Harry Potter Birthday Party

So Maggie turned 11. Not quite sure how we got here so quickly, but here we are. As we were talking about what she wanted to do for her birthday this year, she decided this would be the perfect year for a Harry Potter party, as she turned 11, just like Harry did in the first book. We looked through Pinterest for ideas and came up with:

The invitations: A letter from Minerva McGonagall inviting her friends to a preview session of Hogwarts where they would make wands, have a feast and watch a "documentary" about Hogwarts.

Wand Shopping: They made wands using yarn, hot glue, pony beads and their imaginations. We then painted them brown.

The feast included Butterbeer (the girls were not fans), Quiddich (shepherd's) pie and baskalisk bones (spaghetti) and pumpkin pasties. The cake was red velvet and decorated like Hagrid decorated Harry's first cake! After the feast, they watched Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone.

Overall, it was a successful party. Maggie & her friends had a great time and Maggie ranks it in her to 10 birthdays!

History

I am a feminist. I believe in equal and equitable treatment for all people. So last night was HUGE. Really really huge.

My girls were/are SO excited. They are very big Hillary fans. And I encourage it. This election is bigger than who will be president of the United States. This is about that glass ceiling. No longer is the idea that a woman could be president theoretical. Much like the election in 2008 was about the idea that a black man could be president, this election is about that same thing. Love her or hate her, Hillary is finally that woman who broke through, brought the ceiling crashing down. 

We watched her speech outside on the big screen. Maggie was disinterested until Hillary began speaking (Sorry Chelsea), but once Hillary began, she watched with rapt attention. I could tell Maggie was really listening. She was commenting and got into the chanting -- raising her fist and saying "Hillary, Hillary, Hillary!" She understands how important this is. She knows it is important for us to actually SAY Girls are just as good as Boys and that it is ridiculous that we have to say it. Everyone deserves a seat at the table.

"Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights." Hillary Clinton. 

And so last night, we set up the inflatable screen, the projector and sat out under the stars to watch Hillary Clinton become the first woman in the United States to accept a major party's nomination (and for all those who want to argue about other female candidates - yes, they were candidates, but they were not from a major party and let's not get into their actual chances). I am voting for Hillary, because a vote for Hillary is a vote for both of my daughters.

First day of school

Kindergarten and Fourth grade! 2 Girl Scouts, 2 dance students. A fashionista and an artist. A future doctor and a future zoologist.

As I continuously pray for them to grow into beautiful women, I also pray God will show me how to be the mother they need. They are so alike and so different. I am also praying the Lord puts godly women into their lives. I miss the women we had in our life in Billings and look for women like that here.

I pray for their dad, to be the dad they need and the example of a man to look for when they grow up. That our marriage can be one they want for themselves.

Kindergarten according to Jessie: at free choice is when we play with the toys. And I like making Legos with my friend Dixon. He knows the Lego Movie. At school at my table we moved spots. Some of my friends go to a different color table. I stayed at the green table in a different spot. I don't know who's at my table. With the swing, people push you. Some kids call them baby swings. 

Both girls had a couple of great weeks to kick off the school year. I look forward to a blessed year with them!

Tae Kwon Do

When Maggie was 3, the movie "Kung Fu Panda" came out. She decided right then that she needed to learn Kung Fu. We figured she would forget about it. Do we even know this girl?? Almost daily, we would drive by a school. And almost daily, Maggie would say "Dat's where I will learn Kung Fu." 

When she got into kindergarten, I started looking into it, though not too seriously. She didn't mention it as often, but it would still come up occasionally. Then we moved and we had a little more disposable income. Maggie started talking about it more and we thought it would be good to get her into something active. She's not interested in team sports. So we found a dojo called Victory Martial Arts and let her try a few classes. She was hooked!

She started in January 2014 and has progressed steadily, always passing to the next level: white, orange, yellow and now green belts. She is learning self defense, balance, confidence and how to break boards! Yes that is correct -- Mr Jeff insists that each student breaks a board prior to moving to the next belt. It usually takes her a few tries, but she has always done it. She is doing so well that other parents are commenting and Mr Jeff mentioned that she is catching on quicker, sometimes just my watching.

She's loving it and says she's taking it all the way to black belt!

9 years old

NINE?!? Too soon. This fantastic girl is nine years old and I can hardly believe it. The past year has seen a lot of changes with our move to Brookings, but she has taken it in stride. She is now in 3rd grade at another school (Camelot), making new friends. She is in her 4th year of Girl Scouts as a 2nd year Brownie. She still loves animals. She started Tae Kwon Do in January and recently earned her Green Belt (4th belt progression). She still loves to read.

Food: Spaghetti
Sport: Tae Kwon Do
Animal: Platypus
TV Show: Uncle Grandpa
Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy
Favorite thing at school (that isn't recess): Science
Color: Yellow
When you grow up: zoologist
Song: Party for One (Muppets movie)
Book: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone; Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Season: I like summer because the water park is open and every thing is hot. I like spring because everything is in bloom. I like fall because of all the colors. And I like winter because of the pretty white snow.
Holiday: My Birthday (if you want to count that as a holiday)
Snack:ants on a log
Friends at School: Amber, Courtnie, Hailey, Kyle, Jordan, Sam J 
Places you want to go: Disney World, Disneyland, Mall of America

A Night at the Museum

Or really at the Zoo! Last night Maggie & I spent the night at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls at the first ZooZnooze. The zoo has hosted sleepovers like this for Girl & Boy Scouts, but we were too late to register. It was a pretty amazing night!

We got there at 7 pm and the evening started with a pizza party and animal encounters. We met a Indian Star tortoise, a hedgehog & a lizard. Maggie really liked Bolt the lizard & Ellie the tortoise, and thought Sonic the Hedgehog was cute. But her favorite one was Bolt because he's pretty cool and his spines he uses for protection.

After the animal encounter, we did some stations to learn about animals. Maggie thought the giraffe skull was pretty cool.

We then got to take a night your of the zoo. We saw the caribou, llamas, primate house (with monkeys, apes & lemurs) and the red fox.

We then returned to the museum to get ready for bed & pick out a movie. "Night at the Museum" was the overwhelming favorite. Though it wasn't long before Maggie said she was ready for sleep.

In the morning after breakfast, we met a skunk and red tailed hawk. Then we got to dissect an owl pellet to determine what the owl has to eat. We discovered a rodent skull in ours!

We ended our time at the zoo with a morning tour. We did get to see the giraffes, though it was still too cold for them to be outside.

It was a very cool overnight adventure and Maggie is already looking forward to the one in the fall -- either another family or this time, with Girl Scouts!

Happy birthday Maggie

Eight years. Wow. My first baby, reading chapter books, breezing through math class, still loving animals. She wants a jungle theme in her new room - which she will share with her sister [we'll see how long that lasts!]

Maggie is my mini-me. I get how her mind works -- she is a people pleaser, wants to be first, but wants things to come easy for her. She wants to want to try new things, but loves her comfort zone [though she is more willing to step outside that zone than I was at that age].

She is a beautiful girl, inside and out. She is somewhere between a tomboy and girly-girl. Earlier this spring, the hair stylist we went to in Billings gave Maggie an up-do because Maggie wanted something different. Maggie was so pleased with the results; she wanted photos taken; even talked about keeping it in for a couple of days. But by bath time, she had enough and out came the bobby pins.

She loves to play and is slowly making friends at her new school. Neither Rocky nor I moved as kids and never had to attempt to make new friends at a new school. I'm sure it's difficult for her, but as she seems to be okay just playing by herself sometimes, I'm not too worried about it. She doesn't talk about it much. And she is that one word answer kid when you ask her about school.

Maggie is bright and quick with a smile. She doesn't care much for sports -- which is probably good with how easy her feelings get hurt. She loves Girl Scouts and movies and books and of course animals.

And a 8 years old, here are a few of her favorites:
Food: Sushi (so she says. she will typically get chicken & french fries when we go out)
Sport: Soccer
Animal: Giraffe
TV Show: Teen Titans Go!
Movie: Rocky & Bullwinkle Movie
Favorite thing at school (that isn't recess): read during quiet reading time
Color: Yellow
When you grow up: zoologist
Song: the Itty Bitty Dance (from Nova Theater Summer Camp)
Book: The Giving Tree
Season: Fall -- but I kinda like all of them
Holiday: Christmas
Snack: apples & peanut butter
Friends at School: Carmelle, Braxton, Summer, MacKenzie, Maya
Places you want to go:  Sioux Falls Zoo

This Is My Real Life

Here we go. First week of school. Maggie in second grade and Jessie in preschool. How is this even possible? Both jumping back into this tenuous routine we have established, even temporarily until we can close on our old & new homes. [Which I cannot wait to get into our home here in Brookings, if only to have time in my day to sit and drink my coffee. Leaving the house at 6:45 a.m. does not leave much time for that.]

These pictures were taken as they/we were rushing out the door and are a little blurry, which says something about our life right now. We are living out of boxes and suitcases. I'm feeling a bit like a freeloader eating my in laws food, using their laundry [and Bonnie sometimes doing it for us]. Yet, I feel oh so blessed. The Lord has given us a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. Grandparents doting on their granddaughters in ways that they [and I] never imagined.

 

My prayer the beginning of this school year:

Bless us oh Lord

Let us be the parents you have intended for Maggie & Jessie

Watch over them in their new schools

Guide them to godly friends

Keep them physically and mentally safe from harm

Help them to make good choices

Help us to be their parent and not their friend

Show us what each needs to feel

Loved

Secure

Trusted

a blessed part of this family

And a princess of the King.



Prayer of Unplugging

I need to unplug more, I think! I wrote this on Maggie and my first morning of Girl Scout camp. I was awake before anyone else and just used the time to relish God's beautiful world.

Good morning Lord! I do so love to wake up to this: the birds, the river. I hear you! I want to, need to drink all this in. The morning sun coming over the mountain. The hawk hunting for breakfast. The fog lingering over the mountain, waiting for the sun. The purple and yellow flowers coloring the meadow. I need this. That fresh pine scent covering me, taking me back to other mornings like this in Michigan, Colorado, Virginia, Luccock and now here. The warm smell of coffee (please let there be coffee) that awaits me at breakfast. I need this to refresh my soul. This is amazing. And I am so happy and blessed that You have given us Maggie who also sees this wonder. The clouds drifting, birds perched on the very tops of trees singing to each other. What a blessing to be here.

And starring .... Maggie!!

Maggie had 2 camps she was really looking forward to this summer: Girl Scout camp and Itty Bitty Theater camp at Nova. This past week was theater camp. Maggie LOVED it! The kids were given an overall theme: theirs was Cavemen & Dinosaurs. The kids gave ideas for the story, created their characters, costumes. The counselors wrote the story and the kids put on "West Side Dinos." I'm sure you can guess the story!  Maggie had a couple of lines, they sang & danced and had a great time!

Maggie breaks the fouth wall and gives us a wave as she moves to her next spot.

Maggie & Caleb get into the "Itty Bitty" Song.

Fun at Lake Elmo

We had loads of fun at Lake Elmo last night!

Maggie says this hat really brings out her personality!

Easter Weekend

For Easter this year, we traveled to Denver for our friend Dave’s 40th birthday party. While there, we enjoyed playing a bit of tourist by visiting both the Downtown Aquarium and the Denver Zoo. The girls had a blast!

Decorating Easter Eggs:

At the Downtown Aquarium. Maggie had a blast taking pictures & making a video tour of her favorite animals at both the Aquarium and Zoo.

The Zoo:

Easter morning! What did the Easter Bunny bring? Where did he hide the eggs?

It was a beautiful, blessed Easter weekend!