Go, Go, Goers!

We kicked off the week with Ava's final middle school band concert. She was supposed to perform a solo with a violinist, but the violinist hadn't made it to many of the band's practices, so it was a bit of a disaster. Luckily, they opted to pull the violin part from the song, so Ava was able to perform her solo without any issues. The rest of the band did great! I can't believe that that's a wrap for middle school for Ava's music career. Seriously, where did the time go? Love this smile! She's muted, but sounds pretty nice! She was supposed to have a track meet this past Wednesday, but it was wet and dreary out, so they cancelled it. It was really nice to have an unexpected free night at home. I'm dealing with a cold that's hanging on (no, not COVID) so it was probably a good thing that I wasn't sitting outside in the chilly, wet air for a few hours on Wednesday night. But, we did manage to sneak in some fun times once the weather warmed up a bit

I realized that I take a lot of pics, but I don't take many videos of the kids. And it's so easy to forget what they're like when they're in different life stages. So. My new goal is to take one video of each kid, every week. I wish I had started this a while ago, but I guess it's better late than never. For those of you that are reading this post through an email, please know that the videos do not render in the email. If you'd like to watch them, you'll need to head on over to this blog post online. We've been encouraging G to try to be a bit more active outside, especially since most of the boys in the neighborhood play sports in the yards after school. Out of the blue, he asked if Scott would throw some balls around with him (YAY!) So, they tossed a football around, and then he pulled out his old bat/ball set. They both seemed to enjoy the time together. :) G has also been getting even more creative with Legos, and decided to explain what happens whe

I think most people are aware that May is just as busy as December, except the holidays aren't thrown in for a little joy. There are so many end of year events and activities to try to schedule in. It's all fun, but it often leaves me feeling a little scattered and unsure on where to start on other things, because my mind is a bit overwhelmed with everything. This week, we had to fit in daily track practice, a track meet, a doctor appt for G's allergy-inflamed eyes, marching band practice with RHS, a field trip to Dakota City, an awards ceremony to celebrate Ava's academic excellence in middle school, Taekwondo practice, a wonderful dinner out with friends in town, s'mores with neighbors, and just regular ol' school and work to help fill any extra free time. WHEW! And did I mention that we also had one night of multiple tornado warnings, which meant that 3/4 of us were sequestered in the basement, while the last 1/4 of us was hanging out with the garage door ope

We have an athlete in our house! I mean, both kids are, but we finally have one who is part of an organized team! Ava started track a few weeks ago, and she had her first meet this week. She ran the 100m and the 200m. She's a sprinter, so the 200 was a little too long for her (her legs were "tingly" at the end), but I think she enjoyed the 100. Was she the fastest? No. Was she one of the shortest? Yes. Most importantly...did she have fun? YES! (I think.)  There she is on the left! The Rosemount Middle School track team is HUGE. Like, 125 kids huge. And the kids got to sign up for whatever they wanted...meaning that it look a long time to get through all of the events. Next week, they're going to add in field events, and hopefully relays. I think Ava is interested in the long jump and relays, as well. We're just so darn proud of her for joining a team, and trying something new. Plus, she's meeting new friends, which is always a great thing. Ava also had her fir

The kids were back to a 5-day school week, and by Friday, I could tell. Everyone just looked tired or grumpy. G had a stuffy nose, Ava looked drained, and both Scott and I were just...tired. We all had long days, so we were happy to see Friday roll around. Ava's prepping for her first track meet next week. She's been working with the other sprinters, and is definitely feeling a bit of soreness. On Thursday she went from school, to track practice, to the city library (for fun and to kill some time), and then back to the school for Taekwondo. Ava realized that she had been away from home for almost 12 hours, and couldn't get over that. Scott and I think this is giving her a glimpse into what the next several months will be with marching band and other high school activities! She will be starting the first of the marching band spring training sessions next week. Let the schedule chaos begin! We're excited for her to meet the other trumpets in her group and start building t