Katie - the Jr Thespian!

Katie starred in her first theater role this past week. The kid's elementary school puts on a musical every year. This year it was Beauty & The Beast. With the 6th graders being bumped up to junior high this year (for the first time), the play was open to 3-5th graders. In the past it has been open to 4-6th graders. She was so excited and practiced lines and songs ALL Christmas break. We were disappointed when she didn't receive a "major" role...but in the end we were thankful that she didn't, because it was a hard schedule! It would've been a lot harder if she had played a major role! Maybe next year.

Katie was given the role of the Aristocrat Lady - a part of the villagers. She had a few lines and got to sing songs and dance. She had a blast and did very well! We are so proud of her!

Eagle Watching

We drove up & down the Mississippi River this morning in search of Bald Eagles. Due to our very unusually warm temps this winter, our bald eagles haven't come this far south. With the snow and colder temps this past week, we decided to go on a hunt! We finally found a handful of eagles at the Fulton, IL lock & dam. It was a beautiful day to watch them too!

Our Little President

Maddie & Will's kindergarten class held a presidential election this past week. All students were given posterboard and a sheet of paper to use for their presidential campaign.

Posters: Maddie wanted "something pretty" while Will still loves his trains.

Maddie's campaign statement: I would be a great President! I love my friends and want to do special things for them.

Will's campaign statement: If I become President, be ready for a fun ride!

So, Wednesday afternoon, Maddie runs out and announces that she was elected President! Congrats to our young President! Matt & I jokingly tell everyone that the students were allowed to vote for themselves, so there must have been one kid who Maddie sweet-talked into having her vote...she would be the tie-breaker (Maddie - 2 votes, all other students - 1 vote each)!

Guys Night Out

While us girls had our "Girls Night Out - Spa Time", the guys had their "Guys night out - Rodeo". Will was so excited! He got dressed in his cowboy hat and bandana and was pretty bummed that he didn't have any cowboy boots to wear with them! He really didn't have a clue what would happen at the rodeo, he just knew that it was a special night for him with Daddy & Grandad! When he came home, he was so excited and wanted to tell me everything! Unfortunately, it was past 10 and he needed to get to bed. His storytelling continued when he woke up the next morning - I am guessing that he would love to go again in the future.

Amana Colonies Waterpark

The kids had a 4 1/2 day weekend this past weekend, so we took advantage of it! We had promised the kids a waterpark getaway sometime during the winter months as a part of their Christmas present. I was able to find a great deal at the Amana Colonies waterpark/hotel. We left Thursday after the kids got home from school. Nearing Iowa City, we stopped for lunch at a new Jimmy Johns. Matt had heard that they were having a grand opening special, so we were able to feed all 6 of us for $5! We love it when God gives us blessings like that! We then drove up towards Cedar Rapids - making a few stops along the way to find a few letterboxes.

We arrived at the hotel around 5. After checking in, the kids couldn't get in the pools fast enough!

We swam until 7:30 then went back to our room to get ready for bed. After the kids were in their jammies, we headed to a nearby city to grab a late dinner. I think the kids will always remember eating in a restaurant in their jammies! As is usually the case for bedtime while traveling, it was a bit crazy...but the kids soon drifted off to sleep!We let the kids sleep in the next morning (all were finally up by 9:30). We ate breakfast in the room and the kids watched TV - a rare treat for them! After breakfast, we all changed into our swimsuits and headed to the waterpark. We were very disappointed to find that the waterslides weren't open (short staffed). We were told that they would open around 3 pm. We had planned to stay at the waterpark all day (we brought lunch with us from home), but discussed changing our plans due to the waterslides not running. We decided to stay and play for a few hours, eat lunch in our room and then head to the outlet mall a few miles down the road. While we played, we had the waterpark mostly to ourselves. For a short while, we were the only ones there! Soon, a few families joined us. It actually worked out great, even with the waterslides not running. We played on the Millrace for over an hour - just jumping from one "log" to the next (Katie was the only one tall enough to reach the ropes). I loved watching the kids become more & more brave as they practiced!Another favorite was listening for the bell - which meant that the water bucket was about to tip over!! Here are Maddie & Katie getting soaked!If they planned it just right, the kids loved sliding down the small yellow slide just as the bucket was tipping!Of course, the favorites were the waterslides. There were 2 slides - green (longer & slow) and red (short & fast). I don't know how many times we ran up the set of stairs...but it was enough to get a very good workout! We did lots of races...even giving the green slide racer a 12 second head start. I think the girls' smiles show it all.We had a blast all weekend! Matt & I were very happy to see how the kids did on our first water outing as a family. We look forward to trying out more waterparks over the next few years.