Not enough hours in the day!

We have had a busy few weeks, between t-ball games, racing and the pool. I know, what a rough life.

Josh raced in Britt on Friday night and got up early to get the car ready to be in the Heritage Days celebration. As you can see from the picture, he was "thrilled" to do it. Oh, the things a daddy will do to please his little princess.

After the parade, Paige and I headed to all the kid's activities, including a carnival with kiddie games and inflatables. Of course, Paige would be the kid who gets a bloody nose on the first inflatable she goes on! Some kid came in from the wrong way and got her with an elbow to the nose. Thank goodness in a small town you can take your 6-year-old into the local bar's bathroom and nobody thinks anything of it. It was the closest place open with a bathroom so I could clean her up. Poor girl!


She looks like she's in a cage at the zoo
On the big slide....Whee!!

"Fishing"

Skee-ball

Jousting

After the carnival, we headed home to go racing again. This time to Algona. Josh is doing really well in the stock car. We are so proud of him.

Sunday brought some more activities, Paige needed to be a church for choir practice at 9 am, Mass at 10:30, singing at the Courthouse at 12:15, watched a couple local churches put on a skit and puppet show, and an open-house for Father K. at 2. Whew!!

Singing at the courthouse

Paige and Father K. (her best buddy)


This week should be a little quieter. Tomorrow, Paige has her last t-ball game and Josh is racing in Alta.

I am also no longer working at the daycare, it just wasn't for me. So, I guess the upside is that I will have more time to get the blog updated.

Dressing for Dinner

Paige was downstairs playing while I was making supper tonight. I called down the stairs and told her it was almost time to eat. She said she needed to "get ready". I wasn't sure what that meant.......until she came up the stairs dressed like this.

Poor girl was a tad overdressed for hot dogs and mac & cheese (which is the supper she requested). Her t-ball game was cancelled due to rain and since she was so bummed out, I let her pick supper.

Last Day of School

Today was officially Paige's last day as a Kindergartner! I can't believe the "baby" is going to be a First-Grader this fall. It just doesn't seem possible. She brought home her report card and did quite well. I don't know why I was disappointed to see the little check mark that said she gets to go on to First Grade in the fall. Not that I don't want her to do well, it's just hard to know she's growing up so quickly. It almost makes me a little teary-eyed. Ok, it actually makes me cry. Silly mom!!

I start working at the daycare already tomorrow. Nothing like getting right to it. I think it's going to be fun. I know Paige is excited to get to see her friends and spend time with them this summer. I'm pretty sure she would have gotten bored rather quickly if we weren't going to the daycare, so it really is a win-win.

I was also talked to today about the possibility of going back to the school in Pomeroy in the fall. It's not a definite yet and I won't know until the end of June, but it's nice to know there is a chance.

Paige has her first t-ball game at 7:15 tonight. Should be pretty interesting considering they've only had one practice. The only thing that matters is that the kids are having fun.

That was all the excitement from today. Otherwise, we've had a pretty quiet week. The holiday weekend was especially quiet since Josh's race car was wrecked Saturday night and he spent all day Sunday and all day Monday trying to get it back together. Few more hours this weekend and it should be ready for racing Saturday night. Josh's uncle and aunt Darwin and Debby Eaton are celebrating their 30th anniversary by sponsoring the VIP booth at the Algona Raceway on Saturday night so there will be some extra fans on hand to support the 68 Race Team.

Paige and I went to Oleson Park in Fort Dodge on Sunday. They have a petting zoo there and she had a ball. She had a lot of fun feeding the goats. The girl loves goats!! If you are in Fort Dodge on a weekend afternoon, it's worth stopping by.

Monday was a pretty quiet day at home. We did go to the shop so Paige could ride her go-cart and we got pizza to feed all the hungry helpers working on the car.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Starting T-ball Season

Paige had her first t-ball practice tonight and they have a game already a week from today. This ought to be interesting!

She played last year and seems to remember most of what she was taught. Should be a fun summer.

Happy Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day today. It all started with breakfast in bed....what a treat! Then Josh and Paige even did the dishes, bigger treat!

We went to Fort Dodge to do a little shopping. I got some new perfume and Josh picked up a Wii Fit for me. I've wanted one since Christmas, but the stores were always out of them. Well, today they had some in stock so I got one. Yeah! I don't know how long I will stay this excited, but I have really good intentions.

We invited Josh's mom and dad over for supper along with our neighbor, Barb. Josh grilled some awesome food and we had a wonderful supper.

Happy Mother's Day to all!! Hope your day was also great.

The Next Generation

Josh got Paige a go-cart a couple weeks ago. She is really enjoying driving it, as you can see from the pictures and videos. She was a little upset today because her dad told her she needed to slow down a little. She wants to go FAST!

The only mudhole in the whole lot and guess whose tire tracks those are!

Video of the little racer:

Busy Easter Weekend

Our busy weekend started on Friday...since we didn't have school I took Paige to the Easter Egg Hunt at the Manor. They hid "real" eggs and Paige collected 22 of them. At first she was pretty confused about what was in the eggs. She squeezed the first one, then caught on pretty quickly. The activity directors had numbered the eggs so the kids could win prizes. They also had choices of candy for the kids to pick from. Paige's basket was so full of eggs she only chose 4 pieces of candy. Somebody must have felt bad for her, because she won a backpack and here is a picture of the activity director filling her backpack with candy when she thought I wasn't looking.

We were invited to a fish fry at the shop on Friday night, so we made deviled eggs to take along. None of the eggs went to waste. It was nice to be able to get together with everyone for supper.

Saturday during the day was pretty low-key. Josh worked on the racecar to get it ready for that night. I think we were all ready for racing to start (ask me in August if I'm still excited about the races, though). We had a great time at the races that night and Josh did really well. We are very proud of him.

Paige waving to her dad during the parade lap

Paige must have been tired from the night before, because Sunday morning Josh tried to wake her up at 8 for church and couldn't even stir her. I finally went in at 9:30 and got her awake. Needless to say, we missed church.

She got up and found her Easter basket. We don't do alot of candy, and after the backpack full, we didn't need to. :) She got a kite, hoola hoop, bubbles and a playground ball instead. She loves to play outside and now has no excuse to say "I'm bored".

We went to dinner at Josh's mom and dad's. His sister, brother and their families were also there. It was great for the cousins to get together and play. They always have a great time together.

It was back to work and school on Monday, only to get a phone call at noon that Paige was sick. Guess that explains the sleeping in. I picked her up and took her to the doctor right away. She has such a bad ear infection that the dr. was worried about the eardrum bursting. Crazy! Paige said her ear didn't start hurting until storytime (10:00). She had been battling a cold last week, but seemed fine all weekend. She's on antibiotics for 10 days. Must be pretty strong because our co-pay on them was $50. Yikes!!

She seems to be on the mend now. She was still running a temp this morning, so we stayed home again today. We have a late start tomorrow due to a teacher in-service, so she can sleep in again then.

Hope everyone had a happy Easter weekend!

Check out the race blog for more info on Saturday night.

Next Fall

I just found out today that I will not have a job at the school next fall. Since the school in Pomeroy is whole-grade sharing with Pocahontas there won't be a position available for me.

I'm really sad about it, but the only thing to do is pull myself up by the bootstraps and find something else.

Last Free Weekend

Since this is our last weekend before racing starts, Josh took Paige and I out for "date night" on Saturday. We went out for supper and then to the movie Monster vs. Aliens.

It was a really cute movie and Paige loved it. She's already looking forward to the movies she saw in the previews. Up! and also, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. They both look pretty funny, but sometimes the only good parts are the ones they show in the previews.

We also got some odd jobs done around the house. (Like taking down the Christmas lights) Josh said he'd have it done before April 1st and since he did, I guess I can't complain too much.

Paige practiced batting and throwing the baseball. Getting ready for t-ball!! She doesn't play soccer, so t-ball is the summer activity she really looks forward to.

Paige and I also helped Josh take the racecar out and get some new photos for all the sponsors. The picture are on the "other"blog: http://www.joshhohenseeracing.blogspot.com

She learned how to run the winch and help load the car.

Battle Wounds from the Bike

Even though Paige did a great job without the training wheels, it wasn't without injury. This is what I found when she took a bath last night.

These bruises on her back are from the bike seat.


And the fronts and backs of her legs are covered. Poor baby!

I debated even posting these pictures for fear of DHS coming to my house! How crazy is today's world that we need to worry like that?

No Training Wheels

Josh took Paige's training wheels off yesterday and she's a pro already. Ok, maybe not a pro, but she's doing really well. We are so proud of her!

Spring Fever?

I think even Paige is getting a little "Spring Fever". This is a picture she created this morning.

Dancing Queen

Paige loves the movie "Mamma Mia". She got it for Valentine's day (because I was tired of renting it every other weekend) and has watched it about 100 times since then. She loves to sing and dance along...as caught by video.

Schwan's sure is nice to us.....

Josh won a new tv from Schwan's that didn't fit in our entertainment center, so we went to Mason City yesterday to get a new one. It took a lot longer to get everything hooked up then we thought it was going to. Josh also won a surround system a few years ago, so he broke that out, too.

Thanks to dad for helping carry the old entertainment center out and the new one in.


Trying to figure out what all the wires are for...


and finally calling Uncle Charlie for help hooking everything up. Thanks, Charlie!

The finished product

Diabetic Coma (on a plate)

Since we went to Des Moines last weekend Paige and I never got a chance to make Valentine cookies. So we made them today instead.

She's got her apron on, she's ready to decorate

She loves to decorate the cookies

Having fun

The finished product. There's enough sugar on that plate to send anyone into a sugar shock!

What goes better with cookies than milk?

Sometimes I get really bored....

Just a series of random pictures that I messed with on the computer


Because you can't take life too seriously

And this one, since some people may not share our sense of humor :)

Just because he's a dork


Daddy's girl

And sometimes Mommy's girl, too

Family collage
Racing picture


My cousin, Barbara and I

Josh and his cousins, Abby and Sarah

6 is the new 16

Every morning Josh walks Paige to the bus (at the end of our driveway) and gives her a hug and kiss good-bye.

Yesterday, Paige and I had a late start so dad was long gone by the time the bus showed up. The bus has to drive by our house to pick up a kid on the next block and then comes back for Paige. When dad's not home we have a little different routine, when we see the bus go by, she puts on her coat and backpack to head out the door. I am usually running behind so I don't walk her to the bus (at the end of our driveway).

When she came home from school she asked me if I would tell her dad that he didn't need to walk her to the bus (at the end of our driveway) and if he would just let her go out by herself. I told her she had to tell him that herself.

So, this morning she told her dad that she could go out to the bus ALONE. He told her it was OK that he liked walking her out and giving her a hug and kiss. I was in the bathroom getting ready and Paige came in and whispered "I tried to tell him but he still thinks he needs to go out with me". Dad just didn't get the hint that she didn't want him to go out with her....so she and I went back out to the kitchen to break her dad's heart.

She explained the other kids were making fun of her because her dad walked her out and kissed her in front of them. Apparently, even six is too old to still be getting kisses from your dad in front of your friends. She told him he could still kiss her in the house, but not outside.

They definitely grow up way too fast!!

Paige's First Hockey Game

Josh, Paige and I went to Des Moines to watch the Iowa Chops hockey game on Valentine's day. We had a lot of fun! We had really good seats, so were able to see everything.

First fight-29 seconds into the game. Paige didn't want to see them punching each other, but kept asking if anyone had their teeth knocked out yet. Maybe she wanted them all to look like her.


Hockey fans are even crazier than dirt-track fans. These 2 guys were especially crazy. They were leading the crowd in cheers, jeering the refs and telling the other players how much they "suck".

During the game

They also had "Numerous Nuptials" between the first and second periods where people could either get married for the first time or renew their vows.

There were 70 couples total. I was really surprised there were that many!

Some even wore wedding dresses....
And some wore their pajamas.

During the breaks the Zooperstars put on some dance routines. They were on America's Got Talent. It was really cute.

Toothless

Paige lost her 4th tooth today.

She lost the bottom two in about October or so and has lost the top two in the last couple days.

Each time she has lost a tooth, the new permanent tooth is already most of the way grown in. On the bottom she had 2 teeth growing behind the other set (it was kinda gross).