Things were especially crazy for us this past week. On Sunday morning, we turned the clocks back and boy what a difference it has made in our days this week. It is already dusk now by the time we get home! It has a big impact on our evening routine, including no time to go out and play / exercise at night…which means an increase in fights between children…and headaches for the parents! On Monday, Luke and I rode bikes in the dark, as Abby attended tap dance class and Matt had basketball practice until 7:30. Tuesday, we got up early in anticipation of an historic day. What an incredibly exciting crescendo to the election process! I think either man would have made a fine president. We have always had a split home in terms of elections and this one was no different, raising tensions in anticipation of the outcome that night. I am very proud to say we were alive to see something like this happen. I have heard from others that the sixties were exciting times, but I truly had butterflies watching the returns that night. Seeing all of those people gathered in Grant Park was amazing to witness. …and to see all of this incredibly world-altering change happen in a peaceful, non-violent manner gave me hope (and a few tears)…something that (for me) has been in short supply in recent months…
Again, the highlight of the local election was our trip to take Gigi her soda and snack while she covered the election for WTRE. So, a little after 6, we grabbed a polar pop, Gigi’s favorite Chex mix and headed downtown to the courthouse. Up to now, Matt had always had the honor to bring her the prized soda. Seeing that he was still at practice, the baton was passed to Abby – who was quick to point out this accomplishment to anyone who would listen. When we arrived, Gigi was in full swing – already doing interviews and following the returns. Abby spoke on the air with her, relating how the elementary students had run their own elections…of which Obama also won. Unfortunately, Luke quickly got restless so we weren’t able to stay long!
Abby had a dental appointment earlier in the day and had to have her first cavity filled. L Wednesday night, Matt had his awards banquet for 7th grade football. He earned his 3rd letter and a certificate of recognition. Thursday was Grandparents day at pre-school for Lukey. He is such a funny kid. When he was asked to introduce his visitor (Grandma Owens) he stated, “This is my grandma, Sandy. We play bingo together…??? It was all very cute; except her name is MaryAnn and they’ve never played bingo!! When we asked the little stinker why he did it, he stated he was tricking his classmates. J Friday night was equally active. Matt had basketball practice from 5:30 to 7:30 and then had a dance afterwards until 10:00. He had a blast and even danced with an 8th grader! J Just as we were getting ready to play Uno and watch a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, I was called in to work to review tapes due to two kids eloping from the facility. Luke was so far up my crack, I couldn’t separate him from my leg and so he joined me. He was very in to it and asked lots of questions. The police found them about a half mile away and brought them back. Luke was impressed with the bad guys getting caught and said he wanted to watch himself on Cops! …I love the way his little mind works… Today, all he has talked about is how he and Daddy went on a secret mission to get the bad guys! J
Saturday, we did a little home improvement. We started out re-installing a water line to the fridge. It had split and soaked the floor a couple years ago, so we just turned it off. Let me tell you how much you miss an ice maker when you don’t have one! Luke again accompanied me to the hardware store after dropping off Matt at b-ball practice. He talked the guy in to making us some fresh popcorn which was really good, but we forgot to bring a bag home for Ann & Abby – which put us in the dog house again… Luke and I managed to turn a half hour job in to three hours…nothing is ever easy with us! In an attempt to get ourselves out of the dog house, Luke and I repaired one of Ann’s kitchen drawers (it has been broken since Sandy & MaryAnn lived here, so you can imagine how many times she’s asked me to fix it!) before heading out to rake up the leaves.
I’ve never seen a lazier bunch of kids want to work so hard in all my life! Usually, it’s like pulling teeth to get them to help out around the house (well, except for Luke…); but not today. In fact, they’ve been bugging me about it for a little over a week now. Of course, leave it to me to wait until the coldest day in two weeks to go outside and do yard work! However, they did great; getting a fairly large amount of leaves out to the front street. Of course, the whole point (in their eyes) is so they can jump, dive and ride in to the pile and generally roll around in the detritus! Even poor Abby got out there, even though she wasn’t feeling good. The kids played outside for close to 2 hours and even played a game of rake hockey before the dog got loose and we had to chase her through the neighborhood! That put an end to the fun times and we had to pick up all the leaves. Curiously though, Matt & Bu disappeared before my very and eyes and I was left with only Lukey again to do the work (typical!)… It was great to get outside and play for awhile; however, I think the favorite part of the whole day was the piping-hot cup of hot cocoa inside the warm house afterward!!
Enough with the current affairs, let’s switch on the Way Back Machine… First up, we have a great picture from Christmas 2004 at Grandmaw & Grandpaw’s house.
Next, we have a picture of some wedding back in ’95. What in the world is Keith looking at?
Here are a couple pix from our 2004 Disney trip. The 1st one is Ann showing off her sunburn after our first day in Magic Kingdom, back in our room at the Contemporary and a couple days later when we caught up with Keith Rosie & Megan.
Here’s Gigi in the spring of 2005 at a local traveling circus, held at the Decatur County Fairgrounds, where she was the honorary ringmaster.
Here’s Lukey in June of 2005 enjoying his own cake at his 1st birthday party, here in the Ryle addition.
Here is Ann with her eldest son in 2001.
Here’s Grandpaw Bryan with his baby in the spring of 2003.
Next up are a couple of “twin pix.??? The first one is of me with my cousin Barney. We used to tell others we were twin brothers when we were young. This was taken in the basement of Uncle John & Aunt June’s house on Lingle Ave in 1999. The second is Bu on Christmas morning with her “My Twinn??? doll in 2002-ish.
The next couple pictures feature a couple of my best friends. The first one is the long-hair picture from our F?T spring social function 1989, featuring one of my best friends, Paul. I have no idea where that party even took place…come to think of it, I really don’t remember much from that night period… The second picture is from a party in the summer of 2000 in LaPorte. This was taken at Mom & Dad Stoewer’s house off Johnson Rd. and features another one of my best friends, Mike.
Next we have an old picture of a growing family. This represents the Owens branch of our family tree. It appears that this picture is from Christmas in 1996. Mom & Gigi would have just recently moved in to their new home in the Ryle addition. …and of course, Keith has his eyes closed…
The next pic is from about 1970 or so, at the Olan Mills studio in Lafayette.
Here’s Ann from about 7th grade or so, putting this in the neighborhood of 1983.
We end this entry with another segment from Aunt Sharon’s stash! First up, we have all the boys from the Bryan branch of our family tree…at least the ones back in 1983. Sharon reports that the boys were 4, 8 and 15. The final two come from 1980. All were taken at the Smith abode on S Waugh St. in Kokomo. Thanks again for all the pix, Aunt Shar!!
Well, that’s it for this week…so until next time – have a good one! …Later…