Zach's Turn

Bryce already got his 'brag' spot on my blog, and I promised Zach would get his turn soo here goes.

The three of us kids were...well...unruly as children. I highly doubt 'unruly' does our craziness justice, but the blog would be entirely too long if I went into detail. I am sure you all guessed that I was the angelic one who was always brought into trouble by my crazy brothers, clearly not my fault (mom don't laugh). Ok, so not really. We all took our turns leading the 'adventures' and enjoyed testing anyone who crossed our path. Bryce had a 'terror time' in his early years and I am sure they will be revisited while he is at college. I made sure to leave my mark over the years but would consider my 'terror time' the teen years. And, Zach, he has had a constant 'terror time' in my opinion, but his reign of terror was definitely in his early 20's, so now it is time for him to settle down :o) And I believe he is on his way to normalcy.

On Easter, we all got to witness Zach's baptism. He has been involved in a men's bible study and working really hard on bettering himself. He has a fabulous girlfriend (if any of you know me...it is quite difficult to obtain my approval when it comes to my brother's girlfriends). My opinion, good or bad, is always known. Love ya Brittany! Needless to say we (I) are very pleased with the road big brother has chosen.

Zach's job has been another 'battle' so to speak. For a few years after college he spent all his time working a Lowe's...obviously this is not what he went to school for. But eventually he got on at Peoria County Jail as a correction officer. With his law enforcement degree he was hoping to be on the streets but nothing was working out so he took the jail job. It was always entertaining when people would ask where the boys were...We would answer "Oh Bryce is still at Metamora playing football and Zach is still out at the County Jail" We often had to clarify this was a job not a punishment. Some people had looks of horror if we did not catch it early.

While Zach was working at the Jail he was constantly trying to get on at a department where he could work the streets (as a police officer of course). This process takes forever. Literally, the applicants must go through physical, emotional, psychological, and knowledge based tests. They had to pass lie detector tests, physicals that lasted 2-4 hours, and interviews. If they fail any or do not meet expectations they must start all over again. Zach was so close a while back and his lie detector test was 'inconclusive' so he started all over again. He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally passed everything this spring. HORRAY

On May 7th, the whole family go to go to City hall and watch him get sworn into the Peoria City Police Department. It was quite exciting!

Zach and two other guys swearing their lives away.

The whole family there to Support Zachy-poo. (L-R) Aunt Connie, Bryce, Me, Dad, Zach, Mom, Aunt Georgia (missing Leon because he is snapping pics)

The Sibs. Bubba's eyes are close but that's ok, we know he is special.

The badge....soo exciting

And of course it was in the middle of the day so i had two little munchkins following me around. Luckily they were very very well behaved. And Miss Caitlin thought her glasses would be a great addition to the outfit. Those of you with difficult children know that it was not even worth it to request that she take them off while in City Hall...just not even worth the battle.

So now Zachy is away at police training for 3 months. If he doesn't die or get kicked out he will be back and ready to work the streets in August. Police Training is a lot like Military boot camp so we pray he doesn't go insane. After all, Zach is the most 'delicate' out of use three siblings. Haha Love you Zach! Congrats and Good Luck

It's a WILD LIFE....

Especially when you spend the day at Wildlife Prairie Park with tons of children under the age of 5. I take the twins to a 'playgroup' Tuesday through Friday for a little socialization. Since they are not in kindergarten yet, it is important that they are around other kids (because they get sick of one another quite easily). East Peoria High School has a Child Development class and they request to have small children brought in for an hour and a half four days a week so the high schoolers can learn. Most of the HS students want to go into early childhood education when they start the program....Needless to say, not all of them stick with that career choice by the end.

Anyhow, the girls LOVE the program and their 'teachers'...as do I. Because it gives me at least an hour to run an errand without two little ones begging to do what they want to do. Another thing I love about the play group is that there are 2 fieldtrips. The first fieldtrip was to the Bloomington Children's Museum (Wonderful place!!!) and I got to go along. The second fieldtrip was to Wildlife Prairie Park. Since it is impossible to enjoy these places for just an hour, the fieldtrips last from 8 AM til 3 PM. And the best part is...i get to watch the girls without having to really watch them because they each have their own 'teacher.'

This is the whole group of munchkins with their HS teachers. We were missing a few kids this day. And it was chilly and sprinkled on us....but no one seemed to mind :o)

They started the morning with a Pre-School educational program which was awesome. The kids liked it, but I think I enjoyed it more :o) They talked about senses and about different animals and how they use their senses. So there was an owl (MY FAVORITE....I almost went over and hugged it I was so excited, but thought better of the situation), skunk, toad, and snake.

My Pretty little Owl Friend....its name is Oliver :o) And he hooted numerous times and the kids when wild. It was too cute.

Mr. Skunk...don't remember her real name because i was too busy watching the owl. But she was a cute also. The kids all plugged their noses when they brought her out, and one little girl hid under her chair. Rather amusing since the skunk didn't stink, and just laid there the whole time. Oh Kids...

Since it was such a nasty day, most of the animal outside were hard to find. But around lunch time they can out to feed....I think all the children we looking mighty yummy to the wolves. They were pacing along the fence. The kids didn't stay far from their teachers while we were here.

After all the walking and animal watching, it was time to ride the train and then head home. But before we headed home, we needed a little more excitement. SO we headed to the HUGE slide which the kids loved. Well, most of the kids. Delaney loved it, but Caitlin....she didn't get to enjoy it much.

The story goes like this. The first time we took a bathroom break, Caitlin had a little...freak out session (that's putting it nicely). If any of you have been to the Wildlife, you know the bathrooms in the museum area are not 1st class...or 2 class for that matter. They are basically glorified port-a-potties. Huge holes in the ground made to look like toilets. Well, Caitlin has sensory issues anyhow and these toilets were not too appealing. But when you have to pee you have to pee...so she went into the stall. About 30 seconds later we hear screaming...and this is not just a little squeal or two, I'm talking there is a bear chasing me kinda scream. Of course she was so frantic she could not unlock the door and we could not get in. Finally she came out in tears and informs us that there was a bug crawling up the toilet to get her. Well we survived that one but the second bathroom break was not as fun. Since the first event had her so worked up, she would not even go into a stall the second time. Finally I was able to get her into the stall as long as i was in there too (just in case). Well this still didn't help because she would sit on the toilet and cry and then jump off. But eventually i got her to go. Have I said lately how much i love children...I really do.

When we are at home, Caitlin probably goes to the bathroom about every hour. So i didn't let her drink too much because i knew there were going to be issues on this trip. But that didn't help much. Just as we were about to leave, Caitlin's teacher comes and gets me while everyone else is sliding...as i turn around to go with her Caitlin comes walking over to me. SOAKED...not even kidding. The child wet her pants. She was sooo scared of the toilet she would not even say that she had to go to the bathroom in fear of having to go back. So she peed her pants. I must say she handled it better than i would have. Didn't cry or anything just stayed by my side the whole way home....as i made her sit on a cardboard box (i know i know but i didn't want to clean the seats when she got up) So a 40 minute bus ride home and a 10 minute car ride and we were showered and clean once again. I wish i would have gotten a pic of her standing because it was priceless....but i could only snap one of her sitting on the bus with me. She allowed just one picture as long as her face was not in it. So here we go...

And as you can imagine, it was all down her legs in her shoes....everywhere. I just cannot WAIT to have kids of my own. Never a dull moment. But lesson learned....even at the age of 5 you should pack extra clothes when going on a fieldtrip.

Relay For Life

I Relay because my life has been forever changed by cancer. My body has not become the victim of cancer, but cancer has victimized many of my family and friends. I would do anything to take the pain away from the ones I love and Relay is just one event I can take part in to honor others.

Relay gives me the unique opportunity to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and support the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving mission by fighting back against a disease that has already taken too much from too many families.

One night of Relay is the least I can do to honor everyone who spends years and lifetimes battling cancer. I Relay for YOU: in memory of Family and Friends whose time on earth was cut short, to support the loves of my life who are currently fighting their battle, and to celebrate with everyone I hold dear to my heart who have won their battle.

I usually try to pick special people to honor each year at Relay. This year I am walking especially for Mrs. Bell, Katie Immel, and Angie Wenzel. Mrs. Bell was a great childhood mentor of mine. She and her husband often acted as grandparents to me as we baked cookies, celebrated grandparents day at school, and enjoyed Monical's pizza. Mrs. Bell gets her strength from God as she is currently battling bone cancer. Katie is my Chi Omega sorority sister. We spent a month in Nicaragua together a few years ago, and many many sorority functions. Strong does not even begin to describe Katie, as she is battling Leukemia. Angie was one of our Chi Omega Advisors at Carthage. Such a wonderful woman who would do anything to improve the future of the Women of Chi Omega. We lost Angie just a few weeks ago to Brain Cancer. I love all three of you...

Last year I watched my dreams come true as Carthage College had their first Relay For Life on campus. I had worked for 4 years with American Cancer Society to get Relay at Carthage, and with the help of a wonderful team, we pulled it off. Even though I could not join Carthage this year to celebrate a second Relay, this year I am joining Pekin's Relay For Life. My close friends, Jennie and Betsy, have a team there for a member of their family and are allowing us to join their team. I cannot wait!

Please help me reach some new goals this year by supporting my fundraising efforts. Your donations will help the American Cancer Society fund groundbreaking cancer research, provide up-to-date cancer information, advocate for all people to have access to screening and treatment, and offer free programs and services to improve the quality of life for people facing cancer. By being a part of Relay, we are joining a worldwide movement to help defeat cancer for future generations.

Donate Here!!