Maddie's School Halloween Party

Maddie had her school halloween party today.  She had so much fun.....putting on costumes, parading thru the office, pre k, 1st grade, and 2nd grade rooms.  They then had their snacks which consisted of clementines that were peeled but still whole with a piece of celery in the top to make them look like pumpkins, they were so cute!  And then topped of by a pretzel from Pretzel Boys made in the shape of a pumpkin.  The kids actually took so long just hanging out and chatting while eating their snacks that they didn't have time for their craft or games....so the teachers promised them to get to that next week.  It was a VERY mellow party for 3 and 4 year olds....I was quite impressed!  Maddie had a great time, the smile on her face made me know she was in her glory!

Maddie Field Trip

Maddie's class took a walking field trip to the Farmer's Market last Wednesday.  It seemed to be a nice day at first, but then the skies decided to open.  It starts down pouring.  By this time we had already been there for about 45 minutes and the kids had played outside all of that time.  We then headed under the rood and the kids ate their snacks, had cider, and played in the corn bins and pedal tractors.  We then looked up the radar and realized the rain wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

A couple moms walked back to school to get their cars and they were going to come back and start loading up kids to drive back.  While they were gone, the rain kind of stopped and it was just a light sprinkle.  Two moms and I decided we'd head back quick while there was a little let up.....so the two other moms, myself, and 4 kids started walking back.  We only got about a 3rd of the way back and it started POURING, and I mean POURING!!!  John Jackson reality saw us and invited us in to his business.  Super nice man, that has 7 kids of his own, so he didn't mind our chaos.  We hung out in there about 20 minutes and the rain was still coming strong, so he let us pile the kids in his jeep and drive them back to school.  So nice!!!  It was actually pretty funny......so we piled 3 adults and 4 kids into the jeep and headed back to school.

Once back at school they kids got to "pick" their pumpkin from the school floor instead of the Farmer's Market.  Once it started pouring, a dad that was on the trip just grabbed a bunch of pumpkins and then let the kids pick theirs out once they were back at school.

It was a very eventful field trip and very fun too!!

World Food Day

Jack's class's (3rd grade) population focus for Faith In Action this year is the hungry.  Two Fridays ago the 3rd graders went to John Borroughs and helped package food to send to the hungry in Tanzania.  The kids' jobs were to grab a bag, put a vitamin pack in it, put a scoop of beans, rice, and vegetables in the bag and then pass the bag to the weigher.  One kid put it on the scale and weighed it and made adjustments if need be.  Once the weight was correct the sent it to the next two kids and they sealed the bags and put them in boxes.  It is a really cool service project and so awesome that our kids get to help and witness that first hand.
They even got to see and interact with Louie and Fred Bird!!!

A birthday party for MADDIE

Maddie was SOOOOO excited to be heading to HER friends birthday party!!  It was the highlight of her weekend!!  Her friend, Lydia, was turning four and she had a pizza and cake party at the park.  Maddie was thrilled to be included and had so much fun!!

Yard Work Helper

After the 5k we came home and Dennis had brought down lawn mowers and other lawn gadgets.....Mike, Dennis and Maddie worked out there for a while.....I couldn't tell you what exactly they were doing tho.  All I know is Maddie was riding a lawnmower and was happy!  :)

St. Peter Dash, 2016

The kids' school has a 5k every year and we haven't been able to do it in a few years due to sport schedules.  This year we had the morning open and the kids were excited to do it.  Peyton had decided she wanted to "run the entire thing" so I started a training program with her.  Once we got far enough in the program that we were running more than a mile, she kind of lost her motivation, and I usually ended up finishing it by myself.  Jack on the other hand can usually just run....run, run!

The morning of the race was quite chilly.  Jack was ready to run the entire thing, so I sent Mike with him, Peyton took off with her friends and then Maddie and I (I pushed her in the jogger) started in the back of the pack.  I figured I would find Peyton eventually walking and I'd finish with her.  Much to my dismay, she finished!!  I caught up to her and her friends a couple times and then I'd yell out to them, "the mom pushing the STROLLER is catching up!"  And then they'd pick it up.....they weren't going to be beat by Maddie and I.

I was very proud of both of them.  Everyone crossed the finish line under 32 minutes.  Jack, I'm sure would want you to know tho that he crossed first!  :-)

After the 5k they do the kids fun run, which Maddie participated in.  The littles do a big stretch together, and then run the block around church.  Super cute and they really get into it!  I think everyone had fun.  I think Jack would say he wants to do it again in a heartbeat......Peyton, I'm not so sure.  I think she was THRILLED that it was over, but was also proud of herself!