monday funday

We are planning our weekly adventure and I think we are headed to the MN zoo today.  The sky looks good and we have plenty of energy at this point.

Monday funday!

pierson reunion 2014

Beautiful day on the shores of St. James Lake.  We had a great Pierson get together!

The relatives of Nels and Annie Pierson

From Bev's family:  Barb, her granddaughter Chloe, Jodi, Dave, Constance, Matt , Ronan, and Riley

From Ruby's family:  Ruby, Eldon, Doug and Michelle

From Nels Jr.'s family:  Kayo, Christina, Ericka, Anders, Sheila, Lucas, Seth and Ryan, Nels III, Nicole, Sonya and Nels IV

From Vivian's family:  Vivian, Clarence, Kent, Anna, Abby, Kurt, Stuart, Kyle, Kim, Kyle, Adam, Liana, Ryan, Karen, Brad, Anders, Kathryn and Osten

From Elois' family:  Loie, Ryan, Holly, and Tyler

From Leland's family:  Butch, Marilyn, Jennifer, Greg, Nicolas and Sydney

52 people there...wow!

the ongoing baseball game

Doug, Jennifer, Karen, Christina, Barb and Jodi front
Kent, Kurt, Kyle, Nels and Anders back

fast friends, with big brother photo bombing in back

K's new sister joining our family photo

Marilyn, Butch, Ruby, Eldon, Clarence, Vivian, Kayo and Loie

Blomgren family photo

amanda lily

My Amanda lily is blooming!  Amanda Kunde worked in our office at UWRF and she brought so much sunshine in with her every day.  Each year, she gave Lisa and I a lily as a thank you gift.  One of my Amanda lilies is blooming.  Thank you for continuing to spread your sunshine!

headed to the Drive Inn

A is taking a friend, John to the Drive Inn tonight.  I owe him for a reading reward five years ago, I think it is about time I pay up ;).  We are seeing Transformers, so it should be edge of your seat excitement.

downtown adventure

One year ago, O and I went on an adventure in downtown River Falls.  This cute little path lead to what is now the Dish and Spoon outdoor cafe.  The greenery looks much like it does today.

21 years ago

On June 25, 1993, the Blomgren family welcomed a new member.  Kim Kubes.  We welcomed you then and are so happy you have made our lives just that much sweeter.

photo from Face Book post by my brother.

rainy baseball game

Last night, K had gymnastics, A had baseball and then K had a first aid class.  It was quite a bit of running around for the Olson family for a short time.  O and I dropped off A, picked up K and dropped her off at her next activity.  By the time we got back for A's game, there was a nice downpour of rain.  We had an umbrella, but it was not quite big enough for Brad, O and myself so O and I went back to K's first aid class.

With all the rain we have been having this summer/late spring, the coaches opted to continue to play the game.  The kids seemed oblivious to the downpour and were actually enjoying it.  I haven't seen the baseball pants yet, but I am sure they will be fun to wash ;)

Here are some photos from K' first aid class.  She got to see the inside of an ambulance and get an EKG.  Photos courtesy my friend Brenda.  It was a nice class.

loving summer

Our family is playing a lot more board games now that summer has gotten into swing.  O was introduced to Candy Land and he is a good player.  His big brother and sister also willingly play with him.  So sweet to see!

home

There's no place like home.  We left our little house in Anna Maria at about 8:30 and I was dropped off at our home at about 4:30.  It was so wonderful to see Brad and the kids.  I thought baby O was going to squeeze me until I couldn't breathe any longer, but I'm still breathing ;).

solstice

The summer solstice for me was really beautiful.  It was the Saturday of our trip to Florida.  We spent most of the day at the beach enjoying the sun and surf.  The surf was more vigorous than our first day at the beach.  We then dined at the historic Pier for dinner.  Great service, delicious shrimp (best shrimp consumed was the coconut shrimp) and a fun entertainer who knew a lot about the Dells of Wisconsin.

We saw the sun set on the solstice over the gulf of Mexico.  Nice way to spend the longest daylight hours of the year in the northern hemisphere!

she got the job!

Ibby got the job in Grantsburg!  I don't know many details because I just heard via text from Bradley Cole while I'm here on vacation with the ladies, but I am so excited for the future possibilities.

beautiful beach day

The Anna Maria beach is absolutely breathtaking.  We live in such a beautiful world.  The sand is so fine and white, the water so many shades of blue green and the people so friendly.  We feel like queens!

We saw sting rays, minnows, a crazy school of Jumping fish, crab, a shark, lots of gulls and pelicans and many many kind faces.  So divine!

here we come Florida!

My dear girlfriends who are all "turning 40" on June 29 departed from Angie Bond's house early on June 18.  The ladies are:  Sharyl, Angie, Gretchen, Michelle, Dawn and myself.  We landed in Tampa at 2:45pm and have been enjoying quite the adventure.

Dawn saw the ocean for the very first time on Wednesday evening and is a BIG fan.

Spending time with the girls is super relaxing and invigorating at the same time.  Thanks to Brad for once again stepping up to the plate for me.

high water

Visiting southern MN on June 16 & 17 was lovely.  I did notice some extremely high water levels in the MN and Blue Earth Rivers.  I hope all is well with the people living near a river during this very wet time of year.

50

he's 50, he's 50 years old!  Happy birthday Kyle Dean!  Thanks to Kim for a beautiful birthday party in honor of Kyle.  Many of the family was able to make the party and some very good friends also helped him celebrate.  You have made great things happen in the past 50 years big brother...it will be amazing to see what else you can do.

happy father's day!

A few days late, but Happy Father's Day to Clarence, Brad, Bud, Kent, Kurt, Kyle, Cory & Brent!  Thank you for being wonderful fathers & dads to myself, my brothers, my husband and sister/brother in law and my children, my nieces and my nephews.

how to train your dragon

Our family went to the movie, How To Train Your Dragon today.  Really fun and entertaining movie.  It was nice to go together as a family.

wishing and hoping and praying

Ibby is interviewing for a principal position in Grantsburg at the elementary school.  Keeping fingers and toes crossed for a positive outcome and that she will be heading back to the midwest!

Mall of America

The kids and I planned out a list of places we want to visit this summer.  We have 7 weeks that are free and have identified 7 places we want to visit.  This Thursday we opted for the Mall of America and Nickolodean Universe.  The kids were so great to be with and so well behaved.  We had a wonderful adventure.  I hope the rest of our list goes just as well.

Our other ideas:  science museum, childrens museum, mn zoo, como zoo, Drive Inn movie, and Mill City museum.

my first day of summer vacation

Wednesday was my first official day of summer vacation...pretty awesome!  O, K and I went to the library for a program on amphibians and reptiles.  I got a chance to see several students.  Then we went home and filled up the swimming pool and played with neighborhood kids for a good part of the day.  In the evening, Lewis, Willem and Paul Mullen came by on a bike ride.  It was a really nice day.

checking out

So my classroom is completely shut down for the summer.  Its pretty amazing how much room is in the classroom with all the furniture pushed to one side.  There are a lot of possibilities for arrangement next year.

summer vacation

The kids were home for their first official day of summer vacation on Monday.  I had workshop, but the kids enjoyed sleeping in for the first day.

thank yous

In addition to having the reward of being a teacher, I received two lovely bouquets from two of my students for the end of the school year.  The second bouquet is adorned by the hedgehog K gave her friend for a birthday gift yesterday.

perfect attendance

This was her brother's quest throughout elementary and he never quite made it, but KGO was awarded perfect attendance for the 2013-2014 school year.  I was not aware that she was going to receive this award, but way to go KGO!

she's having her hair set for her friend's sleepover birthday party today

field day

Today was our field day at RFPME--we played games from the seven continents (I lead the penguin waddle for Antarctica) and one all continent relay with toilet plungers and balls.  The other games were:  North American sponge relay, South American anaconda snake game, European pasta pull, African pyramid build, Australian kangaroo hop and the Asian tofu transfer.  The kids were great, the parents super and the weather was just perfect.  It was a really great day!

the munchkins

Thursday was cleaning day in our classroom.  We busied ourselves with emptying shelves, cleaning them and putting all the furniture into one section of the classroom.  It was quite devine and at times a little frustrating.  The classroom is almost ready for summer!

fun with refrigerator box

Our neighbors Tim and Sarah just got a new refrigerator.  All the kids in the neighborhood went over to check out the large box that came with their new fridge.  O and K had fun with friends Davis and Will.  It is so fun to live in a neighborhood where the kids can play and have fun outdoors!

perfect perfect perfect days of June

the past several days have been absolutely perfect weather in the upper midwest.  We are so lucky to live here!

last week of school

I can't believe it is time for the final week of school!  We are heading in to the home stretch and ready to face the world.

its raining its pouring

We have had significant rain in the past 12 hours.  There was a little thunder and lightening last night, but it was mostly just heavy rain pouring down.  As of 8:15am, we had about 2 inches.  We shall see what the total amount will be when all said and done.