15th anniversary!

Thursday was our 15th wedding anniversary! Seems like such a milestone and yet it seems like just yesterday we were married. We had a plant to go out to dinner for our anniversary and then figured out it was Maundy Thursday and we like that service at church so we improvised a bit. We went for appetizers at Elfo's in Germantown and then to Maundy Thursday service and then to Folk's Folly for a late dinner. It was a great evening and so glad that even though it was during the week, we were still able to celebrate.

Can't believe that a blind date at Auburn turned into over 20 years so far together!

Star Student

Caroline was star student this week and in her mind that makes her a true celebrity! She has patiently waited as all her friends and classmates have been star student. She worked hard on her "All about me" write-up and picking out items for the guessing jar and posing for a picture to take to hang on the board beside her write-up. She was hilarious. If nothing else, it made her get out of bed easier all week. We joined her for lunch one day and she spent the whole time telling us who liked who, who was mean, who was nice and why certain kids were sitting by themselves or away from their table. She was quite the reporter. Cheers to Caroline...the star student.

fun at lunch with caroline

acting silly and making sure her friends saw it!

sweet girl.

Kindergarten Spring Program

It is time for the annual kindergarten program at Harding. This is the last year that we will have someone participating and that made me a little sad when I thought about it. The junior and senior kindergarteners do such a great job for their spring programs!! This year's them was 60 years in Memphis celebrating Harding Academy's 60th birthday. Songs were done by each class to celebrate the decades of Harding's existence. It was well done. Caroline's class had the 2000's and half did a song from Princess and the Frog (Dig a little deeper) and the other half did We belong Together from Toy Story. Caroline sang the Toy Story song and was dressed as Jessie complete with red yarn hair. Caroline has been so excited about this program. She had Gary download all the songs to her ipod that all the classes would be doing since everyone sings backup. She had so carefullly memorized each song. She was definitely prepared for the program. Caroline quickly removed the wig afterwards but was up for a few pictures with friends and family. We missed my dad and stepmother as they had taken a trip to Dallas to see the other grandkids in their program and to spend time there for a few days. Caroline will love having the DVD of the program to watch over and over and over again!

Caroline with Ava and Nina...definitely the 3 Amigos

Caroline with Mimi and Papa

Caroline in her Jessie wig and hat

Caroline with Miss Claire

We were so proud of Caroline

 

Love that Harding took pictures....it was hard to get any action shots during the program. This is during the Toy Story song and Caroline was front and center!

More action from Sr. K.

The entire group closing out a great program.

 

Family Reading Night

Harding has been celebrating March as National Reading Month with a lot of activities. Caroline's class is working on individually reading 100 books. She has had many guest readers and secret readers. Anna's class has been working on their latest book the Indian in the Cupboard and focusing on their AR work. Anna loves to read. One parent recently told me that she ate lunch with her daughter that is in Anna's class and saw after Anna finished reading she took out her latest book to finish. I asked Anna about it and she said she really wanted to finish it!

Tuesday night Harding pulled together Family Reading Night. All students from Jr. K through 6th were invited with their families to come and enjoy guest readers and activities centered around reading. The best guest reader was Jim Jaggers, local weatherman. He read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and was fantastic. The kids enjoyed seeing their friends in their pajamas, which was the dress code for the night and of course the refreshments that were served.

hearing about amelia bedelia

mad libs, live action style

jim jaggers reading cloudy with a chance of meatballs

My Big Backyard

We did not go anywhere for spring break this year which has become pretty normal for our family. When I was in public accounting, we were never allowed to take off during busy season which lasted in audit through the end of March. Now at my job at St. Jude, I have had a day or two off but mostly needed to cover the finance department as my boss has been off for the entire week with his kids. Hoping for a chance at a good spring break soon as his kids are both out of high school after this year!

Gary took off Thursday with the girls after they stayed with Mom on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Mom read lots of books with Caroline to help her reach her goal of reading 100 books and then she helped Anna complete her 2 TN History projects that were due shortly after Spring Break. Huge help and glad Mom is a retired teacher and loves these kinds of projects! Gary and I got the good weather days of the week as the sun finally came out on Thursday and Friday and it warmed up quite a bit.

Gary spent most of the day outside with the girls after treating them to a yummy breakfast at Brother Juniper's, their traditional day off place to eat with Daddy. They rode bikes, threw the football, kicked the soccer ball around and took long walks at Shelby Farms. They were definitely worn out by the time I got home.

Anna had a friend spend the night Thursday night and all the kids enjoyed making S'mores over our firepit. That was a yummy treat for all. Friday morning we headed out to My Big Backyard to enjoy the warm and beautiful weather. It was a great day and we ended up meeting some of Caroline's buddies there which helped distract her from Anna and her friend Emily.

Wish spring break could have been more of a break for the family, but at least it was a relaxing week, with no homework or deadlines, no stress and it was a good week away from school for the kids!

anna, emily and caroline are ready to explore!

nina, ava and caroline loving the big chair

anna climbing a tree

sweet kindergarten girls

Favorite Book Character Day

Today was dress like your favorite book character day for the kindergarten classes. They have been working on many reading projects and have had guest readers, they are fundraising through a read-a-thon and they are working to read 100 books individually. Caroline dressed up like Olivia the Pig. My favorite part was that we spent zero money on this outfit by borrowing the pig accessories from the school from the 3 Piggy Opera props!

March update

What are the Zyrieks up to in March??

Gary is still letting his knee heal. Has not tried a run yet but has gotten on the bike a few times. He seems to be getting more confidence but he is definitely not 100% yet. I think a return trip to the doctor is in order for a progress update. He has been very busy at work. A new restructuring has taken place and Gary is leading several key initiatives. They is giving him some new projects and team members to work with and definitely keeping his plate full. Basketball for Anna ended in February and it is nice to have Saturdays back and a hiatus from coaching.

I am running 4-5 times a week. I have a schedule of races I would like to tackle over the spring months including a few 5k's, a 10-miler and a 10-k before the summer road race series gears up after July 4th.  I am working on speed and am liking my results.  It is budget and strategic plan update season at work. This is nothing compared to busy season that I was used to for 12 years in public accounting.

Anna is busy with her almost daily rehearsals for Charlotte's Web. She will take to the stage April 14-16th playing the part of Charlotte's spider baby Joy as well as a part of the crowd at the fair and the other ensemble parts. She is really enjoying this and we cannot wait for her debut. We were told at her recent dental appointment that she was ready for "pre-braces". These will be put on probably near the end of school and will be on for a year. The dentist indicated that this will help straighten her teeth so that when the remainder of her baby teeth fall out her mouth will be ready and in good form. This could eliminate or reduce braces again in a few years. This was a new process to me but I have seen several of her friends with braces recently so I guess that is what is going on. Anyone want to donate to the cause? Braces are not cheap and I guess that I why I never had them as a kid. Wouldn't I have looked stunning with my big glasses and braces when I was 14? No spring sports for Anna as she wanted to take a break after fall soccer and winter basketball. I'm glad because it would have been a lot to juggle with play practice being almost every day.

Caroline is loving kindergarten and her passion for reading has made itself known. Caroline's class is working on reading 100 books. Caroline is obsessed with turning in her record sheets that indicate she has completed 10 books. She wants to be first (I think she is going to be a bit like Anna in that regard) and tells us every day if anyone is ahead of her. She is doing a great job when she concentrates. She loves to walk around and move all over the place while reading which drives Gary and I crazy. I cannot believe we are approaching the final grading period of kindergarten and that first grade is just around the corner. No spring sports for Caroline either. How did Gary and I get so lucky?? We plan to ride bikes and spend time outside as a family and enjoy this down time and realize it won't always be this way. Definitely a gift to us.

Planning summer camps, vacations and other fun things ahead. I am very much a planner and like to have things on the calendar early so they are set. Anna will be going back to two sleep away camps and enjoying various other camps. Caroline has more variety this summer too as she wants to go to Mud Camp this year and is old enough to do so. Our 15th anniversary is this month and it falls during Easter weekend, so we will have to plan a get away in the late spring or summer to celebrate! Anna will be 10 next month which is another milestone to celebrate. The Zyrieks are doing well, enjoying the onset of spring and looking forward to wrapping up the school year.