Monday, April 28, 2008

Yes We're Going to the Zoo...Zoo...Zoo...





After church on Sunday, we rushed down to Como Park Zoo for a 'meet the other host families' event. It was a very short gathering, but then we got a chance to run around the zoo. It was COLD, and many animals were still in their "indoor" habitats. Lydia plugged her nose the entire time we were viewing the giraffees and the zebras! We always enjoy going to Como Park, but we sure miss the polar bears. They are on 'vacation' in Detroit - nice spot for a vacation- while their new habitat is constructed. It is a lengthy process which will not bring them home for two more summers!
The weather has still been awful, which makes me less guilty about not running. My leg is slowly getting better. I hope to do a short run tomorrow to test it out! Only 50 some odd days until the marathon! Yikes! But I will be ready.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Snow....again!


We woke up this morning to find snow....AGAIN! It is the end of April, the perenials are up, and now they are covered with SNOW!!!! All the soccer games were cancelled ahead of time, so we slept in a little this morning, which makes all of us happier during the day!
I have taken the week off from running. I pulled my quad last weekend on my long run, tried to run on Monday, and by Monday night had a real difficult time even walking. It is still sore, and I have iced it, but I thought I better let it heal more before putting stress on it again. The rain and snow have made me feel less guilty for taking the time off. Less than 60 days until the marathon so I better stay healthy!
Tomorrow we will spend some time at Como Zoo with other families hosting exchange students. The weather does not look good, but the zoo is always a good time.
Trent had Prom tonight over in Grantsburg. Deb and Lydia went over to watch the grand march and Lydia could not pass up another photo opportunity. Again, she picked out her favorite dresses, and the 'ugly ones', and then shared her opinions with us at supper. Thank goodness we have many more years before she heads off to prom!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Prom Weekend



It was a busy weekend in Pine City with prom festivities. Misha was all dressed up and looked pretty sharp. His date was Sophie Grussel, from Germany. They even rented a limo with a bunch of other students and had a great time. Lydia and I attended the Grand March to see all the 'pretty dresses'. Lydia was true critic, telling me which dresses she liked, and the ones she did not care for. Lydia was also excited to see one of her babysitters, Laura, and was able to get a quick picture.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

From Noah...

Soccer is starting our first game is April 26. Jeff is Jake's coach. Deb is Lydia's coach. Our cat's Joe and Squirt are playing outside a lot. Joe is a hunter! Every time he goes outside he either catches anything that is moving or animals like birds, shrews, and frogs. He always wants to go outside! Squirt is more of an inside cat. He usually sleeps, lays around, or plays with us a little bit. If he goes outside he either sits under our car. Or walks slowly around the yard. Me and Jake always play baseball, football, or basketball outside. I also got an A+ on my Colorado state report!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Spring?



Well the meteorologists were right...Snow! Over 6" of wet, heavy, break-your-back while you shovel snow!! We even had a 'snow day' from school yesterday! Too bad we will need to make up the day at the end of the school year - yuck. The wet spring has caused the cancellation of many sporting events at school. Soccer practice is suppose to begin this week, but with snow on the ground, the fields have not been lined yet, and I am guessing we will be practicing in mud!
We took off the cover on the pool last weekend - in the nice weather, and today we built a snowman! Hope the meteorologists are correct on there forcast - the snow will melt quickly as we head into the 60's by Tuesday!
I was able to get out and run a couple times last week, and the rest was on the treadmill. Only a little over 2 months until the marathon!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

April Showers...and SNOW


What a crazy spring we have had so far. We get teased with warm weather for one day here and there, and snow and cold in between. It has been killing my training for the marathon! I was lucky enough to get out in the cold the last two Saturday mornings for my long runs (8.5 and 10.5) but I have reverted back to the treadmill during the week. Tomorrow looks like we may hit the upper 40's so I will try to get out after school. But the forcast then calls for snow later in the week! Where is spring? We have shoveled and swept the basketball court (our driveway) off quite a few times already! The boys are out shooting in their hats and gloves. They sure love the game!

All the kids start soccer in two weeks. Because of lack of space, we will need to shuttle back and forth between a couple sites. Jake and Lydia will be at one set of fields and Noah at another. We have not received the game schedules yet, but are hoping the games overlap as little as possible - yeah, what is the likelihood of that happening? Noah, Jake, and Lydia are all anxious to get the season started. It really is a lot of fun with so many kids involved (over 350 last year). It is great to see so many people in the community come out and watch the kids play.

Noah has worked hard on his state report and will give his oral presentation tomorrow. Thank you Mick and Nancy for all the information of Colorado ...now he really wants to come and visit! (so do the rest of us!) We looked over his work tonight and he really put a lot of effort and time into the project. He is even excited about the presentation part, which surprised me since he can be shy at times.

Jake is doing really well in school. He keeps his teacher hopping, and has her coming up with extra math for him to do since he is so quick at his math facts. We are happy that his handwriting has improved also. It was tough to read not that long ago, and he has really worked on his neatness. Way to go Jake!

Lydia is keeping busy at 'Jenny's' - her daycare. She is such a big help with the younger kids. I cannot believe that in two months, we will be done with daycare! Lydia is very excited about going to kindergarden in the fall. Her new passion is gymnastics. They are practicing for their end of the year show... a 'disco' theme is all whe will tell us, since it is going to be a surprise!

Misha is busy with track. I think he is enjoying it and hanging out with the other students. We also went and got him fitted for a tux for the prom. I guess that is a sign of spring.

Deb is holding us all together, making sure we all get to where we need to be. She is looking forward to the end of the year, even though she will need to pack up all her stuff and move to another classroom AGAIN! It has been a busy time at shool, and she has organized some special events to bring parents into the classroom. I know she is anxious for the warmer weather so she can go for her walks around 'the circle'.

I just need to keep thinking...Spring has to come soon because summer is not that far away!!!!