Is It Spring Yet?

OK, so I've been seriously slacking on my blog.  Maybe now I'll keep up...  at least I'll try to.  We're doing great here and keeping very busy!  We had an awesome Christmas with family here, and we had a great start to 2013!  Hannah has been doing awesome with piano lessons, and Eli has started too!  We have an hour long block of piano time, so Hannah's lesson is 45 minutes long and Eli has the other 15 minutes.  He is really learning fast!  Hannah got a "superior" rating at the piano festival this year, which she has also done for the previous 2 years, so she will earn her first gold cup this year!  I am so proud!  She has also been continuing her ballet classes, as well as going to "Fit Girls" at the gym once a week.  This is a time when girls ages 8-12 come together and play games, do circuit training, and finish up with yoga.  She is having a blast and getting healthy too!  Beginning this week, Eli and Hannah will be taking swimming lessons to get ready for summer time.  Also, in a week or so, Eli will begin T-ball!  I am so excited--I've been waiting almost 5 years for this!  :)  As for me, I am currently substitute teaching, and just yesterday I was hired as a Homebound Teacher!  I'll be starting that very soon.  I am still hunting for a full-time job, though.  It's a long, hard process but I'm trying to keep positive.  I've also been keeping busy at the gym--I exercise there at least 4-5 times a week, and I'm getting healthier all the time.  We're all looking forward to having warm weather come our way, and we're also looking forward to a very fun and exciting summer!

Having fun during one of several snow days

At Jesse Auditorium waiting for "Scooby Doo Live" to start

Easter 2013

Easter 2013

Happy Summer!

Four Corners

Arches

Future Architect

Artist!

4 years old!

Well, summer is about half over, and we've had an amazing first half!  We started our summer off with a 2-week-long trip out west to Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona.  Then, we celebrated Eli's 4th birthday with a Cars party with his friends and a family party!  Now, the kids are both in school--Eli goes half-day to his Montessori School, and Hannah is in the Summer Enrichment Program with the school system, and she's taking 2 classes--"Graphic Design" and "Fashion and Interior Design."  I have been amazed every day at the amount they've learned and made each day!  Not much time left before school starts, so we'd better rest up!  We hope you're having a great summer too! 

Goodbye, 2nd Grade!!!

Ready for school

Wow.  It's May already, and that means it's the end of the school year!  Hannah is so excited to be an official third-grader.  School gets out early at 1:15 and then we'll have lots of kids playing at our house--I'm even letting her have a sleepover!  Of course we took pictures of the morning bus stop with her next door neighbor friend, Tyler.  Eli always plays with her little brother, Brodie, who is just a few months older--they LOVE being silly together.  It's always a fun bus stop and we'll miss it this summer!  There will still be plenty of playing, though, of course!  I'm so proud of Hannah for her wonderful school year, and I can't wait to see her enjoy 3rd grade!

Hannah and Tyler

Super silly Eli and Brodie

 

Ready For Summer!

Crayon Art

  It's been a beautiful spring here in Columbia!  We've been really enjoying the weather, and we've been trying to spend lots of time outdoors.  On the first Saturday that was warm, we went to Shelter Gardens, which was gorgeous.  We're looking forward to going again soon, though, because when we were there, not much had bloomed yet, and there weren't any fish in the pond.  The kids enjoyed a recent trip to the splash park when the weather got really hot!  Hannah and I have also been having fun doing art projects.  We made flower fields with melted crayons and construction paper flowers for Grammie and Nannie for Mother's Day.  

Splash Park

Cosmo Park

3 Generations on Mother's Day

  We have an awesome summer to look forward to...  Hannah finishes school in a week, and we're taking a long trip to the Southwest to visit Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, etc. on the 2nd of June.  When we get home, Hannah is going to a great Summer School program and Eli will continue going to his Montessori school.  Hannah is going to her first ever church camp (overnight!), and the three of us are going to another church camp together that's for families (particularly with small kids).  And speaking of small kids, can you believe that Eli will be turning FOUR in July???  And after next week, Hannah will officially be called a "THIRD GRADER!!!!!"  Time flies...  

Mizzou Spring Football Game

Splash Park

  I'll try to keep the pictures coming over the summer.  There will be lots to tell for sure!!  :)

Eli at Shelter Gardens

Hannah at Shelter Gardens

Family and a Parade!

Jack, Trey, Eli, and Hannah

Corey, Carrie, Brett, Sarah, and Woody

Aunt Helen, Eli, and Hannah

  Hello again!  Fall has started off great!  In early October, we had an awesome family reunion with the Koellings.  We got to see lots of people that we hadn't seen in a very long time, and the kids got to meet people they'd never met before, including their third cousins Trey and Jack.  And I got to see second cousins that I've missed so much--Brett, Corey, Sarah, and Woody!  I hope we get to connect again soon!  We also saw Aunt Helen that afternoon--that's always a wonderful connection to make.  :)

Hannah's a tiger!

Our "Mystery Basket"

  The next great event for us was when Hannah and I spent the evening at school for their Fun Fest!  Hannah got her face painted like a tiger, played some carnival games, did a cake walk, and had a great dinner of pizza and hot dogs.  And here's the most amazing part--we won two items!  One was a basket from the raffle!  Each class created a huge themed basket with items sent in by families.  (Hannah's class made a cleaning basket--others included a movie basket, a sports basket, a couple Mizzou baskets, a gift card basket, and TONS more!)  The basket we won was one of the mystery baskets with many, many great items!  Hannah was SO excited!  And then, amazingly, we won a pumpkin-drop prize!  Students purchased foam pumpkins to be dropped from the top of a fire truck ladder and they landed on/near certain prizes, and Hannah actually won an iPod Nano!!  Amazing!  It was a very fun event for us to enjoy together--and not just because of the prizes.  ;)

Here comes our float!

Waving to the crowds

  Another fun thing we did recently was be in a parade!  Eli's school had a float in the Mizzou Homecoming Parade, so he and I had a blast sitting on the trailer and riding through the parade yelling "MIZ!!!!  ZOU!!!" with all his friends!  Then Hannah got to go to the Homecoming game with Grammie, Gabah, and Paw Paw.  (The kids take turns going to the games.)  Eli and I enjoyed hanging out with Nannie during the game!  We're all having a great fall, and we hope you are, too! 

Missouri Summer

Hannah before the game

Eli with Truman

Nannie's Birthday

Hannah with Mrs. Harl

Hannah with her friend, Masa

Brent and Hannah

Brent and Eli

     Well, our late summer has been going along very smoothly!  Hannah is doing beautifully at her school (Mill Creek Elementary), and she loves her teacher, Mrs. Harl.  Her teacher challenges her and insists on careful, neat work.  Eli is really getting used to his school (Windsor Street Montessori)--his teacher and friends are great!  The kids are also enjoying their activities--Eli is going to a soccer "class" on Saturday mornings.  It's a small group of kids who are all about the same age, and they love the coach.  Hannah is having fun taking piano from Ms. Vitt on Wednesdays, and is taking ballet on Saturday mornings at the Perlman studio.  Soon she'll be starting Brownie scouts, too.  
     As for me, jobs are finally starting to take shape!  I am a substitute at Eli's school--I've worked for a couple afternoons already!  I'm also going to start working for First Steps as a Speech Pathologist, which is a Birth to Three program, as soon as my state certification comes through.  I've also applied to be a substitute teacher in the public school system.  I'm guessing that my days will start to be really busy really soon!  
  So what else has gone on during the last month in the Weaver house?  Well, Brent came for a long weekend to visit--we had a great time!  We saw a movie, took the kids to the splash park and to ice cream, and tons of other things!  Mizzou has played 2 home games--Hannah went to one and Eli and I went to the other!  We also got to celebrates Nannie's birthday, and Hannah finally lost her first top front tooth.  It was a very exciting event!  We're now looking forward to an exciting October!

The Move

Hannah's 1st Day

Hannah at the Splash Park

Being silly at the park

Eli at the Splash Park

Oh my...I certainly did fall behind!  But I had an excuse this time!  We moved!  Boy--it was sure a crazy process.  I think the worst is behind us though.  They didn't end up getting all our stuff on the moving truck, so we didn't get everything in the initial load.  That was frustrating when we realized what we were missing!  We finally got it all this past Wednesday, though, so now we're all set.  Since we've been here, Eli has started preschool at Windsor Street Montessori School.  It's a great program, and we really like the teachers there.  It's taken him a while to get adjusted to a new school/new teachers/new friends, but he's getting there.  And another big change for Eli is that he's now potty-trained!  I'm so proud of him--he got the hang of it very fast!  We still have a couple accidents here and there, but overall he's done!  Hannah began 2nd grade at Mill Creek Elementary School with her teacher Mrs. Harl.  We are really excited about her teacher--she seems to be wonderful!  We've already seen lots of checked work coming home (didn't have much of that at all last year!) and a great deal of communication, which I think is wonderful!  Eli has started a soccer class called "Little Kickers."  It's a small class with about 6 or 7 three-year-olds and Coach Adam.  He does lots of little soccer drills, and it's amazing how much they learn!  I think having such a small class makes it easier for them to learn and get feedback!  Hannah has started piano with Ms. Vitt, and we think she's wonderful too!  She's already got lots of wonderful music to practice, even after week 1!  The kids have a new favorite place to visit--a great little splash park with a playground close by!  I am still searching for a job.  I've contacted several people, so I'm hopeful that something will come up somewhere sometime!  Overall, we're all doing great here!  Living within 10 minutes of Nannie and Paw Paw is awesome!  Almost too good to be true!  More updates to come...but for now, I'm signing off!