Nebraska Fun!

Summer is here and I can finally pay more attention to our blog. We have had a very busy start to our summer. We just got back from a wonderful 10 day visit to Nebraska. Nate did a week long science camp at Calvin Crest, the camp his sister and brother-in-law are in charge of. We worked with 4th - 6th graders and Nate did some fun hands-on science activities with them. The kids had a great time!

While we were there we were able to spend time with Graham, our nephew. He is getting so big and is so much fun! He loves to run around the camp. Nate and I got a good work out this week by chasing after him. We enjoyed giving him baths and then reading to him at bed time. We both wish he (and his mom and dad) lived closer to us.

"Graham you are such a little stud!"

Graham loved his pants because they were like his Uncle Nate's pants.

While we were in Nebraska, we were able to see our best friends Rich and Darcie and their girls Grace and Joy. We had so much fun spending time with them too. Here are some pictures of all of us at the Omaha Zoo. What a fun and hot day it was!

Taking a photo break.

"Is the water refreshing Joy?" She didn't want to leave it!

My best friend Darcie and I. Oh how I miss having her here in Michigan.

Craig, Anissa, and Graham. "Hey Graham, the camera is over here!"

"Graham...look at the camera!"

"Come on Grace, don't be shy for the camera!"

"Come on Graham. Let's keep walking! You can do it!"

What a fun week we had with our family and friends! Now we are back home and ready to enjoy more of our busy summer. We have tons of stuff planned...another science camp in Grand Haven, Vacation Bible School, camping, a wedding, and much more! Wow!! I know it will go fast!

Congratulations Nate!

On Saturday the Grand Haven Science Olympiad teams headed to the State competition at MSU. What a busy Saturday it was for the middle and high school students. It was so much fun to see these students enthusiastic about science! These students amaze me because of their devotion from January through May. What a long season! Wow!

So how did they do? Well, the High School team got first place in their division. Lakeshore, Nate's team, received first place and White Pines, the other middle school, received 2nd place. WOW!!

What next? All three teams from Grand Haven will be traveling to Augusta, Georgia to compete in the National Competition next week. So this next week and a half will be extremely busy for Nate, but well worth it!

Congratulations to Grand Haven on another successful year in Science Olympiad!!

White Pines Middle School taking their 2nd place trophy!

Lakeshore Middle School (Nate's team) taking their 1st place trophy! Yay!!!!!!!

Life - Part 2

We are alive, but just have been extremely busy as usual! I have been meaning to post pictures of our Spring Break trip to Disney World, but seem to leave my camera at school every time I go to update this blog. They are coming just as soon as I remember to take my camera home!

So what have we been up to? My best friend Darcie and her girls Grace and Joy came up during spring break so we got to spend some time with them. What a fun time that was! We miss them all so much, but will get to see them in June!

Nate has been so busy with Science Olympiad. The State competition is this Saturday at MSU. Please keep Nate and his team in your prayers. If they make the top 2 they are on to Atlanta, Georgia in a few weeks for the National Competition. I hope they are able to go because his students have been working so hard. Nate always amazes me with his work with Science Olympiad. It's a long season he devotes a lot of time to his school.

I have been procrastinating when it comes to my grad work. I finished my Masters two years ago and am working on 15 more credits. I am just finishing my 12th credit and need 3 more and I'll be done for awhile. It just never seems to end! Nate will be finishing up with his thesis in the fall. Then we can just concentrate on each other. That will be great!

So life at the Mihalek household has been busy with school, grad classes, working on the basement (pictures to come soon), small group, and family time. We are excited for the summer so we can relax and go camping!

Congratulations Nate!

It is the busy season of Science Olympiad again! Starting in January, Nate is very busy working with a team of middle school students at Lakeshore and White Pines in preparing them for the Regional competition at Grand Valley State University. Well today was their first competition and both Grand Haven teams will be moving on to the state competition at Michigan State University in mid April. His school's team, Lakeshore, took 2nd place while the other middle school, White Pines, took first place.

I am always amazed at the hard work and devotion of the middle school students. These students put in hours of work and studying to prepare for the competitions. It was so neat to see them get excited about their accomplishments today. Now they will be hard at work again starting on Monday, preparing for MSU.

I am so proud of Nate and his devotion to Science Olympiad. It is fun to see him work with his students and see their excitement as they compete. Congratulations to Grand Haven and their teams. Good luck at MSU!

Life

Life has been very hectic this month! Last week was a busy week with my parent/teacher conferences. Many long nights of talking, getting home late, and not a lot of sleep! My conferences went very well and I'm glad they are through! Only one month until Spring Break and we can leave all our stress here and enjoy Disney World! We can't wait!

Nate has been extremely busy with Science Olympiad, which started right after Christmas break. This week were his parent/teacher conferences. Many long nights for him also, but his went well too! Nate's SO team will be competing in a few weeks at GVSU for the regional competition. He has some stressful times ahead as he decides on his team. I don't know how he does it!

So the month of March will hopefully be exciting around our house. We have someone coming to work on the basement sometime this month. We can't wait to get some of it finished. It will be so nice to have the bedroom completed so our guests will have a bit more privacy. I hope to post pictures as it all unfolds.

It's Almost Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is almost here! The decorations, cards, and candies were in stores as soon as Christmas was over. I have been reminded about this holiday for awhile and finally went to get my special Valentine's cards for my students today. As I sat and filled out each of my cards for my students, the memories of Valentine's Days past filled my mind.

As a child I would get extremely excited for this special day because of the little Valentine's cards. I remember when I was a little girl making my beautiful card holder every year and awaiting the moment when I would get to open each card. I remember stressing over which cards I would give the boys in my class. I didn't want any one of them thinking I really liked them, well maybe just a certain boy in the class. The time came to open my cards and what a fun time that was. I would sit and look at my cards for hours. Oh the little things in life!

Now my cards are all filled out and I will pass them out to my students this week. I know they will be just as excited as I was as a child to open each and every one of those special cards. I always enjoy watching them open their cards and then showing their friends. Oh the little things in life that make us so happy!

It Has Been Awhile!

It has been quite awhile since I've posted anything. Life has been very busy with school for the both of us. I finished another grad class, Nate is currently working on one, and he has begun the long season of Science Olympiad.

I have another confession to make, I became addicted to...Facebook! I thought I would never create a facebook account, but I did! I was sucked in and I am really enjoying it! I have reconnected with so many people through it and it's actually been quite a healing process for me as I am still going through the emotions of my miscarriage.

How could it facebook be healing? Well, when we were celebrating our 2 year anniversary, I thought I would link my blog on facebook. I am not very good with technology and had no idea that it would continue to post every blog entry I updated on facebook. So when I wrote about my miscarriage, it posted on facebook. I didn't really want that yet, but oops! Well, it was actually a blessing. I encountered so many others that had gone through what I was going through. And the prayers we were receiving? Amazing! I can't thank everyone enough for all of the prayers that we have received. Amazing!

So how are things going for us now? Up and down. While I'm at school, things are fine. The kids keep me busy and make me laugh. That's a good thing. When I get home, it's harder. It will take awhile to heal. I'm just thankful for Nate and all of his support! God answered my prayers when he sent me Nate!