorette party. We went home before the bus came to pick up the party goers...I bet that they had fun!! I am dying to hear stories!

It is just over a month until Kim is officially my sister in law & I can't wait.


Kim opens a gift at her shower.

Kim is all ready for a night on the town.

SOCCER SEASON

Another soccer season has come to an end. The kids were sad to see it end, I on the other hand, was NOT sad!

Allie will play Rec Center soccer again in the Fall & next Spring. That only entails going to soccer 2 days a week for one hour each time. This lasts 3 weeks. Games & practices are both held in that hour time frame. Not too much of a commitment.

Jake wants to play for the more competitive league and in a moment of weakness, I agreed. He will have practices 2 times a week and games every Saturday. This will last for 6-7 weeks in both the Fall and Spring. UGH!!

Allie gets into the game & has control of the ball.

Jake is ready for the ball?!?

Allie looks like a soccer player! Jake's soccer look.