Back to School

Here we go again!  It's another first day of school for the kids and this marks Alivia's last year at the elementary school.  I may need a little help this time next year.  The thought of sending her to the middle school is terrifying to me!  It just doesn't seem possible.  

The kids are looking forward to their teachers and classes.  Alivia's in 5th grade with Mrs. Sell.  She has several classmates with her that she considers good friends, so that always makes it fun.  She's most excited about getting her Chromebook.  Drew's in 3rd grade with Mrs. Moan (the same 3rd grade teacher Alivia had).  He's thrilled his best friend, Ryan, is in that class, too.  He was looking forward to STEM today.  This is the first year he'll get to participate in that special class.

This summer flew by faster than any before and the kids noticed that as well.  We're looking forward to getting back into our routine.  The summer schedule is fun - late night ball games and late evening meals with friends - but I've missed the hour or two of relaxation in the evening.  It will take a little while to get use to those early mornings, but these two were up at 5:10am to get ready today.  Liv needed time to fix her hair and Drew still doesn't know how to sleep in at all.

A special thanks to Mamaw for the outfits and Aunt Leslie for the shoes.  They always make sure these two look great on day one! :)  It was a rainy morning, so we took a before and after pic.

Shoe Shopping with Leslie

We spent Friday afternoon shopping for new shoes with Aunt Leslie.  This is a tradition Leslie enjoys as much as the kids.  They don't quite realize it yet, but they're so fortunate to have her spoil them.  I appreciate it, too! :)  We went to several stores before finally making decisions.  Alivia ended up with a pair of Toms (just like Aunt Leslie's) and Drew found some Adidas tennis shoes.  They'll going to look great next week!  You'll see the ornery smiles of Drew in the pics below.  He's not a fan of getting his picture taken, but loves to ham it up once in a while. :)  Thanks so much, Aunt Leslie!

Flashback Friday

When this memory popped up on my phone the other day, I couldn't believe it was four years ago.  We had taken a ride to McDonald's for a snack and were on our way home.  Looking back, it seemed crazy to think we had Drew riding on the rode at only 4 years old!

We decided to recreate the memory with a bike ride to Drew's baseball practice the other night.  It wasn't one of my brightest ideas, as traffic was a little too heavy at 6pm.  We survived and even made it across the overpass to stop at McDonald's again for a treat on our way back.  That was Brad's idea, not mine!  The kids did great!  This 3.5 mile ride one-way was nothing compared to some of their 12-14 mile trail rides.  We're hoping they will enjoy bike riding for years to come.

2014

2018 - getting home just minutes before the sun set

Alivia's Lake Weekend

Alivia was invited to spend the weekend at Sweetwater Lake with Molly's family.  When the invite came, we all wished we could go!  The decision was easy for Liv as she the other option was going to another one of Drew's baseball tournaments.  The girls had a blast!  They only had a short period of rain and ended up with great temperatures all weekend long.  They went tubing, fishing and made lots of crafts.  I don't think she missed us one minute!

Summer with Riley

The news of Brad's new job didn't come until after Memorial Day, so we needed to find child care for the month of July quickly.  We've known Riley's family for a few years now and felt she'd be a great fit for the kids this summer.  Thankfully, she was free to help all but one of the days we needed it.  These three did science experiments, rode bikes to Dairy Queen and even created a homemade dunk tank with a bucket and Brad's ladder.  They were so excited to have her here.  We're so thankful they made lots of fun memories.

Drew's Last Coach Pitch Tournament

The state tournament in Edinburgh was the last coach-pitch weekend for Drew.  Brad was asked to pitch all five games, so it was fun for them to do this together.  The boys finished pool play as a one seed and made it to the championship game on Sunday afternoon.  Although we came up a run short, it was a great run for these kids.  They've improved so much since our first travel experience in July 2016.  I can't get over how much older they all look!  We were so proud of Drew.  He loves the game and does a great job at shortstop.  He's a leader, awesome teammate and so much fun to cheer for.  We're not taking any time off as the boys will be playing in two additional tournaments before school starts.  We'll see how they do against kid pitch soon! 

Softball Weekends

Alivia has finished two of four tournaments so far this summer.  She's playing first base, batting 2nd in the order and is a beast on the bases.  Last weekend we were at New Pal and she was clearly taunting the catcher and pitcher every time she reached 3rd base.  She was smiling and laughing at them trying to get them to throw the ball.  She'd eventually score on an error by one of them.  When I asked her about it after the game, she told me that it's her favorite part and she was intentionally not scoring so she could keep doing it. Oh my!

My Daily Work

I just so happened to make the Riley media pages last week after a team member showed up on the unit.  They try to post something every day and I ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Nonetheless, this was a great way to showcase how Child Life can impact surgery patients and families.  I'm so blessed to be able to do a job that's so fulfilling and rewarding.  It's a gift to be a part of this team and I certainly don't take it for granted.  Child Life jobs are hard to come by these days.  There are only two Child Life Specialists (Beth and myself) dedicated specifically to surgery in the state of Indiana.  The opportunity we have been given to job-share is a blessing for both of us.  I don't talk about it much on the blog, but thought this picture was worth sharing.  I am blessed!

Fireworks

This was probably the hottest, most humid baseball game I've ever sat through!  It was 98 degrees when we walked to the stadium at 5:15pm.  I felt like I was soaked every time I got out of my seat and we were in the shade!  The Greulich's joined us as well, so the kids had lots of fun.  The fireworks shows were exceptional this year, too.  We always enjoy the Indians show because we sit so close, and our view of the Indy fireworks is perfect.  Happy Independence Day!