Eagle Creek

While waiting for our friends in Indy, we decided to explore Eagle Creek Park maintained by Indianapolis Parks Organization. Cost was only $5 for a car! We enjoyed it so much that we decided we have to go back this summer. The geese were out and very friendly. They actually walk toward you and not away. Clearly, they must be the city breed of geese.

We went over to a lake and I queried about what lake it was to which a stranger replied, "It's a reservoir." Who knew that Indy had a reservoir! Eric noted there was an "armada" of ducks in the water. (I think he's been watching too much history channel with war recaps)

Then we discovered a red-tail hawk on display. We finally found the Discovery Center which was free and super informative. Filled with animals and information, you can walk through it at leisure.
I liked the turtles and bullfrog tanks. Eric and Lance liked the snakes. (I'm not picturing those on the blog so it will remain friendly to all non-snakes lovers)

Little turtle swimming with big Turtle!

Wright Road Trip to Indy

Lance's friend is enrolling for college in Indianapolis and we went down to visit him during his orientation day. Of course, we had to stop at the Flyin J truck stop (refer to the Audio A song Flicker for a snappy tune about Flyin J's).
Picture of Carl's future study home
Me, Ashley, Michelle, Lance, Carl, & Carl
Bonus: We got to see Eric's workplace!

All Quiet on the Rockin Refuge Front...

Lance and I have been enjoying sleeping in the last 3 days as he's been on spring break. The world really is a bit brighter after an extra hour of snoozing. Not a lot of exciting news over here. Lance is "cleaning" his room and I've got laundry in the machine before heading back out to work tonight. We're even lacking the "Nell" entertainment around here as the roommie is gone to a Women's Conference for several days. (Hope you're having a great time roommie!). I can thankfully report that the neighborhood is still the quietest around. Not even a neighbor putting up a garage door to watch. Today though, I do hear the hammers next door as it appears they are finally beginning work on the house that flooded. (Which means, it may be back on the market soon for anyone looking to live in one of the best places....next door to us!) Well...back to my peace and quiet....ahhhhh....

La, la, la, laaaa, laaaa, la,la, laa, la, laaaa, laa, la,la...

Sometimes I wonder what makes some people like things that others really dislike greatly....? Case in point, I happen to love the new Apple commercial featuring a French little ditty with plenty of La, La's to go around. I thought to myself, "Self, this is great advertising with words discussing a old soul in a strange world and a catchy tune on the side to sliding a laptop out of an envelope. Nice!" Thoroughly enjoying the commercial, I feel compelled to "Shhhhh" others in the room just for 30 seconds of la, la listening pleasure. So much do I enjoy it that I turn up the volume just to here the la, la's more clearly (and this says alot as I am typically a mute all commercials type gal). But aye, here's the rub! Apparently the roommate greatly dislikes the commercial to the extent that her life would be much more pleasant never hearing said "la,la's" again. Hmmmm....greatly puzzling to me as the roommie and I enjoy many of the same things. So here's my query (before I head off tonight to deal with the important issues in life like how to get kids back with their parents).....do you enjoy the la, la's on the tube too?
Even if you don't, I'll still love you with all your quirks!
p.s. Now that I typed the blog....I can't get the la,la's out of my head.....

Fr3Lance Attack!

Lil bro now has his very own blog!
You can check it out at www.fr3lance.blogspot.com

Communal Living

Having grown up in the country, I've seen my share of bird nests; however, I have never seen one quite like the one that is built in my lone pine tree. (I think this is quite ironic as I now live in the suburbs) Apparently some bird like communal nests because this tree has 6+ birds that scare the heck out of you when you come anywhere near.

Rockin Refuge updates

The rockin refuge has been getting a few improvements over the weekend. It now has doorknobs for all the doors, yeah!

And....the exterior got a facelift with new red mulch. It looks extra snappy and ready for spring.

Quote of the Night (prior to 8 pm when all craziness insues and more quotes are sure to be forthcoming)

abby: "I'm not going to work tomorrow and Lance doesn't have school tomorrow."
abby and lance: "AHHHHHHH!"
jonell: "I have to go to work tomorrow."
all together now: "AHHHHHHHHH!"

Anybody want to do anything with Lance or I tomorrow? We're available!

Musings of the Homeowner

I've been quite contemplative as of late about the joys and new knowledge that has come with home ownership. Don't get me wrong now, I love the rockin refuge and am totally blessed to have it. My street is very quiet and we are having alot of fun watching each of the new neighbors settle in. For all y'all who are thinking about jumping in to owning, you can muse over my musings. For all y'all who also share the joys of home ownership, this will probably trigger memories (or encourage you to be preventative in certain areas of the house).
1. Turning off the water to your sprinkler system prior to freezing is a plus. You probably won't come home to a bog for a yard, a flood down the street, and a pipe spraying water like an open hydrant.
2. Being gentle with the downstairs toilet is also a plus. Note: heed any gurgling like your life depended on it or you may find your toilet overflowing and flooding your downstairs. FYI...A shopvac or shampooer for clean up of overflowing water works great.
3. Never forget about the magic red button on your garbage disposal. (see prior blog for details).
4. Chemistry grad students are excellent fixers and finders of coupling devices to fix your H2O hose going to the ice maker. Note: Never store CDs on top the freezer where they can fall on ice maker hoses.
5. More shelf supports are better than a few or you may walk out to find boxes of legos avalanched on your vehicle in the garage. Note: actually putting the brackets into the studs also is imperative for success.
6. Driveways without cement "wings" on the edges will result in deep divits by your sprinkler system. Get stones to fill them in early and before the ground freezes.
7. When relighting your furnace pilot, flip both switches at once. Note: It is a silly question to ask where the pilot flame is. Trust me, when it's on, you'll know! They look like after-burners.
8. H2O pilots aren't too bad to relight either, but having a flashlight to look underneath makes it easier.
9. Always investigate water coming down your neighbor's siding. You may find H20 running out the garage and front stoop with ceilings collapsed and 2 feet of H20 inside as well.
10. When installing doorknobs, sometimes the directions are wrong and you have to reverse the direction of the latch to get it to close.
11. Shampooers are very handy to clean up creamy colored carpet with hot chocolate spilt.
12. After having so many little things go wrong, your home radar may be elevated. This increase in paranoia that something else is wrong does not mean your fridge has stopped running. FYI...You may find yourself standing with the door open trying to get it to kick on just to settle your nerves.
13. Sometimes your circuit breaker switches stick! You have to press them really, really hard to the side to get them to reset. FYI...Electricians say they like house calls for people who don't know how to flip the switches, but then again, they may think you are a little "green" for calling them.
14. Battery connected smoke alarms throughout the house are not a plus when they decide to have an uprising against their owner. What at first sounds like birds chirping to one another all over the house, soon begins to take away every one of your last nerves. Note: Changing all the batteries only helps if you shut the windows to keep the 1/10 of smoke from the neighbor's barbecue from drifting in 12 blocks away.
15. Home ownership has a continuous growth curve! I'm sure there will be more musings in the future.
Anybody else have some great home moments to share?

More Shades SP day 1

Got to hang with some geese.

Watched the geese fly onto the rockface for a break

Boys on the swings

Hard to see...but turkey vultures were perked together and would circle the creekbed.

David, Michael, Lance, Eric, & Me all tired out from hiking!

More Shades SP day 1

Fungi on trees

Mysterious hole in the tree

More funky fungi!

Devil's punch bowl panorama

Canoe Island panorama

More Shades SP day 1

The boys with rugged terrain.

Note: No lovers were spotted on the trail; however, we located their leaping point.

Note: Didn't see any steamboats either.

Tall trees! Little people.

View of the falls.

Shades State Park Day #1

Lance's friends Michael and David joined Eric and I on our hiking adventure. They had fun at the covered bridge where we had lunch.

The water was running pretty high today having had so much rain recently.

The day turned out to be lovely with warm sunshine, breezy, and no rain!

There was a sign on the bridge saying that you were to "cross while walking." I wondered,
"Is it really that unsafe if I cross running? Perhaps I don't want to cross on a bridge at all that rules out everything but walking."

E.P. Flashbacks

In honor of middle bro's bday, Lance and I have decided to give a shout out of some of our favorite Eric-isms and memories.
1. In case you didn't know, Eric's middle name is Patrick. Coincidence that he was born on St. Patty's day? I don't think so! As far as I know, he didn't have a middle name so it's a good thing he was born on today's date and Patrick isn't half bad combined with Eric. And to add to the irony, our mother's name is Patricia but she used to go by "Patty." Creepy, creepy, creepy! Another word on the bro's name....Eric Patrick....That's right. His initials are E.P. Our great-grandfather used to say they stood for "Energy Plus" b/c Eric was uncontainable as a little tyke.
2. Speaking of uncontainable....our mom swore she would never get one of those harness things for kids. You know, the one's that look like they're for dogs but parents inevitably strap them onto their offspring and attach one end to their wrist to prevent losing their child in grocery stores. Well, Eric was a mover, shaker, and changer. Mom changed her mind real quick with E.P. on the loose and Eric was hinged to a blue and white harness everywhere he went for quite awhile.
3. In typing about losing kids.....I'm reminded that Eric has been lost several times over the years. Once at a Christian training in Green Lake, Wisconsin. We finally found him climbing a tree. I believe he also holds the record for most times forgotten at the laundromat in Litchfield, Illinois.
4. Laundromats remind me of water. Eric has always been a fan of the water. We used to swim for hours and he was quite good at splashing you right in the eyes! Talented brother of ours! We never did heed the warning to wait 15 minutes after eating before swimming but never regretted the decision. Mom never wanted to be confused if we were playing or actually needing help. Our secret code word for playing lifeguard and not yelling help was "peanuts."
5. One thing you should always know about Eric's love of water is that there are limits. Take water on sidewalks for example. Never spray a sidewalk with ants on it and Eric nearby. The bro will quickly race to protect their colonies and save the queen from certain demise.
6. In reference to ants, Eric has loved ants for years. He had ant colonies in the house, spent hours pouring over ant colonies in the yard, played the game "SimAnt," and has transported colonies from North Carolina to Illinois via bus to keep them alive. Dedication to the survive (or takeover) of ants!
7. Eric has spent several summers in North Carolina. He has some the best kid quoteables from working at camp Ridgecrest. I never tire of hearing him tell them. One of my favorites is when the camp had their annual breakfast where the staffers and campers would throw, slingshot, and toss the food in the mess hall. Apparently one camper couldn't quite handle the chaos. Cowering under the table, he exclaimed, "It's like a bad dream I can't wake up from! It's a NIGHTMARE!!!!!"
8. Eric's camp name bestowed to him by fellow staffers was "sage meerkat." Sage of course references wisdom. I'm not sure what the meerkat's all about. If you weren't aware, Eric has vast amounts of knowledge on just about any topic...probably how he ended up with the sage part of his name. Many of these facts are random and uninteresting but usually true.
9. Eric's love of facts goes way back. He used to read these mini-encyclopedia books and regurgitate the 411 to whoever was in earshot. One book was every type of truck known to man. Another was on dinosaurs.
10. Speaking of books, Eric used to love the book "Trouble with Trumpets." You may not know this, but it is not actually about musical intruments, but really about creatures called Trumpets who fought against the Grumpets. See said book for more details.
11. FYI...Eric did play the musical instrument...the trumpet before moving onto the french horn.
12. Eric does enjoy many aspects from the French. That is to say, Nutella, crepes, french fries, french toast; however, he does not speak French but only a little Spanish.
13. Now many of the Spanish persuasion tend to fall in the Catholic genre of religiosity. Incidentally, Eric attend 4 years of undergraduate education in Catholic insitutions. He did his first 2 years at Springfield College (where I also went for a year) and then transfered to Benedictine University to finish his health sciences degree.
14. Unsure of what to do with his health sciences degree, he now has a great job health coaching people with WebMD.
15. Last fall, Eric put his web skills to work when he was the covert creator of the blog "Hunt for Pumpkin October."
16. Eric is not naive to the world of the covert. He used to play covert operations when we lived in the country. Back in the day, we used walkie-talkies to communicate between lookout posts (i.e. trees) while awaiting incoming persons (i.e. parents coming up the driveway in the car). Our favorite game was fighting (i.e. throwing dirt clods) dinosaurs (i.e. trees) while hunkered down on Dinosaur Hill (i.e. the pile of dirt left over from digging the house).
17. Since we're communicating all things bro here, Mom used to think Eric had a hearing problem since he didn't really talk until he was two. Turns out, he didn't. I personally believe that he more that makes up for it now (smile) and only suffered from "selective hearing" as a child.
18. Also as a child, Eric and I had a sandbox. We were supposed to "share" it but often had to have Mom come out and measure the middle to draw a line. Now, I liked to build elaborate cities with my half. Eric liked to pretend creatures or aircrafts were attacking his half. These attacks incidently resulted in "bombs" hitting my buildings as well.
19. Remember when hairclips were big in the late 80s? Well, Eric thought my hairclips were the perfect shape to replicate aircrafts. Sometimes my hairclip/aircrafts were "relocated to the mudhole where they lined up in fleets.
20. Farm and Fleet happens to sell items that are necessary for the makings of manly men including the rugged and durable material called fleece. Eric can usually be found lounging at home with his favorite, hole-peppered fleece.
21. Eric's favorite movies include Star Wars, Short Circuit, and Lord of the Rings.
22. Speaking of wars, Eric used to have a shirt that said "Civil War Nut" on it. He loves to watch the History channel for hours.
23. He also voluntarily took classes on history in college and enjoys history books in addition to the History channel.
24. He also likes to watch Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel.

Well, in honor of Eric's 24th bday, I shall conclude the list with 24. Hopefully, the myth of Eric has been somewhat cleared up with this 24 insights into my loveable, hilarious, and entertaining brother.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO!

Hiking Anyone?

The bros and I are planning a hiking extravaganza. We're thinking Good Friday and possibly Saturday as well. Maybe leave around 9:30 for Shades and Turkey Run. It's sort of a bday hike for Eric as he's a St. Patty's baby.
Anyone interested in going with?
Anyone remember last year's bday hike with the bro? Brrrrr! It was a polar stroll.....

Idol Rewind

The roommie and I have thoroughly enjoyed laughing about the infamous idol wannabe who brought us the heartfelt ballad "I am your Brother." If you recall, it goes something like this...
I am your brother
Your best friend forever
Singing the songs
The music that you love
Brothers til the end of time
Together or not
You're always in my heart
You hurt your feelings
And you will rain on mine
I love you brother
by: Renaldo Lapuz - "I am Your Brother"

In honor of the roommie and dedicated to all the roommies out there...I think there should be another version that goes something like this...
I am your roommie
Until your graduate Purdue
Or get married forever
To the man that you loooooove!
Roommie's til the end of lease
Together or not
We're just a cell phone call apart
You have a bad week
And come home to chat with me
We are Roommies!
by: Abby Wright (yes that's right...another Abby's Original)

P.S. It was after 8 pm when I wrote this so I am clearly not responsible for this Friday night madness that has made it's way onto the blog.
P.P.S If inquiring minds want to know, this is what some single girls do with too much free time on the weekend...blog bizarre lyrics to songs better left forgotten.
P.P.P.S. I had just answered my own question of why I am still said single. ;)

Tips of the Week

1. When attending a funeral, remember that funerals can have an oddness to them. People don't always act like themselves at funerals.
2. After attending said funerals, remember to do will, trust, and wrap up legal issues to save family members headaches when I die.
3. Don't try to search out will paperwork online. Go straight to suzeorman.com, pay $13 and follow her interactive will and trust kit to complete said paperwork.
4. Remind yourself that said paperwork cannot be completed in one 2 hour sitting and will take substantial time to finish.
5. Remember to live each day for the Kingdom. I don't want to go and have people wondering what I was really living for. Purpose with action is a good daily plan to stay on the straight and narrow.
6. Big things are big things. Little things are little things.
7. Loving others makes serving others go much smoother.

Red dog, blue dog. Little dog, big dog.

More funny comments from the little people this week....
While playing blocks with some kids, two girls were discussing the "houses" we were apparently building with the said blocks. At first, castles were the theme but then our true-blue American gals requested "houses" for the day's activities. One little girl declared, "We are making a big, beautiful house!" I asked if she lived in a big, beautiful house. She said she did. The other girl, who is typically so quiet you forget she can talk, piped in, "I live in a small, beautiful house." That's right people. Never forget...you can live in a big or small but still beautiful house.
:)

Ageless sayings....

So I forgot to post these funny comments overheard several weeks ago, but was reminded of them today.
During a discussion with some 2-3 year olds, (and mind you they are all 2 or 3. no other age choices) some funny responses arose when questioning them about their age. The prompter told the children to pick #2 or #3 as their respective answers. Well, some of the kids were practically hovering over their chairs with anticipation to shout "Two!" or "Three!" One little girl hung her head dejectedly and sadly responded, "I'm still three." (Apparently a bit of a touchy subject as three must be a bad age to be). Another girl with brown curls exclaimed, "Five!" while proudly shoving her spread hand in the air. Upon redirection that her choice was two or three, she adamantly shouted, "Five!!!" There was no winning on this battle. Five must be the preferred age to be...who knew?
I wonder....at what age do we stop shouting out with pride our age?
I can remember anticipating the next number because it meant some new priviledge would be coming my way. Kids are such wonderful reminders of the age-old dilemma with ...well....age.

Family Pics from Illinois

Aunt Ginny and Uncle Gene

Eric, Me, Mom, & Lance

Lance, Rusty (our cousin), and Eric

Gal Pals.. Aunt Ginny, Mom, and Me

Eagle's Landing

Going to the graveside part of the service on Friday, we were excited to see an eagle that was just hanging out in the field. I tried driving closer but he decided to fly up to a tree. We later went over to the river to see 40+ bald eagles sitting in the wooded river bed.

Home Sweet Home....

Lance enjoyed some couch time while working on homework.

Dovey, my cat, in typical fashion....that is to say sleeping. I call him a "rack-a-doodle" when he crashes like this.

Lance's cat, Tang, was the same as always....weird. He prefers Eric to cradle him like a baby and check out his surroundings.

He looks innocent but really he's just waiting for the opportunity to harrass the plants and knock them over.

So our trip home was eventful. The cats were bathed...haha....They hate this with a passion and you have to double team them to contain their rebellion. (Thanks bros for managing this. You both deserve manly awards for this feat alone). After their subsequent washings, they were extra soft and cuddly. Yeah! We got to observe the daily entertainment of the cat "smack down." Dovey won. He tends to get in a position to completely thump Tang's head until he cries. The only way Tang wins is when he does this sumo move and sits on Dovey.

I didn't get the day I wanted, Go Fish.

You know those moments you have when you think to yourself, "Man...it's kindda been a rough day. Just wanna grab some stuff (like a big bottle of Tylenol for the massive headache you can feel coming on and some cheese so the bro can survive on quesadillas til kingdom comes) and make it back to the homestead without people interaction. Clearly, today was not to be one of those days.
So I managed to make it in Walmart, grab my tremendous bottle of Tylenol (yes even I succomb to the drug world to battle the headache occasionally) because I'm not going to pay twice as much for a small one and make my way to secure cheese. On my way back to the checkout, I think, "hmmm... not really about cooking tonight and what will the bro eat in the next 48 hours before we leave to Illinois?" The obvious answer is of course "Pizza!" so I select the biggest pizza I can find and continue on to checkout paradise. While heading to the homestretch, I see Emily, friend of the Jonelly.
Emily is stocked with fancy recipes to cook the mostest for her honey and cordially points out me that the bro and I must be dining on the fabulous goodness that is a ....pizza. (I couldn't help but think how ironic this is since I'm hardly ever 1. buying something on the fly and 2. not making dinner from scratch.) Feeling a little awkward with my big bottle of legal pain suppressants and cheese, the moment was not to be better.
Rounding the corner are more of Jonelly's friends, Bill, Summer and girls. Loaded in two carts with a few more sensible items than myself, we also converse. Bill notes I must be having pizza to which I replied in the affirmative. Lilly, Bill and Summer's oldest declares, "Fish."
Glancing in the cart, I see she indeed is travelling around with a live, plastic bag encapsulated fish. I note the fish and ask if it's a new fish. Bill and Lilly said the last fish "melted." Now, I work with kids and I've yet to hear this verdict on the little flippers. I also have a brother who typically resides with some finned friends and have not hear of this demise from him either.
"Melted," I query. "Did the water heat up too much?"
Bill explains that no the fish did not die from heat but that the last fish met his match with the porcelain resting place; however, Lilly doesn't quite grasp the whole "death" concept. Clearly, Bill and Summer have opted for the close second to the Biblical view of departure....the melting explanation which apparently kids take to like...well, like fish to water.
So all is well with the world. Lilly is very excited to announce to strangers that flippy died from melting, I got a little dose of humility with my large pizza and drug stash, and the Pool's are dining on a feast tonight.

On Guard!!!

The rockin refuge is well guarded tonight. Never fear, Lance's lego men are here! That's right... no intruders getting in the second story windows with the yellow and blue on duty.

More Tmac pics