First Day of Kindergarten

Today was the Big Day: Kindergarten!

Mieke tossed and turned for about 20 minutes last night too excited to sleep. I told her to take a deep breath and roll over on her side. She was out.

Up at 6:10 a.m., dressed, hair combed and ready to go by 6:30 a.m. Of course she had to wait. We walked to school at 7:55 a.m. and she announced that she could find her locker and her room all by herself. And that's just what she did:

After school I walked up to pick her up at the classroom door, because that's what the principal told me to do. All browned off, Mieke wanted to walk out to the street to meet me. It's usually a good idea to follow the rules. At least I think so.

Mieke says she had a good day. She is tired and cranky and in a pile on the couch. 

Yesterday we celebrated the last day of summer vacation. We painted pottery and Mieke put her "initials" on her plate. Not the right ones but initials nonetheless.

 Then we strolled downtown Cedar Falls and ate Mexican food for lunch.

And working our way back in time, we went to the Iowa State Fair on Friday for the day. Not too crowded and a nice day. And after that we spent the weekend in Lanesboro, Minnesota. Just needed to relax and be somewhere for a while.

Stack of T-shirts from Land's End.         $50.00
Stick of Super Strength Deoderant         $2.50
Water bill for 2 showers a day                $40.00
Two, 11,000 count Perler Beads             $14.00
One Pair Asics Running Shoes               $80.00
Three cans Coppertone SPF 50 Sunscreen $15.00
50 smiling kids and happy parents        PRICELESS

I am sneaking in a moment of blog time quickly while the rest of the family watches TV. Here are some of the things we have been up to since June!

A part of our summer for the last three years has been spending one day a week with our friend Ella Ubben. She and Mieke stopped to say hi to our friend Shari who owns a salon in Hudson. The girls made themselves at home.

The Kids' Adventure program in Hudson has been a great summer job for me. One week we got to meet the major and tour City Hall. The little kids thought they met the president!

We've been to the Youth Pavilion and the last week we will go to Hansen's Dairy. Such a fun group of kids!

 The craft of the summer has been Perler Beads. Little tube-shaped beads are arranged on a grid and then pressed with an iron to melt them together. It takes hours and lots of concentration. Even snacks cannot draw kids away from the lure of Perler Beads! Wha-ha-ha-ha.

 We made a paint pendulum out of a bucket and a dish soap bottle. It's a splatter paint kind of contraption. We hung ours from a tree and painted a banner for the program.

Another wild experiment was melting crayons with a hair dryer onto a piece of paper. They turned out cool but we really needed a stiff art canvas or board to work with as our paper curled when it dried. And it took a long time to melt the crayons.

And another favorite, the Fake Sleepover. We made microwave s'mores and watched a movie.

And of course lots of pool time with Mieke. She has mastered jumping off the board and the high dive. I think my heart is still at the bottom of the pool.

 After arriving in Denver at Aunt Sara's we ventured to Boulder, Co on Saturday. One of my favorite spots in the country. Forgetting that it was Memorial Day weekend, we squeezed through the crowds of folks there for the Boulder Boulder run. They had vendors with running gear and running clubs set up in the mall. It's sort of a runners dream come true and an arthritis sufferer's nightmare. Seriously, I just wanted to weep. If only I could run and buy all that neat gear....someday in heaven I am gonna run like the wind.

The painter above was letting folks try their hand a painting. Mieke got to make flowers on the canvas. These blue sunglasses made her eyes even bluer.

 Trying on head gear.

 And all the Flat Irons in their magnificent glory. We managed about a half hour hike before Mieke wiped out and skinned a knee. Running on the trails is generally not a good idea.

 Cousin Sean had an 8am soccer game. And boy was it windy and cold. We never seem to come prepared no matter how much we pack. Mieke, Jelena and Aunt Sara shivering.
Sean is #19 in the blue jersey.

 I have discovered that Blog Spot only wants to download my horizontal photos and not the verticals.
How to kill time at a soccer game: Cartwheels and backward rolls down the incline.

And pretend you are a fashion model. In the afternoon we headed to Garden of the Gods. Just amazing. The sky was so clear and blue. We could feel just about every UV ray coming down.

 Pike's Peak in the distance.

Next stop, Rapid City, South Dakota.

 It's a good idea, when you are behind on blogging, to start with a photo of cute kids! Weston, Will and baby Carsten came for a visit. We found those "Milk-fed" shirts at Moo-Roo our local dairy's, dairy store. See, the Huenink boys live on a dairy farm now. But they used to live down the street from us and boy, do we miss these boys and their parents.

After breakfast at the AMVETS downtown Hudson, we hit the road for Colorado. The girls and I made a looong road trip West. Matt stayed home with Papa Ulven, who was in the hospital. Papa is now back at the nursing home and doing marvelously well! He is sitting up and eating on his own.

Here are my traveling companions:

 We took off for Colorado (Parker) to see Aunt Sara and her family for Memorial Day weekend. Mieke brought along her grown up reading. She thinks it's cool to pick these books out at the library. I think it is because Jelena is an avid reader and well, we want to be just like her....

Sorry, I have trouble loading from iPhoto sometimes. We stopped at Grand Island, NE to gas up and fell prey to the tacky tourist stuff at the gas station. I am quite certain that real natives used fewer poles on their dwellings.

 Of course, I always miss the turn for the Mormon Island as it is hidden in the trees but totally visible from the interstate. Duh. It's a lovely spot to stop, if you can find it. Of course it has a BIG sign with an arrow, but fighting with you 5 1/2 year old about using the restroom usually distracts one from such obvious signage.

 We spent the night in Kearney, NE. Next morning we visited the Archway to the West or something like that.

 The museum is really not worth the $$ admission price but it gave us the $12 quick history of the American West. Complete with "wild" guys. He is for real, beard is real and yes, he poses for every shot that way. I hope he gets a hefty cut of the admission price.

 We determined that we probably would not have made it very far on the trail and our wagon discards would look a lot like this.

 I am pretty sure others have messed with this gal and she will surely dump the coffee coffee on her foot.

 The next stretch tomorrow......stay tuned.

Papa is now in Traer at the Sunrise Nursing Home as of today. It's a little too early to tell what will happen next. Just resting and getting adjusted. Not sure he knows where he is or what is going on most of the time. The picture above was taken last summer with the Pennsylvania cousins and Marvin. So glad we had that time to be together.

I have photos to down load from my camera and just haven't had time to get to it. Mieke "graduated" from Preschool last week. A BIG deal to her. Lots of questions about why we did not have a big party for her or presents. Maybe, if she makes it to the 12th grade, we will have that big party for her.

Papa Ulven is not doing well. He is being transported to Iowa City Hospital today. He has some bleeding in the brain. Matt will go to be with him. We will have to wait and see. Prayers appreciated for God's will and His strength.