The Casanova Family: Almost Summer!

It is almost summer which means a LOT of activities going on at the same time. We've had something going on almost every night of the week. But it has all been worth it. It's so cool to see our kids doing things they like and challenging themselves to do more.

Speaking of challenging, Elsie did Girls on the Run this spring. It was two afternoons a week and it all led up to the Girls on the Run 5k on May 5th. Sarah told Elsie that she would run in it with her, so Sarah had been training for it as well.

There they are all in a gigantic crowd of people. They had flags for each school so you knew where to line up.

HUGE crowd of people! It was for all of KC so you can imagine how many schools there were.

The race was held outside of Children's Mercy Park where Sporting KC plays. Owen and I popped in to take a look while we were waiting for the race to start.

Sarah and Elsie are just to the right of the left pylon. They were in the 3rd wave I think. There were literally thousands of people in this race.

After the race started, Owen and I moved around to the other side just past the finish line. Check out all the medals that would be handed out!

Our view of the finish line. You can see the stadium in the background.

They made it! So proud of both of them for all of their hard work.

Cool medal!

The week before Girls on the Run, Owen got to attend Scout Day at the K. He and about a zillion other scouts got to march on the field before the game. It was a really neat event and such a privilege for Owen to get to walk on the field. He really likes baseball and this a great experience for him.

Sharp dressed man

We staked out a spot on the front row to watch them walk by. I was jealous!

The game was pretty fun. Our seats were pretty horrible, but they were also very cheap, so we only lasted about 3 innings before it was time to go walk around.

Absolute back wall of the stadium. Needed a Sherpa to get up there! :)

We walked around to the outfield standing area and watched a few innings. It was a very fun day.

And speaking of in to baseball, Owen started collecting baseball cards. He's got them all sorted and when we watch the Royals play he always looks to see who he has from the opposing team.

Back in April, Elsie got to do Take Your Child to Work Day again. She split the day with me and Sarah. Here she is in a meeting with me ~~taking notes~~ playing in paint. :)

The coolest part of the day was getting to use Garmin's Flight Simulator. She got to fly a Learjet!

They had you take off and then you got to do a loop and barrel roll. It was a lot of fun!

She also got to work with some circuits in the STEM trailer.

Owen and the rest of his Den achieved their Tiger Badges and now are working on the Wolf requirements.
Congratulations!

The weekends this spring were so cold or windy that we only got to break out the fire pit twice...

....but it sure is worth it!

Elsie's softball games started. GO BOLTS!

"DON'T TOUCH MY POPCORN"

A couple of weeks ago we went fishing with Grandma and Grandpa Cox. Their neighbor, Randy and Roxanne have a cabin at Gardner Lake (which is only about 3mi from their house and is a brilliant idea).

3 generations of fisher-women

Owen and I decided to stick to the boat. :)

Randy showed Elsie his secret fishing spot.

She caught 5 or 6 fish and Owen caught a few too. It was lots of fun and was a really nice evening out.

And...we got to take a boat ride!

Elsie got to drive (Owen was being bashful and didn't want to). All that practice on the golf cart is paying off. :)

Party Barge!

Mother's Day was last weekend. Elsie and I went out on Saturday morning and got Sarah a nice hanging flower basket.

On Sunday we made Sarah breakfast in bed. The kids were great helpers.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Owen got his uniform at his last practice. The teams are all based on minor league teams. His is the (Carolina) Mudcats!

Ready for the first game!

Owen got to lead off the game. He got to bat 4 times and made solid contact 4 times, but his luck was terrible. 3 times he hit to the first baseman and got out, and then his best hit got caught in the air. It was still a lot of fun and the team played really good for their first game of machine pitch.

Elsie and her friends Brook and Jazlyn performed in the 3rd grade talent show last week. They did a dance routine to "Party in the USA."

BRAVO!

Later that day Owen had a 1st Grade Awards Ceremony.

He got the Florence Nightingale award for being a great all around student and helper. Way to go Owen!

Friday was Field Day at school. Owen's was in the morning and Elsie's was in the afternoon. I helped at both and it was a ton of fun! The kids a had a great time and got a bunch of exercise. Owen hung out with his buddy, Logan, who will be going to a different school next year.

Here are the pre-school buddies (William, Logan, Owen, and Bryce)

Joust!

After a hard morning of playing nothing hits the spot like a popsicle.

After lunch it was back for the afternoon session with Elsie and all of her friends. This was the "Hungry Hungry Hippos" inflatable. It was very popular.