15 kids

This morning in Sunday school there were 15 eager Kindergarten students who learned a little about the blind man who was healed when Jesus put mud on his eyes.  The kids thought it was interesting the Jesus spit in the dirt...they thought it was scandalous...many of them caught their breaths when I told that part of the story.  It was pretty cute.

a new bike for a soon to be 13 year old

This morning we drove to St. Paul to pick up a bike for A's 13th birthday gift.  It is a really nice bike that we picked up from a Craig's List listing.  He and his little sister spent much of the day riding around town.  

older bike is not sister's

the new bike owner

enjoying the spring melt

evening out with Julie

Last night, Julie and I went out for dinner in Bayport and also went to Rafters in Stillwater to listen to music and enjoy one anothers' company.  We have been friends for over half our lives...very precious. 

child as a guide night

On Thursday evening, families were at our school watching their children guide them around our classroom.  It was pretty incredible.  I got to meet grandparents, siblings, and some parents who I have never had the opportunity to meet before.  It was extremely gratifying and lovely to see! 

L showing his Mom the addition snake game

taking notice of longer daylight hours

It was very obvious on Wednesday evening that spring is here when the skies were still light when picking K up from gymnastics at 7:30pm--so exciting!

movie watching

Our family has been enjoying watching the movie Balto and have started watching the Harry Potter series again.  

where will we go?

Monday night was the school board meeting talking about the fate of the Academy Building, the Building where River Falls Public Montessori Elementary is housed.  A company has bid to renovate the building and turn into apartments.  The school district is unsure as to where they will be relocating our program, but I believe God has a plan.  

part of building that is proposed to be renovated--1927 and 1957

photo of academy in 1915--different building same site

undated photo of school children in River Falls

school board meeting on Monday in High School media center

purple!

The River Ramblers 4-H club won top honors at the Pierce County Cultural Arts extravaganza on Saturday the 22nd.  A won an Oscar for his portrayal of Captain Soggy.  It was an exciting experience for sure!

first place award

full cast right before the show

Scummy the Sweet delivering her lines

happy 18th birthday Anna Gracious

Our dear niece Anna Grace turned 18 on March 22--she will be graduating from High School this spring.  We love you!

Anna in purple far left--sister Abby in teal, cousin Trenton in blue, cousin Jenna in scarf, cousin Kathryn in teal and blue and cousin Liana on far right in purple

first day of spring

Today is the first day of spring!  The temperatures are balmy, but there is still a nice snow cover.  The kids practiced for their Cultural Arts Extravaganza and A lost another baby tooth today.  Now he has eight teeth to go.  When we went to the dentist yesterday, they announced that if he has any baby teeth left at his next appointment, he will get them pulled.  I think that was a good wake up call for him to start wiggling some of the four loose teeth in his mouth.

history museum

Today our family bought a small fishing boat, we had dentist appointments for the two oldest kids, we went to the MN History Museum, we dined at Davanni's, we made some brownies and now we are settling down to watch a movie and just relax.

the situation in Crimea

There is a lot happening in our world right now and I feel like I'm hyper aware because we have started listening to NPR in our kitchen when getting ready for the day.  They are often discussing the situation in Crimea.  Brad is getting really tired of all the coverage---the media is very thorough, but I think it's been so long since we have heard news that we forgot how often they mention the top news story.

school day

Tuesday was a designated classroom day--Brad helped me fix a bookshelf that was leaning waaaaaaay too far to one side--K and spent time organizing the books for the shelf and I started doing some lesson planning.  I was planning on going in again today, but the time just slipped right past.  I love spring break!

lego movie

On Monday, the first official day of spring break, A, K and I went to Woodbury to hopefully visit the Wells family (the twins and their parents) and also to see the Lego movie and hopefully indulge in some Shamrock shakes at McDonalds.

We did get to Woodwinds and K got her photo taken by the operating room where she and the twins were born, but the family had just settled down for a nap, so we will have to visit them when they get home.  We did get to see the Lego movie (fun) and were able to indulge in Shamrock shakes (yum!)

Successful first day of break.

weekend at the Olsons

This past weekend, we spent time with Bud and Betty, Brent, Molly, Siri and Ivan.  It was nice to see Betty moving around well and also to see Molly's growing baby bump.  They know they are having a boy--Siri wasn't a fan in the beginning, but she is pretty excited now that she knows she will always be the princess of her family ;)  I can relate and so can KGO2.

twins

My boss, Nate and his lovley wife Karyn gave birth to two perfect little people on Saturday, March 15.  Burke and Mayda.  They will be moving into the neighborhood in the near future so we are looking forward to meeting the new neighbors!

schools out for spring break

Spring Break is HERE!  Last Friday, our class did some fun projects and then it was an early release day for professional development.  I learned about an update to Read Naturally and also about Reciprocal Teaching.  It was a nice in-service, but even nicer was the fact that it was time to rest and rejuvinate-get ready for the third trimester of the school year.

thinking of Grandma Betty

Betty just had her third hip replaced at Woodwinds Hospital this past week.  Thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery!

melt

ahhhhhhhhhhhh the sun.  All I can say.  not much is more invigorating after a very long winter.  the song of raindrops in the downspout.  ahhhhhhh.

happy birthday Brent Anthony

Happy Birthday Brent Olson!  We hope you enjoyed introducing your two eldest watching Episode 4 of Star Wars and spending time with your lovely wife!

catching up on downtime

Monday afternoon I started to feel better and decided it was time to do a little reading for enjoyment.  I started reading the Little House series--the Long Winter--so appropriate for the current season.  Finished reading the Long Winter and now am on These Happy Golden Years.  Blissful to have a little downtime.

the flu

Saturday night I thought I had eaten too much at Mama Maria's.  Turns out I had the stomach flu.  Thankfully I had prepared for the school week on Saturday, so I spent the entire day on Sunday in bed.  Brad taught my Sunday School class and he took the kids to a movie downtown.  I spent the entire day in bed and then filled out a sub request for Monday.  I kept waiting for feeling better and it sure feels good to feel better!

valentine's day

This evening, Brad and I went out with the "fun group" to Mama Maria's in Hudson to celebrate Valentine's Day.  The Johnsons, the Noreens, the Madsens, the Bonds, The Samargias, The Muellers and the Stoeffls enjoyed a nice dinner and then headed to the Noreens after dinner for more conversation.

teacher's lounge

After school tonight, there was a get together for teachers at Juniors--it was fun to get a bunch of people from the school and also some friends from the University.  It was a nice evening.

conferences

This was the evening of the first parent teacher conferences of spring semester.  It was a fine evening, and it was nice to hear good reports from parents.

ash Wednesday

The Olsons spent Ash Wednesday in different spots.  A and Brad were at confirmation so were able to attend services.  K, O and I spent our evening at gymnastics the RF Public Library getting books about birds and Bosnia.  It was nice to reflect on the meaning of Ash Wednesday though and hopefully in 2015 we will get a chance to worship together.

balmy 17 degrees

This afternoon our class took another nature walk--going to the same pristine field of snow that we did a few weeks ago.  The kids were saying it was sooooo warm.  We got back to the classroom and discovered the temperature was a balmy 17 degrees...seemed a lot warmer than that as the sun was gaining strength.

european study

So interesting that we are studying Europe and I am realizing the geographic location of Ukraine--it brings it a lot more into perspective.  I have to admit, I am uneducated and am becoming a better world citizen as a result of our study.

reb is 13!

Happy 13th birthday Ryan Edward Blomgren--you are and always will be my favorite pancake maker.  Love you to the moon!

daddy daughter dance 2014

Brad and KGO are headed to the Daddy Daughter Dance tonight.  It's me and the boys at home watching Ghostbusters!  Fun evening for all.