Birthday Girl

 Zoey turned the big 7 this year!

We celebrated for what seemed like forever. We got to have ice cream cake up at the cabin with Grandma, Grandpa, Rob, Nicole, and the girls. 

 We got to have Dairy Queen with Nana and Papa when we got home.

And, of course, we got to celebrate with friends at the Oakdale cinema. The kids had a great time--but who wouldn't when you got to be hyped up on cake, Icees, and popcorn.

School's Out For Summer!

 

So immediately when I realized that Zoey was wearing the same dress on the last day of 1st grade as she had on her first visit to kindergarten. . .I had to do the side by side. 

Our little girl is growing up. . .FAST! 

She had a fabulous 1st grade experience! She met good friends and got to do a lot of fun things. She is however, excited to move on to second grade. I'm not in that big of a hurry!

Her class went to a Zephyr baseball game in May.

Zoey thinks Mrs. Marshall is THE BEST TEACHER EVER! I have to agree that she ranks right up there with the best of them.

Zoey's literacy class hosted a Young Author's Tea. Each student shared a favorite piece of writing. Very cute!

What a pair! Zoey and her friend Anabel at the Fun Fair this year.

Memorial Day Weekend

Kristie, age 3

We headed to the cabin for Memorial day weekend to see Grandma and Grandpa, Rob, Nicole, Kylie and Kristie. It was fun to hang out with everyone all weekend.

Uncle Robby impressed us all with his balloon animal talent. Ah.maze.ing!

One of the biggest highlights of the weekend was that Grandma and Grandpa's new toy arrived just a day before we all got there. The new pontoon. There were lots of rides around the lake. The kids were stoked because they all got to wear the captain's hat and drive the boat.

Uncle Robby and Zoey

Our little speed demon.

Our nice little boy. . .careful and cautious. Don't rush him!

 It was a bit rainy on Sunday so we took the cousins to the Headwaters Science Museum. It was a pretty cool place and it kept the kids occupies for a couple of hours. All the sciences were represented. . .My kids are pretty brave!

Zoey and her friend.

Look at Kylie's brain!

A snake! Ewww. (Only mommy and Grandpa thought it was gross--the kids thought it was AWESOME!)

The piano recital.

The Season Opener

I have decided that watching 4 and 5 year old kids play t-ball ranks up there as one of the cutest things ever. Arguably as cute as sleeping babies, puppies, and little kids' invented spelling--hey I'm a reading teacher, it's what I do. So here is the story of Zander's season opener for his first year of t-ball.

Last night at practice the kids all get their jerseys and hats--SO exciting. Zander came home from practice singing "Center field." He and his friend Sammy wore their jerseys to daycare on Tuesday in great anticipation of their first game.

Tyler and I both had tough days--mine dealing with the 5th day of the virus that I've been fighting and his ending with a headache that needed some rest time. So we pulled it together and got the kids fed and in the car--ready for the t-ball game. Taking a right turn on to a busy street, we accidentally rear-end the car in front of us. So, of course we need to stop and exchange all the insurance stuff. (Timeline: game starts at 6:30/it is 6:28) The kids are extremely patient in the back seat, but Zander starts to realize that we are going to be late, or in Zander's mind "miss the game." Hence the face below:

 (I couldn't resist taking a picture of that face. 

Tears are literally welling in his eyes at this moment.)

It was taking a while for things to get resolved--waiting for the city AND the state police to show up. So I left Tyler at the scene and got Zander and Zoey to the park for the game. WHEW! Then I took the car back to the scene and we took care of everything and returned to the park to enjoy 3 innings of kids hitting and chasing around the ball. (Thank you Mary and Bob for keeping an eye on the kids!)

 Zander is number 2--on deck.

 Mary's (our daycare Mary) grandson, Sammy, is on the team so both boys had a good cheering section.

Here the boys are enjoying their after game snack.

 

This video will hopefully convey all that is cute about T-ball. When the ball was hit, EVERYONE leaves their position to go chase the ball. Watch the swarm of red shirts go after the ball. This happens every time. Love it! 

 

On the way home from the game, Tyler and I were listening to the kids chat in the back seat. Zander told Zoey, "Zoey, we can't talk back here when we go to t-ball. So that mommy and daddy don't bonk the car again." We think that we can use this false association to our advantage. . .

Hot Buttered Popcorn 2012

Zoey has started her love of being on stage this year by joining in our church theatre programs. Hot Buttered Popcorn is a chance for Pre-K thru 5th graders to be in a production. This year the cast did a show called Shortstops. Zoey played Jessie the bat girl. It was really fun to watch her up on stage. She puts all she has into the shows. It will be fun to see how she grows in this area.

Put Me In Coach. . .

Zander started T-Ball! He is playing in the Oakdale Athletic Association. We were fortunate this year to sign Zander up on a team with his good friend Sammy from daycare. Zander is excited and has enjoyed his practices so far. His first game is on May 1st! Should be a fun season!

Happy Easter!

 On Thursday we had the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Mary's Daycare. It has been such a blessing over the past 5 years to have such a loving and caring place to house our children during the day. Both kids have made great friends there. Zander especially enjoys daycare so much because of the friends that he has there. The kids had a blast running around filling their baskets with eggs.

Here they are the three amigos. . .from what I hear. . . they are always together and about 50% of the time they are causing havoc. But that's what boys are suppose to do, right?

On Saturday, we went to celebrate Hazel's 5th birthday. She had a party for her friends at the local gymnastics studio and they all had a blast running around and tumbling.

 Even little Adelyn enjoyed herself.

 Then came Easter morning. The Easter Bunny left the kids a treasure hunt complete with clues to find their Easter baskets (outside in the backyard). The highlights of the baskets were new sunglasses, chocolate bunnies, and straws that turn your milk different flavors--along with a few other little things. Oh and the new Muppet Movie.

 Then it was off to church. The kids enjoyed the Egg-stravaganza and I sang at the contemporary service, which went really well.

 After church, our whirlwind weekend continue with a trip to Nana and Poppa's house for Easter Dinner with them and Tammy. It was a lovely dinner and just a great time to sit and relax.

 We did one more Easter Egg hunt at the house--but this one with a twist. Each egg had lego pieces in them that all went together. Zoey's kit made the Forbidden Forest from Harry Potter and Zander's kit was a Batman and Catwoman chase scene. The kids liked looking for the eggs, but had even more fun playing with their new legos while we watched the Muppet Movie.

Spring Break. . .in ND, baby!

 As is our habit, the kids and I headed up north for Spring Break to spend a few days with Grandma and Grandpa. (Tyler stayed back because he had to work and catch up on admin school things.) It was an unusually warm March and we got to spend most of our time outside. We brought Zoey's scooter and Zander's bike with and I let them ride around in the street like I used to do when I was little. It was awesome to see them ride around. Both kids were so excited. They kept riding around yelling, "I can't believe we're riding in the street!" It is one of the perks of my hometown and living on a horseshoe street.

We also spent time at the parks. The one pictured is Optimist Park, just a couple of blocks away from the house.

On the weekend we went to Moorhead to visit with Rob and Nicole and the girls. The family was celebrating Kylie's and Kristie's March birthdays. Again the weather was perfect and we were able to be outside. Zander spent a lot of time in the tree.

 Grandpa got to hang with Kristie before we had some cake.

 Kristie entertained Grandma with a little game of Peek-a-boo.

 In a rare photo op--the kids all sat still long enough for me to shoot a picture of them! These cousins sure know how to play!