Me and my gang

Alli's Big day

2009-05-20T21:49:00.005-04:00

Today was a big day for Alli. She had her preschool graduation tonight and she lost her first tooth. Her tooth has been loose for a few weeks and this morning she woke up and ended up pulling her tooth out, she was so excited.

Tonight they had a program for their end of year and she got a certificate for her completion of level II preschool. She is so excited because next year she gets to go to "Big School". Unfortunately for her she has to wait until August to go to school. Give her a few years and she won't be looking forward to school! I can't believe she will be in Kindergarten next year, where does the time go?

Alli's Playing Softball

2009-05-11T22:43:00.008-04:00

Dawn couldn't wait for Alli to start playing softball because she wanted to be able to coach her. Well this year Alli is old enough to play softball. She is playing at Irvington in the 5 to 7 year old Rookie softball league and they are so cute. They had their parade on Saturday, April 25 and Drew and I watched for them at the parade route. It was so cute because as the kids came by Andrew would just clap and smile, the guy standing next to me said "wow he really knows what to do" and then he said "I guess he figures if he claps the kids will throw him candy", little did he know how right he was.

Alli didn't have a game on opening day but Adam is coaching Nicks baseball team because Adam had really been looking forward to coaching as well. Nick and Alli practiced before Nicks game.

Nick did really good and even slid home a couple of times.

I went to watch Alli's game this past Saturday and she was cold and tired and so she had a melt down so we left the game and she went home and went to bed and slept for 3 hours - she was really tired. Well tonight was a much better night and I got to see her play. For a bunch of 5, 6 & 7 year olds they are actually pretty good and made quite a few outs. Alli just looks so adorable in her little softball outfit. Hopefully she will stick with it and we will have many more years of watching her play ball.

Happy Mothers Day 2009

2009-05-10T22:16:00.002-04:00

What a wonderful Mothers Day! We had the Dwenger's and the Graham's all together to celebrate Mothers Day. I think I have said it before, it is just so nice that Ron's family and my family get along so well together because that way I can celebrate with both of my moms and all of the other moms in the family. We all went over to Dawn & Adam's for a cook out (thanks Dawn & Adam for hosting) and then we had a couple of cornhole tournaments. We drew for teams and had 8 teams playing. The first tournament Adam & I won and the second tournament Cathy & Adam won. The thing I loved the most was to see my mom, dad, and Ron's mom all played. The second tournament my Dad & Jeff were the runners up and dad was so cute, at one time he put all four of the bags on the board on the same pass but he was upset because he didn't get any in the hole, what a perfectionist.I received a very nice card from my mother-in-law and one from my son-in-law which both almost made me cry, they were very nice - thank you both!

I received a hand print T-shirt and a hand/foot print canvas print from the grand kids that I just absolutely loved.

We had such a great day and I'm just excited to have many more cookouts over the sping/summer.

Happy Mothers Day to all!

500 Mini Marathon May 2, 2009

2009-05-02T21:48:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, May 2nd I ran the 500 Festival Mini Marathon. I signed up for the Mini back in October long before I knew I was going to have my surgery. I had a fractured disc in the C6-C7 area and had it removed and had a disc replacement and so therefore I was out of commission for 6 weeks but I was determined to still do this undaunting task. I started running just a little bit towards the end of March and ran a little bit in April. Because of surgery I did not train like I really needed to in order to run a half marathon. In total I probably had run about 25 miles since the first of the year and yet I was signed up to due 13.1 all in one day. I had figured that there was no way that I could run the whole thing so I made another goal. I wanted to run at least the first 1 1/2 miles and then run the 2.5 miles on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Track and then run at least the last mile.

I had a vacation day on Friday and so I went to the Expo downtown and picked up my packet and visited the booths. Friday night Crystal, Hudson, Alli, Andrew & I went to Fazoli's so that I could carb load before Saturday. I wanted to go to bed early Friday night but ended up not getting to bed until about 10:30. I got up at 4:50 am on Saturday morning and ate an english muffin and a banana and drank a lot of water. Tina was running the Mini with me and she picked me up at 5:45 to go downtown, we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get down there and get set. Everything went very smoothly and we had plenty of time and got to our corrals (Tina in G and me in H) and got set for the start of the race at 7:33. The atmosphere was great, music playing, beach balls flying and people getting psyched for the start of the run. I was so afraid it was going to rain because all day Friday they said that it would more than likely rain at some point during the race. When we looked west it definitely looked like it was going to rain. It was a little cool, about 48 degrees, but it was great running weather. Once we started it took about 11 minutes to cross the starting line. I wasn't sure what to expect with 30,000 people running. We took off and I ran with Tina for the first mile but then I had to stop for a quick "pit stop" and unfortunately so did a lot of other people so I waisted about 3 or 4 minutes but then I got right back on track. I felt pretty good up to mile 4 and then I got a little tired, partially because the most I had run at one time since October was just a little over 3 miles. I did walk for about 100 feet but then decided that I had to mentally get myself through it because I wasn't really hurting or anything, I just let me mind think that I couldn't do it, so I started running again. We got to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at about 5.5 miles and I thought that this was going to be the really cool part but I was just a little disappointed because the grandstands were empty and it seemed very quite in there. They did have a few cheerleading squads in there but other than that it was quiet. The rest of the course had various bands playing and people along the course cheering you on. We got out of the track at about mile 8 and I walked again for about 100 feet but then started running again after catching my breath. I surprisingly still felt pretty good. About mile 10 my feet started hurting but I figured I had made it this far and I only had 3.1 miles to go. I have to say that the last mile was probably the hardest part of the entire race. When I saw the 3/4 mile to go sign I was just so ready to be finished. When I could see the 1/2 mile sign and the 1/4 mile sign they seemed to move further and further away the faster I ran. It felt so good to cross the finish line and realize that I had just ran the whole thing. My time was not quite as good as the half in October but since I hadn't been training at all I was very pleased. I finished in 2:29:04 and Tina finished in 2:10:19 (AWESOME JOB TINA!). My 5 mile split was 54:25 and my 10 mile split was 1:52:41, my pace for the 13.1 miles was 11:23. The weather ended up being absolutely perfect and it didn't rain at all. By the time we finished the race the temperature was about 56 or so and it was perfect running weather. Crystal came down to pick me but didn't quite get there in time to see me cross the finish line - she didn't think that I would finish as soon as I did. We went to Military park for a little bit and then headed home. Unfortunately my day was just beginning because we had our bowling banquet that night and then after the banquet we went to Big Daddy's for a few hours and then we went to Indiana Live and so I didn't get home until about 2:30 in the morning. After getting up at 4:50 in the morning and running 13.1 miles and then not getting home until 2:30 the next morning I was totally exhausted and didn't get up until 11:45 on Sunday. Boy did it feel good to sleep in. Well I signed up for the half marathon in October so my goal is to better my time and maybe try to do a little more training!

Race for the Cure - April 18, 2009

2009-04-18T22:59:00.001-04:00

My 2nd run of the year was the Susan G Komen Race for the cure. It was a beautiful day and was about 58 degrees so it may for nice running weather. My sister-in-law Cathy, her son Brian who was home on leave from the Navy, and I decided to do this run. Ron's Grandma was diagnosed with Breast Cancer when she was 88 years old and so we felt that this was definitely a good cause. I did actually end up running the whole 5k and did it in 32:08.9 which was a 10:20 pace so better than my last run but I was a little disappointed because I actually ran the whole thing and only finished 2 minutes sooner than the Will Power Run. Brian actually did very well and finished in 26:50.04 which was an 8:38 pace (he is only 24 years old so he should be able to run faster than me - right?) Cathy did not do the competitive run but she finished in about 50 minutes or so. I was glad that Brian and Cathy did this one with me, it was a lot of fun. My next run will be the mini in May and I can't say I'm going to be doing very well on that because I haven't been doing the training like I need to be, I have only ran a few times but I will just do the best I can.

Will Power Run - March 21, 2009

2009-03-21T22:37:00.002-04:00

On March 21, 2009 I started my runs again. This was the first race that I started a year ago and so I figured it should be the first one that I started with after my surgery. Meijer was a sponsor again this year so we decided to do it again. Ron ended up having to work so his brother Dave ran in his place and then Dawn & Adam also ran as well as a few others from Meijer. I wasn't sure how this race would go since I had just had surgery just shy of 6 weeks before. I don't think the surgeon wasn't big on fitness and said I should be careful starting back with running but I was feeling pretty good so I figured if I took it easy I could do it. It was rather chilly and was about 38 degrees so if we wanted to keep warm we needed to run. I ran the first mile and then when back and forth between walking and running. I ended up finish in 34minutes 13 seconds which was am 11:02 pace - not bad for my first race back, I actually felt really good after the race - no pains in my shoulder or neck at all. Dave finished in 40 minutes 30 seconds a 13:04 pace and Dawn & Adam finished in 43 minutes 53 seconds a 14:09 pace. This is the first of many runs for this year. I will be doing the mini marathon in May so we will have to wait and see how that goes.

Happy 5th Birthday Alli!

2008-11-05T20:13:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin Patch 2008

2008-10-21T20:38:00.017-04:00

On Sunday, October 19, 2008 we decided to make our annual trip to Waterman's Pumpkin Patch. We had quite a crew this year, 22 in all!

Dawn, Adam, Alli, and DrewCrystal, Todd, Ethan, Cassidy, Mya, Cole & Hudson

David & Nicholas

Susannah, Jamie, Jessica, Phil, Jennifer, Chad, Breeonna, & Reagan

It was such a beautiful fall day, I don't think we could have ordered a better day. We got there about 12:00 and thank goodness beat the rush because by about 1:30 the line to get in was very long. After some pictures we let the kids play on the blowup slides and then they played on the haystacks.

We then went through the corn stalk maize.

Every year we measure Alli against the Pumpkin meter and so now that Drew and Hudson are here they get their turn as well. My how they grow!

It was then time to take the hayride to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumkins. Alli had trouble finding the most perfect pumpkin. She always thought she saw it way on the other side of the area and when she got there she realized it wasn't the perfect pumpkin. She finally found one she liked.

We all had such a good time and I think we wore the kids out which is always a plus! Can't wait until next year.

I DID IT!!!!!

2008-10-21T20:04:00.009-04:00

Well the long awaited Indianapolis Marathon & Half Marathon was Saturday October 18, 2008 at Fort Benjamin Harrison. I have been very nervous about this the last few months and kept wondering why I thought it was a good idea back in May when I signed up for it. I thought that I would try and follow the training program so that I would be ready for it but unfortunately I didn't do that. I wish I would have been as disciplined as my friend Tina who was also running the half marathon with me. She followed the training plan and did her 4 runs a week and made it up to her long run of 12 miles! Way to go Tina, I'm very proud of you! I ran maybe one to two times a week and the longest run that I did was an 8 mile on the treadmill. I was very disappointed in myself because when I signed up for this I planned on running the entire half marathon which is 13.1 miles. Well as it got closer and since I hadn't been doing the training program I had resigned myself in realizing that it was a very lofty goal, especially for someone who was 48 years old and didn't even start to run before April of this year. I realized that my true goal should have probably have been just to finish the half marathon, so I rethought my goal and said I just wanted to finish in less than 3 hours. Well of course in the back of my mind my first goal was still lingering. As the race got closer I had told my family that I would really like it if they could be there to cheer me on. I found out that they were also going to have a 5k race as well so I talked Ron, Dawn, Adam, Crystal, David & Cathy into doing the 5k while Tina and I did the half marathon.
Friday night we went to Olive Garden to carb load and I think everyone that was running on Saturday was there too.
Saturday morning I got up at 5:45 so that I could get something to eat and drink some water before the run. Tina had told me that it was best to stop drinking water an hour to an hour and a half before the run so that I wouldn't have to stop during the run. Thanks for the hint Tina!

We met Tina at the parking lot at about 7:30 and headed to the start of the race. It was a little chilly, probably around 48 degrees but it was good running weather. I was getting very nervous and was stretching a little bit and jumping around a little to warm up and then my walkman stopped working. It was 3 minutes before the race and I started to panic. I thought back to how I hadn't been training like I should have and then how I didn't get out of work when I wanted to on Friday so we didn't get to eat where I had originally planned, and now my music wasn't working and thought things were just stacking against me. Then I took a deep breath and thought I could try and see if my radio still worked on my phone and then I could just listen to it. Well luck was finally on my side and my radio worked! I tuned it to 95.5 and listened to country music for the run and I felt a sigh of relief. Well now it is only 1 minute before the start and I was getting really nervous. Tina and I gave each other a big hug and wished each other luck and waited for the gun. We decided that we were going to get in the coral of the 11 minute mile since the timer didn't actually start until you crossed the starting line and then that way quite a few people could get out of the way. It was almost 4 minutes before we got to the start line (hence the reason on my finishing picture had a different time than my actual time) and got to start the run. As we started out Tina and I were looking for the family and I spotted them off to my left and I could see them standing there smiling and so I gave them a big wave and was so excited that they were there. The start of the race was very difficult because the path was a little narrow for how many people were running. There were a bunch of walkers and we couldn't get around them very easy. We finally got around some of them and started our pace. As we made our way through the Lawton loop at about a mile and a half we saw the family standing there again smiling and cheering us on. That was such a good feeling and I knew then that no matter what had happened up to that point on all my mishaps it didn't matter any more. All was good! I have to say that I felt really good 4 miles into the run and it didn't seem like I had been running for 40 minutes. At about mile 5 1/2 I came around a corner and was trying to miss a manhole cover and got bumped by someone and landed my left foot on the side of it and kind of twisted my ankle and knee. It hurt a little bit but I didn't let it stop me. I stayed with Tina for the first 6 1/2 miles but then I started falling back a little. I had told her before we started that I would stay with her as much as I could but not to wait for me if I couldn't stay with her. I know she had her own personal best that she wanted to beat as well. Tina had run the mini marathon in May and finished in 2:25 and so she wanted to finish in less than 2:15 on this one.

I was surprised that I was still running at mile 7 because the longest I had run was 8 miles so I wanted to try to at least run to that 8 mile marker. Once I got to the 8 mile marker I thought "hey, I only have 5.1 miles to go, maybe I could run a little bit more". So I sucked it up and kept running, and then about mile 9 we headed into the bike path and it was a little hilly at first. That made it very difficult because we were 9 miles into it, the good thing was that a lot of the hills were down hill runs but it was a little difficult because I kept thinking that as tired as I was I was afraid that I would trip and just fall down the hill and take out some of the other runners. Well I was tired and wasn't thinking very clearly but everyone knows what goes down must go up - RIGHT? Well up it went. At about mile 10 1/2 it was a very steep hill and it was very difficult to get up that hill. I have to say that I did walk a little bit of this hill because everyone around me was walking and I was so stinking tired and my legs were killing me. I didn't walk much of it but I can't say it was a run either but I did finally get up it. When we got to the top everyone just cheered. I'm not sure what they were thinking about having that hill so late in the run! After we got through that there was just a little over 2 miles to go. I thought that if I could just get to mile 12 that the last mile I could get through on adrenaline. Well I think I had already spent all of my adrenaline because after I reached mile 12 I really struggled to get it going. Just as I was coming up on mile 13 I saw Ron, Dawn, Adam and Cathy and they had signs that said they were proud of me and they were cheering me on and ringing a cow bell. I can't tell you how that made me feel. Even though I was exhausted I couldn't help but smile. It felt so good. I tried to kick it in the best I could but there wasn’t much left to kick in. When I got to the finish line I just threw up my hands and was so excited and then I saw Crystal cheering me on and she got a picture of me at the finish line. I ended up finishing the half marathon in 2 hours 22 minutes and 2 seconds (10:50 per mile) which was 50th in my age group out of 121 people and not to mention I met my goal of running the whole thing! Tina met her goal as well and finished in 2 hours 12 minutes and 48 seconds (10:07 per mile). Dawn finished the 5k in 39:40, Dave in 39:48, Ron in 41:07, Crystal in 47:44 and Cathy in 1:00:18. It was so great that all of us could do this together and I’m so proud of everybody and so happy that they were all there for me. I guess I’m going to try and sign up for the mini in May now, I think I'm officially hooked!

Turn up the Volume

2008-09-27T22:56:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, September 28, 2008 WISH TV was a sponsor for the Turn up the Volume run in support of Ovarian Cancer that was held at Victory Field and it was 66 degrees and sunny. Dawn got 3 free entries again so Dawn, Dave and I did the run. Dawn & Dave did the 5k (3.1 mile) and I did the 4 mile run. All of us had decided that our goal was just to beat our past times and we accomplished that. Dave finished in just a little over 38 minutes and Dawn finished in about 38 1/2 minutes. Dawn was very upset because she said that she could have finished stronger but she thought she still had at least 1/2 mile to go when she turned the corner and saw the finish line. She was trying to conserve some energy for the last 1/4 mile but didn't realize she had already ran that last quarter mile - see I told you I was getting her hooked on these runs! I finished my 4 miles in 38 minutes 22 seconds which was a 9 minute 35 second mile. The really cool thing about this run was that I finished 1st in my age division!!!! I guess it pays to be in that 45-50 age group. This was the first time I finished in the top 3 which was something that I really wanted to do and to finish 1st was a definite plus. Well I only have 3 weeks until the mini at Ft. Ben and I haven't been doing my training like I need to be doing. About the only time I have been running has been on the weekend for these runs so I guess these next few weeks I'm going to have to do better. I don't believe that I have any more runs before the mini so I better get busy. Wish me luck!

Race for all Races

2008-09-20T22:43:00.002-04:00

On Saturday September 20, 2008 WISH TV was a sponsor for the Race for all Races which was held downtown at the City Market. Dawn could get 3 free entries so I talked Dave and Dawn into doing it with me. It was 67 degrees and sunny. Dawn & Dave did the 5k which is a 3.1 mile walk/run and I did the 5 mile run. This was the first run that they had done in a while and they both finished pretty good. They finished right around 39 minutes and 30 seconds. so that was just a little over a 13 minute mile which was very good for not actually getting out running in a long time. I did the 5 mile in 48 minutes and 25 seconds which was a 9 minute 41 second mile. I cut about 33 seconds off of my 6 mile time that I did the week before. Either I was actually getting a little faster or that extra mile in the 10k the week before took a toll on me. I actually think I'm getting Dawn hooked on these runs even though she won't admit it. We have another run that we are doing next week so hopefully it is getting me better prepared for the mini.

Dick Lugar Run

2008-09-13T22:24:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, September 13, 2008 I did the Dick Lugar 10K run. Dawn was going to do this run with me but we didn't get back from St. Louis until after midnight and Adam had to work so she didn't want to get the kids up that early so I did it my myself. This run was at Butler University and was a neat place to run. This was a 6.2 mile run and when we started mile 6 it was uphill so it was very difficult. I was very excited to say that I ran (okay - jogged) all the way up the hill while others resorted to walking it. The was the first race that I have done that ended up finishing on a track so that was kind of cool. It was 71 degress and very humid. This was the longest run that I have run so I was somewhat happy with my time. I finished in 1 hour 3 minutes and 39 seconds which figures to be a 10 minutes 14 second mile. I'm still working on that Mini Marathon on October 18 but I'm definitely having second thoughts!

Snapperz

2008-09-10T08:28:00.000-04:00

A week ago Friday I was listening to WIBC on the way to work and heard them talking about the grand opening of a new place called Snapperz Family Fun & Sports , and guess what? It is owned by Justin Snow, long snapper for the Indianapolis Colts! As Dawn says it is kind of like a Chuck E Cheese on steroids. For $10 per kid you get the use of the inflatable slides,

inflatable play areas, and a 4 story soft play area,

and then for an extra charge they can do the bungee jumping trampoline, laser tag, rock climbing wall, and cosmic bowling. They also have a lot of arcade type games and a little restaurant. Alli could have spent 4 hours just on the inflatable slides. It is a lot of fun!

Well besides all the activities of the place Justin Snow invited a few of his buddies to join him in signing autographs on Saturday, August 30, 2008. Hunter Smith, Adam Vinatieri and Jeff Saturday were all there!!!! Well I asked Dawn and Adam if Alli could go with me on Saturday so that she could play (wink, wink). Thank goodness they decided to come along because I was standing in line to get autographs so someone needed to watch Alli. I was in seventh heaven because I got my picture taken with them! Well, Dawn called me a stalker because of my picture with Hunter Smith and Jeff Saturday - they weren't exactly looking at the camera!

But Adam sure was. Don't Adam Vinatieri and I make a cute couple!

Justin Snow isn't bad either!

Jeff Saturday is a cutie as well!

I was excited because I got to add 4 more autographs to my helmet and football!

We had a great time and I would definitely recommend the place even if the Colts players aren't there!

Personal Best 5

2008-09-10T00:17:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, August 9, 2008 my friend Tina Magyar and I ran a 5 mile run for the Personal Best 5 run supporting Anna's Celebration of life. It is an organization that helps children with special needs. This was the first run that Tina and I have done together so I was quite excited. We had a goal to run an 11 minute mile and much to our surprise we actually did it in 50 minutes and 32 seconds which was a 10:06 minute mile. I'm sure Tina could have gone faster but I'm glad that for our first run we stayed together. She definitely kept me going. That is only the second or third time that I had ran 5 miles at one time so I was very happy to finish.

Tina and I are training for the Indianapolis Half Marathon on October 18 at Ft. Benjamin Harrison. I haven't been doing very well lately with my training so I better get busy. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I signed up because 13.2 miles is a lot to run. I think I should have started running when I was much younger because it sure isn't easy. My goal was to run the full 13.2 miles but maybe my goal was a little much and I should have made my goal just to finish! We will have to wait and see how it goes. I did actually run 8 miles (all at one time) on the treadmill on Monday, September 1. Alli had spent the night with me so I couldn't run outside so I put a movie in and we watched the movie and I ran on the treadmill. About half way into my run Alli looked at me and said "Mama, you can take a break if you want too", oh how I wanted to but I didn't. She was so good and just sat there watching the movie and finally got a little bored the last 20 minutes. I could have told her I was bored also because running for and hour and 10 minutes up to that time was very boring. Dawn and Drew came walking in on the last 2 minutes of my run and just as the credits to the movie were running so they cheered me on so that I could finish - and finish I did! I was exhausted but it actually did feel good after it was all over. Until I realized that the half marathon was an additional 5.2 miles on top of the 8 miles! I better step up my training because I only have 5 1/2 weeks to go. I actually have a 10K run, which is a 6.2 mile run that I am going to be doing this Saturday, September 13 - it is the Dick Lugar Run/Walk at Butler. Dawn is doing this one with me but she is doing the 5K run. WISH TV is a sponsor so we are going to be doing it with the WISH group. Wish us well!

Thompson Family Reunion

2008-09-09T23:44:00.006-04:00

We always look forward to the second Sunday in August because that is the Thompson Family reunion. This is my mom's side of the family and they have been having the reunion at New Castle Memorial Park since she was a little girl. I think that I have only missed 2 reunions in my 48 years and I hope I don't miss any more. There is always so much food and I get to see all of my cousins and Aunts and have a great time. This is one time of year that almost everyone gets together. After we get done with lunch the big thing is to go down to the park and go down the Curly Q slide. I have always looked forward to it and just because I'm older that hasn't changed. We all get just as excited about going down the Curly Q slide as we did when we were little. Following are pictures of my cousins Wesley and Toni.

I'm not sure but Dad may have the record for the oldest person to go down the slide at 81 years young. I guess it goes to prove that you are never too old to have fun!

Drew and Hudson both had their first trip down the slide as well. We have to start them early and we will make sure they have a trip down the slide every year like the rest of us!

After going down the slide we ventured over to the monkey bars to give a try at crossing it. The past few years I haven't done very well but I was very excited to say that this year I made it all the way across and so did Wanda!

Wanda and I felt pretty good about crossing the monkey bars in 3 minutes but then Sammie's boyfriend Joe gets up there and grabs a hold of the first bar and then I blinked and he was at the end. I think he went all the way across in about 4 seconds flat! Show off!

Even little Drew had his shot at crossing the monkey bars!

I always enjoy our family reunion but unfortunately it goes way to quick so I guess I just have to wait until next year for another trip down the Curly Q!

Movie Night

2008-09-09T22:33:00.000-04:00

For anyone who doesn't know, Ron loves chic flicks and kids movies so Camp Rock and Hannah Montana-Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Concert - 3D movie were on sale at Meijer so Ron bought them for Alli (or so he says). Ron and Alli had watched Camp Rock a few times but we hadn't watched the Hannah Montana 3D movie yet so Friday night, August 29 we decided to watch it. We put on our 3D glasses and watched the concert. We all fell asleep so I can't say that it was that good. I'm sure we all looked a little silly sitting around in our glasses but we had fun.

Laughlin or Bust

2008-08-18T20:50:00.000-04:00

My mom (being the gambler she is) had a free trip - airfare and hotel stay for 4 days 3 nights for 2 people to Laughlin, Nevanda and she asked me if I wanted to go with her - well I jumped at the chance. We left Saturday (June 21) late afternoon and arrived in Laughlin around 6:30 Nevada time or 9:30 Indy time. We hadn't eaten since lunch so we got something to eat and then played the slots. We ended up playing until about 2:00 in the morning (5:00 Indy time) and then called it a night. When we got up we ate breakfast and then played the slots a little and then I went out to go swimming and mom stayed and played more slots. It was 105 degrees in the shade so it was very nice to get in the water. The cement was stifling hot and you had to run across it if you didn't have your shoes on otherwise it burnt the bottom of your feet. I laid out in the sun a part of the time and sat in the pool part of the time relaxing and reading a book. It was just what I needed. It was so relaxing. Mom of course relaxed by playing the slots. We ended up going up to the room by about 8:00 because there was a Cubs game on that mom wanted to watch and we ended up falling to sleep so we didn't come back down that night. We got up Monday morning and ate breakfast and played the slots a little and then I went out to the pool again for more relaxation, swimming, sunbathing, and book reading. I ended up finishing my book. That is the first book that I have read in quite a while because I usually don't take the time to read. It was very nice to be able to do that. After being outside for about 5 hours I went back in to find mom. Of course she was at the slot machines again. We had been wanting to try the Texas Hold'Em in the Poker room so they had one getting ready to start so we jumped in. It was a lot of fun, so much fun that we ended up not eating dinner until about 9:00pm. We ate and then turned in for the evening. The next morning we got up and ate breakfast and then it was time for us to get ready to leave. We had such a good time and it was nice to be able to relax a little bit and I'm glad I got to spend some time with my mom. Thanks Mom!

Lucas Oil Stadium

2008-08-17T09:43:00.018-04:00

Yesterday Dawn, Adam, Alli, Drew, Crystal, Hudson and I went out to Lucas Oil Stadium for the 10:00am tour. I was just so excited all week long and couldn't hardly wait until Saturday. Well I have to say I was very disappointed by the tour because they touted on the ads that we were going to be able to view the suites, the locker room, and go out on the field. Well their idea of viewing the suites and locker room and going on the field and mine were totally different. I had dreamed of going out and laying on the 50 yard line and having my picture taken and then standing by Peyton, Marvin, Dallas, Reggie, and all the others lockers and having my picture taken. Well that didn't happen. Their idea of viewing the suites were- they are on this floor behind that door, and viewing the locker rooms - you could pass by and look in, and being on the field - you could be on the sidelines (and only one of the sidelines) and the end zone with 20,000 other people. Every place we tried to go there was someone standing their saying "I'm sorry you can't go in here, this isn't part of the tour". Well we were pretty disappointed with the tour but it was neat to see the stadium (at least the part we could see). It is a beautiful stadium. The kids were so good - I couldn't believe how good they were. the girls opted not to take the strollers (excellent choice) and instead took their Snugli's. The boys did so good and didn't fuss the whole time (they were in their snuglis most of the time from about 9:30 till about 12:30). About 11:30 the boys were hungry and there was a huge line to get out of the building so we ended up finding a seat to sit in so that they could feed them. Well that was the best thing that could have happened. We got some really good pictures of the boys in the seats and it allowed the stadium to clear out a little bit so that when we got ready to leave we could get some good pictures down on the "field" (sidelines). Adam, his friend Ian and, Alli had already left because they were going to try to go "view" the locker rooms (didn't happen) so they just left the stadium. After the boys ate we headed down to the "field" for out photo opportunity. I took pictures of the girls with the boys, and they took pictures of me sitting on the "field", laying on the "field", and even kissing the "field". We then took the boys out of their Snugli's and let the lay on the "field". They had so much fun and other people were coming by taking pictures of them because they were so cute. Well they said that you could sit on the "field", lay on the "field", and even kiss the "field", but you just couldn't take the "field" home with you. Well they didn't say anything about spitting up on the field. Remember I said the boys just ate, well Drew has a problem with spitting up and he ended up spitting up on the field (a lot). It is right about the 37 yard line on the sideline so he initiated the field. When we told Alli about it she said "He spit up on Peyton Mannings field? He is going to be so mad!" Because of the great photo opportunity we had on the sidelines the day turned out pretty good. Now if I could just land tickets to one of the games so I could be there and actually see them play!

Out of order

2008-08-17T09:19:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I have only posted 2 times in the past 3 months. My first excuse is that my Internet has been down more times than it has been working. Which brings me to my second excuse of working too much. I have been putting in a ton of hours over the last few months getting ready for "Go Live" of our new manufacturing system for work. Because I have been working so much I haven't had time to call the cable company to get them to come out and fix it. Well I finally got them scheduled to come out this morning (Sunday), between 7:00 am and 9:00 am, because that was the only time I had. Well I think we got it up and going finally - we'll see how long it lasts. I am going to be going back and posting things since May that I haven't had time to post because at the end of the year I want to turn my blog into a book so that I have all the events that have happened during the year. Be patient as I try to catch up. I have a lot to blog about so I better get started. Wish me luck!

Welcome Hudson

2008-07-21T19:57:00.007-04:00

Hudson Brock Gilliatt graced us with his presence at 8:00 am on Saturday July, 19, 2008. He weighed in at a whopping 9lbs 0.5 oz and was 23 1/2 inches long. He walked down to the nursery by himself - all right not really but I don't think it will be long. He is such a little cutie! Crystal was scheduled to be induced at 9:00 am on Saturday, July 19 but Mr. Hudson had different plans. Crys started having contractions Friday evening and I talked to her about 7:00 pm and she said the contractions were about 15 minutes apart. I talked to her again about 11:30 and she said they were a lot stronger and about 10 minutes apart. I finally went to bed about 12:30 or 1:00 only to be waken at2:22 by the phone. As soon as it rang I knew we were on the way to the hospital. She said her contractions were 5 minutes apart and very strong. I called Dawn and then Ron and I got ready and went over to Dawn's. Adam doesn't normally work on Saturdays but as luck would have it he had to work this Saturday. Todd, Dawn and I were going to be in the delivery room so Grandpa Ron was going to stay at Dawn's with Alli and Drew. Ron laid down and Dawn and I headed to the hospital. we got there a little after 3:00 am and they were just getting ready to move Crystal to a labor room. She was dilated to 3 and 100% effaced. They were super busy - must have been a run on babies at that time. Good thing she went on her own because she wouldn't have been induced Saturday because there were no rooms to be had, in fact her labor/delivery room was one for high risk pregnancies because that's all that was left. She got her epidural about 4:20 and then they checked her at about 5:30 and she was dilated to about 4 or 5. Dawn and I decided we would run to McDonalds to grab some breakfast because we weren't sure when we would be able to eat. We remembered Dawn's 20 + hour labor. We got back and then about 6:40 they checked her again and she was dilated to about 7 or 8. We figured we better start calling people and letting them know that we would probably have a baby sometime early afternoon. 20 minutes later her water broke and they checked her and she was dilated to 10 already. They got things ready and she started pushing about 7:20 and Hudson was born at 8:00. Crys did really well but she did lose a lot of blood so she ended up getting a blood transfusion Sunday evening because she was very dizzy and her hemoglobin levels had gone from 11 when she went into the hospital down to 6. Today she was feeling much better and got to go home. We are all very excited that Hudson is here and are looking forward to lots of fun times. Following are some pictures from the last couple of days.

2008-06-09T20:12:00.020-04:00

Saturday night after the run and before poker Adam and I ran up to Meijer to pick up our newest purchase. Meijer had a $900 Little Tykes swingset on clearance for $225 and then they were running a special 20% off coupon on one item and then I had my 10% Meijer discount and I had $60 in gift card certificates so the swingset ended up costing me about $115. WHAT A DEAL!!! Sunday Adam came over around 10:00 and we started putting the swingset together. Alli had her tools and was a big help.

Three hours, 296 parts, 50 steps of instructions, one "minor concusion", and a very bad sunburn later we finally got the swingset together. The sunburn was Adam and the "concusion" was me. As we were building the swingset I had leaned the A frame of the swingset up against the fort and a big gust of wind came by and blew it over and it landed right on the back of my head. Adam said he saw it falling in slow motion but he couldn't move quick enough to stop it (thanks a lot Adam). Seriously he was very concerned and ran and got me some ice and made sure I didn't get up to soon. I was okay but I just had a headache for a little while.

Alli was helping us build the swingset and when it fell she went in the house and got a towel and I thought she told me to put the wash cloth on my eyes so I did and she said "not your eyes that you see with - your ice on your head". She then went and got me a glass of water and said I needed to drink it because I had to get better because I was taking her to a birthday party at 4:00. I knew there was an alterior motive. After getting the swingset built we got cleaned up and headed off to Bouncer Town for a birthday party. Alli had so much fun running from the great big slide to the "gladiator" maze. After going through the maze she said "mama, that was really cool it was just like the gladiators". If you haven't gone there it is definitely a fun place to take the little ones.

My sister in law Cathy called just as we were finishing up at Bouncer Town and asked if we wanted to do a cook out and I thought what a good idea because that way the kids could play on the swingset that we built but didn't really have time to play on. So at a whim we through together a cookout and Cathy & Jeff, David, Jacob, & Nick, Deber Sue and Jalen, Dawn, Adam, Alli, & Drew, Crystal, Ron, and myself had a beautiful evening cooking out, watching the kids play on the swingset, and played cornhole. That's one thing I love about our family - we could throw together a cookout for 14 people in a moments notice without blinking an eye. It was a great evening but I have to say I was worn out after this weekend.

The Family that Runs Together has Fun Together

2008-06-08T21:47:00.013-04:00

On Saturday, June 7, 2008 the Dwenger family made history that I thought never would happen. Ten of us did the Outrun the Sun 2008 Race Against Melanoma down out IUPUI. My dad had Melanoma so I thought this would be a good cause. We had talked about it for about a month and we were all very excited about it (or at least most of us). Friday night we had the terrible thunderstorms with the torrential down pours. Thank goodness we didn't live further south because highways were closed and a lot of places were flooded. It continued to rain all morning Saturday and well into the afternoon. I was getting really bummed because I thought that they would end up cancelling the race and I was just so excited the the family was all going to do this together. Well as luck would have it the rain finally stopped around 2:00 and the sun came out full force and the temperature started rising and so did the humidity! We all met at our house at 5:00 to head down to the race. Since this was a Melanoma run they had it in the evening so that we wouldn't be in the sun quite as much. We got downtown and picked up our numbers and t-shirts and headed to the starting point.

Dwenger family - before the race

Ron's mom (Char) is 73 years old and she was going to do the one mile walk and Ron's sister Deb was pushing Alli in a jogging stroller and did the one mile walk also. Mom had already walked close to a mile from the place we had to park to get to where the walk/run was going to take place so she ended up starting the one mile walk but ended up turning around and coming back because part of it was going up hill and she decided she had enough. I thought she did an awesome job just going out there, she had her little walking cane and was giving it the old college try, and that was after getting up at 5:00 in the morning and working all day! I just hope at 73 I can get out there and try it. I'm very proud of you mom! Dawn, Adam, and David all did the 5k (3.1 mile) run/walk. They ran part of it and walked part of it. They all did a great job especially after Dawn just having a baby 3 months ago, Adam just had major surgery 2 months ago, and a year ago David probably would have struggled to walk a mile. I'm very proud of Dave because he has lost over 100 pounds since November so this was definitely another feather in his cap. Cathy, Jeff and Jacob did the 5k (3.1 mile) walk and did a great job. I did the 5 mile run and my hope was to run the entire thing but believe it or not at 7:00 in the evening it was about 83 degrees and the sun seemed really hot. I ended up running the first 3 miles and then I walked about 1/4 mile and then ran for a 1/4 mile and then walked a 1/2 mile and then ran the last mile. I was a little bit disappointed that I didn't run the entire 5 miles but it was just too hot but I guess I did end up running about 4 1/4 of the 5 miles. Next time I will do it all. I have signed up for a mini marathon (13 miles) in October that I thought I was going to run the entire thing but now I'm not sure that I will be able to do it. I ended up finishing the run in 58:00.08 minutes which was about 11:36 minute pace, if only I had ran the whole thing I would have been under 11 minutes - I'll get it next time.

After the race we all got bananas, apples, and lots of water. They also had a snack pack that had either a ham or turkey sandwich, a bag of chips and a cookie. It was just what the doctor had ordered. They had a fountain that the kids were playing in so Alli (and Dawn) cooled off in the fountain.

We all had a great time but we were all very tired. But in true Dwenger fashion after the race we went back to the house and had a poker game break out. It was a very fun evening and I'm looking forward to the next run- hopefully it won't be quite so hot! Thanks family for a great time, Love ya all!! Picture after the race - We all survived!

Congratulations Alli

2008-05-29T21:46:00.015-04:00

Alli had her little ceremony tonight for her successful completion of the 3 year old preschool program. The kids were so cute - they said the Pledge of Allegiance, then sang the Star Spangled Banner, and then sang "I can sing a Rainbow" and ended with the ABC song. Alli was not shy at all and you could definitely hear her. After the program one of the teachers came up to her and thanked her for singing so loud.

Alli is very excited because next year she gets to be one of the "big kids" because she will be in the 4 year old preschool. Because her Birthday is in October she doesn't get to start kindergarten next year, she has to wait until 2009. Most of the kids she plays with are in the 4 year old class (they are actually 5 now) and will be going to kindergarten next year. I'm sure she will miss her friends but I'm sure next year will bring a new group of 3 year olds that she can boss around! She got a very good progress report and apparently behaves much better at school than she does at home. It's hard to believe that she is growing up so fast, I know if I'm not careful I will blink my eyes and the next thing we know we won't be going to her preschool graduation but we will be going to her high school graduation!

Alli and her teacher Miss Charlotte

HAPPY 2nd ANNIVERSARY DAWN & ADAM

2008-05-20T21:25:00.007-04:00

Last Tuesday, May 13, 2008 was Dawn and Adam's 2nd year anniversary. Since it was in the middle of the week (and I was tied up with a business function) they took the kids out to dinner and then said they would go out by themselves on Friday evening. Aunt Cathy had a slumber party with Alli and Nick and I kept Andrew overnight. We had a lazy evening where we fell asleep about 9:30 (that is totally unheard of for me any night of the week but especially on a Friday night) and then he woke up about midnight and took a bottle and went back to sleep. He woke up again about 6:00am and took his bottle and went back to sleep! Well I didn't want to wake him up so I figured I might as well go back to sleep again and then we ended up getting up about 9:00 (once again that is totally unheard of - I never sleep in that late). I guess Andrew knew I had a rough week at work so he was being a very good boy. Once he got up we laid in bed and he just talked to me and smiled and was so darn cute. He is trying to mimic things you do with your mouth by sticking out his tongue or smacking his lips. He is starting to get quite a personality and is such a sweetheart. Dawn and Adam had a fun evening - they went to Chili's and then went to Meijer and bought a couple of movies and was home by 10:00pm. They are such the party animals. Dawn did say it was nice to be able to sleep through the night without having to get up so I guess I helped a little bit. I wish them both many years together and I'm so glad that they found each other because I think they are perfect for each other. Happy Anniversary - Love ya both!

Watch out Tiger Woods

2008-05-04T21:26:00.003-04:00

Back about a month and a half ago we were at Dicks sporting goods and Alli wanted to go look at the golf clubs. I'm not sure why but she has a fascination with golf. She saw some clubs for little kids and she asked if she could get them but we told her the were $80 and that was a lot of money. Knowing what she needed to do she said "can I call Papa and ask him if he has 80 bucks?" Well I laughed and gave her my cell phone and we called Papa but he was in Tunica with his "poker friends" and wasn't doing very well so he told her she would have to wait. Well then every time in the next few weeks after he got finished bowling she would ask "Papa, did you win 80 bucks?" I think she knows she has papa wrapped around her finger. Well she started doing chores around the house so that she could earn her 80 bucks for her golf clubs. I went on line to e-bay and I found a set of golf clubs like the ones at Dicks for $50 so I got them. We were waiting for it to get warm out so that when she got them we could play outside. The other day they were over at the house and so we got the box and gave it to her. When she opened the top she could see what was in it and said "Oh my goodness, I know what this is". She was just so excited. We went out to the backyard and let her hit a few balls. She carried those clubs around and was so excited. They are so cute, it comes with a bag and has a 7 iron, a putter, and a driver (with a head cover for the driver). They are real clubs but for little ones. Today was a nice day and Ron was actually off so Ron, Dawn, Adam, Alli, Drew and I went to Rustic Gardens so that she could try out her new clubs. We played nine holes and we had a lot of fun. I think she got tired of everyone trying to teach her what to do because at one time she said "I am only four years old you know". Well I guess she told us!

The last hole we played was a par 3 and she played it all by her self and got par on that hole. Not bad for a 4 year old!

After we finished with miniature golf we went over to the driving range to practice some with our woods. At one point Ron decided he wanted to practice driving with his seven iron and so he said he liked the way he was driving with his seven iron so Alli said "hey, I have a seven iron, I want to try it" so she ran to her bag to get her seven iron. I guess they are never too young to learn.

I figure in another 12 years she will be playing golf on the golf tour so remember the name - Alli Jade Raquet - you can say you knew her when.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday Tina!

2008-05-04T15:09:00.007-04:00

I had dinner with my friend Tina Magyar and her girls, Ameilia and Ella, on Thursday evening. We hadn't actually gotten together since New Years and it was long past due. Tina and I met at BAA back in November of 1999 and it was like a pitcher of koolaid - just add water and viola you have koolaid - but in our case it was just add smiles and it was instant friendship. We became fast friends and it is hard to believe that it has been 8 1/2 years since we met. Tina is actually closer in age to my daughters than to me and in fact one time a few years back someone thought she was my daughter - HOW DARE THEY! Tina turned 33 today and I just wanted to give her a happy birthday blog. I'm so proud of her because yesterday she ran the mini marathon and ran the whole thing. When she signed up for it she thought she would just walk it but her adrenaline kicked in and she said she wasn't sure what came over her but she decided not to walk after all. She finished in 2 hours and 25 minutes. Way to go Tina! Tina and I are going to try and do a half marathon in October at Fort Benjamin Harrison. She now has me inspired once again and I know that we can do it together. I'm also very proud of Tina because she just celebrated her 1 year anniversary of reaching her weight watcher goal. Over the years that Tina and I worked together we would both try and diet but to no avail. I saw what a great job she had done on weight watchers and it inspired me to join and I am forever grateful to her for that. She taught me some good foods that I could eat at restaurants and even took me to the grocery store to shop weight watcher style and learn that I could eat a lot of good foods that weren't just good for you but good to eat as well. I have been at goal now for 6 months and have to give Tina credit for getting me started. Anybody that knew the two of us 8 years ago would have laughed if we said that between the two of us we would lose 110 pounds!

Following is a picture that was taken 2 years ago at Dawn & Adams wedding and one that was taken this past Thursday at dinner. As you can tell there is a little bit of a difference!

Tina, thank you so much for your friendship over the past 8 1/2 years and I know we will have many more years of friendship together. even though we don't get to see each other as much as either of us would like I cherish the times that we do get together.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Me and My Long Time Friends

2008-05-01T20:57:00.003-04:00

Last night I met my good friends Linda Schenher and Debbie Schoenherr at Olive Garden. I met Linda and Debbie back in 1991 when I started working at UMM. Linda worked in accounts payable and Debbie was working as a staff accountant. Debbie and Linda lived in the same neighborhood so they knew each other and once I started working at UMM in accounts payable they befriended me. We had such great times together. Our favorite place to eat lunch was LaChicas (once Debbie & I left UMM they shut down the place). We would go there 2 to 3 times a week because it was such a no brainer. We would walk in the door and the waitress would see us coming and would have our diet sodas at our table by the time we sat down. She would ask us if we wanted our usual (which we usually did) and she would go get it ready. After a stressful morning it was just what we needed because we were waited on hand and foot and we could just sit back and talk with each other and not have a care in the world. Man, those were the days! Debbie moved out of state and I moved on to another job and Linda stayed at UMM to hold down the fort. We still tried to get together whenever Debbie came back to town and thank goodness Debbie eventually moved back to Indy. Since Debbie has moved back we try to get together every few months to catch up, and unfortunately sometimes it just isn't that easy. We all became grandparents within 5 months of each other so that just gave us that much more to talk about. We usually get together right after work and end up spending the whole night talking. We have been known to be at the restaurant until they kicked us out! They turn on the lights and start sweeping and so that is our clue that it is probably time to say goodbye. Maybe if we got together a little more often then we wouldn't have to stay so long - or perhaps that wouldn't really make a difference. Last night was no exception, we arrived at about 6:00 and left the restaurant about 10:50 pm. We actually hadn't gotten together since January and have been trying to get together since March so better late than never and at least we got together before May (just barely) so we had a lot of catching up to do. I'm just so happy that I have such great friends and even if we can't see each other everyday we can still get together every so often and spend lots of time catching up. Thanks again Linda and Debbie for a fun evening, it was so good getting together and catching up and we need to make sure it isn't 3 months before we get together again.

Race For The Cure

2008-04-19T21:47:00.006-04:00

Today Ron and I did the 5k Race for the Cure Walk/Run. About a month ago we did our first 5k walk and I had said that I wanted to do a walk once a month and when I heard about this one I thought that it was a very good cause and decided I wanted to sign up for it. My sister Wanda has a friend who is a breast cancer survivor of ten years and they had a group that were going to walk and said they had an extra spot so asked if I wanted to go with them. I took that spot but realized that they also had a competitive walk/run that you could sign up for if you planned on doing the run in under 35 minutes. When we did the Will Power Walk/Run in March I finished in just a little over 36 minutes so I thought if I signed up for the competitive it would give me something to strive for so I got that spot and was going to see if anyone wanted to take the other spot I had. Ron usually works on Saturdays but ended up having this Saturday off so he decided he would take the other spot that I had. It was about 52 degrees and wasn't near as cold as the last walk but it was raining (ugh) and the wind was a little brisk downtown.

The past few weeks since the weather has been a little bit nicer my brother-in-law Dave, sister-in-law Cathy, and her husband Jeff have been going over to Creston Middle school after work and walking/running on the track so I met them over there one day to start walking/running. Then a week ago Friday I went over to Dawns house because they have a track area by their house. Last year when we use to walk the track I was very envious that Adam could run the whole track (it is 1/2 a mile) and a week ago Friday I actually ran the whole track! Last week I decided that I would try to run the route in my neighbor hood that we use to walk last year and it is almost exactly one mile. On Wednesday I actually ran 1 and 1/2 miles and then got up early on Thursday morning and ran 1 mile and then got up early again on Friday morning and ran 1 mile. I couldn't believe that I could actually do it. This morning I started off running and actually ran for a little more than 2 miles before I started walking and then I only walked for about .10 and then ran the rest of the way, so all in all I ran probably 3 miles and walked .10. I really surprised myself but every time I thought I wanted to quit running I would look up and see a "survivor" bib or a "in memory of" bib on someone who was running in front of me and thought of all the pain they must have endured and thought that a little running was nothing and I should just push through it and not be such a baby. I was very happy with my time of 30 minutes and 25 seconds. Ron actually did very well also, he finished in about 45 minutes which was about 13 minutes better than the last walk. He actually ran part of this one. Wanda walked with some of her friends and they had little kids and strollers so she ended up finishing in about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Actually they never crossed the actual finish line because just before they got to it they made the turn to go back to the car. We met them over at Acapulco Joe's for lunch. We had a really good time, despite the weather and the fact that my feet were soaking wet, which is the one thing that I have always said would keep me from functioning but even that didn't keep me from running for a good cause!

Play Ball!

2008-04-14T21:29:00.011-04:00

Yesterday we were at Meijer shopping and Alli and I were going down the sporting goods aisle and Alli said that she was going to play baseball and then she proceeded to tell me about the time that Katie and her were playing baseball and Katie threw the ball and it hit her in the nose and her nose started bleeding. Now mind you that event happened one and a half years ago but she hasn't forgotten. I'm afraid that it may scar her for life because she said that she would just put her baseball glove on her nose and that way she won't get hit. Way to go Katie!!

I'm so excited because Alli is going to be playing baseball this spring. I loved spring and summer time when the girls were little because I loved softball season. Dawn just signed Alli up for a 4 year old instructional league yesterday and they called today and said they were going to have their first practice tonight. After I got off work I went over to see practice and she was just so cute. It was so cold out there but it didn't seem to deter these eight little 4 year old kids. They were bundled in their coats and out there ready to play. They were all standing around home plate and the coach was explaining the different bases and then would ask questions about which base was which and of course Alli had to be the one answering the questions. I don't think any of the other little kids said a word but Alli just chatted the whole time. I knew she would be one of two ways - either "acting" very shy or being her silly self - well she was her silly self.

They were practicing catching the ball and throwing the ball back to the coach (thank goodness they were just using the wiffle balls). Alli didn't catch any of the balls but she did throw them back better than the boys. One time when she missed one of the balls one of the little boys went and picked it up and Alli thought they were going to give it to her so she said "Thank you" but instead the little boy threw it back to the coach. I was afraid she would tell off the little boy but she was very good and didn't say anything (at least she had good manners). At one point during practice Alli came over to the fence and said "Mommy you can't talk to me right now because I am practicing and I have to pay attention because if I don't I might get hurt". It was so funny and one of the other parents laughed and said "isn't it funny being put in our place by a 4 year old?" Well little did he know that is Alli every day! Opening day is only a week and a half away and I can't wait. I'm not sure if Alli will have more fun with this or if we will have more fun. This will be a fun new adventure so stay tuned for more interesting baseball stories!

My weekend room mate

2008-04-13T20:51:00.006-04:00

Well it was another great weekend! Once again Alli was my girl. Friday night we were over at Dawn and Adams house and watched "August Rush" - a very good movie. Towards the end of the movie Alli climbed on my lap and whispered "Mama, do you have to work tomorrow?" which translates to "Can I spend the night?" When I said no she said "Yeah! I can spend the night then!" She was so excited so how could I say no. The problem was that Ron and I rode over to Dawn & Adam's with Ron in the truck and he doesn't have a booster seat in the truck. Well problem solved, I ended up taking Dawn's car home - where there's a will there's a way! It was late when we left so all she did was come home and we went straight to bed and woke up Saturday morning in time to get ready for her to go bowling. We went over and picked up Dawn and Drew and went bowling and then after bowling went back to Dawn's and picked up Cheryl (Adam's mom) and went to Flower Factory. They have some really great baskets so we had to go check them out. On the way home it was time for Drew to eat and he was letting us know about it so Dawn had me start feeding him his bottle because I was in the back seat beside him and we were going to be stopping in a little bit for gas so I could get him out then to burp him. Alli wanted to hold the bottle so when she was doing that he spit a little bit out and she said "oh no he's leaking!" and grabbed a burp cloth to wipe his mouth. It was so cute.

We played poker Saturday night and after we got finished Alli came and jumped on my lap and asked "the" question. "Mama, do you have to work tomorrow?" Well of course she wanted to spend the night again. As we were getting ready to leave she said "I want my mommy" and I told her she could stay at her house with mommy that I would understand but she said "no I want her to come to your house" so I told her that she had to stay home to take care of daddy and she said "well I want him to come to your house too". I guess she just wanted to have a great big slumber party. She ended up spending the night with me and mommy and daddy stayed at their house. I'm afraid that the newness is wearing off of her spending the night and next weekend she's going to want to stay with mommy and daddy but as long as she wants to spend the night I'll let her.

Busy Weekend

2008-04-08T21:31:00.029-04:00

Saturday morning Ron, Cathy, Jeff, David, Nick, Mom Char, Alli and myself went out to breakfast. Alli had spent the night with Cathy & Jeff Friday night so Cathy and Alli made birthday cakes for Jeff (3/28), me (4/4) David (4/5). Alli was so excited for us to get there to give us our cakes. (Thanks Cathy that was very sweet). After eating breakfast Alli and I went up to the hospital to see Adam for a little while and then we left and called Uncle D to see if he and Nick wanted to go to Lowell School to play on the playground.

The kids had so much fun playing on the slides (all 3 of them)

Swinging,

Playing on the monkey bars,

sliding down the pole,

doing the balancing act,

playing pretend baseball,

and pretend basketball.

We had so much fun and the weather was absolutely beautiful. I think this was very good therapy for Alli because she needed some fun time.

Saturday night I did the unthinkable - I kept both Alli and Drew over night. I wasn't sure how that would work but both kids were so good and I couldn't have asked for a better night. I think they knew that Mama needed all the help she could get. We had a great weekend but I was very tired Sunday evening. I know why you should have your kids when you are younger!

Adam is doing pretty good, he actually ate some real food today and he is off the morphine and is doing everything they want/need him to do to get ready to go home. We are hoping that he gets to go home tomorrow or Thursday at the latest. I think they are ready for a little bit of normalcy because Dawn is suppose to start back to work on Thursday and would like to get Adam back home before she starts back. The good thing is that the first 5 days she is back she is only going to be working half days in order to ease back into the day to day grime. Lets hope things get back to normal soon!

No Fooling!

2008-04-05T23:37:00.017-04:00

A few days ago I posted about Adam having to go to the hospital on April Fools day. Well he wasn't fooling at all. He went to the ER on Tuesday and they ended up admitting him to the hospital and they ended up doing surgery on Friday. While we were waiting for his surgery on Friday we thought that we were going to have to put Alli in the hospital as well because she jumped up to turn the light on to the bathroom and there was a paper towel dispenser right below the light switch and she hit her eye on the towel dispenser. We put ice on it right away but we were still afraid that she would have a black eye.

Adam is doing fine - very sore right now but in the long run he should be doing much better. I don't know all of the technical terms or anything but in layman's terms he had a blockage in one area and a tear in another area of his small intestines. They ended up taking out about 18 inches of his small intestines but said that he had very healthy tissue on either side of the section they took out so they could re-attach it very nicely.

It has been very hectic since Adam went in and Dawn has been trying to stay with Adam at night the last couple nights to keep an eye on him so Friday night Alli spent the night with Aunt Cathy and Andrew spent the night with me. I have to say I was very nervous about keeping a 5 week old over night. I wasn't sure I was up to the task but Drew was so good. Dawn fed Drew about 8:30 Friday night and then we left the hospital and went home. I brought Drew home and put him to bed and went to bed myself because I wasn't sure when he would wake up. The little stinker slept until 1:30 in the morning and I got up and fed him and changed his diaper and he went right back to sleep. Then he woke up again about 5:30 and ate and had a diaper change and went right back to sleep again. Dawn called about 8:00 in the morning to check on us and she actually woke me up. I actually got more rest then Dawn did because she said they came in every two hours so they didn't get much sleep. I was just so happy that Drew was such a good boy and I'm glad that I could help out. It did seem a little odd to only have Drew there and not have Alli but it was great to have some Drew time!

It's a Boy!

2008-04-05T22:45:00.004-04:00

Crystal went for her ultrasound on Thursday and she is having a boy! For any one who doesn't know we have had many generations of girls. My mom's mom was one of four girls, my mom was one of 5 girls, my mom had 3 girls, out of us 3 girls we had 6 girls and up until when Dawn had Andrew out of those 6 girls they had 3 girls. Now the tides have turned and we are now in the boy generation. I wasn't so sure about boys because as we use to say "we don't have boys we marry them", but after Drew was born I think my thoughts have changed. Boys are just as cute and I think they will bring just as many joys as the girls have. Drew will now have a little playmate his age and the cousins will have so much fun together. Crystal is due July 23 so we have about 3 1/2 months before we have a new little man in the family. Now the big decision will be trying to figure out a name because Crys and Todd can't seem to agree on a boys name. Stay tuned for more baby info!

Mama's Girl & Papa's Buddy?

2008-04-02T13:30:00.008-04:00

Yesterday morning Adam went to work and they ended up taking him to the emergency room because he was having real bad stomach pains (which he had been having for a couple of weeks) where he couldn't even bend over. They ended up admitting him and they are doing x-rays and running some test to see what the problem is - they think it has to do with his Crohn's but hopefully they will get him feeling better soon. Adam's mishap became my good fortune. I got to keep Andrew and Alli by myself for the first time since he's been born. My mom had gone up to the hospital to get Alli and Dawn had kept Drew with her while Adam was in the ER so when I got off work I went and picked up Alli and then went to the hospital to get Drew. Alli fell asleep on the way home from the hospital so I had to get two sleeping kids into the house. Ron was bowling and Dawn was at the hospital with Adam so I had the two of them by myself. I forgot just how much work two of them can be.

Anyway, since Alli was asleep I got to have some time with Drew which was very nice but the minute Alli woke up she wanted me to hold her too. She doesn't seem to be too jealous when her mommy and daddy hold Drew but I think she is very jealous when I hold Drew. She's always very nice about it but I don't think she wants to share me (makes me feel special). She always says "mama, you can put baby brother down - he likes to lay down" or "mama, I like it when you hold me". The minute Ron came in the door she said "mama, why don't you let papa hold Andrew and then I can sit on your lap". Before we did that I had Ron take a quick picture of the three of us.

I guess Alli is going to be my girl and Drew is going to be papa's little buddy. I did tell Drew last night after Alli fell asleep that we can make a secret alliance (I guess I watch too much Big Brother and Survivor) and he can still be my little buddy too!

Pizza Party and Sleepover

2008-03-30T11:24:00.011-04:00

Friday after I left work I stopped and picked up pizza and went to Dawn & Adams house. Well Alli decided that we should have a pizza party and wanted me to sit at her little table. (Thank goodness I lost weight because it would have been like Goldilocks and the 3 bears "someones been sitting in my chair and broke it all to pieces.") Anyway we ended up sitting at her table and Curious George had to join us and so did Fluffy the bear. They both HAD to have a piece of pizza and had to have crushed peppers and parmesan cheese on it. Actually I think George and Fluffy ate more than she did! Fluffy was very good and got a chocolate bar too. Alli was just so darn cute.

I'm so glad that she started playing with her dolls and animals because until the past 6 months she didn't play with them and now she plays house and really shows her imagination. It's too adorable.

On Saturday I had to work and Alli had a birthday party in Noblesville. They got finished with the B-day party about the same time I finished at work so we went to Chilli's for some Cajun Chicken pasta (yum yum my favorite). When we left Chili's Alli wanted to ride home with me and she asked if she could spend the night and I told her that we were going back to her house to watch a movie and if she didn't fall asleep she could come home with me after the movie. By the time we started watching the movie it was about 9:00 and we were laying on the couch and I have to admit that I dozed off a couple of times - which is what I always do when I sit still for very long - anyway I looked over at Alli and she was rubbing her eyes and said "I have to stay awake so that I can spend the night with you". She was so cute - I thought she had forgotten about it, but even at 11:00 at night she still remembered. She said "Mama I need to go pack up I'll be right back". With that she ran to her room and came back about 5 minutes later with her suitcase which she proceeded to open to show me what she "packed up". I thought I would die laughing when she opened the suitcase because inside was a suitcase full of random toys! She had barbies, tea party plates, cars, a frosty the snowman, baking items, play food, play makeup, bath toys, Lucky the lion, Flucky the rabbit and Sara the bull dog (and Sara's leash so that we could take her out to potty), and a lot of other miscellaneous toys. One thing was missing however - CLOTHES! I asked her about it and she said that she didn't have room for that, all she needed was her toys. She couldn't wait to leave. She said that she loved my house and wished that she could live there but she couldn't because if you grow in someones tummy then you need to live with them and since she grew in her mommy's tummy she had to live with her. She said if she had grown in my tummy then she could live with me. She said that if she had grown on a tree then she would be like a woodpecker and could live in the tree - where do kids come up with this stuff? She was just reasoning it all out and decided that we should just all live together and that would be much better. She was just so darn cute all weekend and we had another Alli and Mama weekend. I love it when that happens because you just never know what kind of mood she is going to be in so I take them whenever I can get them!

Happy 1 month B-Day Drew!

2008-03-27T21:44:00.015-04:00

I just can't believe that our little guy is already 1 month old! Time really goes by so quickly. He is still a very good baby. He is starting to stay awake a little more now and when you hold him he will just look at you with his big beautiful eyes. He has such a good disposition and is starting to make sounds that sometimes surprises even him. He had his 4 week checkup on Tuesday and he is now 9 pounds 14 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long so he is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. He has already gained 2 pounds and 3 ounces and has grown 1 inch. What a big boy he is! Dawn took Drew up to Crystal's new studio in Greenwood and so Aunt Crys got to take his 1 month picture. Following are a few of the shots she took.

Happy 1 month - Love ya Drew!

Artists in the making

2008-03-25T21:39:00.010-04:00

Easter Sunday after we had eaten dinner we did what we always do when we get together - Play Texas Hold'Em. Well Nick and Alli decided that they were going to decorate Uncle Jeff's (aka Uncle honey) shirt. They had so much fun and thought that Uncle Jeff had no clue as to what they were doing. Uncle Jeff was such a good sport and let them do what they wanted to do.

They were so proud of their finished art work and Uncle Jeff thought it was pretty cool as well.
After Nick and Alli got finished with their artwork they decided to take Tipsy (Crystal dog) for a walk. They were so cute! And of course little Mr. Andrew had a good time also just sitting around being cute. I love his little shirt!

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T21:55:00.016-04:00

We colored Easter Eggs last night and Alli was so excited. She didn't want to wait for the eggs to boil because she was ready. She did a pretty good job and even Andrew helped color eggs.

Today we had Easter dinner at our house so that we could spend time with both Ron's side of the family and my side. I believe we had 22 people for dinner and had a really good time. Every body pitched in and we had ham, roast, mashed potatoes, noodles, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, broccoli salad, green beans, corn, deviled eggs, fruit tray with some delicious fruit dip, chips and salsa, cheese ball and crackers, chocolate torte, banana pudding, cookies, and I'm not sure what else. As you can tell it was not a weight watcher day. All of the food was absolutely wonderful, I think better than it has ever been. I'm not sure if it is because I haven't had a lot of this type of food lately or what but everyone said the food was great. Maybe it was the company that went along with the food that made it so good!

It is so nice that my family and Ron's family get along so well together. If anyone would see us all together they would think that we were all one great big family (which we are). Thanks Dwenger's and Graham's for such a wonderful day!!!!

Alli's Dream Come True

2008-03-21T20:47:00.007-04:00

Alli absolutely loves High School Musical (HSM) and Thursday morning my sister-in-law Cathy called and said that she had seen in the paper that WZPL had a special where you could get tickets for half price and she knew that I was wanting to take Alli so she said that she could go pick up the tickets if we wanted to go. Of course I jumped at the opportunity and was so excited and couldn't wait to go. Cathy and I went over to pick up Dawn & Alli and tell her about her surprise and Alli was being a pill and said she didn't want to go. She got over that pretty quickly and she just wasn't sure what to expect so the whole way to the Murat Shrine she kept asking "are we almost there", "how many miles 'till we get there", "can we get popcorn", "is it almost time for it to start". She jabbered the whole way there.
We had great seats. We were in the Orchestra section, center stage, row K , which was just about dead center. Once the show started I think she was in awe. She would clap her hands and sing some of the songs. Halfway through the second half she asked her mommy if after school the next day if they could come back and see it again. It was a really great show and I think that Dawn, Cathy and myself enjoyed it as much if not more than Alli did!

While we were at the play Adam got his first chance to stay home with Andrew by himself. I think he was very nervous at first but they got along just fine. We left the house about 6:00 and I think he fed Drew about 6:30 or 7:00 and then Drew slept until we got home at about 10:15. He was a very good boy for Daddy so maybe Mommy can get out a little more!

WillPower Run & Walk

2008-03-16T15:41:00.006-04:00

Saturday, March 15, 2008 marked a first for Ron and myself. We participated in the WillPower Run/Walk to benefit the "Kids Caring & Sharing" program of Riley Hospital for Children. Meijer was a major sponsor of the event so we were part of a team of 10 people that walked for Meijer. Since Meijer was a sponsor we had to be at Warren at 7:45 for a TV spot for channel 8. Not sure how that turned out but all I know is we were freezing our hinnies off because it was about 34 degrees and we stood outside for about 1/2 an hour (without coats because we couldn't cover up our Meijer shirts) waiting for our TV spot. The 5K started at 9:50 and we were off to the races. I thought I was just going to walk the entire route but I don't know what overcame me but I took off running (okay maybe it was a slow jog but it was much faster than just walking). It might have been because I needed to warm up because it was so very very cold! When we first started, Ron took off running with me but very quickly dropped back and went back with the other walkers from Meijer. I "ran" part of the time and walked part of the time but for my first time I was pretty happy with what I did. I crossed the finish line at 36 minutes 10 seconds, which was an 11:38 minutes per mile, and then waited and waited for Ron to cross.

I was getting ready to send out the search party but finally saw Ron coming around the corner and he crossed the finish line at 57 minutes 18 seconds (not nearly as winded as I was). I finished 109 out of 255 and Ron finished 233 out of 255. Not bad for our first time out. It was a lot of fun and I do plan on doing more walks this year because not only is it good exercise but it is for a very good cause.

Just the two of us

2008-03-16T14:44:00.010-04:00

Yesterday afternoon we went to the dollar store and I bought some foam animal stickers and foam art pads and when we got home Alli and I had an art and craft session. The family was coming over to play Texas Hold'Em later that evening so Alli thought that everyone should have a present when they came over so she made everyone something. It is amazing that $2 could create so much fun and create so many presents. While we were playing cards at our house last night Nick and Alli decided they wanted to have a sleep over at my house. They were so cute and were so excited when I said they could. They ran around the house jumping up and down and then they cleaned my front room to prove that they could be good. They actually did a really good job (even though the mess that was in there was the mess they created but hey they cleaned it up!). As the night went on Nick decided that he didn't want to sleep over and Alli just cried because it ruined the sleep over, however Alli ended up spending the night anyway. I woke up this morning to her tapping on my face and whispering "mama, are you awake" of course I pretended like I was asleep just so she would keep doing it because it was so sweet. We laid in bed for a little bit and watched cartoons and she just kept giving me hugs. We got up and ate breakfast and then went to the grocery store. Alli was so good at the grocery store and stayed in the TV cart (which is a godsend-but she usually won't stay in it the entire trip but she actually did this time!) When we checked out she "helped me" sack groceries - okay so the grapes got smashed a little bit but they were smashed with love.

We bought some cookie dough and came home and made some cookies to take to the bowling alley tonight because Alli was sure that everyone wants some. She did say that if anyone touches a cookie they have to eat it because we can share our toys but we don't want to share our germs. These kids are so smart these days. After lunch and baking cookies Alli was tired and laid down on the couch and watched i-robots and fell asleep. Dawn called wanting to know when Alli was coming home but we were having such a good day I didn't want to take her home. She was definitely Grandma's girl this weekend. Thanks Alli for such a great day!

Back in the Saddle again

2008-03-12T21:24:00.010-04:00

Okay, Okay, I know it has been a while since I posted and I'm very sorry. I have been a little under the weather and so at night I have been tired and not spent much time on the computer so sorry but hopefully I will get back with it. Last Wednesday Ron was off work so he went over to Dawn & Adams to spend some time with them and see Alli & Drew. Well he was in for more than he bargained for. For a change Alli wanted him to play with her and he was holding Drew (do you think that is why Alli wanted attention?) Well since Grandpa Ron was there Mommy took advantage and took a little nap so Grandpa was holding Drew and trying to play playdough with Alli. He actually surprised himself and Dawn that he could do both. Where was he when Dawn & Crystal were that age???? Well Drew is now 2 weeks old and it doesn't seem possible that he has been here that long. He is still a very good baby and staying awake a little bit more but not a whole lot. He wakes up about every 3 hours at night and eats and usually goes back to sleep. He is such a little sweet heart.

Alli must be getting worried about where her little brother is going to stay when her mommy goes back to work because she asked her mommy about it the other day. Then she said "hey - I have a great idea! - how about if Mama Jean watches him because she watched me when I was a little baby." Well mama Jean you must have made an impression on Alli!

Welcome Home Drew

2008-03-01T14:24:00.011-05:00

Drew got to come home on Friday and everyone was happy to be home. Drew is such a good little guy and doesn't make much of a fuss at all. He sleeps alot and the few times he is awake he is usually very quiet. He is so unlike Alli as a baby. When Alli was little she was very vocal and was up all night. Andrew only wakes up a couple of times a night to eat and goes right back to sleep. Hopefully this will continue and he will let mom and dad get some well needed rest. Grandma Cheryl and Papa Butch (Adam's parents) came up from Wisconsin and Uncle Jim (Adam's brother), Aunt Ranee, and cousin Griffin came up from Tennessee to visit. Griffin is 19 months old and when I think back about when Crystal was born Dawn was only 19 months old and I just can't imagine how I did it with a 19 month old and a newborn.

Alli is glad to have her little brother home and is wanting to know if he can crawl yet. She is a big helper and helps with diaper changes and getting things for her baby brother.

I think I have only taken about a blue million pictures and I think Andrew is only pretending to sleep so he doesn't see the flash. Here are a few of my favorite pictures. As you can see we have been playing with the settings on the camera.

Better Late than Never!

2008-02-27T16:50:00.003-05:00

After 20 hours of getting to the hospital Mr. Andrew Isaac Raquet graced us with his presence. Dawn had to be at the hospital at 7:00 Tuesday morning (2/26/08) and was induced and then finally at 3:10 am Wednesday morning (2/27/08) "Drew" was born. He weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs 11.5 ounces and was 20 inches long. He has some dark hair and is absouletly handsome. Mom, dad, Alli, and Andrew are all doing wonderful. Everyone is very tired because it was a very long day but we all survived and we are enjoying Drew. He is a very good baby and when he has been awake he has been very alert and quiet! Alli decided that she wanted to take the baby home so I guess for now he is a keeper! I'll post more later and get some better pictures but I wanted to at least let everyone know he is here!

Just one more day!

2008-02-25T21:37:00.006-05:00

Well we are now down to the wire. Dawn took today off and had a special day with Alli. They went to Chuck E Cheese's for lunch and to play games and then they went to Meijer to see Adam and Alli was going to get a special present for the baby. It was a tough decision and her first choice was that she should get the Sharpay doll with the golf cart from High School Musical and that her baby brother could get the Gabriella doll with the pool because she thought her baby brother would like it (yeah right). In the end she found a stuffed bear that giggles.

After I got off work today I treated Dawn to a manicure and pedicure so that she could relax and at least have her toes and fingers look pretty. She was very excited because she said that she was going to have Alli paint her toenails because she couldn't reach them. After our mani and pedi's we met Adam, Alli, and Adam's parents for dinner and then went back to Dawn and Adam's house. We had a celebration of sorts because tonight was the last shot that Dawn had to take. After 8 1/2 months of shots both Dawn & Adam were very excited about being done. Alli is always a big helper and she does the alcohol wipe before the shot is given. (By the way that is just Alli's babydoll in the first picture and not a real baby.

Well I better sign off for now because we have to be at the hospital at 6:30 in the morning to get ready for Mr. Andrew!

Watch out Mary Lou Retton!

2008-02-19T20:38:00.012-05:00

Alli started taking gymnastics at Fun & Fitness about 1 year ago and Alli has done really well and has moved up a couple of levels from when she started. Currently she is in the 5-7 year old class even though she is only 4 and the youngest in her class (I'm not proud or anything!). There are a couple of other girls that are in her class that she has been with since almost the beginning and they are all so cute. They are actually better than the 6 year olds. Alli can do somersaults, straddle rolls, backward rolls, handstands, cartwheels (very, very nice ones), bridges, and can do a backbend with a kickover with a little spot. They have started doing backhand springs with a spot as well. They have been working on forward rolls and cartwheels on the balance beam which I would think would be very scary but these little ones have no fear.

Tonight they had an exhibition for all the family and friends so that they could show off what they could do. Unfortunately Alli has a bad cold and wasn't feeling real well and it seemed that she got hurt on everything she did - she did however do some really good cartwheels! When they got finished they all received their "gold medals". (Sorry the pictures are blurry and dark but it was hard to get good pictures.)

Happy Valentines Day!

2008-02-14T22:31:00.006-05:00

We were all kind of hoping that we would have a certain little boy here for Valentines Day but since that didn't happen yet we decided to take the kids out to eat. We bypassed the romantic dinner and decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings because I love their teriayki wings. Ron, Crystal, Dawn, Adam, Alli and I went and since Todd had to work we decided that we would go to the Buffalo Wild Wings where he works at County Line and Emerson so that he could kind of be with us (sorry you couldn't eat with us Todd). Unfortunately the service was horrible and it took us over 45 minutes to get our food and our waitress wasn't the least bit concerned about it (Todd was not waiting on us so it was not his fault). Ron had to be bowling and so once we got our food he only had about 15 minutes to eat. All in all it was a good night because we got to enjoy our time together except baby Andrew's mommy was starving and wanted food and when you have someone who is 8 1/2 months pregnant you don't want to keep them waiting!

We gave Alli the present of her life time - a High School Musical T-Shirt. She was so cute, she just kept wanting to look at it and asked her mom if she could wear it to pre-school tomorrow. Dawn tries not to put some of her best clothes on her at school because they do a lot of projects and get their clothes pretty messy and Friday is pizza and ice cream day and Alli is not the neatest of eaters so she told Alli that maybe she should wait and wear it a different day. Alli thought about it for a while and came up with a wonderful solution - she could wear a shirt under her new shirt and then at lunch time and project time she could take her new t-shirt off and put it in her backpack and then when she was finished she could put her new t-shirt back on. I guess where theres a will theres a way!

The next Leonardo Da Vinci

2008-02-12T21:13:00.000-05:00

We were getting ready for Dawn's baby shower a couple of weeks ago and Alli wanted to help decorate so she decided to draw some pictures that she could hang up. She drew a picture of her mommy and her baby brother.

I just loved this picture and I think she did a great job. She can draw much better than I can.

Here is a picture that I took tonight of Dawn (you can definitely see the resemblance to Alli's picture).

As you can see, Dawn is more than ready for this baby to get here. Only 2 weeks to go and we are all getting very excited

Not long now!

2008-02-07T22:26:00.000-05:00

Well we have a date for the induction of Mr. Andrew Raquet. Dawn will be induced on Tuesday, February 26, 2008. Hopefully he won't take as long as Alli did after her inducement (is that a word?). Dawn had an ultrasound today and the doctor said everything looked really good and that he is already about 7 pounds 2 oz, so in another 2 1/2 weeks he will probably grow a little more than a pound so he will be around 8 1/2 pounds. Thank goodness she is being induced 2 weeks early otherwise he would be about 9 1/2 pounds. I think Dawn is more than ready for "Drew" to get here because she is now at that "I'm getting miserable" point and can't get comfortable. Adam & I painted the room a couple of weeks ago and we had a baby shower last week so I think they are just about set for him to be born. We went and toured St. Francis hospital on Wednesday so now Adam knows a little more what to expect. He doesn't like hospitals very much so we will see how this goes. Alli is getting very excited about her new baby brother. Hopefully that excitement will continue once he is here! I'll keep you posted on the baby watch and let you know how she is doing!

A Fond Farewell

2008-02-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

It has been a rather sad week for us. My Uncle Don (my dad's last living brother) passed away on Sunday, January 27, 2008. My uncle was 86 years old and was one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet. He was married to my Aunt Gerry (who will be 93 next month) for 59 years. They were probably as close as any married couple I have ever seen. They did everything together and were so sweet together. He was buried yesterday, February 1, 2008. Uncle Don, you will truly be missed and I love you very much!

The one nice thing that came out of all of this was that as my Dad and I were driving home from the funeral home last Sunday he asked if I wanted to see where he and my mom lived when they had met. In forty some years I have never seen where they lived, and in fact I thought they lived in Muncie which is where my mom grew up. I didn't know it was right here in Indy. We went by and saw the house my mom lived in and he used to live right behind her but the house he lived in was torn down. After that we went by the house that I lived in when I was first born, and once again it is something I hadn't seen before. We then went by the house that I remember growing up in when I was in school and went by the grade school I went to when I was little. I told my dad that I couldn't believe that they moved my grade school because I remember when growing up that mom would walk us to school and it was at least a mile but now the school was only about a block away so they had to have moved it! It was so nice taking that trip down memory lane and spending that time with my dad. I really enjoyed it, thank you dad!

Honey, I Shrank the Kids!

2008-01-28T20:58:00.000-05:00

For Christmas this year Ron and I decided it was about time for us to get a bedroom suite. We have been married 28 1/2 years and have always had a miss match of odd and end furniture for our bedroom. When we first got married we had a bed that we bought for $65 from his great aunt and it was an "antique" and was what they called a 3/4 bed. It is a little bigger than a full size bed but a little smaller than a queen size bed and you can't find a matress to fit it now days. We had that bed for the first 16 years we were married. How in the world we fit in that bed I have no idea, I know we were smaller but we also had kids that climbed in bed with us if you can imagine. When we moved into our new house in 1995 we bought a waterbed frame from a friend but actually just put a queen matress in it. We had this bed until December of 2007 when we broke down and bought a king size bed with matching night stands, dresser, and chest of drawers.

I think I have died and gone to heaven. After 28 years of marriage I finally had a matching bedroom suite! Half the time I don't even know if Ron is in the bed because there is so much room. After they put the bed together I went up to see it for the first time and was a little bit shocked and all I could say was "Wow! That's a really big bed". Not only was it big because it was a king size bed but it was very, very tall! The bed frame is 12 inches or so off the floor, the box springs is another 10 inches or so and the matress is another 16 inches or so. That is a total of more than 3 feet off the ground. It hits about my waistline and I'm glad that I lost the weight otherwise I'm not sure I could have gotten into my new bed - I almost need a step stool to get into bed. I almost feel like I belong in the movie "Honey, I shrank the kids". I love my new bed - thank you Ron and Merry Christmas to us!

No need to Diet!

2008-01-23T20:50:00.000-05:00

I just loved this and had to share it with everyone. I think this answers a lot of questions and a lot of needless diets.

Charge it!

2008-01-21T20:16:00.000-05:00

The other day Dawn was cleaning up and Alli wanted something to drink, and for those of you who know Alli you know how persistant she is. Dawn told her to wait until she was done and she would get it then. Well in typical Alli fashion she asked again and said "Mommy I want something to drink" and so Dawn responded in a typical mommy fashion and said "Alli I want a million dollars but I don't have that". Well later that evening Alli got her library card (thinking it was a charge card or something) and took it to her mommy and said "Mommy if I give you a million dollars will you get me a drink?" Now how could you turn that down!

Chip off the old block

2008-01-19T21:41:00.000-05:00

For Christmas this year Alli asked Santa Clause for a bowling ball, bag and shoes (among many other things). Every Sunday evening she goes to the bowling alley to watch mommy, daddy, mama, papa, great aunts, great uncle, and some of her cousins bowl in a league. She has wanted to bowl in a league with kids her own age so starting January 5, 2008 she got her wish. Alli and her cousin Nicholas started bowling in the Saturday morning bowling league at Expo Bowl. Dawn and Crystal started bowling in this same league when they were 4 and 5, it is like deja vu. The Saturday morning bowling leagues was actually where Dawn & Adam first met many years ago so I guess it is only fitting that Alli start bowling in them. The first week Alli bowled a 66 and an 88 (Marvin Harrison as she sees it), and Nick bowled a duplicate (64 both games). They use bumpers when they bowl but Dawn & Adam are trying to get Alli to roll the ball without hitting the bumpers (come on mom and dad, she's only 4!). I think we have the future pro bowlers starting out - we'll just have to wait and see.

They sure left a mess after the first ball but that didn't discourage them to keep trying.

How about a high five for that one! Good job!

What a difference 8 months can make

2008-01-16T20:11:00.000-05:00

I don't usually like to brag on myself but this time I really have to because I'm very proud of what I have accomplished. It has been 8 months to the day that I joined Weight Watchers. It is probably one of the best decisions I have ever made. I had always said that I didn't like diet food, I didn't want to do WW because I didn't want to count points and I didn't want to have to think to eat. Well I was wrong on all accounts because you don't have to eat diet food, counting points was much easier then I thought, and you do have to think about what you are eating in order to succeed. In many ways it was much easier than I thought and I wish I would have done it long ago. When I joined WW my reasons were to get healthier and lose weight so that I could feel better. I was tired of being tired, and not being able to do some things I use to do and not to mention I didn't want to move up to the size 18 that I needed to wear. I decided to take control of my life and do something about it, so with the encouragement of my friend Tina (who reached her goal in June) I joined WW. Not being mean but being truthful, Dawn & Tina said they never thought I could do it and I was the first to agree with that. I reached my goal on November 7 and then was on maintenance for the next 6 weeks and I reached life time on December 19 - what a great Christmas present! To date I have lost 61 pounds and I was wearing a size 16 (needing to move to size 18) and last week I actually bought a size 4 (in misses)! I would never have thought I could do it and I just want to say thanks to my family and friends who supported me in my efforts. I hate the before pictures but it is what it was and I hope that I don't go back to that - I hope that it truly is a life changing experience for me.

This picture was taken at Crystal's graduation on May 13, 2007 - 3 days before I joined Weight Watchers.

This picture was taken this New Years Eve, December 31, 2007 .

Blue Day turned out not so blue

2008-01-14T21:50:00.000-05:00

Well I may have more time to post because after yesterdays loss I'm not sure I want to watch football for the rest of the year! It was very disappointing and made me in a very bad mood. However it is amazing how easy that mood can turn around in just a few minutes with the help of a certain little 4 year old girl. Somehow Alli can always make me smile. As many of you know we play a little bit of Texas Hold'Em (okay maybe it is a lot). We usually all chip in $5 and play for the "pizza money". Alli came over before the game and reached in her pocket and pulled out a dollar and said "Mama, I got some money from my piggy bank so that after the game we can play some poker". (Does anyone see this as a problem?) Well even though we were upset after the game we all put in a dollar and played a game of Texas Hold'em, and low and behold Alli won (hey guys it's for the college fund). She was very excited and had so much fun - lets just hope that Dawn & Adam don't get a call from pre-school saying that she has started a lunch time poker game with her classmates!

Family Ties

2008-01-09T20:37:00.000-05:00

Sunday was an eventful day for the Dwenger family. My nephew Brian and niece Katie are in the Navy and they were both home at the same time for 2 days so we only had a short time frame to try to get some family pictures taken because we aren't sure when we will all be able to get together again. We had to get 24 people together with work schedules and other events and try to pull together this amazing feat and we actually did it! We all donned our Colts gear for a fun family picture. It was unbelievable that we actually did capture one shot where everyone was looking at the camera. GO COLTS!

Ringing in the new year

2008-01-08T22:37:00.001-05:00

We had our annual bunco night for New Years Eve and had 7 tables which meant about 28 people playing. We also had 10 kids 7 years old and under and they were all so good. We had lots of food and had a really good time. Unfortunately we missed the ball dropping because someone tried to change the channel or something so we got it switched just after midnight. We still rang in the New Year.

It's going to be a busy 2008

2008-01-08T21:57:00.000-05:00

We had a very good (and busy) Christmas & New Years. As you can see I started to do my blog and already haven't kept up with it but I'm going to try to do better.

Crystal & Todd got engaged on Christmas and we are probably looking at a March 2009 wedding. My niece Jessica also got engaged on Christmas and they are looking at a spring/summer 2009 wedding so we will have a very busy 2009.

The other news we received on Christmas is that I'm going to be a grandma again in July - Crys & Todd. 2008 will be a baby year because Dawn & Adam are due March 6 but we will probably have a baby a couple of weeks before that because they said that they would probably induce around 38 weeks. Our family is growing by leaps and bounds.

2007-12-28T01:26:00.000-05:00

My very good friend Linda and her daughters have gotten me hooked on their blogs and I think that it is just such a neat way to keep in touch and find out what is happening in their lives. I thought I would give it a try and see if I could do it as well. I give Linda grief when she doesn't post because I love to check her blog every couple of days and see what is happening. I know it is a lot of hard work to keep up with it but I have a lot going on so thought I would at least attempt to start it and try to keep it up to date. Check back every couple of days to find out what is happening with me and my gang.