Weekends of fun... just catching up, here.

It was my Dad's birthday on the 11th. I was able to make a card and get it in the mail on time--woohoo! On the Sunday morning of his birthday, Mom calls me and said that they wanted to come up to visit and that she had worked all day the day before to finish jazzing up the play pen she found for me and wanted to bring it for Hayes (and me)--and they wanted to cruise in their new Caddy. The weekend before they were down in Kentucky visiting and yard sale-ing, on the look out for an "old school" play pen. These days one can only find the pack-n-play variety that just isn't big enough for a kiddo to really have space. And... I think Mom may have read my post that was just a big list of stuff that I need to do but can never really get to.... There was no luck in Kentucky finding a play pen. They found the it in the hometown for $10. The plastic that covers the frame around the top was splitting in places, so Mom bought some quilted material to cover it. Then she decided to make a slipcover for the plastic pad in the bottom. After folding the sides down, she and Dad discovered that the hinges were a pinching hazard so, she covered those, too. She then added some of Dad's patches from his firefighting days. Some have "Washington Fire Department" and some are American Flags; they really add that personal touch (and visual interest). The original plastic material has a blue and white striped pattern with boy and girl bears, socks, shoes, baskets, bows and flowers.... this pattern is funny to me. "They" just don't make play pens like this anymore and I really wonder when this was marketed... 80's? 90's? I don't know. I do know that I love it, though! I love that it is a used item and that we can use it again. I love that Mom has added to it to improve and minimalize its pattern. My Mom is so talented when it comes to sewing. She will say different, though. She does not have all the skills of a professional. She is innovative and resourceful, though, and could sew anything if she wanted to.... (when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, I designed an outfit I wanted and she made it..... I designed my dress for my Senior prom... she made that, too. She has made many other things, too, over the years.)

Hayes loves his space... I think that is what we will refer to the pen as..... I prefer to tell him that he gets to play in "his space" rather than "his pen".. I don't know, I think it sounds better. I love it because I am able to make lunches, do dishes, sweep and mop the floor (etc.) without having to halt quickly to chase him and redirect... I can't say that I am making a major dent in my looming list-but it certainly makes daily chores easier. Thanks, Mom/Grandma! So, below, is Hayes enjoying his space.... (The cover is not on the bottom--so we get to see the festive bear/bow/basket motif.)

I swear that Oli is not biting Hayes. He is resting his face on his hand.

We had a very nice visit... Mom and Dad grabbed some KFC on their way into town and we enjoyed a lovely fried chicken dinner and I didn't have to cook! (Good thing because from the moment that Mom called to the moment they walked through the door, (minus the amount of time it took me to run up to the gallery to open it for some people wanting to see the show) I was busy tidying up. Even though she said, "don't be cleaning your house up or anything." Haha, yeah, right.) Thanks for coming to visit and Dad, I hope you had a happy birthday.

Onto last weekend... the17th.... Laura's new job at Bloomington North High School has certainly made her into a Cougar. No, no, not the kind that prowls on younger men, but the school mascot is a Cougar. So, no longer is she a Cardinal nor does she let Nathan be a Hatchet... She invited Mom, Dad, Scott, Hayes and me to cheer with her and Nathan for her Cougars at the Soccer Regional Championship in Terre Haute. The team that the Cougars faced?? The Washington Hatchets. Our hometown is a soccer town. Those kids start kicking and heading at 3 and 4 years of age.... we knew that it would be a tough game... but we were going to support the Cougars no matter what! First, we all met at an IHOP for dinner. Yum-pancakes! Mom made a bear for Hayes out of the same material she used on the play pen. He loves it. We had a lovely dinner. The waitress was obnoxious but friendly. Hayes got all kinds of attention. Then there was a little girl that arrived three tables away and that caught Hayes's eye. I would ask him where the pretty girl was and he would turn his head right toward her. It was too cute. She was playing hard to get, though.

After our dinner, we made our way to the game which took place at Terre Haute North HS. I think I have played soccer there before.... it looked familiar. We waded our way through all of the Washington fans (of course we knew several of them) and found our seats in the Bloomington fan section which paled in comparison to the amount of fans who showed up from Washington.

As you can see, here we are in maroon! (well, Hayes and Uncle Nathan) I think Scott wanted to stay neutral...or maybe he didn't have any maroon.

The game was very exciting. Bloomington seemed to always have possession....and when Washington would get the ball, they would either score or North would take it back. I was twitching and yelling trying to will Bloomington a goal. I am sure that the fans surrounding us thought we were nuts. Laura has two students that play on the team. There was one, Ben, #19, who was on the field quite a bit. Sadly, Bloomington was defeated 2-0.

Twins!! Laura was very happy that we could find some maroon for Hayes to wear... this outfit is from Aunt Ann and Uncle Mike--kind of appropriate because their kids went to Bloomington North.

Family photo as we were walking through the parking lot....

We stopped at McDonald's on our way to 70E and low and behold!! Bloomington North had stopped to get some food.... I ran in to get some caffeine and asked one of the players if Ben, #19 was around. Turns out, he decided to dine at Burger King which was next door. "Bummer," I said. I filled our cups with sugary soda and when I turned to walk out, there was #19 coming through the door. One of his team mates warned him that "some lady" was looking for him. I hollered, "Ben! Number 19! Mrs. Fletcher is my sister!" I handed one his team mates my camera and told them to photograph us. Who is the cougar now?