Busy Times!

Things are really starting to get busy around here! Emily has started her dance class--she is in the oldest group of girls this year. It seems like yesterday when she was just starting out in the preschool class:) So far she likes it--she gets to wear tap shoes that have the higher heel on them which she is pretty excited about. Emilly also started band in school. She is playing the flute and has lessons with the band teacher one day each week during school hours. They have their first concert in January--I can't wait!! She is also in girl scouts again and they have their first meeting today after school. Emily also was chosen for a program at school called Children Helping Children (CHC) where she helps kids to deal with many different kinds of problems. It is a real honor to be selected for this group and she is very excited to be involved. They had training all day yesterday for CHC to learn how to be a mediator, how to use open-ended questions to get kids to open up, recognize feeling statement, and many other skills--she is one busy 5th grader!

Nick and Matthew both are in Cub Scouts. They had their pack meeting last week--Matthew looked so cute in his new uniform:) They went to Fort Snelling for a scavengar hunt on Sunday and received a patch for completing the program. They had to interact with the Fort Snelling people who were all dressed up like people of that time--it was really interesting. The boys witnessed a canon being fired which was a big hit! Nick does not like loud noises so he and I stayed far away from the canon while Nick covered his ears tight--poor guy:(

Nick is taking a basketball clinic starting in Oct. and Matthew wants to take karate but I don't have him signed up for anything yet. Both boys (and me) are going to a Fall Festival Cub Scout day camp in Oct. where we get to play games, do crafts, shoot BB guns, archery and other fun things. Nick is also signed up for an Animal Book Club organized through the Humane Society and it meets at the library where they get to read to service dogs and discuss their book club books.

We have all this going on as well as Wed. night religion classes starting next week (I am teaching Matthew's class) AND my school starts on Tues. next week--what was I thinking? Hmmm...I guess I had better put my organizational skills to work or else I will go crazy!!:) Oh yeah, I am also going on two field trips next week (Wed. with Nick to a play and Fri. with Matthew to Gibbs Farm) as well as Emily's 11th birthday a week from today!!! Maybe I am already crazy:)

p.s. I wouldn't miss sharing all these activities with my kids for the world!!!:)

College Again?

Yes it's true. I am going back to school for yet another degree. I already have an Associate in Applied Science for Legal Secretary and my Bachelor of Science for Marketing with a minor in Psychology. But I have decided to completely change course and go back for an Associate in Applied Science for Medical Assistant degree.

Since I have my other two degrees, most (if not all) of the liberal arts credits transfer (the school hasn't received my transcripts yet) so I will basically have to take the core classes. I registered for fall quarter today (classes start on Sept. 29) and I am attending part-time (I don't want to get overwhelmed with school, home and kids). My two classes are Medical Terminology and Anatomy & Physiology (that is one class)--yikes!! I have both classes on the same days--Tues. and Thurs. while the kids are in school.

I am excited to learn a new profession. But I am also nervous because it's been so long (about 13 years!!) since I have been in school. The timing is good because the kids are getting older, they are in school all day and don't need looking after constantly--although I am still very involved in their lives (as I will always be) with volunteering at school, teaching at church, after-school activities, etc.

It will take me some time to finish school so I am still a stay-at-home mom and now a part-time student as well. I have been very blessed to be able to be a full time stay at home mom for 11 years and now go back to school and pursue a career that I have always wanted to do.

First Day of School

The kids started school on Tuesday, Sept. 2nd. Emily is in 5th grade, Nick is in 3rd grade and Matthew is in 1st grade this year. They were all excited to go back to school--mostly Emily (she loves school!!) This is Matthew's first year of going to school all day (he was half day afternoon kindergarten last year) so this is a big change for him. So far he is has been doing okay--this morning he didn't want to go and said that he didn't like school. He kind of did the same thing last year, so I'm sure once things get going and he gets to know all the kids in his class that he will like it better.

Emily has signed up for dance again this year and is still in Girl Scouts. So far the boys are only in Cub Scouts but we will get them into something else too. They all have Wednesday night religion classes starting in a few weeks (I am one of the teachers for the 1st graders this year). The days get busy once school begins--we will have activities nearly every evening. Sometimes it seems hard to keep up but we also have lots of fun too.

Minnesota State Fair

Yesterday the kids and I along with my mom and dad went to the State Fair. We go there every year and it is lots of fun!! We saw cows, sheep, pigs and baby animals which is always neat to see--the kids like to pet them and hear them make sounds.

This year the kids went to the Midway for some rides and games (in previous years we went to the Kidway--not anymore!! They are ready for BIG rides). I went with them on a roller coaster called the Crazy Mouse and it was fast, spinning fun--the kids said it was AWESOME. Nick won a stuffed animal at one of the games--he was sooo happy!

Another new thing we did this year was ride the River Raft Ride. Me, my dad and the kids sat in a round raft and floated along a water-filled canal. It was fast and had many rapids that would splash up and get us wet. Matthew said that it was his favortie ride.

We always do the regular stuff like Ye Old Mill ride, the big slide, eat our regular food, get the All-You-Can-Drink milk, get all the free stuff in the Education Building and the boys always get a toy tractor from the same shop. All three kids got an animal marionette puppet (with the strings and wood handling mechanism) that they can make walk, wiggle and dance--they are pretty cute!

We visited the Butterfly Garden at the fair too. We went in and there are tons of butterflies all around. They just land on you--the kids had them on their clothes, shoes and even on their heads! We stayed in with the butterflies for a long time--it was really cool.

After a long day and tired feet--we left for home. It was a great day and we look forward to next year with all the new stuff as well as the regular things too. We had a day to remember!!

Sammy the Grasshopper Hunter

Our dog, Sammy, loves to hunt grasshoppers (actually any bug). When we go to the lake, he likes to comb the beach for spider or any bug to "play" with. On this day, he found a grasshopper to follow. He picks it up and kind of throws it in the air--follows it around and sniffs it--digs at it in the sand. Ultimately he ends up killing the bug. Sometimes he eats them (spiders mostly) but usually he just amuses himself with his new toy.

It's fun to watch him when he is hunting down a bug! His days at the lake consist of looking for bugs, swimming in the lake, guarding the house and following me around all day. He is a funny little pup!

Emily & Oreo

Okay--we cannot go into a pet store anymore!! The kids and I (innocently) went to Petco to get crickets for Nick's lizard--a simple task, shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes, right? Of course NOT!

As soon as we entered the store Emily and I saw this super cute hamster up for adoption. We tried to pet it through its cage--she was black and white just like an Oreo cookie. We asked a Petco worker about her and got to hold her. Emily and I liked her a lot. After Emily found out how much the adoption fee was ($10 for the hamster, cage, ball to run around in and supplies) she wanted to adopt her--she can pay for it with her own money.

I reminded Emily about her guinea pigs that she had in the past and how she didn't take the best care of them resulting in finding a nice home for them. She said that she is older now and really wanted the hamster and that she would take care of her (she said that she might need my help a little too:) Oreo is an older hamster at 2 years old--their life span is between 2 and 4 years. I told Emily that she might die in a year or so but Emily said that was okay--she wanted to take care of her even if she was old.

Since I am an animal lover too, I said that she could adopt her. We got her home and set up her cage in Emily's room--Oreo seemed content and happy. Last night she was busy running on her hamster wheel--it was fun to watch. We can all hold her and pet her--even the boys--and she just sits in your hand. She is pretty cute. It warms my heart that Emily is growing up with a kind spirit to all animals and a big heart to want to give an old hamster a home.

Star Wars Legos

Nick was finished with summer school last week on Wednesday. He worked hard in class and his teacher repeatedly praised him--she even let him teach math one day! He got up every morning without complaining, ate his breakfast, got dressed and went outside to wait for the bus--all while his brother and sister were sleeping in!

He was such a good boy though his summer school that Gramma T. got him a special gift. He got to pick out something that he wanted and (of course) he picked Legos--his favorite thing! He really wanted the Star Wars Trade Federation ship set--it was a little more money than Gramma planned on but he had such a great attitude (not one grump or anything) during summer school that she got it for him.

Nick was extremely excited and happy. He put the whole thing together--Tim & I just sat with him to make sure that he didn't skip anything by accident. That evening after he finished the ship, we watched the Star Wars movie that had his new ship in it--he was overjoyed seeing it in the movie.

He was very happy to be rewarded for a job well done. Nick has such a tender heart that we know his special Lego set means a lot to him. He is an exceptional boy!