April and May Stuff

Eric took the kids frog hunting at a pond about a mile from our house one Sunday afternoon in April.  They caught several tiny frogs and one big bullfrog.

Eric got to go to the opening day baseball game of the Royals at Kauffman Stadium with some of his friends from work.  It went into a rain delay, so he was a little later getting home that night, but he had a great time.

My friends, Mandy and Jenny, met at our house to walk and run together a few times in April.  We had good "work out" intentions, but mostly just enjoyed each others company while we walked and chatted and our kids played together.

Our family signed up to run in the Youth Horizons Sun Run.  This 10k and 2 mile race is held yearly the day before Easter.  It is a huge benefit for Youth Horizons.  We all were entered in the 2 mile race, along with hundreds of other people of all ages.  Below, on the left, at the beginning of the race... you can pick out Sarah.  She had a good start and continued strong the entire race.  I wasn't sure what to expect from Silas, but he took off and I lost him right away.  I think he was trying to keep up with Sarah.  I kept thinking I would catch him or get close enough to him to encourage him along, but he was WAY in front of me and turned in an impressive time for his first 2 mile race, even getting a medal for 3rd place in his age category!

Phoebe started out strong too, but got a few side cramps, which slowed her down in the first mile.  But, her second mile she came back strong, caught up with me and kept right on going strong to the finish.

Sarah and I both medaled in our age categories too.

It was a great morning spent together, and a good race.  We all are excited to sign up and participate in the Sun Run again next year.

Sarah ran a 16:30 and got 2nd in her age category.
Silas ran a 17:02 and was 3rd in his age category.
Phoebe ran a 18:33 and was 6th in her age category.
Eric ran a 18:55 and was 13th in his age category
Stacee ran a 19:03 and was 2nd in her age category.

Popee and Nanee came to our house a few days before Easter and helped the kids dye some Easter eggs.

Easter morning there was a bucket for each kid from Eric and I.  Each bucket contained a new book to ready, some snacks and candy, and a new shirt.

After looking in their books we headed to Easter service at church.

After church we went to my cousin Josh's house in Hesston for a Hastings family gathering.  There we all ate a potluck lunch, visited, and played the traditional family wiffleball game.  We let the two youngest kids (Silas and Zach) pick the wiffleball teams this time.

Below, left to right, our wiffleball players, Josh, Sarah, Jordan, Zach, Johannah, Jackson, Austin, Dale, Phoebe, Paul, Silas, Eric, Drew, Hayley, and Stacee.

Below, left to right, Jerry and Julie (Jerry is my Dad's first cousin, Duane and Ida's son), Paul and Gloria, Charles and Wyonna, and Dale and Jan.  (Charles and Dale are two of my Dad's brothers.)

The kids had fun riding the 4-wheeler and in the golf cart.

The kids also had a small Easter candy hunt.  Below, left to right, Hayley, Austin, Sarah, Zach, Phoebe, Drew, Silas, and Jackson.

Eric called me outside to look at something crazy on top of our house one day.... He was outside working in our yard and said these geese flew in and landed right on our roof!

My Dad's first cousin, Mary, celebrated her 70th birthday.  Mary's mom, Helen, and by Grandpa, Howard were brother and sister.  (Paul and Dora Loger Hastings had 4 children.  Harold (who died as an infant), Helen, Howard, and Ida.  Family met at Red Lobster to surprise her.  Below, Dad, Dale and Charles are greeting her as she arrived.

Cousins and spouses at Mary's party, below left to right, Dale, Jan, Charles, Wyonna, Mary, Mary's great granddaughter, Susan, Gloria, Paul, and Walter.

Brothers - Dale, Charles, and Paul.

We had lots of baseball and softball practices and scrimmages in April and May.  Silas was in his first year of machine -pitch baseball.  Phoebe played 10u softball and Sarah was in 12u softball.

Below, Silas's team, head-coached by Eric.

Silas and his friend, Felicity entertained themselves pretty well at their big sister's softball practices.  One day they made blankets and roads out of cardboard boxes.

Below, Phoebe's softball team, coached by Jennifer, Katelyn, and Nicole.

Below, Sarah's softball team, coached by Wade, Eric, and Ted.

Dad was selected to be part of an Honor flight at the end of April.

Dad and his "guardian", from Olpe, KS,  got to see many memorials and sights in Washington D.C. on their whirlwind trip.

There were other veterans on the trip too.  Each veteran was matched with a student guardian.

I know that this trip meant a LOT to my Dad.  He, along with all of the other veterans were honored in many ways throughout the trip.  Thank you for your service to our country, Dad.  You are a hero, along with all who serve, fight, and keep our country and its citizens safe everyday.

Dad brought back some freeze dried ice cream sandwiches (astronaut food) from the Washington D.C. Air and Space Smithsonian for the kids to try.

We got LOTS of rain in May.  The ground was wet and many outdoor activities were postponed or cancelled.

We celebrated Eric's 41st birthday on May 8th.  We attended Sarah's National Honor Society Induction Ceremony, ate dinner at the Olive Garden and then came home for presents and dessert.

Eric always likes handmade cards from the kids.  Each one is unique and entertaining.

Silly Smiling Faces!!!

Sometimes there are not pictures taken of Eric and I, so I had to have Sarah take one of us this time.

Happy Happy Happy Birthday to this hardworking Daddy and Husband!

We met Mom and Dad downtown for the annual MS Walk.  It was a rainy morning but there were still lots of participants there.  Below, Mom and a friend, Craig, who also has MS.

Below, left to right, Mary, Stacee, Paul, Gloria, Craig, Silas, Sarah, Eric, and Phoebe.

The last day of school was May 16th.  Goodbye Kindergarten, 3rd grade, and 6th grade.

We spent a warm afternoon at the local splash pad with some friends for a cool down.

On Memorial Day the girls and I visited a couple cemeteries with relatives to help decorate some graves.  I miss my grandparents a lot.

We celebrated the end of the school year with some pedicures with friends.

Now we are summer/flip flop ready!

We went to the new Disney Aladdin movie with some friends.

And, one morning we went to a local berry and fruit farm and picked fresh strawberries with some of our friends.  One note of caution when berry picking...keep an eye on your child's bucket!  It could get filled fast and cost you an arm and a leg.  This did not happen to me, but I was thankful that my friend gave me a heads up on this because it could have very easily happened.  There were so many strawberries that were ready to be picked.  I picked a spot on each of my kid's buckets and told them they could only fill to that particular line/spot.

Below, left to right, Stacee, Traci, Silas, Sarah, Shawna, Felicity, Phoebe, Mandy, and Abigail.

I cut up our strawberries and sprinkled them with sugar.  I made fresh strawberry shortcake and strawberry muffins with our fresh picked strawberries.  Here is the recipe that I used for the muffins:

Strawberry Muffins

1/4 cup softened butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups fresh strawberries diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Fill muffin tin with muffin papers.  Fill muffin papers 3/4 full with batter.  Bake for 18-20 minutes , or until the muffins are lightly browned on the tops and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Popee and Nanee made it to a few of the kids' softball and baseball games.  They were glad to have them there cheering them on.