Fishing Fun

"Let's take the boat out tomorrow."

I love these words.


This was Carson's first time on the boat, and our first time taking all three kids together on the boat... it was an adventure!

It was HOT, but the kids didn't complain of the heat until a couple hours in.  We finally found some good fishing after a few tries at different spots.  Cooper was on fire, and Izzy was very patient, although she was a little discouraged that she wasn't reeling in the big ones at first.

We caught some monster sunnies!

It was a little tricky keeping two poles going, but I can't imagine trying to do three!  Jeremy kept the hooks baited and the fish pulled, and I kept Carson inside the boat and occupied :)

Cooper reeled in a large mouth bass on his little Cars fishing pole!

This little first-timer had fun!

He didn't really like fishing that much, but he did get excited when we had fish in the boat.  He helped reel a couple in.

Driver with an attitude.

Here's one of the MONSTER sunnies the kids caught.  This was Izzy's biggest.

Cooper had fun driving all by himself!

Izzy wanted to pull shenanigans, so she did not drive by herself :)

And we topped off the day with McDonald's lunch.  The car ride home was awfully quiet after our fun morning!!

Fun Times

Cooper played spring soccer, and had his last Saturday of play topped off with a Kids vs. Parents game and popsicles.  It's crazy how much better he's gotten at soccer in six short weeks!

Jeremy is back, but he's working on that pesky jet lag.  Here, he fell asleep like this, in the middle of the living room floor, for over and hour.  The kids were just playing around him...

Drake is THREE!  It was a scorching hot weekend, so Missy and Phil rented a blow up waterslide for the kids to enjoy.  It was perfect!  Izzy and Cooper went up and down that thing countless times!  Carson was too chicken.  Once, Cooper had him to the top of the steps, but Carson changed his mind :)

Check out that big boy smile!!

Carson and Laura were equally freaked about the water slide, so they opted for the pool.  Carson was being a little cheeseball.

Sunday morning snuggles :)

I hosted a LuLaRoe in home pop-up.  Stephanie Moore gave a portion of the proceeds to our MuckFest MS team.  I wasn't sure what to expect as far as amount, but after her contribution and a match from LuLaRoe, it turned out to be $350!  $350!!!!!!!  I am so thankful to the shoppers who came to our house, those who shopped online, and to Steph who was willing and generous!!

Here's how we 'Roe...'

And every rainy afternoon calls for a good splash.  You can't have rainbows without a little rain :)

It's the FIRST week of SUMMER!

Bring on summer!!  Our calendar is filled with all sorts of activities to keep everyone active and smiling... and it all started full swing this week!  I got all my work at school finished up for the year, and I can walk away from my classroom for nearly three months and rejuvenate!  Oh, and collect on my overtime with Jeremy and my favorite little people :)

Jeremy left this morning for his Boston and New York trip with 45 middle schoolers, so it's a mom and kids week.

Izzy had her first night of preschool sports, starting with soccer.  This is Izzy with her daycare friend, Kinley.  I'm excited to coach again, although 'coaching' them is a little more accurately described as herding cats.

Grandma came to Izzy's first game and helped everyone celebrate with what else, but... ice cream!

Our first FULL day together was spent at the MN Zoo.  The kids' happy place.  They know the Zoo like the back of their hands.  How lucky am I to hang out with these little cuties for a whole summer!!?!?!?

Carson was kind of in his own little world while at this park.  Here, he is sitting in a 'boat' at the playground.

Cooper and Izzy were excited to be little joeys when we went to Kangaroo Crossing.  The kangaroos weren't too active, but it was still fun to get close to them.

And, the most exciting part... the splash pad.  Cooper found a way to 'meditate' in the middle of all the screaming, running, splashing chaos.  Weirdo.

Izzy finds joy in little things, and the splash pad was no exception.  She thought the water spraying her in the booty was pretty funny...

They were best buds today.  No whining while we were walking, either, which was the BEST part!!

Zoo selfie!

The kids were jazzed to see a picture of daddy at the Statue of Liberty!

Carson has been slowly warming up to the potty idea.  Here, Cooper is reading him "Potty."  I love catching these little cute moments!

Our Friday fun was the Round Lake Splash Pad!  It took Carson a while to warm up, but once he did, he had a blast.  The other two were born to be fish, so they were off and running in no time!

We went with our friends, Melissa and Annabelle Hanson, and also Auntie Missy and Drake.  It was fun for the moms to catch up while the kids played!  Drake was not interested in a picture :)

More sweet reading moments with the boys...

Cooper, Izzy and I created a double-sized fort with their special fort-building sets from Christmas and birthdays.  It takes a long time, but makes a pretty cool little fort!

Not only did they have their rest time in it, but they also slept together in it.  Jeremy got home in the middle of the night and just laughed to himself when he found the kids inside.

One great week down... many more to go!

Goodbye Kindergarten, Hello 1st Grade!!

How sweet is this?!??!!  This is the letter Cooper wrote to Miss Laurent to say farewell to her and thank her for the amazing year!  Every response was completely uncoached.  My favorites are the "I Love You," and the "I'm sorry for talking when you talk."  

This right here is the picture of a really sweet relationship.  Cooper adores Miss Laurent.  She was the teacher we never really knew to hope for--she went completely above and beyond our hopes and expectations in every little way.  Cooper LOVES school and she is completely to thank for that!  He loves to learn and he has learned to be a student in a classroom.  His energy was used for good, and she saw the potential in him and helped him really soar.  She was patient and kind and understanding and so energetic.  She made learning fun and memorable for the kids!  She taught him how to read and how to have an 'I can attitude' and how to manage his impulses and how to 'do' math in ways we didn't know he was ready for.  Words didn't seem to do justice to the thanks we feel we owed her at the end of the year.

This big guy on his LAST day!!  He got to rock his tie shoes, even though he still needs some practice tying them on his own.

One thing Miss Laurent did that I loved was keep a private Facebook page just for room parents.  She posted dozens of pictures and videos each week, and it gave us a glimpse into the classroom.  Cooper wasn't usually very talkative about his days, and this gave us a chance to know just what to ask in the evening.  He also loved talking us through the pictures when she posted some.  She would post fun group photos, but would also post cute classroom moments and curriculum explanations and learning activities.  It was so awesome to have all year!

Here are a few photos from throughout the year.  This is a taste of literally hundreds (maybe 1,000?) photos she posted this year!

Homecoming dress up days: Wacky Hair Day

Sports Day

Teddy Bear Day is a special day in Kindergarten.  He got to read to his bear, do some math about his bear, and take it everywhere he went all day.  As an added treat, it was also PJ day!

This was Wacky Day in kindergarten.  The kids got to do their own facepaint at school.  The got to run down the halls and do other crazy things they aren't normally allowed to do at school.  I bet Miss Laurent needed a tall glass of wine that night...

Field trip to the Mankato Children's Museum. 

Of course she caught Cooper watching the snake!

Miss Laurent is a HUGE MN Gopher wrestling fan.  She had three local wrestlers from the team come into her classroom for most of one day to interact with the kids: Michael Kroells, Brett Pfarr, and Chris Pfarr.  This was a big part of her 'I can attitude' teaching base!  She related lots of things to wrestling throughout the wrestling season, including math equations and life lessons about winning, losing, and working hard.

On the day of the first snow, she didn't close the window blinds and try to go on with classroom learning as usual... she embraced the snow and had them dress up and go catch flakes on their tongues.  Cooper couldn't stop talking about how they ran around like crazy on the blacktop by the playground to celebrate.

This is a link to Cooper's 5-finger story.  I can't figure out how to get the video on my own, so hopefully this link works!!
https://www.facebook.com/jenny.olson.524/videos/1071705066309265/

Here's a couple examples of how she constantly made learning for for 5- and 6-year-olds!  Scarf spelling and motorcycle spelling :)
https://www.facebook.com/jenny.olson.524/videos/980403678772738/
https://www.facebook.com/jenny.olson.524/videos/1013083702171402/


For field day, all the kids get matching shirts and get bussed to the High School football field/track.  I even got to sneak over for an hour to see what they were up to!

Buddies!  Graham, Madon, Jaxson, Cooper, Jeremiah, and Colton.

Last day picnic at the park behind the HS.

Cooper had a great year.  He is a little smartie and we are excited to see what 1st grade brings!