Our Family Has Grown By 20 Feet!!!!

This is Darren. Back in November sometime we recieved a call from Fr. Daren asking us if we could take in a kitten that had followed him home one evening from the hospital. Not wanting to tell Father no we took HIM in with the other 2 cats we own. HE was a good fit. HE was really friendly and the kids loved HIM.

It was not until this spring that we quickly realized that Darren was not a HIM but a HER!! Ooops......So Thursday night, while we were at Beau's 8th Grade Promotion, Darren was having her babies....yes there was 5 when we got home.......I personally think they look like little werewolves.......

But they are really cute......(and so is Ben)

Ok....so Fr. Daren if you are reading this....we have this one picked out for you, we even named him/her St. Damien just for good measure. Also for your information, the kitten should be ready to come with you to your new assignment :) Just kidding........

Here is another photo of mama and her babies........

So that's the story of how our family has grown by 20 Feet!!!!

Beau's 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony.....

Last night was Beau's 8th Grade promotion ceremony at EHS gym.
That him coming into his seat.... Go up to get his certificate.....
Yeah!! Good Job!!!
He looked really good in his cap and gown. This will be the last year they do the caps and gowns and Brian and I could not be happier!! :) We actually have a collection of graduation gowns and caps (I think 4 of them all white-3 EJHS promotions & 1 EHS Graduation). They are in keepsake boxes now....

The whole class of 2013...Do you see Beau? He's the one with the white cap! (that's Brian's lame joke for the night)

Trying to get all 5 to pose for a photo gets interesting....sometimes I just take what I can get....

Close up of his tassel.....

Once again.....looking good. He had a great evening.

After the ceremony we went to Cracker Barrel for a late dinner.

We really are proud of all his efforts this year. It's been tough but I really think he's ready for High School (wow we are going to have 2 at EHS again!).

Gabe's Southside Carnival......

Today was Gabe's 1st Grade Carnival. I went to help out in the morning. The kids got to go to about 12 stations and do a game, then get a prize. It's really fun for them. This is my 3rd year helping (I helped with Ben's 1st/2nd grades too). The PTO does a great job getting things organized for this. Showing off his firefighter duck.....One bag has his goodies and other is popcorn (they also got a popsicle too).....

Working the ring toss.....

This was the hula hoop game.....

And of course.....face painting...flames....cool!

Luckily the rain stayed away for just enough time for the kids to have a great time. Only one more full day left then it's out for summer!!!!

PS....I just realized that my date stamp on my camera is wrong....this is why I usually turn the darn thing off...it's a pet peeve of mine.

A Hard Shell Visitor........

A week or so ago the boys found a turtle in the yard. They played with him for awhile then took him to the park and let him go.....

Shakes loved to sniff the turtle......She was really good with her new friend.....

Gabe thought the turtle would have fun in his dump truck.....

Close up of the visitor....he was really friendly and did not hide in his shell much......

Ali Visits with the Pets.....

Here are some recent photos of Ali. She was in town visiting (for those that don't know she is living in Mattoon these days) and wanted to visit with the pets.

Here she is with Darren.....Darren is about to give birth to kittens anyday now...Anyone that wants a kitten let us know!!! Shakes looks a little scared doesn't she? I think it's a great photo to the two of them...

Beau's Mentor Awards Night....

We attended Beau's Mentor Awards Night last night at Central. Beau has had a Mentor since 3rd grade. Here Beau and Racheal (his mentor) are accepting their award and since he is in 8th grade they gave them each a photo of the two of them together....
Beau and Racheal...She has been with him since 5th grade (so 4 years) and plans to go to the high school with him next fall! She has been so good with him and he really enjoys their weekly lunch "dates".

And here is Beau with his new glasses.....His other ones broke last week so it was time to get a new pair. I like them....You can see his old ones in the photo to the right.....

My Mother's Day........

My Mother's Day started out with a gift from the kids...a point & shoot camera. Now I love my Canon SLR camera (I sometimes call it one of my kids) but it really gets bulky to take places sometimes. I have mentioned (ok...hinted) that I would like a smaller point & shoot to keep in my purse....well the kids came through for me!! It's a Kodak Easy Share and has some really cool features.

After Mass we headed to Jane's to visit and then to the cemetary to visit my mom. After that Brian took us to Cracker Barrel and then home for naps.....it was a good day. Oh yeah...Brian also got me my favorite chocolate pie from Martins!! Very good day!!

Here are the boys waiting for our table at Cracker Barrel.....They love these big checkers.
We went to Walgreens and got some flowers to take to Granny's site....

I like how Abby is helping Gabe place some of the flowers too.....It's up off the ground where he can't reach.....

There is no vase so instead of placing them on the ground the kids stuck them in between the cracks.....

This is the first time I have taken photos at her grave and I think she would like our flowers......
BTW....all these photos were taken with my new camera!

How About Some School Programs?

It's the end of the school year....what does that mean? School Programs! Having 5 kids it's a never ending job to go schools and watch the kids perform. The teachers really do a good job getting the kids ready for these programs. Having seen ALOT of programs it's still fun to see the kids having fun. Ask Brian this is one of his favorite parts of being a parent!! ;)

Here is Ben's 3rd Grade Program entitled "Saturday".....This is at Central School.....

They sang songs about what they do on Saturdays and why it's their favorite day of the week..
Ben had to come up and say one line "Where is the football?".....he did a great job!!

Now Gabe's class had a classroom play. They sang and acted out all the things they have learned in 1st Grade. They did a great job too.....

Do you think he's happy to see me?

Only about 3 weeks left of school and we still have Abby's Band Concert, Beau's Mentor Party, Southside Carnival and Beau's Graduation (and I think there is something I am missing). We can make it......then SUMMER!!!!!

Bubble Blowing Boys......

Here are some photos of Ben and Gabe blowing bubbles recently. Even at their ages (9 & 7) blowing bubbles is still a favorite at our house. They must get that from me!! I love Bubbles!!

This bubble got bigger then his head.....

Each wand did something different...here Ben's made lots of bubbles at one time......

This is the "old fashioned" wand type (like when I was a kid)....

One of my favorites.....

Abby Goes to Prom!!!!

Abby and her boyfriend Nick attended Dieterich High School Prom on Saturday. That's where Nick goes to high school, he's a junior. They looked really nice and Abby was especially beautiful that night....take a look.....
Yes....those are cows....You should ask Abby what cows do when they are scared of you!

Here is an example when you don't change the white balance on your camera (I had it set to florescent from Gabe's classroom play a day earlier).....See the difference in the photo above and the next two.....We can change them in photo shop so that's not a big deal, just a little more work....The above photo shows the real colors of her dress......

This was taken at my dad's house at the lake.....

This is my favorite one of the both of them.....