Training Wheels

In March, Logen attended drivers education and received his driving permit.  Since he has to drive with a licensed driver, he only has “training wheels”.  After six-months, driving 40 hours with a licensed driver and passing a driving road test his training wheels will be removed and he will officially become a licensed driver.

Logen and his girlfriend, Shelbe, attended a “crash course”….well maybe it would be better described as an accelerated class which means they completed a three-month course in about five weeks! They went to class 3-4 days a week (for 4 hours at a time) and then drove 1-2 times a weeks.  Heck, they were driving, on the actual streets of Boise, after only two classes.

Logen did a great job!  It was pretty amazing to see him drive up to our house…here I go again, but…….where does the time go?

After the kids completed the course and “graduated” with their driving permit they all celebrated with a party; at the local indoor go-kart races!

Please excuse the following pictures, I forgot my camera so these were taken with my cell phone.

Logen-all geared up and ready for a race!

Shelbe-on the right

They had a great time and it was a really fun thing for them to do to finish off the seriousness of learning how to drive.  I have got to say it was a little “scary” watching some one these kids driving crazy on the track…….these are our future drivers!  :)

Logen is well on his way to getting his “training wheels” off and become a very successful driver…..another proud moment!

Somber Spring

This spring not only brought us the worst weather that I can ever remember, it also had brought us some sad news.

In March, we got news that Dennis’  Uncle Darel passed away.  He was the oldest sibling to Dennis’ dad, the oldest of nine kids.   Uncle Darel lived in Arizona so we only saw him once a year for our annual family reunion in August.  But he was a big part of the reunion, almost like the patriarch of the family.  He was the auctioneer for our auction, the one that always took charge of the reunion meeting and he always had a camera around his neck.

                                                   Uncle Darel, August 2008

When Dennis dad passed away, Uncle Darel made sure that at the family reunion we all took a moment of silence in remembrance of him.  At the next family reunion, after Dennis’ grandma (Uncle Darel’s mom) passed away he also had a moment of silence for her.  Who would have thought that at last years reunion it would be the last time we hugged Uncle Darel good-bye and that we would be planning a moment of silence in his honor at the next family reunion in August.

Uncle Darel is missed!

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On April 16th, we got news that my Aunt Pauline’s daughter, Danielle was involved in a tragic accident.  I guess I should clarify; Pauline was my aunt only in name.  She isn’t related to me, she has just been my mom’s friend since they were in grade school. We happened to just call her “aunt” growing up and I guess I never out-grew calling her that.  Aunt Pauline is actually my brother Ryan’s godmother.  So we always considered her and her husband, Jack, our aunt and uncle.

I hadn’t seen Danielle in a long time.  I remember her when she was a baby, in her crib, with a ton of black hair.  I was so excited that my aunt had a girl because they already had a boy, Michael.  Ryan and Sandy had spent a lot more time with Danielle because they lived in Maine, and I was living here in Idaho.

Please don’t be judgmental for adding this picture of the accident to my blog.  I am adding it as a very important reminder, which I will explain.

Danielle’s accident is described, in part, as this according to the Sun-Journal newspaper in Lewiston, Maine:

A Sabattus woman died Friday morning when the SUV she was driving rear-ended a garbage truck at the intersection of Sabattus Street and Randall Road.  Danielle Perrier, 33, was traveling west when she crashed into the back of a recycling truck. 

A dozen or more fire, rescue and police crews from Auburn, Lewiston and United Ambulance responded to the accident scene shortly after 10:30 a.m.  Rescue crews had to dismantle the Ford SUV to extricate Perrier. Her two children — a 3-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl — suffered minor injuries. They were removed quickly from the vehicle and were treated and released, police said.

While this article is posted on the newspaper web site many people are allowed to add comments to the article, on line for others to read.  I, unfortunately, took the time to read several comments.  A lot of people were offering condolences but sadly a great majority of people were passing judgment on how Danielle could possibly drive into the back of garbage truck that was stopped.

Though we may never know the exact cause of what happened in that car right before the accident.  I do know that she had two small kids (safely) strapped into the back seat.  I am well aware how easy it is to be distracted by kids;  just by a sneeze, a cry, passing them a toy,  or a cup to drink…by just about anything!  That is why I have added this picture because I can’t count how many times that I will be driving with Colin and have reached in the back seat to soothe Colin, or hand him a book, or wipe a noise.  This type of tragedy can happen to anyone, anytime.

Since this accident I have changed my routine when I have Colin in the car.  If he is crying or needs a drink, I have decided that he can wait.  Unless he is choking or in dire emergency, in which then I will pull the car over, he can wait until I can safely deal with his issue.

We have since gotten news that Danielle was conscious after the accident, asked about the kids, and found out they were okay before she passed away.  I am sure it gave her some peace. 

In loving memory:  Danielle Perrier ~Give my sister a hug for me, Danielle~

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In March, we  got news that Dennis’ step-dad, Garry had been diagnosed with throat cancer.  Very fortunately it appears that they have caught the cancer in its early stage.  Unfortunately the treatment still seems very invasive.  Garry has had to get a “port” implanted in his chest to receive medication.  They also had to put a feeding tube in.  He will be fed through the feeding tube while he is getting radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

Dennis’ mom, Jackie is doing a wonderful job taking care of him, even though she just had surgery herself, in November, for a total knee replacement.

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Also in March, my mom, fell and fractured her hip!  She had taken an overnight gambling excursion to Jackpot, Nevada with some friends.  My mom never made it into the casino.  As she walked across the parking lot to check into the hotel, she tripped and fell. 

Jackpot is a very small town with no hospital.  She had to take an ambulance to the nearest hospital, back to Idaho, about 50 miles.  She spent the night in the hospital.  Then came back home where she had to have physical therapy and follow up with an orthopedic doctor. 

When I took mom for her follow-up appointment not only did the MRI show her fracture it also showed that she had arthritis in her hip, no cartilage left in the joint, and a few cysts.  The doctor said they would wait for the fracture to heal but then she would need to be scheduled for a complete hip replacement.

Well mom healed well and her surgery was scheduled!  (to be continued……)

With Love,

Tina

Preschool Graduation.......

.....well kind of a "graduation"!

Colin actually has two more years of preschool but in his class there is a mixture of kids from three to five years old. The older kids will be going to Kindergarten in the fall so they held a graduation that the whole class participated in. The kids that were still going to be in preschool next year wore green caps and the graduating kids wore blue caps.

When the kids walked in they sat in a circle and sang a few songs. Once Colin saw us sitting there watching him he was only interested in coming to see us, not participating in the singing of any songs. They were using the sticks to tap, as instruments, while they sang a song. Colin didn't participate too much in the tapping. He really wanted a green and red stick but that's not what he got. :)After the kids sang songs, it was time to pass out their "diplomas".
All of Colin's teachers were awesome but Miss Whitney (green shirt) held an extra special place in Colin's heart. She was the one who would take the frown away when/if he was sad about being at school. Miss Whitney won't be there next year because she is moving to Montana and we are going to miss her.

I love this picture of Colin. The smile on his face is priceless. Looking at his expression you would think he just won an Academy Award or the lottery!

I offered to bring cupcakes as a special treat for the kids after their ceremony. The kids were thrilled......SUGAR!!!!Logen helped take the paper off Colin's cupcake.

I am not sure who taught Colin to eat a cupcake like that! I hate to admit it but it was cute! :) Notice the kids are drinking out of paper cups. Logen finally mastered how to drink from an open cup. That is one of the things he had been working on during the school year.

We let Logen get out of school at little early so he could come to the graduation too! Happy kids!

Freshman Year....Going...Going.....Gone

As I sit and write this post to my blog, I am waiting for Logen to walk through the door, his last day as a freshman in high school behind him. I know I have said this so many times and here I go again, "where does the time go?"

Logen had a fantastic freshman year. We are so proud of him and all that he has accomplished. Logen we love you...keep up the good work!

Blogging

I have not been very good at blogging this year! In 2009, my first year blogging, I wrote on my blog a total of 190 times.....which averages out to be about every other day I posted something.

Its not that I have lost interest because I love to blog. I love to have a journal of our years events. I have looked back on last years blog quite often to remind myself when certain events took place or what the weather was like on certain days.

I was talking to my Aunt Jo-Ann one day and she was saying how much she missed reading my blog. She even threatened to withhold some vegetable seeds that she had promised for my garden until I updated my blog. That conversation took place about three weeks ago and the seeds still have not arrived in the mail. I guess she was serious!

There actually has been a lot going on in the last few months and I was trying to decide how to update the blog in chronological order.....I decided that would be impossible. I will just keep updating the day to day events and throw in little "catch-up stories".

I appreciate how many friends and family have told me that they have missed reading my blog. Let me fill you in on a little secret; I do not think any one would have enjoyed reading this blog the last couple months because all I would have been doing is complaining about the weather. It has been the worst spring I can ever remember here in Idaho. It has been cold, wet and windy more than I could have ever imagined. It is already the first week of June, and I can count on my hand how many nights we have been able to eat dinner on the patio....which is a highlight of the day when the weather is nice.

Again, thank you for being my blog "fan"........Let the blogging begin.....