Good Luck Daniel!

Our nephew and cousin Daniel leaves on Monday to join the US Air force!  

We could not be prouder of him or more excited for what the future holds for this brave young man!

Sam and I represented our family for the weekend.  Ellen had a party at their home celebrating Daniel and his graduation from high school and gave us all a chance to say "see you later,  Daniel".

My siblings and I.

End of the school year projects

It's the end of the school year, already!  Every year goes a little faster than the year before!  

The boys all had end of the year projects to present.

Ben had a subject fair to present his project, Golden Retrievers.  He had a lot of help with research from his own 2 goldens, Ruby and Louise!

The fourth graders participate in the Famous Hoosiers Wax Museum.  Nick portrayed Oscar Robinson, an Indiana basketball player.  

Sam's subject fair took place while we were in Phoenix.  He researched penguins and made a cool diorama and power point presentation which he shared with his classmates.  

Sam also had an end of the year field trip to tour our little historic downtown.  I was lucky enough to be his tour guide!  This past year I had been coming into the classroom to share our town's local history with Sam's class.  We have a historical museum that sponsors this fun program for our 3rd graders.  I also did this with Nick's class and will most likely be Ben's teacher as well!

Lsat day of school!!!

I attended the awards program this year, Nick was recognized for his participation in Math and Science bowl as well as completing the 40 book challenge.  Sam also received an award, the Grow Award.  That is an award that is given to just one student from each class that has demonstrated growth in academics, citizenship and friendship.  It was quite a welcoming surprise for Sam!

This is Nick's last day as an elementary student, 5th grade begins middle school in our community.  The 4th graders had a honor walk, parading past all of us crazy, cheering parents on the sidewalk outside the school, trying to hold back tears.  The kids are just growing up way too fast!

Sam had some after school surprises for his unsuspecting brothers!  

Bring on Summer, we are ready!

Arizona

We're off on a quick trip to Phoenix.

Ben, this boy is going places!  Here he is checking out the cockpit on our plane just before take off!

After arriving and getting settled into our hotel we had a late lunch at the hotel restaurant.  

We came to celebrate the retirement of Eric's boss from residency, Dr. Spetzler.  There were 2 big events that Eric and I attended where we saw lots of old friends from our years living in Phoenix.  It was quite a reunion!  The boys stayed with a sitter at our hotel and enjoyed the pool on those 2 nights.  

We were also in town to celebrate another wonderful man, Glen Stevens, Eric's uncle who had passed away the week before.  Glen was a giant help to Eric and I when we were living in Phoenix.  We were so grateful to have family in our new town and so thankful that we got to know them all so well during the 7 years we lived there.  Whenever we return to Phoenix we look forward to seeing our Phoenix family.  We will miss visiting with Glen, seeing his kind face and hearing his words of wisdom.

On the top our list of things to do while in Phoenix is always to climb a mountain.  

This time we chose Lookout Mountain, a smaller preserve in the city.

Safety first!  We drank lots of water and took it easy!

We saw a reptile basking in the sun along the way!

Ben, enjoying the views!

We stayed at the Squaw Peak Hilton, a hotel that we've stayed at in the past.  

The boys loved splashing in the pool.

And mini golf.  

Sam bailed on mini golf and jumped into the lazy river!

We took the boys to Castles and Coasters, a little amusement park that Eric and I would drive past on our daily commutes when we lived there.  There wasn't enough time to ride any of the coasters but we did play a round of mini golf!

Goodbye for now, Phoenix!

Mother's Day

Mother's day is always a favorite day of the year for me.  

After church Eric and the boys took me out to lunch.  Then we headed off to the ball diamond to watch Sam's Sunday Showcase team play a double header.  The boys all surprised their moms with roses in between games.  

Charlotte's Web

Our elementary school's spring play was Charlotte's Web.  Nick and Sam were both in the production and did an outstanding job!  

Sam was a fair goer while Nick was an announcer at the state fair.  It was a super cute play!

Ben's First Holy Communion

We celebrated Ben receiving his First Holy Communion.  We had a lot of family come into town to celebrate with a party after mass at our house.  It rained early on in the day, but cleared up in the mid- afternoon, just in time for a pool and patio party!

Father McKinley giving Ben his first communion.

Ben and Father O'Keeffe.

I was lucky enough to be one of Ben's teachers for religious education this year.  It was so sweet to see Ben and his classmates receiving this special sacrament. 

Grandpa Dan and Grandma  Jill.

Ben's chalice and banner that he made at the retreat.

Grama and Grampa Schraufnagel.

Aunt Lisa and Uncle Bill.

Aunt Ellen giving Ben some love.

Aunt Joy and Uncle Bob.

Our long time friend, Debbie.

Ben requested a cookie cake with a cross made out of Hershey chocolate bars.

Sisters!

One happy boy!