Memorial Day Weekend 2021

 These last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind! School ended, summer care started, softball is in full swing, and we have a camping trip in for the year. Whew!

The kids' last day of school was Friday, May 21st. I also had the day off. So, I spent some time cleaning the school with the other parents, and then I helped drive 5 Kindergarten boys (!!) to Ninja 605 for a last day of school activity. The kids had a lot of fun at the Ninja 605 place. Emma could get up the 10 foot wall, which was pretty impressive. She was also pretty good at all the rings, and balancing items. Elliott was a little young for the place, and struggled a little more, but he also had a really good time. After school, we just enjoyed being at home and not having any homework or tasks to complete. 

The rest of the weekend was spent planting the garden, doing yardwork, playing with friends, and then Rachel randomly visited on Sunday and spent the night in the hotel, so we brought the kids to play and swim there. It was a pretty fun weekend, and it really kept us busy. 

This past week was filled with a lot of activities. Monday night was softball of course. I played on my women's league Steakout team, John played with Bethel, and Emma played on her Azteca team. That's a lot of softball. Thankfully, John's parents could take Emma to her game. On Wednesday evening, Emma had softball again, and this time we could all go and watch. It is really fun to watch her team play. And it can also be comical at times. I'm really glad she is enjoying softball this year. 

Also, summer care started this last week, and both kids love it. This next week the swimming and field trips start, and they are both very excited. However, it does make for some crabby, tired kids most evenings, but I'll take it!

Our plans for Thursday evening were to head to Lake Vermillion, but it was raining and about 55 degrees outside, so we decided to just stay home and head out on Friday. Friday was drier, but the high was about 57 degrees, and windy, so we went camping and were a little miserable. We had fun, but is sure could have been warmer. We played catch with a frisbee, went on bike rides, baked cupcakes, and did anything that we could do in the chilly weather. We also played some board games and then watched a movie in the evening. Overall, it was a good day. 

Saturday was even colder and windier. So, after suffering for a little while, we decided to pack it up and head to Mitchell. We took the kids to the Corn Palace (which they had never seen before). They seemed to really enjoy it, and liked walking around. We also ate some lunch, and then got some essentials at Walmart. We decided to just head home for the evening since the day was still pretty crappy. John mowed the lawn and caught up some things at home, while the kids and I went to see Raya and the Last Dragon at the cheap theatre. It was a pretty fun afternoon. Then, we did some supper, took a glorious shower, and called it a night. 

Sunday, was a little sunnier and a little warmer and we headed back to the campsite. By the afternoon, it was a beautiful day and the kids even got to do some swimming. We also did some biking and hiking, and just generally enjoyed the beautiful day. Jim and Barb came by at supper time and we had some Tika Masala off the griddle and enjoyed a campfire. This day was definitely worth the trip. 

Today has mostly been a recovery day. We did a big breakfast this morning at Lake Vermillion. The kids swam again (even though it was a little chilly), we rode our bikes, and then we packed up and headed home. Of course today was the most beautiful day of the whole weekend. We went to Jim and Barb's house to drop off the camper, and then let the kids play with their bunnies and grabbed a few more items for our garden. Then, it was off to our house to unpack and settle in for another crazy week. 

The kids are zoned out on their Ipads right now, and we are working on some supper and then some %5 Cherry Berry cups, and then bed for these crab monsters. Overall, we had a great Memorial Day weekend. Cheers to summertime!!

Canaries Game 

Birthday Parties 

Hiking in the chilly weather 

Summer care fun 

First camping trip of 2021

CNOR certified and catching up

 Whew, it's been over a month since I have blogged. Everything pretty much took a backseat while I studied for certification and just tried to keep my head above water these last couple of months. 

Since our spring break trip to Iowa, we have been very busy with end of year activities. Emma finished up her 4H Archery season at the end of April. She qualified to go to the State Shoot, so John took her to Pierre, and Emma got to shoot at State. She was pretty nervous, so she didn't have the best round ever, but she had a lot of fun, and it was a great end to the 4H archery season. Emma and John had a really fun time exploring Pierre while they were there, and it was a great Father-daughter trip. 

I stayed behind with Elliott. It was a lot of driving for one day, and they were only allowing one parent inside because of Covid, so we stayed back and had a really fun day. We played at home for a while, went on a lunch date to Hy-Vee (Elliott's choice) and then spent a couple of hours at Chuck-E-Cheese, which Elliott loved. We also had a great bonding day. 

Somewhere at the end of April, we went to Mankato for Elena's 4th Birthday Party. It's hard to believe she is 4 already. It was a pretty low-key event, which just immediate family in attendance, but everyone was able to make it, so it was nice to see everyone. We had a grill out, visited, and the cousins all got to play together, so it was a great day. 

The kids also had their Spring Play recently. My mom came for the play (Dad was planting) and it was a really cute production. The kids put on "Noah and the big Boat". Emma was a giraffe, and Elliott was a Kangaroo. It was adorable. Jim and Barb were also able to make it, even though they are busy with the greenhouse season. There was also a Piano recital (which Emma kicked butt at) and then a Social Studies Fair. Elliott made a poster board about Policeman, and Emma made a poster about the state of Michigan. I was one proud momma. 

My mom stayed a couple days over the weekend, and we had a good time eating out for lunch and taking her out to the greenhouse for some shopping. It was a nice, relaxing weekend, sprinkled with some studying of course. 

The first week of May is always a big one. We celebrated my birthday, Nurse's week, and Mother's Day. My birthday was pretty low key, since it was on a Tuesday, but John was sweet and got me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and some jewlery and make me feel pretty special. We spent Mother's Day helping at the greenhouse like usual, and overall had a really good weekend. 

Softball has started up again. It's kicking my butt playing on two teams. I enjoy it a lot, but the other night I had 4 games and didn't get home until 11:00pm. Yikes!! But both teams are a lot of fun, and the kids still enjoy running around and playing during our games. We signed Emma up for softball this year, and she is really enjoying it. She plays on Mondays (yikes, so Jim and Barb take her on Mondays) and Wednesdays. We got to watch her play for the first time on Wednesday night, and it was so much fun to watch her play. I love that she loves softball. It's going to be a great summer. 

This past weekend was a crazy one. It was finally time for me to take my test, so on Friday night I headed to my parent's house by myself. I spent Friday night hanging with mom and dad and studying, and then on Saturday I headed to St. Paul for my test. It was a little stressful to drive in St. Paul by myself, but overall it went really well. My google maps took me to the wrong place at first, but I was close to where I needed to be, and found the place with plenty of time. I checked in a little early, and then sat down to take my test. It was hard, and I sat there for 3 hours, but I passed!! Yay! I am so happy to be done with the test and the studying and I am excited to have my life back in time for summer. It was a great accomplishment, but I am so happy to put it behind me. After the test, I shopped at Trader Joe's, got a coffee, and then headed back to my parent's house. 

My test happened to be on my dad's 60th birthday, so we had a little surprise party for him at the shop with some close friends and neighbors. It was a nice gathering. Rachel and Elena were also there, so it was nice to catch up. I definitely enjoyed a beverage or two after the day I had. 

Sunday was church, lunch, and then back home to my family. They were all very happy for me, and we enjoyed a nice catch up day at home. This past week has been a blur of activities. We were busy pretty much every night this week with softball, Canaries game, Bethel graduation program, and more softball. 

Today is last day of school. It's so hard to believe I pretty much have a 1st grader and a 4th grader now. Time can be so cruel. Everyone had a good school year, but we are all ready for a break and for some summertime and camping. Later today, I am helping clean at the school and bring the kids to Ninja 605. The kids are very excited for their last day of school. I think we will even have a bonfire tonight and celebrate it being summertime. 

Here's to the last day of school, no more studying, and blogging more!!

4H Archery 

Elena turns 4

Piano recital 

Birthday Flowers 

Mother's Day