Easter in Louisville

We traveled to Louisville to celebrate Easter with the Howards this afternoon.  We decorated hardboiled eggs, ate delicious food, competed in a game of Family Feud, walked up the street for coffee and posed for a family photograph.  It was a beautiful afternoon!  

Serra Club

Sabrina was photographed at the Serra Club Award with the Bishop. This photo appeared in the April 8 2022 edition of the 'Messenger' newspaper.

Trip up Nort'

 For spring break we traveled up Nort' to visit with Jeff, Rebecca and the rest of their family at Camp Gray.  Chris just recently got his driver's license so he drove part of the way along with Gus as our faithful companion.  We spent time at Lake Jake, climbing in the gym, hiking at Devil's Lake and climbing rocks with some of Jeff's friends.  

There will probably be other photos added to commemorate this trip but these are all I (Adam) have access to at this time.  

Andrew is very consumed with all things trapping and taxidermy.  Many times he was able to re-route the conversation back to his favorite topic.  On the way to church on Palm Sunday, a squirrel ran out in the road in front of us and met the unfortunate demise underneath our van's Goodyear tires.  On the way back Andrew persuaded his dad to pick up the deceased squirrel and bring it back where it could be memorialized appropriately.  Prior to this incident, Andrew had never seen a fox squirrel before.  

Story telling around the island. 

Clara and Andrew played their own game of sparring using towels as their weapon of choice.  

What was this rabbit's name again?  

The cousins posed on a rock at Devil's Lake.  This was also the place where Clara accidentally lost her cell phone till it was recovered at the top of the hike.  

Clara practicing her climbing skills on the rocks.  

Christopher at Balanced Rock. 

Our crew (minus photographer Jeff and trailblazer Andrew) at Devils Doorway.  

Aunt Annette teaches Mary how to knit. 

More climbing.

Josh and Gus at Lake Jake. 

Adam and Gus at Lake Jake.

The kids were transporting their wood via the paddleboat from one side of the lake to the other.  The bicycle helmet really seals the deal for me. 

Even though he was off work, Christopher was still employed as a dishwasher on Saturday night.  He was washing out a 55 gallon drum that Jeff used for making maple syrup. 

Some of the buckets we washed that evening. 

Molly makes a face when we discovered the unboiled sap that will eventually become maple syrup.  Her shirt is wet from the time she spent helping her brother wash the aforementioned 55 gallon drum. 

Clara as she descends the rock.

Christopher on the hike. 

Christopher and I visited the Fleet Farm which might possibly be the best store on the planet.  Hard to believe there's another store where you can buy Rice Krispie Treats, ammunition, kids shoes and gasoline for 50 cents less than surrounding gas stations. 

Matilda Jr.

Molly finished her last night as a member of the crew for Matilda the musical at Gray Middle School.

Serra Club Award

Sabrina received the Serra Club Award this afternoon. It was awarded to 7th grade servers throughout the Diocese of Covington.

Dark Blue belt

Clara leveled up in her karate belt last week. She has been gradually moving up the ranks from white to bow Dark Blue. She's still waiting on her first opportunity to spar at a tournament.

Spring soccer is back

Lucy was playing goalie this morning for her first spring soccer game. Fortunately no one scored on her and the team won!

Gus is 5

Gus the lab turned 5 years old today. He's a good dog who doesn't get into stuff too often that he's not supposed to and he's always ready for the next job. If you want a working dog, he's your guy.

Happy birthday Gus!

Jam packed weekend

 This weekend was jam packed with all kinds of activity.  Friday morning Christopher earned his driver's license which has ushered in a new dimension in the household.  Friday night was adoration lead by members of the Youth Group along with some praise and worship music.  Afterward was an ice cream social.  Then on Saturday, we gathered at Hoebenland to celebrate Denny's birthday. 

On Saturday afternoon, Molly went to Gray to work on the upcoming play, Chris drove himself to work, Annette met with band people to talk about food during band camp this summer while two cousins stayed at our house. I'm sure something else happened but I cannot recall. 

Sunday was also busy.  Chris was at mass at 9:30, band practice from 10:30 till 12:30, youth group till 2:30, Passion Play practice till 3:30ish, band banquet from 5 till 8 and a meeting at Panera after that

Molly, Lucy and Sabrina went up to Gray to move stuff to the Ryle stage courtesy of my F150.  Sabrina left at 3ish to go over to Passion Play practice and Molly stayed up there till 6 p.m.  

It was a busy weekend and one of the first times when I was glad to get back to the office on Monday so that I could rest again.  

Maiden Voyage

 Here's a short video narrated by Annette of Chris taking his maiden voyage as lone captain of his vessel.  He got his driver's license on Friday and will be soon learning the responsibility of paying for gas, insurance and eventually maintenance on the vehicle.  His sisters were pretty excited to get in the car with him driving on Saturday morning even if it was only eight tenths of a mile down the road to grandma's house.  

Lucy catches a big fish

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to go out to the farm and fish with Lucy and Sabrina. Within 30 seconds of Lucy tossing her line in the water using a hot dog for bait, a blue hill fishhook and a cane pole, she pulled up this monster catfish.

So much brass

Recently we were blessed to hear from both high and low brass in our living room.

Late latte

Sabrina and I went to deliver several bags of donated clothing to St. Vincent DePaul and then we went to Velocity Bike and Bean for some coffee. Take note of Sabrina's coffee earrings that she made herself.

Flying by the seat of your pants

Clara woke up in Wisconsin, had lunch in Detroit and is now in DC taxiing to the runway as she prepares to head back home to CVG. She went to WI this weekend to make syrup with northern relatives. As they say, "Getting there is half the fun!"

Learning

As an incentive for Christopher to learn how to drive (and pass his drivers license test) we have twice visited a store that has Dungeons and Dragons items for sale. These stores have served as a destination when we're trying to learn how to get around town. Fortunately access to the stores doesn't include any parallel parking or three-point turns.

Sabrina Band Assessment

 Here's a snapshot from Sabrina's band from the assessment today at NKU.  They were evaluated by independent judges who were listening to bands from all over northern KY today.  The 7th (and 8th) grade bands from Gray Middle School both received the Distinguished distinction which is the highest honor awarded to the bands!  Nice job Sabrina!

Choir Concert at GMS

Sabrina and Molly performed as part of the Gray Middle School choir concert tonight.  They each sang a number of songs with their respective grade and they sounded wonderful!  Here are a few snapshots from the evening. 

The long lens I have isn't quite strong enough to snap close up photos from far away so I have this one from the hallway with Molly and Sabrina. 

There's another photo of Sabrina that I took while she was preparing to sing, but I won't post it because I suspect she wouldn't want me to.