Go Hornets!

Last night was the last basketball game to be played at Waveland School.  They have been trying to honor all the "lasts".  So everyone was encouraged to come - students, parents, former students, etc.  We wanted Camden to experience this.  First, Hoosier basketball is like no other.  Even a 5th grade game was full of skill, hustle, excitement.  I forgot that!

 

Second, everyone was coming up and talking to us about our daughter.  No, seriously, EVERYBODY!  Kevin said from the moment they walked in (I met them after work), person after person was coming up to tell "the story."

Apparently, the school had a prep rally that afternoon.  The MC asked for a volunteer to start the rally off by leading a cheer.  Camden's hand shot up and he called her down to the stage.  Like a scene out of a movie, he handed her a mike and the entire gym went silent, waiting to see what would come out of this Kindergartner's mouth (her teacher said she was terrified cause she didn't even know if Camden knew what a cheer was).  By all accounts, Camden took the mike, paused and looked around, then shouted, "Waveland Hornets are the best!"  It took the crowd a moment, then they shouted it back at her.  "Go Hornets go!" she continued.  And the crowd responded.  Then they all clapped, cheered, and chanted, "Go Hornets go!"  She became a rock star at that moment. 

Again, kids and teachers were all interacting with her at the game and making sure we knew the story.

About halfway through the first game, Purdue Pete showed up.  I guess he's our biggest local celebrity.  He roamed the crowd and helped pump up the excitement.

They asked all the Waveland HS grads in attendance to come down between games for a picture.  Only a few in attendance, but it was a nice way to recognize them.

Then the gym teacher, Mr. Myers, Purdue Pete, and current students led the crowd in the Waveland Fight Song.

Finally, Purdue Pete posed for pictures with all the current students in attendance.  One game was enough for Camden and we headed home before the 6th grade game.  It was a special night and we were glad to take part.

The Ritz

On Sunday, she and I ventured out to see a 4 o'clock matinee.  I have been wanting to go to the little theater in Rockville and was happy to see it playing, "The Nut Job".  It is a kid-friendly movie and  she laughs at the previews.   

 

This theater was exactly what I expected.  They only show family-friendly movies on the one screen.  It's maintained by the Parke Players Theater group that also does live productions.  Tickets were $5 and concessions were a relative steal!  We enjoyed the movie, a large bag of popcorn (free refills), a large soda (free refills), and a top shelf box of candy for under $20!  This same excursion to Crawfordsville or Lafayette would have come close to $50.  We are definitely making this our theater of choice when possible!

Strike!

I think Camden is tired of being cooped up. It's not like we haven't done anything, but she was a little stir-crazy this weekend and made several requests to get out and do something.  Saturday, it was bowling.

 

She loved cheering her Daddy!  Always so excited for even one pin to drop!

She is also content to bowl one game and then play a few dollars of games in the small game room.

There was a birthday party going on and tons of kids. This meant no lightweight balls.  She picked the regular one she liked - an "Earth" ball, she called it.  I think it was a 14!  She insisted...and actually bowled well with it.  Go figure!

Job Corps Graduation

Austin graduated from his Job Corps program on Friday.  He technically has a few more weeks of schooling to finish (he is like 96% done), but this was the graduation ceremony that makes the most sense, so they had him walk it.  About 115 others were part of his class.

 

 

This program was for introductory welding.  He is interviewing for an advanced program that will be for either conducting or carman with the Transportation Union.  It will be in Missouri.  He hopes to find out shortly if he is accepted.  We are truly hoping/praying that he will be able to continue in this program - it has been excellent!  

Christmas in January

We have been trying, unsuccessfully, to meet up with Gramma Pat since before Christmas.  She finally decided it was best to ship Camden's presents.

 

When I picked Camden up from GaGa's I had set the package in her car seat.  She moved it out of the way, buckled up and then ask, "Who's the package for?"  I told her to read and find out.  Turning it around, she read her name and screamed, "IT'S FOR ME, IT'S FOR ME!"

 

She opened the outer package to reveal the wrapped boxes.

The first one was a cat FLIPEEZ hat.  She has been asking for it for months and I kept putting her off knowing Gramma was getting it.  She took off running to the kitchen to show Kevin shouting, "It's just what I always wanted!"  This girl was not excited at all!  Ha!

Next package revealed the game Operation...more specifically Doc McStuffins Operation.  She simply could not wait to play it!

 

Kevin was just finishing cooking our dinner so I made her wait until after we were done, but we played a few rounds.  I love that they have made a younger version of this classic game because it is a little easier to get the pieces out, but still a challenge for a 5 year old.  She does not like getting buzzed!

 

Such a perfect January Christmas for this girl! 

PS - Does our daughter ever wear pants?  Every picture for the last month is of a half-dressed kid!  Geesh!

Sweatin'

We took the plunge.  We need to exercise and have a hard time fitting it in to our schedules.  We know this is a huge excuse, but with a little one and hour-long commutes each way, our time is precious.  So, despite our tiny house, we bought a treadmill.

 

The most logical place right now is in our living room.  It takes up one side (just like a Christmas tree does) and is an eye sore for anyone who enters our home, but we are using it and that's what matters!

We have made it off limits to Camden, but since she helped put it together, we let her pretend to run on it to break it in.

Uncle Ric's Birthday + Football = Hotel Fun



Uncle Ric's birthday was on Saturday and the Colts had a late football game.  A hotel in Lafayette was in order!  We headed up in the afternoon so we could enjoy some pool time before hunkering down for the playoffs.

 

We invited my friend Kate and her kids to come over and enjoy some winter swimming.  Of course, I forgot my camera at home and we had to take phone pictures.  They are fantastic so I only wish the quality was better.

 

After a few hours in the pool, we headed up to our room.  We had gotten a one-bedroom suite so that Camden could watch TV (and go to bed) in one room while we stayed up and watched the game.

Uncle Ric and Carole arrived in time for pizza dinner and Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls for birthday treat.  Camden even got her own mini-pizza (cheese & black olive). 

The Colts lost, but we had a great time celebrating our brother-in-law!

Snowed In

We watched a lot of TV during our snow-in.  She and I went through the Kiwi crates and did some, but also sorted the rest.  Kevin had some game time with Camden. 

 



I snapped this picture just as Camden won the game, stood up, and shouted, "VICTORY!"

She is truly hilarious.

Snowpacolypse

This past weekend we had a doozie of a snow storm.  We got about 15" in 12 hours starting Sunday morning.  To top it off, at the peak, the temperature was -15 with a wind chill of -45.  We went to church on Sunday morning (we had to teach Sunday School), had lunch in town, then headed home.  We didn't go outside for 48 hours.  Kevin ended up calling in to work for two nights and Purdue even closed normal operations!  All counties around us were in snow emergencies and it was illegal to be out driving.  

 

It was nice to have more time at home together.  I only wish the cleanliness of my house reflected this extra time...we just simply vegged the entire time!

It was interesting to look out our door on Monday night and see that nothing/noone had been down our road.  This lasted for 36 hours before a plow came down on Tuesday morning.  It was a perfect snow blanket.  I hadn't seen anything like this for a long time.

Kevin got out on Tuesday morning and walked to Grandpa's to borrow his snow blower.  He cleared their driveway and places between our house and theirs on his walk back.  He then took care of our driveway and sidewalk.

He came in to thaw out and noticed our neighbor (younger single mom) was out trying to shovel her drive.  So he bundled back up and took care of her driveway, our other neighbor's driveway and the sidewalk of the elderly woman on the corner.  You can see that the drive almost covers the snowblower!

Our backyard showed some signs of the high winds that drifted things on Monday.  Kevin had cleared a path to the satellite on Monday morning and it was completely covered back up the next morning.

The trees and neighborhood was truly beautiful, but much too cold to enjoy for more than a quick picture.

Perfection!

I found 4 boxes of cream cheese in the fridge.  I guess in the planning of holiday baking I bought more than I intended.  But...there is always a good use of this item.  Our favorite cheesecake recipe calls for just this amount!

 

It came out about as beautiful as I have ever done.  Round two of baking this week - perfection!  (Especially with triple berry sauce).

Snow Angels

We had a blanket of snow (3-4") on January 2.  Enough that I stayed home another day of vacation.  Camden bundled up and made snow angels.

 

One was pretty perfect!

New Year's Day

It is our tradition to have a New Year's Day meal with Papaw.  He makes the only corned beef I will eat, along with cabbage, black-eyed peas, and cornbread.  This year he also made home-made apple pie.

 

We also love that Uncle Brian is usually able to make it to the meal. 

 

Happy New Year!

Yes...a week late!

 

Camden stayed with GaGa while Kevin and I went out for dinner.  When we got back, we played cards and did what we could to keep Camden awake.  She wanted to see midnight!

 

GaGa had gotten a hat and some noise makers.  Camden practiced every hour until the big moment!

 

We had several small breakdown moments because of exhaustion, but she refused to nap, wanting to stay up (or go home).

But finally the countdown began.

We watched the ball drop then headed outside to bang pots with wooden spoons.  After kisses and sips of sparkling grape juice, we headed home to sleep.

Camden was so happy to welcome 2014!

Buccaneer Bay

Using two of the tickets Camden won in the fundraising event, I took her and Paxton to Buccaneer Bay in Lafayette.  It was the PERFECT waterpark for 5 year olds (well...2-10 year olds).  She spent the majority of time on the bigger slide on the pirate ship.

 

 

When she wasn't on the slide, they were waiting for the horn to sound announcing the treasure chest was going to dump it's full load.

 



The deepest the water gets is 3 ft.  So they could explore every area and I didn't have to worry about them being in swim trouble.

These two played "all-out" for 5 hours.

There was a "hot tub" intended for adults, I believe.  But it was simply a warm bath so kids often took a break in it.  Camden and Paxton liked all the bubbles so spent brief stints in this option.

Camden was EXHAUSTED that night - full of whines because of playing so hard.  She loved it!