Big Dog Mud Run

Oh what fun it is to slide in a mud course open, hey!  We were in Starbucks several weeks ago and saw a flyer for this run. The kids were immediately sold on the 2K family course, but they had so much fun that they want to try the full range of obstacles next year (the full 5K course).

Below are the best pictures from the day, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa, who walked and jogged alongside us without getting muddy or wet. I had a great time too. The race course was out east (in the desert) on a ATV / dirt bike track. Just add water and some extra obstacles, including a huge water slide into a mud pool.

Showers were provided at the end.  A picture of Jonathan even made its way into the local paper...

Pauline (Wenino) Engebretson

Today we had the memorial service in Fargo for my Grandma. She passed away on May 23 at age 92. Our entire family flew up for a few days for the service and to see other family members and friends.

I don't think a life can or should be summed up in a blog post, so I won't even try. However, I will say that my grandma was a wonderful person and significantly touched many lives, including my own. I always loved spending time with her, whether it be visiting in the summer or later on in life when she would come to Colorado for the holidays. The fact that we shared the same birthday and that her husband died when I was young meant that we were able to share more moments and times then probably otherwise would have happened.

The beautiful thing about death for those that believe is that it's not the end. In her latter stages of life she said that she was ready to go home and meet her savior, Jesus. I know I will see her again at some point in the future. So, thanks for all the great memories and the times we were able to spend together Grandma.  I will see you again.

Special and big thanks to my Mom (and Dad) who helped make everything happen, including preparing the below pictures. There was a slide show on a loop in the service hall before the it started. I loved looking at the pictures, including the ones below that are my favorites of the group. Some of them I had never seen before and some of them I hadn't seen in a long time. They say pictures are worth a thousand words, and these are no exception.

Jonathan's 8th Birthday

Jonathan had his 8th birthday party at Dart Warz today. He and several of his friends (neighbors and classmates and siblings) went head to head at this indoor arena of Nerf dart gun awesomeness. I, of course, joined in on the fun since it was free for me to play and I had the best gun possible. This was his first real birthday party (1st grade) since last year Kindergarten was only half day.

All of the kids had a lot of fun. I made sure Jonathan's team won more than lost, and he scored some pretty cool gifts and some cash. Watching him and Julia play was quite entertaining and it definitely aligned with their personalities. Jonathan usually got out every game, since his style was all guns blazing. Julia was usually one of the last ones out, but that's because she was usually hiding behind cover and not mixing it up as much.

The party was a huge success since we had booked a private group versus playing with whoever was there at the time. I enjoyed lighting up a few kids (sometimes accidentally in the face) with my semiautomatic just to keep things even, sometimes switching teams as required. Pizza and cake was served afterwards with presents to top off the fun filled morning.

Summer Is Here

Olympic Training Center tour with Grandpa and Grandma; a new 15 foot trampoline that arrived the same day school was let out for summer; playing with packaging materials; free ears and massive slices of pizza at Great Wolf Lodge (playing MagiQuest).

Last Day of School

Last day of school! Check out Jonathan in the window behind Julia's picture and how much he's grown this year. I guess those growth hormone shots are working! After the last bell of the year rang we snapped two final pictures with their awesome teachers, Angela Miller and Misty Mendenhall.

Smarty Pants Dance

Julia scored in the 91st percentile in math and the 96th percentile in reading nationally for students in her same grade. Wowzers! Come on college scholarships...

Julia's Leader Presentation

At the end of the school year each fourth grader had to do a report on a famous leader in this country's history. Julia chose Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross.  Not only did she have to dress up like her, but she had to research and prepare an oral report for anyone who attended the school presentation. When we arrived at the school all the children were lined up against the walls all over, just waiting for someone to come up and ask them to talk about their leader. Stacey and I went to the event and listened to Julia's presentation. It was very good.

There were lot of other options to choose from as you can tell from the below class picture. See if you can guess who some of the other characters were just by their costumes.