Last Day of School

Woohoo! Summer is officially here! Last Friday was the last day of school. After the awards program, the kids were allowed to leave with their parents. Bonnie's kids came home with me, since she had to work the rest of the day. We ended up meeting Court for lunch and having an impromptu picnic in the park. We're looking forward to many more fun things this summer!


Andrew (L) getting his AR award. Way to go...286 points!


Jesse and Andrew posing for a pic


Zach, Mrs. Loheider, and Isaac...what a great year it was!


Mrs. Loheider gave Isaac a hug and said, "I love you, funny guy. Could you show me how you touch your nose to your tongue one last time?"


Our picnic




Ahhh, summer....

Funny Boy

From the start, Isaac has had a personality all his own. We're quite certain he was meant to come and bring laughter into our home. In fact, when he was about a year old, we found out the name Isaac means "he laughs". :) When he's around, the smiles aren't far behind. He just seems to have that effect on people and is full of surprises.

His latest thing has been wearing one blue mitten around the house, creepily ala Michael Jackson. Not sure why he does it, but he even plays video games with a mitten on! And he loves anything tiny...he likes to play with tiny toys, his favorite stuffed animal is a tiny dog named Porkchop, loves to snuggle up in tiny spots, etc.

He wasn't feeling well yesterday, and the Dr. confirmed it by saying he had "the textbook example of a raging ear infection." Poor kid...it just came out of nowhere. So, even though he wanted to rest, he wasn't just gonna lay on the couch like the rest of us would.

Here he is, napping in the little spot he made for himself:

Complete with the mitten on! Oh, Isaac...

Paying the preacher

In the bad storms of last week, we lost our power for several hours. While the power was out it continued to rain - HARD. Everyone around here has wet basements and sump pumps are the norm...which is not good when the power goes out. I know several people who had floods and issues with the water.

Not sure why it never crossed my mind to check our basement... A couple days afterwards I went to turn the fan on through the thermostat. And then I heard it...a loud squealing noise...OH NO!

We quickly shut it off and waited for Jay, who put our central air in last year, to come and look at it. Apparently, our furnace filled with water during the flood. In fact, he said our "squirrel cage" was still full of water. (I was concerned thinking there were rodents living in the basement, until he said it's the engine part of the furnace) They drilled holes to let the water drain out, and said to run the fan for a full 24 hours to dry it all out. Then he said, "Boy, you must be paying the preacher or something. There's no way that should still be working." Thank you God!!

Not an Everyday Kind of Blessing

Over the weekend, Andrew had an amazing, once in a lifetime experience. He had his wish granted through Make A Wish!

One of his Dr's submitted his name in the fall, but we were quite hesitant to go through with it. Even though I know very well the toll this mitochondrial disease has taken on Andrew's body and also our family, I wasn't convinced he qualified and certainly didn't want to take it from a child who did. We had the initial meeting with Make A Wish volunteers, Danny and Sherri, and they reassured that he was medically eligible for the program. We still decided to take a month to think and pray on it.

We decided that with the uncertainty and progressive nature of his disease, that we would go through with it. I just didn't want to regret not doing it someday... After careful consideration, Andrew decided to wish for a PlayStation 3. In his logical mind, a trip would only last for a week and wear him out, but the game would last forever. :) So, Saturday was the big day. Danny and Sherri came loaded down with surprises! Since it was such a small wish, they went above and beyond.

Andrew spent Friday night with Mamaw and Papaw, who brought him over when we were all ready Saturday. Knowing Andrew loves Star Wars, Danny and Sherri came with Darth Vader masks for us to wear. When Andrew arrived, it took him awhile to realize what was going on. Finally, Sherri pulled up her mask and told him his wish was being granted. He was speechless!! He came in to Star Wars music playing. He was grinning from ear to ear and just couldn't stop.

Here are some pics of his special day:







Star Wars books!


Papaw trying out the video chair while Danny shows Andrew how to use the PS3

Storm Damage

We had a pretty strong storm the other night. As I layed in bed, my husband leaving for work, and both boys wide awake from the storm, I started to think the roof might actually blow off the house. I'm all for having a one story house and all, but not interested in being upstairs when it happens. :) With the power out, we managed to get the boys downstairs before Court left. I was thankful to see the damage was minimal compared to how it sounded outside. Sadly, though, this apple tree has been a favorite picture spot for us. It's also a good climbing tree, and we'll of course miss the apples this summer. I'm sad to see it go. :(










Here is a pic taken in front of the tree in it's better days.



I'm just thankful this is all the damage we got! It seems like our street was hit hard. Many trees down, shingles blown, and power lines down. The power being off caused a 2 hour delay for school, which cancelled Isaac's field trip, too. Speaking of school, I passed this "lake" on the way and couldn't resist a picture.

Indiana History Field Trip

I got to accompany the 4th graders on their visit to several historic sites in Vincennes earlier this week. Since I'd been to some, and often pass right by them running errands, it honestly didn't sound too exciting. However, we had a really good time. I learned something new at each place we went, including the ones I'd previously visited. For instance, how could I have forgotten that our own Knox County once reached all the way up to Chigago. As it is now, we are the 5th largest county (by area) in the state. Can you imagine it stretching all the way up to the top of the state?

Our first stop was the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park. The monument is having major repairs done, so we didn't get to go inside. However, we went to the visitors center, which I'd never done before. We watched a movie all about Lt. Col. George Rogers Clark and learned how the park was established as a National Park by Congress. I found it pretty fascinating, but then again, I was a social studies ed major. :)

Our next stop was at the Old Cathedral Catholic Church. I have driven by, and even walked the grounds many times, especially every 4th of July. However, I'd never been inside and WOW! It is beautiful!! They recently went through a major renovation, and although I have nothing to compare it to, it is really something to see!

After having lunch at Gregg Park and letting the kids run off some steam, our trip continued on to Grouseland. This was the home of Gov. William Henry Harrison before his short term as President. Although I had been here before, it is fun to go through it again.

Our last stop was the buildings right behind Grouseland. Here, we visited the Jefferson Academy. Pres. Jefferson established schools for ages 14 and above, where they learned geometry, geography, and Latin. This was pretty serious schooling, and many kids this age were learning a trade instead. There was still a stool and dunce cap sitting in the corner! Next, we saw the Indiana Territory Capital Building, which was recently restored. We got to see where to Territory Representatives met and how they passed laws. Our final stop was to Elihou Stout's Print Shop. We saw where he spent over 40 years printing the news of the day and what a chore producing a newspaper was back then. The Western Sun he published is the Vincennes Sun-Commercial as we know it today.

This concludes our little lesson of historic Vincennes. Thanks for indulging my inner-nerd and enjoy some pics of the sites.

Indiana Territory buildings


Grouseland


Old Cathedral


George Rogers Clark Monument

First Celebrity Death from the Swine Flu...

Guess we all know where he got it!!

For all the Moms!

Happy Mother's Day!

A Fake Birthday

We combined a recent visit to Bainbridge with a surprise party for Isaac. We told the kids we would go to the park to play, and we just set up the party while they played. He was so excited! Of course, he called it his "fake" birthday. His "real" birthday is tomororw, and he's been counting down to it for the past 12 months, no joke. I for one am glad it's almost here. (again, ignore the dates on pics...I finally figured out how to disable the dates after these were taken)




Surprise!!


For once, he was speechless! :)


Loving the new orange ball bat from Aunt Mandy, Uncle Troy, Kaine, and Alexis




Tell me again why Nana chose RED icing for the cupcakes?? :)



Isaac didn't see the problem with it at all...



Daddy (Court), Kaine, Andrew (with windblown hair...windy day!!), and Uncle Troy




Isaac with his favorite (only) Aunt Mandy and Uncle Troy

Happy Fake Birthday, Isaac!