Chalk time!

For those of you who haven't tried the 3D chalk and are wondering if it works, it does! It's really neat, too! Cael doesn't color a lot yet, but Mommy does. Cael likes the glasses and the neat effects.

Pictures of damage

Here are some pictures of damage by the storm. The worst parts hit Kearney, part of Wood River, skipped a lot of GI, then on to Aurora. This is a gas station in Kearney. Storm clouds by Kearney. The Expo building on the Buffalo County Fairgrounds, Kearney. The Stratford Apartments, Kearney A grain silo by Wood River. A twisted auger by Aurora. Twisted augers and silos by Aurora.

Tornadoes

I was in the middle of writing a long response to Allison on her blog about last night, but then I thought I should probably just blog it myself. We're still here. We were on the northern part of the storm, and the tornadoes were on the southern part, which, crazy enough, was only about 15 miles down the road by Wood River. I need to call Cael's godparents (Brent and Kassidy) to see if they've blown away. I don't think we have much damage here, but I pray for everyone in Kearney and the surrounding areas that no one was hurt and they can put their lives back together quickly. Thanks for all the calls last night to see if we were ok. I even had students calling me from Shelton! Luckily, I'm my father's daughter (dad's a weather savvy farmer) and kept an eye on the radar. We had a picnic supper in our basement bedroom. Cael thought it was fun. Should've taken pictures, sorry. Funny enough, we never lost power. Allen and I both heard people from Grand Island say yesterday that the weather was acting just like it did June 3,1980. That was the day that 7 tornadoes ripped through Grand Island (watch the movie "Night of the Twisters," it's based on the event). People who lived here then have a keen sense on watching the weather and knowing when bad stuff is coming. I guess I would too if I lived through 7 twisters demolishing my town. Much of our part of the state and west (especially) is flooded. Mom and dad say that the creeks are out of their banks and the Republican River is running pretty strong. Grand Island has a horrible tendancy to flood. Especially downtown, which is where Allen works. The underpasses usually flood out, but there's always that one stupid person. You know, "I can make it!" Then halfway through, their car starts to float and the fire department has to come save them. Anyway, that was our night. Hope everyone else is safe!

Cael's big debut

And here he is, the one and only...

Rock 'n' Roll, baby!

Cael and Allen like to air drum, and now since Allen got his birthday present to himself (Guitar Hero III), Cael has to jam out, too!

Last day of school

Yesterday was the last day of school for Heartland. I have no idea how it went because I was home with a sick kid. Allen and Cael have been taking turns throwing up this week. I'm just waiting for my turn...

Superman

This morning I took Superman to Lynda's.

Spiderman 2

So we went to bed as Spiderman, and we went to Lynda's (the babysitter) as Spiderman. I tried to get him dressed. I really did. Not a battle I chose to fight. You want to be Spiderman? Go for it kid.

A few videos

Cael plays football on the computer with Daddy. It's Madden, so it's made by EA Sports. At the beginning, a deep voice says "EA Sports, it's in the game." Cael likes to say it too. Air drums! In reality, Allen can play drums and just about anything with a bass line. Once in a while he'll get out the ipod and put one ear phone on him and one on Cael and they go to town!

Spiderman

Cael likes to take showers like a big boy. He was showing me just how tall he is! Spiderman! I found some costume pj's on a garage sale this weekend. We had our own garage sale, and spent Sunday reorganizing. I took Cael to Stuhr Museum today. He loves the big koi fish. He calls them "sharks" and wants to know where Nemo is. This big pot of daisies and ivy was my mother's day present. I love daisies!

Graduation

Our sixth class from Heartland Lutheran High School graduated 21 yesterday. That was our biggest class yet. Unfortunately, there was no possible way to get to everyone's receptions without staying out until midnight. I definitely did NOT lose any weight yesterday, since everyone had such great food. We went around with our friends the Keiligs as is tradition. We had to pace ourselves. Only a sandwich here, only cake here, only salads there... Anyway, I'm really proud of my kids, and I'm already missing them here at school. It's really quiet around here! (As it is every year after graduation.) So that was my Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to everyone! http://www.theindependent.com/news/x1902435294/Heartland-Lutheran-grads-told-God-has-a-plan-for-them Here's the link to the news story. In the picture of us praying, I'm in the back in my cap and gown. Yes, teachers robe-up.

Last weekend

Wow, so I haven't posted pictures in a while, and now there are a lot. Last weekend Allen and I had free tickets to the symphony in Omaha. We stayed in Lincoln at the Settle Inn. It looks like a castle on the outside, and it has themed suites. We only got a regular room, and when we checked in, we found out (quite to Allen's embarrassment) that someone else was already in the room. We were upgraded to a suite for no extra charge. We got the "Fabulous 50's" room. Unfortunately we had to get right back to GI the next morning because I had a Jr/Sr One-Act Open House to put on. I didn't think that timing through very well. Oh well, next year. Here are some of my kids... Keep reading. I've put several more posts on.

Baseball and ducks

This last week had some really nice days, so after school, I took Cael to Stuhr Museum in GI to feed the ducks and fish. One day, one of the workers was out feeding the ducks corn. He let Cael pet some of the ducks! Daddy got Cael a baseball mitt, so the boys have been having a great time!

Hannah

Hannah came over last weekend to play while we painted. She and Cael fell asleep watching a movie. Cael has a spray bottle of water that he likes to spray in my hair. Hannah let him spray hers, but he got a little carried away. She looked like she just got out of the shower!!

New rooms

We have both rooms painted and carpet all downstairs. Instead of everyone having to wear shoes downstairs, now no one can. This is the guest bedroom. It's a spring green. I painted squares and rectangles freehand (so they wouldn't be perfect). Then I stamped leaves on some of them. Cael's room is red and a dark charcoal. We don't have trim up in either room, but posters and Lightning McQueen will be in here.

Hannah's birthday

Silly me, I didn't take my camera home yesterday. I will take it home tonight as we keep moving stuff back downstairs...on our new carpet! It's awesome. We didn't want to go back upstairs. Anyway, today is Hannah's birthday (Cael's "girlfriend" who turns 12 today), but we made her cake and gave her presents to her yesterday. I asked Cael what he wanted to get her and he said "a semi!" Soooo... we went to KB and he picked out a semi for her. (We got her a gift certificate to the mall, too.) We told her that she could leave her semi at our house if she didn't want to take it home. Oh no! She made sure to take it with her. Cael got it for her, so she made sure she had it in her possession when we took her home. She's so great. I don't know what we would do without that girl. We pull up to church on Sundays, and the first thing Cael says is "Yea, church! I see Hannah!" I'll hopefully put pics on tonight when I get home. Not only is it Hannah's birthday, but it's also my parents' anniversary. 42 years. They're amazing! Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!