The day before the big day!

We had orientation for Timothy and Teresa today.  It is the day the parents go and get lots of information and we bring in school supplies.  It gives the kids a chance to see their class and locker and who will be in their class.  We had some extra time, so we checked out the library and showed Teresa where she will have lunch.  Both kids seem more excited about the school year now.  Timothy is excited to have 2 recesses and excited about his science units.  Teresa was excited to see the books in her room and the pretend play area.  It will be a big day tomorrow certainly, but it was nice to have a short time at school today together as a preview of what is to come tomorrow and the whole year.  Praying for a great year for my 2nd grader and kindergartner!

Mrs. Balk and Timothy

Mrs. Pfohl and Teresa

August update

I feel like my posts often start where did the month go! Well it happened again.  August is almost gone and we have done a lot and now it is time to catch up in pictures.

We made a weekend trip to Verona.  We had fun playing with her, visiting the neighborhood playground and taking in the Vilas beach.  We also had the chance to visit with Dick and Carol again--which is becoming a summer tradition so it seems!

We had a fun family day at Swiss Valley nature center and park.  After exploring the nature center, we had a picnic lunch and then headed into the creek.  Timothy was a persistent crawdad hunter and Teresa had fun playing in the water.  We spent nearly 3.5 hours there!

The kids and I made a quick trip up to see my parents in MN.  We had fun with the cousins and little cousin Cal too.  It was rainy and chilly, but we still had fun going to the Y for swimming and playing inside.  And Grandpa Ken always has something interesting to pull out...this time an old mattress that was cut up.  A perfect toy for jumping on!

Big hugs for Grandma Rebecca and Grandpa Ken.  It is always hard to leave after a fun few days!

We sort of went a bit touristy in Dubuque last weekend.  We met some old friends of Troy's at Eagle Point park.  The all the kids played on the playground for a good 2 hours while the adults chatted.  Although there was one game of tag that got everyone running around.

We also took a ride on the Dubuque elevator again.  Teresa likes it and it was on her summer bucket list.

We had a picnic down by the riverfront and then took some time to walk around and enjoy the pretty views.  We ended the afternoon with a stop at Betty Jane's for some yummy ice cream.

Now we are enjoying our last week of summer vacation and sort of dreading school starting.  It has been such a fun summer and I will miss the kids so much.  Deep down I am just as sad as they are to see our summer days slip away.  We have much to be grateful for!

A whole hand!

Teresa turned 5 this past week, a whole hand!  She was very excited about her birthday and the fun activities we had planned.  She woke up extra early and was ready to open presents!

I like Timothy's big yawn in this picture.  Teresa opened her card and her little gift first--a lion cub, which she had been hoping for.

Teresa and I played big cats together most of the morning.  At lunch time we headed to Wartburg to join Troy for lunch.  He surprised her with a big card that had all kinds of animals that were drawn by his students.  And after lunch, Troy supplied a piece of cake and 5 candles for some fun celebrating!

Next on the agenda was a trip to the pool.  And of course the big cats joined us for that outing too.  Teresa and I played big cats in the pool while Timothy spent a lot of time on the water slides.  It was a beautiful day to be at the pool.

Teresa's dinner choice was the DQ for a hot dog and french fries.  She was excited and happy to be there, but a little tired too.  If you look closely, you can see the big cats came along to the DQ as well.

And here is a picture of a very happy 5 year old.  Ice cream and big cats, it does not get much better than that!

At 5 years old, Teresa still loves animals.  Her current favorite is obviously big cats.  If you find her playing, she is most likely playing with big cats, or pretending to be a big cat.  She has a very realistic growl!  She also still loves to read and now she is actually reading, no longer memorizing books.  It is pretty impressive for her age.  She likes to help me cook and bake and wants to be a mom when she grows up.  She still likes to be with big brother Timmy and copy what he is doing.  She is full of love and likes to hug or rub fur on you if she is being a big cat.  Teresa brings joy to every day and she is a blessing to our family.  Happy 5th Birthday!