Mrs. Hochstein's Birthday

Cara's teacher, Mrs. Hochstein, celebrated a birthday over the Easter break from school. Cara's third grade class celebrated Mrs. Hochstein's birthday on the Wednesday before Easter break. The class presented Mrs. Hochstein with a Gerber Daisy plant as a present and a card signed by the class. In honor of her birthday, they celebrated with brownies and juice pouches. We played one game to see how well they knew Mrs. Hochstein. I had thought of ten questions to ask them. Some of the questions were: How many children does Mrs. Hochstein have?, What is her husband's first name?, What other grade has Mrs. Hochstein taught besides 3rd grade?, How many years has Mrs. Hochstein taught at Sacred Heart School?, What is her middle name?, What high school did Mrs. Hochstein graduate from?, etc. Some of the questions were easy for the students and some they did not know.

Mrs. Hochstein helping Mason with a math problem.

Cara and Callista passing out a brownie to Brooke.

Mrs. Hochstein and her 3rd grade class.

Take care,

Michelle

Shoot Me! 14 of 52

Today's Shoot Me photo is from last April when Cara made her First Communion. I know some moms that are busy getting ready for First Communions, Confirmations and Graduations and it makes me relieved that I don't have to mess with that this year. But, next year I will be getting ready for Erica's First Communion. Check out other mom's photos over at Forever in Blue Jeans. Carin is hosting this year long challenge.

Take care,

Michelle

Husker Volleyball

Last Saturday Cara and Erica were invited by our next door neighbor, Alice, to attend the University of Nebraska Volleyball team scrimmage held at Wayne State College. The Wayne State volleyball team held a fundamental/skill camp in the morning and then the Nebraska volleyball team held a scrimmage in the afternoon. The girls had a fabulous time. I let Cara take my camera along to get some pictures of the day.

The group of girls and one boy listening at the fundamental/skill camp in the morning. Cara thought it was strange that only one boy participated.

Erica listening on how to bump the ball from Nicole. This Wayne State player happens to be an alumni of the catholic school that the girls attend.

Cara practicing setting the volleyball.

The volleyball scrimmage.

The Nebraska Head Volleyball Coach John Cook was wearing a microphone during the scrimmage. Cara said that he would explain rules of the game and techniques during the scrimmage between plays.

The girls had a great day! After the scrimmage the kids could get autographs from the players of both teams. Thanks Alice for taking the girls!

On a side note, today is my 100th post! I cannot believe it! When I started blogging last fall, this post seemed a long time away, but it crept up on me. I was going to do a giveaway, but I haven't found just the right item yet. That will come at a later date!

Take care,

Michelle

Easter

Easter Sunday dawned bright and early at the Leader household yesterday morning. Our children are not late sleepers anyway, so, why would they sleep in when they knew that the Easter bunny would be arriving. The three girls were up and waiting for Justin for wake up before 7:00. Justin's reaction when he saw his new bubble mower from the Easter Bunny was priceless. Erica broke his last bubble mower and the Easter Bunny knew that Justin could not go a mowing season without a new mower. He could not wait to get his new mower out of the box. Ashlin received new sandbox toys from the Easter Bunny. Erica received a kickball set complete with ball and bases. Our backyard is the neighborhood kickball yard and bases were needed (now trees and flower pots will not be needed for bases). Cara received a volleyball. The kids thought that the Easter Bunny did a really good job this year of knowing what was needed at this Leader household for spring/summer entertainment.

Before they could hunt any Easter eggs the three girls all had to take a bath and start to get ready for church. The Easter egg hunt in our house took about two minutes and then it was on to breakfast. Church was at 9:30 and then we went home quick to change clothes and grab our food before heading to Bloomfield to Grandpa and Grandma Leader's house. There was so much food and it was so good. I got to eat dessert (strawberry shortcake) and I also had a few pieces of candy after making it through Lent without sweets.

Justin and Kamree ready for the Easter egg hunt. Justin wouldn't look at the camera because the sun was so bright and it would shine in his eyes when he looked up.

Waiting for Grandma Leader to say it was time for the hunt to begin.


There was a prize for whoever had the most eggs. This is Justin counting his eggs. After he took each one out of his bucket and counted then he would put the egg in the line. He can count to 12 all by himself. He had so much fun this year going to Easter egg hunts. He would hunt for eggs all by himself.

Erica and Justin on Easter morning.

We came home from Grandpa and Grandma Leader's tired after a fun-filled day. There was no school today so everyone had time to play and rest up. Justin got his mower out first thing and mowed many miles already. I told Keith when he came home tonight from work that Justin mowed most of our yard, most of Tyler's yard (two houses down) and most of Ryan's yard next door. He knows to go one way in a straight line and then turn around and mow a straight line back. He went back and forth all day and it was a struggle to get him to come inside for the night.

Take care,

Michelle

Shoot Me! 13 of 52

It's Thursday again! Today is Week 13 of 52 in the Shoot Me! challenge hosted by Carin over at Forever in Blue Jeans. This is your chance to step out from behind the camera and post a photo of yourself. Head on over and view the photos of other moms.

My photo this week is a photo of my husband, Keith, and I on the balcony of our hotel in Cancun from a few weeks ago.

Take care,

Michelle

Sacred Heart Singers

Cara is a member of the Sacred Heart Singers at school. This choir is made up of students from Grades 3-6 that choose to participate. They practice every Tuesday morning from 7:30-8:00.

Last Friday I had the opportunity to walk with the group to sing at The Meadows (a retirement/assisted living facility). The walk is only a few blocks and the residents LOVE it when the kids come over to sing for them. The Kindergarten class usually walks over once a month, but this winter with it being so cold they haven't been able to go.

Cara singing some Irish folk songs.

The other half of the group singing. Mrs. Nissen's, the director, mother is a resident of The Meadows. They sang a few Irish folk songs and then a few religious songs. The performance was very enjoyable.

Take care,

Michelle

Cancun

I really did attempt to post yesterday, but after two failed attempts (problems with blogger) I just didn't have the time to mess with it anymore. So, today I am back to blogland and posting about our trip to Cancun, Mexico. We left for Mexico on Thursday, March 18th and returned home to Nebraska on Sunday, March 21st. I know it was a short trip, but I love to go and just relax for a few days with no clocks, no kids, and no commitments.

Upon arrival in Mexico, Keith and I flew through immigration, retrieved our luggage, flew through customs and arrived at our hotel, GR Solaris, all in one hour. That is the fastest we have ever gotten through immigration. Usually the lines are endless and it takes at least one hour to get through immigration alone.

The first night we hung out in the hotel's lounge area. The entertainment staff had karaoke going on first and then their was live music for people to listen to or even dance. We just sat around and people watched and had a few drinks before calling it a night. We could not believe the number of families on spring break together (parents on spring break with their college age kids). Who goes on spring break with their parents when they are in college?

The next morning we were up bright and early (shortly after 6:00). Mexico does not observe Daylight Savings Time, so the sun was peeking in through our shades bright and early. We showered fast, ate breakfast, put out our towels to reserve chairs by the pool, and then took a long walk on the beach. The beach at our hotel was beautiful and we had a lot of beach. Then we found our pool loungers and hung out by the pool relaxing for the rest of the day. Keith ventures into the ocean, but not me. I lay on my lounger and read while people watching. Needless to say, our evening out did not happen that night because I had too many fruity cocktails and too much sun by the pool that afternoon.

A view of the upper pool with the swim up bar.

The front of our hotel GR Solaris.

A view from the balcony off our room.

This is the lower pool. I am standing on the bridge dividing the two pools.

The next day we did the same things, but at night we ventured out. We went to a mall and bought presents to bring home. We walked around the bar area and ventured in for a drink. The next morning we had to gt ready to go home. We thought our transportation was picking us up too early for the airport, but upon arrival at the airport it was a nightmare with everyone trying to fly home from spring break. The line to check-in took us at least an hour and then at the gate they were asking for volunteers to give up their seats and take a later flight home because of overbooking.

We had a fun and relaxing vacation. I cannot wait to go back again. I love sitting on my lounge chair and just doing nothing but soaking up the sun and reading a good book.

Take care,

Michelle