Christmas Piano Concert

We went to Erin and Jill's Christmas Piano Concert last night.  They each played two songs and did a fantastic job.  You could really tell they spent a lot of time preparing.

 

                                                        Pretty and professional.

 

Erin's last Cross Country Season with Chance School

We went to the last Cross Country Meet of the Season yesterday at Woodford County.  Erin, being a 5th grader now, this was her last Meet as a Chance Charger.  She really ran well and finished in the top 100, which is pretty good  in this large Meet.

 

 

She finished strong, passing several girls in the finish lane.  Of course, Jillian ran well, too, but this is about Erin's last race.  After the race, of course, she cried, and wanted to celebrate.  So, we went to Uncle Madio's for pizza and Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen.  Erin has never been one of the top runners, but she's always given her best effort and supported ALL her team  mates.  And, I've loved watching her run.  And, of course, was very proud of her.

Starting out the year, she set goals for the season.  One of them was to win 3 medals while at Chance.  She fell a little short of that, by 2 medals, but I believe she was still satisfied with her season. 
Now it's on to basketball!

Watching Cross Country

I love going to the Cross Country Meets and watching the girls run.  I'll have to miss the last one this weekend in Woodford County because I'll be playing golf.  I've got one picture to post.

Jillian is running here and about 2/3 of the way through her race.  Look at the support she has!  Mary Lynn and Kevin on the left, and Erin and team friends on the right running along and cheering her on.  This picture really shows the support these runners have, not only from parents, but team mates.  The team lines the course to cheer on their fellow team mates as they run their races.  These girls not only get good exercise from this sport, but build a special bond with each other that they just can't get from anything else.

Reducing the tools I own has been difficult

Over the past 5 weeks we have been de-cluttering.  This has  meant getting rid of things we don't need or haven't used for a long time.  Of course, this also includes my tools.  And I had a lot of tools.  I'd say so far I've gotten rid of 90% of the tools I had pre-de-cluttering.   Of course, I've gotten rid of ALL my yard tools, as I won't need them any longer.  But to show you the amount of tools I have amassed over the years, I found a small tool box on the bottom shelf of my workbench, way in the back.  I had overlooked it when getting tools out for yard sales.  This was a tool box I had filled with screwdrivers that were extra.  Just screwdrivers.

This is just a sample of the extra tools I had on hand.  I know I sold 10 hammers at the yard sale.  So, I had multiples of each type tool, plus many one of a kind tools. Plus an amazing amount of hardware.  Nails, screws, hinges, nuts, bolts, springs, etc.   Well,  I forgot this box.  Anybody need a screwdriver?

Cross Country and Vietnam

Erin and Jill had a Cross Country Meet in Frankfort this past weekend.  It was held at the State Capitol Vietnam Memorial.

I love watching the girls run, and both of them did a great job this weekend.  Between races, I visited the Memorial and had to look up some of the names of people I know who were killed in Vietnam.

Ronnie Alvey was a classmate of mine at Flaget High School.  I found 3 names of people I know, and was surprised to see that all three of them were killed during the year I was in Vietnam.

 

Just above the shadow is the name of Robert Harris, brother of J. R. Harris who I play golf with all the time.  13 lines above his name is Carl Shirley, who I grew up with on McCloskey Ave. in the 1950's.  Over 58,000 U.S. Servicemen were killed in Vietnam.  That's a lot of young men from one generation.  I was informed by those that attended our last Flaget Wednesday meeting that Flaget High School lost more former attendees in Vietnam than any other school in Jefferson  County.

Amazing new Orangutan Exhibit at the Indianapolis Zoo

This new Orangutan Exhibit opened at the Indianapolis Zoo on Memorial Weekend this year.

In this picture, the near tower is clear so you can see the Orangutan climb up to the top.  There is an opening in the top that he can climb out onto a platform.  Each tower is connected to the other by ropes. 

The Orangs can go from tower to tower on the ropes way above the crowds below.  The glass tower, and one tower on the other end are the only ones the Orangs can go down.  All the towers, except the two end ones, are out in the crowd around the zoo, not in any enclosure.  Of course, if the Orange falls it would be killed.  But, in the wild they spend their entire lives in trees high above the ground.

 

The bottom platform of each pole has electric wires to keep them from climbing down.  Only the two end poles that are enclosed can be used to exit the upper wires.  Pretty neat to see an Orangutan climbing on ropes right over your head.

How many family gatherings over the years?

We only have a few short weeks left in this old house.  How many family gatherings has it seen over the 45+ years we've been here?

Christmas, Derby Day, 4th of July, Easter, Birthdays.  So many memories to take with us to our new house. 

We moved into our house in May of 1969, 2 months before Mark was born.  So, all three of the boys were born while we lived here.  One of the first memories I have of this house, other than Mark being born, was sitting on the front porch, (Wood, screened-in front porch) with little baby Mark, early in the a.m. watching the first moon landing and watching Neil Armstrong step out onto the moon. 

Looking back through the family albums, 4 out of 5 pictures are taken in this house.  Old house, we'll miss you, but it's time to make new memories in our new house!