getting close to 3 gallons

Our trees have been running so incredibly well this year. We have collected lots and lots of sap and have been boiling down like crazy. So far, Brad has canned 2 1/2 gallons of syrup. We had pancakes for dinner tonight.  YUM!

jumping up and down

This morning, our church celebrated Palm Sunday with one of my all time favorite songs...Shout Hosanna!

Here is a shot of the kids who led us in in song this morning...

habitat hours

Today Brad and I spent the day helping a friend with their Habitat for Humanity hours. I teach with Michelle and her family moved into the EcoVillage here in RF last fall. We were each able to put in 8 hours mudding, painting, hammering and helping construct three different houses. It was really fun to be outdoors and to help people make their homes beautiful and energy efficient.

Here are Emily, Michelle and I working:

marching on

Wow, I can't believe the month of March is about to be over! I hope it will not leave like a lion.

in bed with Brown Bear Brown Bear

After going back to school after a short illness, being there for a long day (7:45am-8:15pm), putting two honeys to bed, going to work out at Anytime with my big honey, I find little O snuggled in bed with one of his favorite stories...thank you Grandma and Grandpa B!

I'm now going to hit the haystack...good night.

child as a guide night

Tonight, our school hosted child as a guide night where students show their parents lessons they have been presented throughout the school year. It is really sweet and I took many lovely photos of the fun learning that was transpiring. Makes me want to go back to teach more tomorrow!

down for the count

I finally fell victim to the ick that has been circulating the classroom for the past several months. After school on Tuesday, I did regular evening activities then decided to hit the sheets after putting O and K to bed. During the night, I realized that my tummy wasn't feeling well. I woke up, showered and then determined that I needed to call a sub. Unfortunately, I did not get my request into the system in time, but our coordinator was able to take my place. Glad to say the ick was short lived and I was back and ready to go today!

it's Christmas again?

This morning when we got up for breakfast, O exclaimed in a sad sad voice, "It's Christmas again?" When I assured him that Christmas was not coming soon, he let out a huge sigh of relief.

happy 19th birthday dear Anna Grace

19 years ago, my bestie, Julie and I drove to Huxley, Iowa after a fun week with our friends Trish and Bob is Cincinnati.  We planned an evening at brother Kent and sister in law, Brenda's house on Brenda's birthday and found a note on the door that they were at the hospital. We drove to the Ames hospital and found a really excited Kent just laying down for a nap.
He gave us keys to their house and we proceeded to drive back to Huxley, got a good night's sleep and returned to Ames in the morning. The rest of my family had arrived as we anxiously awaited the birth of Anna Grace.

A beautiful blonde baby girl made her appearance on March 22, 1996. Happy birthday lovely lady.

on her birth day

on far right of photo playing Apples to Apples with Thomas, Liana, Kourtney and Adam

another champion performance

Teri Odegard and Sarah Johnson are incredible directors. Our 4-H club once again took top honors at the Pierce County Creative Arts Extravaganza. K played the part of Harry and she did a beautiful job.
Here are some photos of the day:

lunch with the Qs

Today, O and I had lunch with Joe and Henry at their school. Mac and Cheese were on the menu and interesting conversations with 1st and 3rd graders were enjoyed. We got to play with Joe on the playground which was the highlight of the visit.

same age as my daddy

We have been getting our wood supply built up for the next year and I found a tree that is the same age as my Dad...81 years.  Thinking of you Dad and wishing I could be in two places at one time ;)

2 cords!

This morning, we got our 2nd cord of wood put up for next season! I think we are ready for another heating season!

happy St. Patrick's day!

Our family has been enjoying the north woods the past couple of days. Yesterday, we spent the morning cutting and stacking wood, ate lunch at the shack, went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to get cleaned up and do some lesson planning/work.

Then yesterday afternoon we went to Siren to eat dinner at Adventures--I had the wild rice meatloaf--yummy. We then went to the movie theater and found that we had been looking at the weekend schedule so rented a couple of movies and went back and watched them on Brad's laptop. Big Hero 6 and Alexander and the Horrible No Good Day were really fun to watch. Watching Big Hero for the 2nd time, I was struck with the loss of a brother, the references to wearing seat belts...I had seen this movie before the loss of Ross. There will continually be reminders of the horrible accident and life-changing event of 12-13-14, but then tempered with the sadness, there will be happy memories of a bright and shining boy. Much love to you Ross, Kurt, Kelly, Jenna, Vance, Stuart!

how did I miss pi day?

I can't believe I missed mentioning pi Day! One of my favorite classroom families made me a pie to commemorate! My dear friend Ivy made this pie...at 3.1415924 she posted the photo:

heading up north

Right after K is finished practicing for the 4H play this afternoon, we will be joining the rest of our family in the north woods. We are hanging at the hunting shack, cutting wood, reading and just enjoying the serenity of the north woods. I may hop in the van one day and head south to visit my parents, but we will see what the week brings.

mom and daughter day

On Saturday, K and I spent the day together. We got some organizing done in the house and went out for pizza/breadsticks at Pizza Hut. Then we came home and watched a fun gymnastics movie called 2nd Chance. It was so fun to hang out with my baby darling.

another nice note

Here is another really nice note that A received from his performance at Rock Around the Block. For some reason, I can't get the image to come in straight, but it's really very special.

wildcat girls basketball

The River Falls Wildcats girls basketball team made it to the Wisconsin State Tournament WIAA Division 2 tournament in Green Bay this week. Because we live so close to the the Twin Cities, I had no knowledge of the setup of Wisconsin basketball.

There are five divisions where River Falls is a Division 2 school. Four schools in each division make it to the "Big Dance". River Falls fell to Cedarberg on March 13 51-41.  Cedarberg then fell to Pius Xi 54-36.

One of the very first families that we met here in River Falls was the Mueller family. A charming 2nd grader named Sydney made conversation with me as A was in gymnastics class with her little brother Austin. I met and befriended her parents Jennifer and Garth and we have enjoyed many times together as families. Sydney is now a senior in high school and was an instrumental player on the RFGBB team.

Congratulations, Sydney and best of luck in your days at U of Iowa next fall...your bright shining face and personality will get you far!

spring is knocking

This week has been down-right incredible weather wise! On Tuesday, our class went out for outdoor gym. A week prior we had been outside for gym and were building snowforts and this week, we were building dams with wood chips and tiny rivers. LOVE IT!

happy 39 BAO

Brother Brent is knocking on the door of 40...his last year of his 30s.  Happy birthday to a really kind, fun-loving and sweet brother, brother in law, uncle and Godfather, Brent Anthony!

here comes the sun!

Sunday lived up to its name but today is just a plain lovely sunny day.  There are parts of Daylight Saving Time that aren't wonderful, but having several hours of sunlight after the school day is pretty spectacular!

The kids at school seemed a little off, but not too bad today.  We had some really fun geometry learning in our classroom

dinner and a movie

On Saturday, after a really nice day in class, Julie and I met in Hudson to get a bite to eat at Paddy Ryan's (yum) and to see the movie Focus.  The food at Paddy Ryan's was really great and the movie was entertaining.  We both arrived home at a reasonable hour so we could rest for the big Daylight Saving Time switch ;)

great walking field trip

On Friday our class along with the other Lower Elementary classes went on a walking field trip to the UW River Falls campus where we saw the St. Croix Symphony perform and then went to watch my friend Michelle give a tour of the dairy plant and give fresh cheese curd samples.  The kids had a great time and we couldn't have ordered better weather for the trip.

What a great little community to live in and explore!

movie watching couch night

On Friday night, I had the pleasure of being home alone.  I had a class on Saturday and Brad took the kids up north for the weekend.  I rented two movies, got a frozen pizza and enjoyed watching Boyhood and Argo.  It was a lovely evening!

year of the sheep

Tonight Brad, myself and K and O went to the North Hall auditorium at UWRF for a beautiful celebration of the Chinese New Year...the year of the sheep.  Dancing, skits and a really nice sample of dumplings and fortune cookies were enjoyed.  I saw my two student teachers there.  It was a really enjoyable evening.

choked up

Tonight as I was passively viewing FB, I noticed an incredible post by my brother Kurt. I copied it from his page and hope he will forgive me if he takes as theft, but I want my dear Mom to see this and for me to preserve this story in my story for all time.

"This is the small wooden cross I made for Ross's gravesite until the stone we ordered this week arrives in about 3 months. I used leftover oak pieces from the bookshelf he built for this past summer's 4H project. As I was concentrating on using my best penmanship for the lettering, the wind chime that was a few feet away suddenly chimed. I looked up startled and realized it was a gift from his funeral. It reads:
Comfort and Light. "God doesn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, nor sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and Light for the way"
What a beautiful gift this is. I knew and felt Ross's presence right beside me."  

Tears continue to roll down my face and my throat is choked up. I love my dear dear brother and know that his faith, good heart and Ross' incredible presence will be with him.  

happy 14th birthday Ryan Edward!

I'm just realizing that sweet Evalyn shares a birthday with our special Godson Ryan Edward Blomgren.

To a caring, smart, savvy teenager who is a incredible chef.  We love you buddy!

cousins at Thanksgiving 2014

new life

Congratulations to O's teacher, sweet Ms. Abby and her husband, Andrew on the birth of their daughter Evalyn Mae!  Emily and I went to visit them at the hospital tonight and they are just a glowing little family.  We got to spend her 12 hour birth time...so sweet!

shelves in breakfast nook

Here is my crafty Brad at more work...our long term goal is to make a little bedroom in the attic.  To make that goal come true, we need the little pantry off our kitchen to be empty.  This is Brad's solution...I personally love it!