If only you could have seen it!

I wish I had a video of this event...I'm sure it would get tons of hits on YouTube! Anyway, we had some car trouble yesterday and are short one car. Sooo, that means I had to get up at 3:50 AM to take my dear hubby to work so that Joel could have a car for seminary, school and work. Well, today is trash day in our neighborhood and we had tons of trash this week because we cleaned out our garage. Anyway, when I got back home at about 4:45 AM I noticed that one of the trash cans were knocked over and trash was laying everywhere. As I was pulling into the driveway I saw a gigantic racoon gorging himself on our trash! It mad me so mad! I starting chasing it through my yard. Yes, I was still in the car....driving like a maniac through my front yard. I noticed a few cars driving by and I can only imagine what they were thinking. The racoon was not remotely afraid of me. I had to keep charging at it until I almost ran over it to spook it. Finally he ran to the back yard and I pulled my evil self together and parked the car in the driveway and went into my house like a normal person!

I'm Loving this Weather!!!

This has got to be the most beautiful August I've ever experienced in Indiana. The weather is so pleasant and we've had fairly low humidity. Thursday night, I came home from a meeting and just wanted to play with Emma for awhile since I had been gone. Eventhough it was getting late, I just couldn't resist going outside and enjoying the nice cool weather. I get the biggest kick out of Emma. She has the funniest sense of humor and is very daring! She rode her Barbie Bike for awhile, and then climbed all over her playset and then had me swinging her so high that her feet hit the tree limbs. I love her care-free spirit and the joy she finds in simple things. I love having children that help me try to keep that same simplicity among this crazy life that we live.

A Visit to the Children's Garden

Monday, Glen wanted to go check out his garden at Garfield Park and pick up the stepping stone he had made. The past 2 summers, Glen and his best friend Josh have been in the Junior MasterGardener Class at the Garfield Park Conservatory. I' m telling you, this is the best kept secret in town. He has learned so much and has had so much fun and success! He is showing Emma the lettuce in the garden. He also had a great onion! We made a wonderful salad with it and a few things from our garden at home.
The garden was first opened last summer and Glen and Josh have been a part of developing it. They have seen it go from a fenced in area with 6 raised beds, to a very fun place to visit with 12 raised beds, a beehive, a bird habitat, a pond, an alphabet garden, a strawberry patch, a pizza garden, a butterfly garden, an animal garden, an herb garden and probably more that I am forgetting. That is just what's in the children's garden...then, there is the Conservatory and Sunken Gardens where you can find all kinds of cool things. Glen and Emma checking out the pond and all the fish!

The Beehive! It's fun to watch the bees!
Walking back to the beehive, we ran into this squirrel. Emma named him "Bunny Rabbit". He was putting on a good show for us. It was fun to watch him.

If you're ever looking for somewhere to hang out or take pictures, I recommend checking this place out! It's beautiful and it's all free!

Glen's Eggscellent Eggplant!

Glen grew a gorgeous eggplant in his garden this year. Since none of us had ever had eggplant, I decided we had to give it a try. I also couldn't waste Glen's beautiful veggie. I still don't know why he chose to grow it. He said because nobody else planted one! We searched through my cookbooks and Glen decided on Eggplant Parmigiana.
First he cleaned and sliced it into 1/2 inch slices.
Then he coated the slices with egg and flour.
Then he fried them...so much for a healthy veggie!
They were then layered with parmesan cheese, spaghetti sauce and mozarella cheese...ready for the oven!
The finished dish! Next it was time for everyone to try it! If you know us well, you know we are all very picky eaters, so this created some anxiety! :) Can you tell by the pictures if we liked it?



I think the pictures tell it all. Noone was too excited about it and I felt a little bad wasting so much of it, but it was a fun experience! We didn't get a picture of Dad, but he actually ate his entire slice! He claims it really doesn't have much flavor....I have to agree, but it's to mushy for me!

Sleepover!!!

Emma and Becca finally got to have a sleepover this summer! They had so much fun and were so cute together. We got them all cozy and snuggly on the living room floor in front of the big TV and they watched the Rugrats Snow White movie. They stayed awake until midnight and were going strong by 7am. They played all morning and then we did their favorite thing...we went swimming at the Westons! Trish met us at Jeanies after Isaks surgery and that little stinker got in the pool when noone was looking. You would have never known that he just had his tonsils and adenoids out and tubes put in his ears!

Colts Training Camp!!! Go Colts!!!

Wednesday morning we woke up early and drove out to Terre Haute for the Indianapolis Colts morning practice. I thought it would be a fun surprise for Joel on his birthday. Thanks to Ang and Nick for leading the way! :) It was awesome to be up close and personal watching the team practice and scrimmage. Here are some pix we got!Glens favorite player...Joe Addai!!!

An all-around favorite...Marvin Harrison...(he's a skinny dude!)

Big Guy....Jeff Saturday

Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeny

You should see this guys arms...they are huge!


What we call the "pretty boys" of football. I don't think they ever broke a sweat, their shirts are still tucked in and their pants are clean! Hunter Smith, Justin Snow and Adam Vinatieri!

The man of the day! Coach Tony Dungy...After the players cleared the field, we were doodling around and taking our time about getting back to the car. As we started heading out, we got caught up in a small group of fans, but large enough that we couldn't get around them. We kept working our way through and much to our surprise, we found Coach Dungy standing among the fans greeting everyone and signing autographs. He wasn't in a big hurry... doing it because he thought it was the "right" thing to do, he was genuinely talking, shaking hands and making eye contact with every person that was standing there. He was living in the moment and it was an honor to be a part of it. I'm not that hung up on celebrity, but I love his example and it really was as if time stood still for the few minutes that we were there. Of course, Emma wouldn't give him the time of day when he spoke to her! Joel covered for her! :)

It was a very fun morning and I'm so glad we went! The only thing missing was the most loyal and true Colt's Fan I know...my hubby! He would have loved it!

17 Years Ago Today...

Well, I get to write 2 birthday posts in 1 week! Today we are celebrating Joel's 17th Birthday! It really seems like yesterday that he came into this world and blessed our lives. Joel FINALLY (after 16 weeks of bedrest) was born August 6th, 1991 at 4:05pm. It took him 24 hours total to arrive...16 hours of Pitocin, 4 hours of real labor, 3 hours of pushing and finally a c-section....He had dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair, and a horrible "dark" bruise on his head. He was 7lbs 6oz and 21 1/2 inches. By the time Joel was born, my entire family (I mean entire) was waiting in the waiting room. A dear friend who was on duty during most of my labor had told the 2nd shift to be sure and let my family come in as soon as possible since they had been waiting for so long (I think she meant my mom and dad). Well, the nurse did as she was told and let my entire family join us in the recovery room. My grandparents, parents, sister, sister-in-laws...you name it, they were there. Luckily they were all focused on Joel since the nurse's were still cleaning me up! So much for privacy! lol
Joel had trouble with his bilirubin and had to stay at the hospital for 6 days. Since I had a c-section, the doc was able to milk it a little and I got to stay for 4 days. The hardest day of my life (up to that point) was the day I had to leave the hospital and leave Joel there. I cried all the way home. Luckily, we weren't home long when the hospital called and said we could stay in an empty room until he was ready to come home.
I think he is about 3 months here. He was so stinkin' cute...When he was 3 months old I had to work for a short time and I would just sit and stare at his picture on my desk. It was pitiful! Luckily, I was able to start babysitting at home to make a little extra money and stay home with Joel.
He always looked like such a little man...(Imagine him with long hair and a pink dress...who would he look like?)Joel is about 2 here. He was so soft spoken and sweet. He was always a big helper and liked to clean up the family room...he still does this today....This is Joel in 1995 (age 4). He was the ring bearer at one of my best high school friend's (Dawn) wedding. He was such a little gentleman all night long. The first day of Kindergarten...1997...I have to admit, I always thought this day would break my heart, but he was so excited to go, it didn't hurt so bad!This is 2nd grade basketball. I think this is the year he shot a basket in the opponents goal and scored 2 for them....he was pretty embarrassed!!!4th of July 2000...End of 2nd grade and the proud new owner of glasses. We had no idea how bad his eyesight was. His first exam showed him at 20/200. He walked out of the store amazed at what he could see with his new spectacles. It was the first time he noticed that trees had individual leaves...not just 1 green blob!This is Joel's 5th grade travel football picture...no longer wearing those annoying glasses! Glasses just don't fit under a football helmet, and prescription goggles (which we paid $100 for) fogged up. So, we tried contacts....they were the perfect solution!This is fall 2003, 6th grade and first year of homeschool. He went through the "long hair" phase...this length was a compromise. Luckily, he outgrew the phase quickly! :) And yes...he has a mustache!I love this picture... aaarrgh! No more braces.... (Age 14)
Doing and Wearing what he loves most! (Age 15)

Fall 2007....Age 16My handsome son today...on his 17th birthday! He's very intently watching the Indianapolis Colts scrimmage! I'm so proud of the person he has become. He works very hard at everything he does and has accomplished alot for his age. He is currently working at Wal-Mart, attending Ivy Tech and playing basketball for the Indianapolis Homeschool Wildcats. He will soon be recieving his Eagle Scout award and High School Diploma! He has always been a blessing to me and being his mom has helped me to be a better person!
I love you Joel! Happy Birthday!

REUNION!!!!

I have had the priveledge this summer of working with some dear friends to plan a Goldeniare (swing choir) Reunion. What a blast!! Our reunion covered a 7 year span of Goldenaires (1979-1987) and it was a great opportunity to meet up with alot of wonderful friends from the past and remember the great time and friendships we really had.

Check out this You Tube link to see what we did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wegALYi7g74

This is footage from the ultimate of all swing choir contests at the time...it was an honor just to get selected to compete. We were selected to perform in the evening show (top 6) and it was recorded and later shown on PBS. Unfortunately, they only did 2 of our songs...my favorite was "Brother Love" and the tambourines which is not shown here....and yes...my knees are bent on that cartwheel...dang it!

On Friday (7/18) the committee spent the evening setting up! The evening ended up in a little "jam session". We all still love to make music! Saturday, we had some final things to take care of and then it was time for the party to begin. I couldn't believe how happy I really was to see everyone...even the old boyfriends! lol

I realized, that most of us really hadn't changed that much and that the bonds we created so long ago still kept us connected. It really was a great time in my life and I had so many opportunities to learn and grow as a result of being in Goldenaires.

Cama and Ronda. Cama was my Senior Florida Trip buddy and Cama and Ronda and their dates went to senior prom with me and my date!

These girls (Dawn and Cheri) were 2 of my best friends in high school. We have tons of stories about each other. It's so cool....now we are all happily married and raising families! I haven't seen either of them for a few years and it was as if no time had passed when we got to see each other again. Dawn and I have the same silly sense of humor and laughed all night!

Cheri and her hubby Keith! I will not disclose here what they were laughing so hard about! lol

The Fab Four! Bill, Phil, Jill and Christa...The 4 of us had tons of fun times together! Christa has been a dear friend since 6th grade and we have shared everything together. It was fun to hook up with our side-kicks :) and laugh just like we used to!

I don't know how I got through the night without a picture of me with my dear hubby. He is wonderful for putting up with all of the silliness he had to endure that night (along with the old boyfriends!) :)

Fun at Kentucky Kingdom!!!

A couple of weeks ago (July 17th), my best friend Jeanie and I loaded up and took the kids to Kentucky Kingdom for the day. We abandoned or mini-vans and took our husbands smaller cars to save on gas and headed out. Jeanie had decided that I could take the younger kids (Glen, Emma and Josh), and she would drive the older ones (Joel, Vincent and Jacob). She really thought she would have it easier and the older boys were wild all the way down there. The little kids didn't make a peep! Glen read Harry Potter and listened to his new I-pod touch, and Josh and Emma sat in the back and watched a movie. I jammed to 107.9 until I lost reception and then popped in an ABBA cd. It was great! Up to that point, I had been on a mission to never pay over $4 for gas. I had made it so far (nobody thought I'd make it that long), and my van's tank was full, but I hopped in to 1/4 tank in Rich's car, so the search was on. I kept driving and driving knowing that I would find cheap gas. Well, finally dead on empty and far from home I had to give in. I pushed it all the way to Seymour before I pulled off and filled up...It just about killed me....However, I do believe, if we had not taken this trip, I might still be on my mission since gas prices have dropped a little. While we were filling up the tank, Emma had a massive nose bleed. She was freaking out! Finally we got it under control and were on our way.

It was a great day at the park! It was very warm and the sun was shining, but the park really wasn't that busy. We love it that way! We all rode a couple of rides together. Jeanie took the "Breakdance" and I took the Road Runner Express! It was a blast, but I can feel that my body is getter older and stiffer. The boys all took off to the bumper cars (their favorite) and Jeanie and I took Emma to the Kiddie rides. She rode every kiddie ride in about 1/2 hour. It was a ghost town.

We then took her to ride the old cars, met up with the boys for a quick picnic and headed to the waterpark. Now, I could hang out there everyday! Emma was a hoot. She started out playing on "Buccaneer Beach" and that was it! She stayed there for 4 hours! She kept making new little friends to run around with. While we were there, we crossed paths with the Hamners which gave Emma some of her favorite people to play with! In the mean time, the boys did water slides and the water coaster and then headed out for the real rollercoasters. I missed riding with them, but I wanted to keep Emma entertained. I did finally talk her into the lazy river which is one of my favorites. It was a nice way to relax and get ready for the drive home. Our final ride was the one Emma had been waiting on all day....what she calls the "Giant Steering Wheel"!
We headed out and made a dinner stop at our usual spot...Fazolis...and then headed home. It was a great day! I love my kids so much and love spending time with them! They make me laugh alot!