Bunker Beach

It has been a few years since we visited Bunker Beach. The girls each brought a friend along for the event. The day was our first warmer one of the summer. The girls started at the wave pool and moved to the slides and lazy river. After lunch, the challenges began.

Erin gave everyone tasks to complete like finding someone whose favorite color was yellow, or finding your doppleganger (or someone that looked at least a little bit like you). The girls decided to team up Analise with Ella and Emma with Nevaeh as they raced to complete every waterslide and pool challenge at the park. Analise and Ella finished first but Emma and Nevaeh were very good sports.

Erin was thankful she was not part of the challenges except to take pictures. Overall, it was an awesome day to be at the park. After we finished the waterslide challenges, everyone needed to get to different events. We opted out of day camps this summer to avoid all the high costs, but that doesn't mean our evenings aren't filled up with lots of activities. As soon as we got back, Ella was off to dance, Analise had gymnastics and Emma had sewing class. The girls said their favorite thing to do this summer is stay up late listening to books on CD and then get up later in the morning. Summer camps always had us up at 6 or 7 a.m. Thankfully Erin has begun to learn the art of taking breaks. She is definitely still a novice.

Paddle boarding

Emma's friend, Lilynn, got a new paddle board this past week. Emma, Bri and Lilynn decided to try it out together on Square Lake. The water is still cold but they had a good time floating around.

Erin still has one more week of school, but the girls are already starting their summer vacation. They plan to go swimming with Grandma Kathy and have friends over to play badminton and outdoor games.

5th Grade Graduation

Analise received her academic award and she also received an art award. She is started her advanced math homework tonight. She will complete 30 math problems at day over the summer and take a test in August. If she passes, she will start advanced math next fall. We are cheering for her!

Fiona, Juliette, Tessa, Analise and Ella

Emma had her award ceremony on the last day of school. She ended up with a 4.3 GPA and high honors. She was pleased with the effort she put in this year. After the award ceremony the girls attended the after school social. Emma's grade played volleyball for an hour and Analise hung out with her regular friend group.

Memorial Weekend

We had two families, Weronika, Tim and Sophia, and Cindy, Kurt and Jillian from our church over for yard games and a bonfire this weekend. We had badminton and cornhole set up. Dads vs girls and Moms vs. girls badminton was a riot. We ended the night roasting marshmallows around the fire. The girls of course worked on their flips on the trampoline and spent some time drawing pictures together inside once it got dark. The weather was perfect.

We went to Hastings today and went biking near the Vermillion River. It is amazing to think that the girls only have one more week of school.

Speech Meet, Family Art Night, Track Meets and All Things Spring

As for Speech Meet, Emma presented Helena Confronts Hermia from Midsummer Nights Dream to the middle school audience this year. Grandma Kathy came to watch Emma at the meet. Emma had an added challenge of speaking the day after she had her expander removed. She now has invisalign trays installed. It is an adjustment though to be able to once again touch the roof of her mouth with her tongue. The trays hurt a bit but she says it is better than the expander.

Emma has been working hard at her track skills and will be running the 800 meter, 200 meter and a two by four relay for her events this spring. In her first race she placed 2nd for both the 800 and 200m.

Her second meet was at Hilly Murray and she had 3rd place for the mile with a time of 6 minutes 20 seconds. She got 2nd again in the 800m and participated in two relays 100m and 400m.

As for the choir concert this spring, Analise and Emma both sang. Analise's favorite song was, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and Emma's favorite from her performance was, "Inscription of Hope." For band, Analise played "Mechanical Monsters."

Dan, Analise and Emma have also taken on the challenge of running a 5k together around White Bear Lake in May. They have been training together each weekend. Emma ended up getting first for her division, Analise got 2nd and Dan got first for his division. Emma got 4th place for the whole racing group. Dan did his first triathalon with Wade at the end of the summer last year and is hoping to do another one at the end of summer. Analise has been going strong with gymnastics and will continue to develop her level 6 and 7 routines over the summer.

During the last month of school, Emma has been working hard on a portrait of Terese of Lisieux for her final art piece of the year. This is also her confirmation saint. She has to write a report on her next year and present it to the church before getting confirmed. Analise has been enjoying her clay sculpting this year and may do more art with her friend Tessa's mom, who works as an artist, this summer.

For Chronological Quest, Analise received Zenobia of Palmyra. She worked hard on her twenty facts and presentation to the lower school. This will be the last year of us having to figure out costuming for the Quest. Analise made her graduation from elementary school this year and joined the 97% and higher club for her second year (otherwise known as the A honor roll).

Emma also showed great effort in academics this year and made it into the 4.0 and higher club with a 4.2 average. We are now contemplating as a family what our next steps will be after 8th grade. In the next year, we will need to tour a few high schools to make sure we are picking what is right for our family situation. We will be looking into Chesterton Academy, St. Croix Prep and maybe one other to make sure that Liberty is the best decision and will provide what we think will be needed for success in the college years.

Recognition for Creativity

Emma is on a roll for kudos from teachers for her creativity and determination. We had another note written home about her amazing work. Guess Who Henry the VIII style...

Dear Hanson and Maas Families, I wanted to take a moment to share how impressed I was with Emma and Grace's recent history project. For our review on the many historical figures surrounding Henry VIII, students were challenged to create a unique and engaging way to review for the test. Emma and Grace went above and beyond. They used their class time wisely and poured creativity into their project. It was the best activity out of both classes. Their game was not only fun and interactive, but it was a big hit with all the students. Both classes eagerly played it for our review day. I am so proud of their hard work and collaboration. Well done, girls!

Lions Service Day

We participated in the Lions Service Project day in Bayport, MN. They had families packing snack packs, making tie blankets, making hypoglycemia packs and decorating cards for Vetrans. They also had a special project for teens and adults making wigs for children with cancer. The wigs are designed to look like Disney princesses. Emma and Lilynn crocheted a Princess Elsa wig together.

Analise and mom discovered a really neat piece of playground equpiment in Bayport. It has a swing/teetor-totter combo. When you swing on the swing and bounce up and down, you really send the other person flying. We will definitely have to come back to Bayport when the weather is nicer in the summer. They had a nice beach walk along the St. Croix River and tons of playground equipment that proves be to highly entertaining.