Springtime!

After a long winter, spring has FINALLY sprung!  No more cold weather means it's time to get out and get re-acquainted with the world.  It seems like forever since Owen's birthday and spring break. 

We had 4 Den Meetings in a row get cancelled due to bad weather, so we had some serious catching up to do.  This activity was about listening and trust.

We also worked on skits called "run-ons" where a couple of scouts run onto the stage and have some sort of funny exchange.

FINALLY GOT TO GO OUTSIDE!  We worked on sportsmanship by having the Dad's play against the boys in kickball.

After being cooped up all winter this felt great.

Next, was a hike at Heritage Park Lake.  Saw all sorts of wildlife and got to stretch our legs.

And we earned a bunch of awards too!

We made maps to our houses...

Studied navigation using a compass

And used our compass to find the objective...

...our den flag!

At work, we have begun training on how to do things the Italian (Navionics) way.  This equates to about 7 weeks straight of being in a classroom and being good hosts for our colleagues from Italy,  The first person to arrive was Lorenzo.  He and I explored some of the city one night after work.  This is "Kaw Point" where the Kansas and Missouri Rivers meet.  I've never been there.

Beautiful view of downtown KC!

The second person to arrive was Matteo.  He and Lorenzo both brought food (pasta) and wanted to cook an authentic Italian dinner for us.  Problem was, they didn't have a kitchen, so I let them use ours.  We ended up inviting the whole group and making it a night to remember.

Here are the chefs hard at work.

MMMMMmmm!

This was SO good.  So much more complicated than spaghetti.  :) 

We also sampled some fine Tuscan wine

The next set of trainers were named Mattia and Marco.  They were the ones responsible for my late night in Florence my last night in Italy.  After the first week of training, we took a tour of Arrowhead Stadium.

Ever wondered what it looks like coming out of the tunnel?

Acting like a true fan!

Heaven!

It was interesting to learn that the Chiefs only use this locker room on gameday.  They have a different locker room that is more modern downstairs from this one that they use the rest of the year.

Easter happened too!  Somehow we got all four kiddos to wear these bunny ears at the same time.  The weather was perfect.  Great day for an Easter Egg hunt.

My man!

My girl!

Softball started last weekend with a tournament and the Bolts won!  They played two games in the morning and one in the afternoon.  All the girls got medals and the team got an awesome trophy.

Elsie played great.  She had 3 or 4 hits, and she got hit 4 times.  Way to hang in there!

Bring your child to work day was last week too.  Elsie spent the morning with me, while Owen was with Sarah.  Then we swapped at lunchtime.

Elsie got to drive a car.  Just like driving the golf cart at Grandma's house!

One of the activities was "orienteering."  Using a map to find objectives.  It took you all over the Garmin campus.  We teamed up with Molly, one of our neighbors.  The girls found all of them in just about 1hr.

Owen and I went orienteering too.  It was a very sunshiny day and it felt great outside.

Owen got them all too!

Owen got to see a presentation about robotic and even see one stack pucks and play music.  Both kids had fun spending the day with us.  It was Owen's first time.  He said "Daddy, I had SO MUCH FUN TODAY!"

My birthday also happened...

The family took me out for pizza and then we had a delicious birthday cake.

Elsie made me this book.  It was so cute!

I also got a Mahomes MVP collectible football!  

Sarah and I celebrated our 15 year anniversary this week too.  I got Sarah jewelry and she got me a new pellet grill!  It's been a wonderful 15 years!

April fools was a few weeks ago, but had to include pics of what Elsie and Owen did.  They are such pranksters!

Baseball practices started too.  Owen's first game is today.

Construction behind our house is still happening.  They are putting in the road.  This truck got stuck in the mud.  :(

Sarah won a fitness competition, working very hard and exercising daily.  She spent her winnings on a stand up paddleboard.  She hasn't gotten take it out yet, but is planning on hitting some of the smaller local lakes.

The road is going in soon.

And last but not least, Elsie won PE Student of the Month yesterday.  Way to go Elsie!

She is thrilled...