Illinois Geography Bee

Day 70 - For the 2nd time, Nathanael qualified to compete in the state geography bee. It is was a very tough competition, but a fun experience. For more information, refer to my blog entry from 2 years ago: http://happycampersofil.blogspot.com/2008/04/state-geography-bee.html
Day 70 - Nathanael qualified to compete in the state geography bee. It is a very tough

State Competitor

Day 69 - Nathanael's school does a really cool thing for kids who qualify for any sort of state competition. They usually do it for athletes, but this time they did it for a Geography Champ! The whole school lined the hall to wish Nathanael well. He got to go through the hallways, giving everyone High 5's. Since Nathanael is a band student, the band even played for the celebration. It was so cool!!!

Savanna Day 2010

Day 68 - Savanna is the only one who would let me take a picture with the Colonel. I wonder how long she will continue to let me do so. For a description of our annual Savanna day celebration, see previous April 7th posts.

More Spring Flowers

Day 67 - The blossoms on our tree were prettier this year than I remember it ever being.

Easter Egg Roll

Day 66 - Savanna had fun at an Easter Egg Roll with some friends. In the first two pictures, I think that she looks like she is really trying to figure why in the world she is suppose to roll the egg with a wooden spoon.
It took a couple minutes, but she figured out what to do and tossed the egg across the yard.

Easter Eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 65 - A fun annual tradition - Decorating Easter Eggs!!!

Kelli's First Track Meet

Day 64 - Kelli gets all set for her discus throw.

Gone Fishing...

Day 63 - Nathanael loves to fish! This is right after he enjoyed spending a cool Spring afternoon down by the river.

Spring has sprung!!!

Day 62 - Finally, Spring has sprung!!!

First Soccer Practice

Day 61 - This picture was taken at the first practice for the brand new Ottawa Girl's Soccer Club. It was exciting to get started!!!

A New Beginning...

Day 60 - A Hawaiian luau was the theme for our Young Women's New Beginnings program. The girls learned a Hawaiian dance and each had a speaking part. Kelli did a great job and looked really cute.

Turkey, Turkey! In March???

Day 59 - Kent and I saw these wild turkeys along the side of the road when we were driving home from a meeting.

A tired young man

Day 58 - Nathanael fell asleep on the way home from his band Solo and Ensemble competition.

A nice day for the park

Day 57 - The weather is finally nice enough to go to the park! Savanna enjoyed being outside again.

One Smart Pirate

Day 56 - This is Kelli's new Scholastic Bowl shirt. Cute!

Lots of catching up to do!!!!!!

Day 55 - I'm sorry that I have gotten so far behind. I am going to see what I can do to catch up. Here is a start:

Savanna's 7th Birthday Party Cake

Savanna's 7th birthday!

Day 54 - Savanna asked for a Penguin Birthday Party. Kelli made an army of penguins for cupcakes for Savanna's class. It was certainly a labor of love, but aren't they adorable!!!

Savanna's cousin Makayla visited from Massachusetts for Savanna's birthday. It was fun to see them enjoy being together.
I got sparkler candles for Savanna's cake. I thought that would be fun!
I didn't know they would be trick candles. Savanna was excited to blow them out,
but wasn't too sure when the candles re-lit.

Nathanael's sprout project

Day 53 - Nathanael loves to grow sprouts. This sprout project got a little carried away.

Groucho Savanna

Day 52 - Need I say more?

Snowy sign of Spring

Day 51 - Two of the elements of this picture do not belong together: emerging plants and snow. Fortunately, one will go and one will stay.

Illinois Valley Festival Of Bands Celebrates 50 years

Day 50 - Every year for the past 50 years, bands from 3 area middle schools join together for a concert. This year, Nathanael's band director recognized the event with a list of very interesting statistics and recognitions. She acknowledged past participants of the festival including parents and siblings of current band members. She recognized past directors and families who have had numerous participants and directors. It was very interesting to see how some area families have become an integral part of music education in these 3 schools.

Kelli's Freak Accident

Day 49 - During gym class, Kelli was doing a head stand and lost her balance. Her knee came down and hit her in the eye. On the bright side, she missed the second half of the school day :)

High School Band Concert

Day 48 - Kelli had a band concert tonight. She has really enjoyed band this year! We are so blessed to have an excellent band program in our community.

First sign of Spring, finally!

Day 47 - Some flowers starting to peek up through the ground. It was a long, cold winter. It is fun to see some green!

8th graders shouldn't have this much homework!

Day 46 - This picture speaks for itself.

New Recipe - Braciole with Grape Tomatoes

Day 45 - I found a recipe in a magazine that looked and sounded really good. It calls for flank steak, which is hard to find, so I used another cut of beef. I can't remember what it was called. The butcher at Kroger suggested the cut and then tenderized it for me. I was pleased with how it the dish looked. It tasted good, but it was not outstanding. I plan to try it again with flank steak to see if that makes a difference. It was at least fun to try something new!

Church activity

Day 44 - We walked into the church for an activity. This is what we saw. We wondered if a newborn was a requirement to get in.

Carnival loot

Day 43 - We went to Savanna's school carnival this evening. It is a fun activity for the kids and a great fundraiser for the school. This is a picture of all the prizes that Savanna won.

Not too big

Day 42 - Savanna loves riding in the "car cart" at Kroger. I don't know how much longer she will be able to fit, but for now, she really enjoys it.

Power to the boy!

Day 41 - Nathanael was honored at a school board meeting for winning the school Geography Bee. He was being silly with his trophy.

Savanna's lovely attire

Day 40 - Savanna is all set for bed. She's a bit mismatched, but who really cares! She's still cute!!!

Island Elders

Day 39 - We have a couple of really terrific missionaries in our ward right now. Elder Kongaika is originally from Tonga and Elder Watson is from Hawaii. We think that it is pretty interesting that these wonderful Polynesian boys came all the way to cold Illinois to teach people here about Jesus Christ and that they get to be companions here in Ottawa. On this Valentine's Day we enjoyed a great evening with our friends, the Brown Family and the missionaries. The kids decided to help the missionaries feel at home with the straw hat and leis.

The basketball game

Day 38-Savanna has been playing basketball at the YMCA. Enjoy these videos from one of her games!

Pep band

Day 37 - Kelli played the cymbals for the Pep band for basketball games this year. She has enjoyed it and we enjoy going to watch. I really enjoy when they play Pirates of the Caribbean. Go Pirates!!!

100th day of school

Day 36 - Savannah celebrated 100 day at school today. They wore these glasses, made the 100 day hat, played games and read 100 day stories.

3 for 1 day

Day 35 - I am posting 3 pictures for today because I like them all. I guess this will make up for days that I don't take a picture. We all know that some days are more interesting than others.

7:00 p.m. - Kelli had a half day of school and I went shopping. She really needed a new jacket! Her old one was a triple hand me down and had seen better days. Several years ago, we got it at a garage sale for Kasey and then Kelli wore it. We found this cute, new jacket for Kelli at Farm & Fleet. Yes, I said, Farm & Fleet! You can buy just about anything there from horse grooming supplies to cute Kelli jackets, but I don't think they sell toilet paper or milk!

11:30 a.m. - Savannah's school has a parent lunch every year, so today I got to go each lunch with Savannah. The kids eat with their coats on because they go out for recess right after lunch. The food was pretty good and it was fun to visit with Savannah, her friends and their parents.

7:00 a.m. - This is Austin, one of the boys in Kelli's Seminary class. He was one of my students last year when I taught Seminary. Austin is excited because he just got his license! Doesn't he look excited?!!!

Valentine Decor

Day 33 - I found this Valentine decoration at Walgreens and thought it would look great on our door. I enjoyed a little Valentine decor. I took the picture inside because it was too cold to go out and take it. Brrrr!!!!.

Music Fest

Day 32 - Every year the schools hold a music fest involving all of the elementary and high school bands and choirs. The program starts with the youngest kids, builds to the high school musicians and ends with "God Bless America" performed by everyone together. It is a wonderful program!

Caption please...ANSWERS ARE HERE

Day 31 - Leave a comment with your answer to these questions:
1 - Who is it? - Savannah
2 - Who do you think is responsible? - Kent
3 - What caption would you give this picture? - Look what happens when Mom isn't watching :)

We look forward to hearing from you!

Food, Friends, Fun

Day 30 - At first, this may not look like it, but this a picture of fun! We enjoyed a terrific evening with new and not so new friends (notice I didn't say old friends). We had dinner with 2 families - 11 kids and 6 adults. Thanks for a great time everyone!!!
. It was great to have