pacer test * take two

last year before spring break

we you might remember that i ran the staff pacer test

as spring got closer

i encouraged our phy ed teacher that we should do it again

now that i had done it once

and i knew what to expect

i wanted to see how it would go

we were planning to leave on the 8th

SO ... she planned it for the 7th of march

WELL ... fast forward to earlier this week

when we realized that the boys didn't have school on the 7th anymore

we saw that as an opportunity for one more day in hawaii

and changed our flights

the ONE problem with this was the pacer test.

i went back and forth on whether or not to try to run it right before leaving.

even the night before i was unsure

WELL ...

i woke up on wednesday morning ...

figured i might as well try 

SO ... stacey ran the boys and i over to jefferson

then went back home to grab the last minute things

and our neighbor who was driving us to the airport

in the meantime ...

i ran the pacer test

last year i got 68 times back and forth

so my goal was to beat that

68 came  ...

and i was still doing ok

but i knew that there was no way i was going to be the last one standing

so as soon as a few others had dropped out

and i knew that i passed 68 

i figured ...

at this point 

A.  every minute is precious to get us to the airport on time

and

B.  every second more that i go i am going to get more sweaty

and i am about to be on a plane for 10 hours

SO ...

i dropped out at 71

happy to have beat my score from last year

and happy that i decided to do it

even if it did mean a little bit of extra running (for me and stacey)

happy that so many of our staff decided to do it

hoping to continue the tradition next year

and not have a plane to catch an hour later ;)

a not very snowy snow day

while watching tv on sunday night

alex said 'HEY LOOK .... NO SCHOOL TOMORROW'

of course none of us believed him

because anoka-hennepin never cancels

but we rewound and sure enough ...

we were under a winter storm warning

we were projected to get 5-10 inches right around dismissal/evening rush hour

and that was enough to get us a snow day!

we woke up on monday

knowing the best way to spend our day

was to get ready for our trip

BUT ...

when the boys saw the solid ice on the driveway

new fun began ...

i don't know that we even got a few inches of snow

BUT it did get REALLY windy

and it seemed like it was snowing quite a bit

while out running a few errands we got pelted by little ice chunks

and struggled to even open the doors of the car

there may have not been much snow

but i was glad that once our few errands were done

we didn't have to leave

YUCK.

puppies and babies

with maui around the corner

we decided to take a quick trip to WI this weekend

to drop off chewy

and to visit

lucky for us ...

we got to babysit jaxon on saturday

he's getting so big already

he's getting to the point where he interacts with you

smiling ...

and laughing at the little things you do ...

PLUS ...

he's a really good baby!

and we're really good babysitters ;)

thanks for a fun day, mom

and thanks for keeping us busy jaxon!

mazda milestones

#joinnordic banquet

tonight was ben's nordic ski banquet

it was at bunker

and it was really nice!

ben and all his freshman friends piled into one table

they had such a fun season

they have grown stronger as skiers

and as friends

which is very fun!

although he didn't ski varsity

ben lettered as a freshman

because he logged so many extra hours of skiing

outside of practice

and made it to every practice and race

these boys put in SO much work

they ski whether it is -20 or +40

they don't just stand around at practice ...

they ski the entire time!

ben started the season having never been on skis

and he ended with a time that was over 5 minutes faster than when he started.

he has developed a love for a sport

that a year ago was completely foreign to him

AND

i have actually warmed up to the idea of standing outside in -10 degree weather

to cheer on my favorite skier!

ben's captain's award was the "i'm coming along" award

because even when he wasn't racing

ben went along to help time and to cheer them on

he made friends with a lot of the upperclassman

james and michael are 2 of them

it will be sad to see them go next year

nice job, boys! 

and thanks for talking ben into skiing with you!

hits deep tour

for christmas this year

we gave the boys a few 'experiences' 

along with the things they were expecting

we already went to triple espresso

and now tonight came the 2nd ...

which i was really excited for

we took them to the toby mac hits deep tour

we started the night with dinner at rock bottom brewery

YUM!

THEN ...

we headed to the target center

what a GREAT lineup!

aaron cole

finding favour

mandisa

her good morning duet with toby mac

was probably one of the best songs of the night

ryan stevenson

eye of the storm was my other favorite

danny gokey

who drew loved because he sings in spanish AND english!

and of course ...

TOBY MAC!!

unfortunately he didn't sing jesus freak

or any dc talk oldies

BUT

light shine bright

and a TON of our other favorites

they ended with a full group performance

which was AMAZING

GREAT concert

and

GREAT night with all my loves