Emma's First Day of Second Grade.

Emma started school last Wednesday. I still find it unbelievable that school has started up again. I think I am still in a little bit of denial about it. Even though I love fall, I'm not ready for summer to be over.

After all the time off I had for the fair, and Rachel's wedding this summer, I did not take Emma's first day of school off from work. So, it was a little bittersweet for me. I made due by getting everything packed up and ready the night before, helping Emma pick out her first day of school outfit, and then just enjoying the first day through the pictures John sent to me.

Emma had a great first day of school She still loves school, and she tells me she likes math, which is a good thing. She also is pretty good at spelling and her writing continues to improve. She also wants to start piano lessons this year, so that will be a new adventure for us!

Emma is full of a lot of emotions these days. She can be a carefree, happy, go-lucky little girl one minute, and then start crying because her legos won't stay together the way she wants them too. She has a hard time controlling her emotions sometimes, and we are continuing to work on talking through things and using our words instead of immediately crying every time something goes wrong.

Overall, Emma is a great 7 year old. She has a wild imagination, she likes to tell stories, she loves to read. She plays really well with her brother, most of the time. She also loves to be helpful. She helps me  make supper some nights, likes to help bake, she helps her brother buckle up or open a package that he can't get. She loves to take my phone and take some snapchat selfies. She is already wondering when she can get her own smartphone. She still loves cats, and now she also like horses, and unicorns. We also are building forts in the living room about every other day, per Emma's request. Legos, crafting, sleepovers, and swimming are also really high on Emma's list of favorites.

Now for the dislikes. Emma does not like to be teased, or laughed at, at all. Sometimes she will be funny without trying to be, and John and I will laugh, and she gets really mad about that. She can be a little sensitive about things like that. She is still a little picky about what she eats for supper, but she is getting better. After a little complaining, she will usually eat everything on her plate, as long as there is a promise of a treat afterwards. Emma is also pretty irritated by her brother quite frequently. They play together really well, but they also fight a lot, and usually it's Emma who instigates the fighting.

I think second grade will be a great year for Emma. I can't wait to watch her reading and writing continue to improve. I am also interested to know how piano lessons are going to go. I love to watch her learn and grow, I'm so proud of my smart, little girl.

Here's to a great school year! (with many lunches to pack).

P.S. Elliott had his first day in a new room (Cheetah room) yesterday, more to come in a future post.

Went to the open house at the main O.R. Kids thought it was cool. 

Then we went to my work, and dressed the kids like me. 

Last day as a Zebra 

Emma's first day of school!

Rachel's Wedding Reception

This past weekend was a crazy one. We celebrated Rachel and Carlos' Wedding Reception at the shop on Ryan's farm. On Friday night, we headed to Minnesota to help set up for the party. Ryan made us some pizzas on his Traeger Grill. They were awesome! Then we helped shred pork roast, set up tables, and just visited for a while. Emma discovered her love for the 4-wheeler and made me take her on like 3 separate rides Friday night alone. I let Emma drive a couple times, and she thought that was amazing. We went up and down the field roads, and just had a really good time.

Saturday was a long, but really fun day. We started off the day by running a couple errands, and hanging up some signs directing traffic to the party. We also decorated tables, and did some last minute tasks before the party.

I made the kids take an afternoon nap, and then it was time to party. At about 6pm the guests started to arrive. We had pulled pork, beans, chips, pickles, cookies, bars, and cake for supper. There was so much food! And only a little was left afterwards, everyone ate a ton! There was also an entire pallet of beer available for consumption. So, a lot of drinking happened.

I had a really good time visiting with distant relatives, and friends I hadn't seen in a long time. We also had the Albrecht Band playing live music all night, which was really fun. There was also a little dancing going on throughout the night.

During the butterfly dance, I was dancing with dad and Elizabeth, and then all of a sudden Julie was on the ground. Apparently she tripped over the garbage can and fell down, and tore her achilles tendon. Youch! That was a total bummer. She had to head home for the night, and go to the doctor the next morning.

We also played some tippy cup with the cousins which was pretty fun. Everyone had plenty to drink and had a good time. Ryan got really drunk, fell over a few times, and even dented a trombone. It was entertaining to say the least.

The kids did really well throughout the night. They found some friends to play with all night, and they lasted until 1am. They were kind of wrecks the next day, but they had a really fun time. We all had fun, I love a good party.

The next day was pretty much a recovery day for most of us. We cleaned up the shop, had a few more 4-wheeler rides, and then had some BLTs and sweetcorn before hitting the road for home. What a weekend.

Emma starts the second grade tomorrow, which is just completely ridiculous. I'm not sure where the time goes, but it can slow down any time.

Here's hoping Emma has a great first day of school tomorrow!!!

Homemade Pizza

4-wheeling 

Working so hard 

Dancing with grandpa 

Dad's singing 

Stacking Beer Cans 

Group Photo 

This sums up Elliott's night perfectly 

Turner County Fair 2019

One of the busiest, craziest, weeks of this summer is finally over. We started with the busy last weekend. We had our church league softball tournament last Saturday. We ended up tying for 4th place. We did ok. The other teams just outhit us, and outplayed us. Our team went through some changes throughout the year, and we couldn't quite get back to where we started at the beginning of the year.

After the softball games, we had a grill-out at Pastor's house. It was a nice way to relax and say goodbye to another softball season. It was a beautiful evening, and a great end to the day.

On Sunday, we had our new teacher installation at church. So, we had a brunch potluck and some gifts that we gave the teachers. Since I am on the called-worker's care committee, I had spent a lot of time planning the installation with my other committee members, so it was nice to have a good turnout and have the event over.

After the installation, we packed up and headed to Parker. John had some extended family in town, and we were all attending a surprise 70th birthday party for DoRayne at Ron's house. It was a great get-together. We had a bean bag tournament, and since we arrived a little late, John and I were on the same team and we won the entire tournament, which was pretty fun. We also just enjoyed the beautiful day and catching up with all the family that lives so far away. At around 5:30, we left to go to the Turner County Fairgrounds for the free pork sandwiches and SDSU ice cream. It was packed with people. but so delicious.

After supper, we moved into our camper for the week. This year we decided to camp for the week at the fair. Overall, it went pretty well. John drove back a forth quite a bit since he had to work some of the week. I had the week off, so I spent most of the week at the fair. We spent most of our time at the Old McDonald Petting Farm, in which Emma petted all the puppies about 100 times. We also spent a lot of time at the play area with the tractor and the rocks, this was Elliott's favorite place. We also went through all the commercial buildings a few times, watched a Sheep Show, looked at 4-H projects, listened to music in the park, went to the Outdoor Campus program at Heritage Park, did wristband rides, ate lots of fair food, and spent a lot of time with family.

It was a fun week, but it was a crazy one. We weren't in bed until after 11pm most nights, and Elliott still got up early most days, and it made for some crabby kids some days. We had the kids pick up Garbage on Wednesday morning, so they could get free wristbands for later that evening. There were so many kids for the wristband time, it was crazy. The lines were insane, and even though we had wristbands, the kids only went on probably a dozen rides before they were hot and tired and ready to go to the camper for some naps. I think next year we will try tickets for less of a hassle. Emma went on some bigger rides this year, and she absolutely loved it.

John and I went to Bulls, Broncs, and Barrels for the 3rd year in a row. It was really fun. We loved watched the bull riding and the mutton busting. Those two are always our favorite events. It was a little hot and sticky, and we had to wait in line for quite a while, but we had a really good time.

Tuesday night was school registration night. School starts on Wednesday already! Emma is going to be in 2nd grade and she is pretty excited about it. We talked to all the teachers, paid out bills, and Emma got to put all her supplies in her desk. I can't wait for Emma to have another great year of school And she wants to start piano lessons this year!

Thursday was the last day of the fair. I spent the day taking the kids around the fair one last time, and spending a little more time with the extended family. In the afternoon, I headed to town to get supplies for a grill-out we were hosting for the called workers at church. We had the grill out at Jen's house. It was a nice evening of catching up and visiting and supporting our teachers before the school year begins.

On Friday, I went out to pick the kids up from Jim and Barb and cleaned out the camper as the fair was finally over. I took the kids home, cleaned them up, and then did laundry forever. The kids were pretty tired, but overall they enjoyed their week and were doing well. We also got to watch a mini airshow from our driveway. Sioux Falls had an airshow this past weekend, and on Friday afternoon the planes were practicing for the show, and the kids and I got to watch from our driveway. It was really fun to watch the Thunderbirds and other large planes fly around. The kids really enjoyed it. Once John got home, we packed up and headed to Minnesota for Rachel and Carlos' wedding dance. And that is a post I will save for another day.

This was the first part of our crazy, super busy week. I am really tired and not at all ready for work tomorrow. So, I'm going to call it a night.

Eating supper with Jacob 

Donuts for breakfast 

Fun day at the fair 

Blue ribbon for Emma's pillow

Blue Ribbon for m&m lego machine 

Bulls Broncs and Barrels 

Coloring t-shirts 

Archery Practice 

Rides 

Playing Bingo