Camping!

We went camping this weekend with some of our friends.   The first night it started pouring right after dinner.  We all hunkered down in our camps and waited out the long down pour.  It left some of us soggy, but it didn't dampen our spirits! 

On Saturday, we ate odd and ends for breakfast since the raccoons opened up one of our coolers and ate almost all of our pre-made breakfast burritos!  The kids and the parents had fun relaxing and playing.  The parents played a pretty intense game of Redneck Golf.  The kids played house, doctor, Uno, and who knows what else!? 

We ate foil dinners and Smores on Saturday night.  On Sunday, we did some more relaxing and eating.  Then headed home in the early afternoon.

The cicadas were plentiful, but didn't bother us too much.  There were a lot of their shells on the tree near our campsite and occasionally a live one would fly down near us. 

(An interesting note: Between us, we have kids in each grade, K-7, except 3rd grade!)

Dance Recital

The girls had their dance recital last Sunday.  Their studio rented out the auditorium at St. Charles Community College.  The girls did such a great job.  I was a little worried that Kathryn would get too nervous to perform, or give up if she made any mistake, but she did wonderfully.  Before they went on, they were allowed to sit out with us and watch some of the other routines.  I would point out girls that were smiling and girls that were not smiling, so they could see what a difference it makes!  After Kathryn's first performance she said, "I don't usually smile during my class, but I smiled while I was up there!"  And she looked beautiful.  Sydney was not quite as confidant with the actual routine, but she did awesome!  I could tell that she was focused and trying to do a good job.  Instead of flowers, I gave them candy bars, Pringles, and a little toy caterpillar.

Here are the girls with their class, ready for their "Do You Love Me" routine.

Looking kind of like bobbleheads. 

With their teacher, Miss Liz.

On stage for their final bow.  I wasn't allowed to take any pics during their actual routines.

After the show in their "Rubber Ducky" routine costumes.

Graduation from Washington University's PMBA Program

Yesterday Mike graduated from Washington University with his Masters of Business Administration! He finished classes back in August of last year, so we have been waiting a while for this ceremony! He qualified for the MBA honor society and also was named a Knight Scholar, which is given to the top 10 students in the program!

He really hated having to wear the robe and especially the hat! 

Mike's mom was able to stay and attend his graduation before flying home to Austin!

Chicago Getaway

Mike's mom was so sweet to volunteer to come and watch the girls while we camped and also while we took a little getaway to Chicago. She loves to spend the time with the girls and the girls love spending time with her!

The day after we got home from camping we drove to Chicago. On the way we stopped in Springfield, IL, and visited the Abraham Lincoln Museum. It was really interesting to read all about him and about what was going on during his lifetime and presidency.  

This was Lincoln's home in Springfield.

After our visit to the library, we finished our drive to Chicago. We had to dedicate a little time to finding overnight parking because the hotel charged $50/night to park! We finally got smart and downloaded a parking app to Mike's phone and found a lot for $22/night that was only 3 blocks away!

For lunch on Tuesday we had empanadas from this food truck.

We did a lot of walking during our visit. We loved to watch all of the people and look at the amazing architecture.

On Wednesday we had lunch at Gino's East. We had a Cheese & Pepperoni DEEP dish pizza.

There were thousands of tulips blooming along Michigan Avenue.

We also enjoyed all of the art in Millennium Park. This sculpture is called Cloud Gate.

Fishing at Montauk

To celebrate our friend Natalie's birthday, we went camping and fishing down at Montauk State Park.  Natalie loves to fish and also loves to help other people learn to love fishing.  It was cold and rainy most of the time we were there, but it didn't dampen our spirits.  We pulled our camper down there and were lucky enough to find a spot with electricity so we could have lights and plug in our heater!  Natalie later confessed that she though camper camping was not real camping, but this trip changed her mind! 

Fort Zumwalt Education Foundation 5K, May 7th

I ran a 5K this morning at Fort Zumwalt North High School.  The weather was great except for a little wind.  I was nervous about this race because (due to my kidney stone ordeal) I haven't worked out in 2 weeks!  I felt comfortable with the course, so I just headed out and hoped for the best.  I ended up finishing in 30:15! I won 2nd in my age group, but is sounds not so impressive when you consider that only 40 or so people ran the race!  But I was happy with my time AND I got a medal!  

The start.

Almost finished...

The end.

My ragamuffin cheerleaders.

Kathryn's Field Trip to the St. Louis Zoo

Kathryn had her first field trip yesterday!  We visited the St. Louis Zoo, along with most of the St. Louis area schools!  It was packed, but the kids didn't even notice and we had a great time!

We ate lunch in the grass and Kathryn posed for a pic with her teacher, Miss Reside.  Miss Reside works at the zoo during the summer, so she is very familiar with all of the animals and shared with us lots of fun information.

Here is Kathryn with her best pals from her class, Mckinna and Noah.  I love how they're holding hands.

Kathryn's class in front of the otter display.

Kathryn and I getting ready for her to board the school bus to go home!  I rode with 3 other moms from our classroom.

My Belly Button!

Reagan has developed a fond affection for her belly button!

Easter Egg hunt!

We attended two Easter egg hunts this year. The first one was through

the city of Dardenne Praire. It's more of an egg grab because all the

eggs are just laid out in a field and the kids run to get them. No pictures since I was using all of my energy to just remain standing upright!

The second one was at the Blakemore's house after our Easter dinner. It

was dreary weather, but the kids still had fun searching for eggs.

Once we found all of the eggs, we came inside to see who had found the

egg with the pickle inside! Cassi was the winner and she won $3!

Kathryn's first Apple Pie!

We were invited to Easter dinner at Brian & Joan Mackay's house (our

friend Natalie's parents). We decided to bring Apple Pie and Kathryn

wanted to help me make them. She did such a wonderful job. She

placed the bottom crusts, helped me slice and place the apples, and

even did one of the lattice tops all by herself!

Coloring Easter Eggs

On Saturday (4/23) we painted Easter eggs. I was still moving pretty
slowly since being released from the hospital on Thursday after a
kidney stone removal!

I love the look on Sydney's face in this silly pic!