Grandma's Kitchen Table

Stepping Back From Blogging a Bit For a Time

Photo:  Matt, Mark, Alex, and Vash in the front...definitely more guys than gals in this household.

      The guys were all home this past weekend to help celebrate Mark's parents' 61st Wedding Anniversary on Saturday.  Wow, 61 years is an amazing amount of time. 

      Unfortunately, Mark's parents have both been experiencing some major health concerns and were not able to enjoy a true celebration, Mark's mom has been in the hospital since last Thursday for emergency surgery.  We hope to celebrate the anniversary at a later time when they can both enjoy a bit of family gathering to celebrate all those wonderful years and memories. 

 

Sunday's Snippets

READING:  Abby's book group was reading People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, she thought I would enjoy the history bits in it and mentioned it to me, so I read through that, excellent, and then started on another book, March, by the same author,  again, excellent, and now the group is reading The Buddha in the Attic, by Julie Otsuka,  also excellent and I read that quickly in two days. (Click on book titles to see descriptions.)  Abby's book group is widening my reading horizons with novels.  

SWIMMING NEWS:  IU swimmers are busy training for various USA summer meets and quite frankly I have lost all track of who is swimming where when as they are all over the country and some out of the country swimming in meets.  Matt's roommate, Steve, did quite well at the Olympic Trials, as a freshman he finished 11th in the 400 IM, and Cody made the top heat of the 200 IM (finishing 7th overall), swimming with the top guns for a spot in the Olympics (only the top 2 in each swim go to the Olympics with the exception of freestyle relay positions, top 6). Cody managed to make additional national news with this little wardrobe malfunction, click here.  (From the insider's take on that little story, Cody needed a suit and James wasn't swimming in that event, so James did a quick deck change as well and handed over his suit for Cody to wear...of course the IU guys were all saying that it was James' new job at the meet to "cover Cody's a _ _, literally.") Nick is swimming in the Olympics for the Dominican Republic, Margaux is swimming in the Olympics for France, Dorina is swimming in the Olympics for Hungary, and Kate is swimming in the Olympics for the Ukraine, all having dual citizenship from their parents.  You can read about it here.  Lots of other swimmers did lots of other impressive swims, for further information check the News button here.
I love this photo of Matt's roommate, Steve (far right with the white cap) swimming at the Olympic Time Trials.  He did such a great job...11th as a freshman...wow, wow, wow. Congrats to Steve.

COOKING BYTES:   Well, well, well...it remains to be seen if I am going to keep posting to my food blogs as I keep thinking I will fire up but summer is busy and we are grilling and eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables so I'm not looking in the recipe books coming up with things new and different.  I am also cooking quite a bit from Pinterest as I'm using my boards there as recipe storage.  We shall see what transpires.  Hopefully my blog groups haven't given up on me completely.

FAV NEW FIND:  I'm finding that I am enjoying reading novels again after a long bout of not.  When the boys were growing up I found I had limited time for reading so my first choices were history books...still my first choices...but now that I have a bit more time for reading, I am adding novels back in again and enjoying reading new authors. Send me your recommendations!

FAV THIS PAST WEEK:  This week we celebrated some major milestone birthdays...Mark's dad turned 90 July 16th, Mark turns 60 on July 19th, and Matt will turn 20 the last day of the month.  Rolling over the "0"s this year.  Celebrating three great guys always a favorite thing.

MONTH IN REVIEW:  The summer has been speeding by with lots of swimming, a trip to Boston, Symphony on the Prairie is in full swing, lots of swimming here at the house, friends/family/fun. Here are a few photos to catch up...Clarice crashed and I had to get a new hard drive for her, so I am busy hunting to see which photos I have lost and which ones I haven't in that whole process.
Hightlight of Boston Trip for Mark was a trip to Fenway Park to watch the Boston Red Sox.
Matt and fellow IU swimmer Nick S, at Taste of Bloomington trying to decide on what to eat at the food festival...swimmers/food/choices, what's not to love on a summer night.
Alex and Matt at Fourth of July Symphony on the Prairie (no fireworks with the 1812 Overture this year due to dry conditions here in Indiana, but oh, well, music was great anyway).  17 years of tradition and they are still loving it.
Matt, Mark, Alex...badly in need of haircuts but enjoying a hot summer day nonetheless.
Matt loading up Clarice after the big crash.  It's good to have someone around who is happy to fix all computer related incidents.  I'm happy to cook for him, he's happy to computer for me, a great trade in my mind.

LOOKING FORWARD TO:   At the IMA, Snapshot:  Painters and Photography:  Bonnard to Vuillard, read about it here.  At the ISO:  The Best of Broadway, click here.

Sunday's Snippets

READING:  Another of Tessa Kiros' books, Venezia.  Food, travel, life in Venice, Italy. Lovely.
SWIMMING NEWS: College swimming is gearing up for swim season with some intrasquad meets to showcase the talent.  Matt's team has one this week and it will be great to see him back in the water competing.
COOKING BYTES: Embarked on a new cooking blog-along this week, Flavors, and my copy of The Flavor Bible arrived so I have been reading through that trying to figure out how it all works, etc.  It's not a recipe book.  It lists ingredients and flavors that go well with them, best pairings in  bold capitalized letters, lesser in bold non-capitalized letters, least but still acceptable in no bold print at all.  The object of the group is for each person to come up with her/his own recipes (can be based on recipes one finds with their own interpretation of it all).  So far I made a couple of recipes for the blog posts, and used the information in the book every single day since it arrived to give different flavors and takes on foods I make normally around here.  It's fun and I am learning a lot.  This is going to be a good thing.
FAV NEW FIND:  All week we had warmer than normal temperatures and it is continuing a bit for this coming week.  Keeping winter at bay as long as possible, always a favorite thing with me.  Outdoor swimming still an option.  The trees might be losing their leaves, but the pool is still open...until the end of the week, that is.
FAV THIS PAST WEEK:  Spending time with friends, always a nice deal.  
WEEK IN REVIEW:  The week had ups and downs (I had the flu for a couple of days), subbing was nice, the swimming this week was nice, we had a nice visit with Mark's parents on Saturday to check on them and do a few things for them around the house, etc. Mark and Alex spent a couple of hours Sunday afternoon playing Frisbee golf (Alex, photo left), while I opted to swim on this day of 78 degrees.   Matt was busy at IU with recruit entertaining, practices, going to the football game (photo right taken by Reyn at the game) and cheering for the Hoos, even though they lost, as did the Hawks this week out in Happy Valley.  All in all, a nice week.

    
  Photos:  Alex (left) and Matt (right)  
 

 

 

 

LOOKING FORWARD TO:  Checking out this Brian McCutcheon exhibit at the IMA.  This is what's happening at the ISO this coming week: Beethoven, Biss, & Bartok.   
PRAYING FOR:  Lots of weddings this time of year...prayers for happy and long marriages for them all, please join me.  Also, in your charity, please continue to pray for Bill as he and Margaret got both good news and not-so-good news this week and Bill will need additional surgery.  

Sunday's Snippets

READING:  Four of Tessa Kiros' books, although they are recipe books primarily they have great travel photographs and stories:  Apples for Jam, Food From Many Greek Kitchens, Twelve, and Falling Cloudberries. 
LISTENING TO: Indianapolis Symphony featured Mahler's Symphony No. 1 this week, so carrying that forward. 
SWIMMING NEWS: Matt had an exciting week around the pool, the team got all their new team clothing, etc. and he also got an IU parka, so he was pretty excited about all that.  He was moved up to the fastest practice group, a very nice thing for a freshman.  A parka and a move up probably translates to traveling varsity team.  (A more inspiring thing heading into swimming season in two weeks, I cannot think there is for a young swimmer.)
COOKING BYTES: With the beginning of the Tessa Kiros recipes at IHCC, after looking through four of her books, I have marked a dozen recipes that I may try just for the pure fun of trying to make something I haven't made or am not sure we will even like...ingredients we don't always have readily available (like maybe trying to cook an octopus) and some that we have readily available but I just have not really utilized (beets, fennel, etc.), and one or two that I don't like and maybe I will give a try because I just need to update the taste buds perhaps (pumpkin, anchovies, dried salt cod).
FAV NEW FIND:  Alex has a job starting this week, so we are hoping this is a nice start to good things coming.
FAV THIS PAST WEEK:  The anniversary party for Mark's parents brought all the siblings, etc. to town and we all sat down to dinner together and enjoyed catching up with everyone's lives.  We have been extremely lucky to have Mark's parents close and in fairly good health all these years.  At ages 85 and 89, celebrating these anniversary occasions is always a big deal! While the original party at the restaurant had to be changed due to Emil's health right now, we all had a fine time at their home after moving the party location there...and, as the younger generation put it, "Great! We don't have to dress up now, do we? No suits and ties, we can just wear regular clothes?"  It was decided a fine casual relaxing day was in order and everyone went the casual route and had a wonderful day/evening.
Photo: Dorothy, Brian, Phil, Luke, Emil, Al, Nancy, and Mark...the parents and all six of their kids.
WEEK IN REVIEW:  The anniversary gathering was the biggest thing this week, having Matt home for that part of Saturday and Sunday was wonderful, having Alex come to the party for Grandma and Grandpa was a big deal and very nice, Reyn came home from IU to come to the party as well, the IU football game was another "near win," always encouraging (although in Indiana football is just something to pass the time until basketball season begins, right?).    Matt and Reyn wanted to stop at the pumpkin patch to get pumpkins for their dorm rooms/to carve for Halloween, so we did that on the way back to IU, and "one of the greatest things ever," according to Matt, is that I did all the laundry he brought home from college.  Apparently there is great appreciation for this sort of thing as doing one's own laundry at college isn't part of the lineup of things he enjoys all that much.  The pumpkins were very small and when I inquired why that was, they both said at the same time, "These are DORM SIZE, we don't have a lot of extra room."  Ah, yes, silly me.  Mark and Alex went here for the afternoon while I was driving to Bloomington and back, and they had a nice day of walking and exploring  a good bit of the 100 acres as it was a gorgeous day for an activity like that, and they enjoyed spending some time together outdoors. 
PRAYING FOR:  Prayers of thanksgiving for Margaret and Bill...enough said, they have had a horrendous year battling Bill's cancer, prayers answered, Bill got the "cancer free" report last week, please join me in praying for thanks for all the answered prayers in your lives.

 

A last shot of the guys at the anniversary party...Alex, Mark, and Matt.  

Happy Easter!

      Happy Easter!  We've been in an Easter kind of mood around here this weekend.  It started off with a lovely bouquet of yellow tulips for me from Reyn...not sure which is prettier, the flowers or Reyn, both are gorgeous and such fun to have around.
      Reyn's family does not dye Easter eggs, Matt's family does, so Reyn came on over to help us color the eggs...Matt, Reyn, Mark, and I sat around the table coloring eggs...one is never too old to enjoy coloring eggs.  The first photo is proof that 18 year old boys are sometimes like 8 year old boys...here's a photo of Matt and Reyn holding their eggs up for a photo....
...and here's a photo taken a second later when I heard, "Oh, no, I dropped my egg!"  Some things never change.
      All Mark's siblings were at his parents' house at the same time as that only happens about once a year.  Worthy enough for a photo.  Mark, Philip, Brian, and Alan in the back; Mark's Dad Emil and his mother Dorothy in the front with Nancy and Luke.
      And Grandma and Grandpa with five of the grandkids...Matt, Alex, David, Jonathan in the back with Steven in the front.  It's definitely a guy-oriented family. 

     Easter Goodie Bags and Baskets after Mass.  Reyn was thrilled with a new cupcake cookbook...maybe we will have another guest post soon.         Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and weekend in general.  I can't believe the boys are 18 and next year, although maybe home from college, our little nest will be empty for the most part.  Yikes, time flies.  Kids or not, there will be Easter egg coloring here again next year...it's something I look forward to each year.

Cincinnati Meet

Certain people were observing (complaining) that I didn't have any photos of the Cincinnati Marlins swim meet the last weekend in June, so to appease them, I have tried to include photos of those doing the observing and hoping to catch a word or two about the wonderful time (if not wonderful swim times, although the swimmer did place first in the 100 Freestyle, and then scratched from finals for some fun at King's Island) that was going on in and out of the pool.  Although Ali made it down for the Friday sessions of the meet, Matt had to leave a bit later and miss the Friday swim sessions, so instead the plan was to meet up with friends and relatives and head over to Rock Bottom for the traditional before-the-Reds-game dinner.Yes, an actual photo of Alex there with Matt...guess it is cool to be seen going to dinner for the "best pizza in the world" and a Reds Game.    Go Reds!  Mark and his brother Brian didn't look so very much alike when they were younger, but now that they are older, sometimes it is difficult to tell one from the other...Alex, Mark, Brian, and Matt.
 And sometimes, most times actually, swim meet weekends are focused on the swimming...Matt in the center spot, no cap, getting ready to swim the 100 Freestyle, he finished first.  This is what swimmers do between their events, stake out a claim for floor space, set up camp, and catch a little rest and relaxation. 

 From the pool to King's Island for a little fun:  Ali, Matt, Alex  This is how I always want to remember Ali and Matt...big smiles, always having a great time wherever they go...oh, yeah, and the other guy is that way, too...Buddy (Ali's Dad) was one of the USA officials at the swim meet, officials need to go to King's Island and have fun, too!  

A parting shot at King's Island:  Alex, Matt, Laurie, Ali, and Buddy.  And, although Buddy kiddingly offered to give Matt a DQ (disqualified) hands up at the meet for the 100 Free so Matt would be able to go to King's Island for some fun, it didn't happen...Matt scratched Sunday night as a family decision to enjoy some family time and head back home early for a busy week and much as he enjoys Matt's company, Buddy can't be bought. 

Pull Up a Chair: Catching Up Around the Table

Well, well, well, look who is actually posting this week.  It's been busy around here, I have been working a lot, and the posts have just not been as forthcoming as usual. We'll see if I can do better this week. 

 

So, what's been going on around here...bits and pieces in photos from times I, or someone in my family, actually remembered to have camera in hand, or I should say, managed to have camera in hand and actually took photos with it.

 

We winterized the yard and plants, Alex's favorite peppers being the last to go, Matt hauling the big pots from deck to winter storage in garage, not exactly his favorite thing as storing all the big pots, and there are several, makes it harder for him to navigate in the garage from car to door.

  

The swimmers hanging out in Men's Den, always a popular activity.  (Janos, Mike, Daniel, Harrison, Kiernan, etc.)  Playing video games and watching movies ranks high on the list of things to do out of the water. 
The Knights had their yearly campout down in Brown County at the CYO camp.  Photos of some of my favorites upon return. 
Colin, Stephen, Matt, Jack, and Chas.  Matt is President this year of the Indiana Chapter of Knights as well as his own chapter, so he got to be Master of Ceremonies for the new initiates, and plan the retreat, etc.   Photo of my three favorite tall guys, Matt, Stuart, and Spencer.  As you can see, Matt at almost 6'4" is the shortest of the three. 

 

Some of the girls on Twitter had a bit of fun with Secret Baker, organized by three of them, where we each had a randomly selected participating member of the group to bake a little something for and send it to them.  Tracey got my name and I got a very nice package from Tracey that included Spiced Biscotti and Cranberry Bread, enjoyed by all.   I got Kerri's name, a girl I had yet to meet, so that was fun, and I sent her two kinds of cookies and some pumpkin bread.  Next month the Secret Baker group is sending Christmas cookies as the baked goods.   

 

Matt managed to break his hand on a Saturday night and have surgery on the following Tuesday, which was Alex's birthday.  Three and a half weeks from Short Course Senior Nationals and he was out of the water for a week, but back in after that week with a swimming cast, figuring out that one can swim with a broken hand after all.   

 

Alex turned 17 and had the candles to prove it.  His main wish is that he would be 18 instead...ah, the young, so eager to be adults and out on their own.

 

Friday Taylor came over and she and Matt did some seasonal holiday decorating, putting up the tree in the foyer (seen here with the stable underneath waiting for the appearance of the Nativity pieces bit by bit), the living room tree, the little sideboard tree in the dining room, and the greenery on the banister.  

 

We definitely have guy decorations, as Taylor described her family's decorations and her mother's collection of ornaments.  I was thinking Taylor was a good sport to help out with our mishmash of ornaments, lackadaisical manner of decorating, and hearing Matt say, "Oops, I broke one," in his yearly attempts at handling the little ornaments with those great big hands of his.  They had to leave before putting up the family room tree, but hey, they did a huge amount of work between morning swim practice and afternoon swim practice!   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday the CSC fathers hosted the yearly tradition called The Dads' Day Breakfast for the Senior Group boys (high schoolers, Nik and Matt shown here, actually they were last in line Matt having to re-tape his regular splint cast after swimming in his swim splint cast) in their Dads' Day style, i.e. campout fare and fun. 
The guys loved it.  The menu consisted of Pancakes, Waffles, Sausages, Bacon, and I think they throw fruit and juice in there somewhere as I have never actually been to this, so I am only going by what I see in the photos.  Mark was assigned bacon and sausages (pre-cooked at home, so you can guess who did the pre-cooking at home as, although Mark offered to do it, I figured it would just be far easier to do it myself, however, now that I am thinking back, I could have sent him outside to grill those sausages...next year's plan).
Photo: Going clockwise starting with Jesse's back, Nik, Kiernan, Matt, JJ (home for the holidays from OSU where he swims now but happy to practice with his old team), and Charles.  

 

It's sort of a giggle with the boys as the girls' mothers host a similar breakfast for the girls on a separate day, which is quite a bit different:  more like hotel brunch style with linens and dishware, napkins, centerpieces, "girl food," and such.  Matt's comment:  "Oh, the boys' breakfast is much better, we just lined up, filled our plates, and ate without having to worry about a lot of girl things and manners and such."  There you have it.  Raising boys is definitely an education. 

 

Did I remember to take photos at Thanksgiving?  Nope...always busy, always a lot of people, and thoughts of camera and picture taking went by the wayside this year.  So now that there has been a bit of a catch-up around the Table, I hope to get back to posting for my baking/cooking groups this week.  Have a great week...it's going to be December already!

Long Standing Friendships

   Matt's 17th birthday came and went with a smattering of celebrating here and there due to various swimming meets, swim commitments, travel swim gigs, etc., going on at the time, so finally on the 22nd of August we managed to get this group of guys (minus Alex who had to miss for the first time), Adam, Jacob, Matt, and Colin, together for a bit of celebrating by going to an Indians baseball game, etc. 

  These friends have been celebrating birthdays together since they first met in scouts in the first grade.  Matt had to drop out of scouts many years ago due to swimming commitments and scouting ones conflicting far too often, and Alex finally called it a day with scouting last year, but the friendships continue and the memories they built in those years of scouting activities, camping, and such have led to the memories they make now with their teen social years. 

  Their voices have all changed...they all shave...they all drive...they all are juniors and they all don't see that we parents still see them sitting around the birthday tables when their feet didn't even touch the floor and wonder where all this time went all so quickly. 

  Susan, these next two shots are for you!  Susan makes and custom decorates the most wonderful sugar cookies for all occasions.  She made Matt's centered around swimming, 17th birthday theme, baseball, etc. and they were a big hit with the guys who love cookies and brownies. 

  The next photo was taken after the baseball game with them sitting down at the kitchen table to desserts of cookies and brownies, and trying, with their 17 year old large size hands, to untie the little ribbons Susan had carefully tied to each little package of cookies. 

  It was hysterical to watch these guys try to get those little ribbons untied, unknotted, and the cookies unsheathed.  Susan, you would have enjoyed it and the giggles from the guys trying to see who could get theirs out first, or at all! 

  And, because Alex was not able to be there this year, here's a photo my friend Jan found the other day while scrapbooking some scout memories for Johnny, of Alex at scout camp in 2005 when he was twelve years old.  Alex, always the littlest guy through the years, is the one at the first table facing the camera.  Talk about changes...he's grown a bit since then, changed eyeglass styles, and has a different haircut, but when I look at this photo, I still see him like this as if it were yesterday.  You were missed, Alex.   

A Few Lines About This and A Few About That

      Photo:  My lilac bush with blooming lilacs for CP as I can't seem to get it to load where it was actually supposed to end up...See, Caitlin, lilacs just for you! 

      All day Saturday Matt had an gig up at CHS where all the Olympic Training Center swimmers from Indiana got together to train a little, get all their forms turned in, meet one another, meet the coach going along (happens to be the CSC head coach: Chris, so that's nice), etc.  It started at 9:00 with dryland training an hour before.  

      Matt called home at 8:20 and said, "You both need to come up here as soon as possible."  Panic.  "Why?"  "Because apparently neither of you can read directions on how to fill out all these forms and you have to redo them.  Now." 

      He was a bit mortified that amongst all 54 swimmers, his were the only parents who had to be summoned to the practice because of faulty form-filling-out abilities.  The forms were to be filled out in black ink...we used a lovely shade of blue ink on ours.  Not acceptable.  We both looked at the instructions and somehow missed in BIG BOLD WRITING the words:  FILL OUT FORMS IN BLACK INK ONLY.  Oops.  16 year old boys are not amused by things of this nature.  At all.   

      We spent the weekend cleaning (still not done with spring cleaning the upstairs and at this rate, it could become summer cleaning, too many distractions), doing yard work (the guys handled this), cooking for Whisk and TWD (that would be me, of course), and generally just going from this to that. 

      Pool is not open...to protect the not-so-innocent, I will just say that it is rescheduled for next week. 

      Oh, Alex cleaned his room...dusted, vacuumed, straightened, cleaned, brought down six loads of laundry that he "just found laying around," and two bags of "stuff I don't need."  Wow.  I haven't seen his actual carpet in probably three years.  That was one of the battles I just chose not to pick and resigned myself to the fact that his room did have a door that closed to keep it all contained and out of my sight.  Looking good in there.  Who knew?

      Matt had an IYC concert in Columbus, Indiana today.  While they give the singers detail sheets and driving directions, Cassie and Danielle forgot to look at them, couldn't find them, or whatever, and drove to Columbus, OHIO instead (about 3-4 hours away instead of 1 hour away), not realizing they were in the wrong state, let alone wrong city, until they called home to figure out where the concert venue was located in "downtown Columbus."  You really need to know Cassie and Danielle to understand how such a thing could even happen...there is no end to the entertainment value those two have inadvertently provided in ICC/IYC over the years. 

      And, so I leave you on this quiet Sunday evening (okay, not so quiet as we are forced to mow the lawn on a Sunday due to all the rain we have had and are going to have), and wish you a very lovely week ahead. 

 

Frosty the Snowman

       Alex figured he would lend a hand to the cookie baking cause around here and frost a few for me today.  While he did this without complaining, I did note that the ones he frosted for himself as a snack had twice as much icing on them as the ones he did for the cause, motivation enough as it were, it would seem. 

       Alex has always been an interesting child.  When he was little he loved, and still does actually, broccoli.  He was convinced that the song Frosty the Snowman was actually Broccoli the Snowman, and he would sing it thusly when he was two.  Matt, being quite put out that Alex was "not singing it right," turned to Alex and said very sternly, "Alex, it's not Broccoli the Snowman!  It's supposed to be FROSTING the Snowman!"  You can tell what Matt's favorite food might have been at age 2, no doubt.  It's tradition around here to have at least one chorus of Broccoli the Snowman and one of Frosting the Snowman.

      Matt had a really great morning at the swim meet with his favorite swim, the 100 Back, dropping time, going from a 54.34 to 53.92...that is the swim he has been struggling to drop time in since last spring, so he was very happy to drop below 54.  He would have gone into finals 7th out of 49, and in the top heat, but as I mentioned yesterday, the swimmers headed home before finals tonight, so Matt had to pull from swimming in that coveted top heat.  Oh, well, the time itself is enough reward!  His 100 Freestyle was so-so, going from 48.85 to 48.93, so adding just a little bit there, 8 one-hundredths of a second.  Not bad for the last swim of a four day trip.  Shoulders held out, so that is encouraging. 

      Not a lot going on around here this evening, swimmers have returned to homework, and re-entry into civilian life.  They have tomorrow morning off, but Roch is in town and Matt will swim for a Guerin practice in the morning at 5:15 a.m. until 7:00 and then head off to classes and Roch will head down to Alabama for his day...see what I mean, the two of them are just crazy enough to make this whole long distance coaching thing work.  I am truly amazed.  And we are truly grateful as Roch is an amazing coach for Matt...somehow Roch is just able to coach the WHOLE Matt, not just the kid in the water...Matt and Roch have a good read on one another when it comes to the whole swimming picture.  We are very lucky.  

      Today's little Christmas ditty can be found here and you have your choice when you sing along, you can sing Frosty the Snowman, Broccoli the Snowman, or Frosting the Snowman!  Have a great evening.

 

Up and Coming

       The Up and Coming younger bowlers yesterday:  Alex, Steven, Jonathan, and Matt (Cousin David is usually present, but he had other things going on this year). 

      The Gerths love their bowling.  A lot of it stems from being originally from St. Louis where I think it is required that each and every resident knows how to bowl.  I did not grow up this way, so it is sort of lost on me, but my sons are both big into bowling.  From the time kids are old enough to hold a bowling ball, in the Gerth family, they bowl.   

        Thanksgiving weekend is a big weekend for bowling when everyone is together.  (Mark's brothers Brian and Phil at right.)  Each Friday after Thanksgiving at 4:00 the lanes in Elwood are home to various Gerths bowling three games before heading to Grandma and Grandpa's for a lasagna dinner.  Are they of Italian descent?  Nope...I have no idea why they have lasagna each year, but it has always been part of the tradition. 

      The bowling is as much of a tradition as the turkey dinner on Thursday.   I think a lot of it is that Mark's family is made up of six children, all very close in age, who grew up doing a lot together and still enjoy getting together and doing things together.  Bowling is a good thing to do with siblings as you have time to chat while you bowl, etc.  You might think the photo at the left is Brian and Al (another brother) engaging in some deep and thoughtful conversation over a couple of beers, but looks can be deceiving as they are actually advising Phil (in the background at the jukebox) on tunes while at the same time entertaining us all with their rendition of the Flintstone's bowling song.    

      The next photo is of Matt trying to do his best to ignore Brian's High Five after his seventh strike that game.  After awhile it just becomes discouraging to bowl against Brian...we have been trying to talk Brian into actually joining the bowling circuit as the guy is an amazing bowler, but apparently being a pharmacist and a bowler don't mix all that well.    

       And, because the Gerths don't mess with tradition, even if the Purdue game is on at the same time as the scheduled bowling outing, there is a way to combine the two. 

      This is a divided house, Al and Susan being Purdue fans as they both attended and work at Purdue, and the rest of us all Indiana fans.  Nevertheless, when the two teams aren't playing each other, SOME members of the family can work up a certain amount of enthusiasm to cheer on the black and gold.  OTHERS just tune in to enjoy watching Purdue getting beaten by their current opponent.  I am not saying which members are which, to protect the innocent and harbor the guilty, but there was both cheering and grieving when Purdue went down in overtime to Oklahoma.  It did not, however, affect the camaraderie over the dinner table, which is always a good thing.  

      Round two of the bowling continues today when the traditional Saturday's outings include "going to a movie, bowling, and to dinner."   

Happy Thanksgiving!

     Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!  Many good thoughts from us to you for great food, fun times, happy memories, and, of course, safe travel.   

     

    

      As usual, I took a few photos, put down the camera, and never picked it up again for the rest of the night, what can I say?  Sometimes there is just a lot more to keep one occupied and photos go by the wayside.  Glenn, David, Alex, Matt, Steven, Jonathan, and Mark getting the littles settled with their plates.  Steven's favorite:  rolls!  And not much else!  

      The little boys have very strange eating habits at Thanksgiving.  I decided to take a photo of each of their plates as they sat down to eat because in a few years they will not believe that this was all they would eat from a large selection of offerings at Grandma and Grandpa's house each year.   Jonathan has just turkey and a half of a deviled egg.

      You will note that as they get older, the plates seem to mature also...well, with the exception of Alex, of course, who remains an enigma on all things food.  Honestly, I don't know where he gets that...LOL.   Turkey and a roll...these are the plates AFTER they have gone through the line and BEFORE they have eaten a single thing off of them.  David (left) has a bit more going on with his plate of food.  And, Matt, of course, below, makes sure all the colors are represented, and this was only his FIRST plate of food as he doesn't like to mix savories and salads on one plate.  I guess it is good they all drink lots of milk at this age.  The final photo is the ever popular Aunt Nan with Glenn, which is where I lost the camera, filled my plate with two bites each of about six or seven different selections and enjoyed the meal and conversation.  Might get some more photos later in the weekend. 

       

Aging UP: Happy 16th Birthday, Alex

       The Cool Dude has hit the milestone 16th Birthday.  Actually, it was on the 17th, but things being what they are around here, sometimes it takes a few days to get us all in one place at one time to celebrate, so last night we had a little cake and ice cream, presents already having been opened as there is NO waiting on those by eager teens. 

      I would love to say I was one of those moms who bake their children's birthday cakes, spending days planning and decorating and executing the perfect cake each year, but I am not.  I really don't bake, that's why TWD is a happening thing around here this year.  If it were up to me, they would get a candle stuck in a brownie and we would gather, sing the birthday song, add a scoop of ice cream, and be on our way. 

      We usually just stop by the local bakery or market and pick up a cake...believe me, guys are not fussy about these things.  When they were younger we would have character cakes and such, but it's been several years since they wanted anything like that...growing up being what it is and all.   

      This year Mark was the one who stopped for the cake and oops...we forgot to mention that when you buy the cake, you also need to buy some candles.  Alex was a good sport about it, as we pulled out four little clown candles from supplies from years past...many, many years past as clowns, I think, were on the cakes when they were like four or so.  Anyway, we made do...4 clowns, each representing 4 years, totalling 16...and as Alex remarked, "Well, it's a lot easier to blow out four candles than sixteen!" 

      Two seconds later, they were demolishing this cake and no one was concerned about candles or dedication to cake baking.  (Sometimes I am thinking it's a good thing I am a mom to blues as I am not sure the pinks would be as patient with our fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants birthday celebrations around here.)  Usually there is a friends' party and dinner out with the grandparents, so he has that to look forward to yet.  

      So, Happy 16th Birthday, Alex!  Next year you will be 17 on the 17th! 

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:   Dante's The Divina Commedia   

LISTENING TO:   Il Divo

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking); Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan)

FAV NEW FIND:  Alex's haircut...check out the photo.  Alex's hair had gotten quite long.  As in it was hard to see his eyes long.  As in if he had been of the opposite sex, he would have had the choice of braiding or upsweep long.  There had been a suggestion or two around here that perhaps the hair could be trimmed or better yet, cut, for the annual Christmas photo.  Actually, it was more than just a suggestion.  Not necessarily agreeing 100%, or anywhere near even 1%, with the parental opinions of such, a few words were given in rebuttal, and then quite a few more, until finally an agreement was reached that "options would be explored."  Apparently this is what floated his boat at the moment in way of a haircut.  Or maybe perhaps more correct, this is what floated his boat as far as thinking to shock the parents who requested merely a cut in length and access to being able to view the eyes occasionally.  Being a swimming family, we are quite used to these sorts of cuts near state and in the summer, so while it might elicit a gasp from some, my cool and calm husband just said, "Great, I love it...let's go."  I didn't say a word of I might have been thinking...merely stated, "Oh, it looks nice and I can now see your lovely eyes."  Teenage angst...from where does it come...where does it lead...and more importantly, when will it cease?  All answers and parenting advice welcome. 

FAV THING TODAY;   Snuggling under the covers this morning for an extra half hour while everyone else went off to school and work...sometimes this just feels like the most decadent thing in the world...to be able to just do this...but then I always feel a little guilty, so it never lasts very long until I am up and about the day.  I've had a lovely day...it was hard to pick just one thing. 

GOING TO:   Spend the weekend getting caught up around here!  Holiday season is rapidly approaching.

PRAYING FOR:   Safe travel for the upcoming holiday week, please join me. 

The Countdown Continues: 12 More Days Until that Driver's License

       No photos from the weekend, so the little crabapple tree at the side of the garage photo will need to suffice as I love the way all the little berries are ripening up for the birds to enjoy in a month or two.  Simple things...it's important to always just love the simple things you get each day. 

       Well, we moved the furniture.  I can live without doing that again for another 16 years or so.  It looks just fine, but really...I am not a big lover of change and this is a change.  I prefer to amble through life with as little change as possible...the status quo suits me perfectly fine.  I always find a great deal of security in the status quo.  I am big on security and predictability.  Have I said it enough here?

       I said before that I really didn't know why we were doing this, and I would not have even moved anything this time except for the dire necessity of doing so, in the hope that it would be a workable solution.  Even though he really does not care for mention in the blog, preferring to remain as much of an enigma as possible, this concerns Alex.  Alex's room connects to a large walk-in closet and a very large walk-in attic, where we store things like camping equipment, Christmas decor, and any number of other seasonal items. 

      In the past year I have raised the white flag on making any attempt at controlling the state of Alex's realm, aka his bedroom.  Some things are just not worth the aggravation and fight within.  I have come to feel this would be one of those things.  However, that said, we could no longer navigate an unhindered and safe route to the attic through said realm.  Enough said. 

       We had other options for Alex...one being a room that I currently used for my scrapbooking area, which Alex thought might be a suitable solution (actually Alex didn't think any such thing, but I am trying to be as gracious about all this as possible...how am I doing?). 

        So, Alex now has a fine new room that no one need enter for any purpose other than fire or possible search, if we feel the need, and he is fairly happy with it.  The scrapbooking room is a little larger, so once I get it all at my fingertips again, I will be happy with that also.  Apparently a win-win situation. 

      And, best of all:  his room is actually clean and organized right now...he would not let me photograph it, however, so you will just need to take my word or come by quickly if you hope to see it thusly. 

      What's up over there today?  I have a carrot souffle in the oven for a funeral luncheon at noon, am cooking my TWD dessert today (everyone is always excited about Mondays here because we have dessert...it seems like a good day to have everyone be excited about, being Monday and all), and between the funeral luncheon and retrieving Matt from Guerin, I am definitely swimming as it is a gorgeous day.  Have a couple of volunteer bits, but too early for subbing yet at Guerin as it is only the third day of school.  Working on straightening up a bit from the weekend and laundry...can you stand the excitement?   Actually, I like it...my kind of day. 

      CSC swimming starts up again for Matt's group this afternoon after school...we had a whole week off...and so we begin our Tenth Year of USA competitive swimming.  Who knew it would last this long?  Oh, yes, and only 12 more days until driving to swim practices is a thing of the past for me...can you tell I am looking forward to that a little?

      Have a great day, see you tomorrow with the TWD unveil.

 

Rounding Out the Weekend's Bits

      Hope you all had a great 4th of July holiday.  Here are a few photos from the weekend, nothing earth shattering, but I have all sorts of email this morning asking where I have been and why I haven't posted anything for days on end.   First photo is Matt helping Steven with his fireworks at Grandma and Grandpa's on Friday.  Alex, David, and Jonathan were all busy looking after their own rockets and what not, but Matt has a soft spot for Steven, and vice versa, so the littlest often gets a helping hand from Matt.  

      After the pre-show in the driveway, the boys headed down to the school grounds in Elwood for the town fireworks show, as they do each year, and light even more sparklers and things while waiting for the show to start.    (Left to right:  Alex, David, Matthew, Jonathan, and Steven.)  I don't know what it is with little boys and fire, but they are all just thrilled with the idea of playing with all these things each year.  They scare me to death...I try not to be around watching as I am more likely to keep saying "Oh, be careful," and the first rule of lighting fireworks is for a certain amount of danger to be present, or so my husband tells me it is with boys.  It's better if I just don't even peek while they do it all. 

      So, we had fireworks in Elwood on Friday, then on Saturday there were fireworks at the end of the Symphony on the Prairie, pictured at the left here, which are always a big hit and much anticipated each year, the boys never tiring of this from year to year and aghast at the thought of ever missing it, like last year when Matt and Mark were in Italy over the 4th.  (Photo courtesy of Alex who is using it in his 4-H scrapbook this year.)  The stage is lit very attractively and since Conner Prairie is a historical venue, depicting a farm in 1836 Indiana, there aren't any lights to interfere with the fireworks display out in the middle of the farm fields.  They shoot the fireworks off to the 1812 Overture, of course.

      And, finally, last night at Buddy and Laurie's party, Buddy had a stunning display of fireworks that Matt is still raving about as he just thinks Buddy rocks with all his crazy fun ways.  It was the perfect day to sit around their pool and chat and eat barbecued brisket and just enjoy the day.  Here is a nice photo of Matt and Ali before everyone else arrived and Ali changed into her swimming suit as I figured this was a better shot that one of Ali in her very pretty bikini looking oh so lovely, being shown on the Internet and all.  Since the butterfly is Ali's stroke of choice, we requested a swim off between her and Matt in the butterfly, but she declined saying it was her "only day off of swimming competitively," so we will never know if she can take him on that stroke or not...it's not his best and I think she could do it.   This morning at practice, Laurie was picking Ali up and I said, "I can't believe you are up, dressed, in full makeup, and functional after that very late evening last night..." She just chuckled and said, "Well, it might look like all that, but I am tired this morning."  It was a great party. 

      In other news, no photo currently available due to the sensitivity of the subject to be discussed, all skateboarding has been called to a halt for the swimmers.  Coach Chris arrived back from the Olympic Trials in Omaha to the news that JJ was sporting a wrist brace and 'fessing up to the apparent cause, i.e. skateboarding dos and dares, and while I don't know the whole story, apparently all the boys have decided that one Junior National championship swimmer injured is one too many and skateboarding will be sidelined.  Raising boys certainly helps one understand one's husband a lot more, let me tell you.  

      Okay, this makes two posts today (only because I am a lightening fast typist and I am doing laundry, pumping off the pool cover from the rain earlier so I can swim, and fielding various requests for transport to and from various venues)...and now there is a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich calling my name, with a side of cantaloupe and a nice glass of ice water properly condensed and wonderful looking with the water droplets running down the side...Yahooo...it's summer!  Have a great week! 

AlexANder

       How do you all like this new look for the Cool Dude? 

      This was a birthday present for me...definitely one I really appreciated and loved! 

      After the scout campout this past weekend, he returned on Sunday, showered, went out to Chipotle for lunch (apparently scout camp food is not all that great...or even, in some cases, edible), and then he and Mark went to Big League Barbers and off came the months of growth in hair length. 

      This was not easy for Alex to do, so KUDOS big time for doing that for me, Alex...I love the new look.  And, justsoyouallknow, apparently many others also loved it as he received many compliments on Monday. 

      Love it, Alex...you are still a Cool Dude!

ANnual ObservANces

       We finally got around to celebrating my birthday last night...only three days late.  Karen was concerned since the cards, gifts, flowers, cake, etc. had all been sitting on the counter in the kitchen for three days.  She was worried we would NEVER get around to it...never fear, Sister Dear, it was just as wonderful on the 24th as it would have been on the 21st.  Maybe more so...anticipation and all!   Birthday dinner, will be Saturday before the play...I think we will have managed to spread the celebrating out over more days than heretofore ever attempted. 

      Thanks for all the cards, wishes, phone calls, and visits...it's fun to be showered with all this attention once a year.  And, Jeff, you are absolutely right...we should be celebrating our birthdays together next year, so Boston it is...the Hoosiers and the New Yorkers will meet in Boston for one very fun-filled birthday weekend.  Great idea. We can relive your undergraduate days at Boston University (before you saw the light and came to IU for law school), take in the historical sites and museums, hopefully (if they are in town) see a baseball game, and dine at your favorite dives and fancy spots. What's not to love about this plan?  Happy Birthday, again from yesterday, Old and Dear Friend...next year I can give you a birthday kiss and hug in person because we will be in Boston...You, Jackie, Mark and Me...all in one place at the same time on the actual day of your birthday...how many years has that been???

     Matt hit a 250 yard drive off the tee onto the fairway on the first two holes at the golf club last night.  Mark just shook his head and said to me, "Now, Hon, all we need to do is to get him to work on his short game."  (Sort of the opposite of his swimming...the short game is good, the long drives are not his thing.)  With those huge muscular swimming shoulders, that boy can give the ball a good whack for a strong drive.  Chipping?  Putting?  We're workin' on it.  He had swim practice before and after school for a total of about 4+ hours, had school all day (with PE), came home and ate, and then went golfing.  WHERE DOES HE GET ALL THIS ENERGY?????  I am way jealous of it. 

      Alex and James worked on James' Eagle Scout project all evening, doing charitable work, some of which included moving a swingset from one location to another across town for a family in need of one.  It was past dark when he finally finished.

     Oh, and Shelley, I looked up "I haven't seen you in a coon's age," and this is what I found:  in the wild raccoons live maybe about 8 to 12 years; 15 to 20 in captivity, at best (much like a dog).  The saying originated, or so it goes, by people believing that raccoons lived a long time...so really it is a misnomer as they don't really live all that impressively long.  Okay, so now we don't have to wonder about that one anymore.  (Bonus for all you GKT readers incaseyoudidntknowthiseither and were always wondering...losing sleep over it and all...yeah, right.)   It will be great seeing you all today...really, it does feel like a coon's age!

     Gorgeous day here today, the trees are in bloom...lots of white and pink and purple and yellow and green and I am just thrilled with it all.  And...guess who's coming on Monday...THAT'S RIGHT, BILL!   

ANother Wild Goose Chase

        Alex snapped this photo this evening, while he and Mark were golfing.  It shows our goose friend from yesterday, aka The Guardian of the 8th Hole.  It also shows his lady friend sitting on her feathered nest.

       Apparently no one is getting anywhere near those blue tees until those baby goslings have made an entrance...everyone must tee off from the white tees instead...or else...! 

      Alex had a good laugh at the goose taking off in flight to chase his golf cart, honking, and dive bombing him as he tried to drive away.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring.  Maybe we should take them bribes...toss a little corn or oats here and there for distraction...maybe bake them little corn oat cakes.  It could be Wednesday's GKT recipe!

Summariz-ING

     Matt chatting with Nick about their 100 Back swim and adjusting his goggles for one last warm-down swim before calling it a day at sectionals.  His final swim, the 100 Freestyle was a success as he went in seeded 57.81 and swam it Sunday at 56.43.  Not bad at all...drops in all four swims.  I think we are ready for long course to begin!  We now have three days of swim practice and then off completely until April 14th...no early morning practices, no racing to practice after school...we are definitely ready for a little break here.   Whatever shall we do to fill the time? 

      And in other news, Alex (in red jacket) had a great time with the scouts launching rockets.  His rocket was launched three times and "went off very well except for one small detour when it landed in a thorn tree and needed a slight rescue" from a fellow scout, Evan.  With some "minor repairs to the fins, it is in good enough shape that it can be launched again"...which is a first as in previous years he has gone the full circle of exploding them, losing them in flight, and any number of other incidents which precluded any further launchings after the original outing.  This is all the news I have to report as the Cool Dude continues to remain a man of few words (Unlike his younger days when he would talk non-stop all day long and I would say, "Alex, please, can I just think my own thoughts for three minutes?"  To which he would reply after about three seconds, "Are you done yet, Mom?  Are you done thinking your own thoughts as I have a lot more to tell you."  We never thought we would see the day of using the words "few words" and "Alex" in reference to one another.)...so any other info you are interested in, you will need to score on your own.

      MNO tonight...I can't wait as I have missed the last two, both January and February.  And, I just realized I need to have something in the craft line to blog tomorrow...maybe not.  We shall see.  I have been substitute teaching several times since early last week, and with all that swimming over the weekend, just how crafty could a gal be in one week's time anyway?  Today I subbed Latin and I could have been working on something while they were taking their exams, but the Latin room has all those great books and fun things to read and well, who wants to craft with all that great reading material available right at your fingertips?  (This could be why I have heretofore never been a crafter.) Have a great evening!

Climb-ING, Rain-ING, Cook-ING, Sing-ING, View-ING, Spell-ING, Watch-ING

     Photo is from last night's scout activity:  Wall Climbing.  Mark is always in charge of this each year.  The whole pack of cubbies and boy scouts go together and climb, eat pizza, etc., and "do the manly bonding thing."  (Quote from The Wedding Planner movie.) These five boys have been together since the first grade cub scout den and they have stayed together through thick and thin over the years, all good friends and buddies.  Starting with Jacob in the yellow shirt and going clockwise...Jacob, Adam, Matt, Colin S., and Alex.  A great time was had by all.

      Good golly, a lot of rain is falling.  Bloomington has had like eight inches...trying to prevent those Hoo basketball players from leaving town to play in the tournament, I guess. Big threat that we are this year and all. 

      Bits and pieces of information today...catching up with requests.  First, this is NOT a food blog...so, no, I won't be honoring the requests to post a "recipe a day."  I am thinking, however, of posting ONE simple/easy recipe a week, on Wednesday when I am home cooking for various families and the priests, etc, so if you aren't interested in recipes, you can skip Wednesdays from here on out.   Will that satisfy? 

      Tosca was the last opera performance for the season, and yes, I do know next season's schedule, so here it is:  Oct. 3-5 Il Trovatore (in Italian); Nov. 21-23 Hansel and Gretel (in German); March 13-15 The Pirates of Penzance (in English); and May 15-17 Das Rheingold (in German).  See you there. 

      Guerin Catholic put the 2007 Open House video on their site at http://www.guerincatholic.org/ down in the bottom left corner.  Matt is in there 8 or 9 times, a little like looking for Where's Waldo...but the easiest ones to see (they have a little counter on the film) are at 6:15 where he is the tall guy in the center back of the choir; 3:07 where he is walking in the hallway toward the camera in a long sleeve white shirt; 2:13 in the choir room, he is the tallest one; and 1:05 he is standing to the left in the hallway facing the camera leaning against the door, same long sleeve white shirt as it was filmed the same day as the other bit.  Aimee, there is a really good shot of Colin with the Chalice at Communion at 9:49.  And, for those of you who remember Gregory G. from homeschooling days, there is a great shot of him receiving Communion on the tongue a little bit after Colin's Communion shot.  The whole video is maybe 12 minutes long.  It is nice, focuses a lot on sports, in my humble opinion, but one needs to keep in mind that Indiana kids PLAY SPORTS.  Guerin is only a couple of miles from Carmel High School, which is 5,000 students strong mainly because they refuse to divide the school and water down the SPORTS, so therefore, people looking at the video are discerning oftentimes about the chances of their child being able to play quality sports at Guerin.   Like us...we made swimming happen for Matt this year and Guerin did everything possible to make that dream come true for him (to swim for his high school).  Also, I think one gets a more emotional response from people interested when one has a lot of action sports shots rather than a lot of action sitting-around-studying-being-a-brain shots.  Oh my, what does that say???!!  Anyway, if you are interested, check out the video. 

       And, lastly, my little friend, Miss Regina, who I featured on November 13th for her birthday, and who I mentioned was a "champion speller," has now backed that up with cold, hard evidence.  Regina has qualified for the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. this year at age 10!  She will represent Indiana and we could not be happier or more proud of her accomplishment!  As well as being "Queen of Goodness, Beauty, Humility, and Hugs" , we can also add:  Queen of Spelling!  Congratulations, Regina! 

      Now, I must finish the cooking.  Have a wonderful evening...and guess what?  I found a show to watch on Wednesday nights for a few weeks:  Top Chef.  Can you believe it?  I have a show to watch!  And tomorrow:  The NCAA Tournament begins...since Iowa isn't going this year, maybe you Hawk fans can cheer a little for the Hoos! 

Concoct-ING

    And, this is one of the things we do with leftover couscous:  concoct something new and different. 

      In this instance, leftover shrimp from last evening's dinner (cut into smaller pieces), black olives (sliced into thirds), feta cheese (cut into small dice), a half of a lemon's juice, and one tablespoon (or less) of olive oil...served at room temperature.  Just mix it up, put it in a serving bowl, and set it on the table to pass...lunch!

      Not discussing the Hoo game, but I will say, they did not lose that game against Minnesota on that end shot...they managed to lose that game in about 50 different ways.  Likewise, Purdue.  (I wasn't too sad about that one, however.)  Now on to the NCAA Championship.  I hope we last a little longer there.  

      Before leaving this topic, however, I should say that I really like that fancy little center court emblem they have for the Big Ten Tournament at Conseco this year...very vibrant and fun.

      Paid club fees for golfing this year...that makes it seem like spring.  Matt took caddy training this morning for a couple of hours, after swim practice at 6:45 a.m., so if you are golfing at Meridian Hills and want a caddy on Saturdays or Sundays (when it is not a swim meet weekend), ask for Matt.  (He's a nice tall strong guy in terrific shape and has the rules all memorized...so hopefully he will do a great job for you.)  He can caddy other times as well, just needs to work around swim team practices (twice a day in the summer).

      Matt is working on mega homework, Mark and Alex are cleaning out the mechanical room (I try never to go in there, and I don't know exactly what that involves, but they have been at it for a bit, so I will assume it was based on need), and I am going to sneak upstairs for a shower and pretend like it will take me a good long while to get ready for the play this evening, while in fact, I am planning on hiding out up there with my book for an hour or so.  Shhhh...don't tell anyone.  Hope you are having a great weekend!

    

      

A Rare Day

      The Cool Dude has granted me permission to feature him on the blog today. A rare occasion indeed.  He spent the weekend skiing with the boy scouts in northern Michigan. 

      I sent a little digital camera with them requesting some nice skiing/snow/friend/memory photos and here are the two photos I got.  That's it. That's. All. Of. It.  Guys just don't operate on a "need photos to scrapbook" type of agenda.   

      Alex and his friends were on the slopes for about nine hours on Saturday, not including two quick stops for snacks...food being less important than ski time with this crowd.  (Unlike the swimmers who would probably have opted for 9 hours of eating and two quick stops for skiing...just kidding, but those swimmers can really pack away the food...all that swimming and all.) 

      Apparently the trip was "all really great."  He had a "wonderful time."  And, maybe the best part of all is that he got to drive about 400 miles, the first long stint of driving he has gotten to do since he received his driving permit.  Mark said he did a fine job of it. 

      So, those are the photos, those are the vast and copious descriptions of the trip (NOT) and I am thinking I should be thanking my lucky stars that I got this much and just keep quiet about what I didn't get, i.e. more photos and more details about the trip.  These teenage years are tricky, aren't they?  It's hard to know just where the lines are on any given day.

     I'm thinking of getting some new hobbies...my old ones seem to be growing up and my involvement seems to be growing less.  Yep, something new to keep me occupied.  I wonder what it will be.

The All-Important Driver's Permit

     Alex today...not taken with my new camera...see the vast differences???  I do!  Matt took this in the rain when we picked up Alex from class and were headed downtown Indy to the Nat for Matt's Guerin swim team practice...i.e. Matt, and Roch, his coach, more on that another time.

      The time has finally arrived.  The ALL-IMPORTANT driver's permit and Driver's Ed class for Alexander!  Can life get any more exciting for a 15 year old boy?  Not much, I am thinking, at least for this boy, who has been waiting FOREVER to be able to drive a car.  We have never known anyone to like cars as much as Alex likes cars.  When he was little he would carry two hot wheels cars with him, one constantly clutched in each hand, playing with them all the time.  He never wanted any other toys...every dollar he was ever given was spent on little Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars (2 for a buck, what a deal).  Every surface of our home was used for one purpose:  ROADS...roads on the back of couches, floors, chairs, tables, counters, you name it...it's only purpose was for creating a roadway.  Every cabinet I would open, every drawer, every shelf was used for parking the little cars.  They were everywhere.  Every. Where.  All. The. Time.   He still has them...hundreds of them...all stashed in his room and/or the attic.  He learned to count with the cars.  Learned colors with the cars.  Learned multiplication/sets/division, etc. with the cars.  You get my drift.  The cars were his entire life.  He still buys them occasionally.  So, the day has arrived and at the end of the three week course, he will be able to get behind the wheel and drive, drive, drive.  With Mark.

Good for Another Year

      Happy 15th Birthday, Alexander, on November 17, 2007! 

       Was there really a weekend?  It flew by so fast, I can hardly register that it has come and gone already.  Let's see, the Hoos beat the Boilermakers in the last few seconds of the Oaken Bucket game, not exactly pretty as they lost a huge lead necessitating the win in the final moments, but pretty or not, the Hoos get to take the bucket back to Hooville for the coming year and possess said bragging rights that accompany that little deal.  The Colts, in what had to be one of the lowest scoring games ever, did win.  The football Hawks lost...and probably there goes their bid for any sort of bowl as I am thinking 6/6 probably won't cut it.

      And, now for more important matters, we had a great double feature this afternoon with the Hoos winning on the court, followed by the Hawks doing likewise, Todd doing a fine job with those baby Hawks and Freeman still out injured. 

      Alex returned home from his scouting outing in fine form, a few scrapes, scratches, and bruises as scout outings tend to produce such things, and ready to celebrate his 15th birthday, a day late, but the day is not as important as the actual celebration of it.  Dinner out at Red Lobster, his choice, was followed by the traditional gift opening of a much desired new guitar, and cake eating.

       Tanja had taken Alex out to Joe's Crab Shack last week to celebrate, but I did not get a photo as I wasn't here when she picked him up or brought him home, so will need to get one of those soon for the scrapbook.  Alex gets to celebrate his birthday for about a week or two because it falls so close to Thanksgiving and it tends to get tossed in with family gatherings, etc....he will have one more birthday bit up in Elwood, and then I think we can call it good for another year.  These years certainly have a way of passing quickly.  This is what 15 looks like around here with Alex...aka The Cool Dude.  Happy Birthday, Alex!

Good Times

Good times this weekend, well despite the losses by the Pacers and the Colts.  Those weren't so good. 

(Pictured left are Alex, Matt, Ben, Jacob, Steven, and Adam at the Proving Grounds.)

       Alex's birthday bash for friends was all that he hoped, so he was happy.  (I don't really understand this paintballing attraction, it must be one of those "guy" things.)   They were there for three hours, so Mark stayed with them and I got to stroll around with Blue Bernice part of the time to enjoy the countryside as the Proving Grounds is up in Sheridan (the same Sheridan Blackhawks that downed the Guerin Eagles in football...they have the town water tower painted with footballs and "State Champs").         

      The photo is one of the fields around Sheridan, again no words to convey the tug on the heartstrings...you have to grow up with this to really appreciate it, a newly picked cornfield on an overcast November day. 

       Instead of cake after the pizza, Matt picked out a big birthday cookie for Alex as it was something different, Alex loves cookies, and Matt thought it fit in better with Alex's cool dude image than a decorated cake.  Happy to say it was a hit. 

      The Open House at Guerin was so much fun!  Five hours of just meandering about and making sure the teachers had what they needed, the kids were all doing what they were supposed to be doing, and chatting with prospective students and parents.  They ran a video of the school, kids, activities, etc....you know the kind, where you feel like someone should have supplied Kleenex as it tugs so at the heartstrings.  Matt was in it 9 times, so I didn't have a chance in the world of getting out of there dry-eyed...it was amazing how many of the other kids I know already after being there just short of three months.  The gym was packed and everything went off nicely...Matt sang in the choir, led student guided tours of the school, and helped take it all down at the end of the evening.  I tried to remind him of getting up at 4:30 a.m. for swim practice, but he didn't want to miss out on anything, so we were some of the last to leave around 9:00.  When we got home Mark asked what we learned and I told him I learned that he was a "very nice guy." Everywhere I went people said to me, "I met your husband today when he was up here helping set up and he is so nice!"  He just chuckled.  (Actually, I didn't learn that new as I already knew he was a nice guy.)  Matt has a day off school today as teachers all file their first trimester grades, etc., well despite two swim practices, he is off today, so we are going to just flitter to and fro together, landing someplace with soup and salad for lunch.  Call me if you want to meet us there...otherwise, have a great day...all this sunshine is just waiting to be appreciated!

Last of an Evening

The red eyes add a certain aura to the occasion.

      The pumpkins are carved and are now sporting fine Jack-O-Lantern vestiges.  Mark always has a really great pumpkin with a special theme each year.  This year his choice ended up being a tall lovable fellow with a definite leaning problem, so he is our first special needs Jack-O-Lantern as he needed a little bracing in order to sit upright.  He's our favorite this year, hands down. 

      Matt's is a traditional jag-tooth with a Colts symbol around back for a second view. 

      Alex's guy is just an evil looking dude as Alex gets into the scary side of the occasion much more so than the rest of us. 

      Mine, as always each and every year (partly because I have no creativity whatsoever and partly because I just love the look of it), is a little smiley face pumpkin guaranteed to have the preschool set grinning when they come to the door for treats. 

      It's getting on to be the last of the evening and Mark is roasting the pumpkin seeds in the oven...it smells lovely...rosemary and pumpkin...he can cook about five things:  pumpkin seeds being one of the five.  Last chore of the evening, cleaning up!

First Tux!

      Matt's first tuxedo...looking very spiffy in this, don'tchathink? 

       Four out of five football wins this past weekend...Guerin (second game of sectionals...who knew that was a possibility), Carmel (likewise, second game of sectionals...no surprise there), Iowa (took double-overtime, but they got the job done..."eventually" being better than losing), and the Colts (a slow start, but a great rally for a big finish)...sadly only the Hoos in our lineup lost (I am looking at that in a positive vein preferring to think that the Hoos are down there in Bloomington focusing on what is really important after October 1st...BASKETBALL).   Speaking of the IU Hoos, pre-season rankings, for what they are worth (or not), have them 9th in the country.  Not bad.  We can start with that.   

      Matt celebrated his 700th Mass as an altar server on Sunday morning at SEAS.  Wow.  He also got his first formal tuxedo...the IYC singers wear this when they perform.  Doesn't he look handsome?  (I requested that there be "room for growth" as I can't seem to keep pants at the proper length for this boy...he is still growing!) 

      Alex spent the weekend camping with the scouts (Mark usually goes, but he decided that he would drive scouts there and back, but forego the camping in the tents and on the cold hard ground in favor of a nice warm bed at home...good choice imho.)  After returning home Sunday morning, Alex headed off to Good Will to do volunteer service for the afternoon, Matt to choir, and Mark and I had a whole afternoon to watch the Colts, read, and fritter away the time in irresponsible manners, meaning:  we did nothing really productive at all...dinner out for all of us to celebrate Matt's 700th altar-server Mass, homework for Alex, and Matt and I spent a couple hours reading and discussing Orwell's 1984 -- my THIRD time with this book and if my grandchildren ever have to read this some day, I am pleading Alzheimer's whether I have it or not...three times reading this book is way BEYOND the call of duty, four times is not happening regardless.   So, what went on at your place over the weekend? 

      Tonight is MNO, so I threw a stew together in the crockpot for the guys, made muffins for the swimmer for morning, am baking an apple pie as we speak, and when that comes out of the oven, am headed out for the day.  Have a good one...the leaves here are absolutely gorgeous, how about there?

Playing Fast and Loose

Just when I think I have this child pretty much figured out, I realize I really have not a clue what he is about on any given day.  And, you know what?  I think he likes it like that.  I think he likes playing fast and loose with my mind...secretly planning to do just the opposite of what I predict in my mind that he will do.  (Between you and me, it makes life just a little more exciting around here not to have it all going according to thought and plan all the time.)  This week was Alex's homecoming week at Carmel High School.  They had the different days of dress all week, etc., customary for the homecoming festivities, so at the beginning of the week I said, "Are you going to do the special outfits each day this week for homecoming?"  His answer, "Well, I am going to do one of the days only."  My reply, "Okay, do we need to get anything special for it or what have you?"  His reply, "No, Mom, you don't need to worry about it as I have it all under control and I don't need any help."  I have learned...end of story, don't ask further unless absolutely necessary.  I waited.  Pajama Day came and went, he exited the house in regular school attire.  Same with Western Dress Day.  Likewise on Wednesday with Pirate Day.  Spirit Day, regular attire also.  Hmmmm...and then, will wonders never cease, especially with Alex in this regard, he descends early of a school morning dressed in full suit coat, dress shirt, tie, dress pants, etc. for Dress Up Day.  You could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather.  I looked at my husband, he looked at me, we were both speechless.  It was not a wedding.  It was not a funeral.  It was not Cotillion.  It was not a formal occasion.  And, yet, here was The Cool Dude all dressed up on a day when it was OPTIONAL.  As I said, I think that he is just playing fast and loose with my mind...trying to keep me always guessing...that teenage thing where parents are on a "need to know only" basis.  Okay, you all know Alex...did any of you see this coming?  Anyone?

Beginning Spanish

El desayuno perfecto: El melocotón frescamente cortado, las frambuesas, y un par de cucharones del yogur. ¡No puede conseguir mejor que esto!   (The perfect breakfast:  freshly sliced peach, raspberries, and a couple of tablespoons of yogurt.  It can't get much better than this!)

Oh, these peaches are wonderful...this time of year they are so sweet and juicy you can almost just see and smell them and you feel like you have already eaten them!  The boys are taking Spanish at school this year and since Spanish is not one of those languages I ever thought about taking, I decided I would try to learn a little along with them...so, I am embarking upon Beginning Spanish...surely that will come in useful at some point (if nothing else, to know what they are saying around here might be nice).

       Lots to do this week, and best of all, a three day holiday coming up with Labor Day...Blue Bernice and I are always very excited about holidays. 

      Mark and Alex took in the Rush concert last night.  Mark's version:  "It was very long and very loud.  But, Alex had a great time!"  Alex's version:  "It was fantastic!  Really great!  I loved it all."  More praise I cannot think there could be from a 14 year old. 

      Matt is back at choir and just loving seeing all his old friends from CA (three years worth) at IYC since a majority of them were older and had moved up to IYC in the last year or two.  They had a retreat all day Saturday and then a regular rehearsal yesterday and he just loved seeing everyone again.  There are about 90 singers in this choir and when I looked at the list, I knew probably three quarters of them, so that will be a lot of fun this year for us, too. 

      Okay, I have a full day, so I am outta here...have a good one and remember to do something special for someone today for no apparent reason whatsoever! 

It's Beginning to Look Fine

Alex agreed to ONE photo of his first day of high school on the condition that it be taken nowhere near the high school, so here it is.  Posing for mom is not cool these days in the Cool Dude Manual, so I take what I can get when I can get it.  Apparently school was fine, classes were fine, friends were fine, teachers were fine, homework was fine, and lunch was fine.  I tried to get a few more details with this result:  "Well, what exactly do you want to know?"  Hmmm...details, I guess.  So, I learned the following:  his classes are fairly close together (which in a school of 4,000 or so, is a good thing), he has at least one friend that he knows in each class, only homework was AP World History which he completed within an hour, and lunch consisted of cheesy breadsticks, Flaming Hot Cheetoes, and Fruit Punch.  I won't comment on the lunch further, but you all know what I am thinking, I am sure.  So, other than that...you are all on your own to quiz the Cool Dude on whatever else you would like to know...good luck, maybe you will do better than I did as you are not a parental unit (aka The Enemy).  Just kidding around...well, maybe I am...sometimes I feel like I am and other times, it seems all too real.  It is, I keep telling myself over and over, important to keep a sense of humor these days. 

Middle of the Week

Front Entrance.

The photos today are because I had such a terrific response to my request earlier this week about what to replace those impatiens with next year for height and color that I thought I would try to get some more advice about this area as well.  (Thanks to everyone who emailed with suggestions, btw, and even to those of you, i.e. CC, who thoughtfully provided a different viewpoint, "You know, they look very nice, except for the cream and crimson part but you are forgiven as I don't think they come in black and gold.  I just have this to say...it's not always size that matters...."  It's one of the great joys in life that I have friends who make me laugh daily.)

    So, here's the dilemma...when we planted a lot of these things 15 years ago, they were small and seemed right.  Now they seem like they are way too large and overtaking the front walk to that part of the house.  I know deep down that I need to just rip most of it out and replant, but it is really difficult for me to think in terms of just ripping them out and throwing them away...maybe I can replant them somewhere else in the backyard.  Any suggestions?  I know I am being overly sentimental about a bunch of twigs and leaves, but I have watched them all grow and I just can't bear to think of taking them out and throwing them away just because something else will might look better.  What do you all do in a situation such as this?

    Days 2 and 3 of Countdown Week are going very well.  More cookie baking (thankyouverymuch, Alex for your excellent assistance at rolling out those final 100...much appreciated...and see, per your request, I did not post that photo on this blog so that you can maintain your rep as a "cool dude" and not "someone who bakes cookies with his MOM").  I am still trying to talk someone into seeing Ratatouille with me...I am not having any luck around here...anyone?  Anyone at all?

There's a Time to Hold Back and a Time to Celebrate!

  This was definitely a time to celebrate!  Carmel won the 2007 Long Course State Championships.  Matt's 13-14 year old boys' group won high points, so they were really excited about being number one at state for that...Matt, Mike, John, Harrison...there could not have been a greater honor going for those four. (Usually it is the girls who win, so these boys were just thrilled that they did it this year.)  Matt finished with two medals last evening...a fourth in the 200 Back and a second for their 400 Freestyle Relay (just could not contain Kevin Behrens in either one of those), nevertheless, it was still a Top 16 National Time. The photos here (click on all photos to enlarge) show Matt and Kevin standing at the blocks getting ready to swim...Matt is almost 6'2", and you can see Kevin is well above that in height and stature...he is just some force out there.  The next photo shows how far ahead Kevin was right at the beginning...count from the bottom of the photo and Matt is in Lane 3, Kevin in Lane 4...it was no contest...Kevin just never looked back...it was such fun to see such a great swimmer doing what he does best:  swim!   Matt's  200 Freestyle swim in the prelims in the morning netted only a consolation swim, so he ended up with a 12th place finish in that swim.  Not bad, 8 medals out of a possible 9...we are thinking that is a very fine showing for someone who manages to swim and sing!  The real question is:  Can we keep this up...next year Matt will be in the senior division of swimming and also be in two choirs:  IYC and Guerin.  I am thinking we better enjoy all this hardware while we can.  So now Age Group is a thing of the past...on to the Open swimming and rebuilding as he starts at the bottom of the senior group and builds toward the top to hopefully be "one of the big guys" again.  This weekend he proved he finished Age Group as one of the "big guys" for sure!   It was a lot of fun to watch.

     After the finals, the swimmers and their families were lucky enough to have a Carrabbas restaurant cook for all of us as we took over the restaurant to celebrate and enjoy some Italian fare.  It felt like a big family...as I looked around and saw all the swimmers and families that we have grown to know and love over the past eight years, it felt really really nice to be in that place at that time with all those people.  How lucky are we to have had this all these years?  Each and every one of those families was not only excited for their swimmer, but for each and every swimmer on that state team.  The kids are really lucky to have so many people come up and say how proud they were of them and how much they enjoyed watching them swim, etc.  It was really wonderful.

    While all this was going on, Alex had the opportunity to go with Uncle Brian to the Brickyard 400 and he was absolutely in heaven from 9:30-6:00 loving every minute of being at that race and having the time with his Godfather doing what he loves:  looking at cars!  Alex is a very big fan of anything to do with cars...he just loves everything about them.  His favorite thing each year is to go to the new car shows and see every single car, sit in them, and just dream.  I have never known anyone to like cars as much as Alex does.  He learned his colors when he was two by naming the colors of the cars we saw each day, he learned to count by counting cars...he has always been car crazy, so today for him was a banner day!  Thank you, Uncle Brian! 

There's A Whole Lot of Action Goin' On

Yep, there's a whole lotta action goin' on all right over here...the Harry Potter kind.  From the kickoff party on Friday night, to the midnight purchases, through Saturday (no swim meet, so what's a swim family to do?), and well into the night, Harry and his cohorts have been receiving top billing around here. 

There's also been a lot of birthday action here this weekend.  This is the year Mark, his dad, and Matthew all roll over the "5s" in July.  Emil turned 85, Mark turned 55, and Matthew will be turning 15 next week.  Everyone made it up to Elwood for celebration yesterday except brother Luke.  Emil and Mark were not all that excited about reaching their milestones, but Matthew cannot wait until his birthday as with it comes the long-awaited Driver's Permit.  Normally I would be a little sad at milestones such as these...well, sad and happy, of course.  This particular one, however, I am absolutely ecstatic over as it means one more step until that child has his driver's license and I need not ever see another 5:00 a.m. swim practice!  This thrills him to no end because it means that he will have sole possession of a car and keys when that magical time arrives.  This, he is thinking, is reason enough to be a swimmer.  It is also true, however, that nagging in the back of my mind, I am hearing that old adage..."Be careful what you wish, or you will surely get it."  (Better appreciate those 5:00 a.m. times with him while I can...they are on the whole, wonderful times where just the two of us are up and about organizing the day and discussing bits and pieces that only the two of us care about...and this year with him at school all day for the first time, I think those 5:00 a.m. times are going to mean even more.)  Yep, better appreciate all the action goin' on around here while I can...time is passing quickly.

Where There's a Will, There's a Way

Matthew at the Hamilton County 4-H Fair Scrapbook Display Area.  (Alex was at P.E. class.)

Scrapbook judging at the Hamilton County Fair was yesterday...for SEVEN hours and I had two judges this year!  144 albums in three divisions:  Clover, Junior, Senior...very impressive one and all.  Congratulations to all the kids in our club who took the scrapbooking project:  they all got blue ribbons!  Seven of the Nine got Honors as well.  (Blue ribbon is a first place finish and with Honor ribbons means they were considered for champion.)  Blue Honors go to (alphabetically) Allison, Bernadette, Caitlin, Holly, Matthew, Megan, and Sammie.  Blues go to Alex and Rebecca.  Very proud of all of you...your albums were wonderful!  This is one of the largest enrollment projects at our fair, so there is a lot of really good competition each year.  (And, to think when I went to the 4-H Council and wanted to start this project 10 years ago, they laughed and said, "No one is going to want to take that as a project." I countered: "Oh, I think they will...can you give me a shot at it as a trial run?"  Well..."Okay, because we know you will keep at us until we do, we will give you ONE year as a trial, you can have a card table for display at the end of the posters in the Winks building, and if you don't have TEN people sign up, it's a no-go next year, deal?"  Me: "Deal."  We had 75 people sign up the first year!  They had to clear one entire wall length for the display.  The council continues to bow before me...LOL...just kidding, but they truly were amazed and delighted that we were the FIRST in the entire nation in 4-H to have this project.  Counties and states fell like dominoes once we put it out there.  How cool is that?  A card table at the end of the posters....ha...we now have a good share of an entire building and specially designed and handmade display racks just to fit scrapbook measurements!)  Congratulations, 4-Star 4-Hers...you represented our club well! 

      And, in other news around here yesterday...the CSC State Team Party!  This is where they announce all the members who have earned cuts to swim at state and also the relay team qualifiers...always a big deal!  As you can see from the photo, Matthew has individual cuts (he got to pick his favorite five as you are only allowed five events at state) and he made the "A" relay team, which really delights him...to be on the top relay team is always his dream.  The kids all enjoy their individual events, but they LOVE their relay team events the best of all.  About one in four member of CSC make the state cuts each year...Carmel sends more kids to state than probably any other team in Indiana, so that is always fun for the kids.  After dinner, the announcements are made, and the fun begins...a whole lotta dancing going on! The t-shirts are a big deal...each year they are different and it is really an honor to qualify and get the state team t-shirt, can you tell from the big smile?  Then the dancing begins:  the big kids showing the little ones how it's done!  It is just so much fun to see them all together having such a good time and celebrating!  This is our last age group state...after this month, Matt will be an open swimmer and in the senior group.  When he was little, he would look at the older kids and say, "I will be there someday, Mom, I just know I can get there, too, like all those big guys."  Now he is one of the big guys...where there's a will, there's a way!  Congratulations, Matt, we know how hard you have worked for this and you deserve every bit of it! 

Now There's Something You Don't See Everyday

Busy weekend here...three day swim meet and 4-H projects were due on Sunday, fortunately for us, all in the same place:  Noblesville.  What a deal.  Made going back and forth between the two much easier, that's for sure.  Both boys were scrapbooking their vacations for the 4-H Scrapbook project right up until the last hour before we left to turn them in.  How many tables does it take for BOYS to scrapbook...FOUR.  Alex and Mark opted for the kitchen table and the coffee table for supplies.  Matt opted for the dining table and a completely trashed and covered card table set up in the family room (you can see the chaos behind Mark in the photo).  I just tried to close my eyes to the mess and hope that by Monday sanity would reign once again.  Can you even believe Mark was helping Alex scrapbook????  (Well, mostly just chatting and advising but still, that counts as bonding, right?)  I couldn't believe Alex was actually doing it, let alone Mark.  Probably not something he wants passed around, so shhhhh.  He even posed them out on the deck with their albums when they finished.   I would venture to say, however, that probably is the extent to which any of the three are going to be scrapbooking...until next year and the last possible hours before fair.  It's amazing to me that they get honors each year and Alex even had a champion a couple years ago.  If that judge only knew that he was putting photos in his album in the car on the way to the fair...shhhhh...don't tell that either! 

     Oh, and a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today to Mark's dad, Emil, who turns 85.  This is the year of the "5s" as Mark turns 55 this month, and Matthew turns 15 this month.  Emil is the most wonderful father-in-law anyone could ever wish for, a golfing fool (he is out there every day from the day the course opens, until the day it closes each year), an excellent role model for his family, and outstanding in community service.  We all want to be like him when we grow up.  Happy Birthday, Big E!

Crossing the Waters

Pippin and Vash discussing who is going to get to sit on Alex's lap...Pippin winning at the moment.

Where, everyone is asking, is Alex?  Not a word about Alex for many many days.  Well, I will say I am missing the little guy.  First I was in Iowa and he was not, then I was in Louisville for the swim meet and he was not, and then he was at scout camp for a week and I was not, and as soon as he returned from camp, he packed his bag for the "Aunt Nan and DeNephews Vacation" and left with them and I did not.  Never fear, he and I will be seeing plenty of each other from here on out...well, when he returns, which is next Wednesday, one day before Matt sets off for Italy with the ICC.

     Today Alex is crossing the water on a little boat trip from Vermont to Canada via Lake Champlain.  Each year Aunt Nan takes her nephews on a vacation and they visit all the sites, museums, amusement parks, and baseball parks that they can possibly fit in during a given period of time in a given geographical location.  Everyone should have an Aunt Nan.  (Aunt Nan is Mark's sister, his only sister, for those of you who don't know.  She was raised with 5 brothers and never saw a need to compound that torture of dealing with so much testosterone by getting married.  She has no kids, and therefore has endless amounts of energy and patience for all of ours each summer.  She was hoping for a lot of nieces.  She got a lot of nephews instead, so she is just rolling with it these days...and no one is as great at doing vacations as Aunt Nan!)

     This vacation thing has worked out well for Alex.  Matt always gets the big ICC trip each year (China, Greece, Italy) and Alex gets Camp Tecumseh, Camp Ransburg, and the Aunt Nan gig.  Alex is pleased with the arrangement as those are all things he just loves doing, so while the vacations are not really the same sorts of things, Alex is pleased and that is all that matters in the long run.  This year cousins David (14) and Jonathan (10) are also on the trip.  Their destination is Canada:  Montreal and Toronto to be exact.  So far we have had one phone contact which was rather hurried as they were headed to the swimming pool somewhere in Vermont and we were just "talking up valuable time."  I was going to post a photo, but they haven't sent any of those either.   Sooner or later, we will get to hear all about it, but in the meantime, news of Alex is pretty scarce.  I am certain they are all having a great time.  Montreal and Toronto, what's not to love there?  Great things to do and see in both of those places.  Personally, however, my real love in Canada is Quebec...what I would not give for a week in Quebec right now...yep, Quebec sounds very fine...can think of a ton of fun things to do in Quebec!  Alas...not anytime soon...but still nice to dream and hope, right?  News from Alex when we get it! 

It's Just Not Fair!

 

Probably somewhere around their child's age of four or so, most parents have long tired of the phrase, "It's just not fair!"  I was mistakenly told it was just a phase that children go through and I believed it, figuring the end was soon in sight.  Alex is now 14 and I see no retirement any time soon of said phrase.  Case in point:  "Can I go walk around town for a few hours with my friends from school?"  After a few questions, such as "Where exactly, which friends, and what time frame are we discussing here?" I was hit with "Mom, you are so unreasonable.  This is just so unfair that all the kids can do this except for me.  Just say 'yes' and don't think so much.  You can trust me."  (Ah, this is where it starts with guys saying "You can trust me."  I have never been a big subscriber to that one at any point in my life.)  We talked it over a bit, my use of calmness and logic impressing even myself, when out of the blue he shouts, "Oh, grownups are all the same!  You never have to do anything you don't want to do and life is always fair for you because you get to control it all!"  I never have to do anything I don't want to do???  No one ever told me that, I have been operating for my entire life without this knowledge!  Imagine my surprise!  Life is never unfair for adults?  Wow...likewise, I had no grasp on this bit of information either (and just this morning I had two or three takes on the "life is just not fair" routine as I moved about my daily routine).  I shared with Alex that it was time to wise up and learn that adults had the same issues, they just did not (for the most part) go around shouting about the unfairness of it all at the top of their voices.  He turned to me and said, "Mom, don't even try to use all that logic stuff on me.  It won't work."  And why, I ask myself, would I even waste my time trying to reason with a 14 year old whose appreciation of such is pretty much nil these days?  You know, it's just not fair!

Sports Fare

Alex and Matt, age 6 

A few of the newer homeschooling moms asked me how we decided which sport we were going to have the boys play and how they became so successful at it.  My answer was "Well, by accident of course...that is how we come about most things in the Gerth house."  Actually, we didn't really choose our sport, our sport chose us.  We tried everything.  Believe me, pretty much everything.  Well, not Lacrosse because by the time Alex wanted to try Lacrosse, Lacrosse was not interested in having him try them...Carmel being what it is in the competitiveness realm, if you aren't good at what you do by the fourth grade, you can pretty much hang it up around here.  Keep searching. 

        We started out with soccer because Mark's dad was a professional soccer player and we thought that might be a nice place to start.  Soccer was not us.  Matt enjoyed the sidelines more than the actual playing as he and a girl named Margaret could both shoot water through their front teeth at strategic angles delighting all the other five year olds to no end.  Alex was not convinced for many games that the other children were not "kicking" him "on purpose" and would chase the other player down to "kick him right back," which ensued in many apologies on both our parts and Alex's.  Somehow the other parents were very understanding and kind.  Mark was one of the coaches, and I think he probably has the world record for most times carrying a player "onto" the field.  Yes, you heard me, "onto" the field.  Not "off" the field as in possible injury, but "onto" the field as in "Alex, you are going to get out there now and take your turn playing like all the other kids just as we agreed when you wanted to sign up and play soccer."  We were short players that day, and no one was available to come in as a sub so each could have a turn sitting on the sidelines drinking Gatorade and shooting the breeze with other kids hanging around...Alex was not pleased.  I am sure it was the first time the crowds had seen a player being carried onto the field kicking and screaming and the subsequent prone position that Alex played lying down that period and swinging his foot every now and again if something came near to him. 

       Maybe baseball.  Matt's idea of baseball playing was visiting with Margaret out in center field and not paying a bit of attention to any balls being hit or missed.  It was Dad's pitch actually and Alex had a tendency to move around quite a bit while at bat, resulting in Mark pitching to a moving hitter and often hitting said hitter with the ball, resulting in, by the third time (crowd silently looking on) Alex shouting, "Dad, don't hit me again!"  The crowd roared.  Since the ball field was located next to a parking lot (and Alex loves above all else looking at cars), he spent all his non-hitting (or being hit) time watching the cars come and go from the parking lot.  Not for us, definitely.

      Hockey...we only got as far as the ice skating lessons when we discovered that Matt liked skating, but not hockey, and Alex only wanted to play hockey because he thought the penalty box (and what one did to get into the penalty box) looked like the best fun of all.  Scratch hockey.

      Maybe basketball.  Matt had no hand/eye coordination at all at that time, and while he could lob a ball up to the basket, I don't remember one ever actually going in.  Alex possessed the triple threat:  slow, can't dribble, can't shoot.  Alex's height pretty much ruled out any thoughts of a basketball career had he been able to deal with the other requirements.  Most of the time, the ball was at one end and Alex at the other...one game he managed to get the ball and dribble in for a shot and make it.  The referee jumped for joy for him (and we didn't even know the ref...he had called so many games and remembered Alex each time as he was so very small).  Afterward, the ref came up and said, "I know we refs are not supposed to cheer for the players, but I just couldn't help myself."  Going nowhere.

      Football...no way...both were interested in getting out there and creaming kids with tackles, but I held my best Worrying Mother ground and told them to keep searching. 

      Let's see...I guess that left swimming.  Report to the pool, swim a 25 yard of any swim you want, and you are off and running, or rather swimming.  What a deal.  They were even clean when they finished each day.  We found our home.  Turns out they were good at swimming.  We have been at it for 8 years now. 

      That's how we found our sport.  Process of elimination:  we kept at it until the sport didn't eliminate us.  If I had known then what I know now about the swimming season  (year round) and commitment (intense and time consuming), would we do it over again?  Yes...but I might have tried a little harder to locate those Lacrosse people first...just in case. 

Fair Good Looks

It has dawned on me lately that we have two sons who will be 15 soon.  How did that happen so quickly?  We have one son with dark blonde hair, beautiful get-lost-in-them blue eyes, and a spirited knack for making everyone laugh.  Our other son is handsome, over six feet tall with broad shoulders, dark hair and deep brown eyes, and is always charming and nice to everyone.  It does not escape our notice  these days that when girls are around, heads are turning toward them.   At lunch yesterday with fellow moms, discussion ran along the lines of blooming girl/boy relationships, another mom asked me if my boys were interested in girls yet and I said, "Yes.  Definitely.  If said girl can play a decent round of golf, swim at least a mile on any given day, play bass, or make a fire by rubbing two sticks together, they are interested.  If you are talking about the boy/girl thing...we are not quite there...and we are really in no hurry to see that on the horizon anytime soon."  I am thinking this is going to be the last summer that doing things with Mom and Dad has any sort of priority whatsoever.  I intend on enjoying it fully. 

Bread of Life Fare

Today is the 7th Anniversary of Matt and Alex's First Eucharist...they were 7 at the time, so I thought it would be fun to post photos of them on that special day since I just posted photos of them on their Confirmation Day.  We had a big party at the house that Sunday with all three of our priests attending and over 100 people milling about in house, yard, and pool.  It was a lot of fun for all of us.  The priest in these photos is Father Ted and, coincidentally enough, it was the 17th anniversary of his ordination on that day...making today his 24th Anniversary of Ordination to the priesthood.  We have been so blessed to have Father Ted at St. Elizabeth's.  This year he was also appointed the President of Blessed Theodore Guerin Catholic High School, the school Matt will be attending next year for high school.  Today Matthew will serve the 12:15 Mass at SEAS with Father Ted and there will be a little gathering afterwards to help Father celebrate.  Tonight, after choir (Matt and myself) and golf (Mark and Alex), we will have a little celebration here for the boys' anniversary date...a beautiful day all around with celebrations, gorgeous weather, all this spring greenery, blooming flowers, and good friends and family throughout the day.  It can't possibly get better than this.

Growth Tables

Our little crabapple tree beside the garage at the end of the driveway...so pretty in bloom this time of year.  The week has flown by so quickly!  Thursday found us at the Indianapolis Museum of Art for our monthly art tour gig with the teenage homeschoolers in our group.  Shelley is really getting into blogging as when we finished, she said, "I call dibs on the posting about the IMA today on the blogs!"  And a fine job she did of it, too...if you want to check it out, visit Shelley at http://insomnimom.blogspot.com/ for Thursday, April 26th.  That night Matt sang at a dinner for the Prince and Princess of Yugoslavia which was interesting and fun for him.  Interesting because, since Yugoslavia is no longer a country in its own right, he was singing the Serbian National Anthem, the U.S. National Anthem, and Back Home Again in Indiana.  Fun because Matt dearly loves to sing at special gigs like this.

Friday we spent seven hours in testing...bone scans, CAT scans, etc. for Matt's recurring painful back...which we thought was probably due to growing so quickly in the past few months, but turns out to be a chronic condition treatable by therapy and a back brace (and restrictions on the butterfly and breaststroke in swimming...aren't we lucky that Matt's two state competitive swims are the backstroke and freestyle?).  Whew...a mother always worries, so this was good news for Mark and I to hear at the end of the day...you just never know, and I tend to be the worrisome type anyway when it comes to my boys.

We are rejoicing in warm weather and shorts season!  Normally this is something we always rejoice in after long cold dreary winters (I am definitely not a winter-loving kind of gal), however, this year we have additional reasons to rejoice.  For the past four months, with Matthew's growth spurt, each and every month we have had to have the pants rehemmed and we are now out of any extra room to expand lengthwise in all his pants.  At 14, he is a little over six feet tall and still growing.  I am thinking shorts are the way to go from here on out until the snow flies again.  We went clothes shopping today (best to do it while Alex is out of town at scout camp as Alex has not experienced said growth spurt, thus making it unnecessary to score an entire new wardrobe..."it's just not fair that Matt grows so tall all the time and outgrows everything each year").  Matt's swimming shoulders don't help the shirt size situation either...mediums fit elsewhere, but those shoulders finally breathed a big sigh of "ahhh" when he tried on the large size.  As I was sitting outside the changing room, I had a new appreciation for the parents of all the tall people I have known...and being tall myself, I tended to outgrow things each year also.  When the boys were six and we were perusing the closets to see what fit and what did not, Alex, who has always been small and slow to grow, said, "Mom, I am NOT wearing this (in his hand he had a really cute blue shirt with a big green frog on it...one that Matt had worn at age 3).  NO self-respecting six year old would be caught dead in this, even if it does fit me, Mom!"  I had to agree...what was darling at three, certainly was not acceptable at six.  In the pursuing years, I have tried to cut Alex a few deals here and there so that he can get some new things each season also...even though he can usually wear the same size for three years running.  It is, after all, a small thing to ensure a bit of peace and respect in this regard. 

Birthday Table

Yes, it's true...Queen Elizabeth II and I are celebrating our birthdays today.  Hers might be going a tad more royally, but I am having a fine time of it here as well.  I rose at 5:00 a.m. to get showered and drive Matt to swim practice...twice as a matter of fact, as he forgot that his swim bag was in Dad's car since Mark picked him up from practice last night so they could go golfing, Matt forgetting to switch out the bag between cars...Dad never drives early morning practices...Dad is probably not even aware that there is such a thing as 5:00 a.m.  Back to the house, load the swim bag, up to the pool...hmmm...a great start...we really don't make enough trips to that pool in a day as it is...up, back, up, back, up, back, up back...can't wait for that boy to get his driver's license!

Matt had his Incoming Fall Student Freshman Retreat at Guerin Catholic High School - Home  wherein all the newbies were given a tour of the school via a "very fun and cool scavenger hunt," met other newbies, had food and refreshment, heard various speakers and saw various little film clips dealing with the school, etc....even played some outdoor games.  Noon to 4:00.  He loved every minute of it.  I did a little laundry...yes, Virginia, there really is laundry even on birthdays and national holidays around here.  Thank goodness for washers and dryers of today!

Matt and Mark golfed 5:40 until 8:00...Alex being grounded for yet another smart mouth infraction...you would think anyone with his high IQ would have figured out the cause/effect relationship here in this smart mouth/grounding regard...apparently not.  It is one of the few areas he seems to be slow on the uptake.

At 8:30 my guys hosted a birthday dinner for me...prepared by them, complete with a pretty pink and white cake with flowers. Very tasty...bistro steaks, steamed broccoli, cucumber and tomato salad, and crostini topped with melted Gorgonzola and walnuts...very nicely done, all of it. We also witnessed cleanup by said guys, and while at times I have found that this is sometimes more painful than it would originally seem in the offing, I decided I wasn't willing to tackle that part myself and enjoyed the time off.  On Monday night Mark is taking me out to eat to celebrate...sans teenage boys who have been known to finish off appetizer, salad, dinner, every roll in sight, and dessert before Mark and I have even made our way through a salad.  I am looking forward to it.. Mitchell's Fish Market....something fishy with my name on it...what's not to love about that?!

The photo above was taken 50 years ago...I was two at the time...that's a lot of candles on said cake...who knew we would get this old this fast?  The advantage of marrying an older man (3 years older in my case) is that no matter how old 52 looks...in July 55 will look even older:  that does something for a girl's ego where age is concerned.  It's awfully sporting of him to capitalize on that for me. 

All in all, a great day just to be hanging around with my guys, chauffeuring Matt a bit, receiving Birthday cards, emails, IMs, and calls, and reading whenever I could sneak it in.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  Well, maybe for something with the Queen in London, but short of that....

Confirm-atable

Confirmation!  Matthew and Alexander received their fourth sacrament last evening at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church located, conveniently enough, in our backyard.  Makes parking easy.  It doesn't seem like 14 years has passed since those two little babies were being baptized there, even less like 7 years ago that the little guys were receiving the sacraments of Penance and First Holy Eucharist there, and now 7 years later...Confirmation for our two teenage sons.  I guess, possibly in another 7, we could be witnessing the sacrament of Matrimony, but I am rather hoping that the 7 year stretch reaches a bit further...more like 10 years maybe.  Chosen Confirmation Saint names:  St. Ignatius of Loyola for Matthew and St. Peter for Alex.  Beautiful day, beautiful Mass, beautiful smiles...beautiful life!

Cartable

I spend a good deal of my life in the car carting my sons about town for various activities and social engagements.  They will be 15 this year...I don't know who is looking forward to their driver's licenses more, them or me.  Not that I don't enjoy what I do, it is just that with the active lifestyle we seem to be maintaining, there are days that not turning the key in the ignition sounds like a vacation for which I am long overdue...particularly in respect to those 5:00 a.m. swim practices...followed closely by the 5:00 p.m. swim practices.  Around here we call it car-to-the-pool-ing and it happens six days a week.  After 8 years, I am thinking most anyone would be looking forward to the release date.

As I am driving about, I often wonder what is going on in other people's cars.  Surely others are also experiencing the rampant chaos that often accompanies our trips in the car.  I see all the cars going to and fro, wondering if they are all indeed just coming and going with no little mini-dramas happening within the interiors.  Meals on wheels are not uncommon in ours...we sometimes go from event to event with nary a dining table in sight...a quick drive through usually fills the need for nourishment on the run.  I have found with boys, especially teenage boys, eating is just a means to an end...there is not a lot of slow savoring of the meal or lingering at the table over meaningful conversations.  We often change clothes in the car...a swim team locker room is not any more (and often times a whole lot less) conducive to donning suit, tie, etc. for Cotillion...it is a bit like Superman, only instead of a telephone booth, the boys enter the car in one outfit (swim gear usually) and exit in something completely different, the aforesaid suit and tie for instance.  We listen to music, watch movies, study, chat, plan, dream, share meaningful bits...all in the car.  The car has become more than just a means of transport to and fro...it is our life in miniature.

So, what goes on in all those other cars I encounter each and every day?  I always wonder.  Especially when the boys were small, I would look over and wonder if we were the only loony transport on the streets that day.  Everyone else seemed so normal as I glanced at them at the stoplights, etc.  Nothing unusual ever seemed to be going on in anyone else's cars.  One of my favorite examples of looniness, for instance, was one day going from a library program to violin lessons.  We ran through Wendy's for a meals on wheels lunch. On the freeway, about 20 minutes into the trip, Alex says, "Mom, I think I have a problem here."  He was five...this was not unheard of at this stage of the game.  "Yes?"  "Well, I pushed my thumb through the bottom of my Coke cup and now if I pull it out, all the Coke is going to come out."  Okay, I am thinking...stay calm...be the adult here...respond nicely.  "Okay, Alex, just hold it there until we get to your lesson, about another 10 minutes."  "I can't because it is really cold and my thumb is starting to not feel anything and it is also oozing out the sides a bit."  At this point, Matt, also five, said, "Alex, there is a cup in the cup holder right beside you, maybe you can pour it into that cup."  I said, "Great idea...will that work?"  To which Alex responded, "Well, I guess I can do that, but I used that cup to trap a bee inside, and I can still hear him moving around a bit.  If I take off the lid, the bee might fly out and sting us."  "A bee?  A live bee?  You have a live bee in that cup?"  "Yes, he was on the window and I trapped him in the cup so I could let him loose when we got home."  "Alex, do not open that lid...I will pull over as soon as I get a safe shoulder."  Definitely someone else's life...my vision of my life bore no resemblance to occasions such as these.  I pulled over, we corrected all the ills, let the bee go free, and proceeded on our way.  So, what does go on in other people's cars...it always seems like more days than not, our car is operating out of the norm, more on the loony scale.  I am sure I will miss it when it is no longer a given...but as I leave now to go pick up my swimmer from practice, I am sure that before I return home, there will be some point where I will wonder..."What exactly is going on in that car over there...it looks fairly normal...can I ride with them instead?" 

Accoun-Tability

Okay, by now it should be fairly obvious that I am going for a month of incorporating the word "table" into my blog titles as often as possible.  Bear with me...the month is bound to end sooner rather than later and I will move onto something else.  Sometimes the kitchen table is witness to those aspects of life which aren't quite so enjoyable in the memory cells...lessons of being held accountable for actions taken.  Yesterday was the first day, after a two week suspension (and subsequent grounding and loss of virtually all privileges and electronics while under "house arrest" by the parental units for those two weeks), that Alex was allowed to ride the school bus again, punishment resulting from an infraction for a less than desirable choice he made regarding proper bus behavior.  Alex's version:  "Well, I was sorta looking at this kid's backpack on the bus and it was kinda near the window, sorta maybe a little too close, and it kinda sorta fell out of the window accidentally."  The bus driver's version, "Alex and a friend were playing keep away with another friend's backpack and Alex hurled the backpack out of the window as the bus was moving down the road."  Hmmm...probably don't need to specify which version we chose to believe came closer to actuality.  Result:  Mark and I needed to drive Alex to school each morning and retrieve him in the afternoon, not a favorite occupation on the "Make Time For" chart.  One rainy morning a student pulled the fire alarm at the school, forcing the students to be assigned waiting spaces in the parking lots, stalling the drop off lines, causing untold confusion and delays, making everyone late for everything by about an hour.  My wonderfully patient husband who never raises his voice or gets upset, calmly looked over at Alex in the passenger seat and said, "If you get kicked off the bus again, I will have to kill you."  In jest, of course, but Alex, never hearing anything like this from Dad before, said, "Okay, Dad, I get it."  I just chuckled when I heard about it, thinking that even after 28 years of marriage, there are still some surprises every day.  It was decided around the table that evening that if the bus privileges were revoked ever again, the expectation would be that said student would be hoofing it to the school on his own two feet...a full two miles each way each day.  The thing about parenting teenage boys is that you are full of optimism...like this threat would actually maybe work in some way.  Also as a parent, you realize your chances are pretty slim on most issues most days.  People always say, "Oh these are the types of things you laugh about in the future."  Bring it on...I hope they are right.  Maybe some year, long down the road, when we are gathered around the table with "remember when" Alex stories...well, maybe.  Until then, it may be best to not rest too often or close the eyes too tightly.