Kicking Off Summer 2013

School may be out but Camp Clark is as active as ever. The kiddos have had so much fun with their sweet friends between birthday parties, the Girl Scout year-end bash/limo ride, a week of Vacation Bible School (VBS), Valleyfair with friends and pool time at Lifetime Fitness. LTD are also partaking in a 2-week swimming camp (8 days, 1/2 hr each day) at Foss Swim School and of course there is still baseball and gymnastics we are finishing up. We have a few other mini camps they are signed up for throughout the summer but we are mainly looking forward to playing outdoors, sharing time with friends, slumber parties, backyard bonfires, outdoor festivals & fairs, boating, tubing, fishing, visiting North Dakota a few times, Leech Lake in August and Boundary Waters over Labor Day weekend. Oh, the dog days of summer are here indeed :)

Field Day 2013 - Aspen Academy

Due to our wonderful MN springtime weather which consists only of rain, our Field Day at Aspen Academy was moved from a favorite local park to our school. Nonetheless, we made the most of it and the children, parents and teachers still had an absolute blast! Mother Nature, you can take away our sun and the outdoors but you certainly can't take away our fun :)

Track and Baseball 2013

We just had our "official" final track meet this weekend and a perfect day to close out our season - sunny and warm. It was a really fun year coaching LTD + 8 other second graders. My dear friend, Karlene, was gracious enough to coach with me and together we had lots of fun cheering on our team of 11, the Blue Angels. We had a team motto....."give it your best effort, but have fun - that's what it's all about!" They did ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!! The events these young athletes took part in included: 800m (2 full laps around the football field),  400m, 200m, 100m, 4x100m relay, baseball throw and running long jump. LTD are extremely proud of all their ribbons they earned for their hard work and determination; so are Dave and I!!! We have a make-up track meet this Saturday morning we are hoping we can make it to, at least for a little while. They are itching to rake in a few more ribbons AND Coach Tina would love to share one more Saturday with Coach Karlene and our Blue Angels. 

Baseball is in full swing now that the rain has subsided (we hope) and the fields are starting to dry out. This year the kids are batting against the machine pitch which has taken some getting used to. It's fast and the boys have 7 tries to hit the ball before it is considered a strike-out. Dylan loves baseball but he especially loves to bat and is a pretty good hitter. He is not quite sure what he thinks about wearing a cup. Let's hope he doesn't have to find out why it's a necessity in baseball, especially in the catcher's position, his least favorite when alternating. 

Next up, Field Day tomorrow at a local park in Prior Lake, last day of school Thursday with release at noon, celebration at Vallefair with friends on Friday, Grandma & Grandpa Clark come visit this weekend for grad parties and VBS next week at our church. We also start swimming camp next week at Foss Swim School and the kids are SUPER excited since their water is SO warm compared to any pool they have ever taken lessons in. Yah, no more blue lips!

Happy Memorial Day!

We had a wonderful holiday weekend with Grandma Good! Thanks to a dear friend who works for Delta Airlines (Lisa), my mom was able to fly first class both ways on a buddy pass/standby. She arrived early Friday morning and left Monday night and it was an action-packed weekend.

The kiddos thoroughly enjoyed having Grandma visit their school on Friday morning for an hour of volunteering - they were so happy and proud to have her there :)  Some of our activities included:  catching up and conversing over MANY cups of coffee, sneaking in a quiet lunch at a local restaurant while the kids were at school,  letting Dave and I go out for dinner to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary (thanks mom!), attending an annual BBQ at my BFF's (Annie) home and singing old polka songs at the top of our lungs while mom played a mini-accordion; partaking in an uplifting Memorial service at our church;  sharing brunch with Uncle Ken and playing with cousin Jordan; grilling out at Camp Clark with our Aunt Mac, cousins Mitch and Alli and their sweet children; watching movies and home videos from the past (the kiddos were always dancing and singing!); shopping at our children's elaborate "pretend Gift Shop" (a project from school to help them count money and make correct change); and of course, slumber parties each night - LTD each got a chance to sleep with Grandma! We were sad to see her go but truly look forward to our trip back to North Dakota in early July for a week and maybe another quick trip back for Dave's 30-year high school reunion in early August. 

Next up, we are looking forward to a visit from Grandpa and Grandma Clark the weekend of June 7 for upcoming graduation celebrations of our two nieces, Ella and Carina. Can't wait. Dylan is already planning on "going fishing with Grandpa" :)

Dance Finale

This post is about 2 weeks overdue but nonetheless, worth mentioning. The girls had their Just for Kix Spring Dance Show a few weeks ago to close out their dance season. My advice to them was "have a blast, smile and give it your best effort." WOW, they did an amazing job of performing like never before! In fact, their entire team did such a fantastic job of "shining" and plain and simple, having fun. That's what it's all about!!! 

Check out the photos below. Since our coach is leaving Just For Kix, we have not decided what we want to do for next season......perhaps try out another dance studio, stay in gymnastics, etc. We have learned that we can't do it all and it's time to start making some decisions on what's most enjoyable to partake in. One thing we know, we are NOT into pushing our young children into "competition" unless that is where they truly want to be. We have seen too many horror stories of parents pushing their kids too far and living vicariously through their children. Dave and I want our kids to be kids, bottom line. If they would rather play outside, ride bike, throw balls, play with dolls, go to the park....that is ok with us. Whatever makes them happy, that's what we want most.

We Love our Uncle Bruce

Last week, we were blessed with a visit from my dear brother, Bruce (aka Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Kemmet), who lives in San Antonio, TX. He was travelling through Mpls and his way to Fort McCoy, WI, for an Army Reserves event. Even though we only got to share a few days with him, we thoroughly enjoyed every minute. His loud laughter lights up a room and his humor and matter-of-fact attitude is so admirable and refreshing. The kids soak it up and I truly miss seeing him more often. I especially love sharing stories from our past and new ones as well. We may not talk often enough and the miles between us are long but the love, respect and admiration always remains incredibly strong. May God wrap His loving arms around Bruce and bless him and his family with abundant health, happiness, safety and success personally and professionally. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen :)

May Weather Stinks!

I usually pride myself on being a positive person and always looking for the good in situations and people. However, I must say Mother Nature is really starting to upset me in a BIG way. Snow in May? Whatever happened to "Global Warming" or should I be politically correct and say "Climate Change"? Whatever we want to call the madness, it's a crock and I believe we are seriously ready for a real spring. 

Baseball.....cancelled. Not even one practice in this year yet. Track.......we have only managed one practice and most likely our meet will be cancelled for tomorrow due to snow today; rain tomorrow. Come on sun, come out....we miss you and want to play!

Patience, patience, patience......I know. Unfortunately, it's not one of my strongest virtues but I'm working on that. I am posting a few photos from happier days in Mexico :)