Happy Birthday to You!

#22

Spirit Week @FJH

College Sweatshirt Day
War Eagle!

Fall Break

grilling out at the condo picnic area

This was the last year for HSE to have a week-long fall break. We took advantage of the time and accepted an offer from Margy and Tom to drive to a family (free) condo in Siesta Key, Florida. We left on Sunday and took our time, with several stops. We arrived late Sunday night, unpacked and fell into bed. We all slept in and the weather on Monday was beautiful. Margy and I walked on the beach and we all spent the rest of the day at leisure, at the beach and pool and condo. We watched the Colts play on Monday night and fixed nachos. The rest of the week was about the same - we basically ate, slept, sat in the sun, read, played cards and swam. I had a test to take on Tuesday and drove into Sarasota to the Panera, which has free wi-fi (no access at the condo).

making puppy chow

On Thursday, we headed to Auburn. The trip was about 8 hours and we drove directly to Mellow Mushroom, had a pizza while we waited for Sarah to finish at work, and then followed her home. We met roommate Mallory and her dog Desi and got reacquainted with Sarah's dog Kylie. Mallory and Sarah were kind enough to give up their rooms to the moms and the boys spread out in the den with futons and air mattresses. Friday was spent on campus - Sarah with classes and the boys with a campus tour and appointments. We met back at the house and the girls went out looking for furniture (kitchen table and dresser). We made it to a couple of stores, but didn't find anything in our price range. We went back and got the boys and headed out to "Good Ol' Boys" for dinner. Emily had decided earlier in the day to drive down, and she arrived about 11:00. She and Sarah and I stayed up and talked for a while and then we blew up another mattress for Em and we all went to bed.

sarah and kylie

On Saturday morning, I dropped Sarah at work at 9:15 and visited a garage sale on the way back - no table or dresser :( Back at the house it began as a lazy morning but after everyone was awake, we got into action. We headed toward Goodwill, which turned out to be Mission Thrift and unbelievably we found exactly what we were looking for - a kitchen table and four chairs, a coffee table and a dresser (all for $150!). The boys hauled our finds home and the girls went next door to K-Mart for supplies. Back at the house we rearranged furniture and cleaned and organized all day. Emily and the boys met Sarah when she got off work and they all went straight to the game (Ole Miss). Margy and I put the finishing touches on the kitchen, living room, and Sarah's bedroom and then got ourselves and the car packed. Mallory came home from work before Sarah and she couldn't get over the changes - she was excited and couldn't wait for Sarah to see it. John, Sarah, Emily, Danny and Tommy stayed for the end of the game (Auburn 17 - Ole Miss 3) and then came home. Sarah was shocked and could not believe her room! Margy gave her the dresser and a new lamp as a thank you for having us all as guests and for getting Tommy a ticket to the game. Emily organized her desk and papers and most of her clothes and we made up her bed with her down mattress pad, clean sheets, her duvet cover and LOTS of pillows.


We stayed and visited for about a half an hour and then headed north. We got stuck in the football traffic for the first 50 minutes, but after that we were in hardly any traffic. Margy drove to Nashville and then we switched and I finished up. We only stopped once, the boys slept the whole way and we rolled in to Indy about 8:15. We slept for a few hours - my bed felt like heaven - ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! Emily stayed at Auburn Saturday night and went to a Halloween party with Sarah and John (the girls dressed as scuba divers, pictures soon).

Happy Birthday to both of you. . . . .

Christi and Danny never forget each other's birthdays - as they're the same day!

The timing was great this year, as we celebrated a day early and watched Survivor! Emily baked two outstanding desserts (brownies and chocolate/peanut butter bars). Christi hobbled in on a crutch and later found out that she had torn a calf muscle and was ordered to stay off!

Back home again in Indiana!

Emily surprised us with a return home sooner than planned. She had a great experience as a nanny, got to know and love two little boys, got to travel to Corsica once and into London and around England most weekends. She loved being home to watch the last few games of Danny's soccer season. She accepted a job as a permanent substitute for the corporation, based at my school -we now carpool!

Danny and I love having her home!

Homecoming @Fishers High School

Last week FHS celebrated Homecoming, with activities each day, including dress up days, a bonfire, the football game, and the dance Saturday night. In it's first year with seniors in the building, the school spirit has increased and the football team won it's first home game in two years on Friday night. It was a sea of RED in the stands!!

Cub Scout and Brownie (childhood dress up day)

Homecoming Bonfire

School Spirit!

Danny and I

Danny and Karli


More pictures can be seen by clicking here!

48 Hours. . . .

48 hours - the amount of time that Adrianne and Elliott were home together for the weekend. . . .

Although her flight from Honolulu was delayed for several hours on Friday night, she was able to get transferred to another flight and arrive here shortly after her originally scheduled time (Elliott arrived the day before, from San Diego). They made their way to the house for the first time and took a tour. After a quick lunch, they decided their favorite place at that moment was the new couch!

Later that afternoon, friends came over for a cookout - lots of catching up, a killer game of soccer, good food, hot tub and ice cream cones for dessert!

Four Hultgrens!

Group shot

On Saturday morning, Adrianne and I sat out back and talked and caught up on life for a couple of hours. We headed to Target and browsed at leisure (no Targets in Hawaii!). Later that evening we enjoyed some time at the Hultgrens and an intense game of Catchphrase!
And now it's Monday morning and Adrianne is on her way back to Hawaii and Elliott ready to leave for San Diego. . . .can't wait until December when they will be living in Virginia and the visits will be a little easier!

Click here for more pictures

CQ + PQ > IQ

The fall semester is underway and tonight I logged in for my two on-line classes. I must say that watching and listening to a lecture at home with my feet up, popcorn and diet coke nearby is surely the way to go! Actually, tomorrow is a required "in person" attendance, but it's the only one of the semester. I'm excited about the classes and the content.

The equation is from my "Digital Media" class (N100) and is from the book, The World is Flat and means that the curiosity quotient plus the passion quotient is greater than the intelligent quotient, that a curious and passionate student will be more successful than merely an intelligent one. . .

After tomorrow, all of our collaboration will be done in groups on-line, through chats and blogs and wikis. Several examples were given of projects accomplished by people from all over the world adding bits and pieces to the final presentation. . . .stay tuned. . . .

School of Informatics (New Media)

Birthday Surprise!

(Link added to list on left for additional videos)

Experimenting with video. . . .

Emily and Colleen's 18th birthday. They were planning a surprise visit to Atlanta to see SaraBeth, when she surprised them!

Island Flowers

I experimented with some settings on the camera while we were on vacation, mostly with the macro (closeup) setting. There are such beautiful flowers growing everywhere and it will be hard to choose which ones to frame. . .perhaps a collage. . . .

See more pictures by clicking here

Lazy Days of Summer

Not many things better than an afternoon nap on a lazy summer day. . . .

In This Home. . . .

Joanne gave me this sign for our new home and I LOVE it! What a perfect present - it will have a place of honor in my home - it's exactly how I think we do things 'round here. . . .

Leisurely Lunch

Yesterday, a group of ladies from FJH met for a long, leisurely lunch at Mitchell's (Clay Terrace) and spent 3 1/2 hours enjoying each other's company, catching up and sharing news (and dessert as big as your head!). One lady at a table nearby actually gasped when she saw the size of the carrot cake and shark fin pie being delivered to our table. I'm so happy to be a part of FJH again and working with such strong and compassionate women!

Indy Lady Hikers - Summer 2007

We just returned from a fabulous week of adventure, relaxing, laughter and good food!

Details here:
Indy Lady Hikers

2002 Christmas Football Video

Quite possibly the most entertaining football game ever! For our neighbor gift exchange in 2002, we made the shirts and then challenged them to the game. . .

Highlights:

Emily takes one for the team about the 10 minute mark

Adrianne counting her mississippi's. . . .

Sarah as quarterback, "hike, uh, mom. . . ."

Arrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw on the news that a local hair salon was providing haircuts on a Sunday in exchange for donations accepted for a young mother recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I wanted to help and I needed a haircut so I made my way there a couple of weeks ago. While I was getting my hair cut, Rupert made an appearance and signed autographs! We had a good pirate discussion about when he stole the raft full of shoes from the other tribe. . . . .

Happy Birthday Meghan!

On Sunday, we celebrated Meghan's birthday (a day early) at the Whitehouse. I can't believe the girls are 24! The dinner was delicious - we brought Meghan's favorite - cheesy potatoes and Mike grilled flank steak. Debbie's mom and stepdad were there and our favorite fivesome came in time for dessert. Meghan got her own guitar hero and all the kids had a turn. The kitten made an appearance as well!

Technology Farewell

Last week the lady techs (past and present) gathered to bid me farewell. Jane wrote and read an original poem and the group presented me with a gift certificate for a massage. It was a bittersweet occasion and I was honored that so many took time out of their busy end of year activities to attend. The food was delicious and the company delightful.

Across the pond. . .

Emily spent most of the day packing up and weighing suitcases. . . when she was ready for a break, Grant, Emily and I went to see the movie Shrek 3 and then went to Chick-Filet for dinner (Grant's favorite place!). On Sunday morning, we all went to church at E. 91st Street for a change and then on to lunch at Bravo's (thanks to the gift card that Dee gave us last summer). We sat outside on a beautiful patio, decorated with lots of flowers and overlooking a peaceful pond with ducks and geese (with babies!). After lunch it was time to head home and prepare to go to the airport. Grant left to run an errand and Emily and Danny went to make copies of her passport and license.

We left for the airport early in case the race got called (there was a rain delay). Emily checked in with no problem and we shopped at the bookstore and went for a bite to eat. Emily and Grant left to check the flight board and found that her flight had been delayed and would now arrive after her connecting flight to London would have departed. After some scrambling, she made it onto another flight and all was well. Emily has started her own site with details about her ordeal. We will all miss her very much and we're excited for her big adventure. The family she is staying with will be a perfect fit. I received an e-mail from them today that described the weather as awful, so they did puzzles and ate cake!

Headed South. . . .

Sarah and Kylie left early on Saturday morning with Dan to begin the drive back to Auburn. They made good time and were there in about 10 hours. Sarah had to work on Saturday night. She will begin looking for a new place to live beginning in July. Some roomates are moving on and so is Sarah. Danny and I hope to make a trip down to see her sometime before school starts in August. It was great to have her home and I can't wait until the next time we are together - love you Sarah!

Sarah visits the third grade!

On Friday, Sarah came to SCE to have lunch and while she was there she visited Mrs. Allen's 3rd grade classroom. Those students have been penpals with Adrianne's class since the first of the year. When Emily visited earlier this month she also stopped in to say hello and now they have met both of Mrs. Hultgen's little sisters! They had lots of questions for Sarah and ran along the lines of, "do you have a boyfriend" and "did you ever fight with your brother and sisters?" :)

Friends Gather

On Wednesday evening, we enjoyed the company of friends during the only week that Emily and Sarah will be home together this summer. It was good to see everyone (Debbie, Meghan, Tom, Greg, Christi, Austin, Summer, Chayton, Steve and Dana and their crew, Durena, Grant, Ashley M. and Heather S.).

Sarah turns 20!

Sarah (and Kylie) got home last Sunday night. Sarah's "girls" went to visit her in Auburn and she and Kylie rode home with Chelsea and Ashley (Kristen drove back to NC). We all visited for a while and worked on the dogs enjoying each other, but it was best when they were separated. Sarah and I left for a while and went and visited Mark, Heather, and Drew. It was Mark's birthday but the party was wrapping up when we got there. We all caught up and enjoyed Drew cracking open hard boiled eggs with his head :) and then Sarah and I came home. Lady was still pretty nervous around Kylie who just wanted to play and we decided that Kylie might have a little more freedom at Dan's so the two of them left to spend the night there.

The next day Danny made the birthday cupcakes when he got home from school and when I got home from work we grilled out and enjoyed a great birthday supper (burgers, chicken, potato casserole and corn-on-the-cob). Sarah opened her presents and we all just hung out for the night. For the next six months, Sarah and Emily are only one year apart!

Joanne's Retirement

Last Sunday Durena and I met up with Dee and Sharon to celebrate Joanne J's retirement from the library at FJH. I'm so excited for Joanne and especially that I am taking her position! Dee organized the gift we all went in on - a membership to the Indianapolis Zoo so that Joanne can take her precious granddaughter whenever she wants to! It was good to see my friends from FJH again I am looking forward to starting my new job on June 1st!

Jill Behrman Riverside Walk

Last Saturday, the 19th, we participated in a walk at Riverside to raise funds for Jill's House. Jill disappeared the summer before Adrianne was starting her freshman year at IU and she has always remained on my mind. Jill's brother Brian is a teacher at Riverside and the student council there organized the event and donated the proceeds to the building fund. I was glad to be able to walk in her memory. The weather was beautiful and I enjoyed walking with good friends, catching up with many I hadn't talked to for a while (Karan, Jane, Lori, Cora, and Pam).

Every picture tells a story

Last Monday when I got to work at CRE, the ladies appeared in the lab a few minutes after me. Nancy A was carrying a wrapped package and it was for me! I unwrapped a digital photo frame, the same one Nancy has on her desk (which I had admired long ago :). The Philips 9FF2M4 model has such great resolution and I can't wait to transfer some pictures to it and enjoy the show! My year at CRES has been unexpectedly wonderful, working with such a generous staff. They welcomed me and made me feel a part from the very beginning and I will always be grateful.

Mother's Day

Sunday was a great day and I'm so grateful to be the mom to Danny, Sarah, Emily and Adrianne. Sarah set her alarm and called in the morning and I talked to Adrianne a little bit later (Hawaii being 5 hours earlier).

Emily, Danny, and I decided to worship on the river instead of church - we slept in a bit and then got up and packed a picnic. We headed to Turkey Run - Emily drove so that I could sit in the back and read. After we got into Marshall, we stopped by Sugar Valley and rented kayaks for an eight mile trip down Sugar Creek. The trip took just over two hours and we hardly saw anyone else the whole time we were there. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. . . perfect! Pictures to come - have to finish up the waterproof camera and get them developed.

After the trip we drove over to Turkey Run and got spread out for a picnic. Danny was STARVING and said he was so hungry he would even eat egg salad. When we got the sandwiches out, Danny's peanut butter one was the only thing that got wet :( but he still wouldn't eat the egg salad. We enjoyed our picnic and didn't stay too long, as we had to get home for the Survivor finale. Debbie, Meghan and Tom came over to watch. The Davidson's were going to come, but they had to drive to South Bend for soccer that day and they were wiped out by 8:00 (and Austin was ready to be home - he broke his wrist the day before in a soccer game).

Adrianne sent me a beautiful card, Sarah is bringing hers home Sunday (can't wait for her to be here) and Emily and Danny made me this one:

Cali on squirrel patrol

Cali is staying with us for a couple of weeks and one day when she went outside a squirrel was eating from the bird feeder. She chased the squirrel up the tree and then tried to climb up after it. Now every time the back door opens, she rushes out and heads directly for the tree. A couple of times the squirrel has been waiting and she is ALMOST fast enough to catch it. In the mornings she is torn between eating and looking for the squirrel - the food dish wins every time.

Drill Practice

On Sunday, I finished assembling the kitchen chairs. One chair leg didn't have the hole drilled for the spacer bar so we got the drill . . . .

Mini Marathon

Heidi and I procrastinated and didn't get registered before the mini was sold out this year, but the week before there was an e-mail from a teacher who wanted to sell her two entries. We bought them and actually started from the "N" corral - our closest to the front start (except for the year we could have started right at the front - in my wheelchair :) It was a little awkward starting with ALL runners, but after a mile or so we had LOTS of room around us and we enjoyed the walk. We hadn't actually trained more than 7 miles this year but we took it easy - I had to make a couple of stops - and we finished feeling great.

There is a new half marathon next year - the inaugural Geist Half Marathon. I think we are going to do both!

Sunday in B-town

The Sunday before finals, Danny and I drove to Bloomington and picked up Emily (actually we drove around for 10 minutes as she wasn't QUITE ready and Danny was happy because he got to visit the McDonalds in town for breakfast) and then picked up Grant, who WAS ready (almost) and then we all went to church - Sherman Oaks Christian Church. The worship service was a lot like the one we attend at Grace and Emily led us to almost the exact same spot in the auditorium that we sit at Grace :)

After church, we went back to Chi-O for brunch (bacon, scrambled eggs (I think?), poached eggs, hash brown casserole, biscuits, fruit, bagels and juice. We ate and visited for a while and then started carrying out most of Emily's stuff - how it all fits in the shared room is a mystery!

Piezer!

The weekend before last, Heather came to town to visit. I picked her up from the airport after work on Friday and we met Durena and Brian J for dinner at El Rodeo. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours catching up with everyone and then came back home and talked some more. We all slept in and in the morning we had coffee and breakfast. Danny went to the BMV and to get Cali for the week. Heather and I walked around the neighborhood and out to the high school. We took Lady for a long walk and then Cali took us for a short one. Danny cut the grass and we got cleaned up and Heather and I headed out for a pedicure - what a treat! We made our way over to Clay Terrace and met Shelley, Heather's sister for lunch at Kona Grill. I forgot my glasses and they took turns reading the menu to me. . . . we ate and visited for a while and after lunch we moved Heather's suitcase into Shelley's car. They stayed to shop and explore and I left for home. It was great to see Heather and while I miss having her here, she is very happy in North Carolina!