LivingFamily

Zander: Age 5
Zoey: Age 8 1/2
(The last two years’ answers precede this year’s answers. If there is only one answer—it is a new question)

What is one thing you want to get really good at in the next year?

Zoey: Piano!

Zander: Playing the drums…that’s a good one, right? I didn’t say riding a two-wheeler, because I’m never going to…

What is the best thing about you? (What are you most proud of?)
Zoey: It's just how I feel. . .happy, sad, mad, excited. . .well A LOT excited.
Zoey: I'm unique.
Zoey: That I read good.

Zander: That I'm cute.
Zander: That I'm a kid.
Zander: I was going to say I had a really good Christmas…but I don’t know.

What is your favorite supper?
Zoey: Chicken Parmesan
Zoey: Chicken Parmesan
Zoey: Chicken Parmesan…or chicken patties.

Zander: Peanut Butter and Jelly
Zander: Mac & Cheese
Zander: Chicken Parmesan…no wait, Mac & Cheese is better.

What will you be when you grow up?
Zoey: A rock star and a teacher.
Zoey: An artist (because I like art) or a singer (because I like to sing and dance and be famous) or a librarian (I love books and I could be surrounded by books and help kids find them).
Zoey: Teacher, artist, dancer…oh and movie director.

Zander: Spiderman.
Zander: A police, because they capture bad guys.
Zander: Not a police anymore…oh, ok a policeman.

What are you good at?
Zoey: Star Wars and Thundercats and Clone Wars.
Zoey: Art and loudness and singing and dancing.
Zoey: Reading!!!

Zander: Fighting.
Zander: Fighting, actually running. I'm really good at running.
Zander: Playing the drums.

What is your favorite toy?
Zoey: My all around the world dolls and Barbie and Ken.
Zoey: Can books count?. . .Books.
Zoey: Um…books!

Zander: Spiderman action figure.
Zander: My Batman toys.
Zander: Drums

Who is your best friend?
Zoey: Ellie, Amiah, and Anabel.
Zoey: Anabel Hillstrom
Zoey: Tess, Olivia, Ella, and Georgia…What? We’re the goddess girls!

Zander: Sammy
Zander: I have two of them. Adam and Sammy. And Dylan and Tyler. I have four of them.
Zander: That is easy. Sammy, Adam, James and Drew.

What is something that Mommy always says to you?
Zoey: Pick up your room.
Zoey: Keep your room clean. . .and be quiet!
Zoey: Clean you room…and be quiet!

Zander: That I'm cool.
Zander: Oh, this is a hard one. "Zander." To clean up my room.
Zander: Clean my room…that’s easy. Right?

What makes Daddy happy?
Zoey: His kids.
Zoey: Having his kids around him!
Zoey: Reading Percy Jackson #5 and all the other books.

Zander: That I love him.
Zander: Eating pizza!
Zander: Being with me and Zoey.

How old is mommy?
Zoey: 36?
Zoey: 38? Wait. . .37. . .36. . .36. . .36
Zoey: 38.

Zander: 100?
Zander: 37?
Zander: 38.

How old is daddy?
Zoey: It's either 34 or 24?
Zoey: 30. . .5
Zoey: 36.

Zander: 400?
Zander: And, he's 35, right Daddy?
Zander: 35. No 36! Am I right?

How old is Grandpa Nyhlen?
Zoey: 88?
Zander: 39?

What is your favorite place to go?
Zoey: Star Wars Wonderland in my dreams.
Zoey: Movie theatre and SkyZone.
Zoey: Library!

Zander: Grandma and Grandpa's cabin.
Zander: School.
Zander: School.

What is your favorite book?
Zoey: Star Wars chapter book AND Junie B. Jones. . .she is FUNny!
Zoey: Harry Potter
Zoey: Percy Jackson #4…so far.

Zander: Superheroes
Zander: Harry Potter
Zander: My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish!

How do you know Mommy and Daddy love you?
Zoey: Hugs and Kisses
Zoey: because you say it every night and hug me every night.
Zoey: Um…we’re us?

Zander: Because I'm cute.
Zander: Because they're my family. . .that's right, right?
Zander: Hug me?

What always makes you laugh?
Zoey: When mommy looks at me funny.
Zoey: Let's see. . .let's see. . .when Voldemort gets hurt.
Zoey: The gross chapter in the joke book…and the joke about a pat on the head. That’s funny!

Zander: (makes monkey noises)
Zander: When mommy gets a Jack-in-the-box and pops it out. . .oh and Kid Snippets! That's right. . .
Zander: Daddy…you know.

When are you allowed to get married?
Zoey: 18?
Zoey: When I'm 28?

Zander: 6
Zander: When I'm a grown-up

What's the hardest thing about being a kid?
Zoey: When I always have to clean my room and listen to what parents have to say.
Zoey: You have to go to school and do math.
Zoey: The math is harder.

Zander: It's so hard to read if your 5 years old, right? But Sammy almost knows how to read. . .
Zander: Doing our jobs. (What are your jobs?) I’m kind of forgetting (then he recites his nighttime routine.)

What is the best gift you have ever been given?
Zoey: Mommy and Daddy
Zoey: A nice family.
Zoey: The Elsa doll!

Zander: Spiderman
Zander: Oh yeah. . .My Anakin!
Zander: My drums

If you could make up one rule that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?
Zoey: They have to watch Thundercats or Star Wars once a night.
Zoey: Once a week, they had to watch at least one Harry Potter movie, on Wednesday!
Zoey: Every Friday, we would have brownies at school.

Zander: To everybody. . .to tackle Zoey! You want to know why? She doesn't like Star Wars!
Zander: Never clean your room!

Of all the things that you are learning in school this year, what will be the most important when you are grown up?
Zoey: Science. Because I'm going to do science about rocks sometimes.
Zoey: Art or music, because I'm going to be an artist or a singer.
Zoey: Media…since I might be a librarian…how to take care of books and stuff.

Zander: Reading! Because I need to read. You guys know how to read, but I don't, right? How do you spell Target?
Zander: Math…I just picked something because I don’t know what is the most important.

What makes you a good friend?
Zoey: I think its what's inside.
Zoey: I'm full of joy!
Zoey: I’m funny.

Zander: To be nice.
Zander: Cause I'm nice.
Zander: Helping people.

What's your favorite color?
Zoey: pink and rainbow
Zoey: Rainbow!
Zoey: Pink and rainbow!

Zander: Blue
Zander: Oh. . .Blue!
Zander: Blue!

What is your favorite song?
Zoey: Star Wars Theme
Zoey: Mean (by Taylor Swift)
Zoey: Let it Go…from Frozen.

Zander: Away in the Manger
Zander: The Star Wars song
Zander: Opening song of Star Wars.

What makes Mommy happy?
Zoey: When I go to sleep.
Zoey: Her children
Zoey: Reading Flora & Ulysses to me.

Zander: Loving her and hugging her.
Zander: Cleaning our rooms, right? And playing with us. That makes you happiest you ever been, right?
Zander: Cleaning our rooms.

What does Daddy do at work now?
Zoey: He teaches teachers and principals to do better.
Zoey: He teaches teachers.

Zander: Teach principals and teachers to be good. Right? Right, Daddy?
Zander: Teaches principals and teachers.

What is the best thing about Zoey?
Zander: That she's nice.
Zander: She plays with me a lot…well not that much.

What is the best thing about Zander?
Zoey: He's funny.
Zoey: That he is funny…but he can also be annoying sometimes.

Describe your perfect day:
Zoey: My perfect day was when I got cotton candy at Anabel's, got my nails done, dance par-tay, watching frosty and the grinch!
Zoey: I spend the whole day in the library reading Greek Mythology books.

Zander: Saturday! When is it going to be Saturday?
Zander: Doing everything in the world except eating olives or onions.

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
Zoey: No Star Wars!
Zoey: There would be more libraries and more time in media.

Zander: To put the Eifel Tower in Minnesota. (Why?) Because I want to see it and go up and see the torch.
Zander: No cleaning your room.

What instruments do you want to play:
Zoey: harp
Zoey: Violin

Zander: drums
Zander: drums

Favorite Restaurant?
Zoey and Zander: Pizza Ranch
Zoey: Perkins

Zander: Chilis…oh no…McDonald’s

Who is the President of the United States?
Zoey: Barack Obama
Zander: George Washington? Is that right?

Who is your hero?

Zoey: Rick Rordin…cause he wrote a book and its really good and I can’t stop reading it and memorizing the prophecies.

Zander: Me, actually no… I don’t know.

What will you not do when you are a teenager?

Zoey: I have no idea…do math!

Zander: I will not go to college.

Except for mom and dad, who do you trust the most?

Zoey: Mrs. Nestrud…she’s my third grade teacher.

Zander: Mary! (So I can see Sam.)

How many kids will you have when you are a mom/dad?

Zoey: 2

Zander: 129!—I’m actually only going to have 2.

What is the most important rule in our house?

Zoey: I think it is…Clean up after yourselves…which I don’t like to do…cause its cleaning.

Zander: Don’t let mouses in..just joking, and we need money to keep our home.

If a genie gave you one wish, what would it be?

Zoey: To have a clean room and have it stay that way so I don’t have to clean it anymore.

Zander: 900 dollars! and 29…$929.

What is the naughtiest thing you have ever done?

Zoey: (no response)

Zander: Do you know?...oh…ok…I peed all over the bathroom.

I am on my 11th year of teaching at Wildwood Elementary School in Mahtomedi. It is a bittersweet year in that we are moving on to a brand new state-of-the-art school that is amazing in so many ways! But I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what we are leaving behind. The good news is that what I love most about the place that I work is not the building. In fact when I first went to interview for my job in the coveted district of Mahtomedi, (all my friends said that I was lucky to even get an interview)--I was quite frankly underwhelmed by the building. This is where everyone wants to teach? But I obviously was offered a position and I soon fell in love with the place they call Wildwood. It truly isn't the building--it is the staff, the families, the events, the traditions and all the mishaps and laughter (and sometimes tears) that happens on a daily basis. My first group of students that I worked with are graduating from high school this year!!! I had a good time going through my photos this evening to see if any of them capture the essence of Wildwood--I think I have a good mix.

Our art teacher, Kristi Ekert, is amazing! She has the 2nd graders do chalk art as their last project in the likeness of Georgia O'Keefe--it is SO fun to walk around the school grounds and look at the pictures.

The teachers, of course, are amazing! Above is Zoey's 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Fesser. And below are some awesome friends (Maddie and Ana) that she has made at school. It is doubly fun to have your kid(s) go to the school that you teach at.