Spring School Activities

This spring brought lots of activities at the school as well. They did the Run for the Arts program again. Each child gets pledges from friends, family and neighbors. They have 30 minutes to run a 1/4 mile loop around the blacktop. For each lap, they get their card marked. Then they get points awarded for how many laps combined with how many pledges. Each of the kids did well enough to earn the requisite 30 points to be awarded their Run for the Arts T-shirt. I believe Andrew ran 11 laps and Marin did 9 laps, but it might be more than that. I helped while Andrew's class was running so I got some pictures of him but I didn't help when Marin's class did it so there are no photos of her.

The kids also participated in the Spring Music Program. The Kindergarten-2 graders were one night and the 3-5th graders were another night. Each grade got to sing 2-3 songs. Both of the kids did well. They dressed up and sang their little hearts out. We are so proud of them.

Daisy Scouts' Spring Activities

It has been so long since I have posted on my blog that I am dreading the catch up portion. To condense, I am lumping all of the Daisy Scout activities into one post. Marin's Daisy troop had a bake sale early in the spring. They decided that they wanted to raise money to donate to the Oregon Food Bank. The girls were so excited to be making a difference in the world. They recruited parents and friends and even a couple of teachers to make treats to sell at the bake sale. We had no idea how successful the whole experience would be. We arranged to sell the goodies on a Friday at the end of the school day as parents were picking their children up from school. The girls had their tables of treats and a lemonade stand turned into a checkout stand. We were hoping that they would earn a few bucks and have fun. What happened amazed all the adults involved. The response was overwhelming. The line stretched for almost a full block in front of the school. People were not only buying everything we had, but donating money in the process. The girls sold everything, right down to the crumbs. If we had more we would have sold more. They ended up earning $140 one quarter at a time. It was an awesome experience. Never underestimate the power of Girls Scouts supporting a good cause.

They also did a day camp at the end of May. They went to Camp Namanu. I went along with the two leaders. It was freezing. We were dressed in winter coats and boots since we were ankle deep in mud at some points. It didn't matter to the girls. They loved it. The highlight of the day was the boating. The girls were in groups of 3 and 4. They went out onto the pond in little boats and paddled around without adults. It wasn't deep and there was a life guard monitoring the situation. The funnest part was watching the girls try to communicate with each other to organize their paddling efforts so that they could go in a straight line. The boat with 3 girls, Marin's boat spun around in circles for quite a while till they figured out how to balance the paddling efforts on both sides of the boat evenly. They loved the experience. It was a long day though. We had planned on staying for dinner but called it quits before dinner so that we could drive home. The girls were exhausted but joyful.

The girls graduated from Daisy Scouts to Brownies at the end of the school year. They had a bridging ceremony. They performed a dance and song routine that was quite cute. It is fun to have witnessed the progress and growth that the girls have made over the past year and a half. They are turning into very responsible young citizens.

Easter 2010

Easter came quick this year. It was here before I knew it and was ready for it. We didn't get around to dyeing eggs until the night before Easter. Our ward didn't do an egg hunt and the weather didn't cooperate for an outside hunt. The kids had to settle for a hunt around the house, which they were perfectly happy with. We spent Easter Sunday at Kevin's parents' house. It was also conference Sunday, so we watched conference and had a delicious Easter meal. It was a very relaxed day. The kids got to play in Grandma's jetted tub together while the adults relaxed and took turns watching them. We had a good mix of thinking about Jesus and doing the secular stuff that the kids like to do for it.

Art Show 2010

Every year, the school puts on an art show schoolwide. The kids love to see the halls of the school decorated with the art projects that they have done throughout the year. It is fun to go and take pictures of all the creations by these artist kids. Andrew was a little shy about his artwork. Marin proudly showed hers off. They made some beautiful things and I will be anxious to showcase them when they finally come home.

Spring Break 2010

Spring break was pretty low key this year. We didn't make any big plans, choosing to just hang loose and play as the wind took us. Fortunately, the weather was pretty nice all week which is rare for Portland. We had very little rain and the temperatures were nice enough that the kids wanted to play outside a lot. We spent a lot of time up in Vancouver, WA with Lisa, Kyle and Keri. It was fun for the cousins to play with each other and for the adults to have someone else to talk to. We went out to Seaside, OR one day with Lisa and Kyle. It was supposed to have been 62 degrees out there, but the wind was incredible. We played for a while on the beach, but the kids couldn't deal with the cold and wanted to come home. (Despite the cold though, Andrew and Marin opted for shaved ice on the way home as their treat. Brrrrr.) Nothing like the Oregon coast to make you appreciate warm sandy beaches. It was still a fun day trip though. Aunt Keri planned for the kids to do some painting one afternoon. They all had a good time making their own masterpieces. Overall, it was a relaxing spring break.

Vernonia Taekwondo Tournament

Andrew competed in another Taekwondo tournament. It was out in Vernonia, OR which is out in the boonies. Laura was here for a weekend visit so I felt bad that we were going to spend most of the day sitting in a high school gym. When we got there, the gym was frigid!! Apparently the boiler had broken in the middle of the night and had been sending cold air into the building for several hours. They had the doors open because it was warmer outside than it was inside. Needless to say, it made for miserable conditions. Andrew competed in his form, board breaking and sparring. We came unprepared for board breaking. He told me that he didn't want to compete in it because he had never broken wooden boards before. When we got there though, they had said that he could do it and they had extra boards. Andrew did really well, despite the cold. He finished first in his forms, second in board breaking and third in sparring. He should have been second in sparring as well, but there was a mistake with the judging. They had an inexperienced teenager keeping score during one of Andrew's sparring matches. Andrew had beaten his opponent, but the kid had scored it wrong. Even the head judge questioned it and said he thought Andrew had won. To be fair, they sparred again, but Andrew got beat the second time around. It was good experience for him. I am so proud of how far he has come in taekwondo. He is getting so close to getting his black belt. This time next year and he should have it.

Marin's 7th Birthday

I am ashamed to say that I am not even posting about Marin's birthday in her birthday month. I have been swamped with stuff and have not gotten around to posting anything for two months. Marin is so sweet and she deserves better, so Mommy is sorry Marin.

Marin had a great birthday. She had her first party with friends. Every other year, she has chosen to go to Skamania Lodge instead of having a party with friends, so this was a bit of a shock. Marin invited several friends to go to Build-A-Bear workshop. They were all very cute. Most of the girls chose a bear covered in shamrocks. I think they all had fun making their bear and choosing names, clothes, etc. We had pizza and cupcakes after the girls were finished with their stuffed animals. Marin seemed to be enjoying herself as did the rest of the crowd. We also had a family party for Marin on the Sunday before her birthday. Marin chose to have homemade mac and cheese for dinner. That is her favorite thing. We got a cake from Costco and we put an edible image of Marin as a baby on the top of it. It was very cute, but I didn't like the idea of eating baby Marin. This is the second year in a row that Marin has wanted a picture of herself on the cake. She said it was a Marin-themed birthday. On Marin's actual birthday, we went to Red Robin for dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Harker and then the kids came with me to my dodgeball game. (Yes I am in a dodgeball league.) They love coming to the games, even though there isn't really a safe place for them to sit. They end up dodging balls too. I think that overall, Marin had a great birthday weekend. She is such a sweet, special little girl. She would do anything for anyone. I am so glad that she is in our family. I continue to be proud of what a wonderful daughter she is growing up to be. Where did my baby go though? Seven years old already?