My First 5K Race!

By Esther:

During this spring I did a running program through school. Our school partnered up with the Calvin Collage volleyball girls to make a running program for third graders through sixth graders. Some of the girls get on a bus Monday and Wednesday after school to go to Calvin, but there was not enough room for everybody. Some of the girls had to have parents drive them. We did running and a little bit of volleyball. One time we got to swim in the pool and we got to do the rock climbing wall. At the end of the program (this Saturday) we all did the Calvin Spring Classic 5K. I ran with my group and leader but mommy ran with me too. My time was 36:28 and mommy's was 36:29.

This is all the GIT girls before the race.



At the finish line!
 

My leader Megan and one of my friends that was in my group.Her name is Ellie.

Afterwards we all went in the gym and got snacks. One of them was obviously oranges.



Our school won the school challenge prize. We got a big trophy.
My teacher Mrs.Pluymert walked the race.

School picture!



Peter the Soccer Player

Today Peter was FINALLY able to play his first soccer game of the season.  The first 2 were cancelled due to rain and flooded soccer fields.  It was a beautiful day today for soccer, and Peter did a great job.  He was disappointed that his team lost 5-4, but they played well and had fun.

Here he is while resting during the 4th quarter, after playing the first 3 quarters straight.  He was one tired kid!

Esther the Runner

Today Esther ran her first 5K race!  She allowed me to run with her, and it was such a fun experience to do that together.  I'll admit that I was getting a little choked up as we crossed the finish line because I was so proud of her!  We ran it in 36:28, which I thought was a pretty awesome time for an 8 year old running her first 5K!  It was great seeing Casey, Peter, Miriam and Grandma K. near the finish line cheering us on to the end.

I will have her write another post about her experience and the program that led up to the 5K.  She can put some more pictures on there as well.  Here we are just after we finished:

Miriam the Ballerina

Miriam has been taking a ballet class on Tuesday afternoons at CARE Ballet with her friend Elizabeth.  They have had 8 classes, and there are 2 more to go.  Miriam seems to really enjoy it and has learned a lot from her teacher Ms. Brooke.  She is very excited to do a little show for the moms and dads on the last day.

The other day we were the first ones to arrive, so I took a few pictures of her:

 

I think she's about the cutest little ballerina that I've ever seen!

Father-Daughter Banquet with Daddy!!!

By:Esther Kuperus

Yesterday night daddy and I went to the WCSG Father-Daughter Banquet with daddy. The special guest this year was Jason Castro. This year I also want with my friend Sarah and her dad. When we first got there we found our table and got a big salad. I do not like salad and neither did Sarah. After a while we got dinner. It was island chicken, mashed potatoes, and beans. I like all that stuff except that they put a type of sauce over everything, so I DID NOT like it . But for dessert I had chocolate cake. Then Jason Castro sang. On our way out the door Sarah and I both got pink flowers. By the time we got home (after dropping Sarah and her dad off ) it was almost 10:00. But I had a lot of fun!!

On the front steps before we left to pick Sarah and her dad up.

At Sarah's house when we picked them up.

 

When we first got to the  Pinnacle Center.

Dessert!

Sarah and I in our seats. Great ones!

Jason Castro on the stage!

Taste of Egypt Celebration

Today was the celebration of the 3rd grade students' Egypt projects.  They dressed up and stood by their projects while all the other students in the other grades came through and looked at them.  Then parents were invited to come and we also had "Egyptian" type foods to eat.  It was a fun way to celebrate the students' hard work.  The best part was all the 3rd graders singing and doing the motions to "Pharaoh, Pharaoh" at the end!

 

Esther and her friend Kate.
Kate's project is made of Rice Krispy Treats!

 

More Spring Break Fun!

The last part of our spring break week has been lots of fun, but also very relaxing.  On Wednesday we hung out in the morning and then each of the kids had a friend over in the afternoon.  We have had fun playing 4 Square this week with our friends and our neighbors!

Thursday and Friday were vacation days for Casey!  We went to Meijer Gardens to see the butterflies on Thursday morning with our neighbors Adam and Katie and their girls, and then went to McDonald's for lunch so the kids could use gift cards that they had.  Then we spent the afternoon outside with a bunch of our neighbors, enjoying the sunshine and getting a few things done.

Casey's little helper, vacuuming the car!

Fun with the neighbors!

On Friday we went to Marge's Donut Den for treats in the morning and then Casey and Esther went shopping to get Esther's dress for the father-daughter banquet, which is next weekend.  Peter and Miriam and I ran some errands.  After lunch we went to see Ice Age 4 at the theater.  Our local theaters do a Flick's Family Film Fest  a couple times a year.  Each week they have a different movie that is free for kids and $4 for adults.  We also had coupons for free kids' combos (drink/popcorn/treat) and they allowed us to use those for Casey and me too!  So we all saw a movie and had snacks for $8.  What a deal!   :)  Friday night we had pizza with some friends from church/school.

Peter paused before ordering the U of M donut. 
I assured him it was ok this time since MSU is out.

Saturday ended up being a more productive and busy day than we had originally planned.  We were able to get a bunch of free cabinets from a friend, so handyman Casey installed them in the sunroom, basement and garage.  He also built extra shelves for one cabinet since a few were missing and he installed a countertop over some of the cabinets to make a Lego creation station in the basement.  All of this resulted in a major reorganization project which affected other rooms of the house too.  It made Esther and I very happy as she loves to organize and reorganize as much as I do!  So it was a busy day, but we still found time to play and go to the library amidst our big project.  It's always so satisfying to see the results of a project like that.  I'm so thankful that I have such a handy husband!

 

Esther did a major detailing of the van (for pay)!
 

Sunroom craft/art supply cabinet

 

Garage cabinets/workbench

 

Basement Lego Creation Station!

Tomorrow we will go to church and then relax the rest of the day to get ready for going back to school and work.  It's been a great week... only 9 weeks until summer vacation!