End of Year Wrap-up

The end of the school year is the best. Full of field trips, sports days, and very little school work. And luckily, I got to join my kids for most of it.

These little bandits had a field trip to Lancaster County Park. We visited the Garden of 5 Senses, collected insects, played games, and had a picnic.

Against all odds, Addison and Marie ended up in the same class this year. It will probably never happen again, so they enjoyed every minute of it. Unfortunately, Mia ended up in morning kindergarten, so they never got to see her. But they hit the jackpot that day and ran into her on the field trip!

They had a pretty fun little class this year, we'll miss these guys.

Our school district is unique in that we have district mascot, not school mascots. We're the Lampeter-Strasburg Pioneers. And every year, the 5th graders get to have "Pioneer Day." Every 5th grader comes dressed as a pioneer (only one of 250 didn't this year) and participates in parlor games, panning for gold, orienteering, and several other stations. I was in charge of moccasin-making and they were pretty stellar, if you ask me! I don't know how much the kids love it, but it's better than math and reading, I guess. It's a pretty fun tradition, and I never would've thought I'd see something like this outside the state of Utah.

The 5th graders also go to Philly for a day. When it was Kyle's turn to go, it was a rainy, awful day. I wasn't able to go on this one, but didn't feel too badly about that after I found out they walked around Philly in the pouring rain, missed out on seeing the Liberty Bell due to long lines, and got stuck in traffic for 2 hours on the way home. Imagine that bus ride full of wet, smelly 5th graders!

Well, when sports day rolled around, it was another wet, nasty day. So, instead of full day of fun outside, they were stuck inside the gym for a whopping 60 minutes playing "Butterfingers." It sure freed up my schedule, but I felt for them getting gypped again. Somehow, these three neighborhood buddies ended up on the same team. Pretty fun.

And finally, (finally!) after 2 dozen snow days this winter, the last day of school arrived. There wasn't any program or fanfare for the 5th graders, but there also wasn't any sadness!

Marie, on the otherhand, had a cute little program, complete with songs, poems, and awards. It was sweet.

 

They also showed a slideshow from the year, where I caught these girls giggling, singing, and dancing along. There's a lot of personality there, I can't wait to watch them grow up (or can I).

 

It was a great year, and I couldn't have asked for a better start for Marie!

A colorful, HAPPY day!

I'm not really a runner. I don't run dozens of miles every week, and I'm not very fast. I have no desire or intention of ever running a marathon, or even a half. A sprint triathlon sounds pretty fun, but only if I can improve my swimming. That being said, I LOVE a good 5K. Short and sweet, with a fun energy about it.

   

So when the COLOR Run came to Hershey, I jumped on that band wagon pretty quickly. And when Kevin said he wanted to do it, too, I covered my shock well, said "Great!" and registered him before he could change his mind.

We registered just in the nick of time, literally minutes before it was filled. I had no idea how popular it was, or how packed it would be. Call me naive, I guess. Unfortunately, it was so packed, that I could've walked faster than we ran, but oh well. Once we saw the type of race it was, we really wished we would've brought Kyle with us. Shoot, maybe even Marie could've done it.

We had a quite a few friends running, also. We ran into the Carr's along the path and partied with them afterwards.

We had a blast doing it, but I think next time will be a family affair. Our kids would love it.

Afterwards, we hit up Hershey Park (happy!) for some fun with friends. We're pretty lucky to have these guys. Greatest friends ever. Now, would somebody please adopt an 11-year-old boy so Kyle can have a friend?!

Someone, who shall not be named (ahem, KYLE) had a bathroom emergency while waiting in line for the Sidewinder. So we used the bathroom, then entertained ourselves during our looong wait for the rest of the gang to get off.

Matt is basically a fully-grown child and prides himself on beating other innocent children at amusement park games. He's been known to gleefully rub stuffed animals in other childrens' faces as he walks away.

So you can imagine Kyle's excitement when he crushed him at the water-shooting-game-thingie. Kyle was pretty stoked, although he did refrain from any celebratory dances or face rubbing. I was proud of him.

Pablo pays a visit

My brother Paul had some business in Philly on Friday, and decided to extend his stay for a day or two and come see us. He and I are the closest in age at a little less than two years apart. We shared a room when we were little, and went through school together. Yet, he's the one that I get to see and visit with the least (living 1500 miles apart will do that). So this was a treat - for us, at least!

I picked him up at his hotel, and lucky for me, he had no interest in trying a cheesesteak. So, he humored me by making a detour at Shake Shack (I just can't quit their burgers with cherry peppers). We stuffed ourselves and continued on.

It was a pretty quiet, relaxing weekend filled with baseball watching and the Masters. But we snuck a little fun in there:

 You know he's trying to be a good uncle when he plays baseball with Marie...

We went to Central Market, which is the oldest publicly owned and continually operating market in the United States. It's located at the center of town, and is pretty fun to walk around.

You'd better bring your appetite to Market (yes, that's a capital), because it's all food, produce, and flowers. Okay, maybe a few little trinkets and other things.

And eat we did! They have amazing donuts. Paul and Kyle got the maple with bacon, which is surprisingly delicious. I was shocked that Kyle would try it, and like it. Paul declared it "the best donut" he's ever had. He could describe in detail why, but I'll spare you the details.

 

It was the most gorgeous, sunny day, which just added to the charm of walking around downtown.

 At one point, Marie asked Kevin to buy her a giant balloon on a stick. To which Kevin replied, "Nah, I'll just blow one up for you at home." All it took was one disgusted, sad look from Marie and grandpa was over there buying them each a balloon. And there you have it - the epitome of parents vs. grandparents!

 After Market, we hit up Kyle's soccer game, which we luckily won 6-0. So nice to be winning again! More on that later...

We also got to celebrate Ponch's birthday, with a few treats from the market. Everyone (except Kevin) loves this little dog. I'm pretty sure my kids would pick him over me.

In true Marie fashion, she crafted a little birthday crown for him. And as his gift to her, he actually kept it on for a moment!

 

We ended the night with some weed burning, wiffle ball, and a fire. Roasted peeps, anyone? Oh, and this just so happens to be the only semi-decent picture of Paul I have. He hates having his picture taken, and may have made some inappropriate gestures that deemed the others unusable. Oh well. Just one of the many things we love about him. Thanks for visiting, Pablo!

March's This & That

Some of the random, little things that occurred during March. Courtesy of my phone, of course!

 

Kyle and I have a long-standing tradition of going to LSHS's annual spring musical. We've both loved it, but I wondered if he was starting to get too old for it. If he would think it was lame or embarrassing. And on top of that, Marie is now old enough and begging to go. So this year, I asked him if he would mind if his sister came along. And he replied, "Well, if she has to. But I kind of like it just you and me. You know, something we do together." So, I think it's safe to say that he still really enjoys it! I guess I might be seeing it twice in the future? Unless I can convince Kevin to take Marie...

Anyhow. Neither of us was too excited about this year's choice: Seussical. But I have to say that we were pleasantly surprised. It was awesome, and LSHS always has a fabulous, talented cast. I'm amazed at what they can do with high school productions...such a fun night with my boy!

 

Just a week later, we got to go support some friends in LS Idol. We'd never been before, and it was a blast. Lots of talent. I'm so glad my kids love music.

We had to snap a picture with Grant, one of our favorite friends and contestant in the competition. If you can't tell by his red face, he was completely embarrassed by the attention and physical contact. He deals with some issues and I was so impressed and proud of him. I had no idea he had such talent!

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day, which has somehow become one of our very favorite holidays. There were leprechaun shenanigans, green food, treasure, class parties, and Marie's 1st annual St. Patrick's Day party. Much more to come!

We hit up Bucca di Beppo, in honor of Matt's birthday. It's the craziest Italian place, filled with odd, kitschy stuff. Honestly, I think we wandered around the place for an hour marveling at the weird decor. So fun.

His only wish was to sit at the "Pope Table," and his dream came true. Yes, that's a bust of the pope in the middle of the lazy susan, and yes, it's slightly creepy to be eating your dinner with the pope staring back at you.

And yes, we may have taken a photo in the bathroom, just to document the whole experience.

Spring arrived, and our beloved Rita's opened again! Kyle lives and breathes their Swedish Fish gelati. Come visit, we'll take you!

We had Stake Conference, which I wouldn't normally take pictures of. But at one point I looked around at my family, and was hit with a combination of humor and shame. Apparently, this is what the Turners look like at stake conference - Marie playing with friends, Kyle sprawled out asleep on the chairs, Kevin playing the Etch-a-sketch, and me....taking pictures, I guess. Lots of room for improvement there! In our defense, we found our favorite missionary, and I actually remember most of the talks!

My kids have the best grandparents ever - both near and far. These guys drove three hours to attend kindergarten's Grandparents Day. And then turned around and drove home. They sure know how to make our kids feel special.

They had a whole program lined up, with poems, songs, a scavenger hunt, and buffet of desserts. The older grades don't put forth nearly the effort, so this was a treat. My parents told Kyle he'd better have his songs and poems ready when they come to his Grandparents Day in May. :)

Ten on Tuesday v. 7

1. We had another snow day today. Yes, another. Let's just say that the east coast doesn't deal with snow...very well. It's comical. It's not all bad, though. 

Pros: It's beautiful. It makes for relaxing, cozy days with my kids. We have a great sledding hill out back. My kids have gotten good use of their snow gear (finally!).

Cons: It's cold. Sometimes those "cozy" days turn crazy. It's cold. And we're now going to school until at least June 12th. Shoot me now.

2. With warmer weather on my mind, I randomly went to the Dutch Wonderland page, and lo and behold, look who appeared!



We have a celebrity on our hands...

3. Sometimes I have to look away while my son is eating. Please tell me this is normal for 10-year-old boys. We're working on the manners, but sometimes it's not worth the fight and I just look away.



4. Kevin and I got crafty a few weeks ago and made Marie a little set of bunk beds for her (fake) American Girl dolls. It was oddly satisfying and we've vowed to do more (non-house) projects together in the future.



5. I experienced the great photo fiasco of 2014 last week. Yes, it's only February, so it might be a little premature to call it that. But let's just hope I don't experience a worse one this year. I decided to back-up past years (pre-external hard drive) from DVDs onto the hard drive, only to find that several disks won't read. Don't worry - I'm only missing half of 2008 and three-fourths of 2009. Yes, my daughter's birth is included in there. Let's just say I've shed a few tears.

6. Kyle had his last Pinewood Derby last week. He definitely didn't go out big like he wanted to, but the car looked great. And Kevin's doing a happy dance that he'll never have to make (I mean, HELP with) another car again!



7. We have a funnel cake maker. Yes, we can make funnel cakes at home. Be jealous. They are JUST that tasty. And Kevin's happy that they don't cost $5. "What??? That's ridiculous. I'm not paying that!"

8. Marie and I were cleaning her room the other day, and I asked her to separate the stuffed animals that she REALLY loves into one pile, and the ones that she doesn't care about into another pile. Every parent out there knows I was going to discretely get rid of the lesser-loved pile. Well, 30 minutes later, there were 30 in the LOVED pile, and one lonely dog sitting by himself in the other pile. Fail. 

Even worse, she outright asked me if I was going to get rid of the dog, and when I answered "maybe," she started sobbing and telling me how much she was going to miss it. He quickly got moved back to the giant pile. Double fail.


                                                 (photo by Marie. Along with 1200 other photos of toys in her room...)

9. It was during this same cleaning raid that I had a slight breakdown. One moment I was cursing my daughter for being such a pack rat, and the next, I was inwardly sobbing and dreading the day that she no longer plays with the PILES of Barbies, dolls, stuffed animals, and knickknacks. It'll be gone before I know it.

10. Two words: Flexible Comedy. Marie's school invited this guy for a family event on Friday night, and it was a riot.

I mean, I laughed so hard I cried. He was dorky, clean, and absolutely hilarious.

A birthday and some visitors!

Kevin celebrated a birthday this weekend. It was the big 3-7, which is a little strange, because I distinctly remember my parents at this age. And while they weren't old, they didn't exactly seem young and hip. So strange to think that's exactly how Kyle sees us now...

However, my husband will always be young at heart. Case in point: all month long, he told me not to get him any presents, his birthday wasn't a big deal, etc. But the closer it got to the big day, the more he couldn't contain himself. "So...do you have my presents already? Are they hidden in the house somewhere? Don't you think it's it's okay to open them the night before? Close enough, right?"

It was a torturous wait, but finally the big day arrived and he got to go on his present scavenger hunt. We did a pretty good job this year - it took him quite awhile to find a few of them.

 Marie was almost more excited about Kevin's birthday than he was. She prepared his present weeks ahead, and the look of pride and joy on her face as she watched him open it was priceless. She finds such joy in giving.

He always wants pecan pie for his birthday, and luckily I discovered this stuff, which makes it a breeze. Unfortunately, I waited until the last minute to order it this year, so that was one pricey pecan pie. And the kids hate the stuff, so I always have to make something else in addition. This year it was a lemon cream pie. It was pretty tasty.

We were also lucky enough to have some visitors that weekend! Chad, Emily & Lincoln came up for a few days. Kevin likes to think they came for his birthday, and we're not going to argue with him.

While they were here, we hit the National Railroad Museum. We'd been there once before, but it had been awhile. It's a great one for families, because there's a lot of hands-on stuff, and plenty to space to let Lincoln wander.

They got to shovel coal for awhile, which Kyle quickly turned into a dodge ball match. Marie had to point out the sign - "Please keep coal in the box." Very typical of their personalities.

My kids cannot get enough of this little guy. They followed after him the entire weekend. But, I think the top favorite was singing karaoke with him. I heard, "I miss Lincoln. He's so cute." more than once after they left.

We also hit up Hershey's Chocolate World, the Amish market (they have the best popcorn), relaxed, and played games late into the night. We definitely went through withdrawls after they left, wishing we had some buddies to play games with.

So glad they came JUST for Kevin's birthday! Love you guys!

Tiny Ballerina

You know how parents have expectations for their children? Not the demanding-type of expectation that junior is going to be a concert pianist, get straight A's, and be a high school football star. But the kind of expectations that say, "Oh, my daughter LOVES to sing. She has pretty good pitch, and I bet she's going to be pretty good singer someday."

Well, my kids seem bound and determined to prove every one of my expectations wrong. Kyle, while very talented athletically, just doesn't have any sort of competitive drive and is probably not going to be out on the field in high school. 

And before this year, I would have assumed that maybe dancing was going to be Marie's thing - given her rhythm, her propensity to dance around the house anytime music is playing, and the begging for dance classes. Instead I've heard comments about how "dance class just isn't that much fun."

Last night was parent observation at the studio, and I'm pretty sure I wore a giant smile across my face the entire time. Partly, because I was laughing at the awkwardness of my sweet little ballerina. Let's face it, she's not the most coordinated, graceful girl in the bunch. Clearly, my kids inherited that from me.

But mostly I was smiling because of how hard she was trying. She kept stealing glances at me, wondering if I was watching. And I was. I loved watching her so much, I thought my heart would burst.

And while I wouldn't bet on the fact that she's going to be a ballerina, I'm going to enjoy every moment of this stage, and wait with eagerness for that summer recital in June.

Besides, I think she's probably more of a hip-hop girl.

 

Science Factory

Our library offers these great family passes to several of the local museums. You check them out like a book, and it's good for admission for 4 people. Perfect for our little family, and it usually saves us $30 or so. It's awesome.

This time around, we checked out the Science Factory. Kyle had been there a few times for fieldtrips & birthday parties, but Marie had never been. And because Kevin couldn't come, Kyle's friend Alex tagged along.

It was the perfect way to spend another cold, snowy day off school. It was dead, and the kids had free reign of the place.

Surprisingly (or not surprising???), it was Marie who had the best time of all. In fact, she's already decided that she's having her 6th birthday party there, and inviting 6 kids, and after the party they're all going to come back to our house where she'll have a special fortune-telling booth set up. "Marie-dini," she's calling herself.

That girl, she always has a plan in the works...