Return to Renn Fest

We've been to the Renaissance Festival a few times now.

This year, being outside, 

it felt like an ok-COVID-friendly activity.

Plus,

we've been saving our money for ping-pong ball crossbows.

However,

we discovered that if you go to the Renaissance Festival

the last day it's open for the season,

all the booths are sold out!

Boo.

No crossbows.

We had to settle for some unpainted daggers and swords.

On the upside,

we did get to ride a camel.

Mom said the looks on our faces

were priceless

And how about our guide?

He's pretty...authentic?

The Christmas Card pic

We wandered in and out of a lot of shops

and settled on playing a few games.

Wes and I were excited to find one with crossbows.

Turns out,

I'm a sharp shooter,

winning a very weird pregnant warthog

(there's a velcro baby in it).

Wes...not so much with the aiming...

Last stop?

Drinks, kettle corn and

JOUSTING!

Don't worry Renn Fest--

we'll be back.

Earlier next time.

The quest for crossbows continues...

Obsessed with Henry

I have wanted a guinea pig for so long.

The mice just didn't cut it.

But Henry sure does.

Every chance I get,

I pull him out to play.

We go outside, play inside,

I feed him bugs and berries.

Mom says I'm really good with him.

I can even pick him up without gloves on now!

Even my friends come over 

to play with him.

Everyone loves Henry!

So much reading

Getting in 30 minutes of reading 

is on my after school checklist.

Ms. Kasper's Reading Choice Board

has lots of crazy ways to read

to make it a bit more fun.

I can read to a pet

Read a book to a sibling

(Beckett not pictured)

Read in a fort

And read in a bathtub

I can read a lot of books on my own now too--

Hop on Pop,

Go Dog Go,

and any of the baggie books from kindergarten.

I'm a reading machine!

The return of Booing

We LOVE this tradition.

But with everyone having Rings now,

we had to get stealthy...

We hit 3 friends houses

and even did some "boozing" for the parents

Nothing to see here.

Just a couple of kids,

out for a Sunday drive,

in a pickup truck,

in costume,

definitely NOT up to no good...

Action shots

Look!  I'm finally on the near side of the field

so Mom and Dad can take my picture!

My fans are so excited.

I decided to take some pictures myself

this game.

This one of Beck turned out pretty well

Oh, and this one of him and his teacher, Mrs. Fortny.

I'm a little to the side, but not bad.

Just entertaining ourselves on a long Saturday at the fields...

One final Dad party (or two)

We had 2 family dinners for him,

but with a Dad this awesome,

we HAD to celebrate him right!

His parents took him out for a birthday brunch

and then we topped off the day with...

CHEESECAKE!

He was pretty thrilled with the new

hiking pack we got him too.

Happy 43 Dad!!!

 

Another season in the books

Today was the Tri-city meet

where all of the Lee's Summit middle schools

compete in one meet.

I ran my race,

holding back in the beginning

but turned it on in the end!

I got somewhere around 9:15 for a 1.3 mile run.

I think that's a PR!

I've really liked cross country!

This may be my high school sport...

Walking is so much fun!

We didn't have it last year

so that made this year all the more special--

it's Walk to School Day!

We gathered our friends,

made a conga line,

and made it to school with plenty of time for pictures!

We should start out EVERY day

with a walk!

Happy birthday to the Dads

Everyone has such busy schedules

it's been hard to get together

even for a celebration.

But tonight, the wait is over!

All the Woods/Reeds/Klusmeyers got together

for a good ol' Sunday Italian dinner

and cake.

Of course, there was cake!

Happy belated, Uncle Kurt

and happy early, Dad!

 

Oh Henry!

A friend's hedgehog unexpectedly had babies

(they thought she was a he)

and after a lot of back and forth,

we decided to take the plunge and adopt one of our own.

Meet Henry

We're still learning all about him--

what he eats,

how to socialize him,

how to play with him,

how to litter box train him

We're learning hedgies take some work,

but that face is worth it!

 

Super Sports Saturday

Another Saturday,

another day at the fields.

Tuck had a great game against a pretty tough team.

Despite running a "5K" the night before,

he still turned on the speed

and scored 2 of the 3 goals to win the game

Beckett was ON FIRE--

he had some amazing pulls,

flying through the air for a few of them.

He had some runs and receptions too.

Coach was impressed.

They lost,

but it wasn't for lack of trying.

Jack's team played another 8th grade team today

which proved to be a bit of a challenge.

They won only 5 to 3 instead of the shutout events

they are used to 

(sorry--no pictures.

The field is too big!)

My team also had a great day.

We played the team we lost to by Mercy Rule last week.

We looked like a different team this week.

We made some plays,

I had some great pulls on defense,

rushed a lot,

and had a few runs and receptions.

All that hard work paid off--

FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON!

A good day on the field for everyone. 

Back to the Races!

We were pretty excited to run Night Flight again this year.

It's our first 5K in 2 years

that isn't virtual.

It's my second 5K ever not in a stroller.

Beckett ran it when he was 6

so I took that as a challenge to be the fastest 6 year old this year.

Weston got invited to a party at the last minute,

so we asked Grandma Phyllis to come along.

Full disclosure--

Mom and Dad thought I'd likely walk

so she was along to chaperone.

So this is how it went--

We took OFF at the start,

bolting around most of the crowd.

Dad was out for a real personal record

(he's been training for a few weeks).

Beck and I made Mom up her pace

to keep up with us.

Jack took off too, leaving us behind.

Grandma took her walking pace.

But, about 1/2 mile in,

Beck got a cramp in his side

changing his mood and his pace.

He started walking.  Slowly.

I kept sprinting.

No matter how much Mom ran (literally) around him

or pleaded with him to just jog,

he wasn't having it.

I was out of sight at this point,

so Mom decided since I was the youngest,

 she better go find me

so I had someone to walk with when I got tired.

She picked up her pace through the next mile

and still didn't find me.

She asked all the course managers as she passed

and they kept telling her I was still ahead of her.

It was really dark out there

and she was a little nervous I was alone.

2 miles in, 

she still hadn't found me

but she did find Jack--

he had to walk with a cramp too.

Mom turned it on in the final mile

and crossed the finish line

still trying to find me.

Turns out, I took a wrong turn

and missed half the course,

running 1.6 miles in a cool 16 minutes.

When I crossed the finish line,

I was pretty mad they didn't announce my name

AND questioned if I really ran the whole course in 16 minutes.

I THOUGHT I had!

Dad, Mom and I all found each other

and waited for everyone else to come in.

Well, we waited for a bit.

Then we found the s'mores...

Here's how it panned out:

Dad 22:56, 3rd in his age group, 8th overall

Mom 27:39, 1st in her age group, 23rd overall

(she says she should have been closer to 26 minutes

 without the Beckett debacle)

Jackson 30:23, 1st for the 13-15 GIRLS 

(why do they keep putting him as a girl??)

or 2nd for the 13-15 boys, 31st overall

Beck 35:46, 9th in his age group

Grandma 45:42, 1st in her age group!

(but she was racing under Weston so she missed the medal...)

And me 31:54 when calculated for the whole course,

7th in my age group

but the fastest and ONLY 6 year old in the competition

There were some ups and downs to the night and

we all decided we had some goals for next year.