The Muench Bunch

Friends Mallory and Mason Nikkel came for a play date. Mallory is 2 months older than Luke and Mason is a year and a half younger than Jake. It is fun to see the kids play together and Lisa and I get to visit. The kids had never been around horses, so we gave them each a little ride.

Allie likes to come out and see the kids. She likes to play with Luke and Jake the most, tickling and chasing them. She has been working a job at the Dairy Queen. That is also where I had my first real job as a kid. This next year Allie will start her senior year in high school.

Williams built a new memorial and had a dedication. The plan was thought up and created by Don Williams. It is a memorial for anyone who has been in a war that has lived in Williams. It was a beautiful monument. We took the kids for the dedication ceremony.

Jayden's 3rd grade class was rewarded for doing so well on their state tests. Jayden's score were exceptional, overall she scored 98% above the national average of third graders. Her core total grade was that of 6th grader in the 4th month of school. She ranked as high as an 8th grader in areas of reading and word analysis. Her class did so well, they were rewarded by going on a trip to the Omaha zoo and a day at Hidden Acres camp. I went as a chaperone to the Hidden Acres. The kids enjoyed a full day of activities including mini golf, hiking, games, swimming in the indoor poo, and finally boating on the lake. The boating soon turned into kids in the after swimming and swinging from ropes. I am not sure that it was the best idea or the safest, but they sure had fun.

There is just something about boys and sand. Luke got his toes in the sand and was as happy as can be. Jacob loves to play in the awesome sandbox Pepaw built for him. The hard part is keeping the cats out, they sure like it too!

Luke discovered his lovey. It is a dick and Jane cowboy blanket. It is baby blue with cowboys riding broncs. We sing the “Where o where o where is blankie” song to him when searching the house for it. He loves to hold it by the end and drag it around. It is the cutest thing! He has to have it to sleep and he loves to hold it to his face and love on it.

Jacob graduated from pre-school. My babies are growing up way too fast. Jake looked so handsome in his tie and jacket all dressed up. People just don't dress up anymore and I think it is sad. Jake was the spiffiest kid on stage. He had both grandparents and Aunt Alice along with Terje and Elaine who were visiting for Oregon. Jacob sang some cute songs and then the diploma's were handed out. It took a long time for Mark and I to come to agreement on Jake attending Kindergarten in the fall. I know he would be ready as he is academically ready, knowing all shapes, colors, number, letters, letter sounds, etc. He would also be one of the oldest kids in his class with a Nov. birthday. Waiting a year would make him almost 2 years older than kids in his class. He would also be 19 at graduation. Mark and his Dad really wanted Jake to wait a year, but they didn't have any good reasoning, size and sports. My only concern is Jacob's behavior. I just hope he will do fine.

Luke is our cuddle bug smiley guy. He loves to smile at people, he is not a shy one. He also is a little cuddler. This morning something woke him up early and I tried to get him back to sleep. I held him at my shoulder, but everytime I tried to move him he would fuss. So, I resorted to him sleeping laying across my chest on my shoulder while lying down in bed. It was pretty sweet. Also, he fell asleep late for his morning nap in the car, so I carried him in the house and rocked him back to sleep on my shoulder. I had to leave for a dentist appt., so I handed him off to Mark where he slept another ½ hour. Both Mark and I enjoyed this very rare occasion, as it has been months since he has fallen asleep in our arms. As they get older you really cherish it more.

Jacob at the age of 5, is all boy and I love it. He is into bugs, frogs, and mud. He found a big toad and for 3 days would non stop play with him. He even made a home for it. One day while he was playing with his toad, I asked Jake if he would do me a big favor and let me take some pictures of him with his toad, only he had to change his clothes. Suprisingly he was very cooperative and crawled right into the overalls without a shirt. I rolled the bottoms and had a blast with my camera. I was so happy with the pictures we eneded up with.

I asked Jayden to be my model so I could experiment with my camera. We took some fun cowgirl photos and I ended up with some cute ones. I will cherish these.

Dayton held another youth rodeo. The day was muddy and cool. They rearranged the event order, so Jayden was in barrels and poles at the beginning. Jacob also did the kids events, goat tail untie, stick horse race, and dummy rope. My parents and Aunt Alice came to watch the kids too. Jayden did well, however the arena was very wet and muddy, so she ran her pony cautious. There was a really big turnout with kids from all over. In the evening, we changed pace, got all dressed up and went to Paige Mullen's wedding reception. It was so elegant and nice. The food was great and the dance was fun for the kids. Jake was out on the dance floor busting a move. Jayden is a pretty wild dancer, she holds hands and jumps all over. She would do well in a mosh pit.

I took Joe and Dakota to the arena to ride. Jayden informed Makenna & Hannah, so they all came and rode too. Jayden did great with her pony. She rides her all over and makes her mind. She did the barrels several times and I had her kick Dakota on the run home. I asked Jayden what she thought of that, she said”Awesome”. Jayden has improved so much riding her pony. She has gotten more confident and really gets her pony going. Now we just have to battle with Dakota’s respiratory issues and Joe has moon blindness.

May 9 Mother’s Day 2009 Jayden was up at the crack of dawn making a mother’s day breakfast. She woke Jacob so he could come and help too. Somehow Luke knew he needed to be up too at 6:30AM. The 3 kids were in the kitchen unsupervised, Daddy was sick. Jayden has been making scrambled eggs by herself for awhile now. She fixed the eggs, toast and microwave bacon. Mommy was served breakfast in bed. My kids are the greatest. Jacob also picked me a bouquet of lilacs as they are my favorite. The day before mother's day, Jayden and I took both Grandma's and Auntie Alice to a luncheon tea just for Mother's Day. It was a girls outing, and Luke too.

I interviewed an 18 year old girl from Ogden for a summer babysitting position. During the summers it is hard to have freedom to do things, such as ride horses, take the big kids places, and even mowing without a sitter. I wanted to line up someone to watch the kids, sometimes jut Luke for two days a week all summer. By way of a daycare in Ogden, I was given Chelsey's name. The daycare lady was having her work part time for her and had run a background and health check on her. Knowing that and knowing that this girl was going to college for daycare was all very reassuring for someone I did not know. She seemed to have a very flexible schedule and could babysit about any day at any time. I had her come for just a few hours the first few times. Hearing about her home life was very sad and made me a little uneasy. She moved back to Ogden from Tennessee to be with her mom. However she has been living with Grandma at times, and cousins at times. She told me some things about her fami

I took Jake to the Dayton school for his Kindergarten round up at 9:00AM. The teachers had a construction theme and had little hard hats for all the kids. There were a few kids Jake knew and several he did not. He didn't have any problem with me leaving and I picked him back up at 11:00. HE thought it was pretty neat stuff and I think he thought the next day he would be starting Kindergarten.