Homework Project

Livie was given her very first homework assignment. Thankfully in preschool, homework assignments are fun!! She's having a thing at school in a couple weeks called "Special Person Day". They are supposed to invite someone special to come to their school and have a little party with them. Em went with Noah and Livie invited our friend Patty. She's very excited! Well, for this party, every child was given a heart to decorate any way they wanted. Livie decided she wanted to paint hers and decorate it with buttons. I swear, we spent $50 on buttons the other day! She picked out rainbow buttons, then discovered buttons shaped like animals and went to town! I toned it down a bit and let her get 4 different pack of animal buttons - butterflies, ladybugs, and turtles. No, they didn't have dinosaurs or that would've gone a whole other direction entirely.



She painted one side red the other day and this morning painted the other side green.

After the green dried (almost), I gave her some glue and she started gluing her buttons on. I helped her fill in some of the places and showed her how to spread the glue around, so it wasn't in giant drops.

This was her finished project! Isn't it pretty?! It's now drying and I'm assuming it will take all of those 2 weeks before the party to actually dry. It's pretty heavy now. But, I think she did a great job. Can you spot the butterflies, ladybugs, and turtles? They're in there somewhere. :-)

New Glasses

The kids got their new glasses today! They were so excited. Madie picked hers out and they are magenta wire-framed, which is totally different than anything she's had before. But, she loves them and they really are cute. :-) Here is her BEFORE:




Here is her AFTER:

Noah's glasses were too big for him and kept falling off, plus he scratched the heck out of them. You know how boys are. :-) So, here is his BEFORE:

And, his AFTER:

Two happy kids with their brand new glasses. Now, let's see if they can make it a whole year without scratching them up. ;-)

Hobbes Drexler 1991-2010

Today my beloved dog had to be put to sleep. This is something we knew was coming, though it doesn't make it easy. Heck, for 2 yrs I would say good-bye to him as I'd leave, wondering if he would be gone before I got back to IN, but he always was there. We always joked that we couldn't kill this dog if we tried. He seemed to have 9 lives! He just celebrated his 18th birthday and in those 18 yrs he's been a giant pain in our butts, but also the most loving and sweet dog there ever was. So, today's post is about him. I want to share the story of his life. I had wanted a dog my whole life. I mean, really wanted a dog. We had a couple dogs before Hobbes came, but they either got too big and we'd give them away or they barked too much or something. Honestly, just don't think any of them were the right fit, ya know? But when I was a junior in high school, my english teacher told our class that her dog had puppies and I went straight home to tell my parents, begging them to go look at them. Well, they decided to go look at them and when they pulled in the driveway, I saw them walking by the window, mom had a big smile on her face, and they had in their arms a tiny little black and brown puppy!!! I was beyond thrilled!! The three of us were so excited to have this puppy! He hid for a little while, under the end table, but eventually came out and joined us. It was love at first sight. We talked all evening about what to name him. Mom coming up with cute names like Clarence, while dad and us kids were coming up with names like Larvae. ;-) Yeah, we were gross. We finally decided that we would name him Hobbes, after our favorite comic Calvin and Hobbes. And, thus the legend of Hobbes began. I was absolutely in love with this dog. And, he was a happy guy. We used to have a fenced-in backyard in RC and if we'd go out there with him, he'd run in huge circles around us, bounding past at 100 mph. Always with his tongue out and a smile on his face. When we moved to Goshen (that's in the above picture), we didn't have a fenced-in yard, so he was chained up and couldn't run like that. So, we took him on lots of walks. You just had to hint at the word "walk" and he would go crazy. I could say "rock" and he'd go nuts. So funny! He was ornery and silly and fun. A great, great dog. He was always scared of thunderstorms and if there was one happening, he would stay right by your side. I remember one morning, getting ready for work, and it was thundering outside. There he was, right by my side, and I told him, "I'm going to grab something upstairs, stay here.", but he wouldn't stay. He followed me up the stairs, I literally grabbed something in 1 sec and headed back down. He literally grunted at me as if to say "I walked all the way up here for that?!"

In his later years, as he was getting into his 12th and 13th yr, his hearing started to go, his vision. His got tumors all over him, a large one between his shoulder blades, and he started to go grey. But, he was always there, sleeping on the chair or wandering around. The kids really loved him. He was a sweet old man. During the last few months though, we started to see signs of it getting near the end. He would wobble as he stood and would stare into space. Dad could actually pick him up and have him lay on his lap and Hobbies would never have done that in his early years, opting always to lay beside you. He'd had brushes with death before having had heart worms and a recent incident where he nearly walked into traffic during one of his wanderings, but he always seemed to survive. Heck, we did everything they tell you NOT to do and he lived 18 long years. He ate people food like nobody's business, drank out of the toilet constantly, etc... But, he was a happy dog. But in these past couple months, he wasn't able to control his bladder anymore and he seemed to wander aimlessly. So, we talked and decided that, as hard it was going to be to do this, we would have to put him down. Em and dad took him this morning and Em said he was gone within 30 sec of getting the shot. He was tired and we knew that. Doesn't make it easier, but he lived a long, happy life and we're grateful for the time we had with him. So, today's post is dedicated to my wonderful, sweet dog that I will miss so very much. I love you, Hobbies. Thank you for being my friend and companion to me and my family all these years.

Pom-Pom Performance

Last night was the Ottawa game, where the girls performed the routine they learned last week at camp. Livie performed during half-time of the jv game and Madie performed during the varsity game. This is the first time she's performed during the varisty and she was able to actually sit in the stands and watch part of the game. She was VERY excited! She's always been in the younger groups and had to sit in the other gym practicing and then we'd leave when she was done. So she was pretty glad she had the opportunity to see part of the games and see the cheerleaders and mascot and all the fun stuff they have during varsity games.




Knowing how unenthused Livie was to practice last week, we were not holding on to much hope that she would perform last night. But, she said she was excited to show daddy her moves, so we got ready to see what she would do. She in the back row at the end there in the picture above. She made it through about 3 beats of the song, then burst into tears, hovering behind one of the head cheerleaders until it was finished. Though, I will say, she did the final split! She wasn't going to NOT show daddy at least one of her moves, even if she was crying the whole time. ;-)

I went and picked her up right afterwards, so she could sit and watch the game until after Madie performed at the next game. I tried taking a picture of her in her pom-pom shirt, but when I say "Look at me and smile", the above is what she apparently thinks that means. I cracked up!

There's Madie with the other girls performing that night. They sat in the stands and watched most of the game. Sorry the pictures are dark. It's hard to take a picture that far away with a flash. And, the ones I took without the flash were just really blurry. You can't see her, I'm sure, but she's 3 bleachers down from the top on the left.

Here's Madie getting lined up and ready to dance. She really got into it and just had a ball! You can check out part of her routine in the bottom video.

And, here are my two brillant performers, basking in the glow of their successes.

Madie's right next to the cheerleader in the front row.

China Pics - Part Trois

Here are the pictures of the Forbidden City I said I would post yesterday. And, yes, I am looking up the french numbers to post in my title, because I only took a single semester of french in 7th grade, so I have absolutely no idea what the numbers are in that language. Makes me sound a little cooler though, right? ;-)



Anyway, this is a picture of the entrance to the Forbidden City. Right under the picture of Mao.

As you can, there were a lot of people there that day.

Here's Pete by a lion. He said there are lions at the entrance of nearly everything in China. The male lion has his paw on a ball and the female lion has a paw on a baby.

This picture reminds me of the final part of Mulan. :-) Isn't it majestic though? Just amazingly beautiful. Much of the Forbidden City has been restored and, again, you see all the beautiful, vibrant colors of the place. This was the main hall of the emperor.

This is the same building, a little closer up.

This is a lantern.

Of course, there are many, many dragons all around China. You would find them on roof tops edges and as cornices like here.

Pete took this picture for Livie, since she likes turtles. I remember Madie used to love turtles when she was a baby and would call them "turrrrrrrrrrr" and really roll that last "r". :-)

This is a large jug that they would keep water in in case there was a fire. In the winter they would cover them with quilts to keep the water from freezing. If you read the history of this place, much of it burnt down at some point or other and had to be rebuilt.

You can see how this one has been restored, because the colors are bright. A couple pictures down from here you can see it has NOT been restored, because it's much duller.

This is the inside of the building above.

Another lion. Here you see the ball under his paw like I mentioned earlier.

This is the one that hasn't been restored. Still quite beautiful though. So, those are pictures from the Forbidden City. That was the first place Pete visited when he arrived in Beijing, before he even went down to Tianjin. What a great way to start off a visit to China. I think that place is just absolutely amazing and so rich with history.

China Pics - Part Deaux

These pictures today are of Beijing and the Imperial Garden, which is part of the Forbidden City. I will post pictures of the Forbidden City in a little while.




This is Beijing, looking out Pete's hotel window. Looks a lot like any major city, though Chicago doesn't have those elevated roads like Beijing does. At least, not in the downtown area, that I've seen.




Isn't that building in the middle cool?!







This is the Imperial Garden. I think those trees are beautiful! It's almost like having Central Park in the middle of NYC. You have this big city and all these buildings in the Forbidden City, then this beautiful oasis of trees and plants.

This is actually corral they dug up and brought to be part of the garden.

Check out this tree. Very cool!!!

Many of these buildings have been restored, so that's why their colors are so bright and rich. Just amazing architecture.

Pete took pictures of some of the artestry in the Imperial Garden. The colors are so bold and beautiful.

Here's a really nice piece that they had in one of the windows of the museum on the grounds. At least, I think that's what I remember him telling me. ;-)

More tile work.

Lastly, this in Beijing and it's called the Silk Market. This is where Pete went to shop for all our goodies - the girls' dresses, the dragons, my purse, my tea set, etc.... It's HUGE and I can't WAIT for him to go back and get me more from this fantastic place!! :-)

Presentation

Today went in and did a presentation for the kids on China. All year they've been learning about China, so Mrs. McGraw asked him to pick up a few things for the class and come in and talk to them about his trip. :-)




He went through and showed them many of the pictures he took, explaining what each one was. He did a great job!! He's quite a good teacher. :-)




I ended up helping him move through the pics, so he didn't have to pause and push the button on the computer every time. It helped it move a little faster.

This was the kids' reaction when Pete showed them the pictures of the food he ate. It was hilarious! They were so grossed out!!

Here he is asking if any of the kids wanted to eat the chicken feet he brought. :-) Again, so funny!! It was a really fun hour we spent in Madie's class and she loved having us there (Pete especially). We showed them newspapers, pieces of the Great Wall, McDs stuff, chopsticks, dolls, money, and gave them candy to eat. They were wound up when we left. Poor Mrs McGraw had to make some order return for that last hour and a half and I'm sure it wasn't easy! Gotta love teachers! Oh, and she took pictures, because she's going to have them put it in the paper. How cool will THAT be?!

China Trip Pics.... FINALLY!

It has been a month since Pete got back from his trip and I have yet to post pictures! I have seen them all, but hadn't had Pete sit down with me and tell me what each picture was about, so that's why I didn't blog about them. But, tomorrow, Pete goes in to show Madie's class some of the pictures he took and show them some of the things he brought back, so we sat down and actually weeded through the pictures and he told me what each one was. So, now, I'm finally posting about them! Yay! Now, granted, there are SOOO many pictures, that it's going to take me a few posts to get through them all. So, I'll probably do one post a day, every day this week, showing pictures of the places he went and things he saw. So, here are Great Wall pics he took in the area they went to near Beijing.

They walked quite a long way up this section. Can you imagine?!

This is Pete's name in Chinese. :-)

This is Pete on one of the overlook, watchtower things looking at the Great Wall in the distance.

Just amazing!

Look how steep that is!! Almost a straight ascent! Climbing the Great Wall isn't for the faint of heart.

This is the entrance to one of the emperor's tombs.

This is a little temple inside the Great Wall.

This shows the different kinds and level of bricks for the Great Wall.

This is the special gateway that the emperor would walk through. The beautiful colors are so vibrant in so many of the chinese artifacts.

Also a picture of the walkway leading up to the emperor's tomb.

A tiny little table and bench set.

See how tiny?! ;-)

Well, those are the first set of pictures I'm posting. I will post other pics in the days to come.