Ft. Riley Solider for a Day

Thursday I had the privelage to be involved with many other educators from around the area in Ft. Riley Solider for a Day.

 It was an amazing experience I was able to go through with some friends from the district, including our complete admin team for next year at Eisenhower!

Not only was this a great experience/team building time for us as a group, it also gave me a greater appreciation for our military personnel and their families.

It was very warm in the afternoon while we got up close and inside some of the vehicles/equipment we had used earlier in the simulations. As I put on the gear a solider wears daily while in combat or training...I asked what the farthest he had gone running with the vest/pack combo (that I nearly fell over wearing)...

All of this on. Long pants. Boots. And he replied he has run up to ten miles without the pack and walked that far wearing it. This kind of physical and mental toughness is unbelievable.

It was a fun day where we learned so much. These young men were pleasant, professional, and shared so much with us about what it takes to serve. It was an honor to be a part of this and to see what America's Heros do for each of us every day as they serve our country!

T-Ball Time

Collin had his first t-ball game tonight and he was ready to PLAY BALL!!!!

It's finally his turn to have his brother in the stands and him on the field.

Of course he had to play in the dirt...it's really a right of passage in t-ball...

And this one was at the end of the inning playing first base...backside completely to anyone who might throw him the ball.

But all in all he did great and had a good time!

 And Mitchell enjoyed the added bonus of a snow cone stand at the optimist fields....

Summer Reading and Running

Thanks to our wonderful librian at EMS for this supply of fun summer reads!  She is always taking care of me and keeping me current with lots of the books our students are reading.  Looks like I am set for our upcoming road trip south to the beach later this summer!

Mitchell continues to do very well in school, especially in reading.  Again, with the help of my awesome media specialist Vicki, Mitchell and I are now both reading the Harry Potter Series.  He is flying through the first book and it's given us quite a bit to talk about already.

I haven't posted much about running lately.  I did very well continuing to run after my last half marathon in April.  At the start of this month, I hyper extended my knee and took 10+ days to let it heal before trying to run again.  This means my mileage for the month of May is about half of what it was last month.  But I am still one run away from logging over 280 miles in 2014.  We are looking forward to a summer full of fun activities....including reading and running. :)

And Then He was 6

Happy 6th Birthday Collin Riley Bunger!!!

6.  This sweet little baby above is 6. As he told me last night, he is now "two hands"....meaning he has to use two hands to show how old he is.  And today is his LAST day of Kindergarten.  To be honest, I had lots of apprehension about our exuberant, strong-willed little man starting school this year.  There have been small bumps in the road, but overall....he has done AMAZING!!

He is reading.  He loved his teacher and has made many friends.  Mommy and Collin made it through  his first year of school with both of us still in one piece....that's a win! :)

Collin at 6:

Loves Legos! Especially Lego Chima

Favorite Food: chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, and ranch.

Still doesn't like to try new things unless he believes he will be "good" at it.

Likes to cuddle in mom and dad's bed.

Is a master at debate.

Likes to play like he is the "evil" character when imagining, but wants to be either a policeman (because he can be in charge then...his words) or an author/illustrator (again his exact words.

He is incredibly intelligent and still has a very quick wit for his age.

Like the rest of the Bunger Family...he is not quiet. ;)

He is full of energy and emotion...every day is a new day full of love with Collin!

Happy Birthday to our soon to be 1st grader!!!

Celebrating 6

Collin's birthday is later this week, but Saturday we let him invite a few friends over to play.

We are trying not to have a big party for the boys every year now that they are older.  

But having several buds over for a birthday play date was still very exciting!

And really ended up kind of feeling like a party anyway...

But with less stress of planning and less kiddos underfoot for 3 hours, a good time was had by all.

It's the last week of school and a birthday week to boot for this soon to be 6 year old!

Family Ball Game

Last night we decided to make a family game out of practicing our collective baseball skills

Collin made sure we had all the essentials.  After all, it's about the right gear, right?!

The teams were Mommy and Mitchell vs. Daddy and Collin.  Daddy even threw at Mommy while she was up to bat!!!  I stayed in the batter's box and took my base like the champ that I am.

We had them both swinging for the fences....each at their own level. :)

And the perfect spring night can't exist without DQ Ice Cream Cake.  Okay, so this picture is actually from Chad's birthday on Monday, but we really did have a piece tonight as well!!

One week from today, summer officially begins at the Bunger house!!

Not Just Another Birthday

Happy 37th Birthday to Chad!!!

Every "big day" we've had this past year, I have found myself being overwhelmed with gratitude that the love of my life and the most amazing father to our two boys is here with us being the wonderful person he is to us and everyone who knows him. We count our blessing each day...God is good and today we celebrate another great year of LIFE for the one, the only....Chad Bunger!!! 

This little boy above has worn many hats in his 37 years....we are thankful to have him wear the hats of husband and father in our house this day, and every other day that ends with a Y. Happy Birthday Daddy with many many more "big days" to come. :)

Baseball 2014

This year Mitchell is playing in the Wildcat League for the Little Apple Sluggers.

We've stepped up in the world of baseball...now playing kid pitch and today participating in our first baseball tournament.

It was an early morning, but nothing a Popsicle couldn't fix as we were on our way for a day at the ball park.

The Sluggers fought hard and had some close games and left the tournament 1-2.  Another double header is up on daddy's birthday.

The season is early for this 10 and under team and we are ready for a summer full of baseball as Collin starts T-ball practice this week as well!

Kindergarten Program 2014

Collin told us he was "a little bit nervous" for his Kindergarten program last night.

If you've ever seen his antics during Cherubs Choir at church, you'd know why we had a hard time believing this story!

He did great and the show was very good and of course 60+ Kindergarteners on stage equal a whole lot of cuteness!

They sang "What a Wonderful World"at the end. I she'd a few tears it was so sweet how well Collin sang along through it all.

Afterwards Chad and I both told him how much we both like this song. He promptly told us he didn't really like it.  Then told us both the songs in order that he liked and did not like from his program... Well, I guess you always know where this kid stands.

But we all agreed it was awesome to have Great Grandma in the crowd at least!