So here they are:
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
Friday, January 11, 2013
Spring finally Sprung! :)
Over the years the landscaping and flowers has long gone by the wayside since having kids, however there has been this faithful bunch of daffodils and tulip plant that has come up each year on the property line to the neighbor. I've been able to get some pretty cute pictures of the kids over the years here at this spot and thought I'd give it a shot with Rei.
So here they are:
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
So here they are:
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
Monday, September 3, 2012
Whoa, how could I forget this too...
Let's back up to May again. Chris Chadd- KT's teacher that is training Laney, also wanted to do the Mini Marathon with Julie G and I. I had inadvertently opened my big mouth last year and told Julie and was going to see my committment through.
However this year proved to be very difficult in training as we started out the year with such horrible weather and lots of ice. It made things very difficult for Rei and I to get out and walk along with AC being here at home with me, so we got a very late start on training. :( We did get some miles in and I worked on at least getting the longer miles in as we got closer and closer to May.
So we did do the race and finished it again, but BARELY in time. The last few miles were with excruciating pain and burning in both of my feet, as the hammer toes and bunion toes, and as I've since found out- a Neuroma of the nerves in my feet too were not happy with me. We crossed the finish line together and made it the full 13.1 miles! Woot!
Here were are crossing the bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It had just rained enough to get everyone wet and then the sun came back out, so we are wet people with wet dogs. LOL! Thankfully though it was another overcast and cool day for the dogs too! God was sooooo good to me both years!
Kacie and Rei on the left and Chris and Laney on the right, both dogs first paw forward touching the row of bricks across the track.
Here we are as we are rounding the turn down pit road and about to head off the track. Chris is on the left looking forward and Laney looking at the camera. Kacie in front looking foward and Rei leading.
On the home stretch and about to finish- Kacie with backpack and handed coat off to Mike and the kids on the sidelines. Rei moving on forward with the end in sight!
Crossing the finish line with our official time. Kacie on the left looking down at Laney and Chris looking over at Rei. Rei and Laney looking forward and as if to say, Who gave these crazy nuts the idea to do this thing??? LOL!
At church we had a family fun picture day and it had been several years since we'd had a faimly picture taken. Our all time favorite picture has been of the girls and us in Colts jerseys, so since everyone currently has one, we decided to give it a try again and we were very happy with the picture we got- that was taken by Mr. Wayne Brown of Wayne Brown Imaging
Here is a fun face shot of AC, Rei, and I together- he was being silly and took a picture of us:
Also as I mentioned- Mike took KT to the Indy 500 for the first time this year, here is KT giving her ticket to go into track:
HUGE crowds that day, and here is a shot of corner 4? I believe? Lots of people filled the stands that day:
July continued to see us hopping and moving, as we went to Bub's Burgers on July 3rd and Mike and I took part in the burger challenge there. Goodness- WHAT was I thinking! LOL!
MD is still doing gymnastics and has moved up to the competition team and level three as of July. Here she is at the promotion celebration.
Late July and early August brought us a record breaking wave of heat where we had 23 days of 90+ degree days, in which the heat indexes were up on the 100's. HOT HOT HOT! The kids like to watch the squirrels out the picture window and this little guy was showing us how hot it was too- as he sprawled out on the branch as flat as he could, trying to stay cool in the bit of shade he'd found:
Mike and I are still leading our bible study group, which we long to see each week and reconnect with God too- bringing us that accountability too through the week. Our Groupies are the best!
Alrighty, back to 2012! GRINS!
Alrighty, back to 2012! GRINS!
Goodness, it's been nearly a year since I've last posted. The kids are all back in school and I'm taking a long hard look at things again.
Since my last post- there's been some changes around here. I became a board member of AADB, the American Association for the Deaf-Blind. I've had my hands full of working hard with the current board of trying to pull through some rough times within AADB. Prayers to complete the projects I have on my plate for that soon.
The kids have really grown by leaps and bounds in the last year, both physically and in their activities.
KT has completed her first season of AAU basketball with the Lady Gym Rats. She has improved significantly and upon going out for the school league, was rewarded with her hard work and many hours of practices by making the "A" team for her age group. The Lady Gym Rats were able to place third in the national championship tournament too.
KT in her red and white uniform holding the team trophy in front of a wall of plaques with a huge grin on her face.
KT also completed her 5th grade and last year in elementary school. She is now attending middle school in all advanced courses to go with her high abilities. She tested in at the beginning of the year with a L exile score of over 1300- Collegiate level! While it's a good thing, it's a struggle as a parent at times to keep things appropriate content wise when she's reading this advanced. However I will say that I am very proud of the young woman she's becoming, the strong faith she has in Jesus, and the strong character she has in knowing that she can stand up for what she believes and does not have to conform to the "norm" of today's society.
MD successfully completed her first season of competition level 3 gymnastics, in which she placed at the State South meet as 14th overall for 8 yr old level 3 girls. She was very proud of this accomplishment!
MD on a photo platform with the word State behind her, doing the gymnastics salute with a proud grin on her face for the medals she has hanging around her neck.
MD completed her 2nd grade year and is now in 3rd grade and doing VERY well. We made some changes for MD and with some medications, we are now doing really well and learning more and more how to help her reach the capacities of her abilities. She is able to focus more and is growing by leaps and bounds as a result. She too started this school year off with a L exile score of 971.... following right behind her big sister in reading and having excellent grades.
AC had a busy fall and winter, as he played his second season of flag football, then played his first season of basketball at our church. He is now in his first season of Rookie Tackle Football with full pads and gear. It's so fun to watch them at this age, as they learn what to do and make the plays.
AC with one of his coaches, listening to instruction with a basketball in hand.
Mike & AC in yellow "Steelers" shirts walking across the football field.
AC in his first game of Rookie Tackle, number 84, in a white helmet and white jersey with purple numbers and black pants. Mike walking to the left of AC in purple shirt.
AC also finished his first year of school in Kindergarten, doing well just as his sisters had. His teacher found it hard to keep him challenged in class, but Mrs. H did an awesome job of keeping him out of too much trouble!
AC has started his 1st grade year also excelling and advanced in reading with a 607 L exile score too. He is doing very well and Mrs. D. is keeping him busy now. He has also just joined up Cub Scouts and is looking forward to the fun there with several teammates/classmates from school and football.
One major highlights for me over the past year, is that I finally got to talk to my sister, Chelsea last October. Chelsea and her now husband, Dayne bought their first home and we got to visit as they had their wedding reception at their new place. MD was absolutely in heaven as she is a fanatic about horses and was in love with Fergie, daughter of family raised mare, Bucky.
MD delightedly patting the face of Fergie, a bay colored mare with her head over the board fence. Bucky, a buckskn mare and momma to Fergie, is seen in the background looking off into the distance.
The new year rang in and excitement was all abuzz here in central Indiana as the Superbowl was held in Indianapolis. We had the opportunity to take the kids to Superbowl Village one night during the week before the game and while was need to see some of the sights, it was also a well ingrained lesson to the kids of what alcohol will do to you. The kids all three were repulsed at the sights and smells of too many people drinking alcohol and openly voiced their dislike of alcohol. Hopefully that lesson will still remain in place once they hit the later teen years.... Mom can hope!
Image of Superbowl roman numerals, XLVI and the Superbowl trophy on the side of a large building, downtown Indianapolis
Mike, Rei & I posing with the Kids in front of Monument Circle in the heart of Superbowl Village with the large roman numerals behind us.
In April, KT's best friend, Miss L. had a birthday party in which she was unable to attend due to basketball. Thus we picked up Miss L. and had a fun day out with her and our family at the Indianapolis Zoo and our favorite place to eat, Bub's Burgers . It was a super fun day and we even had a new experience with the animals at the zoo! Typically the "Cats" will respond to Rei's presence, however this time we had a new animal take notice of Rei being there.
The Siberian Tiger, getting a drink though the very thick glass about 4 feet away from Rei and I.
Rei looking through the glass at the tiger, twice her size, only feet away from her. Amazingly, the tiger hadn't taken notice of Rei, even though she's intently watching and it is only a few feet away.
We head on back to the plains and see the giraffes, other "Cats", rhinos, and such.
The kids, KT, Miss L, MD, and AC, all lined up with the giraffe and baby giraffe in the background.
The lions were snoozing away as it was during the heat of the day, as seen her by the male lion sprawled on his side and sleeping away.
We then moved on around to the Cheetahs, which almost always come running to the glass portion of their enclosure to check out Rei. The kids all love seeing them, as they typically are pretty dormant animals and sleep as the lions were doing. True to fashion, they came up when they caught sight of Rei at my side.
The cheetah takes notice of Rei and is sitting up on alert to our movements.
Cheetah and guide dog, literally nose to nose, intently watching each other through the thick glass, with AC to Rei's right, at her side.
We then moved on to the Elephants and saw baby Kalina, the female elephant calf born earlier in the year.
Baby Kalina with ears extended and walking towards the camera
We then made our way back up towards the front to go through the Oceans exhibits. First off, was the shark petting pool, which is a favorite of my kiddos.
Miss L, KT, MD, AC, and Mike all at the edge of the pool to pet the small sharks.
And now for our surprise animal.... We made our way through the Oceans and the kids asked to go see the walruses. Typically you see them move around, and not much else. Well, this time the bull took notice of Rei being there!
Walrus face to face with Rei through the glass
Here the walrus follows Rei along the glass and interacts with her as well.
To be continued....
Since my last post- there's been some changes around here. I became a board member of AADB, the American Association for the Deaf-Blind. I've had my hands full of working hard with the current board of trying to pull through some rough times within AADB. Prayers to complete the projects I have on my plate for that soon.
The kids have really grown by leaps and bounds in the last year, both physically and in their activities.
KT has completed her first season of AAU basketball with the Lady Gym Rats. She has improved significantly and upon going out for the school league, was rewarded with her hard work and many hours of practices by making the "A" team for her age group. The Lady Gym Rats were able to place third in the national championship tournament too.
KT in her red and white uniform holding the team trophy in front of a wall of plaques with a huge grin on her face.
KT also completed her 5th grade and last year in elementary school. She is now attending middle school in all advanced courses to go with her high abilities. She tested in at the beginning of the year with a L exile score of over 1300- Collegiate level! While it's a good thing, it's a struggle as a parent at times to keep things appropriate content wise when she's reading this advanced. However I will say that I am very proud of the young woman she's becoming, the strong faith she has in Jesus, and the strong character she has in knowing that she can stand up for what she believes and does not have to conform to the "norm" of today's society.
MD successfully completed her first season of competition level 3 gymnastics, in which she placed at the State South meet as 14th overall for 8 yr old level 3 girls. She was very proud of this accomplishment!
MD on a photo platform with the word State behind her, doing the gymnastics salute with a proud grin on her face for the medals she has hanging around her neck.
MD completed her 2nd grade year and is now in 3rd grade and doing VERY well. We made some changes for MD and with some medications, we are now doing really well and learning more and more how to help her reach the capacities of her abilities. She is able to focus more and is growing by leaps and bounds as a result. She too started this school year off with a L exile score of 971.... following right behind her big sister in reading and having excellent grades.
AC had a busy fall and winter, as he played his second season of flag football, then played his first season of basketball at our church. He is now in his first season of Rookie Tackle Football with full pads and gear. It's so fun to watch them at this age, as they learn what to do and make the plays.
AC with one of his coaches, listening to instruction with a basketball in hand.
Mike & AC in yellow "Steelers" shirts walking across the football field.
AC in his first game of Rookie Tackle, number 84, in a white helmet and white jersey with purple numbers and black pants. Mike walking to the left of AC in purple shirt.
AC also finished his first year of school in Kindergarten, doing well just as his sisters had. His teacher found it hard to keep him challenged in class, but Mrs. H did an awesome job of keeping him out of too much trouble!
AC has started his 1st grade year also excelling and advanced in reading with a 607 L exile score too. He is doing very well and Mrs. D. is keeping him busy now. He has also just joined up Cub Scouts and is looking forward to the fun there with several teammates/classmates from school and football.
One major highlights for me over the past year, is that I finally got to talk to my sister, Chelsea last October. Chelsea and her now husband, Dayne bought their first home and we got to visit as they had their wedding reception at their new place. MD was absolutely in heaven as she is a fanatic about horses and was in love with Fergie, daughter of family raised mare, Bucky.
MD delightedly patting the face of Fergie, a bay colored mare with her head over the board fence. Bucky, a buckskn mare and momma to Fergie, is seen in the background looking off into the distance.
The new year rang in and excitement was all abuzz here in central Indiana as the Superbowl was held in Indianapolis. We had the opportunity to take the kids to Superbowl Village one night during the week before the game and while was need to see some of the sights, it was also a well ingrained lesson to the kids of what alcohol will do to you. The kids all three were repulsed at the sights and smells of too many people drinking alcohol and openly voiced their dislike of alcohol. Hopefully that lesson will still remain in place once they hit the later teen years.... Mom can hope!
Image of Superbowl roman numerals, XLVI and the Superbowl trophy on the side of a large building, downtown Indianapolis
Mike, Rei & I posing with the Kids in front of Monument Circle in the heart of Superbowl Village with the large roman numerals behind us.
In April, KT's best friend, Miss L. had a birthday party in which she was unable to attend due to basketball. Thus we picked up Miss L. and had a fun day out with her and our family at the Indianapolis Zoo and our favorite place to eat, Bub's Burgers . It was a super fun day and we even had a new experience with the animals at the zoo! Typically the "Cats" will respond to Rei's presence, however this time we had a new animal take notice of Rei being there.
The Siberian Tiger, getting a drink though the very thick glass about 4 feet away from Rei and I.
Rei looking through the glass at the tiger, twice her size, only feet away from her. Amazingly, the tiger hadn't taken notice of Rei, even though she's intently watching and it is only a few feet away.
We head on back to the plains and see the giraffes, other "Cats", rhinos, and such.
The kids, KT, Miss L, MD, and AC, all lined up with the giraffe and baby giraffe in the background.
The lions were snoozing away as it was during the heat of the day, as seen her by the male lion sprawled on his side and sleeping away.
We then moved on around to the Cheetahs, which almost always come running to the glass portion of their enclosure to check out Rei. The kids all love seeing them, as they typically are pretty dormant animals and sleep as the lions were doing. True to fashion, they came up when they caught sight of Rei at my side.
The cheetah takes notice of Rei and is sitting up on alert to our movements.
Cheetah and guide dog, literally nose to nose, intently watching each other through the thick glass, with AC to Rei's right, at her side.
We then moved on to the Elephants and saw baby Kalina, the female elephant calf born earlier in the year.
Baby Kalina with ears extended and walking towards the camera
We then made our way back up towards the front to go through the Oceans exhibits. First off, was the shark petting pool, which is a favorite of my kiddos.
Miss L, KT, MD, AC, and Mike all at the edge of the pool to pet the small sharks.
And now for our surprise animal.... We made our way through the Oceans and the kids asked to go see the walruses. Typically you see them move around, and not much else. Well, this time the bull took notice of Rei being there!
Walrus face to face with Rei through the glass
Here the walrus follows Rei along the glass and interacts with her as well.
To be continued....
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Yeah- call me a failure...
Those goals were very little achieved. urgh. However excuses there may be, going to pick myself up now and get back on the wagon.
Some of the goals I'd set for myself:
1. Weight loss- well I'd been doing real well until we hit the summer season and thus lots of travelling. Yeah, completely fell off the wagon there. But the kids are all heading to school next week- yes- ALL three of them! KT, MD, and AC will all be in the same school for one year. I know everyone keeps telling me to enjoy it, as soon they'll be gone. I keep wondering though if I'm just getting old or the visual loss is really starting to get to me. I find myself worn out more and more these days when I've not done nearly as much with people. Not liking that one bit. :P
2. Spending more time with God- This is one area that I did succeed in. I began reading more and more, not entirely with my Bible, but with other books that I'd been wanting to read. I've given up the notion that I have to start one and can't start another one until I finish it. I'm finding that I'm reading one on my Ipod touch, one on the puter, and one a hard copy and then my Bible. So I'm actually making progress in all of them, just not all 4 of them at the same time. :)
3. Spending more time with my hubby- trying to make time for us. We've taken several times to go out and have a dinner and so forth. It's really been good to do so and thinking we may have a set up with a friend here that we might be able to try to do something like this once a month. We'll see.
The course of our year- it's been a pretty busy one this year. KT took part in travel basketball and we were all over central IN last winter and early spring.
(photo of KT bringing the ball down the court, dribbling the basketball with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and focusing on where she's about to head)
Of course Rei was faithfully at my side and watched in on all the action too. :)
(photo of Rei watching the game, laying in the bleachers with chin on the bleacher in front of her, intently watching what is going on)
We started the year off in February with a HUGE snow storm bringing us nearly several feet of snow and 5 inches of ice. Mike and I did what we could to help friends and neighbors chip themselves out of their homes and to be able to safely get out of down their driveways. February was also MD's birthday- which she is totally into horses right now, so we were creative with a horse theme for her party.
(photo of the island decorated and with the cake that has horses on it, a brown horse pinata with a black mane, and a vase of flowers)
(MD about to blow out the candles of her cake)
At the end of February, both girls chopped off their very long hair that they'd been growing out to donate to Locks for Love. Both of them went with really cute bob cuts! :)
(close up head shot of KT with hair short just longer than the ears.)
(close up head shot of MD with her bob cut- just below the ears)
With the warm up of the weather in March, the sillies began to set in and AC had fun with a roll of toilet paper- in fact he decided to be a mummy. Here he is wrapped up and having a blast!
We also saw several 4 legged friends in March too. First Honey came to visit and we loved seeing her again. Of course she remembered me and had fun playing with Rei too. She was cute too, watching the gerbils running around in their tank too.
(A really good picture of Honey and Dan together- Honey sitting in front of him gazing up at him.)
(Photo of Katie looking into the gerbil tank and Honey to her right side, nose to the glass looking in with intense curiosity)
Laney and Pippa also came by for a visit too. It was good to see the girls and see how much they've grown. Unfortunately we haven't been able to get together this summer at all, so we'll see if we get to visit some during the school year for some training sessions and play dates too. Here are all three dogs in front of Mike/
In April-MD and AC took swim lessons to work on teaching them how to swim. MD learned to swim so that she can float and not sink if she finds herself in deep water. AC is unable to swim on his own yet, but knows what to do now if he gets into trouble to help himself.
(MD looks into the water as she's about to dive for the plastic ring that her instructor threw into the water.)
(AC holds the pool wall with a smile on his face and ready for the next thing)
May saw us busy, busy, busy with Pup Putt (www.pupputt.org) as we worked with the school in setting up the mini golf course and Mike built another poker table for the silent auction.
(photo of dark colored oak wood with topper on the game table)
We even had Ice Road Truckers terminal manager, Lane Keater here for for the first few days of the week too. It was an amazing week with the kids and event raising approximately $16,000 over the course of the week.
Aunt Nancy and Uncle Mike came out one evening too and had fun with the kids and putted through the course as well.
The month of May in Indiana also means racing here in the Indianapolis area. We took the kids to the Motor sports open house, where we met and got to see inside several of the NHRA team garages. The kids enjoyed seeing all of the funny cars and drag racing cars as well as meeting several of the drivers.
(a photo of all three kids kneeling in front of a stack of tires)
(one of John Force's trailers and cars)
(a photo of John Force and his younger daughter signing autographs)
We also went to Schumacher Racing's garage and there was a body of a car hung on the wall:
Mike also took KT to the Indy 500 this year for the first time. She's been excited to go for several years now. KT has always LOVED Indy car racing and so the excitement for her was almost unbearable for her! The weather was great and they got to see the amazing finish and crash in the homestretch on the final lap of the race.
On Memorial Day, we took the kids to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum as they had a once in a lifetime exhibit of 75 of the 100 years of the Indy 500. They actually took several of the early 1900 cars out and drove them around the track before the race and while we were there, we got to see them bring several back in into the museum itself.
(a photo of a line of cars from the early 1900's)
(a line of cars from the 1980's and foward)
June began our crazy summer of travels and running. KT started the first week of June by a weekend of going to Space Camp in Huntsville, AL. She went with a group from school and also good friend Ms. N from basketball too as they were roomies all weekend. She came back having enjoyed the entire weekend.
(a photo of one of the simulator rides that spins you around but not in the same direction more than once)
(a space shuttle made completely out of kinect pieces)
We ended June with Mike serving on the first Indy West Awakening team, which is an amazing spiritual weekend for teens, age 15 to 18. Learn more about that here:
http://www.indywestawakening.org/
The kids, Rei, and I spent the Saturday of Father's Day weekend with Grandma and Grandpa and Dan as Mike was particpating in the Awakening weekend and I was soon to leave for Ft. Mitchell, KY for my first AADB (American Association of the Deaf Blind) conference.
The weather was good and thus the kids donned their swimsuits and the kiddie pool was brought over along with all squirt guns in possession for a massive water gun fight.
(photo of the kids and grandpa dipping water guns into buckets and the kiddie pool to "load up" with water)
Rei joins in by getting in the pool and splashiing on her own too!
(Rei standing in the kiddie pool and looking out at everyone playing- water dripping from her belly.)
All three kids- water guns in hand and aiming for Grandpa:
After several hours of water play, we ate a hearty dinner and the kids all crashed on the couch to watch some tv together. All slept well that night! :)
The next morning, on Father's Day, I took off with two Support Service Providers to the AADB conference for a week. We arrived that afternoon and Clara and Kim both went to the SSP training as I hung out for a bit and got some stuff unpacked.
We had the opening Ceremony that first night. On Monday night, Clara and I got to talk to the Teen Program group about guide dogs and we both felt that this was the highlight of our week, to see the kids reactions and amazement of what these dogs do for us. Since we both have some vision, we took the harnesses off the dogs and Clara led the kids around in the hallway that was cleared out for us to give the kids a feel of what it was like to hold the harness handle. I held the dogs as the we opened it up to the kids to ask any questions they had.
(a photo of Kacie and Rei on the left- Kacie in a blue shirt and khaki pants, Clara and her yellow lab/golden cross from leader dogs on the right. Clara is wearing a dark shirt and a floral skirt. Both dogs are laying at their feet.)
The kids enjoyed the dogs so much that they asked for a group picture and all of them pulled out their cameras! Here's the group shot of all of us!
I also got to meet several long time online friends that I've known for several years now, but have never had the opportunity to meet in person. It was an amazing experience and even a relief to be somewhere where everyone absolutely "got it" in terms of my vision and hearing.
Coming home- rather heading back to Indiana and straight up north to a friends house for the weekend and then to Mike's family reunion proved to be quite difficult for me. While it is no fault of our friend and her family of 3 young children, it was not deaf blind friendly. I found myself tired, stressed to the max, and becoming short tempered. The drive home was not a pleasant one, as I'd reached my breaking point and wasn't hearing well, seeing well, and was frustrated with things not working as I was trying to get them to work. I was flat out in overload and the more tired/stressed I get, the more my vision/hearing diminishes and fluctuates. So once we got home after the reunion and a couple of days of good nights sleep in my own bed did absolute wonders for me. :)
Some of the goals I'd set for myself:
1. Weight loss- well I'd been doing real well until we hit the summer season and thus lots of travelling. Yeah, completely fell off the wagon there. But the kids are all heading to school next week- yes- ALL three of them! KT, MD, and AC will all be in the same school for one year. I know everyone keeps telling me to enjoy it, as soon they'll be gone. I keep wondering though if I'm just getting old or the visual loss is really starting to get to me. I find myself worn out more and more these days when I've not done nearly as much with people. Not liking that one bit. :P
2. Spending more time with God- This is one area that I did succeed in. I began reading more and more, not entirely with my Bible, but with other books that I'd been wanting to read. I've given up the notion that I have to start one and can't start another one until I finish it. I'm finding that I'm reading one on my Ipod touch, one on the puter, and one a hard copy and then my Bible. So I'm actually making progress in all of them, just not all 4 of them at the same time. :)
3. Spending more time with my hubby- trying to make time for us. We've taken several times to go out and have a dinner and so forth. It's really been good to do so and thinking we may have a set up with a friend here that we might be able to try to do something like this once a month. We'll see.
The course of our year- it's been a pretty busy one this year. KT took part in travel basketball and we were all over central IN last winter and early spring.
(photo of KT bringing the ball down the court, dribbling the basketball with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and focusing on where she's about to head)
Of course Rei was faithfully at my side and watched in on all the action too. :)
(photo of Rei watching the game, laying in the bleachers with chin on the bleacher in front of her, intently watching what is going on)
We started the year off in February with a HUGE snow storm bringing us nearly several feet of snow and 5 inches of ice. Mike and I did what we could to help friends and neighbors chip themselves out of their homes and to be able to safely get out of down their driveways. February was also MD's birthday- which she is totally into horses right now, so we were creative with a horse theme for her party.
(photo of the island decorated and with the cake that has horses on it, a brown horse pinata with a black mane, and a vase of flowers)
(MD about to blow out the candles of her cake)
At the end of February, both girls chopped off their very long hair that they'd been growing out to donate to Locks for Love. Both of them went with really cute bob cuts! :)
(close up head shot of KT with hair short just longer than the ears.)
(close up head shot of MD with her bob cut- just below the ears)
With the warm up of the weather in March, the sillies began to set in and AC had fun with a roll of toilet paper- in fact he decided to be a mummy. Here he is wrapped up and having a blast!
We also saw several 4 legged friends in March too. First Honey came to visit and we loved seeing her again. Of course she remembered me and had fun playing with Rei too. She was cute too, watching the gerbils running around in their tank too.
(A really good picture of Honey and Dan together- Honey sitting in front of him gazing up at him.)
(Photo of Katie looking into the gerbil tank and Honey to her right side, nose to the glass looking in with intense curiosity)
Laney and Pippa also came by for a visit too. It was good to see the girls and see how much they've grown. Unfortunately we haven't been able to get together this summer at all, so we'll see if we get to visit some during the school year for some training sessions and play dates too. Here are all three dogs in front of Mike/
In April-MD and AC took swim lessons to work on teaching them how to swim. MD learned to swim so that she can float and not sink if she finds herself in deep water. AC is unable to swim on his own yet, but knows what to do now if he gets into trouble to help himself.
(MD looks into the water as she's about to dive for the plastic ring that her instructor threw into the water.)
(AC holds the pool wall with a smile on his face and ready for the next thing)
May saw us busy, busy, busy with Pup Putt (www.pupputt.org) as we worked with the school in setting up the mini golf course and Mike built another poker table for the silent auction.
(photo of dark colored oak wood with topper on the game table)
We even had Ice Road Truckers terminal manager, Lane Keater here for for the first few days of the week too. It was an amazing week with the kids and event raising approximately $16,000 over the course of the week.
Aunt Nancy and Uncle Mike came out one evening too and had fun with the kids and putted through the course as well.
The month of May in Indiana also means racing here in the Indianapolis area. We took the kids to the Motor sports open house, where we met and got to see inside several of the NHRA team garages. The kids enjoyed seeing all of the funny cars and drag racing cars as well as meeting several of the drivers.
(a photo of all three kids kneeling in front of a stack of tires)
(one of John Force's trailers and cars)
(a photo of John Force and his younger daughter signing autographs)
We also went to Schumacher Racing's garage and there was a body of a car hung on the wall:
Mike also took KT to the Indy 500 this year for the first time. She's been excited to go for several years now. KT has always LOVED Indy car racing and so the excitement for her was almost unbearable for her! The weather was great and they got to see the amazing finish and crash in the homestretch on the final lap of the race.
On Memorial Day, we took the kids to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum as they had a once in a lifetime exhibit of 75 of the 100 years of the Indy 500. They actually took several of the early 1900 cars out and drove them around the track before the race and while we were there, we got to see them bring several back in into the museum itself.
(a photo of a line of cars from the early 1900's)
(a line of cars from the 1980's and foward)
June began our crazy summer of travels and running. KT started the first week of June by a weekend of going to Space Camp in Huntsville, AL. She went with a group from school and also good friend Ms. N from basketball too as they were roomies all weekend. She came back having enjoyed the entire weekend.
(a photo of one of the simulator rides that spins you around but not in the same direction more than once)
(a space shuttle made completely out of kinect pieces)
We ended June with Mike serving on the first Indy West Awakening team, which is an amazing spiritual weekend for teens, age 15 to 18. Learn more about that here:
http://www.indywestawakening.org/
The kids, Rei, and I spent the Saturday of Father's Day weekend with Grandma and Grandpa and Dan as Mike was particpating in the Awakening weekend and I was soon to leave for Ft. Mitchell, KY for my first AADB (American Association of the Deaf Blind) conference.
The weather was good and thus the kids donned their swimsuits and the kiddie pool was brought over along with all squirt guns in possession for a massive water gun fight.
(photo of the kids and grandpa dipping water guns into buckets and the kiddie pool to "load up" with water)
Rei joins in by getting in the pool and splashiing on her own too!
(Rei standing in the kiddie pool and looking out at everyone playing- water dripping from her belly.)
All three kids- water guns in hand and aiming for Grandpa:
After several hours of water play, we ate a hearty dinner and the kids all crashed on the couch to watch some tv together. All slept well that night! :)
The next morning, on Father's Day, I took off with two Support Service Providers to the AADB conference for a week. We arrived that afternoon and Clara and Kim both went to the SSP training as I hung out for a bit and got some stuff unpacked.
We had the opening Ceremony that first night. On Monday night, Clara and I got to talk to the Teen Program group about guide dogs and we both felt that this was the highlight of our week, to see the kids reactions and amazement of what these dogs do for us. Since we both have some vision, we took the harnesses off the dogs and Clara led the kids around in the hallway that was cleared out for us to give the kids a feel of what it was like to hold the harness handle. I held the dogs as the we opened it up to the kids to ask any questions they had.
(a photo of Kacie and Rei on the left- Kacie in a blue shirt and khaki pants, Clara and her yellow lab/golden cross from leader dogs on the right. Clara is wearing a dark shirt and a floral skirt. Both dogs are laying at their feet.)
The kids enjoyed the dogs so much that they asked for a group picture and all of them pulled out their cameras! Here's the group shot of all of us!
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