Here and there

Had a relaxing and fun weekend with Kevie around town. Friday night we strolled down Main Street for the Brick Street Art Walk.

Local artist Cindy Newcomer had some of her wonderful paintings on display and one seemed to be speaking to me, so we bought it...as an early 25th anniversary present to ourselves. Yay us!
Brew Haha, a fundraiser for the Phoenix Theatre was held Saturday just off Mass Ave. in Indy.

We caravanned downtown with the Allens in our Smart cars. The sun was shining and the temperatures were pleasant so they had a great turn out for the tasting of beers from local micro-brewers. My new favorite is called Two Lucys by Thr3e Wise Men Brewery . It's a blackberry wheat beer and very smooth. After we left that event we stopped by this spot and purchased some of these! Yum!

Sunday brought a nice bike ride and some tooling around in Smartee enjoying the sunshine and good music.
In the mean time, Derby the puppy is still wearing me out. Here is a perfect example of what I witness on a daily basis:

It's the "inertia" time we spend together that I find so fulfilling...whether we are chatting, listening to good tunes, laughing (well not so much when Mr. Carmel Police Officer pulled us over), or visiting with friends. These times confirm just how blessed we really are!

Hope you all have lots of laughs with family and friends over the Fourth! I know we will!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to some amazing fathers! I have been fortunate to have great fathers all around me. As the years march on, the more aware of this I become!

First and foremost is the father of my children, Kevin-you are such a wonderful presence in your children's lives - a great example of who to be and how to live. Thanks for always being our rock- and making our children's lives special in so many ways. I could not have dreamed of a better life. I love you with all my heart!

Next is my own father, aka Daddy. As a father of four girls, you may have wished for a boy, but if you did, we never knew it. Whether it was building me those awesome stilts that were the envy of all the neighborhood kids, carrying me around on your shoulders pointing out all the Martins in your bird houses, letting me "help" you change the oil, hold the solder, or just tag along for a car ride, you were happy to let me shadow you. Little did you know then, that you were priming me for an engineering career very similar to yours! Better yet, you have been a wonderful Papa to my children, continuing to teach them all kinds of things. Happy Father's Day Daddy! I love you!

Finally, there's Grandpa Charlie, who has been the world's best Father-in-Law! You welcomed me into your family with love and laughter. Thank you for being such a great role model to my husband. Clearly you gave him a great pattern to follow. Thank you for always offering to help with the various projects that come with kids and households. Your'e the best! Happy Father's Day Chuck! I love you!

Summer's Finally Here!

Sitting in the cool grass in the shade of a tree with my dogs resting peacefully by my side, enjoying the breeze, the chirping birds, and watching the horses graze in pasture, I realized...it's summer! It's been a long time coming it seems, but Eric is finally done with the extra days of school they tacked on to the original last day. His football and wrestling conditioning has begun. No rest for the weary in that department! His first order of business was the #2 BUZZ! His eyes are once again, the prominent feature of his face!

I forgot what it was like having a toddler (Derby the 4 mos. pup) around the house. Exhausting! The best part about summer for me is that her care now officially transfers to ERIC! Good luck with that, son! Her nose NEVER stops, whether searching for the cats, or finding the cat food.In this photo, Derby jumped up on the bench, stepped up on the trashcan, and stretched across the aisle to reach the cat food on the third shelf. Hmmm....Eric has his work cut out for him with this one!

We're sure Sarah is enjoying the Smiths and the Smithsonian every day. I can't even imagine all the cool "specimens" she is cataloging. Ah, the stories she will have to add to her already incredible life story. But that really doesn't make us miss her any less!

As I was typing, Derby was sleeping....for about 7 minutes, so now it's back out the door into the exciting world for us!

Hope you all enjoy your summers!

April Showers DO Bring May Flowers!

We've all been saying "Rain rain go away!" On the bright side, however, the flowers are thriving. It seems like a long time since we've enjoyed the bright colors and lovely fragrances that flowers bring. Leo is loving his new pal, Derby. He no longer mopes around the house and yard like he did after Millie's passing. Eric picked Derby from the Humane Society a few weeks ago, and she has adjusted very well to her new home. We believe she will certainly do justice in honoring Millie's memory

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Happy Mother's Day!

As I sat browsing the internet on my iPad today, my hubby asked what I was so intent on researching. I responded that I was determined to find a poem or letter written for a wonderful mother for Mother's Day, and I would post it as a gift to my mom with some pictures. He laughed and told me to write a poem for my mom myself! Well, being an engineer, I pride myself on being efficient, direct, and logical, to name a few skills, but this particular skill set does NOT include writing. Just the other day via Skype, I was informed, and I quote, "Mom, you are a TERRIBLE editor! You have no idea how to put together a sentence....WHERE is DAD?" Well, I told my husband that if it was left up to me to write a Mother's Day Poem, it would consist of a LIST of reasons why my mom is amazing. He promised me that if I put together the list and gave it to him, he would gladly make a poem of it.....then he read my list, and said "Print it." As I replayed memories of my mom in my head, these were the words that most often applied.....

THE REASONS MY MOM is an AWESOME MOM

Kind Heart

Great mind

Faithful

Happily serves

Vast capacity to make everyone feel loved

Uncanny intuition

Always willing to LAUGH at any given situation

Generous - with time, ears, smile, hugs, reflections, patience

Creative

Supportive

Always up for an adventure (check out the picture of her on top of an Austrian glacier!)

Great gardener

Interesting and dynamic

Healthy as a horse (or healthier as compared to my cur

rent horse standing in his stall)

Growing up with a mother that has all of these traits (and more that I haven't even listed) makes for a wonderful childhood. Best of all, though, was having the perfect example of what a mom should be so that when the time came I knew what to strive to be for my own children, so they too could become the best that they could be.

Thank you, Mommy, for always smiling your love on me! May your Mother's Day be blessed. My love for you is more than my words can begin to describe.

Forever your #4