Let's hear it for 7!

Our sweet Claire bear turned 7 on 7-27! She had been counting down the days until her birthday for months, making plans for a party, making lists of the gifts she hoped to receive, deciding on treats to take to all her activities, etc. If this is any indication how wedding planning will go for her in the future, we better start planning now. Details and organization, my kind of girl! 

We let her have a friend party this year and I have to say it was a hit! She invited 5 friends to a spa makeover party at Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids. The girls all enjoyed manicures, got their hair fixed, and had their makeup done, all while wearing fuzzy robes. They each got a crown to take home and picked a new headband. It was so fun listening to these girls catch up since many of them haven't seen each since school was out. 

Maya, Olivia, Claire, Mia, Sammy, Abigail 

The two girls who helped with the party were awesome! They kept the girls entertained and asked them all about their activities, school, summer, music, crafts, etc. 

Inspecting all her gifts carefully! Crazy sand, a jewelry box, makeup, a baking set, earrings, books, crafts, stuffed animals, AG accessories. 

It was really fun to get to know Claire's friends better, they are a really sweet bunch of girls! 

Claire's 7 year interview:
What's your favorite food? Pizza!
What's your favorite movie? Frozen!
Favorite book? Junie B Jones
Favorite animal? Horse( she has said this 3 years in a row now!)
Favorite thing to play with? My American girl doll
What do you want to be when you grown up? Probably a unicorn
What is something you don't like? Spiders! 
If you could have a super power what would it be? It would be fun to fly!
Favorite place to shop? Justice or Claire's

Cobras Baseball

Baseball season has officially come to a close. Carter played with his buddies on the Cobras again this year, and although they didn't have as successful season as they did last year (10-18-2 record) the kids and parents had fun. They finished in the middle of the pack at AAA this year, but did beat some major teams along the way. This year posed some new challenges for the boys with the ability to steal bases and the pitching mound moved back, just like real baseball. Carter typically plays shortstop and pitcher and occasionally in the outfield. He had a couple of stents as catcher, and although this wasn't his strong suit, he tried his best! He'll do some subbing for second season and continue to work on his pitching in the off season. 

Claire's time to shine!

Claire had an end of the year celebration at school to mark the end of kindergarten! It was also pajama day at school..what better way to party than in your pajamas? Claire had an amazing teacher this year, Ms Ginkens. I'm not sure who is going to miss her more, Claire or I! As an end of the year gift, Ms.Ginkens gave every student a tablet of paper and envelopes with her address on them so the students could write her over the summer. What a great idea for Ms Ginkens to stay in touch with students while the students are working on their writing skills! 

Each student read a part to a story. Claire did a great job with her part and used a nice loud voice! Loud and proud we tell her! At the end of the celebration Ms Ginkens played a slide show she had put together of their year and there wasn't a dry eye in the classroom. Even the boss man was tearing up! She made copies for everyone so this is definitely going in the keepsake book! 

The end of the year also marks concert time! Claire with her friends Mya and Gentry before the program! 

Claire finished up the regular season of gymnastics with a "Spring Fling" basically a "mini competition" to showcase all her hard work. She did a great job! It was really fun to be able to be in the gym and see how all her hard work has paid off. She earned four ribbons for "EXCELLENT" performances. She is continuing on with gymnastics this summer, spending 6 hours a week working out with the pre-team she was selected to! 

Claire decided she wanted to give soccer a try this year over softball. I was a little hesitant as neither Jeremy or I know ANYTHING about soccer! I signed her up for a very casual rec league with only 4 practices and an end of the year scrimmage. She actually was surprising good and aggressive! She scored a couple of goals in practice and really seemed to know what to do! I am bummed I didn't get any pictures of her in action! 

On to dance! This is her 3rd year taking dance at Charlee's Elite School of Dance and the first year she has had to perform 2 dances in the recital. She did a great job! I am so proud she has a great memory and learned 2 separate routines. I have to admit, I am not very good a being a dance mom, but she loves it and it is so fun to watch her shine! 

Claire has been growing her hair out to donate again and patiently waited until dance was over ( hard to get short hair in a bun!) to get it cut. This time she chose to donate it to a non profit organization called Children With Hair Loss. Her 8 inches of hair will help another little girl have a beautiful head of hair! 

 So cute and just in time for summer! I am so proud of her kind heart and thoughtfulness. 

Mother's Day, Tulip Time and Other News!

MOTHER'S DAY! 

The Tuesday before Mother's Day I was invited to Case's preschool for "Muffins for Mom's". I absolutely love this day! It is so fun to see how excited the kids are to have their mom's come in with them and have the chance to showcase all the projects they have been working so hard creating for us! Case was so proud to show off everything he made me! 

The teachers always interview the kids about their mom's and this is always my favorite mother's day gift. I always chuckle at what the kids think about me! Apparently Case thinks I go to the store a lot! 

My sweet Claire Bear brought this home from school. I love the fact she thinks I am pretty as a princess and both kids think I am special because they love me!

Mother's Day was spent with family celebrating MANY things! Obviously Mother's Day, but also Jeremy's birthday, my sister's birthday, Jill's birthday, my mom's birthday and my sister graduating with her Master's degree from Drake University! My sister and Jill hosted a party to commemorate all these special events. My parents were able to bring my Grandma down, making the day extra special. I love these two ladies to pieces! I am so blessed to have had these two as role models to help me be a better mother. I can't even imagine how my grandma raised 6 kids on the farm without many of the modern day conveniences we have today. 

4 generations! Ida Spieker Mehlmann (97) Phyllis Mehlmann Berry (66) Dana Berry Freeman (40) Claire Freeman (6) 

So thankful for these 3 who call me mom! 

TULIP TIME!

Friday May 8th was my mom's birthday and I happened to have the day off that day! We made a last minute decision to go to Pella to the Tulip Festival. Neither of us had ever been (crazy I know living in Iowa all our lives!) We made it a girls day out and let Claire play hooky from school. We spent to day walking around town admiring the tulips, watched the parade, eating WAY TOO MANY good bad things for you, learned how to make wooden shoes, took in the craft fair and learned a ton about dutch heritage! Every local was dressed in traditional dutch garb and was so knowledgeable in their heritage and so very nice to share their town with use! 

 IN OTHER NEWS! 

Case had his first dentist appointment a couple of months ago and low and behold unproudly sports the Freeman kiddos first cavity! I guess this is what happens to the third child! I felt horrible! He was all smiles in the beginning knowing if he held still he would be rewarded with a toy at the end!

The smile quickly turned into a look of panic when it turned out to be more than just "polishing his teeth" 

In other news, he is super excited that the hand me down wrestling shoes now fit which means he is allowed to go to practice with the boys! How stinking cute is that? His stance is better than most 9 year olds I have seen! 

In other news, we are super pumped for some warmer weather finally! Bike riding, park visits and picnics!

Warmer weather also means our favorite ice cream shoppe is open for the season! YIPPEE! 

Speaking of treats! Our favorite cake lady, Echo, opened a storefront in Waukee a couple of weeks ago! Claire and I went to the open house and got to meet Ariel and Tinkerbell and better yet eat lots of samples! 

In other news, Carter ran 100 miles this year and participated in the Grand Blue Mile run at the Drake relays! So proud of him! 

While Carter was running 100 miles, Claire read 100 books and filled up her school chart! So proud of her! 

In other news, the boss man turned 42 this year! The kids and I forced him to eat a piece of cake..he was so excited! NOT! 

And last but not least, all these activities have worn this guy out! After spending the day at the ball park and running non stop, this ottoman looked to be pretty comfortable! I had told him to go get his pajamas on and when I went to check on him a few minutes later this is what I found! He had gotten undressed but didn't quite make it to the pajamas! How sweet is this? So proud of him for never complaining about being towed a million directions every day!