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).

FALL ACTIVITIES

We are starting our Fall activities and it appears we will be keeping very busy!

Jake had his Wolf Scout kick off meeting last night. We went swimming & earned the swimming award for our efforts. We have a much smaller den this year & a great group of boys! We will have our den meeting once a month on Sunday afternoons & our Pack meetings once a month on Monday evenings.

We started soccer practice tonight. Jake will have practice on Monday & Friday evenings, with games on Saturday afternoons through the end of October.

Jake starts football practice tomorrow night (I think). He will practice Tuesday/Thursday nights (tentatively). His games are on Saturday mornings.

Allie starts dance on Mondays after Labor Day. She is taking ballet again this year. She starts Tuesday/Thursday afternoon soccer in mid-September.

Religious Ed starts after Labor Day on Wednesday nights. Jake makes his First Communion this year!

Swimming will start in October, we may have to skip that month & start in November. That will go through February. I can't decide whether to enroll the kids in group or private lessons. Jake did some private lessons last year & really progressed nicely. We'll see!!

Sam, Will, Aidan, Paul, Jake & Nicholas at our Scout meeting.

BACK PACK NIGHT & THE BIG DAY

Last night was Back Pack Night. The kids took their school supplies into their classrooms, met their teachers, found their desks & took care of all of those 1st day jitters. I was able to get my usual pictures taken. Allie loved that, Jake thinks it is too babyish...too bad was the answer that I gave him! After we got home from Back Pack Night, I read the kids "The Night Before Kindergarten", "Time for School Stinky Face" & "The Kissing Hand". Allie & Jake gave me a kissing hand to use when I missed them during my first day at work...yes, I cried when they did that!! In fact, that was really the first time that it hit me that Allie was going to school & I was going to work. Wow!

School started this morning. My baby is now officially in school. She was really nervous this morning, which was odd since she spent SO much time with me at Hansen when I would volunteer. She knows her way around the school & knows almost the entire staff, yet she was still nervous about her big day. We got to the playground & she ran off with some friends & the nervousness was gone. When the bell rang, she got in line & waited to go in. She gave me one last hug & blew me kisses while she walked into the school. That was it!! She was fine. I was fighting tears...she was now in school...both of my kids are growing up way too quickly!

Jake did well as usual. He didn't even say good bye to me, instead he found all of his friends that he hadn't seen all summer & ran around until the bell rang. I got a wave on his way by. His class lines up next to Allie's class, so he really couldn't avoid a wave to me :)

The highlights of the kid's days were...
Allie: hot lunch on a tray (not sure what she thought it would be on), listening to the Kissing Hand book & meeting a lot of new friends (she can't remember any of their names).
Jake: having a snowball fight (out of paper) & ice skating (on paper), lunch was good too...he sat by Ben & ended up across from Adam & Paul (his best friends).

I had a good first day too. The first grade classroom that I'm in is great, the teacher is wonderful & the staff is very helpful. I worked 10-2 & will work those hours varying a little bit depending on the day. Hopefully the student that I am with continues to be good too. I think that I am going to like my job.

Miss Pins & Allie...we adore Miss Pins, she was Jake's teacher.
Jake & Mr. Wagner
Allie by the Hansen sign
Now Jake by the sign
Allie at her desk.

Jake by his desk
Ben & Jake (note Ben's cast)
Allie & her classmates wait to go in from morning recess

Here are the Adventureland & wedding pics that I said that I would post...stay tuned for 1st day of school pics....

My parents & siblings.
Jake, Scott & Michael on a ride at Adventureland
Allie & Kim on a ride
Michael, Kim, Jake & Allie

Jake & Michael on a ride.

WHAT A WEEK!

It has been an eventful week...here is my recap....

Monday: the kids & I were all ready to go to the waterpark when my phone rang. It was a principal at Lincoln Elementary wanting me to come in to interview for a job at her school. As she told me about the job, I knew that it wasn't something that I was interested in. I decided to go to the interview anyway to meet her & I figured that if I was offered the job, I'd decline, but offer to sub for her as needed. I went to the interview that afternoon & found out that there were 2 job openings & as we talked I realized that there was a job there that I wanted. The principal told me she'd call me Tuesday or Wednesday & let me know what her decision was.

Tuesday: the kids & I met my cousins Brooke & Ty at the waterpark for part of the day & had a great time (this would be our last trip of the season). Later that evening, I got a call from the principal at Lincoln & she offered me a job. I accepted!! It will be a special education associate in a first grade classroom for 4 hours a day. I was delighted...4 hours means that I can still volunteer at the kid's school & be active there. The principal told me that I HAVE to spend as much time as I need on the first day of school dropping Allie at Kindergarten...she said that Kindergarten only happens once & I need to be there, not at my new job. I think that this will be a good fit!!

Wednesday: Scott actually took some vacation time & we headed into Chicago for a few days. We stayed downtown & were able to walk everywhere. We wandered past Grant Park & Millennium Park when we got there & stopped by Giordanio's for some Chicago style pizza for dinner. As we were walking back to our hotel, we got caught in a rainstorm & were soaked to the skin.

Thursday: we got up early & walked to Shedd Aquarium, Soldier Field, Lake Michigan & Buckingham Fountain. We grabbed a Chicago style hot dog off of a street vendor for lunch at Soldier Field (Jake was in heaven). We briefly stopped by the hotel to rest & then started out again, this time heading to the Sears Tower. We had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe & grabbed a cab back to the hotel for some swimming before bed.

Friday: once again we were up early for some swimming before we went on our way. This time it was off to Navy Pier. We rode the giant Ferris wheel, took a boat ride on Lake Michigan, went through the Amazing Chicago maze & had lunch at Bubba Gump's. We hit the road for home by the middle of the afternoon.

Saturday: we were back on the road, this time heading to Des Moines for my cousin Tim's wedding. We had a nice time seeing tons of family & celebrating Tim & Jess' big day. The kids also enjoyed dancing & swimming at the hotel.

Sunday: we got up early to swim & then we were off to Adventureland with Kim & Michael. We spent several hours there riding any ride we could. Allie is my little daredevil & will try anything once!! Jake, not so much. We hopped back in the car for home by early evening. Once we got home, we unloaded the car & did some things around here. It began to storm & we got some heavy rain. Scott went down to check our sump pump to find that it was ready to overflow...there was SO much water flowing in that it couldn't keep up...long story short, we got water in our basement. We called some friends (thanks Patrick & Dan) to help us get our stuff out to the garage & spent the entire evening moving Rubbermaid containers, furniture & other things to higher ground. Scott spent a ton of time in the basement running the Rug Doctor trying to get the water out of the carpet. This time we were fortunate, the water was mostly in the storage areas...there was just a small amount in our living space. Needless to say, we are making a call tomorrow to find out what we can do to stop this from happening again.

This week brings Jake starting 2nd grade, Allie starting Kindergarten & me starting a new job on Wednesday. Michael & Kim are visiting this weekend. I will be spending some quality time in the garage sorting through Rubbermaid containers & deciding what needs to be kept, thrown, sold or taken to Good Will. A plumber will also be coming to look at our sump pump...

The pics below are from our Chicago trip. I'll post pics from the wedding & Adventureland in the next couple of days, along with 1st day of school updates.

Allie & Jake outside of Shedd Aquarium.
The kids eating ice cream while watching Buckingham Fountain.
The kids on the boat ride on Lake Michigan
The dolphin show we watched.

The kids in the pool area of our hotel.

ALLIE IS 6!!

Allie turned 6 on Tuesday. I still can't believe that she is already 6 years old!! Where did those 6 years go?? And to think that she will start Kindergarten in just a couple of weeks!

Allie was excited to start her big day by opening a few gifts while sitting on our bed right away in the morning. Since Scott typically isn't able to be home to see gift opening, we've changed it to first thing in the morning...who wouldn't want gifts right away??

We went to the Teddy Bear Connection for a little party with Allie's friends. Each child got to make a stuffed animal. Allie chose to make a unicorn, which turned out pretty cute. Each child made a necklace for their animal, they got to dance to to the Hokey Pokey, eat cupcakes & open more gifts. Allie really enjoyed herself & I think her friends did too.

The birthday child always picks a spot for dinner. Allie chose her favorite restaurant, Carlos O Kelley's. We had a nice late dinner & headed on home.

Allie is ready to open her birthday gifts.
Allie's Hannah Montana cupcakes for her party.



Allie & her friends at the Teddy Bear Connection.


Front row: Abbie & Ashley


Middle Row: Hallie, Olivia, Jordyn, Allie & Jake


Back Row: Makenna & the bear

WEBKINZ

Allie got a Webkinz for her birthday from her friend Jordyn. Jake & Allie have become Webkinz crazy!! They go online each day to care for their virtual pet by feeding, dressing, playing with it & so on. They earn "webkinz dollars" by "working" & playing various games. It has become an obsession here!!

Allie & her Webkinz leopard that she name Lovely!

WATERPARK

We spent the other day at the waterpark. We met my roommate from college Stacy & her girls. It was great visiting with her...it seems like we can always pick up right where we left off & we only are able to see each every couple of years. It is nice to have those kinds of friends...where the years, miles & different lives don't matter!

Stacy's girls & my kids...Katie, Ellie, Jake & Allie
Jake & Allie