So I Went and Got a Job...

With both kids starting school in the fall, I knew that I wanted to find some kind of work, but I also wanted to be able to get them to school, be home when they're done with school in the afternoon, and be able to spend some time in their classrooms. This seemed like an almost impossible wish list and I thought so too thinking that I'd end up subbing at Schoolcraft (which I still may end up doing in my spare time).

I will be working for an organization called Peacemaker Resources that focuses on teaching non-violent communication and social and emotional learning to teachers, parents and children. I will be going into a school 2 days a week and teaching about bullying, mindfulness (self-calming, etc.), and various non-violent communication tools to students. 

I feel like I have a lot to learn, but so far the learning has been very interesting and helpful in my own life. I hope I can pass these important life-skills to the students in a fun and interesting way. Wish me luck!  

Camp Oak Hills

The kids spent the week going to day camp at Camp Oak Hills. Camp Oak Hills is a Christian camp and the kids spent the week doing the "usual" camp things: singing, hiking, swimming, arts/crafts, boating, etc. They will both say that their favorite part of camp was the giant slip and slide and ga-ga ball which is a gentle form of dodgeball tag.

This was Sadie's first time going anywhere all day. She was tired by the end of the week and had a few meltdowns, but wants to go back next year.

What did I do all week? Well, I had grand plans to get housework down including scrubbing the outside of the house to rid it of all the pine pollen and doing windows. However, it rained several days, but I can't blame the rain. I have two girlfriends that also had kids in camp all week, so we hung out like we did pre-kids. We drank a lot of margaritas, and exercised every day, and went shopping and out for lunch... It was AWESOME!

I wasn't at camp so I didn't get any pictures. These are the pictures that they sent home with the kids.

Spruce Cabin with counselors Sam and Seth



Birch Cabin with counselors Claire and Napthalie

Father's Day Weekend

We had a fun weekend celebrating dad and hanging as a family. On Saturday, we loaded up the canoe (have I mentioned that we got a new/used canoe?) and bikes and drove 1/2 mile down the road to the state park to spend the day. When we started packing up the weather was really nice. By the time we got to the park, it was overcast and windy. The kids were determined to canoe though, so we put in only to get out 5 minutes later because the waves were coming over and into the canoe. They decided that biking was a much better option.

On Sunday, the kids and I woke up to find Dennis MIA. I assumed he was out for a run. He called later in the morning stating that he was running his marathon. Let me backtrack for a moment here. Dennis has been training for a marathon for awhile, but couldn't decide which marathon to run. Then, he decided that he was going to run the "Dennis Sperle Marathon" because a) he didn't want to pay anyone for him to run and b) he didn't want to run with 10,000 of his closest friends! So, he mapped out his 26.2 miles and ran it. He did great and ran it with an unofficial time of 3:40. After Dennis rested for several hours we went to Putt-N-Go for a little mini-golfing...

And bumper boats...

And ice-cream at the Dairy Queen. It was a fun and relaxing day (for me at least, I'm pretty sure that Dennis was exhausted).

Saying Good-Bye to Auntie Barb

 My dad and I drove across North Dakota on Friday to say good-by to my Auntie Barb who passed away last November. Barb loved lots of things but especially Betty Boop and beauty products of all kinds. My aunt loved to do me up all fancy when I was younger (and would let her) and we both thought I looked great. Looking back and after seeing some of the pictures of me from when Barb got her hands on me, I can say that I looked a little inappropriate (think Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver). Unfortunately by aunt also liked to party and it was the drinking that got her in the end.

My aunts and mom planned a very nice memorial service for her. They all wore green (Barb's favorite color) with Betty Boop on their sleeves.

Mom, Auntie Luci, Auntie Mel, Auntie Dorothy

All of my aunts and uncles: Mom, Don, Luci, Cal, Al, Les, Mel and Dorothy