Sunday, April 3, 2022

Spring Break 2022


 This year for Spring Break we tried to mix relaxation, having fun, and keeping it simple.  We started by heading up to Rochester to spend a long weekend with family!  We stayed 2 nights and grandma and grandpa Day's house and one night at Mark and Jenna's place.  We had lots of fun playing, chatting, and hanging with cousins.  The kids got to get guest passes to Mark and Jenna's gym and go play on some inflatables and go swimming in their pool and loved all of that.  They also got to enjoy some cousin movie and nintendo time.  Jon and I played some games and enjoyed hanging out with the adults.  

On Monday we drove a couple hours to Lansing, Iowa where we had a vrbo booked for two nights.  Lansing was a bit of a podunk town with not much to it and the vrbo wasn't quite as nice as it looked online but it was nice enough.  The whole idea of booking this type of vrbo was just a simple get away to force relaxation and enjoy some hot tub time and hiking.  That's exactly what we got.  The kids loved going out and playing in the hot tub and hiking around the hill behind the house.  They gathered a bunch of random sticks and firewood so on the second night we had a bonfire that was quite enjoyable.  Jon and I also enjoyed the hotel and watching movies together and just disconnecting for responsibilities for a couple of days.   There were no food places anywhere close so we just ate really simple (sandwiches, bagels, nachos) and that was quite nice also!  

We went on a hike on day 2 that had some beautiful views of the Mississippi River.  We were able to stand in Iowa and look out over the river, bits of Wisconsin and Minnesota also!  We saw a beaver, a deer, and lot of squirrels!

The last few days of spring break we just hung out at home and got some projects done.  That was nice also!  All in all- pretty successful spring break!



























































Northeast Elementary Spring Showtime 2022

 Both Katie and Zach decided they wanted to try out for their school talent show (Showtime) this spring.  I was a little hesitant because they didn't really seem to have a plan for what they were going to do but we went with it and they both ended up doing great!  Katie and her friend Ali practiced several times and performed a duet of "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift.  Zach hardly practiced one bit and did free-style break dancing.  He hasn't had lessons or anything, it's just something he likes to jump around and do at home.  I wasn't sure how the school would react but they all loved it and clapped along and cheered super loud for him.  He was so happy!  After he ran up to us and said, "I was really afraid at first they would all laugh at me!"  But he was beaming from ear to ear that no one laughed and everyone loved it.  Since then I've even had a few people reach out asking where he takes lessons.  Haha, Zach is pretty awesome.  We were very proud of both Katie and Zach for doing a great job but mostly just for having the confidence to get up on stage and do it!  









Katie Turns 9!



We had a lot of fun celebrating Katie’s 9th birthday this year- and a little bit of unexpected excitement too! 

Katie’s birthday was on a Saturday but we started the celebrations on Friday after school when I picked the kids up from school and took them to see Sing 2 at the theater. The tickets were for the ScreenPlay theater so the kids had fun playing on the slides and jungle gym area together before the show.  When the show started we realized we were the only ones in the whole theater and the kids thought that was pretty cool.  They said we were like VIPs!  After the movie we picked up Taco Bell at Katie’s request on the way home.  

Saturday morning we started out with a low key morning of relaxing and finishing up last birthday party preps.  Katie put on some if her new clothes and we took some of our traditional birthday pictures.  

After a quick lunch we all got ready to go to Katie’s last basketball game.  Jon assistant coached this year and they both really enjoyed that.  Katie improved a lot over the season and it was fun to watch her play (and score the most points 😜).  

After basketball we rushed home to get ready for the party!  Katie had her party at Encore Dance this year.  The girls dressed up and they had a fun dance/cheer/tumbling party together.  Storms were starting to roll in as the party started but it was mostly just heavy rain.  The party was super cute and the girls all had a great time learning a little cheer routine, tumbling down some mats, learning some simple cheer stunts, having icecream and my homemade royal icing cookies that I was actually pretty proud of, and finishing it off with a dance party in the dark with disco lights! 

We went home and I started making Katie’s requested birthday dinner- sloppy joes, and that when the sirens went off.  I checked my phone and, sure enough, tornado warning!  There was a confirmed tornado on the ground just south of Des Moines heading our direction.  We weren’t SUPER worrried but felt we should be in the basement.  The next hour was a little chaotic as the sirens kept going on and off and the skies churned and the kids cried and freaked out while Jon and I reassured them we were fine.  Finally the threat of tornadoes passed and we finished dinner and sat down for sloppy joes.  A bit of sun came out and the sky glowed beautifully!! I went out to take a look and noticed a stunning raining in the sky.  The kids all came out to look and Katie said that Jesus sent her the rainbow to help her feel better after the sirens ❤️   Then some more thunder and rain rolled in and we came inside to enjoy birthday donuts and icecream and open presents!  Katie got new rollerblades, a nail art kit, some new dresses, new snow clothes (since she lost hers), some scribble scrubbies she requested, a disco ball, and a few other things. After the presents the kids turned on music, turned off the lights and danced with the disco ball.  Overall I’d say it was a pretty fun birthday! 

Katie is growing up to be a beautiful, helpful girl.  She is very responsible with her school work and usually very kind and helpful with her younger siblings.  She is a great reader, very good with math enjoys crafts and coloring.  She always tries to do her best and make good choices.  She can be a bit emotional and stress a bit but we are working on that :). 


Katie’s Favorites:

Food: sloppy joes

Dessert/Treat: ice cream and skittles

Restaurant: Taco Bell

Movie:  Encanto

Show:  Fuller House

Sport:  Basketball and Gymnastics 

Activity/hobby:crafting and practicing gymnastics

Singer:  Taylor Swift

Color:  light green

When she grows up:  She wants to be a teacher