The Life Cycle of a Fox

Yes, for inquiring minds....Gabe is now our resident expert on the Life Cycle of a Fox! This was his final assignment for Science and Writing....and not to be biased...but I think he did a pretty fantastic job!

This a diaorama of the den of fox...complete with little baby foxes! In addition to the diaorama and poster, Gabe also made a brochure explaining the entire life cycle.....So, if you have a question about the fox life cycle.....I know just who you could ask!

Happy Early Birthday, Grady!

Last Friday, we celebrated Grady's Birthday with his Kindergarten class!!! We had juice and dirt worm donuts...they were a hit!! Grady had Happy Birthday sung to him and he wore the Birthday Boy Cowboy Hat around all day! A pretty great way to start off his birthday....a few weeks early!

Standing with his buddies, Wyatt and Kysen while having Happy Birthday sung to him!

Giving the Birthday Boy some loving!!

One Lucky Lady!

Not only did God put the most wonderful man in my path for me to marry....He then went and blessed me with 2 of the sweetest boys! So, Sunday was Mother's Day--and I was spoiled rotten....but I'll be honest.....My guys make my life seem like a never ending Mother's Day!!! I love you guys.....Thank you for loving me....through all of my girly, crazy moments!

I don't know how I got so lucky.....but, I am certainly happy I did!!!

Where does it go??!!

Time...my time, more specifically....where in the world does it go?! I do not work outside of the home, so I don't have that excuse...my boys are not babies, so I don't have that excuse...I am not in school, so I don't have that excuse---sheesh!

So, since my last update....life has definitely not slowed down! As the school year winds down, it seems to only be getting busier! I have to laugh, the other day I was trying to coordinate with my sis and b.i.l. when to get new brakes on the Army, and for the life of me, I didn't have a spare evening to get the vehicle to him! Then my sis says, well at least once the boys are out of school for the summer that will free up some time. At the time I totally agreed, but then I sat down and started thinking about all of the plans we have for summer already....and I started to wonder if life really will ever s l o w d o w n!

So, what are we up to right now and what do we have in the works? Well.....the boys both started baseball last week...that will last until the middle of July. Both boys are signed up for a 4 day wrestling camp in June, Kid's college toward the end of July, Gabe has signed up for a Strength and Agility Program through Augusta High that will last all summer, there are a couple of plays we would like to go to at the Children's Theatre, vacationing in Chicago the last week of June, VBS the 3rd week of June and this morning our bible study group decided we would give a summer study a whirl....and at some point I would like to head to Dallas for a long weekend to hang with my Aunt and Uncle. And, all of that has to be worked in around the humongous garden and yard that seems to always need mowed! Whew, I'm tired!

Complain, complain....I know I do this to myself! I would hate to get bored!

So, that is what is in the works....lately, we have been accomplishing stuff around the house! We have planted more veggies in the garden along with a pear, apple, cherry and plum tree and some flowers! Shawn finished my picnic table and we have been enjoying every meal we can outside! After dinner most every night, we have been practicing baseball without the fear of losing a ball over the fence or putting out a neighbor's window.....yes, definitely a perk to living in the country! Both boys have improved tremendously! And, we spent the last couple of weekends in Fredonia celebrating Easter! Shawn has been working, but thankfully had 2 weekends off in a row....definitely a plus having him around! Gabe has finished up with his testing in school and now seems to be coasting along to the end of the school year! Grady has been doing end of the year testing as well and managed to write his numbers to 360 last week....he assured us he could have gone much further, but Mrs. Nusz told him that was plenty far....she really only needed him to write to 100! We are very proud of both of the boys! I am having a hard time believing that next year I will have a 5th grader! Oh My Goodness...you know what that means...in just over a year....If all goes as planned!.....I will have a MIDDLE SCHOOLER!!! What in the stink....how can that be?!

Alright, I've picked myself up off the ground.....so, where in the world does time go...heck, I don't have a clue....but, if you find any extra hours or for that matter years laying around, they are probably mine...go ahead and FedEx them back...as you can see I am in dire need of them!

Happy Day Everyone!

Amanda

Robo-Arm NO MORE!!!

Gabe with his full release Doctor's note!!!

On Tuesday Gabe was officially released from his brace!!! If there had been room I am pretty sure Gabe would have been doing cartwheels in the exam room! They took an x-ray and it was clear. They had Gabe do some strength exercise and were very impressed with his improvement from 4 weeks earlier! The doctor told Gabe to take it slow getting ready for baseball season, but that he didn't see any reason he would need to wear the brace!!! The last couple of nights we have been out slowly getting back into the swing of baseball! YAY!! No more Robo-Arm!!!

Fishing and Logging!

Saturday afternoon was absolutely gorgeous.....so, we headed down to the Fox Farm to do some fishing and grab some logs to mill! When we got there we ran into Grandma, Papa, Shannon and his cuties....so we all got to run around together! The kids did some exploring, 4-wheel riding and fishing! Gabe caught one little fish and Papa, using Grady's pole (so Grady took credit!) caught a pretty big one!! Afterwards, Shawn loaded up a couple of logs and we headed to Howard for dinner!! I am ready for a few more Spring days like this!!

Bonfire!!

On Friday night we had our first ever bonfire type cookout!! I was very nervous about doing this....it has been pretty dry and extremely windy....a not so perfect combination for a bonfire. But, early last week we had some rain, so we decided to give it a go! I am happy to report, we did not burn down half of Butler County...success! We had Shannon, Erin and kiddos and Marshall, Greta and Matt all over for the evening of fiery fun! We cooked hot dogs and smores over the fire and the kiddos all ran around exploring and having a giggly good time!! I hope this was the first of many bonfire cookouts to come!!

Hanging with My Homie!

Last Thursday and Friday Augusta had it's Kindergarten Round-up...so that meant I got to have my Kindergartner home with me!!! On Thursday, we played it pretty lazy...read some books, baked some cookies, played some wii, played at the park....a pretty perfect Thursday! On Friday, Hop the movie was released...and since no one else in our house was interested...Grady and I went to the movies!! It was a pretty cute movie...Grady loved it, so it was a thumbs up with me! I love hanging with any of my fellas....I especially love to get to spend some one on one with them!! Thanks for a great couple of days Grady Magoo!! I Love You!

Spring Break!!!

Why can't every week be Spring Break?! We had an absolutely fantastic week! Shawn was off for 4 whole days...in a row, so I had the rare joy of having all 3 of my favorite fellas completing my to-do list all at once!! We were able to get a ton of work done, plus had a lot of fun!! Unfortunately most of the fun was had after Shawn was back at work....poor guy!!

So let's start with the work.....

Shawn with the assistance of his 3 favorite assistants built this....

Shawn with the assistance of his most loyal assistant built this....

We all planted more of this.....

And the grand finale....a whole day's worth of work....we trimmed these......

Now that my friends was A LOT of work! We also raked a ton of leaves!! The boys hung in there the whole time....they are fantastic workers! I am thankful for 2 little fellas and 1 big fella who know how to work hard, don't mind getting a little dirty, and who take orders fairly well!! It was 4 days of crazy hard work, but I couldn't have asked for better company!!

So for the fun.....

We visited the Augusta Historical Museum....

This place was very cool....we got to tour the oldest structure in Augusta, which was a church, store, school and house all at some point in time. Looked through old Augusta historyand found out that Augusta got its name from one of the founder's wife's name. Just think, if Shawn would find a town...there would be an actual town called Amanda....everyone would then know what it's like to live in my world...no more wondering! HA! Okay, back to reality...it was well worth the time to go to the museum...they have done a fantastic job in preserving Augusta's history!

We went on a bike ride around the Augusta Lake......

and fortunately this picture was taken before the mighty crash....as far from the car as possible, no doubt! Poor Grady got going a little too fast and wiped out, scraping up his hand, knee and pulling back his thumb nail. It was a LOOONNNGGG ride back to the Army!

And the best way to end Spring Break....

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2! This movie was great! It had me belly laughing in parts!!

We were also able to slip in a day for a playdate, some Wii competitions, UNO throwdowns and some resting....all in all a pretty awesome Spring Break....now back to the real world!!

An Update!

Yep, this is how I'm doing it this month...an update. You will get a whirlwind update on all 4 of us in one short and concise blog!

Grady - He has been keeping very busy with school! He is now tied for 1st in the Sight Word Olympics in Mrs. Nusz's Kindergarten! He is currently on Advanced List 6!!!! He just received that list last night and already knows them all....too bad he won't be tested again until after Spring Break! He has also really improved in his reading....he can sound out just about anything and actually enjoys doing it! When the weather has been nice the last few weeks he has also started practicing for baseball! His skills have drastically improved over last year. We have been practicing batting quite a bit and he rarely uses the tee anymore! He is also much better at catching and his accuracy for throwing has also greatly improved! He is really looking forward to playing some ball with his buddies....he is hoping to get on Cannon's team, a buddy from wrestling!

Gabe - Well he is still captain RoboArm! He had an appointment on March 8...the day we were all hoping he would be free of RoboArm...well, no such luck. Right now, it is "soft healed". Which basically means it is healed as far as the torn ligament is concerned, but if he were to hyperextend the elbow again, we would be right back to where we were 6 weeks ago or worse. So, for now he has been released to full activity with the brace. The doctor is hopeful to remove the brace for day to day activity on April 5th...with him still wearing the brace for baseball....more than likely. He has been practicing baseball as well....my arm is about to fall off for all of the pitching I have been doing! I think it should be a very fun season at the diamonds! In school, Gabe has been primarily focusing on State Testing. He is finishing up the math portion today. He is feeling very confident on his performance....Shawn and I wish we could have said the same at his age. He is continuing to excel in school and never ceases to amaze us with his vast knowledge of.....EVERYTHING! He was also inspired by his cousin Penner to start learning piano. Right now, I am his instructor and things are going very well! This summer I think we will look into some official lessons.....by then, he will probably have surpassed my knowledge base of the piano!

Shawn - I can sum up Shawn in one word....BUSY! He has been working on our garden...which is coming along nicely....working on building my picnic table and of course the everyday grind of Spirit! The last few weeks at work have been extremely busy and have been a test for Shawn. The manager pal of his, Hal, has been gone 3 of the last 4 weeks which has left Shawn to cover both his area and Hal's. About 2 weeks ago, Shawn was not only filling in for Hal, but also for their boss, Steve! Shawn got to play Big Boss for a whole week! He did an excellent job, yeah I'm biased!, but I was not the only one who thought so. I am sure if they would give him that job, he could have the whole program turned around! I am very proud of him.....I know he gets discouraged because he is not around as much as he would like to be....but, I know with our support he can keep plugging along and someday he will be the Big Boss!

Amanda - As for me....I am still continuing my Daniel bible study on Tuesdays....there is way more than the Lion's Den in Daniel....I am truly enjoying every moment I am immersed in study! I am still helping out in Grady's class on Monday morning and Gabe's on Wednesday afternoon...I love my time at the school...it is such a great opportunity seeing the kids in their environment...instead of the one I provide at home. I get to sit back at school and watch from an outsider's view...and I must say they are pretty good boys! They certainly make this Mama proud! I have also been spending the last couple of weeks running back and forth to Wichita. My Grandma Marilyn has been in the hospital and now in Physical therapy rehab. She is doing much better and hoping to go home by week's end! I am thankful I am back here.....I hope I was able to relieve some of the pressure from the rest of my family by being able to take most of the day shifts!

Well, that got you all caught up.....I hope it won't take so long next time! Love you all!