September 30, 2017

Another month has come and gone, can you believe it’s already time to start deciding what your little goblins and monsters are going to be for Halloween?!  Before you know it, I’ll be writing that blog too, LOL.

September brought not too many exciting school events, however I did wrangle a few thoughts from the kids:

• Hunter started his online coursework for the TTI UW-Madison program and also began confirmation classes with Austin and Jade on Wednesday nights.
• Austin already had a field trip; they traveled up to Camp Manitowish for team building with all the 7th graders of AV-W.  This past Thursday, they experienced what it was like to be a Puritan student after studying the original 13 colonies.
• Jade and classmates headed to Tommy O’s Playhouse (one of only a handful of revolving repertory theaters left in the country) where they witnessed many wonderful things at the 3rd annual Renaissance Festival, Jade even got a tattoo!  She also wanted to talk about their connections day with other surrounding schools that took place in St. Germain; they learned about dental health, drug abuse, communication skills and even how to dance like an Ojibwe.
• Mason was very excited to talk about their new art project involving stick people and lots of coloring with markers.  In Gym, they just finished a football segment and are now working on soccer skills which he should ace considering soccer season just ended.
• Ella has been working on a personal narrative in Language Arts and Musky Time has her busy creating stories from picture books.
• Lily was anxious to explain about how they used Modge Podge, pictures from home and magazine clippings to create collages on their ELA journals that described themselves and to show off who they are.

As for myself, I’ve been interval training on the treadmill I received as a birthday present, I had a fun time being the Bingo caller at our church picnic, and I’ll be teaching my first Sunday School class tomorrow!!

Before I forget, my sister and her family survived the Hurricane Irma, she wrote: “The worst of it was around 9 to midnight but we never lost power. Praise to God that the eye of the storm moved farther inland from Tampa and that it weakened. I am so appreciative of all the prayers from friends and family. “

The windows and siding were delivered earlier this month, so my dad and Chris have been putting in lots of labor hours getting everything done before the snow flies which feel like it will be soon with the drastic drop in weather temperature.  As you can see in the picture below, I captured the old siding (left) with the new siding (right)… Yes, the brick is staying!

As always, we hope all is well with you and your families/friends. We send our love, hugs & kisses!!

Take care and God’s blessings until next time!

September 5, 2017

As the kids were getting ready this morning for the 1st day back to school… I was wondering to myself, where did the summer go?!  By all means, do not take this as a complaint‼  I think I can speak for all 8 of us when I say that we’re ALL ready for school to be back in session.

The last 3 months disappeared in the blink of an eye, I guess that’s not too surprising when a family is a busy as ours is.  I’ll try to summarize it for you without writing a novel and boring you to death:

June started with Lily’s 8th birthday, some out-of-town visitors, and AV-W summer option classes like overnight backpacking trips, learning to use a paddle board, hiking adventures, arts & crafts, and many more fun opportunities.  Hunter was the 1st to experience Camp Luther in Three Lakes and all it had to offer; the rest of the kiddos attended the following week. Speaking of Hunter, he started working at a local fishing sports shop where he’s put in over 375 hours the entire summer besides his internship at the high school which was an additional 80 hours of work.

July brought our favorite visitors, my sister and her family.  We were able to help my nephew and my mom celebrate their birthdays by taking a pirate ship cruise in Eagle River and some swimming at The Waters of Minocqua.  A couple weeks into July, Hunter headed to Lac du Flambeau who hosted the TTI Summer Tech Institute classes.  Jade headed back to Camp Luther in Three Lakes for a 2nd session of camp fun, this time she said was more enjoyable without her siblings around.  Just when we thought we could relax part of the summer, soccer practices and games started for Jade, Mason, and Lily.  We were glad to be graced with the presence of a couple of my aunts and some other friends too.

August came and went faster than any other month that I can remember.  The church we attend, Rock of Ages on Hwy 70 in Minocqua, hosted Vacation Bible School and a Pig Roast/Welcome Picnic; the kids sang songs from VBS and read Bible verses for the Welcome Services.  Our pastor took the kids fishing a couple times which they absolutely loved.  Jade began band practices; she’s doing very well playing her Alto Saxophone.  Austin and Jade celebrated birthdays and we were lucky enough to have some visitors to make their days a little more special.  To end out the month, the kids and I did our one tourist attraction tradition and visited the Dr. Kate museum here in Woodruff, along with taking their picture by the World’s Largest Penny.  Lastly, we registered the kids for school, took all the supplies to their classrooms, and met their teachers.

On to other non-kid related news:

• We’ve been taking turns at church making treats for fellowship following Sunday services.
• Even with my busy schedule, I was able to help serve food at a couple events with a local restaurant, Bad Bones BBQ (check them out at NorthwoodsBBQ.com).
• Chris will finally be getting a break from his 50 hour work weeks now that tourist season is over; he’s looking forward to getting out in the woods for a little hunting.
• We’ll be starting the installation of our new siding, windows, etc. very soon, this house definitely needs it!

We hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable summer like we did and best wishes to everyone’s 2017-18 school year.

As always, we hope all is well with you and your families/friends. We send our love, hugs & kisses!!

Take care and God’s blessings until next time!

June 8, 2017

I know what you’re thinking because honestly I’ve been thinking it the last couple of days as well, why haven’t I written in almost three weeks??  If you have to ask someone in a household of 8 people why she can’t keep up to date with her weekly blog, maybe you should read my blog more… it’s crazier than crazy, especially with the end of the school year here.  I did almost cry this morning, I’m getting ahead of myself though, let’s recap the last almost three weeks.

May 21-27, 2017

• Lily and the 2nd graders had a picnic with their 8th grade buddies to send them off to high school with best wishes for the future.
• Mason & Ella took one last field trip to the Art Oehmcke Fish Hatchery which wrapped up their Great Lakes Expedition; they learned how fish are produced for stocking area lakes.  On Thursday, their culmination was fantastic with all the kids showing off the projects they worked so hard on, like their invasive species posters.

• Jade was shown information on fungi by Mr. Bowe of Kemp Station. She also took one last field trip but to Fallison Trail and Crystal Lake where they had the opportunity to canoe, build sand castles, and used natural materials in creative ways.
• Austin along with the rest of the school participated in the JDRF One Walk (whose one goal is to create a world without type 1 diabetes) followed by the school Talent Show.
• Hunter’s baseball season ended and preparation for final exams began.

May 28-June 3, 2017

• On Memorial day, We were overjoyed with the visit from some relatives who visited us on their way home to Kaukauna from their journey to the Apostle Islands, etc.; it was such a wonderful time and lots of memories will be remembered.

• AV-W had it’s last day of school and the kids weren’t even upset that the school year is over because of all the wonderful plans we have in store for them this summer.

June 4-present

• Sunday, June 4th was by far one of my favorite days of my life… Hunter took his 1st communion and the other kids were also blessed by being baptized.  We had an amazing turn out of family and close friends that shared this special occasion with us and the weather couldn’t have cooperated any better.

• Hunter had a grueling 2 days of final exams and now can relax for awhile (NOT!!).  He’ll be busy with other things like his jobs at the high school and at Kurt’s Island Sport Shop, going to Keweenaw Base Camp, and spending time in Lac du Flambeau for the summer session of the ITA UW-Madison program.

This afternoon, we have some relatives coming up for a visit which will be a very nice time, the weather has even cooled off a little bit to make it more enjoyable.

As always, we hope all is well with you and your families/friends. We send our love, hugs & kisses!!

Take care and God’s blessings until next time!

May 21, 2017

It was a little different this weekend without my parents around, however a shout out to my cousin, Woody, for marrying the love of his life, Erica.  We wished we could have spent the weekend with them in San Francisco, helping them celebrate their unity, we were definitely there in spirit though.  Let me recap our last week:

Monday

• Lily took a fact fluency test in Math and worked on adaptations in Science.
• Ella and Mason listened to a guest speaker regarding aquatic invasive species.
• Jade started a book of memories for her 5th grade school year.
• Austin learned about which constellations can be seen like the Big & Little Dipper, etc.
• Hunter scored 52/68 on his “To Kill a Mockingbird” test.
• Chris surprised me with food from Taco John’s while I was at work.
• I had an EMG, my numbers showed that I’m right on the edge of carpal tunnel on my right wrist.

Tuesday

• Lily said she learned that owls live in both warm and cold climates.
• Ella and Mason prepared their portfolios for 5th grade in Fall.
• Jade and Austin were in the AV-W Spring Concert.
• Hunter had baseball at Northland Pines in Eagle River, they won 13-3; the last couple innings he played as 3rd baseman.

Wednesday

• Lily had a variety of stations in Music putting together puzzles, playing the drums and piano, and even banging PVC piping together to make noise.
• Ella and Mason worked on a stock market project during Social Studies, each student started with $500.  Mason ended with $910 and Ella $200, I was very impressed after hearing that a lot of their classmates went bankrupt.
• Jade chose her 6th grade electives:  choir and band (alto saxophone).
• Austin read the book “On My Honor” in Language Arts; he rated it 4 out of 5 stars.
• Hunter interviewed with the principal of L.U.H.S. for a technology internship… and got it!!
• Chris went hunting for turkeys but came home empty handed.

Thursday

• Lily created a diorama in Science displaying animals, non-living things, etc.
• Ella and Mason spent time reading with their Pre-K buddies.
• Jade and a partner designed a poster about saving the planet; they highlighted that people should visit more libraries instead of buying books.
• Austin composed a concrete poem which means the poem takes the shape of an object; his looks like a bar graph.
• Hunter sat in on a trades apprenticeship presentation which he seemed to enjoy.
• Chris and I headed to my parents’ house, on my day off, where we helped them with some housework, then the four of us scooted downtown for lunch and a little shopping.

Friday

• Lily took her last spelling test of the school year, only one marked wrong.
• Ella and Mason walked the AV-W trail with another guest speaker who focused on terrestrial invasive species; Ella stated the only thing they found was dandelions.
• Jade and her classmates had a wonderful bowling adventure, they played two games each and enjoyed time as a team.
• Austin toured the Red Crown Lodge located on the shore of Trout Lake and the Manitowish Waters Cranberry Marsh.
• Hunter’s baseball team lost yet again 0-6 at Medford, even though they held strong at 0-0 through the 4th inning.

Saturday 

• Hunter had his final baseball games, doubleheader to be exact, against Wausau East; they lost both games.
• I took the rest of the kids downtown shopping.  Anyone that knows me is probably thinking “You? Shopping?”  I know, I know.  It was actually really fun while walking around and hanging out with them.

Finally for today, besides a wonderful church service and a fun Sunday school session, the kiddos and I drove over to The Waters for pizza and swimming.  They wore themselves out and I was able to relax for a little while.

As always, we hope all is well with you and your families/friends.  We send our love, hugs & kisses!!

Take care and God’s blessings until next time!

May 15, 2017

Hopefully everyone had an amazing Mother’s Day… I know I did!  Even though I worked all weekend, I still was able to spend some quality time with my parents and kiddos.  I’m getting ahead of myself, so let me back up and recap our last week:

Monday

• Lily’s class covered time frame by the hour, half hour, and five minutes; also, she learned to create and read picture and bar graphs.
• Ella and Mason learned about symmetry and angles of Geometry; discussed the book “Mystery of the Great Lakes” in Reading; and in Science, watched a video on Silver Carp.
• Jade almost mastered rollerblading backwards in Gym.
• Austin started subtracting integers in Math.
• Hunter traveled to Rhinelander for baseball, they lost 2-10.
• Chris did our bi-monthly grocery (and misc.) shopping.
• I received an email from the school with the last parent newsletter of the school year, sad that it stated the last day of school is fast approaching = June 2nd.

Tuesday

• Lily played “Freeze Dance” in Music, it sounded like when we used to play “Red Light, Green Light” as kids but with music.
• Ella and Mason traveled to Camp Manitowish, along with all the 4th graders from AV-W, MHLT, LDF, and North Lakeland, where they participated in blind dodge ball, tag, and copy cat which is similar to Simon Says.
• Jade wrapped up her display board, presentation, etc. for her Shark Tank audition.
• Austin’s team in Health class won their trivia competition and was awarded a mini notebook for a prize.
• Hunter traveled to Tomahawk for a doubleheader, unfortunately they lost both games (0-2 and 2-7).

Wednesday

• Lily colored an owl for their new expedition unit and also had MAPS math testing.
• Ella and Mason took part in an online research activity for Reading class which was a scavenger hunt about Great Lakes Shipwrecks.
• Jade presented her Eco-Melter invention in front of the 7th grade sharks but unfortunately did not make it to the top 3.
• Austin had a test in Health covering the respiratory, circulatory, and digestive systems (he got 116%).
• Hunter had a verb test in Spanish II.

Thursday

• Lily discussed Orthography and had PALS testing in reading.
• Ella and Mason broke off into their teams for Battle of the Books so they could practice for their competition by reflecting on the book and facts about the author.
• Jade and the 5th graders held their innovation invention culmination where Chris, my parents, and I saw lots of interesting inventions the kids came up with.
• Austin’s crew played Capture the Flag and Health class started the puberty unit.
• Hunter traveled to Park Falls where they won 6-4.
• Chris put up trail cameras and walked almost 5 miles through the woods.

Friday

• Lily worked on expedition research where she had to find 5 behavioral or physical adaptations for their animal; she was also excited about having 4 recesses outside (technically 3 however gym was held outside as well).
• Ella and Mason played Clothespin Tag for Fitness Friday; they were tested on the ½ mile in Gym, Mason ran 4:52 and Ella 6:46.
• Jade helped with the arch in the Kindergarten garden by nailing on branches for the vines and plants to grasp onto.
• Austin played soccer during recess and finished his Mother’s Day surprise.
• Hunter and his Spanish II class headed over to a local Mexican restaurant, El Mez, where they practiced ordering food in Spanish.
• Chris worked 11 hours and only took a break during the lunch hour.
• I had a day off of work which gave me plenty of time for a laundry and cleaning day; I also made lunch for Chris and my parents: Cincinnati Chili.

Saturday & Sunday

• Lily had 3 birthday parties, thankfully my parents helped out with driving.
• Ella, Mason, Jade, Austin, and Hunter were taken to The Waters for a couple hours of swimming to wrap up the weekend.
• Hunter is almost finished with catechism classes and will soon be taking is 1st communion!
• Between Chris and myself, we worked a total of 35 hours just on the weekend alone.

If you’re still reading this, I’m sure you just shook your head and can’t believe that all of that was only in one week’s time.  You better believe it, we’re getting very busy and also very excited that the school year’s end is just around the corner.  Besides camps and summer classes, we have a giant surprise coming up that I can’t wait to tell you about!!

Speaking of surprises, while I was typing this blog, I received the confirmation email stating “Congratulations, TTI Class of 2020!” You know what this means?!?!  HUNTER MADE IT INTO THE ITA-TTI UW-MADISON PROGRAM!!!!!  On that note, we hope all is well with you and your families/friends.

We send our love, hugs & kisses!!

Take care and God’s blessings until next time!

May 7, 2017

I thought I’d start this week’s blog with one of my favorite quotes… “You know, you don’t have to look like everybody else to be acceptable and to feel acceptable.” – Fred Rogers

Not too much happened here the last week, however as promised, here’s the breakdown for this week:

• On Friday, Hunter was confronted about a student technology youth apprenticeship by the technology coordinator. There is currently a Junior who works with/fixes the school’s computers and other technology that Lakeland uses. The technology coordinator is looking for someone to replace the Junior when he graduates, some research was done by asking the LUHS staff and Hunter’s name was brought up.  Also, we’ll hear results from the ITA UW-Madison program interview the 3rd week of May, so stay tuned!
• Austin began mountain biking in gym class, they use the trail that’s close to the school.  In Science, they’re working on space timelines where they have to highlight six events, i.e. Apollo project.
• Jade’s MAPS testing results brought her a surprise, she went up on reading and down on math.  She also commented that she learned to juggle in fitness and they’re making flip books in Art.
• Mason and Ella traveled to Crystal Lake and Fallison Trail with their Pre-K buddies where they worked on Courage/Craftsmanship (working with crew mates to accomplish a goal) and Compassion (recognizing everyone has different backgrounds in the outdoors).  Mason said his favorite part was playing games with Adventure Andy, Ella piped in that she had two buddies which was difficult because one kept trying to wander off.  Another item brought up from this week was they made green paper out of recycled paper in Art.
• Lily wanted to share that she’s happy they’ve been taking a break from Math word problems.  Outside the classroom, she commented that for kickball, she’s great at pitching but not so great in the outfield.

Today, we had a beautiful day outside, we took advantage of the weather and Ella released her butterflies in a special “ceremony” hosted by none other than Ella herself.  I took lots of pictures and the kiddos had a wonderful time watching and chasing them around the yard.

As for Chris and myself?  We’re just busy bees working hard, Chris trying to control all the birthday parties in the water park and myself working for the town and at a retail shop downtown on the island.

As always, we hope all is well with you and your families/friends. We send our love, hugs & kisses!!

Take care and God’s blessings until next time!

April 30, 2017

I know it’s been about 2 weeks since I updated everyone on the happenings in the Kanzelberger household, I/we have been steadily busy and still are.  While the washing machine, dishwasher and breadmaker are running, I’m catching you up on the past events even though I’m sure I’ll be stopped a couple times throughout to switch laundry loads and pick up Hunter from catechism class.

With May right around the corner, it’s only fitting to recall that on May 1, 1961 the Pulitzer prize was awarded to Harper Lee for her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”.  I mention this because Hunter is currently reading that for school, I remember reading that book in school however not enough to have a discussion about it.  Hunter has some exciting past and future news to announce, so let’s begin the breakdown since April 15th:

Lily was anxious to share that in Music they created a “marching band” where she played the Maracas and their 2nd grade class had a fun manners tea party in which she made a bouquet of flowers out of colored papers and they were treated with juice and muffins for a snack.

Mason and Ella did bucket drumming in Music.  Ella wanted to make note that all of her caterpillars she received for her birthday have become chrysalises, she peeks on them at least 4 times a day just waiting for them to hatch into beautiful butterflies.  Another awesome report from the twins, they took an overnight field trip to Duluth, MN.  Before reaching their destination, they stopped off at UW Superior, Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center, Hartley Nature Center, and finally Great Lake Aquarium.  After sleeping with the fish, they toured William A Irvin, Amnicon Falls State Park, and Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center.  All the 4th graders looked so tuckered out after piling out the coach bus with the chaperones.

Jade was “Star of the Week” which had her busy making a poster all about her.  She rummaged through old pictures and documented her favorites like books, hobbies, food, etc. Chris was the lucky one to make her treat:  Birthday Cake Puppy Chow.  I usually steer away from making things THAT messy!

Austin’s gym class worked on cleaning up the bike trail that’s by their school and he finished his Forward testing.  He also wanted to mention how happy he is for his Sheboygan “Big Brother” Tim from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program who is retiring June 1st, Austin wishes him the best in this new chapter of his life.

Last, but not least, Hunter… Hunter received the results from their Math competition that was held in Stevens Point.  He ranked 9 out of 66 in the Algebra category, overall 25 out of about 260, and was the top scorer from Lakeland Union High School.  The other outstanding news is that Hunter will have his interview for the ITA-TTI  UW-Madison program tomorrow, we got word that he made it to the next level.  I have no doubt that once they meet him, they’ll choose him!  Grades are just paper but when they see the passion he has, they’ll know he’s a true fit.

As for myself?  It’s definitely an adjustment getting used to working 2 jobs and still keeping the house organized but Chris is helping out during the week when he’s home.  I’m loving my Deputy Clerk position and helping out at Monkey Business in downtown Minocqua is bringing me lots of joy.  It’s definitely never a dull moment with a household of 8, so you’ll have to stay tuned with upcoming news and events.

As always, we hope all is well with you and your families/friends. We send our love, hugs & kisses!!  Take care and God’s blessings until next time!

April 15, 2017

These last 2 weeks brought some great excitement, I’ve been appointed Deputy Clerk for the Town of Woodruff and couldn’t be more eager to jump into the position.  Chris is a little more relaxed now that Spring Breaks are over, however, before he knows it, it’ll be tourist season and the rush won’t let up until September.

Together, Chris and I have been occupied with Student Led Conferences, served beverages after church/before Bible class and assisted my parents with their basement bathroom addition.  Yesterday while Chris was at work, I took the kids over to my parents’ house for a new tradition of dying hard boiled eggs; it went over very well!

The kids have been just as active:

• Hunter headed outdoors for his Science homework about coniferous trees, traveled to Stevens Point for the last Math competition of the year, and besides baseball practices, games began putting him on 3rd base or even right field.
• Austin received 100% on his Science test about Earth’s atmosphere, his class watched a presentation about Space Camp, and even filled out an application to attend.  A former AV-W teacher who passed away after a long struggle with cancer wanted to send two students from the sixth grade each year to the U.S. Space Camp located in Huntsville, AL; the interest from the trust fund she set up helps pay the tuition.
• Jade initiated her technical drawing of her invention for Science class, practiced for state ELA and Math testing, and began their rain forest drawings in Art.  Last weekend, she headed to a friend’s house where they made some crafts including homemade slime.
• Mason and Ella began a “land/water/sky” clay project in Art which will have lighthouses, animals, and obviously water and clouds.  We had a mini birthday celebration for them on Wednesday because Chris’ mom was in town.  She got the twins BB guns with copper BBs.  Mason was also excited about his wood carving kit, he even made a letter opener for our pastor.  Ella was very thrilled about the modeling clay and clip on earrings she received.
• Lily tested on typing skills without being able to look at the keys and played some unique games during recess.  At home, she has been getting very good at hand knitting and braiding, she learns so quickly from her siblings.

I thought I’d end with an excerpt from http://www.history.com regarding Lent/Easter:

“Easter is really an entire season of the Christian church year, as opposed to a single-day observance. Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter Sunday, is a time of reflection and penance and represents the 40 days that Jesus spent alone in the wilderness before starting his ministry, a time in which Christians believe he survived various temptations by the devil. The day before Lent, known as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, is a last hurrah of food and fun before the fasting begins. The week preceding Easter is called Holy Week and includes Maundy Thursday, which commemorates Jesus’ last supper with his disciples; Good Friday, which honors the day of his crucifixion; and Holy Saturday, which focuses on the transition between the crucifixion and resurrection.”

As always, we hope all is well with you and your families/friends. We send our love, hugs & kisses!!

Happy Easter, take care and God’s blessings until next time!

April 3, 2017

Can you imagine no one running around or screaming? No one asking questions every other minute? No doors slamming?  Sounds real nice, doesn’t it?!  I don’t actually have any of THAT going on at the moment, however, I do have the dishwasher, washer, dryer, and breadmaker all making that pleasant, appealing humming like the busy bees they are each day blessing my life with assistance where they can.  So, as I sit here typing this week’s blog, my only obstacle is switching around the 2 loads of dishes and 8 loads of laundry.

Enough drab babble, let’s get on with the real reason you’re reading this…

The break down of last week:

• Lily started a new unit about manners.  Yes, manners!  I love hearing how they are learning when to use “Please”, “Thank you”, and “Excuse Me”.  I’m grateful it’s someone more than just Chris and I pushing to be polite.
• The Oneida and Vilas county 4th graders, which are Ella & Mason’s classes, are in a poster contest regarding invasive species.  They had a guest speaker and watched videos on how the invasive species have a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health.  Ella chose to cover the Eurasian watermilfoil; did you know Milfoil reproduces extremely rapidly and can infest an entire lake within two years of introduction to the system?  Mason chose Freshwater jellyfish; did you know there are over 70 places in Wisconsin alone to find freshwater jellyfish?
• Jade and her fellow 5th graders held a fundraiser for the local food pantry on Thursday; they raised $711.75 and are still accepting donations.  Lakeland food pantry not only accepts food, they welcome clothing, shoes, games, etc. which I find simply fascinating.
• Austin presented his health slideshow and received 100% although that does not even highlight the best part, his teacher is using his slideshow as an example for future classes to come.
• Hunter and other baseball teammates assisted in the set up of Minocqua Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual “Only Fools Run at Midnight” 5K run/walk by unloading trucks, setting up tables, etc. The proceeds benefited Dr. Kate Hospice and Hazelhurst Fire Department.  On a side note, the leftover food was delivered to Frederick Place who provides safe housing and basic needs to families and individuals who are experiencing homelessness.

As always, we hope all is well with you and your families/friends. We send our love, hugs & kisses!!

Take care and God’s blessings until next time!

March 26, 2017

We’re definitely back into our regular routine after Spring Break and now that my parents are back, we’ve gotten back into weekly meals with grandma and grandpa.  Also, as the 3rd trimester for the elementary school and 4th quarter for high school are beginning, we’ve signed up the kids for some summer classes and camps already.  It’s hard to believe that time is upon us…

Here is the recap from this past week:

• Hunter started to register for his Sophomore classes, he made the JV baseball team and began practices, and lastly, we received an update on the ITA-TTI program in UW-Madison which stated that letters will be going out at the end of April regarding acceptance into the program.
• Austin was excited to announce that he made honor roll and even received awards for perfect attendance and nightly reading for the 2nd trimester.
• Jade reported that she also received awards for perfect attendance and nightly reading, and was pleased to declare straight A’s for her classes.  She also made note that now for Musky Time, she gets to do fitness.
• Mason had a fun Friday, the 4th graders teamed up and learned all about the Great Lakes from the different 4th grade teachers who each chose to highlight a lake by having scavenger hunts, jeopardy, and videos; Mason and Ella’s teams won Little Murph Pizza certificates.  (Side note:  For anyone that isn’t familiar with Papa Murphy’s, a Little Murph is an individual pizza like when our generation had the personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut.)  He then ended the day by sleeping over at a friend’s house and staying up way past his normal bedtime.
• Ella informed me that she learned about poachers in Language Arts and how people sell ivory to get money. She was very ecstatic that she is able to do the technology class during Musky Time.
• Speaking of Musky Time, Lily’s working on typing and computer skills during hers.  Lily also revealed that her class won “the golden stool” for perfect attendance, how cool is that!?  I don’t ever remember earning anything for perfect attendance.

As for the adults in the house, last night Chris, Hunter, and my dad took the girls to the Father-Daughter dance at the elementary school.  It’s so neat how the invitation allows any type of father figure to take out their special girls for a fun night, because we have to remember that not everyone is blessed equally.  It didn’t sound like our girls did much dancing, however, they did have a wonderful time and that’s what matters.

As always, we hope all is well with you and your families/friends. We send our love, hugs & kisses!!

Take care and God’s blessings until next time!