Nursery Rhyme Olympics

Matthew's Kindergarten hosted the Nursery Rhyme Olympics in the gym at Arlington Elementary this evening. Mrs. Dougherty's kindergarten class entertained an appreciative audience with rhymes, songs, and relays based on classic nursery rhymes. Here is Matthew holding his sunflower, and below is the video of their sunflower song. You will want to stop the music on the blog before you play the videos.




After the sunflower segment, they were ready to share some songs and nursery rhymes.

This video is a little blurry, but I liked the expression during Hickory Dickory Dock.



And this video is of their favorite, 1-2-345 Once I Caught A Fish Alive. They are usually saying this one on Wednesdays when they come out in line for dismissal.



After the songs, they were ready for some action. Matthew was on Team Humpty Dumpty. They weren't the best team at the relays, but they had fun. Here is Matthew concentrating on keeping his ping pong ball on the spoon.


When the relays were finished, all the students were called by name to receive a medal, just like in the real Olympics.

The students welcomed parents and grandparents to their classroom after the program to enjoy some snacks made to go along with the nursery rhyme theme. Matthew enjoyed his spider cupcake with M & M's.

He had made special spider crackers with peanut butter middles and pretzel legs to share.

As usual, Matthew had a group of his fans there, and took a minute to pose with his daddy before everyone headed home.

A Victory and A Birthday

We set out early to see the Boilers take on the Fighting Illini, hoping we could keep up the momentum from last week's victory over the Buckeyes. Alli rode up with us, and we were looking forward to a day with the whole gang.

We were happy to have David and Shylah back with us to help the tailgate set up run smoothly!

Here, the Boilermaker Special leads the team buses to the stadium.


Alli and Adam at the tailgate, trying to keep warm. :)

The whole family!

Jon was not feeling too well. That's why I cut off his hands in the picture.

Purdue managed to win the game through a cold drizzle. We headed out a couple minutes early, so I didn't get a shot of the final scoreboard or the W flag this time. It's a bit of a challenge to get out of the parking lot after a game, and Logan's was expecting 15 of us to celebrate Adam's birthday.

Matthew was glad to have his buddy Tyler with him at dinner. Tyler was happy later that evening as his Iowa Hawkeyes managed to pull out a victory over Michigan State. Go Hawks!

Tyler gave the big mouth burger his best shot.

Adam cheesin' it with his birthday cake.

Adam and Alli ready for cake.

David and Shylah.

Matthew was doing his best to chew up his steak tips.

Showing a bit in the process.

And giving us a sly grin. :/.

It was a fun day, even though I was losing my voice. By the end of the day, I couldn't really say much of anything. I'm sure the family was enjoying the opportunity to have me speechless for a bit! Jim was kind enough to do the children's sermon at church this morning, since I still can't talk, and didn't want to spread germs. Being sick isn't so bad when we can celebrate the Boilers, Adam's 19th, and a Saints' come from behind victory all at the same time!

Friday Fun

It seems like every Friday we end up at El Reparo. This Friday it was for lunch with Jim, Boomie, Darci, and Matthew. Matthew had the day off for fall break, so after getting his shot at the doctor, he selected El Reparo for lunch. Big surprise. Here he is again enjoying his favorite part of the meal.

Darci and Matthew being silly.

Matthew's lunch: quesadilla and fries. With ketchup of course.

My lunch: yummy taco salad.

Matthew enjoyed the quesadilla.

After lunch we went to see Nana for a quick visit. She had a big trip to the beauty shop in the morning and was resting up when we got there. She may have a cast on her leg, but she does not want to miss her weekly appointment with Jackie!!

Now Her Bones Are Mending in a Plaster Cast

Nana got a cast on her leg on Monday. A beautiful bright pink one!! She still has staples in the incision, which they plan to remove next week. Dr. T said he would just cut a hole in the cast, take them out, and patch the cast back up. Amazing!

Matthew was the first (possibly only) one to sign her cast. He made sure everyone could see his name on there. I hope they don't cut his name when they take out the staples.

She has a nifty system to lift her leg. A friend suggested using two old neckties to lift and swing her leg in and out of bed, and up onto the couch or stool. It works pretty well, and we experimented to find the best way to tie them to her foot. We may need to find her some pink ties to match that neon cast!

Matthew helped her test it out. He thought it was pretty heavy!!

P is for Pumpkin

Matthew and I thought we would do some pumpkin carving today. After I picked him up from school, we stopped at Kroger in Rushville to buy some pumpkins. I put 3 in our cart, and Matthew noticed right away that the sign said "3 for $10." He decided that 2 of the pumpkins cost $3 each, and the big one was $4. We brought them home and chose one that would be best for carving. Here is Matthew, ready to begin.

First we had to cut the top off. Matthew is tugging to try to get it to come loose.

Here he is pulling it off. There were lots of seeds attached. He told me we should cook them with a little salt. He thought we would need vanilla to get the salt to stick. I think they tried it in their kindergarten class.

He is ready to try scooping out the insides with a spoon.

He decided his hand worked much better. It was a little gooey, though!

Here are the pumpkin innards. We threw them out by the creek. Maybe we'll find some pumpkins growing down there.

Now it is time to carve. I located 2 carving tools for kids. They were still in the package with a $.99 price tag from Hooks. I wonder how long I've had those??

Here he is with our finished creation.

You probably guessed that P is not just for pumpkin. We thought we could take it to our tailgate on Saturday. Hail Purdue!

A Day With Margaret

I was happy for the chance to spend the day with Margaret today, and we had a good time. I arrived a little early at the YMCA so I could watch some of the swimming. She was happy to see me, and she is very rewarding when she greets me with "Suusan!!!"

She was enjoying play time in the water with her preschool class.

All dressed and having a little discussion with Sandy the dog.

She got to do some coloring while we finished up some work upstairs.

She even got to sleep in Jennifer's big bed for her nap. Here she is just waking up.

We played a little, and then she wanted to go to "the farm," so we went to the barn to feed Pee Wee. He was making hungry noises, which scared her a little bit. She fed the cats, and we checked on the rabbit. She was wondering "what's that smell?" around the barn, but that seemed to be a favorite phrase today. She is always entertaining and fun to have around, and I got a sweet hug when it was time for her to leave.

Book Club Monday

Our book this week was The Last Town on Earth, by Thomas Mullen. It is the story of the small town of Commonwealth, located in the Pacific Northwest, during World War I. Commonwealth votes to quarantine itself against the deadly influenza striking down vast numbers of citizens in surrounding communities. Guards are posted at the road leading in and out of town, and the encounter that occurs puts the entire town, and its values, at risk.

The group found the book to be very interesting, and also timely, with the current outbreak of the H1N1 virus throughout our country. Some of the ladies remembered stories of this very flu epidemic, which took place in 1918. They had been told of the devastation and the toll it took on families. They had heard of their own family members who became sick with the flu themselves, and also cared for others who were also ill. It is interesting to note that far more Americans died of the flu than died in World War I, which happened concurrently.

I give thanks to Diana Welch, who suggested this book to me. We stay in touch through Facebook, and she is in a book club in Denver where she lives with her husband and sweet baby Kellen. The book was quite fascinating, our group would highly recommend it.

Drew Dat!!

Ok, I have to post about Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. I heard he sent a text message to Joey Elliot Friday night and told him to "shock the world" against OSU. I'm pretty sure that is the reason Purdue was able to win the game on Saturday. After all, wasn't it Drew who orchestrated the most exciting Purdue victory over Ohio State EVER!!??

So here is Drew, yes, in need of a haircut, but smiling because after today's game they are 5-0! He was on fire today (to quote Jamalyn) and led the team to a win over the previously unbeaten NY Giants... sorry Eli.

He can do it all. Here he is running the ball. He passes the ball well, too.

And pass he did. He was 23/30 for 369 yards and 4 touchdowns. Final score, Saints 48 Giants 27. Drew threw his 100th touchdown pass as a Saint. Can't wait to get a Tweet from him this week. :) Yes, I follow him on Twitter.

Jim and I are hoping that they play as well when we go to NOLA to see them play the Carolina Panthers. But for now, we'll celebrate a great weekend of football. Who Dat!!

Just say NO to O - H - I - O!!

Oh. My. Gosh. It's truly a great day to be a Boilermaker. We started out the day early, loaded up the van, Jim, Matthew, Susan, stopped to get the donuts, picked up Grandpa, and we were off. We were looking forward to a great day of tailgating, anticipating that the breakfast would be the highlight of the game. We were so wrong.

Jennifer and Chris enjoy some corn hole. They even had a film crew shoot a little footage during their game.

Matthew and Abbi were bundled up and ready to face the West Lafayette chill.

We picked up Jennifer and Dustin in Zionsville. Adam and his buddies dropped off Adam's car at David and Shylah's and piled in the van for the short ride to the tailgate lot. Adam likes to call his friends "large Americans."

Grandpa and Jim at the tailgate. Grandpa was amazed at the great set-ups in the tailgate lot. I think it was the first time he had experienced the fun and festivities that take place in the parking lot before the game. He was impressed as we unloaded all the comforts of home right from the back of the van. Kind of like that magic carpet bag.

Andrew and Darci brought their friend Matt and his daughter Abbi. Shelly and Makenna weren't able to come this time. Open your eyes, Andrew.

Continuing the corn hole game with the other Chris and Adam.

Jim cooks the pancakes.

Darci and Jamalyn.

Dave and Jamalyn joined us for the tailgate, and arrived in plenty of time despite being sent on a detour while en route. It was fun having them with us, and especially since it ended up being a great day, beginning to end!

Abbi and Matthew got a chance to meet Purdue Pete before the game. Boiler Up!

Jamalyn tried some blueberry pancakes. I know David is sorry he missed the blueberries. :)

Darci, Andrew and Matthew.

"I Am An American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four. You could write them on your thumbnail or you could sweep them across this crisp October sky. But remember too that they are more than words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them speak them firmly; speak them proudly; speak them gratefully. I Am An American."

The flyover was cool.

Betsy is a Gimlet. They had some action during the game doing push ups.

Coach Tressel was hiding his sweater vest. He was not looking too happy at this point.

Grandpa and Jim enjoyed the game from the box with the Ag Department.

The final score. Victory for the home team. How 'bout them Boilers??!!

The students rush the field.

It was good to see the W again.

Matt, Abbi, Matthew and Andrew venture on to the field as well. Matt was hoping for the chance to do this.


Walking into the crowd. We could spot them by Abbi's pink coat.

Winning quarterback Joey Elliot comes to the stands to greet his mama. What a good boy.

A happy group after the game. Adam and buddies, Jamalyn and Dave, Grandpa and Jim, Jennifer and Dustin. Hail Purdue!