First Day Of School

Today was the first day of school and the kids were mostly ready to go back. While it's nice to have them back on a routine it's also a bit hectic with fall activities starting up too. Nathan is now in 5th grade and Allison is in 2nd. Only 2 more years and Nate will be at the Junior High building. That's crazy! I can still remember holding him when he fit in my hands. Everyone says the time just continues to speed up and I'm starting to understand it.

Allison with friends Abby and Hannah on the first day of school.
Heidi's annual picture of the kids on their first day of school. Allison looks WAY too old in this picture for me...

Lansing Capital Field Trip

Today was the annual Bauerwood 4th grade field trip to Lansing. Heidi got to go along for the chaos... er, fun. All three 4th grade classes took charter busses to Lansing and parents tagged along in cars. They visited the Capital Building and the Michigan Historical Museum. Sounds like it was a long day but interesting for the kids and the adults. Sorry to say Nathan didn't get a chance to question any of the legislatures on why they passed that simulus bull... I mean bill. But that's a topic for another time. Here are some shots from the trip.

The Capital Building...
Nathan's class at the museum...
Nathan next to an old logging cart... look at the size of that wheel!
David, Jonas, and Nathan hanging out "on the farm"
Nathan rolling up his sleeves...

Bauerwood Sock Hop

Tonight was the annual Bauerwood Elementary "carnival". But there was an added twist this year as they hired a DJ and held a 50's Sock Hop! Early on, dinner was served followed by carnival type games in all of the classrooms (and lots of candy prizes of course). After the games, the music started in the gym and the kids got to dance to the music. Allison LOVED it and couldn't resist doing the Hand Jive which they've been learning in music class. Unfortunately, Nathan was a bit under the weather but still went and even joined in for the Chicken Dance.

Allison cutting it up on the dance floor with Abbie...
Chester Chicken showed up during the Chicken Dance...

Fitness Fun Run

The kids had a challenge in their gym classes this week to run 1 mile as fast as they could. Allison's grade had to run for a set time instead of a mile. She said it was fun but her and Danni (friend in her class) skipped toward the back of the pack and took their time. She's never been a fan of long running. Nathan, on the other hand, was pretty pumped up to see how well he'd do in the mile run with all the hockey and dry land training he's been doing. When he was training for his triathlon last summer he was running the mile in about 12 minutes. He arrived home the day of the run and called me at work to let me know he ran the mile in 8 min 37 seconds and came in third place in his class. Needless to say he was pretty proud (as was I)!

Then, a couple days later, the Jenison schools held a 1 mile fun run prior to the Varsity football game to promote fitness with the kids and collect canned food for a local food bank. Allison went to a movie with her friend and Heidi was in Florida for work so I took Nathan to the race. It started near the entrance of the football stadium, circled most of the high-school grounds, and ended with a lap around the track while the football teams were warming up. I'm not sure what "place" he took but I'd guess only about 10-15 kids finished before him. But the coolest part was he ran it in 8 min 14 seconds! Way to go Nathan! That dry land training is paying off for more than just hockey...

Warming-up on a cold, rainy night...
On your mark... get set... GO!
Finishing on the track

Schooooooools Out... (For... Summer)!

Today was the last day of school for the kids. This week has been full of field trips, parties, and fun times at school (aka very little work). Wednesday was the "Bauerwood Bash" at Bauerwood Elementary School. The whole day was full of games like a dunk tank, relay races, tug-o-war, water balloon war, abstacle course, etc. The weather wasn't the greatest but the festivities went on as scheduled. And the kids got to have their Bauerwood Bash T-shirts signed by their friends (it's tradition).

The highlight of the last day of school (besides the final bell) was when the kids got to find out who their teacher would be for next year. Allison will be in Mr. Barbachyn's 1st grade class. That's who she was hoping for. Nathan had him for first grade and that's been is favorite teacher so far. Nathan will be in Mrs. VanDerHulst's 4th grade class. He's also excited for next year.

Here are a few pictures from the Bauerwood Bash...

<-- Allison in the water balloon fight <-- Zoie, Allison, Abbi, and Morgan T. <-- Nathan at the dunk tank <-- Jarrod, Brandon, Nathan, Jake, and Austin goofing around

Bauerwood Elementary Spring Concert

Nathan had his 3rd grade spring concert tonight. It was actually called a "fine arts night" at the school. His class sang a couple songs, played a song on the xylophones, and did a group dance that sped up each verse. It was a fun night (and Nathan actually sang and danced!). After the show, we ate cookies and toured the hallways to see some of the art projects all of the kids had made. Here's a (very) short clip of the end of one of the songs..

One of Nathan's projects was a sculpture of a face... (reminds me of the Gum Gum.. Dumb Dumb guy in Night At The Museum). The other picture is Allison posing below a shadow drawing of herself singing with a microphone. Her teach did one of these shadows of a few of the kids to hang in the gym during the concert.

Allison is a Special Person...

Allison is the special person at school this week. She took her WebKinz in for show and tell. She also got to bring home Lily Pad... the class' traveling stuffed animal. The kids are supposed to take pictures of what they do with Lily Pad during their "Special Person Week" to share with the class. Since the snow is just about gone, our adventure was a bike ride to the playground at the kids' school. Here are some pictures of Ally with Lily Pad...