2014 So far...

We've been busy, but no complaining allowed here!  We are healthy and employed with wonderful kids!  Daddy is loving his new job in Training and that has had a positive effect on everyone! 

Samantha learned a hard lesson when a treasured friendship ended.  She made some mistakes, but the important thing is that she learned to not make the same mistakes again.  We have struggled with her teacher this year which has brought more anxiety to Sam, though I've said her teacher just isn't as awesome as other teachers she's had.  I tried to turn it into a "teachable moment"/life lesson.  Time will tell if I succeeded.  Samantha has been loving dance lessons and now does ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop.  We won't be adding any other activities any time soon because it's a lot with Hebrew School!  I keep working on her with nutrition and finding her inner calm.  I love the discussions we have!  Samantha has a kind and friendly soul who is willing to help anyone anytime.

Sofia has made huge strides with her social skills.  (Really?  I'm talking about a six year old here!)  She isn't excluding kids or being mean at school anymore.  It seems like we nipped that bad habit in the bud.  Sofia is vivacious, energetic and makes her own magical world.  It's always fun when she shares it!

The winter weather was HARD.  School was cancelled so many days due to the cold.  I had intended to take the girls cross-country skiing with me, or take up snowshoeing, but all we got to do outside was ice skating a few times.  Thankfully it is officially spring and soon the weather will be a memory!

We've had plenty of adventures so far this year and we have plenty of plans for the upcoming year.  We'll go camping for a few weekends and visit St. Louis.  Our family has started looking for another dog (Ely's choice) so that will bring plenty of adjustments too.

Some winter highlights:

Sledding with our neighbors... Ely enjoyed running down the hill with the sled, but refused to ride in the sled!

A night out with Dad at a water park.

Winter Holidays delivering goodies to neighbors and seeing family:

We made it out to ice skate a few times.

Coding with Scratch:

Birthdays!

Samantha's 9th Birthday (with a Slumber Party)

My Hanukkah gifts to the family last year was a tea party for Sofia, a slumber party for Samantha and for Daddy to be gone for both of them.  As a result, Daddy took Sofia to St. Louis for the weekend so Samantha could have her slumber party to celebrate her birthday.  Antie She came over for us to have our own party with 9 girls over.  They decorated cupcakes (which quickly turned into cupcake facials), played plenty of games, made watched movies and ate junk food.  We finally told them to go to sleep at 1:45am.  Of course it snowed so after breakfast I got out the snow blower to clear the way for parents retrieving their kids.  Everyone had a ball!

Thank you Antie She for doing this with me!

From Samantha:

IT WAS THE BEST THING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

School was cancelled due to the bitter cold on her birthday.

I took the girls to the Mall of America and Samantha ended up getting her ears pierced!

The grandparents, aunts, uncle and cousins all joined us for dinner to celebrate so Samantha had a great day!

Adventures with my daughters and their friends

I was gone for a business trip all of last week.  Daddy did great single-parenting all week and there were no problems.  The grandparents all helped out too.  We really are blessed to have all the support we do.  I missed my family so much travelling, but it was good to know they're fine without me.  It was wonderful to have everyone pick me up from the airport, so thanks for making that happen!

I was so happy to be home... I forgot how lonely the road can be.

Yesterday we rode our bikes for a picnic at a park.  It was cold and windy, but we still made it fun playing games.  Then I took Samantha to the library and out to a bookstore.  We spent the rest of the day simply relaxing.

Today we began the day with some relaxation and a bike ride to tire Ely out.  Then I took the girls and their friends to a nearby zoo.  There were 5 girls total and they were all fantastic.  After we dropped the last friend off, the girls and I talked about the challenges and what we'll do differently next time.  I was really impressed with everyone's behavior as well as my own.  We ran out of time, but we all had fun and got plenty of exercise walking around.

First Day of School (Sofia's off to Kindergarten!)

Sofia went on the bus today with Samantha to her first day of Kindergarten!  I'm filled with emotion and pride thinking about her waving from the bus.  Yes, everyone is right when they say our children grow up too fast.  I understand it's one of those "Circle of Life" things and it's not that I want her to stay young forever.  I consider it one of the greatest privileges to watch my children grow and I love the fact that I truly enjoy the people my kids are.  They are going out into the world equipped with as much wisdom as we can give them and are both incredible girls.

Daddy and I are so lucky!

Wizard of Oz Summer Performance

Last night the grandparents joined us to watch Samantha and Sofia perform "The Wizard of Oz" with their dance studio.  It was outdoors at a local park with an amphitheater and even though it was a little hot, it was a great night to watch them.

Sofia and her group began the performance.  She smiled and performed her routine beautifully.  Sofia said that she was nervous to dance in front of people, but practice was fun.  We helped her work through it and by the day of the show, Sofia wasn't nervous at all.

Samantha had 4 dances to perform and she was wonderful.

Daddy and I are so proud of our girls... here they are pre-show.

 

 

We went out for ice cream afterwards.  The excitement of performing and the sugar rush kept the girls up late!

Summer Activities Wind Down

Throughout the summer, camp has been a big deal.

Many thanks to Nana and Papa for taking the girls for a day each week! 

Here are some highlights from the summer camps and programs...

 

Samantha was supposed to go to zoo camp with a friend of hers, but it didn't work out.  Since Sofia was sad that she didn't go to camp, Daddy took her to the zoo the last morning. 

 

Scary T-Rex!

You've got to love this one!

Camping at Kathio

Camping at Kathio

Antie She and I took the girls camping to try out our new tent with the girls.  We headed northwest to Kathio State Park right by Mille Lacs.  We left earlier than planned, didn't encounter too much traffic and made excellent time in getting to the park.  Checking in wasn't a problem and neither was finding our campsite.  As we backed the car into the site though, we noticed a bog and SWARMS of various insects.  

Uh-oh.

Both kids freaked and I fought the urge to panic.  Antie She's legs were covered in horse fly bites from before we got the DEET applied.  Once the repellent was applied, we settled in and got the tent set up.  The girls helped get things organized inside the tent, Antie She worked at the site and I attempted to kill the majority of bugs that had entered our vehicle.  Then it started to rain, which quickly accelerated to a downpour.  Unfortunately I didn't remember that I had opened a tent window right by Antie She's sleeping bag.  Whoops... she got my sleeping bag that night while I slept under towels.  

Due to the rain, we went to a nearby Dairy Queen for dinner and looked around the park.  Thankfully, the rain stopped long enough to get the girls showered and settled in their sleeping bags.  Sofia was the only one who slept through the overnight thunder storm, but it was fine.  

Saturday was our only full day at the park, so we made the most of it.  We went to a nature lecture on the archaeology of the area, climbed the fire tower, went canoeing, made snacks at the playground and beach (where Antie She showed off her fire-making skills) and ended the night with s'mores.  Everyone slept better without the rain and it was a beautiful day!

On Sunday, we headed home fairly early.  Daddy missed us and we needed to prepare for the upcoming week.  The girls told everyone they had a great time and I made notes on what to bring/do differently  next time.

 

 

Samantha's final days in 2nd grade

Last week I went to school to see Samantha's class perform a play to thank all the volunteers from the year.  Her friend got to play me with the Art Adventure program, which was hilarious!  Samantha played Mrs. Braun which was a surprise to no one, I'm sure.  Another volunteer asked if I was her mom and when I said yes, he stated that Samantha is in control of her environment.  I laughed and nodded.  I hear so many positive comments from adults who know her. 

Yes, I think this kid is extraordinary.

There was a school picnic, the final chess club tournament and the bags of schoolwork that made their way home.  I'm proud that Samantha got through ALL of it so it's one less thing to do when summer is over.

Samantha's Birthday Gift

Originally we planned on redecorating Samantha's room for her birthday gift.  With us planning to sell our house, that's not really an option anymore so I came up with another idea that we were finally able to execute last night.  I took her and a friend to the Water Park of America and we stayed overnight in the adjoining hotel.  When we arrived at the hotel room, I heard, "Wow, this is nice!" from both girls.  There were meals with only junk food and I said yes to nearly every request.  

Samantha's friend told me that they would remember this the rest of their lives... What else can I ask for?  Samantha has an awesome friend and is a good friend back too.  All you need is one friend you can trust with anything and you have the support to make it through anything.  I'm grateful Samantha has friends like that, at least as much as her age group can have!

April 2013

In addition to Mom and Dad's trip to Hawaii, there were some other adventures in April!

The girls finished their session of ice skating lessons.  It helped so much during the winter to be able to get them out to go skating.  They had fun learning and practicing too!  On a personal note, it's awesome to have something active for us to do outdoors!

We went to Samantha's school carnival and got goofy!

I took Samantha and a friend to the Mall of America for window shopping and rides.  Best of all, Samantha paid for part of it to get me to do it.  Have I mentioned how proud am I of her for being willing to learn the lesson that the parental bank isn't always open?

Nana and Grammy went to watch Samantha's class play.  She was a narrator and was one of the few who memorized her lines perfectly!


Grammy helped out when Daddy was traveling and stayed to watch a movie with us.  Sofia loved cuddling with her!

A few months ago Samantha wrote a letter to the President of the United States suggesting more searches for dinosaur fossils and flags to mark the places they are found.  (I opted to be supportive and sent her letter.)  She was ecstatic when she got her letter and showed it to everyone!

We finally got to feel some spring warmth in April!  I took Samantha and a friend to a park to play while I walked Ely.  It resulted in a funny picture!

We went to Minnehaha Falls to enjoy the good weather and got to eat at Sea Salt.  The food was awesome and the time as a family was even better!