All the Other Things

While the girls were finishing up their Stage Kids session and the kids were doing ALL their extra school activities, our May has also been busy with all the other things as well.

We celebrated Mother's Day with both sides of the family (where I took no pictures.)  We also celebrated my Dad's birthday at the beginning of May and my birthday in the middle of May.  Lots of fun celebrations with family...and lots of yummy food and desserts and fun activities to go with it.

The girls and I spent a Saturday afternoon cheering on Elliott at the junior high state track meet.  His 4 X 400 meter relay got 5th place.  So exciting!!

Zach and Staley attended Cade's high school graduation.  Hard to believe he's already done with high school and will be heading off to college in the fall.  Where does time go??

The girls' Rising Stars group performed as the pre-show for the Bloomington cast of Music Man, Jr.  We decided to stay and watch the show, which we all really enjoyed.

We skipped right over spring weather, going from cold and rainy days to HOT and sunny days.  The kids enjoyed a few opportunities to play in the sprinkler or with squirt guns with neighborhood friends.

With some major staffing shortages, I've been working more days and putting in more hours at work to help keep the department afloat while we are in a transitional period.

We filled in the rest of our free time with lessons, library volunteering, play dates with friends, reading, trying to keep up with jobs around the house, and preparing for our summer of fun.  It's been a crazy few weeks, but it's about time to transition into summer...and I can't wait!

All the Things

I think that the school must look at the last few weeks of the academic year and think, "How many activities can we possibly cram into these final few weeks?  And can we schedule many of them during the day so that parents have to rearrange their schedules and take time off work to attend?"  The answer?  A resounding yes.  The Eureka schools definitely excelled at the end of the year activity crunch.

What activities, you might ask?  Well, here's a glimpse...

Adelie participated with all the 3rd graders in the "We Love America" program.

Adelie knew all the songs and dances and formations.  She was so pleased to have a line in the program.  She memorized it and shared it proudly.

They performed the program 3 different times.  Once for grandparents, once for the rest of the school, and once for families to attend.

It was a great program!  Very touching and patriotic.  I loved seeing all the hard work of the 3rd grade students and teachers pay off in such a rewarding way.

Adelie also got to compete in the 3rd and 4th grade track meet this year.

She chose to compete in the high jump, 800 meter run, and 4 X 100 meter relay.  She did great in all her events.

Adelie did well in the high jump, finishing in the middle of the pack of girls.  Her relay got 6th place and she finished 3rd in the 800 meter run.

It was a HOT day, but Adelie had fun.  She had practiced for her 800 and did a great job pacing herself and having some kick left at the end.  She ran a full minute faster than she had when we practiced and she was VERY pleased.  I was proud of seeing her practice and hard work pay off!

Briggs got to watch the track meet and enjoy the petting zoo and other activities put on by the high school FFA club.

Briggs and Zach attended the PTO art show for the grade school.  (This conflicted with the first night of the girls' play so the girls and I didn't get to attend.)  Briggs and Adelie both had art displayed at the show.

Briggs also signed up to play piano for a 10 minute time slot during the art show.  Zach said he was comfortable and confident and played his songs very well.  He has only been taking lessons for about 4 months, but was pleased to play the songs he's mastered.

I was so proud of Briggs and the confidence he showed to perform during the art show.

Staley played her flute during the middle school band concert with the 5th grade band.

The 5th grade band played 5 songs and did a great job.  I didn't know quite what to expect with a group of kids who were all just learning new instruments and how to read music, but they exceeded my expectations.

The middle school art show was also going on before and after the band concert.  Staley was excited to show us the paper mache whale that she made.

The 5th graders also participated in a DARE graduation ceremony to celebrate what they learned through the DARE program this year.  Staley's group won the rap contest for their homeroom class so they got to perform their rap "We are the Drug Resistance."

Staley also won a few awards at the middle school awards ceremony.  She got certificates for her MAP math scores, finishing an extra math program, and straight A's.  She also got an individual award for the highest 5th grade MAP test score in reading.

Each 5th grade teacher also chose one student for an "Outstanding Student" award.  

Staley's ELA teacher, Mrs. Hartke, chose Staley as the ELA Outstanding Student of the Year.  It was an honor, and I appreciated the kind words from her teacher about Staley's attitude, participation, and enthusiasm for learning.  And, of course, her love of reading.

These were just the extra school-based activities that have filled our days and evenings through these first few weeks of May.  There was also the 5th grade girls' mother-daughter luncheon (puberty talk), and extra in-school activities like movie days and Young Authors awards and Briggs' 'Children' Around the World' virtual program and Field Day.  Not much learning has actually been taking place these last few weeks, but that doesn't matter.  The school year is finishing up strong with ALL THE THINGS.  (Some of which could have been scheduled earlier in the year to make these last few weeks not quite so crazy, but who's complaining?  Oh right.  Me.  I'm complaining.)  Regardless, the kids have enjoyed all these special opportunities, and we've enjoyed getting to celebrate their accomplishments and share in their fun.

Music Man, Jr.

The girls just finished their spring semester of Stage Kids with their production of Music Man, Jr.  The Eureka cast again combined with the Tremont cast to bring the show to the stage.

Cast photo

 

Adelie sang and danced in the ensemble, but had lots of little parts like painting a fence, dancing with a small group of kids during 76 trombones, and being a band member at the end of the show.  I love watching her create a character and express herself on stage.

Staley was cast as Winthrop, the little boy with the lisp.  She had multiple lines, a big solo in 'The Wells Fargo Wagon', and a the entire solo song of 'Gary Indiana'.  Each play she's in gives her the opportunity to grow in her skills (like learning to lisp) and do something that she absolutely loves.

The girls were supported by Uma and Papa...

Grammie and Grandpa...

and our neighbors and friends Miss Vickie, Miss Marylin, and Mr. Bill.

(Aunt Sandi and Aunt Jan came too, but I didn't get a picture of them.)

It was another fun show and the girls had a great time on stage with their friends.

And Staley was extra excited on closing night when she and I stayed after the show to help strike the set.  (That's theater speak for take down and load up the set, props, and costumes.)

I love watching my little thespians enjoy themselves on stage while gaining confidence, learning skills, supporting each other, and making friends.  It was another successful performance!

Truth

I think my children have an innate need to toss the couch blankets and pillows on the floor each and every time they walk through the living room...and an innate inability to notice them on the floor and return them to the couch.

I have the innate tendency to feel annoyed by this.

Good-bye, April!

April was cold.  It was rainy.  It was windy.  It was an extension of winter with just a few days that teased of spring followed by the reintroduction of winter coats.  And although the lack of spring-ness made me sad, we still filled our cold and rainy month with fun activities.

We celebrated March and April birthdays with Zach's side of the family.  

Cousin time is always the best time.

Adelie and Zach went to the Daddy-Daughter Dance put on by the Fight for Life program through the school district as a fundraiser for St. Jude.  They had a great time!  According to Zach, he and Adelie spent almost the ENTIRE evening on the dance floor.

I chaperoned Staley's field trip to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  I was only in charge of a group of 2--Staley and her friend Kaitlyn.  Easiest assignment ever!!

They joined up for the day with their friends Tinley and Morgan and Morgan's mom, so we had a great time spending the day with friends.

It was a really fun day of hanging out the aquarium with this sweet group of girls.

I've chaperoned a lot of field trips over the years, but this was definitely one of my favorites!

While I was on Staley's field trip, Briggs also had his field trip the same day to the Peoria Zoo and the Peoria Playhouse.  Because I couldn't be there, Zach popped over to eat lunch with Briggs and spend a few hours with him and his friends at the zoo.  Briggs had a great (and cold) time.

Not to be left out, Adelie also had her field trip the week after Staley and Briggs.  She and her class went to Sugar Grove Nature Center near Bloomington.

As a chaperone, I wasn't overly excited about this field trip and didn't quite know what to expect, but it ended up being a really fun day.  It was well-organized and well-run, and the kids learned a lot.  They got to go on a nature hike and learn about wildflowers and look for owl's nests.

The play area was a fun stop during the day.  I think this little zipline was the highlight for everyone.

They also had a picnic lunch, got to explore the nature center, listened to an educational presentation about owls in Illinois, and then they got to dissect owl pellets.

Adelie was really intrigued by her owl pellet and all the bones she found inside it.

I had a really fun time spending the day with Adelie and her friends.  (Just wish it had been about 20 degrees warmer.)

We helped Zach celebrate his birthday.  His parents made him a special birthday dinner, so really it was a gift for both of us.  He got a scrumptious favorite meal, and I didn't have to cook it.  Score!

Adelie and Staley have also performed a few times with their Rising Stars show choir group.  Although Staley has done it for a few sessions, this is Adelie's first session with the group.

They are both really enjoying the extra opportunities to perform.

We finished off April with a bang when Zach took the kids to the PTO Carnival at school.  I was gone for the day at a conference for work (which Zach accused me of making up just so I wouldn't have to go to the carnival.)  Despite his trepidation, Zach and the kids ended up having a great time!

It was Under the Sea themed, so that made it even better for Adelie.

Zach helped work short shifts at two different booths at the carnival (one with Adelie for her class and one with Briggs for his class), so Staley was very helpful taking the other kid around when Zach was working the booths.  Although initially hesitant about going to the grade school carnival, Staley was a big help and ended up having lots of fun too.

In the midst of the various activities and April highlights, there were still school projects to complete...

playdates with friends...

and the start of Zach's new race management company.

Illinois winter-April couldn't keep us down.  We bundled up for field trips, rolled with rescheduled activities based on the crazy weather, and still had a month full of fun.