Braelyn graduated from 4th grade….now replaces her sister at the top of the school!  She is so small, it is hard to believe that she is a 5th grader!  Braelyn received a Presidental Fitness award this year too!  She also participated in choir this year.  She is taking up flute this summer.  She also is planning on being a patrol next year.  Braelyn recently was “promoted” to Team 3 in gymnastics. 

Zander is moving on to 3rd grade….crazy!  It seems like just yesterday that he was starting out in Montessori and was one of the “little” ones in the class.  Now he is a 3rd grader and will be the one that the “little” first graders look up to for help!  Zander also was awarded a Presidental Fitness award…..I guess I have pretty athletic kids!  Zander also received Perfect Attendance for the 2nd year in a row!

Tad graduated from Kindergarten…..and no more daycare!  I think going to school all day will be a bit of a shock to him!  I imagine that I will have one tired little boy for the first few weeks of 1st grade!

Music is a powerful thing…..it has the power to define a moment forever.  There are several songs that I can think of that immediately take me back – some are good memories and some are sad memories.  Music also has the power to make running easy or hard.  The right set of songs can make a run great, but those few times that my ipod’s battery has gone mid-run, the lack of music is horrible.  It takes everything I have just to make it back home.  Running to the sound of my breathing is not very enjoyable to me!

My heart goes out to the Hilstad family today.  I am very proud of my softball girls during this difficult time.  They are growing up right in front of me.  They are no longer just a “team” they are a family and they are looking out for each and everyone of their “family” members.  These girls may not be the best of friends off the field, but you would never know it when you see them together in the gym.  I am very proud of them.

Nothing says Minnesota Softball in the spring like the home opener coinciding with a winter storm watch!  Most likely we will not play tomorrow.

Retro Zander and Tad:

Here is 10 years of Braelyn in 4 minutes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN1K_bd0Usc

Puppies

Puppies….what can I say about puppies?!?!?  Sure, puppies are messy, destructive and loud, but they sure are cute.  Nothing beats puppy kisses!  Puppies don’t hold grudges, one minute you can be mad at a puppy for the puddle they left on the living room floor and the next moment, they are giving you puppy kisses and want to play.  They just want to love someone and be loved back!

We have had our share of puppies……

Passion

Things I am passionate about……My kids, photography, softball, my job.

Kayla continues to recover nicely….the swelling has gone down quite a bit.  She is able to eat anything she want now.  I am amazed at her recovery – she is being very tough!

Retro Zander:

Bubble Baths

Well…..this one really doesn’t count for me!  I am more of a shower person – when I do take a bath, I generally do so without bubbles!  But for the kids, bubbles are fascinating.  Often with the boys, they end up having to be showered off after their bath because they are covered with bubbles!

Kayla continues to do really well with her recovery.  She played outside and went bowling yesterday.  She can eat normally also.  She did have a bit of swelling on her upper lip.  I teased her that she looked like she should live in Whoville.  She thought that was pretty funny.  She is planning on staying overnight at a friends house tonight, so I think she is feeling pretty good.

Today is a really busy day….Braelyn goes to the orthodontist @ 8:00 to see if she needs braces too.  9:30 I have a photo shoot.  11-2 Braelyn Gymnastics.  Noon – lunch with friends.  1:00 get taxes done.  2:00 Birthday party @ daycare for Braelyn.  3:30 softball practice…..not much “break” in spring break!!!  Thank God for Grandma…..she takes on a lot of the shuttling duty!

Retro Braelyn (to go along with the bubble bath theme):

Faith

Even though I am not a big church goer, I do have faith…..I have faith that God is looking out for me.  Everything happens for a reason.  Sure it is difficult being a single mother of four kids, but God gave me this as an opportunity to become a better mother, a better person, a better money manager, a better handy”man”, etc.

Kayla is doing really well with her surgery recovery….she was a bit sore yesterday morning, but after a little nap she felt much better.  She showed me her gums – it was much more gruesome than I imagined it would be….poor kid.  She was very scared.  Her biggest fear was the IV.  They gave her laughing gas first and that relaxed her quite a bit.  It relaxed her enough that they already had the IV in place and then she started to panic and saying “don’t put the IV in, don’t put the IV in”…we looked at her and told it was already in…within 15 seconds, she was out!

Mabel is 4 years old today!!!

Mabel then and now:

There is something so much more satisfying about doing something yourself…..My recent undertaking has been refinishing the steps.  Sanding, staining and sealing.  It has been quite a job (and messy).  It is amazing how much dust that can be generated from a few little steps!   Sure, it would have been much easier to have someone come in and refinish them for me, it would have been faster and less messy, but I wouldn’t have the satisfaction of looking at what I was able to accompolish everyday.

Kayla has oral surgery today.  She has a tooth (one of her top front ones) that refuses to come in.  She lost the baby tooth last May and the adult will not come in.  She had braces put on last month as the first step of getting the tooth down.  Now today, she has to have surgery to have the tooth exposed.  Basically, they will cut the gum away from the tooth and then attach a bracket to it.  After her mouth heals, they will attach a small chain from the bracket to her braces and they will slowly “pull” the tooth down into place.  Hopefully, if all goes well, she will have two top teeth by the beginning of 6th grade!

Retro Kayla:

Memories

I love having a job that helps people create memories….photos are an important key to memories and I love being part of that.

I have been busy training for a half marathon in May.  Today we ran an 8 miler….it was a beautiful morning.  We ran early enough that we were able to see the sun rise.  Nothing beats an early morning run when you can hear the birds chirping!

Retro Braelyn:

Warm Spring Days

Warm spring days are God’s reward to us for surviving another frigid Minnesota winter!  Warm spring days give me the opportunity to jusy “play” with the kids.  Sure, we play in the winter, but it is not the same when you are wearing hats, gloves, big winter coats, and scarves to play.  Nothing beats that first time that you can go outside and play catch or shoot baskets in the driveway with a t-shirt on!  Even picking up dog poo is more enjoyable on a nice spring day!

Today marks the day of the Great Room Reassigning.  There have been many struggles with sleeping arrangements lately.  As of right now, everyone has their own room.  The girls don’t like sleeping upstairs, and I can’t say that I blame them.  It probably is a bit scary up there alone.  Lately, Kayla has been sleeping in Zander’s with the boys and Braelyn has been sleeping in the offfice/Tad’s room on an inflatable mattress.  But now, I am moving into the office and the girls are going to share my room, and Tad is going to share with Zander.  My room is the biggest one in the house and it makes the most sense to have the girls in there – 2 beds would fit in there much better than they would in the office.

More retro Kayla, Braelyn, Zander and Tad…..Summer 2005