GRAND PRIX RESULTS ARE IN!!!!!

As promised - the results of the AWANA Grand Prix!

Elyse made a "Rainbow Castle" car. It was designed all by herself. She painted most of the car, Dad only did touch-ups. She did most of the lettering by herself, Mom helped a little. Here it is before the wheels were put on (obviously).


Zachary made "#23 - Bears" car. FYI: #23 is Hester's number. Dad figured since Hester was so fast, his car would be also. Front shot:


Rear shot:


Zachary's car in the line-up - #2 slot.


Elyse's in the line-up - #7 slot (notice the pink dolphin - isn't it cute?).


And the race begins. First the Cubbies with their matchbox cars. Then the Sparks (that's Elyse's group - in case you didn't know). Here are all the Sparks that raced.


Elyse won third place for design (Dad thinks she should have been first, but he might have been prejudice). Mr. Peres is handing Elyse her trophy.


Now the TNT race begins. That's Zachary's group (Grades 3-6).


Zachary also got third place for design. Another trophy to add to his collection.


Happy children with their cars, trophies and ribbons. They had a great time.



The 'rents even enjoyed ourselves (a shock, I know). It was a good time for all players. Tye Wade (Woody's son) was undefeated. Dawn Loftis (in the adult category) was also undefeated. Now do you feel like you were there with us? Hope so! Enjoy!

"21" - HOW DID THAT HAPPEN!!!!!

For those of you couldn't join us in celebrating Betsey's birthday, these pictures might make you feel part of the celebration. Zachary, Elyse and I made the trek to Winona Lake to celebrate Betsey's 21st birthday with her. First, we gave her our gifts in her dorm room.

She got a stash of Bath & Body Works good smelling stuff. She said she would finally smell good.

She also got room fresheners for her room. The pictures look like her room was messy, but most of the mess was fresh laundry drying because she is too cheap to pay for a dryer.

Being a teacher wannabe, she got different colored highlighters. She was happy with that.

After gifts, we got back in the car and Zachary & Elyse gave her their homemade cards. Then we headed to a GREAT Mexican restaurant. Micah & Betsey go to this restaurant every Sunday after church. Now we know why. We over ate badly and only cost $20. Not bad to feed four people plus dessert! It was a great visit.

We were exhausted going home. I almost fell asleep. So, that meant we turned up the tunes and tried to slap myself awake. We made it home just fine - in three pieces.

Tonight Dad, Zachary & Elyse have to finish their AWANA Grand Prix cars. Tomorrow is the race. We will post that another day!

AWANA - CRAZY HAIR NIGHT!!!!!

Last night was "Crazy Hair Night" at AWANA. If you remember, Zachary wanted his hair to grow out. We (the 'rents) didn't like it, but we let it grow for a few months. Here is what it looked like before the "cut."

This is after the first cut. I wanted to do a reverse mohawk, but Zachary thought that would be too wild. I also thought of carving a letter on the back of his head ("Z" for Zorro, "C" for Cubs, or "PCS" or something). But, Zachary said, "NO."

This is the pile of hair from just cutting the sides. It was VERY thick.

Here is the finale! We used mousse, but it didn't stick up completely. So, we used Elmer's Glue. That worked fine (it washes out, so no worries).

After AWANA, we finished his "do." Much better, eh?

Don't think that Elyse was left out. She had three pigtails. I just failed to get a picture of it. Sorry, Elyse.

On the 26th, we are going to have the AWANA Grand Prix. This Saturday, is the workshop to build their cars.

Today, we are invited to Jeanie's for lunch. We made "Ginger Cookies" to take with us. We haven't seen Ruthie and Jeanie for a long time. It will be nice to get together.

Enjoy!

MONEY WELL SPENT!!!!!

The money the kids got from Gma Laga was burning a whole in their pocket. So, here is what they bought. Zachary got a game cube for Christmas, so he bought a memory card with his money.


Elyse bought a "Build-A-Bear." It is a poodle, with a fancy dress, glass slippers and light purple bows on her ears. Her name is Elizabeth Rebecca. Elyse is thrilled.

Mom spent her money on books. Dad will be spending his money on car parts for his Torino.

Remember how I shouldn't be allowed knives, well, potato peelers are just as bad. Tonight, while making mashed potatoes, I peeled the end of my thumb off. I was only half done with the peeling job, so I had to wait for Tim to come home to finish the job. I thought about posting a picture, but I didn't think you queasy people could take it.

Not much new happening around here. Getting back in the swing of school is very hard. But, we are plugging away at it.

SHOWERS AND DEDICATIONS!!!!!

The Rumley family traveled ALOT this past weekend. First, on Friday, we drove to Ft. Wayne to pick up Betsey from Micah's house. Then Tim, Betsey, Zachary, Elyse & I drove to Troy, Ohio, for a wedding shower for Erin, which was held on Saturday. After the wedding shower, we drove back to Ft. Wayne to drop off Betsey at Micah's house. The rest of us drove to Grandville, Michigan, to stay at Emily's apartment on Saturday night. Sunday, was Ava's dedication in Forest Hills, Michigan. The following is pictures of all the events that took place.

Tobin & Erin came to the motel so we could give Tobin his Christmas gifts. First was the "Christmas Eve" gift. We always give the kids new pajamas so they will look fresh on Christmas morning. But, most of our guys wear boxers to bed, so pajamas wouldn't be a good gift. Since Tobin is from Ohio and is a die-hard Ohio fan, we gave him U of M lounge pants for his Christmas Eve gift. We also gave him a 50 ft. extension cord for his use in his "future" garage.

A closer look at Erin's Tobin. He and his roommates from Rose are having a beard growing contest. Tobin thinks he is winning.

Now the wedding shower. A friend of Tobin's mom hosted the shower. This is Erin's first gift to open. She got alot of nice things. She was very pleased and thankful.

Tobin's Grandmother, Dixie, with another friend.

Tobin's mom, Jacque, has four friends that she exercises with faithfully. They call themselves "Boot Camp." Here they are all smiles. Jacque is on the far right. The lady that hosted the shower is in the middle.

Now we are in Luke & Lacey's church waiting for the dedication service. Ava, being held by Elyse, and closely watched by Zachary, has a bib on that says "I'm adorable (or so I'm told). And she is!

Here is the happy couple with baby #3. Ava and Logan were very good for their dedication. No crying, not a peep.

Pastor and Ava share a laugh. The couple on the left are Logan's parents and good friends of Luke & Lacey. Keisha, Rusty and Logan.

After church, we all went to Luke's house for pizza, brownies, chips and dip, and pop. It was a good visit. It was good to see the Liabenow's and Webster's - it has been a long time.

Tomorrow, we get back to the grind. PCS starts, homeshooling starts, and regular chores. Tim's birthday is Tuesday - so we need to hit the store to get his special dinner purchased. Maybe we will post pictures of that on Wednesday. Enjoy!

NEW YEAR'S DAY 2008!!!!!

Normally we have LOTS of snow for Christmas and not much for New Year's, but this year was different. We got 10 inches a few days before Christmas and it was all gone by Christmas Day. Then for New Years Eve, it started snowing and continued for two days. So, this is how we started our New Years' Eve Day.

Back yard - notice the amount on the deck (it was only 10:00 a.m. at the time).

Because of the generous gift of Dick & Carol, we ended our New Years' Day like this. Thanks Dick & Carol. All six of us went to the motel to swim. Tim & I enjoyed the whirlpool for a few minutes and then we watch the kids for a couple of hours. Because the motel didn't have time to clean up every room from the New Year's Parties, we were upgraded to a suite. We had a bedroom, kitchette and living room. We also had two t.v.'s. No more watching football for me - I could watch my own shows - and I did. Around dinner time, the kids went home for their "all night" party.


Here is the "hot couple" heading out for dinner. Notice the cool clothes on the mother. Smart kids we have - right?

Tim & I went to Quaker Steak for dinner. It was a good hamburger, but not worth $31. I finished all of mine, was stuffed to the gills and won't need to eat for several days. Tim, however, got sicker than a dog. I guess Quaker Steak doesn't agree with him. So, our evening and night in the motel was spent with a sick husband.

Sleeping was another issue. They have those new temperpeudic (sp) beds and they were horrible. Both of us had back aches when we got up this morning. I hardly slept. The heater blew right in our faces (it was in the ceiling). So, it was either blowing super hot air, or air conditioning.

It sounds like we didn't enjoy ourselves, but we did. It was a fun night for all six of us. I hope you and yours had a special day as well. Love to you all!