Mister participated in his first Mustang Mile this past Friday. His school, Meridian Elementary (which ironically was the name of my elementary school back in Michigan... and we were actually the Meridian Mustangs too) has their biggest fundraiser of the year in September. Every student is encouraged to participate so the school can meet their fundraising goal which this year was $35,000. Not only do the kiddos raise money but they run in the "Mustang Mile" together as a school to celebrate their fundraising efforts, followed by a huge school carnival complete with bounce houses, carnival games, food, and even a jail where they can put their teachers or bail their teachers out for $5.00 (all money of course going to the school.)
Each student was asked to raise $100 but Blaine had a personal goal of $300 only to blow that out of the water with a total of $425! We wanted him to call everyone and ask but that was a bit daunting for him so he asked if we could send a letter and then he would thank each person with a handwritten note. We are so proud of him for making an effort and getting involved with his school even though there were a lot of unknowns and new things involved for him. And well, there was a bit of motivation too... There are several prizes to be handed out to students that are top fundraisers. The top prize is a VIP lunch with the principal and the second prize is a limo ride to lunch. Then there were a number of other smaller prizes, like a LEGO clock, which he is really excited about :) I'll update if we find out he was a top fundraiser. Oh but his Kindergarten class was in 1st place all last week! Go Mrs. Vogt's class!!!
Update: Well, it took me over a week to actually get to the rest of this post (and in fact I didn't post the first part!) Anyway... Mrs. Vogt's class came in second place and they earned an Oreo party for their efforts. The students raised over $40,000 which exceeded their expectations. Thanks again to all who donated. We haven't heard if Blaine won a LEGO clock yet but I'm sure that news is forthcoming.
Before
Before... looking for his name on the sign.
After!
We had our first snow! It was in the high 70's all week and then a ginormous cold front came in and by Friday morning we had almost two inches of snow and it was COLD. I don't think the temperature got above 39 all day long. Blaine's field trip to the pumpkin farm was postponed until this coming Monday when it is supposed to be in the 70's again. We have some crazy weather here.
The kids asked if that one day was it for winter... I'm afraid not!
This past week we had two big snow storms. The two biggest of the year, in fact. There ended up being over a foot of accumulation which made for a lot of backyard fun-in-the-snow time. In between storms we've had 60+ degree weather which is great because cabin fever is never a good thing.
Today was a challenging day for our Mister. He was on a clear liquid diet almost the entire day (which was supposed to continue through tomorrow too) but it became clear around 6:00 pm that he could not make it any longer. These were doctors orders after we visited with the GI on Thursday. Blaine's encopresis has continued to be a real problem for him and the only solution was a 1-2 day clear liquid diet plus a GI flush to clear his system, followed by a strict regimen of Miralax and Exlax for the next six months. Phew! He had to get through 34 ounces of clear liquid that contained 6 capfuls of Miralax and then operate on a diet of broth, popsicles and lime Jello. Let's just say that Blaine wasn't having it after about noon today and when I say "he wasn't having it", I mean he literally wasn't having anything. He was so frustrated and hungry he wouldn't eat anything we offered. His blood sugar dropped and he was dehydrated and frankly he just wanted "hard food!" (And I can't blame him.) He did awesome getting through about 24 ounces of liquid (with the medicine) and then after a long hard day we all sat down for BBQ, which hit the spot for all of us. We didn't hit our goal of 2 days, but for a 5 year old, I think he did awesome! Hoping this helps us jump start his system just a little bit. (And I'm certain he will appreciate this post about his GI system when he's older. :)
Other than that, we've kept extremely busy doing this and that. Blaine is done with preschool in one month (WOW) and summer begins for us (unless it keeps snowing!) That means summer camps and our move into a new house at the end of June. Oh, how I look forward to that! (NOT.)
Here are some pictures from this week's adventures.
HG and her new mitt.
Mister testing out his new bat.
Ice skating for the first time. He did great!
"What are these on my feet?"
Happy about her ice skates.
Snow!
Dodge ball on trampolines. Awesome.
Blaine and Ms. Sara dodging it up.
Blaine = Hamster.
Something silly, I'm sure.
I might be driving in this picture. Ooops. But look at that view
that I get to enjoy every day!
Ponytails. A milestone at the Lyon home.
Blaine's summer camp had an open house on Friday. We had a
great time and Mister was excited to see where he'll spend
part of his summer. Right in that marsh :)
Face painting at the open house. A unicorn for HG...
And a lizard for Mister.
Up close and personal with a Madagascar Cockroach.
On the way to the marsh.
Using nets to catch all kinds of creepy, crawly things.
And here is a video of Blaine hitting the ball. Please notice the ball-girl, HG. She rocks.
