Turning 8!!!

Justin turned 8 years old on Wednesday!!!  He had been counting the days and stalking the mail box for days.  He was up bright and early that morning.  He did get a few birthday cards in the mail.  We gave him some Legos, a new Wii game and his favorite candy bar.  It doesn't take much to make him happy!

 Justin took fruit snacks to share with his class for birthday treats.  Grandma Leader stopped by after school with a rice krispy cake for him to celebrate with.

 We went out to eat as a family at Applebee's.  Justin made sure that we sat in a booth where we could watch the Royals playing baseball.  Now he is counting the days until his birthday party/sleepover with a few of his friends this week.

The kids have two half days (Monday & Wednesday) and no school on Friday because of Parent/Teacher Conferences so his birthday party will work well this week.

Take care,
Michelle

Bake for Good

The 4th -6th Grade students had a presentation last week by the King Arthur group about "Bake for Good".  This group demonstrated to the students how to bake bread. 

 At the end of the presentation, each student was given a bag that contained two small bags of flour, a packet of yeast, a plastic scraper and instructions.  Each student was to bake two loaves of bread - one loaf for their family and one loaf to donate.  Ashlin baked these two loaves with a little help.  I was impressed how much she had learned in the demonstration.  She can't wait to bake break again.

 Monday at school we loaded up 8 boxes of loaves of bread to be donated to the Salvation Army.  This service project was completed by students Norfolk Catholic, Christ Lutheran, and Norfolk Junior High. 

Mr. Lafleur delivered the bread Monday afternoon and said these ladies were very thankful for the donation.  They serve three meals a day at the Salvation Army, plus they give food out to families that need help.

Take care,
Michelle

"Diggin Up Pink"

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Tradition is to have one "Pink Out" night for volleyball and usually that game is the match against Battle Creek.  The teams wear pink uniforms and the crowd also wears pink.  Each player could pick one person to play in honor of or in memory of.  Cara, without hesitation, picked to play in memory of her Aunt Lorrie who passed away from breast cancer 10 years ago.

 Cara made sure that Keith called Uncle Randy to tell him about the game and that she was playing for Aunt Lorrie.  Uncle Randy came to watch Cara play in "Pink Out" even though he had parent/teacher conferences to be at also that night.

I asked Cara if she remembers Aunt Lorrie.  Cara was 4 years old almost 5 when Lorrie passed away and I wasn't sure if she would remember much.  Cara's answer was "Yes, I remember her".  When I asked her for an example of what she remembers, she gave me two things.  She remembers Lorrie giving her an art box filled with crayons, paper, markers and stencils.  The stencils were made out of ice cream buckets. But, she also remembers going with Keith, Uncle David and Uncle Cory to visit Aunt Lorrie in the hospital.  Cara said that Lorrie was sleeping when they got to the hospital, but she tapped on the window and Lorrie woke up.  Cara then said that she got in trouble for waking Lorrie up.

 It wasn't Cara's best night on the floor.  The freshman girls haven't played a game for 16 days and it showed.  But, the night was about the cause and there was lots of pink.

 This section of girls are the girls in 4th-6th Grade that play club volleyball.  They had practice and then walked over to watch the big girls play ball.

Take care,
Michelle

Sports Weekend - Part III Flag Football

 Yes, we never stay home and yes, we spend a lot of time on a bench or in a chair watching our kids play sports.

 Justin is not to be left out of a fall sport when all his sisters are playing volleyball.  Therefore, Justin is giving flag football a try.  He is on the Patriots team and is learning rules and how to play a different sport.  He wasn't so sure that he wanted to play, but he is giving it a chance.

 This was his second game and his team has not won a game yet.  They are too busy running around and I don't think they care if they win or lose.

 In the first game, Justin scored a touchdown on a long running play.  All the kids change positions about every other play.  He plays running back, quarterback or receiver.  There aren't many passing plays in this division though.

 They play a total of four games and they have already played two, so, we are almost done.  He is having fun and that is all that matters.

Take care,
Michelle

Sports Weekend - Part II 5th Grade Club

After finishing in Wisner with Erica's tournament, I jumped in the car and headed South and West to Humphrey for Ashlin's tournament. 

Another Mom and I drove like crazy hoping to make their 2nd pool play game, but when we both arrived at the gym the girls were just warming up for their first game.  The 5th grade part of the tournament was running 45 minutes behind.

NC had 14 5th Grade girls playing in the tournament.  Therefore, seven girls would play one set and then a different seven girls would play the second set.

First the girls played Stanton and split one set apiece.  Then they played Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family and split sets again.

Coming out of pool play the girls were the 4th seed out of 8 teams for the single elimination tournament.  They played Clarkson/Leigh and lost two very close sets.  The girls had fun and learned a few things.

This weekend they will play in another tournament in Battle Creek.  Win or lose they are having so much fun!

Take care,
Michelle

Sports Weekend: Part I-Jr High V-ball

It was a full weekend of sports at our house.  No sleeping in on Saturday morning.  Erica had to be at the gym at 6:45 a.m. to board the bus for a junior high volleyball tournament in Wisner.  Cara travelled with the varsity squad to a tournament in Columbus to keep book and film.  Ashlin, Justin and Keith got to sleep in before heading to Humphrey for a 5th Grade club volleyball tournament.  And that was all just on Saturday!

 Only the "A" 7th & 8th Grade teams got to travel to the tournament on Saturday.  Erica normally plays "B" team, but she is a sub for the "A" team and got to travel.  The 7th Grade girls placed 2nd and the 8th Grade girls placed 4th in the tournament.  These girls were pretty happy to receive runner-up medals.

 The first game was a straight three set win over Laurel/Concord.  Erica received playing time in the third set.

 Next up was a straight three set win over David City.  Erica received more playing time and even had an ace serve.  Erica's serve is a work in progress - never quite sure what is going to happen.  Will it go over, will it not go over, will it shank to the left, etc.

 Then in the championship game they lost in two sets to Howells/Dodge. 

After sitting through a morning of junior high volleyball, I left Wisner and headed to Humphrey for some 5th Grade volleyball. 

Take care,
Michelle