HANSEN DAIRY FARM

On Wednesday afternoon, we took our Cub Scout den to Hansen Dairy Farm outside of town. The kids got to tour the barns, feed calves, milk cows, make butter and eat some ice cream. It was a fascinating tour & I think that they all enjoyed themselves.

Jake with his giant bottle to feed a calf.
Our group is ready to feed! Note my friend Kristin with the kids...I believe this North Carolina gal had never been to a farm before!
Allie feeding her calf.

DAISY MEETING

On Thursday afternoon, Allie had her first Daisy meeting. The girls learned the Girl Scout Promise, made a craft, had a snack & learned a new song. Allie was SO excited to be a Daisy.

The Daisy troop...Madison, Krisha, Riley, Madison, Allie, Taylor & Chloe.
Madison, Allie & Jordyn. Jordyn is a Brownie that came to teach the girls some songs! She is also Allie's best friend.

SOCCER
Jake had a soccer game on Saturday. His team won 19-0! Our final game, which is a make up game will be Monday night.

CAMPING
Jake's Cub Scout den went camping last night. Since Scott had to work, I took Jake & Allie alone. Needless to say, camping isn't my thing & I was SO ready for morning to hit so that we could pack up and go home! The kids had a ball & so it was worth it. They got to hike, ride go carts, roast hot dogs/marshmallows, play games, tell ghost stories, make home made ice cream & sleep in the world's smallest cabin.

For those that know me well, know that I am NOT into the great outdoors...here are some of my issues with this camping trip...there were mouse dropping outside my front door, the bathroom facilities were worse than a port a potty, the bunks were quite possibly the most uncomfortable beds in the world and best of all of the cabins were to have electricity...ours didn't work...everyone else's did. Will I go again...of course...how can I tell my kid that he doesn't get to go camping this Spring with his den???

Allie making homemade ice cream.
Jake & Sam by the fire listening to a ghost story.
The Scouts outside of the cabin...yes...they call that a cabin that sleeps 6!!
Our flag ceremony.

Jake on one of the carts.

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY PARTY

Jake went to his friend Will's birthday party this afternoon. It was at the Rec Center and he said that all of his best friends were there. I made Scott take him over...I was beat & needed a shower to get the wilderness off of me!

THIS WEEK

This week brings dance class, Jake's last soccer game, a Tiger game that Allie gets to cheer at, another birthday party for Jake to attend, a PTA budget meeting, volunteering in Allie's classroom, no school on Wednesday...dentist appts. instead...UGH!!

UNI HOMECOMING
We went to the UNI Homecoming game on Saturday afternoon. It was a great game and the Panthers won!! Yeah! We met up with some friends prior to the game for some tailgating. Jake & his buddies played football in the grass, Allie & her friends messed around & munched on snacks while the adults hung out & talked. After the game, we came back to our house & ordered pizza with our friends.
Allie got to meet a real UNI cheerleader!

UNDEFEATED!
Jake's football team played their last game of the season on Saturday morning. They beat the Cardinals 48-2. They ended up their season undefeated (6-0 record). Jake scored an extra point and pulled a couple of flags. He had a surprise fan show up at his game, Uncle Michael!! Jake was thrilled! He always loves to see extra people at his games to support him!
Jake is ready for the handoff!

CHEERLEADING CAMP
Allie went to cheerleading camp on Saturday morning. She learned some new "Tiger" cheers & chants. She received the "jumps" award for her great jumps in practice. She will get to perform at a CF game in a couple of weeks.

Allie's friends waiting for cheer camp to start, Kylie, Sam, Allie, Jordyn, Katie & Lexi.
Allie's group showing the parents their new moves!
Allie with her new t-shirt & ribbon.

JR. JAZZERCISE

Allie went to a Jr. Jazzercise class with her friend Jordyn on Friday night. She absolutely loved it & wants to go every Friday night. There were several of her friends there & there was lots of dancing to fun music...what little girl wouldn't love that??

A VISIT FROM AN OLD FRIEND

My dear friend from college, Cris came to visit on Thursday night. She brought her mom & 2 boys along. Conner is just a couple of months old (was born on Allie's b-day) & Caiden will be 2 in January. Allie loved playing the mother hen role to the boys while Cris and I caught up. It had been over 2 years since I had seen Cris & we just picked up right where we left off. It is funny how there are certain friends that you can do that with no matter how long it has been since you've seen them...Cris is definitely one of those friends.

RAINGUTTER REGATTA

Jake participated in the Raingutter Regatta race for Scouts the other night. He did really well and advanced to the very end. He was pretty excited that his boat did great!

OTHER STUFF

I had a PTA meeting on Tuesday night. Our superintendent came and spoke about the possible redistricting that could be happening next year. There were a lot of upset people in attendance!

I went to a Taste of Home party on Friday night with a group of my girlfriends. We did lots of laughing & talking while the party was going on. I ordered a really cool bowl set.

I had to take my BD kids to a play on Friday morning. We saw "Tomas & the Library Lady", which was really good. There were 4 adults to the 6 kids that we took! We needed that ratio! My job is still up in the air. There is potentially a new job open in the district that I might be interested in, we'll have to see how that plays out.

This week brings ballet, 2 soccer practices, 2 soccer games, Daisy Scouts, Wolf Scouts, a camp out for Wolf Scouts, religion class & round 2 of my Hepatitis shots (since I work at a school, I had to get the series).

ALLIE HAS A SLEEPOVER
Allie went to her friend Jordyn's Friday night for a sleepover. She got to ride the bus after school to Jordyn's house. They played, watched movies, ate snacks & had tons of fun. I picked her up in the morning & she was beat!! She did say that she missed me though.

Scott & I took Jake to dinner Friday night after he was done with soccer & football practices. We went to Tokyo, a Japenese steak house. He LOVED it. He thought that the noodles & the steak were great. He loved the chef cooking at our table. He was SO excited.


PACKERS VS. DOLPHINS
Jake's football team played ball again this weekend. They beat the Dolphins 35-0. Jake had a great game. He ran all the way down the field for a TD & then caught the extra point in the end zone. He also pulled lots of flags to stop the other team from scoring. The Packers are still undefeated for the season & the boys are determined to keep it that way going into next weekend's final game!

SOCCER
Jake's team won 16-3 on Saturday. He scored a goal, blocked numerous goals as goalie & had some great passes. He looked good!
BIRTHDAY PARTY
Jake went to his buddy Ben's birthday party at the Rec Center on Saturday night. They got to play basketball & football in the gym & use the Rec room for pool, ping pong & video games. They had pizza & it sounds like they had an AWESOME time! Allie & I shopped while Jake partied!

THIS WEEK

This week we have dance, 2 football practices, 2 soccer practices, a PTA meeting, a Cub Scout meeting, the UNI Homecoming game, cheerleading camp, a soccer game & a football game! We are all excited about the week!

VISITORS
We had visitors this weekend. Mandy, Ben & Maddie came up to watch Jake's football & soccer games this weekend. Ben & Allie played & played together, they get along really well. Miss Maddie is getting so old. She absolutely LOVES Uncle Scott & grins ear to ear when he's around...she doesn't do that with me, which pleases Scott! We had such a nice time visiting with them!

PACKERS VS. PATRIOTS
Jake's football team remains undefeated. They played the Patriots on Saturday & won 42-12! Our boys looked really good in spite of the rain during the game. Jake was able to pull a lot of flags & had some nice runs too. We play the Dolphins on Saturday.

SOCCER

Jake's team won their 3rd soccer game on Saturday afternoon. They won 11-0. Jake scored another goal & the extremely windy conditions almost cost him the goal! They looked good!

BUILDING BIRDHOUSES

Jake's Scout troop met on Sunday night to build birdhouses & have a cookout. The host family had all of the wood precut so the dads & Scouts just had to nail the pieces together. The boys did well & the dads had some pretty sore thumbs by the end of the night from being accidentally hit with the hammer.

BALLET CLASS

Allie had Parent's Day at dance on Monday. Her class was able to show us their routine for their first performance at Festival of Trees in November. They don't look too bad! After class, the owner of Allie's dance studio told me that Allie has come a long way over the summer & has emerged as the leader in the class...I was quite shocked since Allie is about as graceful as I am! Allie beamed as Miss Renee told me that!

OTHER NEWS

Allie played her final soccer game on Thursday night. She did really well this season & will start up again in the Spring.

Jake got 2nd place out of all of the 2nd graders in the mile run. His friend Dylan beat him again. They were 1 & 2 last year!! His time was better than the fastest 3rd grader though.

Allie had her chicken pox booster on Friday & had a reaction to it on Sunday. It was red & swollen all up her thigh. She says it doesn't hurt or itch so I'm just keeping an eye on it (I did consult with Kim & our school nurse too).

My cousin Katie & her husband Mike welcomed their first child into the world last week. Harrison Michael is doing great & we can't wait to meet him. That brings our extended family up to 37 people with another baby on the way in November (we gained 2 by marriage & 2 by birth this year alone).

My job is still interesting. My hours keeping changing & I'm not sure day to day what I'm going to be doing. My student is a bit more BD than they thought & may have switch schools again. I won't go with him if he goes, but have been assured that there is a job waiting for me (my understanding is that there are several open jobs).

We have soccer & football games this weekend. Scott & Jake have to make a boat for the Raingutter Regatta on Monday night for Scouts. Allie is going to a sleepover on Friday night & Jake has a birthday party on Saturday night.

WOLF MEETING
Jake had a Pack Meeting for Wolf Scouts on Monday night. There was an obstacle course set up for the kids to play on while the parents met to discuss selling popcorn this year. Somehow I got roped into being the "Co-Popcorn Kernal" so my friend Kristin & I are the "go-to" people for the parents & Scouts regarding popcorn sales.

Jake was a bit late for the meeting due to soccer & football practice. He still made it in time for a group picture with his den. It was a crazy evening!

Jake's den...Aidan, Nicholas, Sam, Will, Jake & Paul

MILE

Jake's class ran the mile on Tuesday. He got 7:53 & was the first one to finish in his class. In talking with his friends, he is pretty sure that he got 2nd place in the entire 2nd grade class getting beat by his friend Dylan by only 3 seconds!!

HAIRSPRAY

Allie & I went to see the movie Hairspray. It was SO good. We danced in our seats through the entire movie. I'd love to take Allie to see it on stage sometime!

ALLIE SOCCER GAMES

Allie had soccer games on Tuesday & Thursday. She is doing really well this year. She is running with her team, kicking the ball & trying her best...even on hot days! Her favorite position is still goalie.

Allie is going for the ball.

SAFETY CITY

Allie's class went to Safety City last week. I was lucky & got to go along too. It was great seeing her with her new friends. The class learned about fire safety, dialing 911, electrical safety & bicycle safety. They even got to spray the fire hose!

Allie listens to a heart.
Allie & her partner for the day, Caleb.
Allie using the fire hose.
Allie working on dialing 911.

PACKERS VS. COLTS

Jake's football team played the Colts on Saturday. The Colts are the other Hansen team & both teams were ready for a good fight. In the end, the Packers won 18-0. They were THRILLED. Jake had almost had an interception but instead just blocked the ball. It was a TON of fun to watch.

The Packers:

Front: Nick, Carter

Middle: Ben, Jake, Colin & Sam

Back: Dylan, Coach Young & Mitch

JAKE SOCCER

Jake had 2 soccer games this weekend. One on Saturday & one on Sunday. They won Saturday's game 14-3. Jake scored a goal right at the end of the game...he was pretty excited. Sunday they lost 6-4. Jake got drilled with the soccer ball while playing goalie. It hit his thigh, but he blocked the ball & didn't let the other team score. He had a HUGE red mark in the shape of a soccer ball on his leg.

Jake & Tate are ready for action
Jake is the goalie.

MARATHON

Scott ran his 3rd marathon this weekend. He finished in 3 hours & 54 minutes. A bit up from his previous runs, but he didn't have a good last 3 miles. Lots of leg cramps. Michael, Kim & I were able to see him at the beginning of the race, mile 4, mile 6, mile 8, mile 11, mile 13, mile 18, mile 22, mile 23 & at the finish. We cheered him on & gave him his drinks, gels & food when needed. Michael even walked with him for awhile to help him finish up. Mom, Dad, Mandy, Jake, Allie, Ben & Maddie met us at mile 22 & the finish line too. We are SO proud that he completed another marathon!

Scott at Mile 23
Jake & Allie with their signs.

Scott waving to the kids near the finish line.

My childhood friend Andrea at Mile 13. Scott & Michael walking...around Mile 23...Scott needed some reinforcement.
Our cheering section...Allie, Mom, Ben, Maddie, Mandy & Kim
Part of our cheering section...Michael, Jake, Dad & Woody (Andrea's hubby)

Maddie with a sign that we had made for Ben to hold...he wanted no part of that!

CARNIVAL

The annual carnival at the kid's school was on Friday night. It was a big success. We raised more money than last year!! The kid's had a ball as always. We had some family winners in the raffle this year. Scott won a haircut & shampoo, Will won a gift certificate to a local bakery, Mandy won a gift card to Wal Mart & Bonnie won 4 tickets to a hockey game, which she gave to us to use. A BIG THANK YOU to all who supported the kid's ticket sales.

PACKERS VS. LIONS

Jake had another GREAT football game on Saturday. His team beat the Lions 38-6. Jake had 2 interceptions or "picks" as he told me and he scored 2 extra points. He was running for a TD, way ahead of the other kids and he kicked off his own flag...I am certain that he would have scored if he hadn't kicked off his own flag!!

My parents came to cheer Jake on & I'm pretty sure that I haven't heard my dad laugh that hard in a long time. It is a riot watching 1st & 2nd graders play football!! Scott also was able to sneak out of work to see his team play (he's been helping coach on Friday nights). Jake was beaming after the game when he saw that he had his own cheering section!



SOCCER

Allie started soccer on Tuesday. She is quite the little goalie, which is her favorite position. In fact, she is a bit mad when she can't be the goalie. I'm surprised at how well she does going after the ball & getting "down & dirty".

Jake's first soccer game was postponed until next Sunday afternoon. So we will have 2 soccer games & 1 football game next weekend!



OTHER STUFF

Jake had 2 birthday parties this weekend. One was at his friend Ben's on Friday night. They went to the to the football field and shot off homemade rockets. There were soccer teams practicing on a nearly field and everytime a rocket was shot, the whole team stopped playing to watch. I bet the coach was a bit frustrated. The other party was at the wellness center on campus and it was for his friend Brock. All of the boys in the 2nd grade were invited and about 20 of them showed up. They had an awesome time.

Scott and I went to dinner on Saturday night ALONE. It was a last minute decision, one of our sitters called & asked if she could babysit & we took her up on it! It was nice to get out alone.

My mom & I went downtown on Saturday afternoon to browse through "Art a Pooloza", a festival held downtown. We weaved in and out of the displays and stopped by the cute shops. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed ourselves. My dad stayed home with the kids and watched football.

There was no school on Friday. I had a meeting for work in the morning, so Scott spent the morning with the kids. When I got home after lunch, they were all in the basement watching "Rocky Balboa". When I walked downstairs, Allie said "I'm SO glad you are home mom". She wasn't too hip on watching Rocky with the boys.

The kids are selling raffle tickets for this week's school carnival. They are doing great & have sold a ton of tickets to family & friends.

My job is going o.k. still. I could already write a book about the strange things that have gone on in this BD room. It is never a dull moment that is for sure. I'm still planning to stick it out here until something else opens up. I have to go an get the 1st of 3 Hepatitis shots this week since I am working in the school.

Another crazy week lies ahead, which we love. The usual soccer practice 4 nights this week, football practice 2 nights, Cub Scouts 1 night, Religion class 1 night, dance 1 night, 1 football game, 4 soccer games, and the school carnival, which I am chairing the Cake Walk & Kettle Corn. I'm also setting up and tearing down and selling game tickets each morning this week before school starts.



Jake & some of the 2nd grade boys after the swimming party. Allie kicking the ball toward the goal.
Allie posing for her soccer pic.

Allie is protecting the goal.

THERE GOES ANOTHER WEEK!!

I can't believe another week has come & gone. Where did it go?? We were of course busy all week, but got a lot accomplished! I now have a clean & very organized garage & basement. We spent the majority of Monday doing that.

Jake had football and soccer practice this week. On Saturday, he had his soccer pictures & his first football game. He did AWESOME in his game. He scored the first touchdown & extra points of the year!! He looked great & I was so excited for him. His team won their game 36-12!! I barely have a voice today from yelling yesterday!

Allie went to a birthday party on Saturday afternoon. They went to Teddy Bear Connection and she made a white rabbit named Jessica. After the party, she went to her friend's house to play & since Jake was at a friend's house, I went to Old Navy ALONE!!

Last night, Scott stayed home with the kids so that I could go to dinner & drinks with my girlfriends Kristin, Kim, Cathi, Lynn, Karen, Amy & Sandy. We had a ball & laughed & laughed. Scott went golfing with friends this morning & I stayed home with the kids. He said he enjoyed himself.

I am getting adjusted to my new school and being in a BD classroom. I'm still not sure it is where I want to be. I enjoy my co-workers, the hours & flexibility. I'm not so sure I enjoy being with BD kids. I'm going to try to stick it out & hope that something else opens up in the district soon.

This week brings dance, soccer & football on Monday, soccer & a PTA meeting on Tuesday, playdates & Religion on Wednesday, soccer on Thursday, soccer & football on both Friday & Saturday and a birthday party on Saturday night. We wouldn't know what to do if we weren't always on the go!!

Jake is ready on Defense!
Carter, Allie, Jordyn, Katie, Rebecca & Makenna at Jordyn's party.

Allie & Jordyn!

OUR HAPPENINGS

Wow, where did the week go?? Lots happened, here is a run down.

*On Wednesday after school, Allie asked me this question "Mom, Miss Pins told me today that tomorrow we go to school ALL DAY LONG, what is with THAT?" I chuckled...the 1st 6 days of school, the kids got out at 2:15, rather than the usual 3:35. That extra hour+ is a big difference!

*Jake had soccer practice on Monday & Friday night. He had football practice on Wednesday night & will have it again on Sunday afternoon. His coaches are great & he loves both!

*Jake completed 8 chapter books this summer, so he was able to get a free book from Barnes & Noble. We went over to pick up his new book on Thursday night. Of course, we came home with "Magic Tree House" books for Jake & "Junie B. Jones" books for Allie.

*Allie lost another tooth on Friday morning. Actually, Scott pulled it out before she left for school. She was thrilled to be the first one in her class to lose a tooth since school started. She got to write her name on a giant tooth in the classroom.

*Allie learned to tie her shoes early in the week. She had me show her one morning before school & as I was cooking dinner that night, she said "by the way Mom, I can tie my shoes". I was thinking "yeah right". So, she sat down on the floor & tied them! I asked her how she learned & she told me that I taught her this morning!!

*Jake got all of his spelling words right on his first spelling test of the year!

*Jake had a friend spend the night last night.

*The kids and I met Alishia, one of our babysitters, for ice cream.

*I am the head room parent for both Jake AND Allie's classrooms this year. Jake's class has lots of parent volunteers that I can call on. Allie's class had only 2 other moms that were ready to volunteer!

*I have begun doing "after school care" for our neighbor boy. So far, so good!

*My job has changed already! To make a VERY long story short, the child that I was working one on one with needed to be moved to another school with a BD program. So, I will move to that school to help transition him into the new program. Odds are I won't stay there because they want to increase the number of hours that I would work, which I don't want to do & I'm not sure that BD is my cup of tea. There is a possibility that there may be a job sharing position at the school that I was at, so I may take that job, I may stay in the BD classroom or I may sub until something with the right number of hours AND the right job description opens up. I'll update when I know what is going on!

*This weekend brings cleaning out/organizing the garage. We still have some things that need to be taken to Good Will or the dump from our basement flood so now was the time to see what we could get rid of in the garage. Scott says that he is going to put new flooring in the basement bathroom this weekend too. If he gets that started, I'll get my cleaning done since I am working full time next week & won't have much time to tackle housework.

*Next week brings 2 soccer practices, 2 football practices, a football game, soccer pictures, a Scout popcorn meeting (did I mention I'm co-chairing this), a school carnival meeting AND a birthday party for one of Allie's friends. Allie's lost tooth!
Jake's class (I pulled this from his teacher's website).