Go, Go, Goers!

Our sweet Ava just turned 14 years old! We're celebrating by having a simple family dinner at home (Ava chose the menu of dino nuggies, Frozen-shaped mac and cheese, and smiley fries.) Not healthy at all, but that's what she wanted, so we shall oblige! Next Thursday night, she and one of her best friends will be hosting a joint birthday party with their pals. It was an interesting experience trying to get them to plan something, but I think we've pulled it together. It's a space/galaxy theme, which is different...and they came up with themes to represent each of the planets (sorry, Pluto, you're not included this time!) Just a wee one...so many years ago! Her last few hours as a thirteen year old... Happy Birthday, Ava Lorraine! Ava has generally always had her birthday near Father's Day, so it seems appropriate to highlight some of the fathers we've had in our lives (with Ava.) Ava and her dad :) Ava and Grandpa Doug Ava and Grandpa Whitey (and a bonus pic ...

It's finally here...summer vacay! The kids wrapped up their final days of school with some really fun activities. Ava had an advisory cookout, an 8th grade celebration (she was on the #trends committee), as well as a final 8th grade field trip to Bowlero! They managed to squeeze in some final tests and projects, and now 8th grade is a wrap! We have a high schooler...where did the time go?? 1st day of 8th grade  Last day of 8th grade 1st day of pre-K...from a mermaid to a designer! G's school had fun activities like yearbook signing, kickball, and end of year festivities.  1st day of 2nd grade Last day of 2nd grade They were both home with me on Thursday and Friday, and while they enjoyed some down time, I also put them to work on Friday. Ava is taking over the chores of watering the outdoor plants, and I also had her clean out her nightstand, in preparation for her massive bedroom rearrangement that will be starting shortly. She has a LOT of things to sort out. Look what happ...

The last full week of school just wrapped up, and we're all thankful for the quieter days ahead. Well, I shouldn't say quiet. Let's go with different...many activities, but most of them fun! Ava's final, district-wide track meet was this past Wednesday. She didn't run in any events, but she did participate in discus and shotput. Even better is that both the Rosemount Boys and Girls teams won the track meet...that wouldn't surprise me given the sheer size and talent in the track & field group. It's no wonder that the RHS Track & Field team has amazing results, too, when there are kids like this feeding into it! She also squeezed in TKD and another marching band practice during the school nights. It's getting more and more difficult to find time to schedule appointments for her, as her time is booking up so quickly. I have a feeling the next four years are going to fly by. WAHHHHHH!    Doing some shopping after the track meet G also had a fun and b...

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...