The last day of school...bring on summer!

DAY 149 - May 29, 2009

Ahh...the last day of school. What could be better? I remember the excitement of those days and long for them again sometimes. It was a time when I felt like I actually had a summer. As an adult it doesn't seem there really is a summer anymore. Summer used to be a time when there wasn't much that HAD to be done and I could sleep in if I wanted to, wash my car out in the sun, get together with friends, read a book, or just "be"...does that make sense?

Well, while Kaleb and Kaden won't be washing their cars (but I didn't say they couldn't help with mine when (if?) I find the time to do it), they will be doing all the other things listed above. Let summer begin!

Here is Kaleb with his 2 big cookie cakes he took to school on the last day to celebrate his birthday. He does not get to celebrate his birthday at school usually because school is usually out the week before. He did ask if he could take in a treat to share with his class so we made that happen this year.

After we had some dinner, the boys and I headed down to Old City Park in Greenwood. This is a great park and the kids really enjoy going there. Often Doug will be able to meet us and hang out for a while. On this night we had just gotten to the park when Doug called and mentioned going to Mrs. Curl's for some ice cream. Mrs. Curl's is a cute (and always busy) little ice cream and much more spot right across the street from the park. The boys and I had some ice cream and Doug used this time as his dinner since he'd been so busy that he hadn't had a chance to eat dinner. It was nice to sit there with him and hang out a while. The boys kept themselves busy at the little creek that runs right by the stand...there are little bluegill that hang around and wait to get fed. Kaleb and Kaden had fun feeding some of their cones to the fish then picking up some of the pieces of fish pellets from the ground that those before us had dropped.

After we hung out there a while we went back to the park and got on the swings for a while. It was a good night for the park and we didn't leave until almost 8:30pm.

Me? Running? What's gotten into me?

DAY 148 - May 28, 2009

The treadmill...I'm happy to say it's been getting a workout lately because that means that I've been able to get my butt out of bed and get a workout myself. A few weeks ago I got a wild hair and decided to start a running program. I happened upon an article on WikiHow called "How to Begin Running"...sounds simple enough doesn't it...why does their need to be an article about it right? Well, in that article there was an 9-week schedule for gradually working up to running. The first week said something like this:

Week 1: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

I'm happy to say that I'm now on Week 3. The most difficult thing for me seems to be bumping the treadmill speed up and down at all those time intervals. Truth be told, I'm afraid to start running outside. I think I'm afraid it will be more difficult and, since I'm able to keep it up on the treadmill, I'm afraid to move it outdoors. But, I'm going to try. One side of me thinks that it's GOT TO BE EASIER to just start running rather than ramping up the treadmill all the time. When my time is up for that segment of running I can just start walking again.

So, I've decided that tomorrow is the day...tomorrow is when I'm going to give running outdoors a try.

Tuckered out!

DAY 147 - May 27, 2009



It's getting close to the end of the school year...I think this picture pretty much sums up the way everyone is feeling right now. We often snuggle for a few minutes in our bed before putting the boys to bed for the night. Tonight it was Kaden's turn to be last to head down to his room. When I came back in from snuggling Kaleb in tight this is what I found. Kaden was completely out and Doug was just about there. It's so hard to have to pick him up and put him in his own bed when he looks so peaceful in ours. It has to be done though...that's my side he's sleeping on!

Reading accomplishments...

DAY 146 - May 26, 2009


Kaden has struggled with his reading this year. He tends to rush through and doesn't like to slow down and sound things out like he should. He has shown great improvement over the school year though and we were so excited when he brought home this certificate! He was presented with it in Reading class by Mrs. Ladd. What is it for? He got the highest Lexile score in his reading class for the year! Lexile is a rating system Jeremiah Gray uses to measure the kids reading levels. It's a number score and anything below a 150 is considered a "beginning reader". Kaden was at that level for most of the year but in the last quarter when he took the Lexile test he scored over 500!! We were so proud of him! Here he is sporting his certificate...can you tell how proud he is of himself?!?

What a full weekend!

DAY 145 - May 25, 2009


COMING SOON!!!

DAY 144 - May 24, 2009

Several months back, Jonathan specifically asked us if he could have his open house at our house in May. Of course we were willing to help host such an important event. This entire week Doug and I (along with the boys) have been frantically trying to make everything just perfect for this day. Just when we didn't think we'd get it all accomplished, it all came together nicely and the open house was a huge success...here are a couple highlights from the day.

This is Jonathan and City Councilman Mike Speedy. Doug is good friends with Mike in the political world here in Indianapolis. With Jonathan's high school graduation approaching, Doug was looking for something special that could be done and presented to him. He reached out to Mike Speedy who came up with a "General Proclamation" document and told Doug what it entailed. Basically, Doug was to come up with a list of achievements that Jonathan had accomplished throughout his life and get them back to him. Doug came up with his own list and then consulted both Dawn and Greg as well as John and Chris. The final product was a fantastic list of Jonathan's accomplishments starting when he was very young and ending (or is it only beginning?) with his graduation. Mike had a very official document drawn up and signed it. He came to the Open House today and read it and presented it to Jonathan along with a lapel pin representing the City Council. It was quite the surprise for Jonathan and I think something he thought was pretty neat.

Kaden was SO PROUD to pick out a card and this little picture holder for Jonathan when we were card shopping a few weeks back. He very proudly colored the card on the inside writing something like "Have fun at college" and even drew a cardinal on the front of the envelope (Southport's school mascot). We printed out a picture of Jonathan and the "3 little ones" as we like to call Nick, Kaleb, and Kaden from the night of the graduation ceremony and Kaden clipped it in the holder. He very proudly put it on the gift table in the entry way for the open house.

As you may or may not know...Jonathan's nickname is "Pooh" because he's "a little slow like that". He's been called this by his parents, brother, grandparents, and even our kids for many years. Nick got his brother a gift for graduation and saved it for last. As you can see, it's a Graduation Pooh doll. I'm sure Jonathan will display it proudly in his room at Liberty University!

DAY 143 - May 23, 2009

AHHH!! I got a gift certificate to Studio 135 for a massage for Mother's Day this year. Doug had set the appointment for me and everything...all I had to do was show up and relax. Here is what the room looked like...I thoroughly enjoyed myself this morning. It was so nice...then I came home and Doug and the boys were out working in the yard getting it all ready for Jonathan's open house on Sunday. My relaxation was good while it lasted. At least I was massaged and ready to...clean house! We still had a ton to do to the house in preparation for the big shindig so that was the plan for the rest of the day. I didn't mind though...I always like getting pampered by my 3 guys!

A High School Graduation...

DAY 142 - May 22, 2009

Southport High School graduation ceremony...as you can see, the tassels have been moved from the right to the left and the class has been "presented as the graduates of the class of 2009", and they're ready to get out of there! Jonathan was the one we were all there to see of course. It was a nice ceremony in that non-air conditioned gym. Afterwards Jonathan presented his mom with some flowers as a surprise thanking her for all she'd done for him.

Here they are...Jonathan and his very proud family right after the Graduation Ceremonies at Southport High School. We'll be having his open house at our place on Sunday and are hoping for a great turnout for him. Doug's even got a little surprise in the works for him...can't wait to see how it all turns out.

Unfortunately Doug had to work tonight and missed the actual graduation ceremony. We did all head to Dairy Queen for a little celebratory ice cream and Doug was able to come by as he got off work at 10:00pm. Doug is very proud of Jonathan and really loves the kind of kid he's become. At the same time, Jonathan really looks up to his Uncle Doug...a lot! Here they are, both looking very proud.

The Norris Family...

DAY 141 - May 21, 2009


Here is "Mrs. Amy" and her family; husband Ben, son Quinn, and the newest addition...Tyler. They always try to make it out to one of the boys' baseball games and tonight was the night. The boys had Amy as a teacher at Beech Tree House when they were in day care. When she left to be a full time mom she offered to watch them on school breaks or whenever we needed a babysitter...that was almost 3 years ago! She and her family have been wonderful to the boys and our family. They welcome Kaleb and Kaden into their home so often and provide nothing but excellent care and love to them. She has helped us out so much...often even keeping the boys overnight for an occasional break for Mom and Dad or at a time when I was recovering from surgery and just needed a break. At that particular time SHE was the one to offer to keep them so that I could rest. The Norris family is so caring and giving and we wouldn't trade them for the world.

Everything is coming up roses...

DAY 140 - May 20, 2009





Just a little sampling of the flowers and plants we've got at our house. The roses are going crazy as I mentioned in a previous post. We've got 2 of these baskets on the posts on the porch...one on each side of the door. I love how big, bright, and full of flowers they are. Doug actually picked them out and I think he did a great job. Then again, he's definitely the gardener in the family. Sure, I can dig and plant and do yard work just fine...it's the arranging and picking out that I'm not so good at. The last picture is a Nine Bark shrub. It gets full of these little blooms and really adds a nice pop of red/brown color against our white fence.

Where did it go?

DAY 139 - May 19, 2009



Kaden lost a filling about a week ago and we finally made it in for the dentist to check it out. It was an old silver one our previous dentist put in for him. I'm sure he just loved Mom taking pictures while we were there...not that he had a choice though...this one is perfect for the picture of the day! They're going to be cleaning it out and then filling it with a more up-to-date tooth colored filling.

A single flower.

DAY 138 - May 18, 2009



Doug brought this in to me tonight. Our rose bushes are bursting with flowers and this one was perfect! Notice the fancy bud vase I have?!? Actually I don't think he intended for me to put it in anything but rather just enjoy it for the night. I do actually own bud vases but the stem was just not long enough to put into one.

Becoming one...and bumper boats...

DAY 137 - May 17, 2009

Bumper Boats from Santa...what could be better? The boys had been asking to get these out and put together so they could use them in the pool. We finally did it today. It wasn't warm enough for me to swim - only about 65 degrees - but they were determined to get in. Good thing we've got a heater on the pool!

Kaleb wanted to put his together by himself and he pretty much did. He assembled the steering wheel and motor and even used the foot pumper that came with it to inflate it. Kaden and I worked together but wimped out and used the inflater (is that a word?) that plugs into the car. Believe it or not, Kaleb was done before we were!

Both boys got in and the boats worked perfectly! What a blast they'll have this summer tooling around the pool in those things. I think Doug and I will have to use them also...there is even a cup holder on it so it's perfect for relaxing!

DAY 136 - May 16, 2009

Today a friend of mine got married. I've worked with Shawna at ATL since July 2008. She recently found another position and I miss hanging out with her in the mornings. She and I were usually in by about 6:30am so we kept each other company. Her wedding was beautiful. She is not Mrs. Joel Call.

Fun with friends...

DAY 135 - May 15, 2009



Both boys had friends spend the night tonight. Here they are in the pool having a great time and stopped only long enough for me to take their picture for the daily pic! Jacob (front left) and Daniel (back left) are Kaden and Kaleb's (respectfully) good friends. They often come spend the night us and even manage to play very well together.

New things are fun!

DAY 134 - May 14, 2009

Two important things in this picture...

1. Kaden and I played some math games from a kit he brought home from school. They have a nice little group of things all grouped together that the kids can "check out" for 2 days. Kaden told me he was lucky because his 2 days ended on Friday which means he gets extra days because he gets the weekend. We played a game where we added together the value of 3 different cards and the player with the highest points gets to keep all the cards. We also played a game where the card had pictures of coins on it. Each player turned over their card and added up the values - the person with the highest value on their card got both cards. As you can imagine, these games could go on forever so we played for a total of about 30 minutes. He really seemed proud of his math kit and is looking forward to playing some more.

2. Kaden has his new green blanket wrapped around him. Both boys were in desperate need of a new blanket they could use to sleep with. They have been surviving on the well loved but also well used and too small Bob the Builder blankets they both got when they were in day care and needed something for nap time. These blankets have seen a lot and are still in good enough shape to use. The problem? They were getting too short and wouldn't keep them completely covered at night. We went to Kohl's tonight and bought 2 new blankets - Kaleb's is blue and Kaden's green to match their rooms. They are really soft and cozy and are definitely big enough.

Learning to text...

DAY 133 - May 13, 2009


Chris has really been moving along with the times this past week. We met for a late Mother's Day celebration for dinner and she was showing us her texting skills. She's never really texted before now but went on a trip last week and decided to pass the drive time by learning to text. I know Doug and Jonathan got some texts from her. After getting a few texts from her, Jonathan suggested she look into what type of texting her phone plan had and to think about how quickly the cost of texting without a plan can add up. She did just that and realized the texts she'd sent over the weekend cost her about $8.00. She quickly added texting to her plan and now has 250 texts for $5.00/month.

A beautiful night...

DAY 132 - May 12, 2009

What a beautiful night for a baseball game. Here is the team standing nicely while the national anthem is played. They gave a good effort this night against the A's but just couldn't get a win. They ended up losing 12-5. Both boys got some good hits during the game as well as some good plays in the outfield. We thought Kaleb was going to have another home run but it ended up being about 3 feet too far to the right and was called a foul.

A great beginning to a meal.

DAY 131 - May 11, 2009

We love Carrabba's! We hadn't been there in quite some time and decided to go there for dinner. One of the best things about Carrabba's is their bread. They serve it warm with herbs and olive oil. We all love it and decided it would be a good picture of the day.

DAY 130 - May 10, 2009

Mother's Day...what a great day! I got to sleep in a little and got breakfast in bed. After that I came downstairs and had some gifts and cards waiting for me. Kaden had made a card at school and had a little plant growing in a Styrofoam cup he gave me. He had also gone to the Indianapolis Indians baseball game a couple days ago and had caught a t-shirt...he decided that I should have it because it was too big for him. Kaleb had picked out a really nice card all on his own and had it for me. And from both Doug and the boys I got a card with a gift card for a massage at Studio 135 Salon and Spa...the appointment had already been made for me as well and is coming up on May 23rd!

DAY 129 - May 9, 2009

COMING SOON!

DAY 128 - May 8, 2009

COMING SOON!!

DAY 127 - May 7, 2009

Bags are packed...

DAY 126 - May 6, 2009


There's an overnight field trip coming up! Kaleb and the rest of the 4th grade are going on a Southern Indiana Study trip on Thursday and Friday. I signed up to be a chaperone so of course the night before was busy with packing. Here are our bags before heading up to bed...it was going to be an early day because we needed to be in the school parking lot between 5:30 - 5:45am. Each of us needed a small overnight bag, a trash bag with our bedding, and a small bag to take on the bus to have with us. I'd say we both did a good job of packing and even got to get to bed a touch earlier than usual.

Getting ready for the season...

DAY 125 - May 5, 2009


We opened up our pool this year and it looked and smelled TERRIBLE!! I was so surprised and even thought some kind of critter had gotten under the cover over the winter and died. Well, that didn't happen but we had a massive case of algae. We added chemicals and let the pool do it's thing for over a week. It seemed the algae had somewhat died off and started to clear up but we decided it would be best to have the pool drained, cleaned, and refilled. We did this for $100 which is less than the cost of the chemicals it would have taken to clear up the original water from last year. Here they are filling the pool with the fire hose. They hooked right up to the hydrant and it was filled in less than an hour. It's sparkling and clear now and we've been in it a couple times already this year!

A new tattoo...

DAY 124 - May 4, 2009

Jonathan got a tattoo recently...here it is. I think it's pretty neat looking...of course, I like the blue as it's my favorite color! He's really gotten so grown up. Seems like only yesterday he was a little guy all nervous as he was ring bearer in our wedding. Now he's getting ready to graduate from Southport High School and head off to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in August. Doug and I are very proud of the fine young man he's become! Good luck Jonathan!

Together again...and a dreaded chore!

DAY 123 - May 3, 2009

AHHH...we meet again! This is my friend Cheri Petroski. I met her in New York as I was traveling to Denmark to be an exchange student in 1989. She was also going to Denmark on exchange with the same company I was going with (YFU - Youth For Understanding). We became fast friends and spend the next week at our language and traditions camp talking, hanging out, and struggling to learn what little Danish we could in a week.

Cheri's host family was on the same island as mine so we were happy to be close to each other. While in Denmark we stayed in touch and even went to each other's houses a time or two. Cheri was there for a year while my exchange was only for 6 months. When I left we stayed in touch and continued to do so for several years.

the last time I saw Cheri was 1992 when she was traveling across country to California where she was transferred for the Navy. We tried to stay in touch but, as these things go, eventually lost contact with each other.

Bring on the wonderful thing known as Facebook...it is there that Cheri found me again a few months ago. Turns out, she now lives near St. Louis with her husband Tom and 3 boys. Tom was going to be participating in the Mini-marathon in Indy so we decided it was only right to get together and catch up. It was so great to see her! We had Cheri and Tom over tonight to grill out. Nothing fancy just some burgers and hot dogs on the grill. I dug out my old photo albums from when I was in Denmark and we looked through them together. I don't think I've looked at those things for almost 20 years and was surprised at how much I'd forgotten. Cheri, on the other hand, has a mind like a steel trap and was able to refresh my memory on so many things.

Doug and the boys also got a kick out of looking at the pictures and hearing stories of Denmark. Kaleb was particularly intrigued by the fact that I'd been to LegoLand while I was there. He was even more interested in the fact that Legos were invented in Denmark.

It was so nice to catch up with Cheri. She hasn't changed a bit and is as fun and outgoing as I remember.

DAY 122 - May 2, 2009

Summer is coming...that can only mean it is time to pull out the boxes of clothes and do the dreaded "try-on day". The boys really HATE doing this but it is completely necessary. It's not fun in my book either because it means that there are several loads of laundry to follow!

Kaden always gets the short end of the stick because he has so much to try on. On top of that, whatever doesn't fit Kaleb then goes to Kaden's pile. We got everything finished and were they ever happy about that.

Kaden's got SO MANY clothes and, aside from a pair of shorts or two, is set for the summer. Kaleb on the other hand is the one that needs clothes. He does not have the benefit of having an older brother to pass things down to him...which means he gets all new things. Maybe he doesn't see this as such a bad thing!

Sleepover!

DAY 121 - May 1, 2009

Kaden and Alex...Kaden wanted a friend to spend the night and chose Alex. We haven't had Alex spend the night before but it turned out well. He's a very well mannered, nice, and helpful kid. Kaleb had gone to his friend Mason's house to sleep over so it was pretty much exchanging one kid for another. The snakes in the picture are little prizes they each got with their "winnings" from the Spring Fling their school put on tonight.

Alex met us there and hung out with us playing games and having fun for the evening. They cashed in their tokens and ended up each getting a snake. At home they played very well together and seemed to disappear into the playroom closet which they called their messy hideout. We went to bed around 11:30 and, as you can see, they both took their new friends with them!