Klay Family: Going for It

Summer t-ball has come to a close. The boys both loved playing and Chris coached the team. This is Caden's last year in t-ball, next year, he will start coach's pitch. Cooper was in his glory all season long. Baseball is probably his favorite sport and he also thinks he is ready for coach's pitch next summer :)

Caden requested that I take a picture of this "neat" pose. Disregard the messy, disheveled boys... this was post game!

Elbow up!

The boys enjoyed playing on the Mallards team (not sure why they didn't have a green jersey). Our neighbor played on the team and one of Caden's best friends from school (not pictured). They will miss playing sports for 6 weeks, but the parents won't. It is finally time for a summer break!

Caden hitting

Cooper hitting

Good playing boys!

We met up with our long-lost friends, Jenny, Mason and Willow. We met them at the pool for a day in the water. If you recall, Jenny was the boys' daycare provider for many years. We still stay in touch and try to get together every couple months. The picture above warms my heart... Mason describes the boys as his forever family... love it.

Jenny treated them to Sponge Bob popsicles complete with bubble gum eyeballs. How cute is that? I feel like I had something similar growing up, just can't recall what the character would've been (Mickey Mouse or Hello Kitty possibly?!?!)

We are continuing to check off our summer bucket list activities~ we had a pool date at Kerri's with some friends. This was the lonely picture that I took that day.

We also had a playdate with some of our favorite girls, Lily, Lucy and their new baby brother, Henry. They are the cutest family of 5. We spent the day at the park, splash pad and made a stop at our favorite ice cream shop in town.

I helped host a 39 1/2 birthday celebration for a good friend of mine. It was STRESSFUL. I do not like lying and making up stories, but we pulled it off. This is not the birthday girl, just Cory and I enjoying some weird roasted marshmallow drink/toast to Ruth. Cheers!

Speaking of cheers, I randomly decided to buy a Diet Coke while I was at a store the other day, and when I reached in to grab the bottle of soda, this is what I got! I thought it must be my lucky day. I rarely find anything with my name on it or spelled the right way. It's the little things in life :)

Time for big news... I have resigned from the Eau Claire Area School District and accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. It is a coordinator position in their Education Department. I was NOT expecting this at all. A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from the Associate Dean asking if I would be interested in meeting with them to discuss this opportunity. I had some general details but declined the position after a weekend of thinking about it. The following day, I received a follow-up from UWEC asking if I would be willing to negotiate a contract that would meet my needs (summers off mostly). A few days later, I was in the Dean's office meeting with the Dean and Associate Dean of the department. I was horribly nervous since I haven't interviewed in 15 years. We talked for over 2 1/2 hours about the position and I became excited about it. My heart was telling me to take the leap of faith, to accept the position since it would be SO different, challenging and exciting. I would still be able to remain in education but I would work with BIG people :) I have some connections at UWEC, they advocated for me when this position became available and it is a job that I hope to love. I am leaving 15 years of teaching Kindergarten and the hardest part about this transition is saying "goodbye" to amazing staff and families. My loyalty was definitely an obstacle but in the end, I decided to do what was best for my career. So for now, I'm a Blugold!

I will be in this beautiful, brand new, state of the art building.

Chris and the boys toured the campus with me. Caden reminded me that I had to be smart to work at the college (ha, thanks) and Cooper reminded me that he will still be a Badger (UW-Madison) when he grows up.

I packed my items, turned in my badge and materials and left Sherman with many emotions. I will miss teaching, that is for certain, but I am moving forward with optimism and courage.

We needed to relieve stress, so it was time to hit the lake for some waterskiing and boating yesterday. The boys are amazing. Both of them are skiing long line, without connectors on their skis. They just love to ski, as much as their Daddy does. We are such proud parents and can't help but smile ear to ear watching them on the water.