Just Chillin'

I was a lucky Granny to have the opportunity to pick Matthew up from school on Tuesday this week, and he got to stay overnight (on a school night!). Since that isn't the norm, we thought we would celebrate by eating dinner at Chili's, and kids eat free on Tuesday at Chili's!

Matthew concentrated on his coloring while we waited for our appetizer.

Jim was concentrating on something else. As usual.

At least Matthew doesn't have a phone - yet - to distract him from his coloring.

The tongue always helps the concentration.

Ahhh... chips and salsa.

And Big Jon arrived just in time for the food. Of course.

My phone does come in handy for taking pictures at the restaurant.

Matthew helped Big Jon select a beverage.

And then they played a little Words With Friends. I haven't brought myself to download that app yet, but I understand it's lots of fun. Even Grandma (age 91) plays.

We had a nice dinner and then Jon hoisted Matthew onto his shoulder and hauled him out kicking and screaming.

I mean laughing.

Wednesday morning we were up bright and early for breakfast, shower, and dressing...

before heading to Arlington in time for school.

And yes, it was another rainy morning. He didn't want me to take his picture arriving at school, but if you look verrrry closely, you can see him going into the building.

 Have a great day!

A Royal Hodgepodge

Time for another Wednesday Hodgepodge. Last week I wrote about Noah. If it doesn't stop raining soon, we may have to pull the ark out of storage!

Joyce has another interesting group of questions for us this week. Click on her button to see what the others have to say!

1. What is something that bothers you if it is not done perfectly?

Well, this would definitely not include anything in the area of housekeeping. I'm just not that particular about a clean house. Obviously. I consulted Jim on this one, and he said I'm bothered more if it's not done at all rather than if it's not done perfectly.

2. What is one of your best childhood memories?

I have many "best" childhood memories, but some of my favorites were vacations. I remember visiting my grandparents' lake cottage in Vermont, and several spring break trips to Florida.

This one was probably 1969.

1971, Madeira Beach, Florida. (I think Ted's wearing the same outfit.)

1975, the Mayflower II, in Boston. I remember I planned this trip for my Driver's Ed project.

Another favorite memory was the Christmas my mom surprised us all with a gift none of us expected. I was a teenager, and not so excited about Christmas morning. My mom walked into the room with a box, and I could tell right away there was something special in it. I jumped up and opened the box to find this:

His name was Dudley, and he came from our mother who almost never said "dog" without "dumb" in front of it. (And face it, sometimes they were. Dumb.) She knew we all loved dogs, though, and it was maybe the most excitement ever shown by me on Christmas morning.

3. Do you plan to watch the Royal Wedding and when was the last time you wore a hat?

Yes, of course I'll watch the Royal Wedding. It will be nostalgic for me as I remember watching the wedding of Prince William's parents while we were on our honeymoon. Our weddings were really quite similar, as were the early years of our marriages. Except for the castles. And the horse drawn carriages. And the servants. And the crowns. And the "your royal highness" part. In case you missed my comparison post, you can read it here.

 As for the last time I wore a hat? We'll keep with the childhood memory theme and go with this one, 1972.

Notice my youngest brother's arm in the photo? Broken (with a little help from his brother) the day before we left for vacation.

4. Where do you fall in the birth order in your family? Do you think this has influenced your personality?

I am the first born of three, and the only girl. Of course it has influenced my personality. I spent many years bossing around mothering my little brothers. I practiced my teacher skills on them, which helped me choose my career path. When I looked up personality traits of first born children, I found confidence - check, leadership - check, determination - check, organization - check well, you can't have everything. About the organization part, it did say, "they are usually good at finding things, and even if they appear messy and unorganized they likely have a system." So yes, that fits. And, as I've said before, my brothers would probably say the meaning of all this is that I'm bossy. Well, maybe. A little.

Just had to include this lovely photo of my family, probably around 1970. But you could probably guess the year by my mom's hair.

5. Where do you think you spend most of your money?

We spend a good bit of money on vacations and other opportunities for the family to spend time together. We try to balance this by sharing what we can with special friends and groups that have become dear to our hearts.

6. When you need to confront someone would you rather communicate in person, on the phone, by email or by letter? Why?

Well, a first born is not one to pick a fight, so I would prefer to avoid the confrontation altogether. Then I would choose the method of communication most appropriate to the situation.

7. Dodge ball, freeze tag, kickball or jump rope? You have to pick one.

I wasn't ever very good at anything that involved a ball. Or running. And when I was in high school, dodge ball was, well, dangerous. So I'll pick jump rope. I liked the rhymes, I liked jumping in to a turning rope, and I was pretty good at the front cross. These days, I would be the rope turner.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My daughter Jennifer will be participating in the Mutt Strut this weekend to benefit the Indianapolis Humane Society. Her dog Emma, will be pulling leading Jennifer and Bryan around the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway along with hundreds of other crazed dog owners. Her goal is to raise $200. Here is the link to her donation page if you would like to help. Having adopted two great dogs from shelters myself, I know the good work these folks do to match pets with forever homes.

This is a picture of Jennifer and Emma at last year's event. She's hoping for a sunny day this year!

Easter Parade

I wanted to share a few more Easter photos that Darci sent.

Sweet precious ones.

Share and enjoy.

Darci, Matthew, Haleigh, and Andrew will welcome a baby girl to the family in just a couple of weeks!

He Is Risen Indeed!

We were blessed with a beautiful celebration of the resurrection on Easter morning. We had a full sanctuary, beautiful music, bell-ringing children, and a great message to remind of this great gift, and lead us into the resurrection days ahead. 

He is risen. He is risen indeed!

After church, we enjoyed lunch out with family. No egg hunts or jelly beans, but Adam and Jon did wear their Easter bright shirts to celebrate the day.

Trying hard not to smile for the camera.

I think these are their "I'm hungry" faces.

Bryan and Jennifer were much more cooperative.

Aunt Jenny Anne with niece Dot.

Dot was telling her about the bunny prints she found on the front porch this morning.

The buffet was beautiful, including these colorful cupcakes.

They look good enough to eat!

Dara found the eating to be a bit tricky though.

She ended up with a icing-cicle on her nose.

I was especially happy to talk the waitress into a dip of Graeter's raspberry chip ice cream. Another Easter hallelujah!

After lunch, we took a few pictures outside. 

Bryan and Jennifer.

Jennifer and Jenny in their look-alike outfits. Jennifer is rockin' the red shoes.

My brother Michael and his cupcake.

Dara, Jennifer, and Sam.

My dad and my brother Ted.

Dara showing the versatility of her scarf.

Cheryl, Ted, Sam, Dara, and Evan.

And probably my favorite Easter song, by one of my favorites, my good friend Sandi. Well, I'm sure we would be friends if she knew me. :)

Turn off the blog music to enjoy classic Sandi singing "Was it a Morning Like This?"