Go, Go, Goers!

The end has come. I've been counting down to this monumental milestone since the beginning of the school year. We are officially done with elementary school! After 12 years (11 of them at Red Pine), we don't have any more children in the lower grades! Am I sad? Yes, very much so. But am I really excited for what comes next? You bet! No more before school care, or giving G a ride to school everyday? Yahoo! We love our bus drivers! It was also the end of Ava's junior year...that means that we have a senior in high school *gulp*. What? So pretty! Goodbye 5th grade, and hello, middle school! There were tears (mine) when I dropped him off for the last time at morning SAC. Saying goodbye to the SAC staff was exceptionally hard since we've known them for years. Both Scott and I attended the final walkthrough for the 5th graders on Thursday afternoon. G was all smiles and ready to start summer! Ava had plans with friends after school to celebrate (and then another party later t...

The school year is winding down, and we're able to take a breath and enjoy the small moments. Ava will be playing in the band at the RHS graduation this on Saturday night. I have several friends who have senior kiddos, and I'm having a hard time not crying for all of them. I think it's because I have realized that in one year, Ava will be graduating. It's exciting and normal, but also heartbreaking. This past week, Ava and I attended a paint night at a local restaurant. By the end of the two hours, I was ready to head out to go home...and Ava could have stayed longer to keep working on her painting. She truly enjoys painting, so it's a good thing she's going to head to school to be an art teacher! One of G's friends is a pretty good artist, as well. She brought supplies to school this week where she could paint on the kids hands...her version of tattoos. Check out this axolotl she drew on G! Red Pine held their end-of-year celebration on Friday night. So, I ...

It's been a non-stop week. One of those weeks when you let out a squeal of joy when you see that Saturday has no timed plans, and you'll be able to be at home, getting stuff done. Hooray! Last weekend, we headed out to a local ski chalet to celebrate Scott's cousin's wedding. They were married in Breckenridge, and had a small reception for close family and friends. It was nice to be able to cheers the happy couple! S'mores around the bonfire! We also had a bunch of music events this week. G and I headed to Apple Valley to watch their community band perform Holst's The Planets. It fills me with such joy to be able to support the local arts. G did a great job paying attention to their performance, and didn't get too antsy until the end. On Thursday night, we headed to Central Park in Rosemount, and watched the RHS concert bands perform their end-of-year concerts. Ava's band was the second to last, so we had a chance to order from the food trucks, and catch...

Well, we had a few weeks of hot and sunny weather. And now it's gloomy, windy, and in the 40's! I know it's a passing thing, but considering we had to turn on our air last week, and then kick our heat back on last night, it feels a little like whiplash, weather-wise. In the midst of this, of course the 5th graders had their track & field event at RHS on Friday. Brrrrr! G participated in several field events, but I think he did the best in the discus. Scott and I went for an hour or so, and cheered him on while he was doing the basketball dribble, and then he was the 1st runner in the 400m relay. In attendance were 5th graders from four different elementary schools that feed into RHS, and it was madness. Chaos, I say! I know the adults in charge were doing their best, so we just stayed out of the way and parked it on the bleachers.  Heading out to the start of the race It was a really busy week with work, school, AP exams, gatherings with friends and family, and trying t...

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms! We celebrated our mothers on Saturday this weekend. I spent a lovely day in Stillwater with my mom...we walked by the river, had a yummy lunch in the warm air, did some shopping, and finished up our visit with an ice cream and chat on a bench. It was a very special day with my mom! N.A. Blackberry Tonic...so refreshing and good! After I dropped my mom off, we met up with Deb, and had a nice dinner with her, catching up on recent events, and things to come in the near future. It was a great way to cap off a wonderful day, with our amazing moms. I know I posted this recently, but I think it's a good pics of the moms in our lives! As for Mother's Day with my kids...we have a nice breakfast and dinner planned, and then we'll head out to pick up some hanging plants, and perhaps look at a rose bush to plant in our front retaining wall. We have a n empty spot that used to house some decorative grasses, and we think we could use some higher l...