Jump!

Cate was super excited to participate in Jump Rope for Heart this year.  This was the first year she could participate and she was very motivated to raise money for the cause.  She set a goal of $200 and was thrilled to turn her packet in today---having raised a total of $330!

Chris and I stopped by for a few minutes this afternoon to see the third graders in action. 

Go Hawks!

Iowa vs. Wisconsin

I don't have any photos of Ben because he was curled up on my lap for the entire game. Knowing how few opportunities like this I have left with him made me treasure every second!

Football!

Chris and the kids went to the Iowa game on Saturday.  It was the perfect day---great weather, the Hawkeye Express, Fun Zone before kick-off, and delicious concessions.  The Hawks didn't play well until the very end of the game, barely squeaking out a win, but you can't have everything, right?

A Week of Family

 

Following the triathlon on Saturday we spent Sunday in Zearing, Iowa celebrating my Grandma Hyland's 90th birthday.  All of mom's eight siblings and the majority of my cousins were in attendance.  It was a great day and I'm so glad that we were able to be at the party.

 

My uncle Tim came to Iowa City for a few days at the end of the week.  My kids loved having him here and loved all of the attention they received from my cousins Leslie and Rachael. 

 

There's nothing my kids like better than a new audience who hasn't seen all of their tricks. 

Reunited

HyVee Kids Fit Triathlon 2014

Before the race

Heading to the starting line

Ben, ready for the swim

Waiting for Ben to cross the finish line

Post-race photo with their cheering section
Ben earned 14th place in his division and Cate finished in 11th place. 

So happy that my brothers were back in Iowa for the weekend!  We miss them!

Chris and I couldn't be prouder of their hard work. 
Special thanks to Grandpa Doug and Grandma Sheila for watching Maggie and Cece during the race.

With their Tri Team

First Day of School 2014

3rd Grade

1st Grade

Mags, getting in on the action

My Crazy Crew

My Crew

Thank you Pinterest!

It's been a while since I actually attempted to MAKE anything I've seen on Pinterest.  Tonight we had a few minutes to kill before bedtime and I remembered seeing a Pinterest link to a website where kids attempted to make boats out of aluminum foil.  The second step in the process is to see how many pennies your boat will hold before it sinks.

This was the perfect project for us as I really wanted to encourage Ben to take a bath.  Although I'm not sure he used soap, it did get him in the tub.

All three of my kids were fascinated by this project.  Cate was able to pile 132 pennies in her boat before it started to sink.  Maggie focused on how her boat was decorated.  Ben managed to get 60-some pennies in his boat before it capsized due to Ben-induced weather conditions.

More Tri

Not only did Ben finish first overall in his age group today, Cate was the second girl to cross the finish line in her age group. 

Location, Location, Location

 

 

The kids really wanted to have a lemonade stand last week.  We live on a cul-de-sac with not a lot of outside traffic but learned early in the week that our neighbors were going to be part of a garden tour and that we could expect 500-1000 visitors on Saturday afternoon. 

 

This, Chris told the kids, was the perfect time to have a lemonade stand as there will probably never be this many people on our street again.

 

The preparations consumed our week.  The kids made signs.  We bought pitchers and lemonade.  Maggie was convinced that we need to sell treats as well so we baked (and decorated) several batches of cupcakes.  We considered our pricing strategy.  (Chris recommended pricing everything at $0.75 and hoping that customers would round up to $1.00).  They discussed how they would spend their earnings.

 

The sale opened at 3:00pm and there was a steady stream of customers until a thunderstorm closed everything down at 6:00pm.

 

I wasn't sure how the day would go.  There a lot of pent up anticipation---the kids were ready to set up at 7:00 in the morning and so it was hard to convince them that they should wait until the garden tour started, mid-afternoon.  There had also been a lot of fighting during the week before the sale---who would be in charge of the money, who would pour the lemonade, how would they split the profits, etc.

 

But during the actual sale everything went smoothly.  They decided on their jobs ahead of time:  Cate poured the lemonade, Maggie served up the cupcakes, and Ben was the cashier.  There were surprisingly few disagreements and their customer service was pretty good.  (Family members and adored babysitters got hugs with their lemonade).

 

And they each walked away with $48.33 in their pocket. 

A New Era

Last night we went for our second ever family bike ride.  In contrast to the first bike ride, Cece didn't cry at all.  We packed the Burley with books and her bink (in case of emergency) and made Maggie promise to "be a good friend."

We first stopped at Dairy Queen and then headed to "the lookout" on the way home. 

I think Chris and I are even more excited than the kids to have a family activity that everyone can participate in.

The Lemonade Obsession Begins

Delicious!

Proof that Cece was at the lemonade stand.

If the bosses (Cate and Ben) won't let you sample the inventory, you have to get creative.

Claire at the lemonade stand.

The Crew

Ben working on advertising.  (He dislikes writing so I'm always excited when I see him voluntarily writing something).

Cate:  I'm writing napkins with our logo.

Hoping that more signage will attract more customers.

And yes, they did realize that the arrow was pointing away(!) from their stand.

My kids obsession with lemonade stands began with a spur of the moment stand at their cousins' house.  Although they only made around $1.00 each, they were excited about each step of the process. 

The kids' disappointment whenever a car drove by without stopping was immense.  I told Chris on the way home that our resolution from this point forward should be to always, always stop by any lemonade stand we see. 

And tip the workers.