Fiddler's Pond and Book Madness

March brings some crazy weather to Indiana and it sometimes feels like the month that never ends.  Thankfully between the snow falls, we had a few nice, sunny days.  On one of those days, we went to Fiddler's Pond in Goshen to ride bikes and fish.  It was so nice to be outside without a winter coat (of course the snow came back several more times after this!)

 We also had March Madness to help us get through the month.  My bracket was pretty much all wrong and I was in last place for quite awhile in our school and family bracket.  Luckily, I picked the overall winner so I didn't end up at the bottom! 
At school we have a Book Madness bracket and choose the best book of the month.  Kids also got tickets to try to earn a free book, a chance to cheer, or play in a basketball game versus the teachers.  Emmy was thrilled to be able to cheer and Landon thought it was great playing against his teacher!

Catch up from January/February

Well, yes...apparently it's been 2 months already since I last blogged about Christmas time!  My, how time flies!  Here's what we've been up to:
We finally got around to decorating  gingerbread houses on Jan. 1st.  A little late, but it still tasted just as good. 👍

We've been reading Harry Potter, so you may notice Emerson's lightning🗲 scar in these pictures!

Emerson has been taking gymnastics lessons and she's made some great improvements over this school year.  So when a cheer camp flyer came out, she was super excited!  The girls got to work with the NWHS cheerleaders, learned some cheers and a dance, and had the opportunity to cheer at a basketball game.  Unfortunately on the night of the game, Emerson was sick and missed school that day.  But, she did enjoy the day at camp.📣

Kenna came to camp too!

 Landon played Vertical Basketball instead of Upwards this year.  It wasn't much different, but was less expensive and the coaches also acted as refs.  Matt coached Landon's team and I helped out when needed.  He loved the game and really improved over the season.  He got more confident with the ball and scored several times a game.  We had games every Saturday and every other Thursday, so it was busy, but he loved every minute of it.  He was number 3 (and it's totally hard to get a good, not blurry picture during a game).🏀

Front row: Matthew, Karsten, Cole, Wesley
Back row: Carter, Landon, Miles, Brennan, and Coach Matt

Emerson has a huge giving heart and definitely loves to give (and get :)) gifts.  This year, she surprised us by making chocolate mint cookies by following a recipe all by herself.  I helped her bake them and they kind of melted into one big cookie, but I definitely think she did a great job for her first time following a recipe on her own. 

 We don't usually get the kids gifts for Valentine's Day, but I know how much they like gifts and candy, so this year we did. :)  Landon looked at the package and said, "Wow, Russell Stevers gave us a gift?"  No buddy, but Russell Stover did make the candy you're getting. 💗

 Matt and I got tickets for the Purdue basketball game versus Rutgers that happened to be on Valentine's Day from Mikel and Jessica.  We had originally planned to take the next day, Wednesday, as a personal day and spend the night in Lafayette.  But the 2 weeks before, we had all been sick and missed a lot of school between us and the kids.  Then on that day, I didn't really feel well and almost didn't go to the game.  The game was a lot of fun, though and seats were great.

 Lastly, Matt got Emerson tickets to go to the Daddy/Daughter Dance a few days after Valentine's Day.  She was excited for WEEKS!  And John and Kenna got tickets too.  They had a ball and the girls enjoyed every minute of it.  I took Landon out to Steak 'N Shake for dinner and played video games with him.  It's so nice and important to spend time one on one with the kids.

Loving our time together and hope we are over all the sickness that's come our way!  We've had a really crazy winter with little to no snow and lots of warm days.  I don't remember any winter where we've left our coats at home so much!  Looking forward to what March will bring.

Upwards Cheerleading and Basketball

Landon is playing on the Trojan's team for Upwards this year.  He LOVES it!  He loves practicing, playing the game, and then usually comes home and shoots around in the basement for the rest of the afternoon.  It makes it even more fun because his friend, Micah, is on his team.  Matt is assistant coaching and I think he enjoys it too!

 Emerson tried cheer for the first time.  She is on the Pom Pom Panthers and she is having a ball as well.  She likes learning the new cheers and every Thursday night at practice they have theme nights like crazy hair day, dress in all pink, princess night, etc.  She is having fun with her friends Tessa and Sammi.

 On a Friday night near the end of the season, the Nappanee Missionary Church hosts Family Fun Night.  The kiddos get to bounce in bouncy houses, get face painting, balloon animals, go roller skating, and get nachos, snow cones, and popcorn.  They always have a ball!  It's such a great outreach that the church does for families.

We're down to one last game, next Saturday.  I know the kids will be sad to see it end.