The Happy Hasselds: January

This was JANUARY!! Mid-70's in January calls for ice cream!

I wore them out! I don't remember what we did, but it wore them out.

That's a coyote in the field! Sasha was ready to give chase, but I just wanted to go home!

Ryan on the dance floor at the school Valentine's Day Dance. This kid loves to move!

We spent a warm February Saturday hiking at the local park. It's definitely something we want to do more of!

This is what happens when Ryan gets ahold of my iPad.

Bella's AHG troop had "Canvas and Cocoa" night. We got to paint zebras and I think they turned out adorable!

Early March means the sap is running, and the kids and I (and Grammy!) went to see how it's done. It was quite interesting!

The kids are watching the sap drip into the bucket - we even got to taste some!

Partially frozen maple sap!

Off to the Sugar Shack where they boil down the sap to make syrup.

These ladies made maple sugar, and showed some ways of storing maple.

Free samples! Bella was not sure about the maple candy...

But her face after tasting shows how much she liked it!

This boy. Honestly.

Working at school means that I get to eat lunch with this guy on Fridays. Love him.

Doughnuts. On the occasional crazy morning, we swing by Jack's Donuts and the kids get sugar bombs. I'm sure their teachers LOVE me.

This girl and her books. I LOVE that she's a reader, but sometimes I have to remind her to eat. Or go to bed.

Ryan and his race track obsession. He has a 4'x6' poster board that's become Daytona, a few extra poster boards and science-fair-project boards that are other tracks, and we are running low on printer paper because he uses it to make paper tracks. One of this creations was out of the Kapla blocks we have. I love his creativity!

The track with pits and stands.

Close-up of the fans. In case you can't see, there's a guy on the platform in the middle holding the checkered flag.

Just because.

We've discovered SnapChat and have a lot of fun with it.

They're studying their world map placemats. Seriously.

Bella at the 4th grade Indiana History program. Her last one at this school! *sniff sniff*

The 4th graders had a major project; study a famous Hoosier, keep a research journal, write a five-paragraph paper, prepare and memorize a speech, and then present it to the school. Did I mention that they handed out the project guidelines, told them they were due in a month and then left them to it? We set the bar high at Washington Woods! Bella chose Jeff Gordon and did a spectacular job - she scored at 98!

Her presentation. She did all the work!

Ready for the Wax Museum. She chose the logos, I printed them out, she put them on.

Spring break means Missouri, and every year we pass the signs for "World's Largest Wind Chime" and "World's Largest Golf Tee." This year we decided to stop in Casey, IL and see all the big stuff in the little town.

Pitch fork. Bella is pretending to be impaled.

Ryan didn't want to get out in the cold. Yep, that's Bella in her night gown and sweat pants!

Wind chime (which you can ring).

They're up in the mail box.

Bella is condemning Ryan to something. Probably death.

And then MO! Butterfly Palace, of course. Every.Single.Time.

Bella tried to wear as many colors as possible to attract butterflies. I think they're little compound eyes were bleeding with this ensemble.

That's a butterfly on my necklace!

Bass Pro Shops.

Talking Rocks Cavern. The kids panned for gems and got quite a few good ones!

And our new thing: Fritz's Adventure. An indoor playground!

Ryan had to be persuaded to get on this thing.

Bella and I were ready to be strapped in and walk above the ground!

While Ryan had fun with Maga.

We finally convinced him to try it too...

And he was hooked!

That tiny pink dot at the top of the screen is Bella. That girl is an adventure junkie!

Playtime with Papa. She doesn't fit in his lap like she used to.

Feeding the geese.

Ryan's angry racing face.

Checking out Papa's train.

Go Karts, of course.

And ice cream!

Easter! I compared last year's picture...

To this year's picture! My, how they've grown!

They have such fun coloring eggs!

And finding them!

And I like how pretty they look!

Blue, the Colts' mascot, came to school one night.

The kids got to pet a blue-tongued skink.

And Bella found great relaxation massaging a python!

Bella was in Lego Club this year, and was chosen randomly to go to the all-school competition. She had a blast!

Bella and her partner Bella.

The house they designed (they weren't allowed to build up the walls).

At the end.

Here's a screen shot of Bella leading the pledge for the school for the last time on our morning broadcast. She was chosen for being a good role model with a good attitude.

The first weekend in May my cousin got married and so we trekked to Chicago to party with family!