Off we go!!

Wednesday, June 25 -- Rachelle and Joey off to Chicago for CdLS Conference
We will return Sunday, June 29
Friday, June 27 -- Shawn, John, & Tommie off to Omaha for State Baseball Tournament
Emma & Abbie off to Aunt Annie's -- All will return Sunday, June 29

Have an awesome weekend!

Joey and Sparky

Welcome Wesely...and more insanity

It's a boy! We now have a new addition to our family--it's a 75lb. 1 1/2 year old black lab mix and his name is Wesely. Shawn and I are defending ourselves on the grounds of temporary insanity. We got him from a shelter here in Columbus and they seem to think he was lost or abandoned in some flooding around the area recently. He is in good health and has been well cared for. He has been great with the kids and is very lovable. We've had to make some adjustments having a dog in the house again..so far so good. John has been taking him for walks...he is already housebroken so we don't have to take time to train him. We got him licensed yesterday so I guess it's official (did you know cats also have to be licensed too?!!?). Anyway, we needed some more chaos! Enjoy his handsome picture!

Home again...for a little while

We made it home from Kansas City! And, I am happy to add that John's team won 1st place in their age division! The boys did a great job and the trip was a lot of fun. Although the girls had their moments, all in all everything went well. They enjoyed swimming, staying at a hotel, and sort of enjoyed the ball games. I want to give a big thank you to our family friend Brandon who went along with us and was a tremendous help with the girls. It will be a trip that we will all remember for a long time. Shawn, Joey, and Tommie had a good weekend in Lincoln and thanks so much to my brother Eric, sister-in-law Sherry, and niece Aubree for their great hospitality. Tommie's team got second place in the Lincoln Cyclones Tourney so congrats to them also! Now it's time to get ready for our trip to Chicago next week for the CdLS Conference. I am so excited. I am a little nervous about traveling on a plane with Joey, but luckily our good friend Ashley will be going along with us. John and Tommie have state baseball tournaments in Omaha at the same time we will be gone, so everyone will be splitting up again. Before we know it, summer will have flown by!

Star of the Month

Joey has been doing such a great job with physical, occupational, and speech therapy he is a Star of the Month at Wiggles & Giggles!

Elkhorn, Omaha, Albion, Lincoln, Madison....next stop Kansas City!

Grandpa Jerry & Abbie
Tommie, John, Emma, Aunt Helen, Abbie, Grandpa Jerry, Shawn, & Joey
Rain delay!
Devin, Lexi, Dylan, Emma & Abbie at Tommie's game Sunday in Columbus

These are the places I have been these last 5 days. I lost track of the miles, but it has been about $140.00 worth of gas - isn't that outrageous! And, it will be time to fill up again as part of us will be heading to Kansas City with John Friday through Sunday for a baseball tournament. The rest of us will be spending the weekend in Lincoln with Tommie for the Lincoln Cyclones Tournament. I've been trying to get some computer time all week, but boy have we been busy. Last Saturday found us in Elkhorn watching the Mariner's 14's play in a tournament. Unfortunately, John hurt his ankle during tourney play the previous evening, making him unable to play on Saturday. The team won the first game, and were winning the second game when the rain hit -- postponing play for the rest of the evening. The area received enough rain to cancel the tournament entirely so there were plenty of disappointed kids. Between games, we managed to squeeze in some time at the Riedmiller Family Reunion which was being held in Omaha. It was nice to visit with people we haven't seen for a long time. Shawn's Aunt Helen flew in from California so it was great to see her. Monday evening found us in Albion, Tuesday evening in Lincoln for a Mariner's 12's double-header with Tommie ( he had a great hit-got a double!), and Wednesday traveling to Madison so Joey could have his riding session with Sparky (he did a great job!). We got back in time to head down to the ball field to watch John's city team play (they lost 11-7). Is your head spinning yet? I know mine is! Anyway, we are all doing well -- John's ankle is doing good, should be in great shape for the weekend, Tommie's thumb has healed nicely, Joey is doing great at Wiggles & Giggles (he is one of the Stars of the Month for June!), Emma and Abbie are still the bosses of everyone in the house, and Shawn & I are exhausted. I think that pretty much covers it. The girls and I will be heading to Kansas City with John on Friday, and Shawn & Joey will spend the weekend in Lincoln with Tommie. Here's hoping for safe travels, good weather, lots of wins, and cheaper gas!

Happy Birthday to me...29 again!??!

For those of you who are interested, today is my birthday. I was born on June 6, 1970 (I'll let you do the math to figure out how old I am) and it seems to be passing just like any other day. Although I guess I am feeling a little nostalgic, and thinking about a few different things that I find interesting. I have spent more than half my life with my darling husband, Shawn. He and I started dating when I was 17. My brother-in-law's mother-in law is 50, which is only 8 years older than my husband. My 20 year high school reunion is next weekend -- this does not seem possible. Sometimes I still feel as young as the 16 year old kid cruising around with her friends on Saturday nights. My kid brother will be 30 this year -- this also does not seem possible. Shawn is the same age now that his mother was when he and I started dating -- that is really outrageous. I don't feel old, I just find all these things a little troubling. I discovered today, that it's not my age that bothers me, or how old I get, it's the ages of my children that overwhelm me. Where has the time gone? John will be 15 in July, and a freshman in high school. What happened to my 1st baby? In four short years, he will be venturing out on his own. And Tommie will be 13 next January -- we will have 2 teenagers on our hands. And the little ones, now officially 4, 3, and 2 years old, will all be in grade school in the blink of an eye. These facts are what are most bothersome to me. But what can I do? Nothing, except help them to learn, laugh, and love and hope that the most important job I will ever have in my life is being done well. So I will go on with the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, the diapers, the bills, the shopping, the driving, and of course the ball games. And try to enjoy each minute as much as I possibly can.

Exit Rain....Enter Trip to the E.R.

Finally....a weekend without any rain to cancel baseball games! Although, throw in a trip to the emergency room with our 12 year old, Tommie, and the rain might have been more fun. The Mariner's 12's had a tournament in Milford Friday thru Sunday. They did pretty well, finishing 2nd in the tournament. Tommie was up to bat during the first game at 5p.m. on Sunday, and got hit with a pitch on the thumb of his right hand. I imagine it hurt quite a bit. It swelled right away and even after applying ice on and off for quite a while, the swelling did not go down that much. Needless to say, this left him unable to play the rest of the evening. We reached home about 10:15p.m. (little ones in tow!), unloaded, and Tommie and I headed to the E.R. to have his hand looked at. Thankfully, the x-ray showed no broken bones, just some really nasty bruising that will take a few days to feel better. They sent us home with a splint, an ice pack and a good dose of Motrin. Hopefully he will be back on the field in 3 or 4 days. John's Mariner's team had a double-header in Gretna on Sunday, winning one and losing one. Shawn traveled with Joey to John's games, and I traveled with the girls to Tommie's games. When John was done, they drove from Gretna to Milford to catch the action over there, only to find Tommie with his swollen hand. The little ones tolerated the weekend pretty well -- they got plenty of fresh air anyway. In other news, I posted a video of Joey that I took at Wiggles and Giggles a couple weeks ago of him using the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). This is a form of communication for kids that have limited speech ability. There are various small pictures with images of different things that Joey may want or need. He is still in the beginning stages but is making wonderful progress! We are so proud of him! In the video, he is with his speech therapist, Delanie, having a great session. Stay tuned for further progress updates!

Joey at Wiggles and Giggles