All dressed up!

Eric and I had a hospital gala to attend in Milwaukee.  It was fun to get all gussied up for the night!

We left the boys at home to take care of Ruby.  It's so nice that we can rely on them to take care of themselves, the house and Ruby, too! 

 

Happy Birthday to Ben!

Ben is 15!!!

Happy Birthday to Ben!

 His birthday fell on a Wednesday so after his school day we celebrated with a cookie cake, presents and dinner out at Texas Roadhouse, Ben's favorite. The following weekend he invited a few friends over to race go-carts at K1 Speed and return to our home for a sleepover, after a stop off at Red Robin!  It was a birthday celebration of all of Ben's favorites, at age 15!

 

Ben is really into racing and was thrilled to receive a couple of model race cars for his room and racing t-shirts.  He follows Indy car, Nascar and Formula 1!

Ben will have an exciting year ahead, he is planning to complete drivers ed in the early summer.  He's looking forward to having his turn behind the wheel!  He has been practicing driving with his video game simulator...Just hope he keeps the car on the pavement and not off road!  Haha!

Besides his love for all things cars, Ben has a love for animals, spoiling Ruby, his dog, and volunteering at the Humane Society helping care for the cats in the shelter.  He is a Boy Scout, piano player, loyal friend and brother.  He has a heart of gold and works to keep the peace between his siblings!  Ben always has a hug for me, which I will gladly take!  We are so happy for the young man Ben is becoming and look forward to watching him grow this year!

Ben is in the Engineering Club at school.  The year's club activities have been focused on a competition held at Purdue.  The students had a choice as to what their project would be.  Ben chose to make a  Co2 powered car.  He began with a block of balsa wood and a computer generated plan.  He worked at school and at home to construct his car.  Eric and I were so proud of Ben for completing this project and competing at Purdue.  He had so much fun and learned a lot along the way about engineering, following directions, overcoming adversity, and perservering thru it all, while showing extreme maturity.  

  Eric and I went to the competition to see his car compete on the 2nd day.  It was so fun  for us to see Ben thriving in his element!  Ben is already making plans for next years competition!