Little 500 - Quite an Education!

So for those of you not from Bloomington (or Indiana), the Little 500 is a bicycle race held annually at Indiana University as a play on the Indianapolis 500 car race.  There is a women's version held on Friday and the men's race is on Saturday.  The riders train all year for this race, and it is serious business!  The competition is fierce, but rest assured, those students not racing have plenty to keep them busy . . . namely copious amounts of alcohol! :)

Ironically, all three of Brian's interns were riders, so we geared up and took this kids . . . not completely sure this was a good idea, but you know . . . when in Rome.  The race was fantastic, several crazy wrecks which resulted in four broken clavicles, a broken nose, and more road rash than you could count (none of which happened to the girls we know, by they way), and a record finish.  But maybe more important, we discovered our personal goals for our children as they look toward their own years in college - we decided whatever degree they may get is secondary to our new motto: don't take a life, don't make a life.  That's right, please don't die or make a baby during those four years in school!! :) 

All in all, the race was fun, we watched with great friends, and Jack & Annie probably didn't even notice all the activity around us . . . just another Friday night in a college town!

Thanks for checking in!
 xo - jenni

April Showers . . . . The Wedding Kind

Brian's cousin Christine (who now goes by her first name, Anna, just to make it all fun!) is getting married and the fun is really getting started!  Annie is one of the flower girls and is eating up every bit of that role!  So Annie and I hosted a wedding shower last weekend and it all came off without a hitch.  Despite the pouring rain, everyone made it safely to the Mexican inspired afternoon, Christine got lots of great presents, and I fell asleep on the couch at 8:00!

The menu consisted of:

Mexican Chopped Salad w/ chipotle vinaigrette

Quesadillas w/ cheddar, pepper jack, and queso fresco

Homemade Guacamole and Salsa with tortilla chips

Sopapilla Cheesecake with strawberries and blueberries

White Sangria, Pomegranate Iced Tea, & Lemonade

And of course, no Southern Girl would be worth her name without a Party Favor - in this case, Sweet & Spicy Pecans (yes mom, these are your favorites!)

It has been such fun to be a part of these pending nuptials and I can't wait to see the beautiful bride with her precious flower girl on June 12th. (and no, I'm not one bit biased!!)

Thanks for checking in!

xo - jenni

The Boy Gets a Job

Well, it was a momentous occasion in our house last week as Brian handed over the lawn mowing reins to Jack.  It was a long and arduous teaching process, but we're all just glad Brian did the teaching and not me . . . we know I don't have the patience for that! :)  Jack did a great job and immediately asked me if he could print up a flier to advertise his lawn-mowing business to the neighborhood.  As entrepreneurial as that is, we think this summer would be best spent perfecting his craft on our lawn before he makes his mark elsewhere.  

However, for those of you in the market for lawn services next summer, Jack's your man!

Thanks for checking in!

xo - jenni

Seasons Change and So Do the Sports

Well, the Bradford pear trees are in full bloom and our neighborhood entry way is lined with the beautiful white flowers.  With the change of seasons comes the change in sports and we are in full swing with soccer and gymnastics. 

Jack is on a team with several boys he's played with for a long time and they have really gelled as a group.  We seem to have finally weeded out the "daisy pickers" (Jack's description of players that don't pay attention)!! :)

Annie started gymnastics on Tuesdsay.  She loves it and has asked every day since if she can go again.  While tennis got started because of "the cute white skirts", I think she actually likes this for the sport - not the clothes!

This week also included Kindergarten Open House, and of course I cried.  Brian made fun of me, but I can't help it!  She was very excited and very happy to show the new kids the ropes . . . shocking, I know!! :)

Today I officially rotated off the Boys' & Girls' Club Auxiliary, but it is kind of anticlimactic since I'm chairing our largest fund-raising event next month.  The annual Strawberry Shortcake Festival is held on the Bloomington courthouse lawn and we serve over 7,500 shortcake servings.  It is a really big event and I'm looking forward to celebrating my real end to this five-year term on May 13th at 3:00 when the festival will be over!  Hmmm, does it seem as though I'm counting down??

Thanks for checking in!

xo - jenni

Kindergarten Registration

I have to admit, I was one of those weepy moms at school this week . . . Annie registered for Kindergarten and I was a mess!  She's been at University Elementary School for two years in pre-school, so I have no idea why this struck me so hard, other than it is just a big milestone.  She was thrilled and all the school personnel fussed over her - even the nurse came out to get in on things.  So, my baby is growing up and changing every day.  And I'll add another name to my identifier - not just Jack's mom, but Jack's and Annie's mom from now on.

Thanks for checking in!

xo - jenni

I'm Back!

Hello!

Ok, so I know this was supposed to be my New Year's resolution, but you have to give me a break.  A lot has happened since the new year and I've been lucky to keep my head above water! :)

I know, excuses are lame, so I'll stop.  I will tell you what we've been up to, explain why we have a new family blog link, and hopefully explain why there was a two-month gap in my resolution.

First of all,  I changed blog locations due to the crazy requests of Shutterfly, not to mention the fact that you all were getting reminders for everything I had on our calendar (sorry for that, and thanks Christine for letting me know!).  The Shutterfly Share Site was also very limited in how my posts looked and who could comment on the content and/or the pictures.  So with that being said, this is the new spot.  Book mark it, copy it to my contact entry in Outlook, print it out and keep it under your pillow, whatever works for you . . . Just know this is the place to find out what's happening in our crazy little world.

That being said, we do have a crazy little world . . .   When I made this resolution to keep in better contact with our family and close friends, I had no idea that by the end of January I would have interviewed for a brand new job (at a company I'd interviewed with before, but for a different position), be offered that job, give my two-weeks notice at TRX (where I'd been for almost 10 years!), decline their counter offer, and start a new job on February 1st.  That is a crazy way to start a new year!

Otherwise, it has been a great Q1.  Brian's practice continues to grow faster than he can keep up and the kids are fantastic.  Jack got his third report card of straight A's.  Annie is doing addition of all numbers 0-9 and really starting to read.  And they both have been playing indoor tennis all winter.  Along with Cub Scouts, dance, and Spanish classes, we keep very busy.  My new job is going great - we're all adjusting to me leaving the house for a few hours every day to go into the office.  But honestly, that is one of the main reasons I took the job.  After being virtual for over five years, I really started to miss that adult interaction and office camaraderie. 

So, all that being said, I'm back on the horse.  I'll do my best to visit this page once a week, provide pictures, and updates, and maybe even a video now and then (if I can figure that out).  Keep reading for my first real post - it was a very busy Easter weekend.

Thanks for checking in!

xo - jenni

Easter Weekend

 

For the first time since we moved to Bloomington, we didn't need our ski gear to hunt Easter eggs! Saturday started out rather ominous, as Jack played soccer in the pouring rain, but the clouds broke, the sun came out, and by the time the Easter weekend festivities got underway, it was absolutely beautiful!  We kicked off the weekend at our church Easter Egg Hunt.  Then on to our neighborhood "Spring Fling" - an event I started four years ago before Annie was even 1, and has become quite the neighborhood tradition.  Some other moms and I hid about 250 plastic eggs, delivered the bunny costume to a willing participant, and sent the neighborhood kids to hunting.  We ended the day dyeing Easter Eggs and watching the Butler Bulldogs take down the Michigan State Spartans in the NCAA men's national semi-final basketball game.  


The Easter Bunny made a stop overnight and the kids were very pleased that their quiet (albeit persistent) requests were heard.

 

 Annie asked for a fishing pole - not completely sure where she thinks she's going to fish, but who knows!  She spent a majority of the afternoon leaning over our deck learning how to cast, so maybe she'll start requesting shopping trips to Bass Pro Shop rather than The Gap and Old Navy!

 

 Jack asked for a Nerf gun - nice choice for Easter.  We'll see how long we keep track of all those Nerf pellets.

 

Jack, however, made a nice recovery by serving as the acolyte for both Easter services this morning (he's the third in line in the picture).  He did a great job and we are pleased to report that there were no flaming lilies on the alter!

We opted out of the big meal/big mess at home this year and enjoyed a really great brunch at the country club, followed by yet another Easter Egg Hunt!  And finally home for a little homework, house-keeping, and a light spring dinner with friends.  

As always, a busy weekend, but great family time, and beautiful weather.  Sleeping with the windows open tonight!

Thanks for checking in!

xo - jenni