Year 3, May 26th-27th, 2018: Memorial Day Weekend 2018

The grandparents are gone and no other family is around, and we haven't been invited to any parties, nor do we want to host anything right now so....another holiday weekend partying on our own.  Oh wait, we don't party....

Meanwhile, we did attend a party on Saturday.  Ethan's oldest brother's open house was on Saturday at Southeastway Park, one of the parks we share a ton of memories at.  Actually, it was at the same shelter we had our wedding reception at 17 years ago!  Plus, we had dates in that park, and we had college group fun in that park, and MOPS playdates in that park...it's a huge, lovely park and I'm grateful we live much closer to it than we used to.  Anyway, the kids went off to play, and when I caught up with them, well, the pictures can do the talking.  Except I didn't get a picture of Abishai because he was so tired from yesterday that he slipped on a ladder and fell.  He's fine, but it was a little scary because we were at the top of the ladder and couldn't catch him.  He was only on the 2nd rung, but still, my worst fears were realized.  Thankfully the landing spot was well padded and I don't think he got a concussion.  But he pretty much was like a walking drunk person the rest of the day. He had a tiny, tiny limp, so I bet he bruised a muscle or two in his leg.  And his head hurt a tiny bit, too, but I couldn't see a bruise.  He was just so super tired, but then he wouldn't go to bed until normal time!  Punch drunk poor guy.  But we had a decent time hanging out with the Strunk bunch for a little bit.  Lisa is very low key, so the party was low key.  I enjoyed talking with a few friends I don't get to hang out with very often.  We talked kids, and Latin, and school, and girlfriends for the nearly 16 year olds, and memories, and...yup, kindred spirits we are.  That fills my heart.

Besides that, I tried to punch through a to do list, while Jared and Justin got most of the mowing done.  It did pour down rain on them for a few minutes.  We thought that was going to rain out the party since it was outside, but it stopped in plenty of time to set up the party Lisa said.  Yeah!  I had been watching the radar all day and in the span of a few minutes, it updated from 80% chance of rain all afternoon to no chance.  That's Indiana for you, and weather apps that don't have a clue.  Justin and Keturah spent the evening watching the original Iron Man, and they plan on rewatching (or even watching for the first time) all the Marvel movies before they go see Avengers: Infinity War.  We have all of Phase 1, but not all of Phase 2 and there's a couple of movies that we don't and won't own or let the kids see.  These new franchises have phases and last for years and years with all their characters and spin offs, just like their comic book counterparts.  Heroes and Villians never stay dead, let's put it that way.  There's always another story to tell.  Jared and Abishai walked over to water Gary and Leah's ferns and to bring in the mail while they are in New Orleans for the week on vacation.

Justin mowing in the rain!  He said it was refreshing! They only did it for a minute or two, but were soaked when they came in!

Hurry up and finish!

Yummy cupcake at the open house.

He only ate a few bites, but he loved it!

Shelter #6, the same one we used for our wedding reception 17 years ago!

This playground was added in recent years.  Justin and Keturah were on this merry go round.

Then I found the big kids way up high.  Benaiah, Ethan, and Ally, Ethan's girlfriend were just chatting away.

Abishai loves cornhole, which is a version of a beanbag toss where you toss it on to the board under the holes and slides up into the holes, I think.  Or you toss it directly into the holes, I don't remember.

Sunday: Made it to church.  Abishai didn't want to go to Sunday School so Jared stayed with him and rocked him for 20 minutes.  Had protein shakes for lunch because we are trying to stretch out the food until payday AND no one was drinking the huge bucket of protein powder until I made it for them (I can't drink it, I ate leftovers).  I took a 90 minute nap, kids did electronics.  Bryce is over and he and Justin watered trees.  Justin and Jared finished mowing.  I tried to breathe and not think about the achy feeling of infection I have and the outright pain in the sinuses near the bridge of my nose.  I also might have cried a little because I miss our annual tradition of watching THE RACE (Indy 500 for you non Hoosiers) with the Rutherfords.  Come to find out, they were talking about us, too.  Supper was leftovers.  Watched the highlights of the race through the eyes of those who use Instagram.  Also watching the taping of the KLove fan awards (Christian music) through the eyes of Instagrammers.  I could have down a million things today but my body said don't, tomorrow is another day.  I have some more resolve for the physical stuff cluttering our home after trying on 4 pairs of pants today and 3 types of shoes and finding nothing fits or I don't wear them.  But I'll physically do the clean out when I'm not infected in my sinuses.  I just...can't...even...do...the.. things...I....need...to...do.....like make food.  So, I won't. I type, I watch, I sleep.  That's my Memorial Day weekend.  We aren't party planning people.  Gotta go gear up for a busy two weeks ahead.  good night.

Yes, I'm fangirling.  My man Chris Hemsworth, aka Thor, my favorite Marvel Avenger character, was in town to wave the green flag at the beginning of the Indy 500 today!  I had been waiting all stinkin' day to see him do it, and he FINALLY posted a very funny video of trying to practice waving the flag and needing help and then finally doing it for real, etc.  It's not every day that this kind of high caliber actor comes to Indy.  And he's a nice guy to boot!

Man, I love it when the other preachers preach.  We have so much knowledge, wisdom, and talent on our staff!  Tom Harrigan, worship minister, brought the goods today.  My favorite quote of the sermon is this: Transformation takes both us repenting and God doing what he does through his mercy.  It takes both God and man.  So, I can't just sit back and expect God to change me or my circumstances.  I have to do some of the work.  And when my energies and emotions and will power gives out, then God can take over.  Actually, is more like working side by side at the same time.  Basically, we need to be in prayer, reading our Bible, doing the good things if we expect God to do his thing.  It's a both/and situation.  I don't have to rely solely on myself, but I have to work at what I want, too, which hopefully I've determined is God's thing, too.  As a blogger recently posted, "The secret to anything is just DO THE THING." whether it be eating well for weight loss, or using essential oils for emotions, or reading your Bible to draw closer to God.  Just do it.  And do it consistently.  Other quotes: "Worship is thanking God/acknowledging God for all He is, for all he's done, with all we are." - from a Bible study the whole staff did together.  And last one.  " Sometimes a living sacrifice wants to or does crawl off the altar." referring to Romans 12:1-2  We are living sacrifices.  We will fall off and have to get back up on the altar and give ourselves up for sacrifice over and over again.  The key is to acknoledge it, repent, and get back up on it quickly.  That quote is from D. Moody.  Tom also mentioned playdough and compared it to being conformed.  We are the play dough and we are to be squeezed into a certain pattern, either the world's or God's like the play dough that is squeezed through the standard toy thing.  Loads of great reminders and great illustrations!

Oooh, another new flower in the garden!

Sure these are weeds, but they are kind of pretty.  I want to clean up the flower beds, but I can't do it myself.  So, I'll enjoy the wildflowers instead for now.

After watching the original Iron Man movie (they are watching all the Marvel movies before we see Infinity War), Justin put together Tony Stark's home.  I need to let him handle the big camera or my phone more so he can make little videos telling you about his creations.  By the time I get to it, Justin has already moved on to a new creation.

Tony's workshop with Iron Man's suit behind a glass display case and the suit rotates!

These cars are like the ones in the movie, specifically the Porsche/Audi looking one.

Master bedroom with a bathroom, including the newspaper up on the wall so "you don't get poop on it."

The kitchen area with Alfred pushing the broom, a table with hidden storage, and a see through fridge!

The gate with a security camera and address on the eye recognition mailbox, including an electronic panel on the back.

More screen captures because this doesn't happen every day.

There he goes waving the flag!  I wonder how he got the job in the first place?  Does he like racing? Did a driver suggest him?  There's gotta be a connection someplace!

Spoilers! Here's the winner!  He's been racing for quite some time, so it's awesome that he got a win!  Several drivers had accidents today include Danika Patrick (not my fav and she usually wrecks.  She won't be back) and Helio Castroneves, 3 time Indy 500 champion.  Nobody was seriously injured in the wrecks and it looks like each wreck was a 1 or 2 car mishap.  The weather was a gorgeous 92 degrees and clear all day.

More Chris signing autographs.

Favorite picture here!

Meeting Miss America!

Last one!  Oh and I saw a video of the guy who sings "Back Home In Indiana" now that Jim Nabors stepped down 3 or so years ago (he sang it every year for like 50 years) and this new guy is incredible!  I think he held the last note for like 16 counts! Loads of tradition and special memories at this racing event.  I'm glad Mr. Hemsworth could be a part of it.

 Meanwhile, down in New Orleans...they know how to party for the race!

Shauna is a much better party planner than I.  I'm glad they have tried to carry on the tradition of watching and listening to the race.  They could watch it online because they were outside of the area.  If the race isn't sold out, then the TVs block out the signals so more people go to the race.  But we can sometimes find someone posting live videos on YouTube and Instagram.  We were just too busy and sick to do it this year.

Sweet!

Nice touch!

Enjoying their time in New Orleans, but we miss them!

It might seem like a tiny goal to some who like to get in 10,000 steps, but I need to start small.  My goal is simply to be more active.  I added up two weeks worth of step tracking and then divided to see what was my average.  It was around 3,500, so I brought my goal up to 4,000 steps on average.  Some days I can get 6,000 in if I'm on a field trip, or at a museum, or at church and I'm walking from one end of the building to the other.  Because I took a nap today, my step count was way low, so I tried to walk around our backyard to bring up my numbers this evening.  I didn't feel well enough to go around the block, and I even stopped earlier than I planned because I just feel so crappy.  I think 5 laps around the backyard was close to 1,000 steps.  I need the sunshine, too, and the heat because the air conditioning runs a ton and I get cold whereas everyone else is hot.  We set it at like 79 degrees and depending on where I'm sitting, my nose gets cold.  I welcomed being out in the 88 degree sunshine in the backyard this evening or in the very hot car on the way to and from church.    I'm not sure why I own skirts and dresses because a) there's no pockets for kleenix and phones and b) I'd freeze to death at church each week.  Oh well, hopefully I'll kick this sinus infection this week without resorting to go to the doctor for antibiotics.

Year 3, May 25th, 2018: Our Day in the Field or Our Field Day

Phew, what a day! Firetrucks, playgrounds, splashpads, ice cream, naps, movies, sleep! Yup, that's what we done did. I think we've been done with academics for awhile because none of us want to continue, but we have 5 days left and need to make the most of it, except today. Today we played hokey and went out for the whole day, that is AFTER we caught a loose dog again! That's twice in 3 days! Jared had left the gate open both times and I hadn't noticed it when I let the dog out first thing in the morning. The gate is not visible from the back door and we haven't had an issue with someone leaving it open in over 8 months. Even Abishai is pretty consistently closing it. I'm just not sure why or how Jared left it open. But alas, Socks got out and we got phone calls both times. Socks doesn't mess with his collar and we had updated his tag last year, so it's pretty easy to get him back. The first time he had gone to the main road, but was still within our block. The second time, Benaiah found him just as the person was calling me, and I thought it was Jared who had showed up! I then didn't inform Jared that Benaiah got him and was waiting another 15 minutes on him, when Benaiah and the dog came in. Whoops! That's the problem when the husband and son sound similar on the phone. Oh well, Socks is safe and we went ahead with our day plans. Benaiah stayed home and mowed Grandpa's yard and took a bike ride, enjoying more “savings” on his favorite pop/tea drinks at CVS. (insert eye roll here).  And Daddy, after starting his day late because of looking for Socks, enjoyed a quiet day at work.

You would think that the 20 or more times the kids have seen fire trucks that it would get old.  Nope!  Both Justin and Keturah took the time to show the different parts of the truck to Abishai.  The seat was hot though, so Abishai didn't want to sit in it.

It never gets old to sit in a cool seat!  Or is it a hot one?

Abishai got in and out of the trucks multiple times, perhaps because he just started watching Fireman Sam, a kids tv show, quiet heavily.  He noticed the helmet and mask and boots!

We reminisced about Abishai and I's first trip in an ambulance when he was not even an hour old yet.  That was a very rough ride for me, lol.  Daddy got to sit in the front seat chatting it up with the paramedic.  It's kind of neat to see the inside of the ambulance when you are not the patience trying to cope with pain.

Buttons in the front seat!

Peek a boo!

And now from the other side!

White River Fire Department.  I forgot to mention that a local homeschool co op put this on for free.  They asked for a couple of vehicles, a trailer that helps kids understand what to do in an emergency, and a fire rescue dog to come and do this little event for the public.  It was free and it was a way to get their name out there.  Yeah for Greenwood Homeschool Educators!

Inside the trailer, our helper (a fellow Creek member no less! she recognized Justin's shirt!) taught us how to feel the door and if it isn't hot, we can open it up and can crawl through the other room if it wasn't filled with black smoke. Then she had some smoke (dry ice/fog?) going to simulate that while the middles crawled through, and Abishai and I kind of crouched through.  And she reminded us that we needed to have a safe place to meet outside if there is a fire.  Whoops!  We have never been good at practicing our safety plan.  In fact, I'm not sure we've ever had one.

The safety first trailer.

Meet Gunner, a fire rescue Boston Terrier!

Lots of equipment to touch and look at.

Gunner showing off his regular tricks like stop, drop, and roll.  His handler is a police officer and a firefighter!  Gunner helps him find people when he's on duty.  When he's not on duty, his handler says he's a "free dog."

Good-bye fire truck!

Begging for his favorite treats, which are peanut butter captain crunch cereal!  I guess I didn't take any photos of the kids when they left their shoes for Gunner to smell and then the kids hid behind a bush and Gunner had to find them based on their scent.  (Which Justin later pronounced "sKent" with hard c/k sound! Lol!)  Justin and Abishai played the hide and seek game.  But they also demonstrated how Gunner will sit down when he finds the person they are looking for.  Too cute and helpful!

After the fire truck and demonstrations, we headed over to the splash pad and big playground near the Greenwood Town Hall.  We had been here last year, so it was fun to see how much everyone had grown and what they could do.  We have reached the point where I can finally sit on the sidelines for awhile when the kids go off to play independently.  Sweet!  They also added this beautiful canopy over the sitting area, which was much needed on this 88 degree day!  Abishai had a blast running through the water on his own.

We went back and forth between the playground and the splashpad a couple of times.  I'm so glad I put sunscreen on Abishai because he wasn't only a little red when we left.  Meanwhile, he decided to do some big boy maneuvers like this next series of pictures.  He literally shimmied down the handlebars and dropped to the ground without fear or hesitation.

Making a big leap!

Shimmy those hands down!

Boom! Nailed it! Now off to do it again!

Rocking the boat, literally, back and forth.

This didn't turn out that well.  Keturah didn't like having Justin behind her and quit in the middle.  But look how big they've grown!

She's got it handled! Zip, zip, and she's on the other end in a heartbeat!

Then Mr. American Ninja Warrior showed of his upper body strength by pulling off this very controlled maneuver.  He literally controlled his muscles like adults do when they strength train.  It was incredible to watch!

Hanging mid air, but he didn't bang into the playground because he controlled himself.

Hanging on like he owned the place, not touching the ground.  He swung his feet for a few seconds.

Then he purposefully moved his hands and feet down to the ground.  Amazing!

Wow! Look at her go!  She's doing this with ease now!

Mommy got to have a little swing time with the little man!  I think he'll always be a swinger!

Abishai insisted that Justin swing next to us and that Mommy swing with him.  Bossy little brother.

I showed you these swings last year, but the adult part of the swing is hardwired to the baby swing.

The canopy over the seating area is new this year.  I think they are adding more because I saw a sign that said that the manufacturer had delays.  Also, I noticed some big pillars with hooks surrounding both of the playgrounds.  It will be an incredibly nice thing to have because I kept trying to find shade so I wouldn't overheat.

Abishai wanted Justin to have a turn as well.

Cute little lending library!  A lending library is where you leave books you don't want or you would think others would enjoy and you can take one if you like.  You don't have to return them.

Another view of the splashpad and seating area.  It was very, very busy today and we had to wait for a parking spot.  I'm not sure if kids were out of school yet in the area, but I think so based on the ages that were there.  There might have been a few homeschoolers as well.

Both Justin and Keturah found someone their age to hang out with.  But they were gracious enough to watch over Abishai at different times while I sat down for a bit.

Working hard playing with his new friends, too, Abishai loved filling up his water cup to throw at others.

Abishai came over for a snack but was shivering!  That water is cold!  He stayed out of the water after that.  I'm so glad I bought a new reusable swim diaper last week (the other one was too small).  It's working really well for situations like this!

Having another snack.  I was trying to capture the blue of his eyes with the blue of the sky.  I failed, but hey, he's still kind of cute, right?

Justin was in charge of Abishai at this point and I was trying to get a few extra steps into my day by walking around the playground.  I turn my head and what do I see?  Abishai climbing up this like a pro!  He made it to the platform before I could stand underneath and spot him. Then he wanted to come down the same way.  At this point, Justin had joined us and was on the ladder willing to spot Abishai and lend a hand.  Abishai shooed him a way and made the transition from the platform to the ladder without difficulty.  Abishai is 3.  This playground is intended for 5yrs and up for a reason, lol.

Then he ran over to this ladder and I did spot him underneath it.  He made it up without hesitation and without slipping.  He's so daring!  But he does knows his limits and backs up when he's unsure.  I try to back off and let him try, unlike when Benaiah was young and I was (still am) the helicopter parent, paranoid that they will fall off.  I'm still paranoid, but instead of saying "No, don't it." I just stand there underneath just in case and let him try.  And this is why you have those birth order tendencies because kid #4 is parented differently than kid #1.

Loads of climbing!  I think we spent about 2 hrs here.  It was very hot, and although we brought food and water, we were exhausted when all was said and done.

Then I drove them a block east of the town hall to across from the Greenwood Park Library to Mrs. Curl Ice Cream!  Abishai was waiting patiently in the shade with these other kids.  It was hard to keep him in line though.  Justin stood in line while I kept track of Abishai.  I was wishing I had had Benaiah or Jared around to walk with Abishai so I could just stand.  Chasing a "I do it myself" preschooler is exhausting!

Abishai loved this sign and kept asking us if we wanted ice cream.  He understood what was going on and was taking orders!  He even pretended to take money and fixed up our order.  I think he gets some of these ideas from watching shows online.  But, it's good that he applies what he's learned to his playtime.

"Do you want ice cream?"

Cute!

Mrs. Curl is to Greenwood what Frosty Boy is New Palestine, a long standing walk up to the shop, ice cream place.  Love it!  This is their food truck.

Say cheese!  Hot and sweaty and ready for their treat!

How cute!  They had a little ice cream truck looking thing to play on!  "Make I take your order?"

Mrs. Curl has soft serve ice cream and lots of flavors to add on top and other regular toppings.  I had a cherry Pepsi "sippy" which was like a slushie,  Keturah had a mint chocolate chip shake that she thought tasted better than Steak and Shake.  Justin had a chocolate chip cookie dough "razzle" which is like a Dairy Queen blizzard.  And Abishai had an extra small dish of vanilla soft serve with sprinkles which he didn't eat at all.  All of this was $12, which is cheap considering we had the gourmet and jumbo versions of these items!  Less than $1 for a small cone.  Nice! 

Some fun signs outside of the restaurant.  We've been to Mrs. Curl's a couple of times over the years, but the kids don't remember.

There's a little stream next to Mrs. Curl's and it's a beautiful place to enjoy your ice cream!

Abishai loved going over the bridge.  It was very steep so I held his hand when we are getting up on and off it.  Then I had to hold tightly to him because the little rocky path was very close to water and it was a straight drop into the water.  I had my phone with me obviously and I didn't want to go chasing him in the water, which wasn't over his head, but still, it wouldn't have been pretty.

I love that third sign.  But I bet they've had parents do that, too.  Actually, on Wednesday evenings, the youth group is going to meet at a local coffeehouse between 7-8 and then come over here (or instead of the coffeehouse?) between 8-9.  That's why it was in my mind to go.  I should have looked for the coffeehouse, too, so I know where to go in a couple of weeks.

And then we found duckies!  Abishai and I were so excited!  They almost came right up to us.  Abishai identified the mommy duck, the daddy duck, and the Benaiah duck.  The Benaiah duck was a full grown lone animal.  The mommy duck and daddy duck had at least 8 baby ducks.  They were all cheeping, too.  It was adorable!

Cuteness overload!  Abishai loved that they came so close (within inches) but he told Daddy that he didn't pick them up because he couldn't.  He knew that he couldn't keep up with them.  Smart.

I can't handle the cuteness!

Watching the duckies.

Mommy and Daddy ducks!

Crossing the bridge.

Abishai making new friends and showing off his dance moves.  I didn't quite catch those movies on camera, but he was practicing his "gymnastics" from the other day.  At one point he had his feet up on the bench and his hands out on the floor in a push up position.  It was hilarious!  We also saw our nursery coordinator from church so we said hi to them before we left.  Abishai feel asleep within SECONDS on the way home.  I knew he was just over it when he wouldn't obey or be reasonable at all.

 Today was a much needed day of play.  It was a great way to start the summer, crossing off splashpad and ice cream off the bucket list.  Not that I have that kind of list.  Wait, I do have that list!  I do have some summer goals, but I'm not being as picky with them this year.  Maybe I'll incorporate some new things like painting on paper utside with all their body parts and then rinsing them down with the hose!  We've already spent several days blowing up the pool and spraying water.  We have freeze pops in the freezer.  And all of this just in time as hit 90 degrees on Sunday, just in time for the 102nd running of the Indy 500!  It's race weekend! Or Memorial Day weekend for the rest of you, lol!