Christmas Break Fun

After a long stint of inactivity here is another installment. I have to say the wii is a huge hit in our house. We are anxiously awaiting the extra dance pad so we can have competitions. We laughed so hard when we were making our mii's and it is even more hilarious to watch them dance while we are stomping away. Even Bob is getting into the groove.

We also went bowling and to the Children's Museum as well. We are having a lot of fun together as we enjoy our break. Ethan and Chris are enjoying an old time horse. I remember riding these when I was little. It was only I think a nickle then and at the museum it is the same.

Limestone Classic

Walked in the Limestone Classic this weekend and finished with a time of 38:30. I was shooting for 38:00 but that is the breaks. The 5K course is very flat so thus my time was quicker. We shall see if I can get more time off by the next race. Stephen, Ethan and Christopher also raced as well. Stephen came in 3rd out of three racers, Ethan came in next to last of maybe seven racers, and Christopher came in second of about six racers. It was a lot of fun. Poor Bob didn't get to race because he was watching children while I raced. Maybe next time he can. After the race we went and hiked about three miles at Spring Mill State Park. We had a great time Saturday as a family.

Saturday Race/Pace Reunion

This past Saturday we participated in the Race for Literacy 5K run/walk. It was Stephen's first 5k run and he did very well coming in 2nd for his age division with a time of 31 minutes. The boy who beat him was 13. Bob ran with him therefore he was unable to place for his age division. I did the walk and came in first for my division with a time of 39:20 beating my previous time of 40:20. I was really excited about shaving off that kind of time. The next run will be a memorial run/walk in Bloomington on July 4th, that I am doing with my neighbor. That isn't a competitive walk so it will be practice for the next race after that.

Sunday was the Pace reunion and we had a great time socializing with extended family. There weren't as many there this time but Bob's brother Jeff was out with his son Nathan. Nathan is growing up so fast and turning into a young man right before our eyes. So we had a great time just talking with everyone and playing Baggo.

Another note: We have another new kitty that has come into our family. His name is Potter and he is the cutest little tiger kitten. He is very playful and sweet. He and Midnight are actually getting along really well. As Potter gets older he will spend much of his time outside like Midnight does.

Last Day of School

Today was the boys last day of school and we attended the honor day ceremony. The boys did very well and now they are home for the summer. It should be fun to have a rest until we jump back in come August.
These are the awards the boys received:

Stephen: Honor Roll blue ribbon, Outstanding Reading Achievement, Accelerated Reader most points in class, Most Words Read (854,014 words), Language Arts Award, Art Award, Spelling Award, Mathmatics Award.

Ethan: 1st grade Honor Role Blue ribbon, Mastery of Skills Award, Language Arts Award.

The boys did well this year and we are so pleased on how hard they worked. Christopher also finished his preschool and did well on the skills there. We are hopefully looking to enroll him in Kindergarten this year as opposed to waiting till next year.

We are certainly blessed to have such great boys in our home. GREAT JOB, GUYS!

No Rain for Race Day

April was a busy month now that the boys have started baseball and Stephen was playing dodgeball. During the month of April we had planned to enter the YMCA 5K and Fun Run but were concerned about rain, since that has been the order of the day as of late. Great for grass and garden but bad for outside fun. Thankfully a sunny day was forcast and we all entered the race that morning. Bob and I did the 5K walk and Stephen and Ethan did the fun run. It was a chilly morning but great for racing. There were many people there and it proved to be a fast race this year. For our first 5K Bob and I did well. If you want to see race results check out the YMCA Bloomington website. Stephen and Ethan did very well. Their race was .9 miles and was run cross country fashion. Stephen came in first over all and Ethan second. We were very excited for them.

After the race, they had fun things for the children to do for the health festival. They had a jumping area and a rock wall to climb. They also had a cartoonist there that was teaching the children to draw their own cartoon. Ethan, Stephen and Chris were all over that and we had to pull them away in the end. Bob and I even tried our hand at the rock wall. Bob, Stephen, and Ethan all reached the top to hit the buzzer. I got about half way up. Even Christopher tried to get in on the fun as well.

All in all it was a great day and are looking forward to the next run this month. Stephen has decided he wants to try a 5k race. We hope this catches on so the boys will be in track as they mature.

Go for it Stephen!

Ethan making it to the top!!!

I can't believe I tried it.

The Pace Family Meets Star Wars

We had the rare treat to be able to meet Star Wars characters at WonderLab. The children were able to ride on a real hover craft that had been built by a science student. They were also able to play in a space cave. It was a lot of fun to see the characters walking around and talking. The costumes were absolutely real, which was very neat. It was a group of people who are garrison 501 of an Indiana Star Wars re-enactment group.

We had a load of fun together as we played at WonderLab and were able to experience the Star Wars exhibits.

The Passing of Our Beloved Beretta

We are sad to announce the passing of our dog Beretta. She was very sick and we finally needed to put her down. Thankfully we were all able to be with her as she quietly slipped from this life into the next. We will miss you.

I Got Tagged (Thanks Marthea)

Well, I just got tagged by my wonderful sister Marthea, so I must oblige. Especially, since she is complaining about the fact I haven't updated my blog in a while. I must confess, I have been very busy as of late with my Computers in Education class. I am having a great time though. I've learned Excel, PowerPoint, Comic Life, Stellarium, and other websites where I can get freeware that is utilized in education. It is a busy class but the projects are a lot of fun. This will be the last class I need to take until 2014. By that time, hopefully I will be an employed teacher and working on my masters. Heintje can't be the only Master in the family.

My five addictions

• 1. My nuclear and extended family. Need I say more, family is what it is all about.
• 2. Orton-Gillingham: Teaching children to read that have been written off by everyone else brings me great satisfaction. I talk about this incessantly to the point I think everyone is sick to death from hearing about it.
• 3. Ancient history: No matter how hard I try, ancient Egypt, Israel, and Native Americans keep sucking me back in. Politics is probably a close second.
• 4. Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate: It is the bane of my existence and I wish I could just leave it alone but it is OH SO GOOOOOOD!
• 5. TV: Thankfully now we have a stationary bike in front of the TV, so I can do something constructive when I watch. I limit my time in front of the tube but I could totally see myself vegging for a whole day if I let myself. Those documentaries and history programs just kill me and I can't get enough, as well as most any sci-fi, fantasy, or adventure movie. Reading fiction in a wide variety of genres is a close second. If I'm not doing one, I'm likely doing the other. (I am so pathetic)

I hope this satisfies the requirement. Should I tag others???? Probably not, since the people I would tag, have already been tagged by Marthea. I think only family reads my blog anyway. I will try to get another family oriented post up soon. The problem is, we have forgotten to take the camera on the latest adventures we have had. The boys are playing basketball and we went skiing at Paoli Peaks last Saturday, which was a blast!!! The boys did very well and skied for almost three hours. I figured they would get sick of it within twenty minutes and want to go in. Nothin' doing, they stayed out and finally made it to the actual bunny hill. Stephen wanted to go out on the slopes but we had to be back to feed the missionaries and didn't have time. So one day we will go again and Stephen can try it.