The Crafts

First day of freshman year versus last day of freshman year! First day of 6th grade versus last day of 6th grade! First day of 4th grade versus last day of 4th grade! Last day of 4th and 6th versus last day of 5th and 3rd grade And then a throw back to last day of school 2024! Claudia's last day of 8th grade! Natalie's last day of 5th grade! And Maddie's last day of 3rd grade! They are growing up! :)  

Matt and I typically take the girls places within driving distance for spring break. We've been to both St. Louis and Kansas City a couple of times each so we decided to try out someplace fresh. We settled on Mall of America for a few days which likely ended up costing just as much as flying someplace, but we had a lot of fun in the process. The trip began with a stop for breakfast at a new place in Clear Lake. The girls thought this sign was fun so we just had to snap a photo. We didn't necessarily take a ton of photos because we mostly shopped and played games at the arcade. Matt and Maddie spent almost a full day at the Mall of American amusement park. Maddie lived her very best life in that place! We ate at Rainforest Cafe. Natalie and Maddie were walking around looking at and snapping pics of the animatronic gorillas and snakes when they grabbed this quick pic of Matt, CJ and me. In the words of teenagers and Matt, the food was mid. (That means not all that good.) I though...

Claudia decided to try out something new her freshman year. She signed up for Academic Decathlon, or as it's loving referred to, AC/DC. Students across the country learn the same themed material in the categories of math, economics, science, social science, and English. After months of studying, schools come together to compete regionally through testing in the above categories plus they are individually interviewed and must present a prepared speech. If they qualify, schools then move on to state, followed by nationals. The Union High School team won top honors and qualified for nationals! Much to their dismay, nationals this school year was hosted in Des Moines. (Next year they're in California!) Claudia scored a third place finish in music in her division at nationals, while the team finished fourth in their division. It was one of their best finishes ever. Here's Claudia with her third place medal! Go Girl! A team mom made these signs and hung them at the high school to...