2017 Catch Up - May

MAY 13 - Neta had what they called a Spark project at school. They were supposed to do some sort of service project, I think, or something within their neighborhood. Whatever it was, Neta decided she wanted to pick up trash on 9th Street on the underpass of the railroad track. She needed pictures to put on a poster, so I was the camera person and wheelbarrow pusher of filled up trash bags.

This part of the street is always a mess, often with stuff like mattresses, dumps of old clothes or furniture and we recently had a tub that sat there for a week or so. Neta did a good job and it looked so much better after about an hour of work. If we'd had more people and/or tools, we could have done more.

Under the bushes & thru the trash
to clean up 9th we go!

This is the flat part of the underpass
that collects the most trash.
Today, thankfully, nothing to large.

Our friend helped paint the designs;
sadly, others liked graffiti better.

All cleaned up!

Just a little help (helper) can go a long way to keeping things beautiful.

A wheel barrel full of trash;
Neta likes the smell. :) 

Today was also Mormon Prom, where the 16-18 year olds have a formal dance at one of the larger church buildings. Xela didn't really want to go this year (she had a great time last year) because she had a jazz concert during part of prom (required for a grade) and didn't want to have to go back and forth like she did last year.

Then, she was asked by one of her shyest friends and she couldn't say no. If it had been anyone else, she would have explained the situation and backed out, but not with Jacob (I think that's his name) because she knew how much courage it took for him to make the request.

Pining of the corsage...

...and then the boutineer.
(I know I've spelled that wrong)

Ready for Prom
(Xela in typical prom footwear)

I think this year, they went somewhere downtown, then went to her concert, where they got dinner from one of the food trucks on campus (which is where the concert was - a fundraiser for the school). Intermediate Jazz was almost last, so poor guy was in the warm spring sunshine for over an hour waiting for Xela to start and finish her gig, after which they headed up to the Fishers church building and participated in the rest of the dance. 

 MAY 27 - Memorial Day weekend, which, in Indianapolis, means Race Weekend, which means parade. Eric is not big on parades or frivolous wastes of time, but for some reason, I convinced him that me taking those that wanted to see the parade was okay. The boys wanted to go with me (I think parades are fun - part of my childhood memories) so we left shortly before it started, hoping to find someplace decent to see the goings on. 

Nate was a little excited about this parade because the racers of the Indy 500 are part of the parade and they sit on the pace cars for the race. There are also older versions of Indy 500 race cars that roll the "celebrities" past the onlookers. Nate loves the Indy 500 and was really hoping for a rain out so it would be on Monday so he could attend the race. No such luck this year, Buddy.

Anyway, we found decent seats, rather, places to stand, and I snapped some photos. 

Graigry had a turdy attitude;
Nate & I enjoyed ourselves

Guess what children's book character
came crawling up Meridian.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

The Penguins of Madagascar!

Thing One and Thing Two
Parade balloons are so fun!

We also saw the Mayor of Indianapolis, the racer (Nate would remember some of their names), the World's Largest Drum (Purdue University owns it), different cultures and flags from around the world, and military tributes. I love a parade, like I mentioned. Didn't want to sit around all morning on the hard cement curb for a front row seat, but this worked out well enough. Maybe I'll get to go again next year. :)

MAY 29 - Kayaking is one of our favorite family fun things to do and we took some time to go do that on the 29th. I didn't bring a plastic bag for my phone so I only took a few pictures of us getting ready to launch. The White River, in Broad Ripple, is where we can shove off for free, so we go there a few times in the summer or as long as the warm weather allows. 

Nate waiting permission to trade this ship
for the floating one. :)
OR
Maybe he was tired and/bored
because he had to double up with me
in a kayak instead of get his own.
(I can't remember - it's been too long)

MAY 31 - Pool time! We figured as long as we were burying ourselves in debt to finish one of the rentals, we might as well do something fun for ourselves, so it was time to fix and reopen the pool. I think it had been two, maybe three years since we had it up and running; it just sat there mocking us every summer. Not this year! It took some working, but Eric got it up and running for our summer enjoyment. 

All filled up with water and family

Aurora & Neta
splashing around in the summer sun

2017 Catch Up - April

APRIL

April 10 - It was a rainy day and a Monday. On the way home from work, I asked Eric if we could play in the rain for Family Home Evening. I did it when I was a kid, splashing and dancing as the rain soaked us in our play clothes. I've passed that tradition on to my kids and we enjoy it, more than Eric does. To his credit, he joined in the fun. The grass was so slippery, we were often involuntarily found on the ground (which cause Eric some pain for the rest of the week).

Because my phone doesn't catch people in motion except in blurs, and we were all in motion (that's what happens when you play tag), I'm hoping the video I want to post will post.

After soaking ourselves and then drying off, for FHE treat, we did banana splits. The trick was there was an order to what you received depending on your most recent report card. Everyone got a banana and then the number of scoops of ice cream and toppings were dependent on receiving As.

Happily eating banana splits

Aurora didn't do as well as the others, thus the facial expression, but such is life. I had wanted to do something to encourage and reward kids to work for A's. It worked for most of them. (Then again, fourth grade vs tenth grade classes is a little different - they don't have to take Latin. Oh well.) Not everyone was able to finish their split, but they did enjoy the tastiness that ended up in their bellies.

April 17 - EASTER EGG HUNT
I don't think I need to say more than that. Annual tradition that takes place in the backyard and it was Nate's last year to do the finding. Once you turn twelve, you can have some candy, but you don't get to go hunting; you get to help do the hiding, which they like to do, especially on someone's last year because the hiding places become especially difficult.

Have baskets;
ready to hunt

Found it, but how to get it?

Egg is now in the basket;
Nate used his phenominal
Easter powers to retrieve
his prize. 

Nate looking in the recycle
trailer for anything of plastic
oval shaped dimension
while Pearl (our temporary dog)
excitedly awaits results

Neta looking under the
sun room stairs next door

Aurora followed Neta around with her camera;
sadly, I didn't receive copies of those pics
so Neta is poorly represented here.

A pep talk?
or
helpful hints?
(Xela hid Nate's eggs)

Some brotherly love,
supervised by big sister

Pearl hoping to help Neta
in her quest for eggs

Somewhere,
under the trailer...
There's an egg...
Maybe.

Nate finds one hiding in the shade of the hammock

Neta checking out the contents
 of her discovered egg

It's going to be different next year when Neta is the only one finding eggs. We might have to give each Hider a specific section of the yard. We only have two years left before the hunts are over.

April Random Snapshots - Sometimes, you just have to take a picture because the opportunity presents itself. Such snapshots are seen below.

Because who doesn't look
more awesome with a
smiley face balloon head?

Nate was Little Flower's
5th Grade Freedom Essay winner.
We attended a luncheon, 
heard other winning essays,
and met this person
(whose name/rank I can't remember)

Shopping is tiring work.
This dog mat was a perfect place for a quick nap.

Nate's shop vac hairdo

Doing Mommy's hair with the help
of a shop vac

2017 Catch Up

So....it's been FOREVER since I've put anything up on the blog and someone gently reminded me that I needed to pick up the slack. With any luck, by the end of 2017, I'll be caught up. Things won't be as detailed as if I had written closer to the event, but at least there will be some documentation.

Now, because there are some posts from February, I'll start with...

MARCH

March 4 - Graigry was selected as one of two from Little Flower that were at the CYO Science Fair. He didn't like having his picture taken, so I had to snap things as I was able. He made it to round two and then received an honorable mention for the 7th grade.

Graigry trying to escape
the photographic evidence.

Graigry with his honorable mention trophy

March 10 - I surprised Nate by showing up at his 5th grade cardboard regatta. His fifth grade class spent a week or so, divided into groups, designing and creating their ships and it was time to test them on water. They hauled their ships to the YMCA indoor pool and then, with one man on board, set "sail" two at a time across the pool, or at least got as far as they could.

Waiting their turn to
float and row or sink and swim

Nate and his 5th grade group's ship

Their ship didn't instantly sink, but it didn't make it all the way across the pool either. Part of that may have been the person captaining the boat, (which wasn't Nate) but oh well.

March 16 - I can't believe I have a 17 year old. Xela is a fabulous person and friend, and to quote a friend, I want to be like her when I grow up. She loves pudding so I got a few fun flavors (like Oreo, that we never get) and she made a trifle of sorts. It was a little of a combined effort to get the layers but it was lots of fun to make.

Layers of pudding (not the cheapo kind)
It was frozen by the time we ate it,
but still yummmy!

Time to eat...

...on the table, where else!

She "only" wanted a computer for her birthday and was willing to contribute to it. We got each set of grandparents to pitch in $50 and we were able to get one for her to use for school and beyond. Guess that means we've set a new "standard" for the 17th birthday - yay. Because opening one present is kind of anti-climactic, the other kids and I used multiple boxes, packing tape and rabbit shreds. There were also some twizzlers packing taped together hidden in the shreds (I think that was Nate's idea).

Unwrap and then unbury
the present

Dumping shreds on and
into Thor's cage

It's hard, exciting, challenging, rewarding, frustrating, inspiring and many other emotional -ings to watch your children grow up and prepare to head out into the crazy world we live in.

March 30 - We wanted to get out of the house and do something as a family, although I can't remember why we felt that way (although I think Eric and I wanted to see Xela smile, which she hadn't done a lot of lately). We needed something close, not time consuming and outdoors, so someone, again not remembering who (don't have my journal to reference at the moment) decided Ellenberger Park. We decided to wander by the creek, which ended up turning to in the creek, and we were all okay with that too.

Almost everyone had on
flip flops, boots or crocs.
Never know what has been
tossed into a city creek.

For example, Xela and Ro
found something hard, black
and round. With a few yanks
they revealed...

A bowling ball!
Really people?
You couldn't just donate it somewhere?

Eric kept a plastic bag we found
and we started picking up trash to carry out.
We found a mattress, so weighed down with water,
we had to cut a hole in a corner, let some water drain,
and then were able to haul it up where people could see it.

A little more meandering
downstream just because

Some crustacean carcass.
The artist pictured may have 
brought it home for some
future project.
(until it got too smelly & got pitched)

One month down, eight more to go!