Ballet Picnic

The Gateway Ballet Company is putting on Beatrix Potter this spring. The day before the ballet they hosted a picnic for children with the characters. Kristen really wanted to go so we decided to invite my 2 year old niece to spend the day with us. Both Rebecca and Beth came down. The girls had a great time with the characters, coloring pictures, getting their faces painted, bobbing for apples (unsuccessfully, but that is okay because I could never get the apple either) pinning the tail on the city mouse, eating lunch and doing a little "dancing". After lunch most of the kids that were there and the characters got a rousing game of leap frog going. It was so much fun to see the kids playing games from my childhood. Rebecca was a little to small to leap on her own, so one of the characters would pick her up and help her leap from person to person. Sarah was originally scheduled to go with us, but instead chose to babysit and earn some money. In a way this was good, as I think that she would have been a little bored, plus it gave Kristen some special time with Rebecca. Sometimes Kristen feels that she is left out and over shadowed by the older sister and the younger baby cousin's. This time it was just the two girls and a good time was had by both.

Build A Bear

Ever since Build a Bear opened at Northpark, Kristen has been dying to visit this store. We told her that she had to save her money and when she had enough we would take her. Friends of ours have a little girl that has been many times. When she heard that Kristen was saving to go to Build a Bear, she decided that she needed to go with Kristen to help her create an animal. (And also to make another one herself) After months of saving (or it seemed like forever to Kristen) the day finally came when she had enough money and was able to go. We made plans to meet our friends at the store. Before we could leave we had to wait for Sarah to get home from babysitting. Sarah was almost an hour later than we expected her to be. This actually worked out to our benefit as by the time we made it to the store the line had disappeared and the store was almost empty. Kristen had so much fun making her new best friend. Addie and her mom surprised Kristen with a gift certificate and a $10.00 stuff for stuff certificate. Kristen was thrilled. This gift meant that she could afford to purchase a second outfit and still have a couple of dollars left over. What a nice gift. The girls had a blast and now can't wait to get together so that the bear and dog can play together.

Friends

When I came home from school on the 20th Kristen handed me the phone and wanted me to talk to the mother of one of her friends. I think that the girls were trying to plan a sleepover. We decided instead to plan a play date at a park down by the river front. Kristen had such a hard time waiting for the time to come. The minute Sarah was picked up to go babysitting, Kristen headed for the car. The girls had a great time playing with each other and some of the other kids. The funny part is that while I was talking to the mother we discovered that her son is friends with the son of one of our friends. What a small world. I will admit that it was so fun to just see kids running around climbing and playing with out having to have any electronic toys. It just goes to show that children can still play the right. way.

Sparks/Awana

Both Sarah and Kristen have been involved with Awana. Sarah started in Kindergarten and and graduated last year from T & T. Kristen was able to start in preschool and was able to be involved in Cubbies and now Sparks. As a 1st grader, this is Kristen's second year in Sparks. Memorizing came very easy for Sarah, but Kristen has to work hard at it. When Sarah was in first grade she was able to complete the Hiker book, Hiker review book, and two extra memory books. Kristen worked hard and was able to complete the Hiker book, Hiker review book and one extra memory book. They had their awards ceremony today and Kristen received her second book award (a red ribbon). She knew that she would be getting a small trophy for finishing the extra memory book. What she didn't know was that Sue, the director, decided to surprise her with a Sparky Doll. Kristen has been jealous of Sarah having a Sparky doll and was so surprised when she was given the doll at today's awards. When handing out the awards Sue even mentioned that now Kristen was just like Sarah. Kristen was thrilled to be compared to her beloved older sister, and Sarah was embarrassed to be mentioned at the ceremony. It has been a long time since she was a Spark.

Easter

This year we celebrated with part of Kurt's family. We got together with his Dad, older brother, younger sister, her husband and their two boys plus Carl's son from an earlier marriage. Instead of anyone cooking a big meal and having to clean house and do the dishes, we decided to go to the Frontier for their brunch. It was very tasty and so easy. The girls had fun talking to their cousins and Kristen and Austin enjoyed visiting with the Easter bunny who came to help the kids celebrate while eating their meal. After the meal we went to Ardith and Carl's home. It was a very nice relaxing visit. The kids were able to play, Sarah played the Easter Bunny and hid eggs for the younger three to find, Kurt enjoyed talking with his brother-in-law and Ardith and I were able to catch up for a few minutes.

Of course, Easter would not be complete without new clothes. We were able to find a dress for Sarah that she actually liked. (No small feat for a teenager) I am still able to sew Kristen's dress and am not looking forward to the day that I have to give that up. This year Kurt found a new sport coat on sale, we then went searching for a short sleeved dress shirt. (that also is a hard task, I am not sure how many stores we visited trying to find short sleeves.) He did look very handsome in his new grubs, even if I do say so myself. Also pictured in the photo's are Kurt's two youngest nephews Zachary and Austin.

SparksARama

Both girls have been part of the Awana program. Sarah started in Kindergarten with Sparks and then moved on to the T and T program. She graduated last year with the Timothy award. The highest award that you can get after 6th grade. Kristen was able to start when she was 3 and in the Cubbies program for two years. She is now in the Sparks program and has one more year. Every year the Sparks and T & T kids participate in something called Sparks A Rama or Awana games depending on the club. Sarah was able to do this for 5 of her 7 years. She had a conflict with two years. Kristen has been able to be part of the SparksARama for two years now. Every year we head to Black Hawk college to watch the kids have a great time competing. This year we were supposed to play Feb. 24th but a severe winter storm came in and cancelled the games. They were able to reschedule the games for today March 31st. Luckily we were still able to participate. This year Sparkie made an appearance and greeted all of the kids. He was there to cheer them on to do their best. I guess that Sparkie did a good job of encouraging the kids to play their best, because for the first time we were able to watch the kids take 1st place in the SparksARama. While winning isn't everything it was nice to be able to see the kids win. However what was even better for the Flathers' family was being able to spend an entire day together. Very seldom are we able to do this.

Sports Medicine Person of the Year

On March 25th 2007, Kurt was honored as the Sports Medicine Person of the Year Award from the Iowa Athletic Directors Association. Thanks to the generosity of a great friend, Kurt and I were able to both attend the ceremony in Des Moines and then spend a nice evening alone. The new athletic director at Clinton High School nominated Kurt for this award last summer. In November Kurt was notified that he had been choosen to receive this award. We were given a nice meal and then attended the awards ceremony. It was a nice time for Kurt as he was able to see several other people that he knows and has worked with over the years.