Familiar Sight

No breaks according to physician in ER - seeing Dr. Graham today. Lots of prayers please!

Overnighter Plus Basketball Camp

Gabi has been attending Basketball camp this week. She has come home with more bumps, bruises and scrapes than she has ever had (so please excuse the many bandaids on her legs in pictures below)! Yesterday she skidded on the gym floor trying to win a game and also confirmed she has won the game "Knock Out" twice so far. She is really enjoying this camp. We have been carpooling with her bf Emma so she had her overnight last night. The girls had a good time playing outside and watching movies. We also had a fun time experimenting with some pictures that produced lots of giggles. A small damper was put on our night when Trenton was taken to the ER with an injury to the leg from wrestling (see post above) but all in all, a good time for the girls. They enjoy every minute they get together.

Happy Birthday Broseph!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Chad! Happy Birthday to you!!!! Birthday wishes to you today - we love you and hope you have an awesome day!

Open House

Trenton's open house was Sunday from 4-6pm. It was a great success!!! If I had to guess our estimate of 200 people was about correct, if not more. We had Aays Rental supply the tent in my parents' back yard with all the tables to eat at were placed. Decorations for the table included small votives filled with white sand and white and maroon colored river rocks. I also put pictures of Trenton on skewers and stuck one in each votive. Two of these were placed at each end of the table. I also got small little glass candy dishes and put each in the center (6). I took advantage of the personalized M&Ms and had white and maroon ones ordered. Some had a picture of his face, some said "class of 2009," some that said, "Congrats Trenton," and some that said "MHS Cavemen." These were big hits.

We put the food in the garage along with a couple tables for his wrestling achievements and his younger years. I used the presentation I made for Senior Night for wrestling so that was already done. I also did up a big display of just pictures of Trenton growing up. Family photos, his medals and trophies, his school years photos, his school jacket, etc etc

We went with two cakes...a sheet cake that said "Congratulations Trenton" for MHS and a half sheet cake wishing him good luck at North Central (red and black). We ended up with way too much cake leftover though. I did up a card table displaying North Central information for people to look at with his gift box for cards. We also had the big M from my parents in the front yard showcasing Mishawaka and also had cornhole games going on the side yard (thank you Mike for your artwork) which turned out to be a big hit. Thank you also to Uncle Rusty and Aunt Julie for letting us borrow another set.

Food was good. We went with BBQ pork sandwiches (5 from Gordons), Frozen fruit from Gordons also (5 bags). Ended up with too many bags of chips. I think we bought 6 and ended up with 5 left over. Ordered 100 pieces of chicken and didn't end up with too much leftover. Amber was a HUGE help. She made her our favorite pasta salad. Unfortunately we ended up with way too much leftover. She also helped through the evening by making sure the food was continuously monitored and filled. Definately need an extra person to do that so we were able to talk with everyone. THANK YOU AMBER! Pam made her famous cheeseball with bread and it went over really well. Aunt Annie brought her yummy little cheesecakes (those were the first to go) and rice krispie treats requested by Ben. I also made a veggie tray of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots (3 of each) and we had plenty leftover as well. Lastly, we had baked beans to round it off (2 big cans) and not much left of that as well. All in all, a great party. Good to see family and friends. A BIG THANK YOU to all who helped by bringing items or just helping out where needed (Amber, Chad, Pam, Annie, Julie and Rusty, Dad R) and especially to my parents for letting us have the party at their house. For it being a first time for us...it went over pretty well. I believe Trenton ended up with a little over $2,000 towards school (I think his first investment will be a laptop) and a few gift cards (Target, Movie gift card, and a North Central bookstore gift card). I can't thank everyone enough for supporting our son. Thank you!

Congratulations, Trenton

Had Trenton's graduation open house yesterday 4-6 pm and what a turnout!!! More info to come...

132nd Commencement

4pm at Mishawaka High School. It seems like yesterday that Miss Judy (Trenton's preschool teacher) announced that this would be the high school class of 2009 and I remember thinking, "my gosh, that's so far away!" What happened to the time.

(Love this photo of Trenton...not sure why)
Nice ceremony. I was impressed with a few of the valedictorian's speeches and I was pleasantly surprised at how well the key note speaker was. Mr. Thomas Hutchison III from the class of 1959.

The senior class had their fun...bouncing some beach balls through the spectators and graduating class, spraying silly string and alot of them each carried one penny to hand to Dr. Marzotto (retiring principal) so he would have a ton at the end. You can actually see Trenton hand him his penny (in the video) and Dr. M puts it in his pocket. I guess Dr. Marzotto said to Trenton, "well, I guess I am going to have quite a few of these by the time this is over" and chuckled.

Switching his tassel over...he is graduated!

And throwing their caps at the end.

Took Trenton to his choice for a celebratory dinner (Red Robin) and got some of the tables and chairs set up for the open house tomorrow. Definitely mixed feelings today and yes, I shed some tears over how quickly the time has passed. Congrats son. We love you and are very proud!

Big Day

Every ending has a new beginning....today is the big day.
"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." ~Benjamin Franklin (quote from Trenton's graduation party invitation this year)
Getting ready to go to MHS' 132nd Commencement and so proud Trenton is a part of it...mixed emotions...happy, sad, excited, worried all at the same time. Big day.

Awards Day

Tyler and I were able to make Gabi's Awards at school today. She was so happy that Tyler was able to make it and her big smile showed it loud and clear! Gabi got an award for Honor Roll (below in video) all year and also the Presidential Award in gym- Picture above with Mr. Minegar (only 10 kids from 1st through 3rd got this award). She was definately proud and so were we!

Hatchings

So you ask, "what happened to the duck eggs you found??" Well...we aren't so sure. We found two eggs left in the nest and everything else - gone. Not sure what happened...if they hatched and left, possibly these two eggs left being the ones that were out of the next when we found them??? Maybe the eggs were bad to begin with...not sure???? Anyways, no sign of mama or daddy duck and no babies. We can only hope they hatched and found a home closer to the water.

We did, however, have baby robins and baby doves again this year. So much fun to watch when they are little and funny to hear the mama robin squack at Maizy when she gets underneath the nest oblivious to anything around her.

Visitors For Lunch

I was able to take cousins Presley and Addison with me to Gabi's school to eat with Gabi today. Stopped at McDonalds on the way to pick up a chicken sandwich and fries for Gabi. Presley requested a mcnugget happy meal while Addy requested a cheeseburger happy meal. When asking what Addison wanted for a drink, Presley leaned over and said, "Addy, what do you want to drink?" Addison must have taken a bit long to answer and Presley looked up at me and quietly said, "Aunt Cindy, we'll try lemonade for her too." Oh man...she looked and acted way to grown up at that moment!!! Very cute though! I had to chuckle. The girls had a great time visiting and I was glad I made good on my promise to Gabi...even though it was the last available day to do the lunch visit. They even got to play for a few minutes on the playground with the big kids. Thanks Chad and Amber for letting the girls go. They had a great time and hated to leave. It absolutely made Gabi's day! Hard to believe today was Trenton's last day of high school. A chapter finished...another begins...

Memorial Day

Ben and Trenton went with Ben's dad and brother up to Lake Erie to go Walleye fishing overnight last night. Trenton called about 10:30 pm last evening and said they were just coming off the water and had about 9 nice sized walleyes so far. Ben took our tent and decided to stay overnight so he could catch the limit on walleyes twice (yesterday and today). Trenton sent me this picture of one they caught.

Gabi, Tyler and I stayed here. Tyler has plans to go the beach with his gf Abby for the day today but they stayed long enough this morning to enjoy the Mishawaka Parade...a favorite tradition for our family. Looking forward to one more day of relaxation before back to work.

Presley

This little cutie pie is 4 years old now!!! What a sweetie. I just love how she gives hugs and kisses everytime she sees me and how she takes care of her little sisters. Happy Birthday to you little Presley Poo! We love you lots!

2009 Midwest Grand Challenge Duals

Talk about a battle...wow, this tournament was staCKED with all kinds of competition. Mishawaka took two teams (white and maroon) to this competition at Michigan State University (we will also be going to the St. Ignace Northern Exposure next month). Tyler wrestled with the maroon team. This was his first time back since removal of his hardware and meniscus surgery. In fact, he was just cleared on Monday to actually start wrestling again. Needless to say, by the end of the day he was extremely tired and very sore. The teams we faced were full of state placers and champions mixed in. They were "all star" teams. Our team consisted of just our wrestling team. Considering this, we did well placing 6th out of 15 teams. Tyler's went 1-4 (and forfeited one round because his knee was bothering him). Scores...against Trojan WC Illinois 1-5, against Jersey Triumph - who placed 2nd overall 2-4, Tyler pinned his kid from Salem WC Michigan, lost to Hartland WC Michigan 5-9 and lost his final match against the Michigan Elite Seniors by fall. We were just excited to see him back on the mat and facing some great competition. A good start to the off season training. Michigan Grappler also covered the event for more info and I have been trying to keep the wrestling website updated as well -Check it out.

College Signing

In the local newspaper today:

COLLEGE WRESTLING
Cavemen grapplers sign
Mishawaka wrestlers Dustin Boyd and Trent Reinoehl have signed letters of intent to wrestle at the collegiate level.
Boyd will wrestle at Calumet College and Reinoehl will attend North Central College.
Boyd, wrestling at 185 pounds, was 31-8 and a member of the All-NIC First Team.
Reinoehl placed seventh at state at 135. He finished 14-3, and was the sectional and regional champion.

Mishawaka Bus Tour

Got to go on a "Mishawaka Bus Tour" with Gabi's 3rd grade class today and it was well worth it! We got it done before the rain hit which was a good thing. Learned some very interesting things...


1. Most of the Mishawaka streets were named by dominant families who basically helped find Mishawaka - Hurd family, Battell family, Eberhart family, Merrifield family and Beiger family. 2. Kate's Garden is the smallest garden in Mishawaka. The statue of two people forming an arch touching hands is to honor our teachers. Passing knowledge from one person to the next.
3. The Furniture store (old Mishawaka High School) is closing but will be renovated into something else to preserve the history.
4. Dodge Manufacturing (where my daddy worked for many, many years) was the second largest employer in Mishawaka. They manufactured the magic jack (to change buggy wheels), also the machinery that moves the bowling ball up to the bowler at the bowling alley AND Gabi thought it was really cool that they manufactured the speed mechanics on roller coasters.
5. The rock wall along Battell Park was part of Works Progress Administration in the 1930's. Our own Mishawaka's stimulus package to get people working during the Depression.

I enjoyed visiting the Shiojiri Gardens. It is said that you lose alot of your stress when coming out from visiting...unfortunately, the garden didn't work it's magic on me.

Anyways, a good time. I actually think this tour should be available to the older kids at school. I learned quite a bit from it (stopped at all the parks) - and had fun too! Found some great photo locations as well :)

Happy Friday everyone!

3:23

That's how fast Gabi ran her 1/2 mile today in gym class!!! They are working on a mini Relay For Life this week and she officially beat the class record putting her in first place!! That means she gets an award on Awards Day! She was soooo proud of her record...that's 11 times around the gym!! Pretty fast for such a little girl!!! ;)

Mother's Day

What an amazing mother I have. I am so thankful for such an inspiration in my life. Such an example for me to follow. If I am half the mom she was and is to me, to my children, I know that they can never steer wrong. That's why I strive to be like her. She is not only a beautiful person on the outside but on the inside. My mom is always thinking of others before herself. She is a giver all the time. That is why I thoroughly enjoy putting together all her flowers for her. I think this is the third year now that I have done them for Mother's Day. She loves the way I do them and she is always so proud. I love you mom! Thank you for making me want to be a better mother every day. Thank you for being my best friend. Happy Mother's Day!

I woke up to a few cards on the table...one from the kids, one from my hubby, one from Gabi herself and one from Trenton's girlfriend, Alayna (so sweet of her). My baby girl presented me with origami flowers she had made at school, along with a piece of artwork to display. Both beautiful! The boys, Gabi and Ben presented me with a gift card to JaRoss Salon to get that massage I have been longing for. I am soooo looking forward to that! And lastly, Trenton presented me with a shirt he brought back from North Central (he visited on Friday/Saturday) that says "North Central College Mom" :) Still can't believe it. Listened to a good sermon this morning...made me cry. Title..."How to Raise A Healthy Family." Cried when he started talking about children leaving the nest...I am about to take that road and my heart aches when I think about it. Scared to venture down it, but mostly sad. Then I cried when pastor spoke about those who have lost their children and thought of my parents. And cried when he spoke about those who have lost their mothers, like my husband. My heart ached as I thought of how he isn't able to give her the hugs I gave my mom today. I know she is with us though...in spirit...always.

Had a great day of visiting with my mom's side of the family...lots of food as always and was able to see my grandparents finally home from Florida again. Had fun watching grandma, Gabi and Tyler do a Beauticontrol spa makeover. Lots of laughs. Glad we visited with dad R and Dave and that we were also able to visit Mom R's gravesite today. Good day. Happy Mother's Day!

Eight Eggs

While mowing on Tuesday evening Ben found an egg in the yard...a rather larger egg and called Gabi over to take a look. Gabi and her friend suggested finding a safe place to put it and while looking behind a bush beside the house, found a nest full of the same eggs! Ben instructed Gabi to put on gloves and carefully place the egg back into the nest. She did so, and with extreme caution ;) and with excitement, she ran in to tell me what they had found...a nest of duck eggs! While showing it off, the mama and daddy duck flew over head to the next door neighbor's roof to watch intently. We decided to leave and head in for the night hoping the mama would come back to sit on the nest. She did...we checked and she had come back. We are very excited to see the new little ducklings. I read up on them and it says 28 days. Not knowing how long they have been there, we will keep checking every now and then. Gabi counted 8 eggs.
Should get interesting with the big black creature who lives with us...haha. We will keep her at bay as much as possible though. How fun!

Ben

Happy Birthday to the best dad in the world. To my best friend and husband who I love more every day! To a man who loves his children, who would do just about anything for any one of them. Looking forward to having a nice homemade dinner tonight topped off with cake and ice cream! We love you lots!!!

Freestyle State Champion

Went to Freestyle State this weekend and brought home a state champion!!!! That's right. Trenton is officially the 152 lb. freestyle state champion this year!! Went to Indy last night hoping to try out Buca di Beppo BUT there was a two hour wait. Settled for Noble Roman's Pizza instead. Went back to hotel and swam a little bit before crashing out. Juniors wrestled today and we were a little nervous when Trenton lost his first match basically by 1 point. He started vomiting immediately after. Well, Thursday Gabi stayed home because she was sick..headache and upset tummy and Friday, both Ben and I were sick. Ben actually vomited. We figured Trenton probably was coming down with something. He immediately headed for our area we were sitting in and layed down. Running a fever and looking miserable we had him take some aspirin and lay down. Trenton didn't want to continue but we told him to lay down and see how he was feeling when he was up next. He decided to go for it and won, despite vomiting in between periods. He looked terrible and I felt awful for him. Trenton would dry heave between periods in the next two matches but won them all! The first kid who beat Trenton (Caleb Smith) ended up getting beat, so it put Trenton in the running for first again. Come to the end, Smith got beat twice and was put out of the running all together for first.

Trenton wrestled Andrew Smith of Ossian (6-0, 6-0), Blake Wood of Indy (0-7, 1-0, 1-0), Kirk Johnson of Indy (8-2, 5-1), Brannigan Barlow of Bloomington (7-0, 5-0) and Nick Odem of Indy for the final match (6-1, 6-0). He did awesome for being sick. We were soooo proud. Finally, after 6 years of ISWA events, we got a state champ! Trenton was so excited. This enables him the opportunity to go to a couple of National events...Fargo (individually) and/or Oklahoma City (team duals). Trenton actually went to Fargo the year before last with the freestyle and greco team and to Oklahoma City last year for freestyle. Both great opportunities! I just can't believe this was Trenton's last year as a junior...not sure if he will enter any tourneys as university, etc. He is crazy like that, so he may :)

But wow, what a wild ride this has been! Thank you, Trenton...for the memories! We love you, son and we know you can accomplish anything you put your mind to! We are so proud of you today and forever. Great way to end your high school ISWA tourneys...FREESTYLE STATE CHAMP!

College Choice

After a last minute opportunity to look at another college because an old coach is starting up a wrestling program there, Trenton put his college decision on hold. We went and looked at the college and listened. Gave Coach Vega a chance to sell the school. We absolute love that man...he is a great coach and had no doubts he would do Trenton well. Unfortunately, wrestling put aside, Calumet just didn't fit for him.

SOOOO, drumroll, please.....Trenton will be a Cardinal in the Fall! I think he made a wise choice and we wish him all the best. I am looking forward to this next chapter...Lord help me.