Spring Break~Mammoth Cave Kentucky

For spring break we spent a few days down at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. I had never visited this park before but Ted had as a child. I have to admit I was pretty nervous about going in a cave hundreds of feet deep for a 2 mile walk. I really thought I would feel very claustrophobic, I guess I did from time to time but I just had to stop thinking about where we were! It was an incredible experience and I am so grateful we had the chance to experience it! It was a rather rainy day on day one but it didn't matter once we were in the cave, it stays a constant temperature and was dry. The first tour we took was a historic 2 mile, 2 hour tour. This tour offered a glimpse of salt petre artifacts (I believe this was used to make gunpowder). We walked over the bottomless pit, squeezed through Fat Man's Misery and squatted through Tall Man's Misery ( not me so much!). I tried hard to take photos but it was simply too dark most of the time as I didn't have much time to stop and and adjust my shutter speed. The next day we took the New Entrance tour which allowed us to go in the entrance found in the 1920's. This 2 hour tour was only 3/4 mile long with lots of steep stairs allowed us to view beautiful stalactites and stalagmites and the famous Frozen Niagara Falls formation. We also hiked above ground and saw wild turkey and lots of deer. In the park we even took a ferry across the Green River, it was really neat! One day after hiking we took a short drive down to Nashville Tennessee and visited the Grand Ole Opryland Conservatory and Music Row. We finished up the trip to Nashville by eating at the Wild Horse Saloon. We all enjoyed the meal and listened to the live music. Emily even took a turn learning how to do some line dancing! I have made a slideshow as there are lots of photos!

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A new decade

I just recently celebrated (three times!) entering a new decade...gulp. I thought it would hit me hard but I have decided that it is only a number. What a great time I had, not only once but three times. A few friends had talked with Ted about planning a surprise party for me, but he was worried about keeping it from me. So they planned it and then he told me about it. Quite a few of us celebrated at Alexander's Steakhouse (yummy) for a great dinner with fine food and wonderful conversation. Then on my actual birthday I thought I was just meeting a couple of girls for lunch and a few more surprised me! How fun! Then for my birthday Ted baked me a delicious German chocolate cake and we grilled out. Ted and the kids gave me a Wii for my birthday, what a fun gift for someone turning 40! I guess I am embracing my youth:)

Happy 14th Birthday Mason

Today Mason turned 14 years old (March 10). I can't believe that he is 14 years old. We are so proud to have him as our son and so thankful that God placed him in our care. He is really growing into quite a nice young man! It seems hard to believe how quickly the years have went by. It is as if just yesterday we were reading to him about Thomas the train or Wiggly Pig. Now he is into reading about technology and computers! He had a great day yesterday, even if he had to go to school. One of his birthday presents was a new skateboard which he was able to use after school since we had a beautiful day! Happy Birthday Mason!

Mason's Quilt

Mason's Quilt is finally finished thanks to the Heavenly Quilters at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Princeville who did a beautiful job hand quilting it for us (to read about the history behind this quilt just click on Mason's Quilt). Mason is thrilled to have this quilt finally done and loves sleeping under it at night! I think it is probably my favorite quilt I have done! The quilting group quilted moons and stars through out the quilt. Very cool!

An eagle

It appears that a Bald Eagle has moved into the neighborhood~wow! Ted said he saw one last week after a big snow storm had moved through. Yesterday on my way to photography class I saw it in a field eating something. I was thrilled that I had my camera and my zoom lens. I quickly pulled over to the side of the road and started shooting him (with my camera of course). I was amazed at how huge this giant bird was. I was able to see him carry the carcass of the animal with his powerful talons. He then got spooked and flew off into a nearby tree. I was thrilled to be able to get photos of him the bad news is that they aren't very good. Because I was fully zoomed out I really needed a tripod to stabilize the lens. Today I headed down the road with camera and tripod and he was in the tree! The minute I got out and started setting up my tripod he flew to another group of trees. I am hoping he'll be hanging around for a while so I can attempt to get some better photos.

Skiing for the day

This past Monday the kids were out of school celebrating President's Day and we ventured with a group to Dubuque, Iowa for a day of skiing. We have all skied before but it has been about 3 years. Since there was a group going from this area it made the day a bit more enjoyable for the kids as they had friends to ski with. Logan had been begging to snowboard so we finally agreed he could try this. I must admit I did not sleep well the night prior to going as I was afraid that someone would get hurt. But thankfully we all came away without any broken bones, we did manage to come away with sore muscles! We all took lessons to get comfortable on skis/snowboard since it had been a while. The day was really nice, it actually started of sunny but then clouded over and started to gently snow. It was beautiful being on the slopes with it snowing. After the day on this little ski slope I have a deeper appreciation for the winter Olympics! I can't imagine skiing down a one mile ski slope! I think I will stick with our Midwest ski slopes!

LoganLogan, Tim, Colton and Mason

Emily

Emily (in pink coat)

Logan and Nick

Emily and Peyton

Mason

February Updates

Just a few of our recent events that have happened so far this month...

We made a quick trip to Indiana so the boys could go rabbit hunting with their cousin Caleb. Ted, his brother Bill and another cousin Jason also went on the rabbit hunt. This was the boys first rabbit hunt and all the boys (both big and small) really had a great time despite the cold temperatures. Mason and Logan each shot one rabbit. They are still in my freezer waiting to be cooked. I have a feeling they may be there for a while!

Mason, Ted, Logan, Bill, Jason and Caleb

We have recently gotten quite a bit of snow which has been beautiful and fun to play in. I know a lot of people are really tired of winter but being gone for two winters makes this one more special. I will be happy for spring though as I look forward to spring flowers, trees budding, Robbins in the yard, birds singing and mushrooms popping up in the woods! We have had fun sledding, snowboarding (Logan) and four wheeling. I have also been enjoying taking photos! I am currently taking an adult community class in photography so needed to get some outdoor shots today. Cleo the cat insisted on following me all the way today.

Just click on the play button to see Logan snowboarding

Emily recently had a Father Daughter Dance with Girl Scouts and she was thrilled to have her dad take her! She was so excited about it. She got a new dress, painted her nails and wore her tiara! They had dinner and danced the night away. Emily has been taking tumbling the since August and has been doing some fantastic moves! She is quite a natural at it. She is going to take a break for a while and give piano lessons a try.