I *heart* NYC

My niece Sarah left for New York City yesterday morning. The Waukon High School is taking their traditional trip to NYC again. Every 3-4 years the band and choir load onto a bus and journey 24 hours to the big apple. This year, the kids got to fly. They left Minneapolis at 7 am and touched down at JFK about 9:15 am. Sarah called yesterday to tell Katie that she got her a magnet. Katie's reply was "Ok, now I want a magazine." We agreed a post card would work.

Ahhhh, NYC. For those of you reading this that happened to be lucky enough to go on our school trip in 96 - wow. That was the first year that we went to New York. Things are a bit different now. They still went through all their bags, they still threatened that kids would be sent home if they didn't behave, and they are still taping the hotel doors shut at night. But now when they go off sightseeing in groups of 3 or 4, they have to have a chaperone with them at all times. When we got sent off into the streets of Manhattan at 5 pm, we were told to meet at the Empire State Building at 8 (or 9 I can't remember). The group of 4 I was in didn't have an adult with us, we just took off. Some groups hopped in cabs, some jumped on buses or the subway. Looking back I think, wow - that was a little nuts. :) Everything about the trip was surreal. All of the kids this time have cell phones - when we went I don't even remember calling home, and neither does my mother. There aren't very many moments of high school I'd be keen on reliving, but the New York trip is at the top of the list. I wish we would have had digital cameras then - instead of lugging around film everywhere. I wish I would have taken more pictures of buildings and sites, rather than friends and people. I wish I would have taken more pictures in general.

Denise and Wally have taken it all pretty well. That's pretty good, considering that Sarah is in 9th grade. This is the first year they have taken the 9th graders along. A few months ago Denise said the only thing she was worried about was Sarah losing all of her money. :) I think we'll all breathe easier when Sarah is back in IA, but I'm sure she would want the trip to last a bit longer. I can't wait to see pictures.

Preschool Graduation

Today was Katie's big preschool concert and graduation ceremony. I tell you it was the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Will was a VERY good quiet boy in his stroller while John and I captured the moment on film. John was posted with about 10 other dads in the back with the video camera. I took pictures. Katie's class, along with 2 other classes stood on the risers and sang their little hearts out. :) Katie was right in the front row and did a very good job - John and I could hear her in the back. :)

Then we went to her classroom for 'graduation.' They all wore caps and walked across a bridge, shook the teacher's hand and received a certificate of completion. They even had a gown to take pictures in. And yes, they do a graduation even though she will still be in preschool next year, but it's an older class and 3 days instead of 2.

Here is Katie during the concert - she is in the front row on the right side.

Katie receiving her certificate during graduation.

Of course Katie enjoys any moments where she is having her picture taken. I think this will be a good one to keep around for high school graduation.

This is Ms. Laurie, Katie's lead teacher in the Bumblebee class. Katie REALLY enjoyed having her for a teacher. Next fall, Katie's new teacher is going to have a baby, and luckily Ms. Laurie is the one who is going to step in and help out for a few months.

Will wishes he could go to preschool too. He loves crawling all over that room. John took the whole morning off so we went out to lunch after the program too. It was a very special day, a real tearjerker. I'm going to be a mess if this gets tougher. :)

Katie's Second Field Trip

On Tuesday Katie went on her second field trip for preschool. They took a school bus to a local park and played games and had snacks. Siblings were invited this time so Will and I were able to drive and meet them at the park. Of course it was FREEZING! They said it was supposed to get up to 60 yesterday, but it never quite did and the wind was terrible! When we left for school the wind chill was 38. Let's just say Katie didn't wear shorts. :)

Here is Katie's Bumblebee class.

Even Will got some play time.

Here are the girls in Katie's class - they just all plopped down together before it was time to go. :)

Memorial Weekend

We spent the holiday weekend in IA with family. We drove down Friday afternoon and were pleasantly surprised with the warm weather. The kids and I helped my aunt Carol celebrate her 87th birthday on Saturday. Katie made her a card and we updated her digital photo frame with more pictures of the kids.

Justin and Jordan Mezera (Janet and Jeff's boys) had their gradutaion parties on Saturday afternoon. Justin is graduating high school and Jordan is graduating 8th grade. We had another cousin's grad party on Sunday and now I think we are all done with those.

On Monday we took in the grand Waukon Memorial Day parade. There was a horse and a band this year! Katie got some candy so she was satisfied.

We drove home Monday evening when it was about 75 degrees. By the time we got home it was 51. Brrrr.

Katie kept Wally happy by coloring with him at the graduation parties.

Jim was one of Katie's 'best friends' all weekend.

Will thought he was a big boy when he got to ride on Katie's bike.

Finally...

Warmer weather has finally arrived and we actually made it outside today to enjoy it. This morning before we took Katie to school we hit a couple garage sales in the area and I found a baby swing for Will to use outside on the swing set. I also found a small slide for him (and Katie.)





With Katie's help (not much of it) we planted the garden this afternoon while Will took a nap. We planted green beans, peas, sugar snap peas, carrots, a little corn, some marigolds and assorted wild flowers. Whew. That was enough. I want to get a couple tomato plants yet, but that will come this weekend probably.

Happy Mother's Day

I finally have a chance to post some Happy Mother's Day wishes! So - to all the mother's out there, especially mine and John's - Happy Mother's Day and we love you.

It's been a busy weekend. We had to go to WI for a bridal shower/bachelorette party. John was drug along so that he could help with the kids. I wouldn't be able to travel that far with the kids, and I can't leave Will for that long yet. It was a good time - Katie and Will both had a good time. After the shower we went to a bowling alley/restaurant/arcade/amusement park in Wisconsin Dells for the bachelorette party. There were about 17 girls...and John and Will. :) We bowled a bit, Katie played some arcade games, and went on some rides. The restaurant handed out hats to everyone. Will was especially fond of his because he actually left it on his head for about 20 minutes.


On Friday night before the kids' bath, John suggested that we cut Will's hair. Just a trim around the ears, because it was getting pretty long and boys' hair really shouldn't be tucked behind the ears. :) So we got out the hair scissors and John held his head so that I could snip a few hairs. I started cutting and boy, did Will ever CRY! I tried to reassure him that it was only hair, and would grow back, but he was still upset. Then, in a calm voice John said, "Well, you did cut him." i look closer at the top of Will's ear as it starts to bleed. And bleed. And Bleed. Talk about mother's guilt. :) It finally stopped bleeding after about 10 minutes, and Will had LONG since stopped crying. There on the top of his ear was a tiny little gouge. I guess I'm gonna need some practice. P.S. Will also has another tooth poking through on the top. Hopefully all this tooth business has been the reason his sleep is wacky.

Lawnmower

John and I mowed the lawn for the first time this afternoon. We split it in half and each did a share. First, I must send a BIG thank you out to my dad. In all my years growing up he never made me mow lawn. :) That's what the baby of the family gets away with. I did mow a bit on the riding lawn mower, but it's not the same. I think John almost fell over when I admitted to him a few years back that I had never mowed lawn before. So now I can say I did it today - for the second time in my life. :) It sucks. But that's the price you pay for having warm weather. I think it's a pretty fair trade...for now. We are probably the youngest on our street, so it'd be pretty pathetic for us to use a riding lawn mower. I guess I'll have to suck it up and chalk it up as my exercise for the week. So for now, my green shoes and I say good night.

Monday Monday

Will had a great night sleeping Saturday night. He only woke up 2 times. Could be the fresh air he had while we played at our friend Jamie's house, could be the nice supper of applesauce he had that night, who knows. Anyway - he only woke up 2 times. It's been at least a month since he's only woke up 2 times. We tried to repeat the performance last night, but it didn't work. At 1:00 he woke up with a fever. It wasn't a big one, but enough to make him uncomfortable and require a dose of Tylenol. He squirmed and wiggled for about 2 hours, finally went back to sleep around 3. Then he woke up again and ate at 4:30 - then slept til about 8. He still had the fever this morning. Seems to be making him a bit whiny and irritable. (great) I put him down for a nap and 2 hours later he is still out like a light. This may put a kink in our hopes of spending the afternoon outside...

Prom time...

Tonight was prom in Prairie du Chien, WI. My nephew, Justin attended his senior prom. (Geez he's old!) Anyway, I thought it would be nice to post a picture of him and his girlfriend, Donna. They kicked off the evening by going all out and having dinner at...Gus and Tony's in Waukon. :) I have to agree, it would be a nice, affordable, fun place to go for prom. I should talk...we all went to Pizza Ranch in Decorah when I was in high school. :)

May is here

May has already arrived, but not the warm weather. Last night they said that there was a chance of 1-3 inches of snow for our area. We expected the ground to be covered when we woke up, but instead we were treated to bright sun and no snow. It's cold and windy, but there is sun. Supposed to be warmer tomorrow.
Will is on the move. He is still a slow crawler, but he can get around. It's funny to see him try to go really fast - usually for something of Katie's that she has left on the floor.
We got Katie all registered for preschool. Instead of moving her to the new preschool in Chaska, we are going to keep her in the Eden Prairie preschool. We really like the program and staff, so why change? She will be going 3 mornings a week next year.
Other than that - it's been pretty slow here. Just waiting to get outside....for more than 10 or 15 minutes.