Track and a 5K and Mother's Day

 The first week of May was pretty crazy. My birthday came and went, and then we had National Nurses' Day. We celebration at work with a nursing gala at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. It was the first one in two years, and it was fun. They had really good food, a cash bar for drinks, and then a nice program to honor nurses. It was a really nice evening. 

On Friday (May 6th), the kids had a track and field day in Watertown, SD at GPLHS. It was a fun day. I drove the kids there, and we started the day by watching a play in their new auditorium. We saw Beauty and the Beast. They did a pretty good job with the play, but it got a little long for all the kids. 

After lunch, the kids did some track and field events. They had a lot of fun and won some ribbons. Emma got a first place ribbon in the partner race, second place ribbon in the partner race, third place ribbon in the relay race, and a fourth place ribbon in the obstacle course. She was pretty proud. As was I. Elliott did pretty good too. He got third place in the 50 yard dash, first and second place in the partner races. He had a good time. 

After the track events, we stopped at Scooters for some treats. I got a free coffee for nurses' day, and the kids got some smoothies. After that, I decided to drag them to the Terry Redlin Museum. We all enjoyed walking about and looking at beautiful paintings for a while. After that, we made the trip back home. 

On Saturday, I ran the 5K race for the Avera Cancer Race. This was the first 5K I ever ran. It went ok. I ran the first two miles too fast, and was totally gassed for the last mile. But, I finished and finished in 30 minutes and 11 seconds, which was a decent time for me. I finished in 277th place out of 1000 runners. I'll take that. 

After the race, we spent the day catching up at home, and relaxing. On Mother's Day, we celebrated by going out to eat at the Attic after church. It was delicious. In the afternoon we went out to Jim and Barb's house to help with the greenhouse and we made pasta on the smoker. It was a really nice evening. 

These past couple weeks have been filled with softball games (for me) and softball practices for the kids. The kids start their games next week. They are really excited. Emma is actually going to do some pitching on her team this year, so that's pretty cool. We are going to get our fill of softball this summer. 

This past weekend, we had my work Christmas party at Vinyl Taco. It ended up being really fun and we had a decent turnout. I enjoyed the games and food at Vinyl Taco, and then we ended up going to Stogeez downtown for a while. It was nice to see John visiting with and getting to know my coworkers. 

And it's also the last week of school for the kids. Friday is their last day. It's so hard to believe I basically have a 5th grader and a 2nd grader, that's crazy! They are very excited for summer, and summer care. On the last day of school they are having a pizza party, and they get to go swimming at the MidCo Aquatic Center. They are going to have a blast. 

35.

 A couple weeks ago, I turned 35. It was pretty uneventful. My birthday fell on a Wednesday, I worked, and then we had a softball practice for Elliott. We didn't even go out to eat. We did have some treats at work that people were nice enough to bring, and I had many people wish my a Happy Birthday. Overall, it was a good, normal day. 

John decided to give me a birthday weekend in the Twin Cities over Memorial Weekend. We are going to a Saints' Game on Saturday evening, and then a Twins' game on Sunday afternoon. I am really excited, and it should be a really fun weekend. Happy Birthday to me. 

35 is a little bit of a reality check. It used to surprise me that I was 30, and now I am halfway through my thirties. Emma turns 10 next month, and that really boggles my mind. 

Things I'm proud about being 35:

-I still play on two softball leagues on Monday nights, and I'm still holding my own out there

-I ran my first 5K a week and a half ago. I finished it with a time of 30:11. And I'm proud of that. 

-I am very active with my kids, I play softball, soccer, and basketball with them. 

-I really enjoy my job as a Surgical Coordinator in the OR, and I keep pushing myself to do more at work

-John and I make time to travel and take trips together. We want to keep doing this. 

-I'm content. I have a great family, wonderful friends, an active work and church life. I am proud of where I live and the life we have built in Sioux Falls. 

-The camping we do all summer. Memories to last a lifetime. 

My not so proud things about being 35:

-I hurt more. My feet and hips have been an ongoing battle between the softball and the running. Ouch. 

-How much I am still learning every day. When will I have it all figured out?

-Still a Minnesota Sports Fan. Still disappointed, a lot. 

-I learned this year that I am terrible at fractions. Fourth grade math is all about fractions, and I suck at them. When Emma needed help with her fraction homework, I was completely worthless. I feel like this is probably the tip of the iceberg. 

I could go on and on about what 35 feels like, but mostly I feel grateful. Grateful to have reached 35. Grateful to have a healthy, beautiful family. Grateful to be in love. Grateful to love what I do every day and who I spend my days with. Grateful for family vacations. 

Cheers to being 35!

Piano Recital/Spring Play 2022

 This past Friday evening, the kids had their spring play, piano recital, and science fair project. Elliott did his science fair project on Northern Pike, and Emma did her project on "Does color affect taste?". They both did a really good job on their projects, and John and I made them do most of the project themselves. I was very proud of how they did, Emma got a first place ribbon, and Elliott also got a ribbon. 

Emma played two songs for her piano recital. We spent a lot of time at the piano practicing her songs (along with many eye rolls). But it was worth it, her songs sounded great. She played "Hot Cross Buns" and "I just can't wait to be king". She did really well, and we were all pretty proud of her. 

The Spring Play was called "Bugz". Elliott was a Boll weevil, and Emma was a Monarch butterfly. They were pretty stinkin' cute, and they each had some lines and then some songs to sing. It was a cute production, and all the kids did a really good job up there. 

After the show, there was cheesecake and coffee for everyone, and then we called it a night. Elliott randomly wanted to sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house so he headed that way, and Emma came home with us. 

On Saturday, we spent the morning catching up at home, going to the gym, and then we headed out to the farm for lunch. We got some gifts together for Teacher Appreciation Week, and then picked up Elliott. We made a quick stop at Jeffery's house to see the baby lambs, and then we headed to Marshall to meet my parents for supper. We went to Brau Brothers to have some drinks, and then we all shared some pizza. We sat and played some games for a while, visited, and then we even played some darts and pool. Emma had never shot pool before, and she really enjoyed learning and having fun with it. It was a nice little get-together, and then we all left and went back to our own homes. It was a nice, different way to spend some time together. I think we will be repeating that trip again someday in the future. 

Today was a typical Sunday. We went to church and Sunday school, did some housework, and finished up a little homework. Emma came with me to volunteer for the Avera Cancer Race at the Avera Fitness center from 2-4:30pm. She did a pretty good job, even though it was pretty boring. We didn't have very many people come in to claim their packets, so I read a book, and Emma played on my phone most of the time. 

This next week is another busy one. I have a game tomorrow night again, and then the kids have practice a couple nights this week. It's also my birthday and the nursing gala this week, and then Mother's Day on Sunday. It is going to be one jam-packed week. So, I'm going to wrap up my blog, relax for a bit, and then get ready for another week :)

Mercy Me Concert

 Whew, I feel like the end of April/beginning of May are always really busy. We've started softball practices for the kids, I have started softball games, and of course concerts and school projects, and school trips. It's go, go, go this time of the year. 

Last week Wednesday, the kids got to go on a field trip to County Line Nursery and Floral. The kids really liked being able to show off Grandma's greenhouse to the other students. John took the afternoon off and brought the kids out there and helped. I had to work, but it sounded like everyone had a good time. 

This past Thursday, I took Emma to a concert. It was her first official concert at the Denny Sanford Premier Center, and we got to see three different bands. We saw Andrew Ripp, Rend Collective, and Mercy Me. Emma was super excited to go to the concert, and she really enjoyed herself. She really liked Rend Collective the most. They played a lot of upbeat songs, and she knew a few of the songs which she really liked. She did like Mercy Me as well, but they played slower songs and they played newer songs that we didn't know very well. But, it was still an awesome concert.

Emma and I made an entire date night out of the evening. We ate supper at Fazoli's (of course we did, it was Emma's choice). And then we got to the Denny a little early, and got some ice cream cones and walked around. We also checked out the merchandise tent and I got Emma a t-shirt and some drumsticks. She was enjoying every second. 

We danced, and sang, and had a great time. We stayed until 10:00pm, and they were still playing. So, we decided we better get home and get to bed. Emma was really tired, but she had such a good night. 

The boys spent the evening going to Taco Bell and then going out to the greenhouse to help out and work. Emma and I totally got the better end of the deal. 

Easter Sunday

 We started our Easter celebration at 6:30 am at church for the Easter Sunrise service. The choir actually sang, so we were at church at 6:10 to practice, that was an early morning. The kids spent the night at Jim and Barb's house the night before, so they didn't have to get up quite so early. We had a nice Eater breakfast after church, and then Jim, Barb, and the kids joined us for the 9:00 am service. The choir sang again, and then we all enjoyed a nice Easter service. 

After church, we took the kids home for a bit to open Easter baskets, and to just let the kids enjoy being at home for a while. Then, we headed back out to the farm and celebrated Easter at Jim and Barb's house. The kids had fun doing an Easter egg hunt in the greenhouses, and we all enjoyed a huge Easter meal with all the fixings. We also played some games, and just enjoyed hanging out with each other. 

We all ate a supper (even though we weren't hungry) and then we called it a day. The kids stayed out for one more night since they didn't have school the next day, and John and I enjoyed a quiet night before another busy week. 

It was a nice Easter celebration and it's always nice to hear the Easter story. He is Risen! He is Risen, indeed!