Her Final Walk

Each year the 5th grade students take a walk through the halls before leaving the building.  They get high fives from the kids, hugs from former teachers and a chance to reminisce along the way.  Alivia had given each of her teachers a hand-written note, too.  (I didn't realize this until her 3rd grade teacher told me earlier in the day.)  She held it together, shedding a few tears along the way.  I still remember her crying when she finished kindergarten (click here) so it was only fitting for her to cry now, too.  While it's hard to believe she's ready for middle school, I'm so excited to see what is next.  Peace out, MCE! :)

 No matter where this life takes you, we'll always walk beside you and be your biggest fans!

Field Day Fun

It was cold and raining all morning, but the sun came out the afternoon of field day.  I volunteered to work the tug-of-war station, so I got to watch the classes battle for bragging rights.  Boys vs girls was always the theme.  Liv's class of girls dominated the boys with ease.  Drew's class lost to the girls in one round but beat them in the next two.  He was thrilled!  Thanks to lots of help, I was able to walk around a bit and watch the other stations, too.  They had so much fun!

5th Grade Promotion

Alivia's 5th grade promotion was Wednesday.  It was a nice ceremony where students were recognized for all they had participated in throughout the year.  Alivia received several certificates and was most proud of her all "A" honor roll award.  She's had such a great year!  Brad was able to attend, but left before pictures to return to work.  We can't wait to see where the future takes you, Alivia!

Getting her awards from Mrs. Sell

Mrs. Sell's 5th grade class

Alivia & Hailey

Alivia & Bailey

A rare pic with mom. :)

Alivia & Marissa

Alivia & Aubry

Alivia & Cara

DQ Treat

This last week of school is all about fun, so we've enjoyed some relaxing evenings with little on our schedule.  The WC soccer teams had a benefit night at Dairy Queen, so of course we needed to show our support. :)  I don't think these two will ever turn down ice cream!

Math T-Races

Each year the teachers have competitions in their classrooms to determine an addition and multiplication champion.  Alivia and Drew both won for addition.  The students then come together to compete in front of the entire school.  Drew ended up winning in two quick rounds to be named the 3rd grade champ.  Alivia won the first round but lost the next two.  This was Alivia's 2nd time to participate in the last three years.  Since Drew won, he then had to compete against the 4th and 5th grade winners.  He ended up scoring 1 point, earning him 2nd place.  When it was all over, he told me he's ready for a rematch next year. :)  I wasn't planning on attending due to short notice on my work day, but I made it and was so happy to watch them.  They did great!  They even sat next to each other, got along and cheered for each other, too.  It was a big parenting win!

So proud of these two!

Ryan and Drew were Mrs. Moan's classroom winners.

Alivia and Aubry were Mrs. Sell's classroom winners.

Race Day Without Rain

We packed for a day of rain and as you can see from the pictures, it was beautiful instead.  The forecast when we went to bed the night before showed a 90% chance of rain and storms.  When we got up in the morning it looked like there was a dry window from 12p-2p.  At this point we were just hopeful to get enough of the race in that we wouldn't need to come back on Monday.  We took ponchos, umbrellas, trash bags, towels, etc.  And I almost left home without the sunscreen and sunglasses, but Brad insisted we take them anyway.  The sun peaked out while we loaded the bikes and stayed out all day long.  It was perfect with just one exception - Brad got a flat time right outside the track. :(  We decided to head to the track early this year to take advantage of the pre-race festivities.  Craig and Tessa had family in town joining them, so they road with the group from City Market.  Thankfully they were still there when we realized the tire was shot and Craig picked up a new tube at BGI downtown.  Whew!  We changed it after the race and were good to go.  The race had a great finish.  After a wreck brought out the red flag to stop the cars while the barrier was fixed, it was back and forth between Pagenaud and Rozzi for 14 laps.  They made it exciting and Pagenaud finished the month of May with a clean sweep.  He won the Grand Prix, Indy 500 pole position and race!

Cardboard Arcade

Alivia and Drew have both participated in high-ability classes for reading and math.  Each year they get to create a cardboard arcade as their final project.  Alivia and Aubry made a pac-man game, while Drew and Ryan made skee-ball.  While I probably spent way too much money on duct tape and candy (they needed prizes to encourage kids play), they loved it!  Both kids wanted me to stay for lunch after it was over, so I treated Drew and Gavin to Subway.  Liv decided she just wanted her usual PB&J instead. :)

A Hidden Talent

Alivia brought home a talent show tryout form in April and with a little encouragement from Brad, she decided she wanted to enter.  Her hidden talent of bouncing on the pogo-stick and playing basketball is pretty original.  She often bounces while Drew plays basketball and quickly learned she could do both at the same time.  She really never rehearsed or practiced, but finished as the 2nd highest scoring act after tryouts.  She easily made the show!

When the day came, I was so nervous for her.  She mentioned how different it was to bounce on the gym floor.  It's much more slippery than the driveway blacktop.  I was just praying she wouldn't fall.  She later told us she was shaking, but no one could tell at all.  She set everything up, went around the cones, over the last, got the ball and hit her first shot!  She nailed it and the crowd went wild!  (Thanks to Cara for the assist, too!)

Never in my life would I have done something like this.  The guts and confidence she had to get up in front of her peers to do something so out of the ordinary was inspiring.  She hopped in the car after school and said kids she didn't even know were coming up and hugging her.  We are always proud of her, but this was so different than her usual achievements.  Way to go, Alivia!

My Work Spouse - 14 Years Later

This month marks my 14th year at Riley Hospital for Children.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve the families and patients and am so blessed to do it alongside my best friend.  Beth and I started at Riley within a month of each other and hit it off right away.  We both grew up on farms, went to Purdue and loved to eat!  There was an instant connection that would never fade. :)  Eight years ago I started talking to her about the idea of job-sharing a position in surgery.  While she didn't have kids at the time, she knew they were in the near future and took a leap of faith to go part-time with me.  We gave up working together on a daily basis, but have found so much happiness as a team.  We make time to talk on the phone weekly and send each other way too many emails to always keep one another in the loop.  All in all, it works!  And it works so well I can't imagine doing it with anyone else.  This truly gives me the work/life balance I need to be a great mom and great child life specialist.  I couldn't be more grateful!  This picture was taken last week when I picked up a few extra hours to help when we were short-staffed.  It was so rare to see us both at work, the team decided we needed a picture.  Thanks for being you, Beth!  You are the best!

Midwest Community Champs

It was another rainy weekend for baseball, but when you play on turf fields, you can play in the rain.  Sunday's forecast looked poor all week, but the lightning stayed away and these boys found a way to rack up four wins on the weekend.  We started with a win against Carmel on Friday night then beat Westfield on Saturday to finish as the top seed.  We were thankful to get the bye and not play till noon on Sunday.  Sleeping in a little makes for a much happier family!  It literally poured through most of the first game of the tournament, but we found a way to beat Carmel again, winning 14-9.  We matched up against Noblesville for the championship and won 16-6!  And the sun came out before it was over to make way for moms with cameras. :)  Drew was able to pitch some in three games, including the last two innings against Noblesville.  He played well and although he's been in a hitting slump, he did find a way to hit one to the fence for a triple.  It was a great way to end the weekend!

These canopies have been a lifesaver this spring.  We've used them to shield us from the rain more than the sun!

Big trophies for the big winners!

Noblesville Millers and Mt. Vernon Black

9U AA Champs!

Ryan and Drew

We're quickly running out of room for trophies when they're this big!

So happy Brad has a chance to coach this year.  Drew loves having him on the field.

Mother's Day at the Ballpark

While some moms would probably hate spending their day watching baseball, I absolutely love it.  (Even if it was 50 degrees and raining!) Watching the kids do what they love is so rewarding!  The boys didn't have their best day, but the dads sure did make it special.  Each boy wore a pink shirt that read "My Champion" on the front and their mom's name on the back.  They also gave us two pink roses.  It was such a sweet, thoughtful gesture.  Way to go, dads! They even managed to keep this a secret!  It was extra special when I came home from work on Monday and saw Drew wore his pink shirt to school.  I am long gone by the time the kids get dressed, so this was a big surprise to me.  Drew told me one of his teammates asked him why he wore it and he replied "Because we can celebrate our mom any day."  He's a keeper!

Conner, Jackson, Alivia, Hope, Victoria, Owen & Lyla (front) 

They were huddled up under the canopy to stay warm and dry!