art show

Our class has an exhibit at the All School Art Show and here is one of my students at our class art piece.  It was a really fun project and the kids came with artistic ability that I didn't teach ;)

april showers

It has been raining the past three days quite nicely.  I'm thinking these April showers will bring some beautiful May flowers!

time keeps on slippin

Wow--the school year is really winding down.  I planned the rest of the year and am realizing there is a lot to do and not a lot of time.  The attention spans are also diminishing so I don't think I will be as ambitious as planned, but it is fun to dream!

block party

On Sunday, our neighbor Patrice had a nice little get together of the neighborhood.  She has a lovely home and is an artist so has some truly beautiful paintings displayed and her eye for decor is superb.  The way she hosted was also very artistic with displays of appetizers and drinks.  The kids had a great time and the 2 hour party turned into a 3 1/2 hour party.  It was fun to see our home from her vista on the top of the street.

Thank you, Patrice!

tasky Saturday

This morning dawned bright and sunny.  I woke up thinking it was 9am, but truly it was 7:15.  Ate a nice breakfast, made a batch of yogurt (my first try) and then went to Menards to pick out the aforementioned tile.  We then went to Hudson Bagel for a dozen bagels and on to Ace to pick up some paint.  Arrived home and K and I went to the Greenwood Elementary Garage Sale and now are home to do laundry, clean the van, clean the house and hopefully get some windows cleaned.

Lots to do and what a lovely day to do it!

the good earth

Yesterday was Arbor Day and it was absolutely a lovely day.  After school, O and I went around the house finding all the new living green things emerging from the earth--little blue flowers are out along with some little white flowers.  The daffodil greens are up and the hostas also have little green spikes.  The trillium leaves have emerged and the primordial looking ferns are unfurling.

O, the joy of spring.

picking tile

Brad is busy getting a hearth pad laid for our new wood stove.  He went to Menards and picked out some tile.  I decided that I would like to go and do a little shopping too to make sure we had just the right tile.  I think I found just the right kind...when it's installed, I will take a photo.

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one year ago today, we had a beautiful snow storm...

I'm hoping snow is gone for the year.  As our class was looking at the forecast for the next week, we saw some for Sunday.  We hope the forecast is not correct!

earth day

Happy Earth Day everyone!  To celebrate, our class went on a nature walk where we collected 3 bags of garbage--this was a walk near the Kinni and about 25 minutes.  We also saw a dead crow and a dead squirrel.  We also saw lots sprouts and used our senses to hear the geese, smell the fresh air, see the river and touch the sticks, dandelions--yes, there were dandelions.   We also heard flies on the dead animal carcasses.  Thankfully no one ventured to touch the animal carcasses.

Our family celebrated by eating on the porch for the first time in 2014

enjoying dinner on the table Brad made

pork taco--pork from uncle Kurt's pig

view of the garden from the new screens Brad crafted

going for a bike ride

Right after I write this last blog post, the kids and I are going to venture out on a nice little bike ride.  The weather is spectacular and we are going to take full advantage!

beautiful Easter

Our family attended service at a small church in Falun, Wisconsin called Trinity Lutheran.  It was a very nice service and Brad was able to connect with several people from his past.  It was a small and meaningful celebration of Jesus' resurrection!

In the afternoon, O, K and I went to a small park in Alpha, Wisconsin and played for about an hour.  The warm sun sure felt wonderful on our skin!

egg makers

Our family tried a new method in Easter egg dying this year.  I saw a friend do this on FaceBook and added the twist of wrapping the eggs in rubber bands to cause a reverse in color.  Here is the result:

K painted by face as the Easter bunny

good Friday

All Fridays are days that people work for throughout the week, but this past Friday is one that I look forward to year round.  Jesus was crucified on Good Friday.  He gave his own life to save us for all eternity.  All who believe in him shall not perish, but should have eternal life.

Thank you Jesus.

graduation party

We just received a beautiful graduation invitation in the mail today--our lovely Goddaughter, Anna Grace will be graduating on May 25.  We will be heading to watch her receive her well-earned diploma.

seeds

Our class will be studying seeds--we will be exploring monocotyedon seeds in particular.  Do you think most people can define?  I know I didn't know before I became a Montessori guide ;)

full moon

The full moon causes certain effects at times throughout our society.  Several kids really had a spunky day in the classroom today.  I am looking forward to calmer waters again.

pto

On Monday night, the RFPME PTO met with a school board representative to discuss what parents would like to see with the building proposal.   I was so proud to hear the parents voice their opinions.  Very articulate and well stated.  We have a nice group of families that send their children to our school.

procession to the Frederiksted Pier

2 years ago, our family worshiped at the edge of the Caribbean Sea with processing with all the other churches in Frederiksted to the Pier area for Palm Sunday.  It's a great memory that I will always cherish.

new stove

Brad's dream of having a nice little insert in our fireplace came true today.  He picked up a Vermont Casting wood stove to insert into our fireplace.  There is even a little cook top.  It's not hooked up yet, but will be probably in the near future.

sock hop 2014 style

Grandpa Bud even made the trek to River Falls to attend the Sock Hop this year!  Six Olsons headed to the Greenwood Sock Hop.  All sugared up, we got home and K had a sleepover with her friend Ellie.  We ate popcorn and settled in to a movie called Ice Princess and headed off to dream land.

It was a lovely evening.

three 2nd grade friends

enjoying some cotton candy at the Hop

elsa hair

One of my fears of being the mother of a girl was the fact that I was never really into doing hair, it really was of no interest to me growing up.  I do have a daughter who is very into fashion and hair and who enjoys the movie, Frozen.  She asked if I could "do" her hair like Elsa.  Thank goodness for YouTube--I think it looks pretty cute.  Also, thank goodness she has great hair like her Dad and her aunt Ibby.

5th to 6th

what a difference a year makes!  One year ago on April 9, A was still a Greenwood Elementary student, here with his crossing guard attire--he is now a Meyer Middle School 6th grader and is almost as tall as his mother.  I guess that happens, but it doesn't seem possible.

seed starting

This afternoon parent volunteers came to our classroom to start seeds with the kids.  We have two trays of roma tomatoes and sweet peppers in our classroom with a grow light above them.  It will be a great addition to our classroom and wonderful way to kick off our study of the plant!  We did do a little study this past fall, but we will start with relearning the parts of seeds.  FUN!

kind of gross, but awesome

Two number twos in two days...he was jumping up and down when I got home from school.  Brad saved the evidence so we could dance around and celebrate together.  Way to go, O!

band o rama

The River Falls music department hosted a wonderful evening of music on March 31--from 6th grade band through the top competition band--the wind symphony band of high school.  They were all incredible.  The final number of the evening was a combined band.  There had to have been at least 150 kids performing at once!  So fun.

A's next concert is on May 22nd at Meyer Middle School at 7pm.  Totally looking forward to another exceptional music evening.

library walker

At the age of 3 years and 10 months--O walked to and from the River Falls Public Library on his own!  YIPPEEE.  He was a very amiable travel companion and we had nice conversations about trees, melting snow, squishy snow, silver cars, wet pant legs and BIG puddles.

He is a joy.

2 hours late

April 4 we got the phone call at 6am--school 2 hours late due to dangerous winter driving conditions.  I guess I should not be surprised, but it has been a very long winter.  The day was actually very productive and we got about as much done as we do every other day.  Maybe we should always be 2 hours late?

happy birthday Joan Lee!

Happy birthday on April 3 to the lovely Joan Lee Blomgren!  We have been sisters 21 years now.

can you believe Ross Issac is 16?

Our ruggedly handsome Godson who was a tiny little 3 month old at our wedding is now 16 years old!  We love you buddy.

april fool

Brad got me.  He got me good.  The school day was over and none of my class tried anything that I fell for.  I was in the office getting some copies made when Brad called school and told me that my parents were in town and wanted to stop by for a visit.  I fell for it HOOK LINE AND SINKER.  He felt really bad telling me that it was an April Fool, but I have to admire his ability to be creative and cunning none the less.  I am going to have to work hard to find a good trick for him next year ;)

out like a lamb

The last day of March went out like a lamb...a few days later was lion like, but March 31 was a beautiful day!