Trying his arm at pitching

Is this really happening? My boy is on the pitcher's mound. Nick spent last year playing catcher. This year, he decided to try his hand (and arm) at pitching. And, he's not too bad. It gives me a heart attack every time he steps onto the mound, but Nick is cool as a cucumber. Only time will tell if this is where he stays.

 

Strawberry Saturday

The Christensen strawberry-picking tradition continues! These boys love strawberries, and fresh are best! Heartland Farms is just a few minutes outside town and always a great place to go picking. This year we even managed to get through the entire row without eating any extras. That might be a first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we were done picking strawberries, we decided to stop by the Waterloo Farmer's Market. It was a little early in the season for many fresh veggies, but we did run into an old friend from The Courier. She's known me for awhile, but she knows OF my boys because her daughter is in charge of the Y program that the big boys attend before and after school. Her daughter is also the one who taught my boys sign language. She's pretty cool, too. She gave each of the boys a cool bracelet with their astrological sign on it. Day made.

 

Camp Invention

This kid loves him some science. If you ask him what he wants to be when grows up he will usually say a scientist (sometimes he says artist, sometimes both). This year he asked if he could go to Camp Invention. When I asked him why he wanted to go he said "Because I think it will help me be a scientist when I grow up." How do you say no to that?

I don't know what all he did during the week, but he came home every day grinning from ear to ear and chatting away about everything he was learning and the things he got to take apart and look inside (a keyboard, labelmaker and some hard drives). On the last day they had a little scientist expo where we were supposed to see all his inventions from the week. Unfortunately, one kid from each group got to take home the invention, and they didn't necessarily have to wait until everyone had the chance to look so we didn't get to see everything. We did get to see this, though, a tree house for Adventure Park. He's already talking about next year. I can't wait to see what he comes up with then!

Happy birthday to me

When my mom turned 50 in February, we got her (among other things) a gift card for Cedar Valley Art and Wine. Life got in the way, and we never got around to using it until tonight. Lucky me, we were able to celebrate my birthday and her's (again) with wine and painting. It was a first for most of us, and I think we were all pleasantly surprised with how our pieces turned out.

Just missing Ashley (she had to work)

Joni was my "date" for the night!

When did he get this big?

When did Nick go and grow up? This weekend, out of the blue, he decided he was going to make his own lunch. He went and found the Velveeta Shells and Cheese, read the instructions and carefully watched his pot so he didn't make a mess. I showed him how to strain the noodles, but he did all the work.

After taking the first bite, he said "And it tastes good, too!" Way to go kid. I'm proud of you. Now ... when can I get him to make dinner for everyone?

Lazy summer day

Our last few summers have been ridiculously busy, so this summer we are taking a little time to just be and sometimes that means hanging out inside even on a nice summer day (it didn't help that Mike woke up with a gimpy knee). Today, we played several games of Ticket to Ride (a new family favorite).

Ben was a trooper (he can be my train builder, but otherwise is too little to play this game) and entertained himself with his old favorite—Power Rangers.

After our game, Zander joined him on the porch. I love listening to these two play together. Their imaginations are always going a million miles a minute. I also love when they actually play with all of the toys we own. It makes a ridiculous mess (that they often forget to clean up), but at least they are actually playing!

My little scientist

Zander has been bugging me for weeks to help him make the sandstone that came in a rock set he bought at the Science Museum of Minnesota in March. If I had taken the time to read the directions to see that it only takes about five minutes, I probably would have helped him sooner. Oops. Instead, I took a much needed/wanted break from hauling rocks to help this budding scientist create sandstone in our kitchen.

According to the directions all we needed was a little sand packet, sugar and water. Mix it together, heat it in the microwave and we were supposed to have sandstone. We didn't. But, Zander was a trooper and thanked me for trying, at least. Gotta love that kid. 

The Friendly Meeple

A woman I know from work and her husband are board game aficionados. But, they aren't fans of the games we are used to like Monopoly or Clue or Uno. They like Eurogames with funny names like Carcassonne and Agricola. They own a ton of them and like to share their love for games through monthly get-togethers called The Friendly Meeple (a reference to the playing pieces in Carcassonne. We've been talking about going to a game day or night since they started almost a year ago but just never really found a time that worked until today. I think we will now be staples. The boys loved playing new games, and I loved that it was free and family-friendly. The big boys played several new games (I even joined them for Ticket to Ride, which we went out and bought on our way home that night) and Ben even found a new game that he enjoyed.

First day of summer

It's the first day of summer for the big boys, and we tried to start it off right (at least by my standards). The boys started the day with 25 minutes of reading and then another 20 or 30 minutes working in their summer workbooks. Knowing that I'm heading back to work next week means that this likely won't happen again, but it was good to feel productive at least once this summer.

Once the work was done, the boys headed outside to play. My only goal for this summer is to spend less time on electronics and more time playing. I don't care if they are inside or outside, alone or with friends. I just want them playing! Fortunately, Zander has a lot of kids to play with in the neighborhood. The girls down the street (Cyniah and Ari) and Brianna are good about indulging Zander's love for a good mudpie and superheroes. Unfortunately, they are less inclined to do the things Nick likes to do, like play hockey, basketball, kickball and baseball (basically anything competitive). This has caused huge drama at our house already this spring, and I imagine it will only get worse as the summer drags on. 

And Ben will play with whoever is willing to keep him entertained. He's flexible like that. 

A {rock} skipping we will go

It's the first day of summer vacation for everyone, and the boys' don't have any daycare. The park we wanted to go to was busy with a girl's birthday party (eww ... girls) so we decided to head off on the trails on an adventure. Unfortunately, this trail was pretty boring except for this small spot under the bridge where the boys spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to skip rocks. And, if you count Ben skipping rocks on rocks, they all managed to get at least one skip in. This was Zander's first time skipping on water and he was super excited about his accomplishment.

And this made the whole day worth it for me. All three of my boys looking at the camera with real smiles on the their faces. Priceless. Even if they are under a bridge.

My baby is a kindergartner

This can't be happening. My baby's last day of preschool is today and now he will be a kindergartner. I mean, he's ready for it, but I still don't know if I am. I keep telling him he needs to stay little a little while longer. He humors me by trying to shrink down, then very seriously says, "Sorry, mom, it isn't working."

Crafting at the library

Every summer the boys participate in the library's summer reading program. And by participate I mean we go to the library, check in, maybe do the craft (today was a mini basketball hoop) and then check out some books. If I'm lucky, they might read them. Usually, we don't. I always have good intentions for summer reading, but usually the day just gets away from us. Between work and baseball and just wanting to be outside, reading tends to get pushed to the back burner (especially for Nick). But, I figure there is something to be said for taking them and trying, right? At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Preschool park day

The boys' preschool celebrates the end of the school year with a fun day at a nearby park, and today was finally Benny's turn! Unfortunately, a heavy rain the night before kept us from the park, but the kids were super excited to get to play on the big kids' playground instead (it's way better than the park anyway).
Ben practiced his American Ninja Warrior skills ...

(Ben was stoked to try this obstacle, which is just like one on ANW)

and hung out with these yahoos.

And me!

They ended the day in the gym (the big kids needed their playground back), where they played with the big parachute and ran off some steam.

It's crazy to think that we are done with preschool and Blessed Sacrament. The preschool and daycare (Ben's still in daycare there this summer) have treated us well over the years.

Mrs. Condra, Mrs. Hussy and the preschool class

What a difference a year makes

I see these two boys every day. Sure, I realize they are growing up, but it wasn't until I saw these pictures side by side that I realized just how much they had grown over the course of one year.

Nick is turning into quite a great young man. It's hard to believe he is only 10! Especially when you stand next to him. He's 5'3" and strong as can be. He still isn't a huge fan of school, but he did well and has found other areas where he can excel. He played hockey all winter and is already practicing for a summer of baseball.

Then there is Zander. He's also grown up quite a bit this year. He loves school, is a great reader and wants to learn more about everything. Even better, once he learns it, he remembers it. While he's not a sports kind of kid, he's super excited for summer because he gets to go to Camp Invention for the first time.


  

Ben's 5th birthday (and Mother's Day)

How is Ben five? Well, almost anyway. We celebrated his birthday (and Mother's Day) with our usual little family party. It's nothing too exciting, but the boys don't seem to mind. Look how excited Ben got for some Matchbox cars.

 

And a Power Rangers Nerf-esque gun.

 

 

But his favorite was the soccer ball. He's been playing with a hand-me-down ball for two summers and was so excited to finally have one of his own.

 

 

 

Since it was actually Mother's Day and everyone was already together, we also celebrated that with my mom and mema.