Visiting with an Old Friend!

I met Jeanne in 1994 at the University of Iowa. We lived in the same dorm-Burge! We've been friends since. Last time I saw her was when we met up in Chicago in 2008 when I ran the Chicago Marathon.

She was recently in Iowa visiting family, so we drove up for the day. It was so good to see her!

Father's Day

This year for Father's Day we made our first trip of the season out to a family lake in Iowa. The boys look forward to this every summer. They love swimming in the lake, grilling out, having a bon fire, looking for bugs and frogs, going on the paddle boat and playing in the sand. It was a beautiful Sunday for the lake and a good start to lake season!

Camp Matisse!

In mid-June the boys attended a three-day art camp at Just Be Free. They LOVED this. The camp had them studying the artist Matisse. They learned his techniques and for each technique they learned they made a project. They journaled about all they learned as well. It was fantastic.

June Misc.

In June the flooding in Omaha and Council Bluffs started getting worse. I took the boys down to the pedestrian bridge to walk around and take some photos.

Also in June, Charlie attended VBX with his friend Grant. He went to a church that we wouldn't normally attend, but he had the best time ever. All he could do was talk about how much he loved it and didn't want it to end. He even went so far as to say that he wished it was as long as a school day. We will be sending him again next year and he already can't wait.

I have also been working with the boys on cooking. They made monkey bread all by themselves and loved it.

We also went bowling!

Great Wolf Lodge--Again!

Wow, we had a busy June! We started off the month with our third annual trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. The boys love going here and we are veterans, now that we have been there three times.

We did the usual activities of swimming and water slides. Charlie and I love using the outdoor pool, while Jack and Doug don't mind doing the indoor activities a little more.

I think the boys' favorite part of the Lodge is the arcade. This tends to drive me crazy, but they love it. They play lots of games, win lots of tickets and pick out cheap prizes.

This trip we played MagiQuest again. I didn't get many photos of this. We also played miniature gold and visited the T Rex Cafe. The boys did the Build-a-dino.

At the end of the trip, we made a stop at the Deanna Rose Farmstead in Overland Park, KS. We did this last year, too, and the boys had fun. The boys fed the goats, went fishing, and rode a pony.

April and May 2011

I am finally on summer break and am making time to blog. A lot has happened the past couple of months. Nothing big, just a lot of little and fun things.

April started off with Charlie playing flat football with some of his friends through the YMCA. This is the first sport he has actually wanted to play. He enjoyed it, mostly!

Next was Easter. The boys were so excited to see what they would get in their baskets. They got jump ropes, which they loved. My parents came over for brunch that day. We enjoyed the usual festivities, such as the egg hunts inside and out.

At the end of April, Jack went to Kindergarten Round Up. He was really excited to be in Mr. Greve's class, which is the same teacher Charlie had last year. Doug took him to round up and Jack refused to let him take any photos of him. Doug got one picture and it wasn't a good one, because Jack wouldn't stand still.

Next up were Cub Scout meetings and ceremonies. At the beginning of May, Charlie was awarded many belt loops for completing certain tasks and learning certain things. He got belt loops for things such as learning to play chess, hiking, computer games, reading, writing, etc. He loved earning these and was already planning out what he could earn next. One of the ceremonies was to move him from a tiger to a wolf. Next year he will start out as a wolf. He attended a Cabela's day camp in May with Doug. We were all going to go, but Jack ended up getting strep throat. The camp was the entire day and Charlie learned how to shoot a bb gun and shoot a bow and arrow. He also learned about hiking and how to use a compass. He loved going to the camp with his dad and his friends.

Jack got to attend his first sleep over in May at his friend Ethan's house. Jack had never previously let us leave him at a birthday party alone. He has always asked us to stay. We were worried that he would not end up staying at Ethan's party alone. To our surprise, he did! They went bowling, had pizza and went to the fire station. Jack had a blast.

Then it was Mother's Day. The boys prepared roughly a million pictures to give me to for the big day. They drew and colored for days in preparation. They also gave me some new Teva flip flops and let me sleep in reallllyyy late that day. The boys also gave me a dollar bill. They thought that would make me happy.

On May 22, Charlie finally learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. We had never tried to teach him before and he had never really wanted to learn. Finally, he wanted his training wheels taken off. We took him to the middle school track near us and away he went. Doug only had to take him one loop around the track holding on and then he let go. Charlie didn't stop or fall! We were very surprised that it was so easy. He's been riding every day since, and loves it.

On May 23, the boys were outside playing with a new (real) golf set they had recently been given. Doug had just finished telling them to be careful and not stand near one another. Ten seconds later, the neighbor boy whacked Jack in the head with a driver. Blood was running down his face and he was crying, of course. We took him to urgent care and they put in three staples. He had a small scalp laceration just a few inches above where his hair line starts. It wasn't horrible but wasn't fun. The boys all learned a few lessons, as did we---no more playing with golf clubs!

On Memorial Day, we ran the Boys Town Memorial Day Race. This is the second time we have done it with the boys. Charlie really seems to enjoy running, but Jack could go either way, so far. I ran with Charlie and he ran the entire mile, dodging people and running his heart out. I think we finished in 10:14, which was good. I think I was holding him back a little bit! Jack ran with Doug and they walked some and ran some. Charlie had his face painted like a snake, while we were there.

Charlie finishes up school tomorrow. He will officially be on to 2nd grade, while Jack will be starting kindergarten. I can't believe how fast they grow up. Charlie had his field day today at school. It was fun to see him run around and compete in different events. There were about 20 different stations set up outside and in the gym. The kids could run around as they wanted to the different games. They could also purchase popsicles for a quarter. They loved this and Charlie enjoyed winning a few events.

Now we are on to summer! I am sure it will fly by, but we will enjoy it while it lasts. This coming weekend we are going on our third annual trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. The boys think this is the greatest place on Earth! We also have a second trip planned to Estes Park, Colorado. We went there last year, and the boys loved it....as did I!

March 2011

We did a few fun things in March. I had my spring break the week of the 14th. It was so great to be off for a week. The weather was beautiful and I enjoyed some time with the boys, Doug and my friends. I met Krista for lunch one day with the boys. We tried Ingredient and then Red Mango. Red Mango is delicious. I also met my friend Jen for dinner at Roja and then went to Red Mango again with her! The boys and I went to see the movie Rango one day and then tried cupcakes from Jones Brothers Cupcakes in the new Aksarben area. I had that Monday of my spring break all to myself, which was nice! I went for a run, got my nails done and made a visit to the Apple store for a class on my Mac. Oh, and how could I forget! I went to the Lady Gaga concert on March 17th with my mom, aunt and cousin! It was a great show! Also over break, Jack and I walked to school one day to get Charlie. His friend Nolan came home with us to play and eat dinner. Charlie loves hanging out with Nolan, as does Jack!

With the month of March came the highly anticipated first Pinewood Derby car race for Doug and Charlie. They made a Lego car (got the idea from my friend Jen!). It was easy and the car took second place. Charlie and Doug were thrilled. Jack and I were, too. I can say I was a little nervous about Doug helping Charlie make a car, but it turned out well. They even talked about what they would make next year. Charlie has really enjoyed Cub Scouts!

Charlie started flag football in March. This is the only sport so far that he has said he would play. He had a couple of practices in March and his first game was on April 2nd. He did a great job and was happy to play alongside his friend Grant! Charlie is the one with the yellow hoodie on.

That was about it for March. We are now on to April, and that means only 36 school days left until school is out for the summer....not that I am counting or anything!

I have two grad school classes this semester. They are much easier than last semester, but still keep me busy. They end on April 16th and I can't wait to have a three month break before I begin two summer classes!