day at the lake

We are up in Grantsburg hanging out--the two youngers and I are at the house. K is learning to knit again with Grandma Betty, O is playing Star Wars, I'm updating our blog and will soon write my weekly newsletter. Brad and A are out at the hunting shack taking down some trees and cutting/stacking the new fall and then loading some wood that has had an adequate amount of drying time to come back to our home in River Falls.

I'm not sure what other plans we have for the day but I want to make the most of this beautiful sunny winter day.

invertebrates and birds

Our school experienced and in house and and out of house field trip on Friday. The first part of the day was in in our gymnasium experiencing and learning about invertebrates. The second part of our day was seeing birds in their environment near Hastings, MN and also inspecting owl pellets and observing an owl consuming a meal of a dead rat. I was a bit surprised to see the demonstration, but the children overall seemed un-phased by the experience.

Field trips are a great way to learn in a new environment.

chili cookoff

Last night our school had our chili cookoff...O and I attended and enjoyed a wonderful evening of delicious dinner and warm conversation. Here is a photo of our 5 year old with his face painted and his brand new storm trooper picture he won at the silent auction.

2nd time just as good

On Sunday, Brad and I had the opportunity to watch Liana's one act play for it's encore performance. Still just as good the 2nd time around.

the most handsome 82 year old in the world!

Happy birthday to my dearest and most treasured Daddy--Clarence Edward Blomgren Jr!

After we left the swim meet on Saturday, we journeyed to Mountain Lake and came to a house full of people who had gathered to celebrate the 82 birthday of Daddy B. We got a chance to visit with Kyle Sr., Kim, Kyle Jr., Adam, Liana, Ryan, Kurt, Stuart, Clarence and Vivian Blomgren, Kaitie and Kyeanna. Kent and Abby had been there earlier as was Cory, Joan, Evan and Trenton.

The minute we walked in the door, O crawled onto the living room floor, stuck his bum in the air and fell asleep. It was precious.

dinner with the Watsons

On Friday night, the delightful couple Maggie and Hal had Brad and I for dinner along with our neighbors and friends Charlie and Nancy. It was so fun eating and sharing stories with our neighborhood peeps!

swim meet Saturday

Our two eldest swam in the River Falls Swim meet on Saturday. No world records were set, but all C times and one B time were achieved. Here is our eldest in an event that I got to be a lane runner for...

daddy daughter

Here is the official photo from the Daddy Daughter Dance 2016

up series

This week, we weren't able to go on our Wednesday date because I had a math workshop in New Richmond after school. We did get a lot of great stuff last week though and I picked up a movie I started watching when I was in middle school (I think). The series if called Up! A filmmaker started filming children in an area of London every 7 years. The premise of the show is to say that children are who they will become as adults at the age of 7. Every 7 years the filmmaker revisited the children and interviewed them. 14 Up, 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up, 42 Up, 49 Up and the latest installment is 56 Up. It is very interesting and a bit voyeuristic to watch these individuals age and mature...there are ups and downs and a few of the children have immigrated to other parts of the world (Australia and United States) and they still have a bit of an accent, but they are less pronounced than their counterparts who still live in England.

Some children were children of privilege as 7 year olds and have sustained that lifestyle. Others were in poor situations and have found success in life.

Highly recommend watching if you have the opportunity.

heading to our Wednesday date

On Wednesday evenings, I've been trying to take the kids to the library while Brad and A are at confirmation. We are on our way to see what's new in the world of print...we have a spectacular library!

back to Anytime

I've been making it to Body Pump class three times now and hadn't been visiting my little workout place because of the new schedule...last night I decided I needed to get my fix of Fixer Upper on HGTV so I went for a little workout so I could see what Joanna and Chip were up to ;).

presidents day

Presidents Day was on Monday--the kids were off of school and I had teacher workshop. It was nice to get caught up on some administrative duties of teaching and for the kids to sleep in a little late.

we salute you

Our friend group was together during the holidays and the boys decided it would be a dream come true to attend the ACDC concert on Valentines Day. Fast forward 90 days and here were are! We ate out at a brew pub, took a photo by a beautiful piece of artwork for the winter carnival and enjoyed an evening of remembering rock songs from long ago.

Thanks to the Bonds, Johnsons, Noreens, Muellers and Lindsays for a super fun evening!

For those who love to rock...we salute you!

daddy daughter dance 2016

Here is a lovely daughter daddy duo who attended the 2016 dance last night. I believe this one of the last years they can attend...time marches on!

shower

Working with family to plan a fun shower for the lovely Kyeanna and handsome Stuart. We have arrived on Saturday, March 12 in St. James, Minnesota at the Legion and we will be having the shower from 10am to noon. Looking forward to seeing friends and family and to bringing the fixings for yogurt/fruit parfaits.

evan tube

O loves watching a little boy from Pennsylvania who has a YouTube channel called Evan Tube HD. I just looked him up online and found that he is just 10 years old -- about a month older than KGO.

He and his family are now famous because of their YouTube channel and they film Evan and his sister playing with videogames and toys. Human behavior is fascinating.

math grant

I have been involved in a math grant for the past 1 1/2 years and just had another really nice meeting with 40 other area educators on Wednesday. I just wish I could implement everything we discuss ;)

missing the warmth

Today I'm missing the warmth of St. Croix...fondly remembering this:

body pump

Recently, I referred a friend to Anytime Fitness and she decided that she was going to go to Bodypump classes. I have been going with her and I now have a new favorite way to exercise! A combination of cardio and strength building...we shall see how long I'm in love, but I'm planning on going at least 3 days per week. I don't want to abandon my other routine, but I've only been back once since starting body pump ;)

super bowl fun!

On Sunday night, our friends Jenny and Garth hosted their annual Super Bowl party. We had a blast. It was fun to watch Lady Gaga sing the National Anthem and to hear Coldplay with Chris Martin, Beyonce and Bruno Mars perform many songs for Superbowl L.

one act

the cast of the Mountain Lake production at the Section 2A One Act play had the audience spell bound. Unfortunately, another school had the same effect and took away top honors at the festival. The three kids and I attended and we all were impressed. When K heard of the 2nd place honors, she said "Well who won? They must have been really great".

We are proud of you Liana Marie and all the cast of "The Middle of Yesterday"

sledding party

Friday after school, the kids and I headed to Hoffman park for a short little sledding excursion with RFPME. It was magical. I wish I could post some beautiful photos that were posted, but it seems they have all been taken down. Oh well.

O was pretty bummed out that we had to hit the road.

first night

So, I am going to check shortly if the sleepover is going as well as promised...O realized he was no longer going to be sleeping in his sister's room and declared that he needed to sleep on the trundle tonight.

Here are photos of the setup:

together in K's bed

how the room looks normally

trundle out and brother in

turning down the covers

bedside table and peace night light

all tucked in

Brad's super cool ceiling

another picture of normal

coming together!

Bed frame, trundle and mattress are downstairs. I want to get a new mattress pad before we put the trundle under her bed. I'm wondering if tomorrow night will be opening night? FUN!

2 hours late

This morning, our school was 2 hours late because of the plentiful snow that fell here in town and out in the country. I spent the day doing reading assessments and the kids had a wonderful time playing in the new powdery snow. I heard many tales of great tunnel building on the playground.

3 hours early

and the snow came down. Our school dismissed three hours early yesterday. I managed to get home and take a nice nap, make coffee cake and go to bed at about 9pm. Delightful!

one act play

Mountain Lake one act play is headed to the next level. Here is a message from my Momma:

Yesterday Dad and I attended the One-Act play competition in MLHS auditorium.  There were 6 schools competing in the sub-section and the MLHS's play was chosen #1.  The title was "The Middle of Yesterday" about an Alzheimer patient.  Liana played the nurse.  Sam Grev was the patient.  They will be competing in Jordan HS next Saturday at the sections. 

Here is the cast photo:

winter formal

My brother was recently tagged on some photos. At first glance, I didn't know who it was being tagged. Then I realized it was my beautiful niece Abby Rae. She usually wears glasses and has her hair in a pony tail. Now she looks all grown up at 15!