"I SEE THE LIGHT, O GLORY..." sing it with me!!!!!

She finally got them! Now maybe Math will be easier if she can see the work. When the lady handed her the glasses case, it said, "High School Musical." Elyse said, "I can't have that kind of case, could I have another one." So she went and got a solid black one. Elyse didn't like that color at all, but had to accept it.

Now Erin & Elyse are twins. OK with you, Erin?

WEDDINGS AND RACES!!!!!

Erin's best friend, Jaymi, was going to get married on Saturday, July 26th. Friday night Tobin & Erin flew in to Midway just in time for the rehearsal dinner. Erin was a bridesmaid, but she completely missed the rehearsal. On Saturday, all the girls got their hair fixed. Erin's was GORGEOUS! The hairdresser put beads in her hair, plus glitter. We have glitter all over the house. Here is the newest couple in our family! What a good looking pair!

A very generous Mr. Peres bought tickets for Tim & Zachary to join him at the Brickyard 400 in Indy yesterday. Zachary was so excited to go to the race (even if it meant playing hooky from church). Mr. Peres doesn't believe in going deaf...

Zachary's favorite driver/car. Next year it will be #14 with Office Depot and Old Spice as his sponsor. I wonder what all the people will do with their #20 memorabilia.

Proof that Zachary was there. Four hours on a bench is not my idea of a fun day. But Zachary loved it!

While the guys were at the race, we went to church and then El Pueblo's for lunch. Erin's ex-roommate, Danni, met us there. After lunch we headed back to our house to visit until the Bolton's had to leave. Erin drove us back to our house. She parked a little too far to the left in the garage and when I opened my door I banged the Torino. I about screamed! Dad sure loves me, he didn't even get mad. I took a dime-sized chip of paint off. All these years the car was in the garage - not a scratch. Just when you are thinking of selling it, bang!

Tobin & Erin made it to Florida just fine on Sunday evening. Now it is back to the grind. We are exhausted from our weekend, maybe a nap this afternoon for all concerned!

#2 POST FOR THE DAY!!!!

Make sure you read the previous post!

Dad had decided to let Zachary mow the lawn (I know Luke, he isn't 12 yet). Zachary got a brain storm and decided to mow the grass a little shorter in certain areas to make a baseball field. Then he decided to make the wall around the baseball field. Notice where the wall went - right into Mr. Hastings yard (six feet into his yard). Wait until Mr. Hastings see it - he will blow a gasket. The joys of parenthood...

THE END OF VACATION!!!!!

We are finally finished with a GREAT vacation! Three weeks of school for Dad, while we played around in Chattanooga. First thing we did when we got back was attend FEBC's Library Reading Party. Both Zachary & Elyse finished their books (Z - 600 pages, E - 300 pages). At the party they made hamburgers and hotdogs. The hamburger was made out of two vanilla wafers, thin mint cookies, green coconut for lettuce and red and yellow frosting for condiments. The hotdog was an orange peanut candy, caramel formed into a hotdog and the same condiments as the hamburger. Mrs. Weideman is so creative. It looks cute - but I am not sure I want to eat something played with before you put it together.

Next we traveled to Science Central in Ft. Wayne. This is Zachary coming out of the "sewer." The sewer begins by climbing down a ladder into a hole. Down in the "sewer" you follow a maze, on your hands and knees, in the dark. This is where you come out after crawling for about 25 feet.

Elyse made it too.

This is the illusion room. I think they played in this for over an hour. Zachary is climbing the walls (which is what he makes me do several times a day).

Elyse is pretending she is walking on the moon.

Mom decided that she was brave this day (stupid, Mom). The bike is three stories up. You ride on a 15 ft. diameter metal circle, suspended in the air. The bike has a weight on the bottom, but it still tips quite a bit. There is a net to catch you if you fall (yikes!).

Around I go...

We watched several science experiments. The leader didn't exactly know what she was doing most of the time. Elyse is being her assistant. The balloon was supposed to explode, but it took going through two duds before it worked.

This was sooo funny. You are supposed to get on your hands and knees. Then you put your hands behind your back and try to touch a button in front of you with your nose. A sign says: "Careful, you might fall on your nose." Dad was sure he could do it. Here he is smacking his nose HARD! It hurt for several days. The kids could both do it with no problems. I guess you have to be young and more flexible.

Now we head to Dan & Emily's new house. We spent the weekend cleaning. Soon the washer and dryer were delivered and hooked up. Emily, Elyse and I watched a whole cycle. You can only see Elyse here, but Emily is on the sink, and I am on the toilet watching. We let the guys think we were watching the washer work, but actually we were taking a well deserved 28 minute break.

Sunday we ended our cleaning with a picnic with most of our children. Luke, Lacey, Grace, Caleb, Ava, Dan, Emily, Tim, Zachary, Elyse and I. We missed Tobin, Erin and Betsey. Here is one gorgeous grandchild. Ava has such a good disposition. She was amazing! Everyone had a great time.

Now we are getting the school room organized. The books are in the desks, some prizes are bought and the supplies are put away. Now all we have to do is wait for August 20th to roll around.

Wednesday we took Elyse for an eye exam. You guessed it, she needs glasses. She will have them in about 10 days. The glasses are only for far away right now, not for close up work like reading or school work. Did you know that you aren't supposed to rub your eyes if you have an astigmatism. Didn't know that! Maybe that is why my eyes are so bad. Another $150 out the door!

VACATION...STILL!!!!!

Yes, we are still on vacation. Sunday was spent at the RailCats game in Gary. After the game, Zachary's Little League went on the field to receive their awards. Here is Zachary holding his trophy. The baseball turns like a globe would. The triangle part on the left is 3-D.

A closer look...

Monday night, Dad decided that we need to see the sunset on Lake Michigan. We were going to drive to SW Michigan, but we left too late. So, we ended up in Michigan City. A perfect spot to see the sites. Isn't this gorgeous?

Going down a little more...

Almost gone...

After the sun disappeared "in the water" we started playing "What do the clouds look like to you?" Elyse said these clouds look like a ship that isn't put together yet. Dad said, "You mean, some assembly required?" We can't see it, but maybe you can. Remember, Elyse needs glasses!

This is a fuzzy picture, but you get the point. This is a "T Bucket." Not sure if it was from a kit, or it was souped up from a real model T. His license plate says, "MY T 23."

Another day done! We head to Shipshewanna and Ft. Wayne soon. Pictures to follow!

THE LATEST GA NEWS!!!!!

Florida was so cool (temperature wise, it was very hot). The kids loved the beach. We loved Erin & Tobin's house. Everyone was putting on sunscreen. I never put it on the kids in Indiana, so I didn't do it in Florida. BIG MISTAKE!!!!! Here is their backs (they are just able to put on shirts today and it is Wednesday - four days later).

Zachary's looks worse but they are both burned equally bad. What a mother!

On Tuesday, I took the kids to a go-kart place. I had a coupon for $2 off, but forgot to use it (I need you, Lacey). The kids loved it.

They only got five minutes around the track, but they didn't care. They were the only ones there.

I thought I would include a few pictures of our cabin. This is taken through the front door. First the living room, and the kitchen behind that. To the left is the one bedroom (which the kids sleep in because Dad has to study after they go to bed). And, we get up much earlier than they do, so we chose to sleep on the hide-a-bed.

This is the outside of our cabin. We are built on a hill (to the left in this picture). The bottom deck is our floor. Above us is a two story cabin and are they ever noisy. The owners told us that this cabin is nice, but very noisy when someone is staying upstairs. But, we wanted a little larger cabin for the same price. So, we suffer when we have loud tenants upstairs.

Tomorrow we are going to Cloudland State Park with the family we met at church. We will also have a picnic lunch with them. Dutch treat!

BTW, I am feeling much better. I had a scratchy throat (still a little scratchy). It is much better and I hope will be gone before we drive nine hours home on Saturday.

The Indians are getting restless, so I must close. Yes, Betsey, these pictures take awhile to download, but not as long as it would if we were home.

The next blog will have to come from home because I probably won't have time to write again. Type to you later!

FLORIDA OR BUST!!!!!

Friday after classes, we headed to Erin & Tobin's house in Pensacola, Florida. We got there in time for the 4th of July fireworks. They were awesome.

Then we toured their house and basically went to bed. Their house is amazing. It has three bedrooms, two full baths, two car garage and all around very cute.

Saturday we headed to the beach. Here the kids are watching the dolphins swim by. By the time I got the camera out and ready to take a picture, they were gone. Sorry!

While the kids were digging in the sand, a jelly fish was washed ashore. We think several of us were stung by them - which only hurts for a little while.

This is Tobin's sunburn. He was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, so the burn is kind of funny looking (if it didn't hurt so bad).

Tobin, Erin, Zachary & Elyse made sand castles. Actually, they wrote Tobin's initials in the sand.

Then we headed to Tobin's next place of employment (the Air Force base - actually it is the Navy base, but it is where he will be for the near future). On the base is a museum with airplanes, aircraft carriers and other military stuff. The kids were able to sit in some of the equipment. Notice Elyse is pretty sunburned.

Zachary loved seeing all the machines. He is sunburned more than Elyse, but his shirt hides it. He is in alot of pain at the moment - we hope he can sleep. We may have to prop him in the corner so his back doesn't touch anything.

Even Tobin got in the act.

This is the job that Tobin will have in a few months. I hope he looks healthier than this guy while he is on the job.

Outside of the museum was a huge anchor. The kids enjoyed climbing on it.

While dinner was cooking, we all took showers and got the sand off us. We were covered. The bathroom floor looked like the beach.

Tomorrow we go to church with Tobin & Erin, have lunch and then head back to the cabin. We are having a great time.

GEORGIA ON MY MIND!!!!!

Tuesday we went to the Chattanooga Nature Center. I had two coupons to get the children in free, but had to pay for myself. The center wasn't worth the $7 I paid for me only, but we did have a good time inspite of the price. I would really have been mad if I had to pay for the children as well. This is outside the center. Elyse was trying to act afraid of the wooden statue.

They only had one room inside with turtles and stuffed animals (not the cuddly kind, but once live, now dead, stuffed animals). Outside the center building was "Snake Tail Alley." Lucky for us, it was feeding time. The following is for your enjoyment. It was amazing and gross all at the same time.

Next we walked along the boardwalk - amazing boardwalk. In the middle of the trail was a HUGE treehouse (I have always wanted a tree house, but since we don't have any trees...). Inside the treehouse was a swing. We had to jump on it to get in the seat. Notice my hair cut. I got scalped before we came to Georgia - thought it would be cooler. Tim says it sometimes looks like a boy's hair cut - oh boy!

This is the inside of the treehouse - notice how big the trees are.

This is a memorial to some lady at the nature center. If this is all they could do for her, she must not be very famous.

Did you know they grew bamboo in Georgia? We didn't. There was a whole garden of bamboo with trails inside to walk through.

On the way home, we stopped at "The Craven's House." The house was used as the headquarters for the south during the Civil War. Then the north won and they used the house for their headquarters. You can't actually get in the house, but you can peek through the windows. Several statues are around the area honoring different states for their part in the war. Zachary and Elyse loved the cannons. After taking this picture, we noticed the sign, "Do not climb on the cannons." Oh well!

There are also HUGE rocks to climb on. Zachary actually climbed to the top of this one. In this picture, Elyse is actually just coming down from her climb on the little rock next to the huge one. She wouldn't even attempt the huge rock, only Zachary.

Zachary decided that we needed "professional" pictures of Elyse. Here is the first one (a bit blurry, but a cute idea to keep little ones busy).

When we got home we decided to eat grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. We don't have a frying pan or a griddle, so we used the next best thing - an iron. I used to do this all the time when we were kids. Z & E got a kick out of it. The sandwiches taste the same, but are a little smashed.

The results...

Now we head downtown and walk all over the place. There is an elevator to help the feeble (like me) climb the hills. The elevator is VERY slow, so slow, that I can walk UP the hill faster than it can get me there. But it was a good rest from a day of walking.

Zachary got a kick out of "high-fiving" this dog. This is one dog that Elyse isn't afraid to go near.

Last year, this bridge was under construction. It is a walking bridge (or running as some nuts were using it for). We walked the whole way across over the Tennessee River and back. On the other side of the river, is the carousel that costs 50 cents for children, $1 for adults. We rode it once.

Across the bridge is also a small version of a water park. Water squirts out of the ground and out of the mouths of animals (statutes). Elyse is climbing on the back of a lion.

Child Evangelism Fellowship was there too, painting faces and telling the gospel. She told the whole story while she painted Elyse's face. Elyse kept thinking, "I know all this, but listened politely."

Now the good part - we had an ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. If you ever want a good flavor, try the cinnamon bun - amazing! You can also see Elyse's free painting job (a princess).

Now if this sign doesn't said it all - nothing will.

Tonight we had a BBQ at the campus with all the M.Ed. students. It was a good chance to meet the students and two of the teachers. Some of the students' families showed up for the long July 4th weekend. I got to hold Lilly - who is about Ava's age (memories...).

Tomorrow ends Tim's second class and we head to Erin & Tobin's for the weekend. We won't see any fireworks, but that is o.k. Erin, we will call you when we are on the road and it is free time.

Miss all of you!