3rd Grade and almost pre-school

It was a good first day.  Jonathan said Mr. Rexine is the nicest teacher he has ever had, then proceeded to talk about him for the next 45 minutes.  Eric didn't say much about Miss Wickham, but it was due to Jonathan not giving him a chance to speak.

No pictures.....

In a wild and crazy almost spontaneous moment, the kids and I went back to Harmon Lake again today.  This time, instead of waiting until 3 pm, we went at 12:30 pm.  My experience at such gathering spots is the earlier you go, the more family friendly it is.  Monday we were surrounded by college aged kids who were drinking, smoking, swearing, and, well....kissing and um, maybe some touching that I really don't want my little innocent children to see.  Today, we were one of the first ones there, and it was all Moms with kids.  Not nearly as many questions and overwhelmed looks on my sheltered children's faces.

The highlight of today's trip was the frog that Jonathan captured.  The boys made a dam to serve as its' habitat.  Eric ran all around the beach trying to catch a butterfly or other flying insect to kill and serve to the frog.  Believe it or not, he did catch one (dragon fly), ripped it's head off, and placed it on a flat branch in the habitat.  The kids insist that the frog ate it.  Every now and then the frog would escape from it's habitat.  Jonathan would then chase it all along the beach until he caught it.  By the end of our visit, Megan was even brave enough to pick up the frog.  She asked if she could kiss it.  Darn Princess and the Frog movie....

On the ride home, Meg said she found a caterpillar.  It looked more like a small beetle of some sort, but I wasn't going to burst her bubble.  She 'pet' it all the way home, until she decided that she wanted to squish it since I wouldn't let her keep it as a pet.  She succeeded with this.  The boys then told her that she basically just murdered a butterfly.  That's what older brothers are for.

All this fun and I didn't have my camera.

Harmon Lake

I loaded up the kids and we went to Harmon Lake yesterday afternoon.   We are trying to get all these summery things squeezed in before school starts next week

Megan befriended another dog.  This one is named Tito.  I thought it was kind of ugly.

The LaFleur Corps of Engineers constructed another beach side dam, with the challenge to see how far the can fill the man made resevoir before it overflows, causing disasterous flooding downstream.

 Doesn't this look fun!

This makes me think of Baywatch



Subway Get Fit 5K

We all did the Get Fit Race this morning.  I did the 5K.  The kids and Don did the 1/2 mile (Don was Megan's escort).  Megan refers to it as her half marathon.
The kids all did great!  Eric finished towards the front of the pack.  Jonathan was in the middle.  Megan was toward the end.  She ran most of the way!  Jonathan met her before the finish line and ran in with her.  Each kid received a medal when they crossed the finish line.

I finished the 5K in 31:54, in case that is of interest.

Off To Iowa

Hunter's long awaited day has finally arrived.  Yesterday he was reunited with his Dad.  We met with the social workers in the morning for the transition meeting.  We had to finish up a few paperwork things, and pick up some of Hunter's things at Tyler's.  Hunter was pretty anxious-excited to be with his Dad, but nervous about leaving the community and what he is familiar with.  I think it was a 4 hug goodbye, but I managed not to cry....at least not that much.  The smile on his face in the picture with his Dad is priceless. 

Mandan Scout Camp

Last weekend was the All Mandan Scout Camp Out.  It was held at the Girl Scout Camp north of town.  We attended the day activities on Saturday.  The boys learned about Forestry and did some hiking.  After lunch we went to Harmon Lake, where they engaged in a 'seaweed' fight.  Eric got to go canoeing, which he thought was so cool.  Jonathan got stung/bit/poked by a baby bullfish when he was rescueing it from the shore.

Hunter's Party

Hunter's foster parents hosted a going away party for him last weekend.  It was just us and another young boy who also stays at their home on the weekends.  We ate pizza and a variety of chocolate desserts (Hunter has moderate to severe addiction to all things chocolate).

Dakota Zoo

Our trips to the zoo this summer have been few. It was closed for the month of June due to flooding. We went once in early July, but it was still pretty messy, especially since we had a thunderstorm the night before. On Thursday, the kids and I picked up Hunter and went to check it out. Earlier in the week, we had a nasty thunderstorm that did a lot of damage around town. The zoo took a beating. We happened to be there the day they were doing most of the clean up, so several of the trails were close off, and the train was running an alternate route. It was ikcy hot and humid, so we didn't stay long.

 Just a small glimpse of all of the tree debris

 The boys were quite entertained by the gibbons, which are animal refugees from Minot.  They make an annoying sound that is similar to a slide whistle, only much much louder.  It was the highlight of our day.

 Jonathan and Eric love going to the zoo, especially when it is hot and humid outside.  This is so much better than playing video games or with legos.