COYOTES

This is an article from the local paper regarding the coyote that has been spotted in our neighborhood & most recently outside of the kid's school...


Coyote sighted at C.F. school; students kept inside

By JON ERICSON, Courier Staff Writer

CEDAR FALLS — Hansen Elementary School students were kept inside for morning recess Monday after reports of a coyote sighting on school grounds.

A neighbor reported sighting a coyote under goal posts at the Hansen/Holmes school complex Monday morning and reported it to police and to the schools.

Hansen Principal Tony Reid said he had received the report of the coyote and kept the children inside as a precaution. He was checking with Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials and a Black Hawk County Conservation ranger on the best way to proceed. The ranger had advised him that coyotes would be afraid of school children and not come near them. Children were allowed outside in the afternoon, but the school increased supervision.

Dave Roberts, an avid coyote hunter, had heard about sightings of a coyote late last week. On Monday morning, his wife saw the coyote resting underneath the practice football field on West Fourth Street. The Roberts live on Chateau Court and the rear of their home faces the field.“I let my black lab out and (the coyote) chased her back in. Then she went back under the goal post for another 10 minutes,” Roberts said.

Roberts said he believes the coyote is in estrus and mating with a dog in the neighborhood. Roberts said he got a good look at the animal as it came near his house in pursuit of the dog and was confident it was a female coyote. He said other neighbors had seen the animal several times since last Thursday.

Cedar Falls Police Chief Jeff Olson said the city has had a number of coyote reports since early January. Most of those reports came from the Birdsall Park area. The first calls reported both a male and female coyote, but recently sightings have only been of the female coyote.“There’s been no aggression observed by this coyote,” Olson said.Police are exploring options for dealing with the coyote and Olson said they are looking at live trapping the animal and releasing it away from the city.



This picture was taken by a neighbor just 2 streets over from us near the golf course.

HAPPY HAIRCUT

Miss Allie has been begging to get her hair cut "short" for months. Each time we go to get a haircut I just tell the gal to trim it up. Yesterday, I caved & let her tell the gal what she wanted done. She told her to cut it to her shoulders. So, 5 inches are now gone & it looks adorable. Allie LOVES it & I think it is stinkin' cute too.

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RECAP
It's been awhile since I've posted anything about our day to day life. So, here's a recap of the past few weeks:

• I've been subbing full time since before Thanksgiving. I've grown to love the 1st grade class that I'm in and enjoyed my days there. Today, is my first day off. The person I was subbing for is now back to work. I'm planning to get caught up around the house, prepare for Spring Break, sub a little and enjoy some time off!
• Allie is preparing for her dance recital, which will be in May. She is working hard on her routine. She thinks this will be her last year taking dance.
• Jake was asked to play baseball this summer on an IBL team (Iowa Baseball League). It is much more competitive than rec ball. The season is also much longer. Practices begin any time and our last games will be in mid-July. There will be several months when we have BOTH baseball and soccer going on for him. It could be a long Spring!
• Allie sold the most Girl Scout cookies in her troop this year. She was quite excited. Our next job will be to deliver those cookies!
• We spent my birthday weekend with my family. My mom had a family dinner with my siblings & their families. It was great to be with the people that mean the most to me.
• Scott's grandmother was airlifted to University of Iowa Hospitals a couple of weekends ago. We spent the night in the ER waiting to see how she was. After a long night, she was admitted and now continues to get better every day.
• Jake's Scout den went ice skating for an outing. Jake thought he could just get out and skate! WRONG! He got better after awhile. Allie came along & was sure to dress the part with her vest, matching gloves & hat. She looked adorable & did much better than Jake on skates.
• The kids had their Valentine's Day parties at school. They enjoyed giving and receiving lots of Valentine's and candy. They played games and had snacks at their parties too.
• Scott and I went out with friends for Valentine's Day. We saw the movie Taken (it was great) and went to dinner and then out for a few drinks. We had a nice time.
• Scott and Jake are working on Jake's Pinewood Derby car. The derby is in a couple of weeks and they are actually starting early for once! This will be the last car that they make, Jake has decided not to do Scouts next year. That is fine since his plate is full with football, soccer, baseball and basketball.
• Jake took in a UNI basketball game last week. He loves going to UNI events.
• Jake had his music concert/musical for school. My mom was able to come see his big performance. The musical was wonderful.
• This week brings: friend day at dance (Allie is bringing Jordyn), Cub Scout banquet, conferences for both kids, religion class, dentist appts, no school on Thursday/Friday and a quiet weekend.
  
  Allie & Jake at the ice skating rink.
  The Scouts take a break from ice skating (Aidan, Jake, Paul, Sam & Will)
  Jake on skates.
  

Jake & Nicholas

Adam & Jake

Allie at the Valentine's party

Allie & Morgan

Jake at his concert

Jake & Paul at the concert

Jake singing during his concert.

Jake at a Scout meeting.

My niece & nephews at my party (Drew, Allie, Ben, Maddie & Jake)
Allie at the rink.

I LOVE

I am copying the idea for this entry from my friend Stacy. In honor of Valentine's Day, here are the things I love....

• I love my husband and 2 beautiful kids.
• I love my parents.
• I love my siblings & their families.
• I love my grandmother. I miss my grandfather.
• I love how smart and kind Jake is. I love his love for sports.
• I love how Allie wants to be just like me. I love the way she says things, she is funny.
• I love Grand Mound & the home I grew up in. There is something about being in Grand Mound that makes me feel good.
• I love my house & the memories we are making for our kids.
• I love the memories of my childhood with my friends in my small little town.
• I love remembering my grandparent's house & the time spent with my cousins in the basement.
• I love shrimp (but I think an allergy has started, so I can't love it anymore).
• I love chocolate.
• I love to shop.
• I love Christmas & the 4th of July. No other holidays compare.
• I love my flannel pants & fleece sweatshirts.
• I love summer.
• I love hot dogs on the grill
• I love having a beer with good friends on my patio.
• I love working or volunteering at Hansen. The staff & the kids are wonderful.
• I love spending time with my family. They are my rock & often my comedy relief.
• I love spending hours on the phone with Kim, Mandy or mom.
• I love hearing Drew giggle at me.
• I love to tease Ben about sharing his food with me (the answer is always no).
• I love watching Maddie play...she is such a girly girl.
• I love the stupid text messages my brothers send me. I laugh out loud at them.
• I love it when my dad calls me. He never means to, it is usually an accident because he can't see to dial his phone. That makes me laugh.
• I love the relationship my parents have with my kids. My kids adore them & can't wait to visit. They allow them to do things that I don't let them do & they spend quality time doing what the kids want. My kids are SO lucky!
• I love Facebook.
• I love Diet Dr. Pepper.
• I love flip flops.
• I love purple.
• I love UNI football.
• I love watching my kids in their activities. I am so proud of them.
• I love to travel & wish there was more time to go places (we are going to Florida in March).
• I love to laugh. There is no one funnier than my dad (my mom probably disagrees).
• I love the movie the Wizard of Oz.
• I love the show Survivor, yes I admit it! I also love reruns of Friends and Little House on the Prairie & my latest find reruns of Brady Bunch.
• I love it when my house it clean & my laundry is done.
• I love to organize things. I own a label maker & love it.
• I love living in Iowa, most of the time.
• I love my blog & the book that I had made out of my 2007 entries (I'm working on 2008's book).
• I love my life & am probably one of the luckiest people alive. I have a wonderful family, awesome friends, a great home, good health & very few worries. Does it get much better than that??

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

25 RANDOM THINGS

I did this on Facebook & thought it would be fun to post it on my blog....

1. I am the oldest child.
2. My kids are named after last names in our family (Jacob after my Great Grandparents, the Jacobs & Allie after Scott's grandparent's the Allison's)
3. I hate pig tails.
4. I ashamed to admit that I LOVE Survivor.
5. At about 30 years old I learned to finally eat Chinese food...I can't believe I missed it all those years??
6. I am sarcastic.
7. I hate feet.
8. I have texture issues. I don't like really dry things, they freak me out.
9. I don't like Thanksgiving. I love the day after.
10. I HATE pigtails.
11. I LOVE the 4th of July, almost more than Christmas.
12. I am a volunteer o holic. It makes me feel good to volunteer.
13. I am a HUGE believer in YOU staying out of my personal space unless you are invited in...don't hug me!
14. I am slightly addicted to Facebook, but who isn't?
15. I have a BA in Psych with a minor in Criminology. Really using that degree!
16. I used to be a bill collector & actully knocked on people's doors to get them to pay me...can you say stupid???
17. I worked at Applebee's for years.
18. I love it when someone trips or falls down...that is funny!
19. I can't say no to chocolate.
20. My hands swell when I go into certain shops that have lots of lotions/candles. I think I'm allergic to something.
21. I've never mowed a lawn.
22. I love roller coasters, but hate twirly rides.
23. My son was born exactly 8 years after my hubby & I started dating & exactly 5 years after he proposed!
24. I am scared of something happening to my parents, but even more scared about something happening to my kids.
25. I have an irrational fear of snakes.

EAR INFECTION

Allie woke up this morning with no fever & no headache, but now an ear ache. I decided to run her to the doc to see what was up. She's NEVER complained of ear aches in the past, just everything else. So, I made an appointment & left work to get her to the doc. The doc checked her little ears & sure enough, an ear infection had been the culprit of our weekend illness. I was given a prescription, but told not to fill it until tomorrow afternoon. Say what? The new thought is to wait & see if the child's body can fight off the infection itself without the help of the Rx. This is only for kids over 2 though & the Rx should be filled if the symptoms are still there 48 hours later. I was pretty skeptical, although I'm not sure why, Allie has never had an ear infection & Jake only had 1 or 2 when he was a baby so how would I know the treatment protocol? I checked on Allie shortly after lunch to see how the ear was feeling & she said great! She could now hear & it didn't feel like her ear had someone pushing on it. Hmmmm....I'm guessing that the doc was right!