Another School Year

To say the least it has been a very long time since I posted on the blog. I thought it was a great time to start that out again.

The kids just started their first day of school yesterday and it was GREAT! Evan in 6Th grade, Abbie and Andy in 2ND grade, and Mr. Owen in Kindergarten. I made it with only a few tears!

We had a great summer and it went by way to fast. We had a few trips to the lake, a couple trip to IA, and the three older kids were able to spend a week in the Wal*Mart truck with Papa. Abbie and Andy went down together and while Andy was in the trick Abbie got to spend time with Grandma and Aunt Kelly and her family. They had a wonderful time doing that. The kids were in baseball/softball and great seasons. Evan's team took first in the 11 year old and his travel came out with nothing worse than a second place finish.

Ken started a job in Janesville, Mn about 7 months ago and he is in the Clinic by himself and he loves it out there. He's really good with the family practice and following up with the patients. They have been busy and getting more in all the time.

Daycare has been busy. I have been rated by a program called Parent Aware and this program provides training, grants, and specialists to help me make my program the best I can be. I was observed for 4 hours by a person from the U of M last July and with the paperwork I turned in, the observation, and the daycare area they gave me a rating of 3 of 4 stars. Once you get the rating if you do not receive 4 stars then they provide training and the grants to make the necessary improvements. I just did the rating again in July so I will find out October 1 how I did. I got a sink to put in the daycare room, lockers, and toy storage,. I also was able to attend 32 hours of classes to learn to do assessments on each child so I am able to have 3 conferences a year with them and discuss progress and it allows me to see if there are areas where I need improvements. It also provides them with written progress. The parents are also able to go online and read about my program and see my rating. It is just pilot program so I am really hoping that it will become mandatory! MN would have the best daycare ever:)

We are also getting ready for a new year at our church with the Sunday school and Ken teaching and I continue to work 10 hours a week with the curriculum and the preschool program.

Hockey starting October. If that's not a sign of Fall I don't know what is. Get those skates sharpened!

I think that's all for now. I will post again soon!

Take care and I hope that all is well with you!

Things Never Slow Down Here

We made it through the long hockey season. The kids were great. Abbie and Evan started at the end of October and Andy started at the end of December. They all had a great time and are playing and skating well. All four of the kids took skating lessons for three sessions and this week-end Abbe, Evan , and Owen are performing in Charlie and the Candy Factory on Ice. They are so cute with their costumes on. I will add photos when we are done with the show.

Ken has been crazy busy at work but still loves his job. They really keep him going.

Church has been great! Ken and I are both teaching Sunday School and that has been very challenging for me. For some reason, Owen doesn't want to go to his own class and he stays with me and then I have three of my own kids in my class. It really tests me some days. I will remember for next year to teach a class that your child is not in.

Abbie will have her first dance recital in May and they are dancing to the song Shop Around. They us grocery carts and it is just adorable. I can't wait. They had their pictures on Wednesday and the little girls in their frilly costumes and make-up on. And we can't forget the curls that I had practiced and practiced. IT was adorable.

We have a couple of trips planned. We are heading to Fargo at the end of the month and Ken is going to present at a conference. Then when we get back I need to have surgery on my right hand for carpal tunnel. Ken is going to do daycare for me that week and Mom is coming up too.

We are going to IA in June to do the breast cancer walk. We did it a couple years ago so it will be fun to do it again. I don't think that Mom will be able to walk with the trouble she has been having with her knees. She needs replacements at some point. I hope I don't inherit that!!!LOL

We have another trip that will be to the Dells in AUgust for the kids birthdays. They are very excited about that. We have a trip to Macanac (sp) Island as well and I can't wait for that.

We are going to side the house and new windows and lots of paining projects to do inside as well. I hope to get Evan moved downstairs and then we can get the other three split up too.

I will have to keep this blog up through the summer so you know what is going on here in MN.

Take care and thanks for stopping by.

It IS Still here

It has been so long since I wrote on here or even thought about it.

We have had so many wonderful things go in since I blogged last. Evan is in 4Th grade and doing great. He has a male teacher this year and they get along great. He is playing hockey again and has decided that he likes being a goalie. Why he would want things shot at him fast and hard is beyond me but he loves it.

Abbie started Kindergarten this year and loves it. She is doing very well and will write or draw on anything she can find. She never lets a piece of paper go to waste. She also started dance this year and loves it. She also started hockey and is really enjoying that as well. She is such a little mother to her brothers and loves every minute of it.

Andy also started Kindergarten and loves it. He is very social and never misses a chance to share his opinion. Even if it has nothing to do with the topic at hand. He loves to play soccer and just be outside. At this house we can never have too many construction trucks or diggers.

Owen is 3 and very very busy. He has some kind of new collection every day and then takes it everywhere. He is the oldest kids during daycare hours so he gets to be a big brother too. He started ice skating this year and likes being on the ice. If he had it his way he would be playing hockey. Next year for sure.

Ken and I are both busy with work and Church. We are both helping with Sunday school and that has been a really good experience for both of us. Ken is coaching hockey and I am a manager for both the kids teams. Ken started a new position in the hospital with Internal Medicine. He has 8-5 hours and we both love that.

I think that is about it for now. I will update with some photos soon.

Take care and Happy Holidays!

YIKES! It's been a while!!

Hi There,
I thought that it was about time that I get an update on here. All of us are doing fine and have been very busy.
Ken and Evan have one more month of hockey and then we have a break before he starts baseball. We may even get to sleep in a little bit on Saturdays! YEAH!!! Evan is doing great with hockey and he has been taking skating lessons to also help him improve his skating as well as balance. He loves to be out on the ice. He doing great in school and all of us love his teacher this year. She is great at keeping us informed of what is going on and how well he is doing. He loves math and reading. Evan has also had 6 teeth pulled to help give his teeth some room and get ready for braces in a couple of years. The tooth fairy is going to go broke if this keeps up!
I have been really busy with daycare. I started using a new program online for the food program that also lets me do accounting and keep my menus. It is fun to learn all that the program can do and some days has been testing my patience. It has cut down tremendously on the paperwork that I have to do. I can push a button and it sends in my forms for me. I had a 4 month old start in February and he is fitting in nicely with the other kids here. We took our furniture out of the living room and made it our preschool which really helps me keep track of everybody. It is also easier for spraying those germs away when the area isn't so large.
We have had a few of the bugs that have been going on in the winter but not too bad. We are good at hand washing and not sharing our germs.
We had a great Christmas. My parents were here and that was a lot of fun. The kids were just amazed at all the stuff that Santa brought. It is always fun to see the look on their faces when they open their gifts. We also had Christmas with Ken's family at our house and that is always fun as well.
The twins are doing great and love the fact that they can write their own names. Abbie signs everything she can. They both got Mavericks outfits and they love to go to the hockey games on cheer on our MAVS! We are hoping to see them reach the final 5 this year and we will know after this week-end. We took the kids to Kindergarten Round-up on Thursday and it sounds like they will be heading to school this year. We were thinking of holding them back so they weren't the youngest in the class but they will take the assessment test and if all goes well, which I am sure that it will, they will head to school. They were ready to go this AM. Mom is not ready. I was pretty sure that we weren't going to send them. Their birthday is August 31, the day before the cut off.
Owen is growing so fast and is so far from our little baby. He will be 3 next month! He decided on our last trip home form Ia that he was going to pee in the potty and has been now for almost 2 weeks. YEAH!!! He loves to sing his ABC's and anything else he hears. He also loves the snow and being outside.
They decided to close Eagle Ridge, where my Grandma was and she is in Keystone, Ia at a care center. It is a small place and is very nice. She likes to be out of her room and has been going to lots of activities. He dementia is bad but she still laughs alot and loves to see the kids. She also remembers that Stacy has a boyfriend!
I think that is all for now. I will get some photos on here soon.
Take care and thanks for stopping in!

Evan Skates at the Mavericks Game

Hi,
For those of you that don't know it, the Mavericks are the Mankato college hockey team. One of the big things of Evan's hockey year is to skate at the intermission of the Maverick's game in front of over 4,000 people. It was very exciting for the parents as well. They have 2 minutes to show off their talents and the college students really get into it when the kids are out there. There were about goals scored but now official score. I know that they had a great time out there and they did an AWESOME job!! Way to go Ev!! He had a big cheering section too. Pat, Adam, Stacy, Mom, Drew, Abbie, Uncle Jeff, and Grandpa Mark.
Daycare has been really busy. I had an 8 month old start Nov. 5. He is quite the happy little guy and the kids just love having a baby here.
Evan is doing great in school and his conference went well. He above the est of his class in everything so we are very proud of him for that hard work.
The twins really like the preschool at home. They can both write their names and are writing about 12 letters from the alphabet. We have also started sign language and they are doing great with that as well.
Owen is in the terrible twos and that is all we need to say about that. Most he is pretty good but he has learned that he can take Drew down pretty quickly and keep him there.
We have inherited a 5th cat names Stubby. He has no tail and is adorable. He was injured and we got him healthy and he is still here. He is going in next week to get snipped and declawed.
Ken is very busy at work and still loves it here. They have had a few interviews for new midlevels but have not found one to hire yet.
We had Thanksgiving here with Ken's family and in Rochester with Pat and Stacy. We had a nice time at both and have so many wonderful things to be thankful for.
Hope all is well with all of you! We are in the middle of a snow storm so I am sure to have pictures of the snow day soon!

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Ok. It has been another month and I haven't been able to get a post onto here. We are very busy lately and I am going to get busier.

Hockey has started and I am Evan's team manager and this year is a big job. I keep the team informed of upcoming practices and ice time. We are having pictures this week-end and also starting the Schwan's fund raiser. It has been quite challenging just getting all the correct contact information from the parents. we should be set and it should be smooth sailing from her on out.

I am getting a new baby for daycare. He is 8 months old and will start on Nov. 5. He has been her twice to check us out and coming over tomorrow night to get all the papers signed. We are very excited to have him starting with us. The next babies don't come until after the first of the year. They are both boys also.

We are doing some sort of preschool every day. The twins are writing and learning letters. Owen and the daycare Abby are learning shapes, colors, lines, and coloring. We have been making lots of Halloween crafts and that is really fun. My kids and I cooked yesterday and it was a lot of fun having lots of helpers. We made omelette's and I don't know where the cheese went. The kids or the floor. They were good anyway.

I am up for my relicensing this month and since it is so close to the end of the month the licensor should be knocking on the door any day now. I am going to change my license so I can have more preschoolers and less smaller. I only plan on keeping the eight, I think that will be enough.

We are hosting Thanksgiving here for Ken's family, Rosemary's side. Roberts Thanksgiving will be in Rochester. and Our Christmas will be here also. I can't believe that the holidays are so close. My Mom is almost done shopping! wish I was. Good job Mom!

That is all for now. I will try and get back here before another month flies by!

Evan lost his third tooth of the summer ! I think the tooth fairy is about broke!

New Addition to Daycare

I had a little girl names Abby start on the 28th and she is adorable. She will be coming 2 days a week and we are very excited to have her here with us.

August 23-26

Daycare CLOSED!!! I closed up the business and we headed for the lake with Stacy, Pat, and Adam. Ken had to work so he came up on Saturday. We had a great time and Ken's Mom was there with us. Mark was able to get off work Friday at noon and join us also. We grilled out, fished, went out on the boat, and tried to catch up on sleep. I am still wondering if we ever get caught up because I don't feel like it. It was a great get away and the most rest I have had in a long time. Rosemary is so great about cooking and then I can be with the kids and not worry about meals and when we grill, Ken or I grill and she gets the rest ready. All of the vegetarian recipes were a hit!
It was a great chance for us to get to know Stacy's new man and his son. They are great and I am glad that we got to spend that time with them.
Evan got a regular size fishing pole for his Birthday and then Stacy and Pat gave him a tackle box full of tackle. He was ready to call it quits with the new pole until he caught a fish and then he really liked it. He caught a lot of fish and had a great time.
Stacy and Pat got the twins small tackle boxes also and they had fun trying out the new things. It was really a great week-end with lots of fish to catch and lots of photos!

Visit from Maddy and Family

Maddy and her family were here for a visit and we had a great time. I am so glad that we had the chance to meet them and make them a part of our lives. When I started daycare I never expected such a wonderful friendship with the families of the children that I care for. It is wonderful. We had fun playing when they were here and seeing all of the new things that Maddy can do now. She likes it at her new daycare and we miss her every day here! They are waiting to sell their house here and then they will find on in Fargo. Good Luck!

Ken's Work Picnic

Ken's work had a big picnic, they do every year, and it was a great time. They had 3 of those inflatables. One was a big slide, an obstacle course, and one to jump in. That was as far as we got at the picnic. We moved to a table long enough to eat and Ken went to get food while I watched the kids. Evan was not there since he was spending the week with Papa in his Wal*Mart truck. I had Abbie, Drew, Owen, and Katie from daycare.

Evan and my Dad had a great time. Evan was able to talk him into McDonald's three times the first day. He ate snack wraps and that is what Dad thought Evan's handle should be for the CB but Evan decided on Mello-Yellow. He had a great time and Dad sent home and atlas that had all of the stores marked where they had been, how many miles they drove, and what they did at each place while they were there. Evan is all ready to go next year or earlier if we can work it out.

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Evan's Party

Evan had his Birthday party at Jungle Bungle in Davenport, IA. It has a huge play place and he and his friends had a great time there. This was the second year they were there. He loved seeing all of his friends and got really cool presents.

David A. Marquez

We went over to our friends and saw their new baby, David. He was about 1 month old here and so adorable. That is her big brother Jorgito with Abbie. They were pretty cozy!!

Evan's 8th Birthday

August 5, Evan turned 8. It is hard to believe that he is already 8. His Grandpa Gordy and Grandma Dolly came down for the day and here are some photos. They went for a bike ride to the college and had a great time. Evan wanted have a big party with his friends in IA and that was on the 11th.

Pat & Adam's first trip to Mankato...

Last weekend I took Pat and Adam to Mankato to meet Team Bentson. (We also had my friends daughter, Maddie.) All went well. The kids had a great time together! We all walked down to the park. The big kids, Pat and Ken played a little baseball. Krista and I took the little kids over to the play ground. It wasn't long before the big kids joined us. All the kids (including Pat) played in the sand for a while. Then we headed for home.

The kids did a little swimming and goofing around in the front yard before dinner. After dinner, we turned on some rock n roll (Poison, Unskinny Bop) for them.

Pat and Adam had a great time and the kids can't wait to see each other again so they can all play! We are all looking forward to next weekend when we go down to Davenport and Pat and Adam get to meet mom and dad...

Just GOOFING

Who are these kids and who do they belong too?? Love the unibrow and the facial hair!

Ken't trip with the Kids

Ken had a couple days off, during the week so he and three of the kids headed to the lake. You can see they had their fishing attire on and did some fishing. They really like to fish and have a running tally at the cabin. The dock had a little remodeling and now it is easier for all of us to fish at once. We still untangle lines now and then but it is great to be out there together.

Our First Camping Trip

Team Bentson had their first "official" camping trip. We bought a tent and got tons of camoing supplies from some of Rosemary's friends. We loaded up the camping gear, the kids, and headed out to Sibley State Park. We learned that next year we need to reserve campsites well in advance. Sibley is about 20 minutes from the cabin so in case of disaster we could evacuate. Ken set up the camp while Denise, the kids, and myself went to the beach and swam. We grilled brats and hot dogs over the campfire. Made yummy smores!!! It was a little challenging getting the kids to settle down with all of us in a tent. Finally by 10PM all was quiet. We had cereal out of cups for breakfast and all has a good nights sleep. I must admit that it was much better than I imagined it would be. We are looking forward to doing it again before the summer is gone.

Evan has been busy with hockey camps and has one week left in August. He is awesome and gets better every time he skates. He is bored most of the day and looks forward to daycare kids.

We are keeping busy and it is hard to believe that summer is almost gone. We are heading to IA for the kids Birthdays. That will be a fun trip.

Stacy met a guy and they are doing great. His name is Pat and he has a 6 year old son. We are going to meet him this week-end, I hope.

I think that is all the news for now.

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Harold and Mary's Farm

All of Team Bentson was invited out to the farm. It belongs to Evan's bus drivers, Harold and Mary. They had all kinds o f baby animals, including, chicks, turkeys, calves, pigs, kittens, and geese. We had a great time. I think the hit of the farm was the tractors. They tried out as many of them as they could get on but I don't think that they hit all 16 of them. We are going to get some sweet corn form them and a fresh turkey for Thanksgiving.

Have a great week!

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Not Quite a Month

Well, it hasn't quite been a month since my last post, just close. Things have been hectic here and I am thinking that is going to be that way for about 18 years.

We are doing great and enjoying every day of this warm weather. We have been heading to the park or just out in the yard. We had a couple weeks of sick kids. That was daycare kids and all. We had pink eye, runny nose stuff, and a GI bug. I hope that we will start getting used to all the germs and quit getting sick. The kids have been out riding their bikes and usually when they do that we go to the college.

We made a trip to IA with Aunt Stacy and did The Race For a Cure with Mom and Dad. That was fun and the kids held up very well for being up at 5:30AM. We walked three miles---YEAH!!!

Evan has been playing baseball and and is really good this year. Papa was in town and got to see him play. Evan has had hockey camp this week and then goes right to baseball. He should be tired by tomorrow.

Saturday we are heading to IA. Ron and Kelly and their kids are here for a visit. IT will be a lot of fun to see them. We are getting a family picture taken and plan on doing some swimming. It should be a great time.

Next week we are heading to WI Dells with Gordy and Dolly to celebrate their 20Th Anniversary and also their 70Th Birthdays. We have a video of the Dells and the kids are very excited to go. We will also be getting a family photo done with them.

I will try and not wait so long between the next post and add some more photos.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

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Who's Garage is This?

I will never forget when my Grandma was here at Christmas, we walked her into the house through the garage and she said, "This garage is a pig sty!" We finally had some time and I hauled everything out and hung things up and now we have so much more room! The kids had a great time going up the stairs to check out the attic. What a great feeling of accomplishment!
Sunday we went to church, napped, and played in the yard! We took the kids up to MSU where they had all kinds of room to ride their bikes. Drew tried a ride on Evan's old bike with training wheels and did great! The yard was mowed and fertilized. Monday we had a lazy day. The kids wanted to put flags out in the front in honor of Memorial Day. They put them in a row in front of the fence. I got to sleep in!!! We spent most of the day outside! Then Evan had baseball practice and the other kids played at the school.
That's all for now and thanks for stopping by!

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An AWESOME Mother's Day Week-End

I must say that I have the most wonderful husband and kids! They not only made this Mother's Day a great one, but the whole week-end was a celebration for me. Saturday it was beautiful out and we spent the entire day outside. Ken cleaned up the front flowerbed and the kids and I put together a picnic table and a bench for the backyard. Then when the kids napped, Ken went to Menard's and got flowers and mulch. We planted all afternoon and got the mulch in and it looks so great! We made the flowerbed in the front smaller and have to put some sod in but it looks so good. We made the one in the back a little smaller and have our big birdbath out there.
Then on Sunday we went to Church and are really liking this new Church. It is called Messiah Lutheran. They have more of a contemporary service and lots of people and they are very good with the children. The church is full with lots of small children so we don't feel like ours are being so loud. I hope that we end up staying there. It is also the Church that Maddy and her family go to. (She is my daycare baby.)
I hope that all of the Mother's out there also had a great day!
Thanks for stopping in!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

How Time Flies

Hi,
I know that it has been weeks since I updated anything here. It seems that since the warmer weather is here that there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything in. The kids have been outside so much! It is wonderful.
Last Friday, Ken went to the cities to get some camping gear from some of his Mom's friends. They have been in their house for 42 years and it was time to get rid of things. I can't believe how generous they were. We have some wonderful camping gear, tents, and sleeping bags included. Ken put up tents in the front yard to the kids got to check them out. Abbie didn't like it when and ant came in her tent. We are excited about taking the kids to camp. I am hoping there will be showers close by!
While he was getting the camping gear the kids got to spend some time with Grandma Dolly and Grandpa Gordy. The took the kids to a community center with a huge play place. They had a really great time!
Daycare is going great. I have 3 full time kids, one that comes every day after school and then two part-time kids. We are really in the swing of things and it gets easier as it goes. I will be up to renew my license in Nov. and I will change it so I can have more preschoolers and then I should be busy, busy!
Ken ran into one of his co-workers and they were talking about May baskets and she said " People just don't have tine to do that anymore." Kens reply was, "Abbie and Krista made some for me to bring to the clinic. " To which she replied,"Those stay at home Moms have tome to do that stuff." I am so glad that Ken stood up for me and said that I own a daycare business AND the baskets were made after daycare hours!!! Way to go Ken. Abbie and I had a really fun time making them and the nurses loved them. Owen was sick with stomach bug and Ken had to pass them out but it is the thought that counts. We love to make crafts!
I think that is about it for now. Oh, we had a visit from Aunt Stacy and she brought the kids their souvenirs from Ireland and me LOTS of chocolate! Is that because she knows I love chocolate or so her weight loss goes better than mine? HAHAHA
Take care and I will get some photos on soon.

Beautiful Weather

What a beautiful week-end we had! The weather is starting to get nice and the ground might dry up so the kids have been out for the last three days. Andrew wanted to go out and play before 8AM today. We were going to try and get the kids to the Zoo but we decided to stay in Mankato and with them being out in the yard I got to sort out toys, put pieces back with the right toys, and clean out our biggest closet. One of those projects that takes a few hours. Papers get stacked and put onto shelves. There are thousands of photos that need a home. I am hoping to start scrap booking with daycare Moms and our good friend Denise. It would take me couple of days just to get organized and sort pictures out. I can't wait until we get that going.

I had a little boy, Christian, that started with us today. So far, so good. He is one and he and Owen have been playing. Abbie and Drew like to chase Owen and call him "poopy monster." Now with Christian, hopefully, they can leave he and Owen to play together.

That is all for now. I hope that all of you are able to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather. Take care and thanks for stopping by!

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HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, OWEN!!

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