May Mash-up, Part I

The last couple of days I've been trying to get myself in spring cleaning mode.  The weather is so beautiful that all I want to do is hike, yet I've got this precious pocket of time where I'm done with my classes but the kids are still in school.  I know that dejunking will be so much more effective with an empty house, but still, it's hard to focus!

Since catching up on the blog is on that eternal to-do list, let's have at it.

 

Random Creatures Around the House:  Annika's Primary teacher at church, Larry Montgomery, gave her this beautiful little bird.  She likes it so much that she's spent days designing different habitats and obstacles for it, including this cute enclosure.

She's also been making animal friends out of paper bags...

...and bug habitats out of my tupperware.  (Sigh.)

Her betta fish Sky sadly passed away (it lived a nice long beta life), so she acquired a new fish, Moon.  Moon's a pretty little thing and quite interactive.

Not nearly as interactive as Jitterbug, however!  We adopted this guide-puppy-in-training for a weekend since Talia is taking a companion animal science class.  

Our weekend with Jitterbug was designed to give us a feeling for what it would be like to raise a Guide Dog.  Glad Jitterbug got along well with Spark!  (He wasn't quite as gentle with Annie, but she adored him anyway.)

The take-home message was that the experience would be fun, but pretty intense and exhausting.  I think Talia's decided to hold off a bit on raising a guide puppy to raise.  She still may choose to adopt one, but it likely won't be next year.

Perhaps the most random creature around the house is this fantastic Octopus that Talia made.

You gotta admit--the girl has style!  (And talent with a crochet hook.)

I actually have a whole series of beautiful pictures of Talia.  She was running for Sophomore Class President and trying to get the perfect photo for her poster.  Deciding the Octopus hat was too silly, she took a few shots without it.

Those pics were gorgeous, but Talia must not have loved them because the next thing I knew she'd straightened her hair.  (Doesn't she know that every girl with straight hair wishes she had beach waves like hers?)

Full circle back to the silly.  Gosh, I love kids.  Life would be so dull without them.

Back to the serious election, here are a few of the fun posters Talia made.

The second poster was my favorite, since everything was crocheted.   In the end, Talia didn't get elected--maybe that's because they misprinted her name as Talian on the ballot.  Really though, not having this responsibility has its upside in opening up her schedule for more elective classes.  Either way, we were super proud of her for putting herself out there.

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Field Trips

May is field trip season for sure!  As a young mother, I can remember staying away from the Henry Doorly Zoo this time of year because it was so overrun with school groups.  Instead of the zoo, the sixth graders at Emerson Elementary got to spend the day at Lagoon Amusement Park.  Talk about childhood dreams come true!  Here I am chaperoning this great trio of Eli, Lucas, and Sita.

Meeting up with some other classmates outside Rattlesnake Rapids.  The blonde is Emeri with Campbell right beside.

While my enthusiastic group was all about the big coasters, I was personally glad to take a break to visit the physics station and do some science experience.  One ride on Cannibal was about all my middle-aged tummy could handle.

After the field trip left, Eli and I had time to hang out.  Glad for some time alone with my boy, I spoiled him with a trip to the Biergarten.

How to win your tween's heart.  Even sharing a meal, we still couldn't finish this scrumptious burger.

Jason and I both accompanied Annika on her field trip to the Wetlands in Rose Park.  It was fascinating to learn how they use this little oasis as a way to both clean our water and engage with nature.

My very favorite field trip, however, looks like this.  Our family walking up to Popperton fields for frisbee and kite flying on a lazy afternoon.

Bliss.

Sports.  In my last post, I lamented not taking enough pictures of the kids at their sporting events.  Well, here are a few frames to make up for it.  On the Ultimate landscape, we have Brooklyn and Talia playing at the Daweena Tourney.  It's pretty funny to see this lineup.  For the most part, West doesn't have all that many blonde-haired kids, but they seem to have all gathered here.  No wonder the coaches mix them up!

Eli's got the best spectator view.

Brooklyn contemplates the field.  As one of the team captains, she called a lot of the plays for B Team.

Nice D, Krakens.

I feel a bit guilty here for not giving Brooklyn a few more genetic inches.  Sorry kid!

Moving on to Avenues baseball, here's Eli just about to smash one.

Nice hit!

Eli and his teammate Aiden.

Fielding first and pitching.

My very favorite part of baseball still might be the view.

As for Annika, this spunky gal decided to pick up a sport all of her own: skateboarding.  For months she'd been begging for a board.  While at the park one day, she borrowed a friend's board and picked up on it really quickly.  I finally capitulated and brought her to a skateboarding shop near the Gateway called Modern Monarch.  As soon as we walked in the door, these two friendly boys, aged 10 or 11, asked if she wanted a skateboard.  Apparently someone had just gifted them a nearly-new board but they didn't need it.  Thirty seconds later, Annika was the proud owner of a Tony Hawk skateboard.  Feeling guilty for not supporting local business, I then proceeded to buy some overpriced knee and wrist guards.  Talk about boarding in style!

As for the boys who gave Annika the board, in order to thank them we took them to the convenient store next door and let them pick out whatever they wanted.  As the cashier rang up their soda, Dinamita chips, and gummy worms, they looked like they had just won the lottery.  I'm glad we could pay their kindness forward.

If Annika ever tires of her skateboard, she always has her rollerskates to fall back on.  In fact, last week she brought both so she could switch back and forth.

Last but not least, we have the original Wheeler family sport of road running.  Here we are at the annual Avenues High Fives 5K.

The Kids Dash came first.  Way to go, Annie and Ruby!

Next up, the 5Kers.  It's a challenging hilly course, but people will do a lot for free ice cream and barbecue sandwiches.  Jason, Justin, Eli, and Talia all ran the course this year.  As for me, I ran the water station.

On your marks, get set, go!  You can see Eli leading the way in his baseball hat.

Look at these brothers fly!

Eli pauses for a drink.

Water station support staff.  Violet and Ruby were impressive workers.

Meanwhile, Annika doles out the High Fives.

Oh man!  She left her Uncle Justin hanging.

Dad's looking strong.

Check out Talia coming down the chute.  Way to go, Reddi Wip!

You too, Cheezstick.

At twelve years, you'd think Eli might have won his age group.  But nope.  Believe it or not, the entire race was won by a twelve year-old girl who was wicked fast.  Amazing!

Better luck next time boys.  

Not to worry--you're still sizzlin' hot fast.

Two final pictures, taken while we were out for pizza and shakes because, hey, who doesn't like pizza and shakes?

Stay tuned for May Mash-up Part II.  And then who knows?  Maybe I'll get back to spring cleaning.