Enchanted

Deb with Phil Vassar

One of my favorite movies this past year was Enchanted. I have seen it three times since it's release around Christmas, and could watch it again and again. If you haven't seen it, Enchanted is a combination of all of the Disney Princess movies, with the "happily ever after" ending.

Well, this summer, my youngest sister, Deb, has been living her version of Enchanted. First of all, she bought a beautiful horse - a Tennessee Walker - named Jasmine. Deb has had ponies and a horse, Princess, throughout her life. She bought Princess in 1975, and had her for around 20 years, until she went to the great stable in the sky.

Raising four children, helping with John's business, going back to college full-time then teaching elementary school, active in Church and community affairs, she hasn't had much time to think or do anything for herself. So when the opportunity arose this spring to purchase another horse, she decided to get "back in the saddle" so to speak. She loves her horse and has enjoyed riding her this summer at the Horse Park outside of Albion.

Secondly, Deb conquered (well, that might be going too far!) her fear of flying and went on a Mission Trip with her church to Costa Rica. Not only were they able to work with children and do some good things for the area, but they were able to do some sight-seeing as well. She said it was an amazing experience and one she will never forget!

Then, a couple of weeks ago, she helped a friend and fellow teacher (also named Deb) provided food for Phil Vassar and his entourage when they were performing at the Noble Co Fair. Deb got not one, but three, hugs from Phil. Don't worry, John, no competition here - however, they do make a cute couple!!!


Last but not least, John and Deb are tearing off the enclosed front porch of their house and have it rebuilt, making it twice as big thus adding an office and additional space to their house.

In between time she has managed to squeeze in some trips to Toldeo, to see family, Greenfield Village in Michigan for their Fourth of July Celebration, and a trip here to Indy with Nancy for our annual sister's get-together.

However, like Cinderella at the Ball, her free and easy summer is coming to an end. School will be starting soon, leading her into new adventures with her students, Grad School to work on her Master's, her oldest two children graduating from college in December, and who knows what else will pop up! One thing for sure, there is never a dull moment at my sister's house!

John and Deb will celebrate 26 years of marriage on August 13th. Congratulations! It is an Enchanted Life!

Two Reunions, A Wedding, and the Cousins

Karen L, Dale, Jody, Karan S, Cheryl, Me

Stan's classmates at his reunion. Stan is in the back row on the right side, wearing the dark green shirt.

Judy's new gazebo! It is so neat! Screened in to keep the bugs and critters out.

Lovee's Lake Compound

Why does everything seem to fall in the same weekend? Stan's 40th High School Class Reunion had been planned for July 19th for a year. Then in April, our friends, Patti and Garry, told us their son (David) was planning to be married on that date! It would have been busy enough if both events were in the same city, but David's Wedding was in Greenfield and Stan's reunion was in Columbia City - at least 100 miles apart!

We first went to the Wedding, which was supposed to start at 3:30 pm. I think it started a few minutes late, but it was a short ceremony. After talking to many of our friends who also attended, and taking pictures of some of the gals in our old Castillia neighborhood, we headed up to Columbia City around 4:35.

I think we arrived at Stan's reunion about 2 hours later. I am happy to report we weren't the last ones to get there either! Even though only 1/4 of his class showed up, we all had a good time.

The next day was the Schenher Family Reunion in Churubusco. This is an annual event and this year we had a hog roast. The meat was delicious! Our nephews, Andy and Jon, cooked the meat, with the help of a friend.

Kelly and Holly, along with Baby Clare (Grace stayed with Keith's mom, "Grandma Lou") came to the reunion. Keith was at a Leadership Training School all weekend in New Mexico. Kristy and Joel and kids did not make it this year. Joel had been in California all week on business and since they are leaving this weekend for a week's vacation, they felt they needed a weekend to catch up at home.

Midway through the afternoon, Kelly, Holly, Clare and I headed to Albion to see my parents, brother and sister. Poor Clare only got a short nap, but by her disposition, you would not know it at all! She is the sweetest little peanut!!!

After visiting with my family - and enjoying Mom's Ham Salad Sandwiches! - Kelly, Holly, and Clare left for Indy. Stan and I headed north to the Angola area where a couple of his cousins have lake places.

We were invited to stay with Horse and Judy at their place (or us Horse calls it "Lovee's Lake Compound) for a few days. Judy's sister, Rita, and her husband, John, were also there along with other cousins, Shirley and Bob, and Jack and Marilyn.

We had the VIP treatment! Judy and Rita wouldn't let us lift a finger. They had prepared wonderful meals and we awoke to cooked-to order breakfasts by Horse and ended with fresh fried bluegills from John at dinner.

In between time, we talked, and talked, and talked. I don't think anyone can out-talk these cousins!!! On Monday, 3 more cousins showed up and the party continued. Stan and I decided to come home Monday night as he had a lot of things to do for church on Tuesday. The cousins were staying on, but we had to come home and re-cuperate! I took three separate naps on Tuesday - I was sooooo worn out! In February, a bunch of these cousins went on a 12 day Carribean Cruise. They had a ball and they really want us to go on their next one in 2010. Honestly, I am the "baby" of the group and I can't keep up with them!

Toddlers to Teens to Twenties and Thirties...

Front Row L-R: Kelly, Holly, Shelby, Kristy, Laura

Back L-r: Kim, Tracy, Shannon, Ashley, in 2000

Kelly and Kristy get together regularily with friends for playdates. I don't know if playdates are for the kids or the moms. When my girls were young, I was in several play groups. The one that lasted through the years was definitely more for the moms! We all had little ones and husbands who worked long hours. Also, we were all transplants from other areas, so we didn't have grandmas or aunts who could help out on a moment's notice. This group was made up of my friends in our first neighborhood in Indy (Castillia) and with whom we have remained good friends for over 28 years.

We usually met at McDonald's on Friday in Castleton, across from Castleton Square. The kids would play on the playground and us moms would chat for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. At some point, it become Thursday, as well as Friday. When it started being 3 days a week, it was time to move on...

Over-worked and underpaid (hey you young gals out there - the dads of our generation didn't routinely change diapers, cook dinner, and bathe the kiddos!) I remember one time, one of my friends looked at me very seriously and said, "and these are the best years of our lives???"

Well, they were!

We have watched these girls go from babies, to toddlers, to preschool through college, and even grad school. We have rejoiced at graduations, marriages, and now, are thrilled they are starting their own families.

Kelly, Kristy, Holly, Kim, Shannon and Ashley all graduated with Elementary Ed degrees. Ashley has published a book as well and her sister, Shelby, has her Master's in Speech & Hearing. Tracy graduated last year from Ball State and works for a company here in Indy. (Laura is a friend of Shannon's from College.)

Shannon, Kelly, and Shelby had daughters last year around with 3 months of each other - Faith, Clare, and Delaney. Of course, Kristy has her two, Reese and Ryan.

When the girls were young, they loved playing with their Real Baby babydolls and playing school. How appropriate that many of them became teachers and now, mothers themselves!

Too Close for Comfort!

Early yesterday morning I heard a horrendous crash and saw lightning at the same time. I said to Stan, "wow, that was close!" Well, this morning I saw how close it was when I picked up the newspaper. This house is in our neighborhood, across the golf course and another block off, from ours. We actually looked at a house across the street from this one when we were house shopping 2 yrs ago. This is the 4th or 5th fire in either our neighborhood or very closeby, this year. According to the Fishers Fire Dept, part of the problem is with Fishers being relatively new and not as many mature trees, the houses are just good candidates for strikes. Also, we have had more than share of storms this year! I guess we have been lucky (knock on wood) as our worst damage seems to be going without electricity for a short time. As to the above fire, the family escaped without injury...thank goodness!

Like Mother, Like Daughter...(or the Show Must Go On)

Holly, Kristy, and Kelly "performing" for us, using marigolds as "microphones."

Kristy's post today on Reese reminded me of all of the times that Kristy, Kelly, and Holly dressed up and did "shows" for us. This picture was from the summer of 1982 or 83. If you look closely, on Kelly's right hand you will notice a cast. She had fallen off of a playyard at Vacation Bible School and broke her arm. What a trooper, though! The teacher wanted to call me because she had fallen, and have me pick her up. Kelly insisted that her arm didn't hurt and wanted to stay and finish the morning. When I picked her up, the teacher told me what had happened. I took Kelly directly to our doctor in Castleton to have it checked out. Sure enough, it was broken and we spent most of the afternoon at Community East Hospital to have it casted. Since it was Friday, it was the last day of VBS and the program was that evening. Kelly wanted to go, so we did. Imagine how her teacher felt when Kelly showed up in a cast!

Secondhand Lions

There are not many movies that I can watch over and over again. For me, and my sisters, Secondhand Lions is one we have watched numerous times and still enjoy. If you have not seen this movie, I promise you will love it.

The movie stars Robert Duvall, Michael Caine, and Haley Joel Osment in a heartwarming tale of a young lad in the 1950's or early 60's, who is sent to live with his eccentric (to say the least) bachelor great-uncles.

One of my favorite parts is the first night, where Uncle Garth (Duvall) and Uncle Hub (Caine) tell Walter (Haley Joel) that he will be sleeping in "the tower." Then, they add:

Caine: "we don't know much about kids."
Duvall: "so if you need something, get it yourself......better yet, do without."

I don't want to spoil this if you haven't watched it, so put it on your list and check it out!

Feels Like Home to Me...

< WELCOME!

It's now been two years since we moved to our new house and as the song says, "it feels like home to me"! Moving to Fishers (Hamilton County)wasn't too big of a change since we lived less than a mile south of the Marion Co/Hamilton Co line. Also, since the girls live in "HC" it seemed liked a natural move. I realized the other day that I haven't posted pictures of our house, so here goes....





The waterlillies are blooming...

in our Koi Pond, where Tony, Goldie, and Dorothy live

along with two baby fish!

The big window is the great room, to the right is the Master Suite.

Our screened porch and to the left, the Hearth Room
The window on the bottom is the lower-level family room.
The view from the backyard-the eighth hole-where we saw Michael Jordan playing the first week we moved in!
View from our front steps....

Yes - to quote another song - our house, is a very, very, very fine house! Thanks for stopping!

Spending the Night

On July 3rd, we had the kids over for dinner, games, and to watch our neighborhood's fireworks. Since the fireworks did not start until 10:00, we offered to keep the grandkids overnight. Kelly felt they needed to take Clare home since she wakes up in the night, and Kristy opted to take Ryan home. They did put all 4 kids down and they did go to sleep and through some miracle, they slept through all the booms and bangs. Reese and Grace spent the night and in the morning, it was so cute to hear them talking. We have a toddler bed in our master bedroom for Reese, and in the morning, Holly brought Grace in to our room. Reese got up and started to make her bed and Grace offered to "help" her pull the blankets up. Reese said, "it's okay, Grace. I can do it...but I really appreciate it." They went on to have a grown up conversation. Of course I was pretending I was still asleep and had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing out loud! It was so precious!

The Prince and His Princesses

Kristy and Joel

Reese

Recently, Stan and I kept Reese and Ryan overnight while Joel and Kristy attended a Fundraiser at Conseco Fieldhouse. Clark Kellogg and Oscar Robinson were speakers and there was also a silent auction. Before they left, I took a picture of them in the foyer. A second later, Reese came out of my bedroom wearing her princess dress-up clothes. Looks like their family is dressed for success!

Black Pine

Reese (L) and my great-niece, Libby (R)

Just outside of the town of Albion, where my parents and two sisters live, there is a park called "Black Pine" with various types of exotic animals. They have in residence lions, tigers, bears, ostrichs, pot belly pigs, chimps, monkeys, alligators, snakes - you get the picture. Most, if not all, of these animals were rescue animals or retired performers. Black Pine hasn't been around too long, so they are just in the development stages. Jack Hanna, who is a frequent guest on TV, visited the park recently and between 10 and 14,000 people visit annually.

A couple of weeks ago, Reese and I visited my family and also made a trip to Black Pine. We enjoyed the park and we were able to get up close and personal with many of the animals - more so than an ordinary zoo.

Rollin' on a River (sort of...)

Reese

Ryan

Grace

Clare

Anchors Aweigh!!!

Reese and Grandpa Stan

Say Cheese! Grace with Aunt Holly

Capt Reese and Co-Pilot Grandpa. Kelly, Keith & Clare

Kristy, Joel, and a perplexed Ryan

Ryan, Clare, and Grace

The weekend following St Louis, we rented a 3 bedroom condo at The Pointe, on Lake Monroe, just south of Bloomington. It is a tradition to take a family vacation together once a year. Up until a few yrs ago, we enjoyed vacationing at Hilton Head. However, with a 4-yr old, 2 - 2 yrs olds, and a baby, the 15 hour drive is stressful, to say the least! So we have been staying closer to home and this year we decided to go to Lake Monroe. We once owned a condo there and the girls and Joel all went to IU, so it is a special place for our family.

On Saturday we rented a pontoon a took a spin on Lake Monroe. All of the rain we had this spring and early summer had caused the lake to be up by quite a bit. We were worried about the kiddos liking the boat, but they were great about wearing their life jackets and enjoyed the ride as much as us!

Meet Me in St Louie...

The weekend of Father's Day (June 14-15) Stan and I went to St Louis with friends Dan and Debbie. Of course we took in two Cardinal's game and on Saturday evening had dinner with our niece, Emily, who lives in St Louis. We ate at the "Top of the Riverfront," which is a revolving restaurant at the top of the Millennium Hotel, just across front the Arch. Stan and I had stayed at the Millennium on our honeymoon (back then it was Stouffer's) and we actually stayed in the same room on this trip.

Despite being a hot and humid in St Louis, we enjoyed the games - especially on Sunday when we sat in an air-conditioned suite at the ballpark!