An update from the apartment of Ben, Shona and Kate

Hi everyone,
There are actually some new things in my life. To begin with I am actually fairly busy. I started classes with The Animal Behavior College (clicker here to go to their website) to get a certificate in dog training. In addition, I'll be taking supplementary courses in training shelter dogs, dog massage (:D), dog walking and pet sitting and operating my own business. Vocational Rehab is paying for this for which I am very blessed.

I've also been spending a LOT of time at the Kennel Club. Let's see here are some of the classes I have finished up: Introduction to agility (Benny); Beginners Rally (Benny); Basic Obedience (Benny); Introduction to agility (Shona); Basic Obedience (Shona). In July I will also be assisting in teaching a basic obedience class and taking Shona to a Beyond Basic class. My father will be handing Benny in this class and we might switch around a bit. I wanted them both in the class but couldn't figure out how to handle both at once so my dad graciously agreed to handle Benny for me. I am also attending an Advanced Obedience one on one session once a week. I plan to show Benny at the end of July at the open class at the 4-H fair dog show in obedience. It seems fitting as the last time I was in the show ring was at the 4-H dog show and the first time I will be returning is there again.

I also am working with my first service dog client. This is an adventure in and of itself. It's going to be a mobility dog and hopefully help a young man with fetching things, opening doors, the fridge etc. It is a shelter dog that lives at their home and their resources are limited so I'm not sure how this will turn out but it's a good experience.

Let's see...Shona is now officially taking over Benny's jobs. Benny became (and continues to be) very protective of me and started to growl. This is not acceptable in a service dog so I made the very difficult decision to at least temporally retire him. Also, he is going through the teenage dog years and is a monster currently. I'm hoping he will mature a litte in the next six months to a year and perhaps resume his duties at least on a somewhat limited bases. The good news is that Shona thrives with a job. She is a completely different dog with a vest on than you see in the house. She is calm, attentive and loves to work. You won't believe it unless you see it so I hope someday you will join us on an outing.

I think that's about it for my life now. It's full and more busy than I have been in a long time but I'm enjoying it. Here are a few dog pictures for your enjoyment. :)

May Third Thursday - goofy dogs - I tag teamed them this day and they both worked.

Shona working at a used bookstore in Wichita

Shona now lives in the apartment with Benny and I. The contraptions on Benny's head is a type of cone. He has hurt himself twice in the last month.

Benny in his "cone"

Shook Report

Hello from Wichita:


While I write this, I am being serenaded by Samuel on his electric guitar.  For those of you who watch facebook, he has a link with one of the songs his band has been working on. Since we wrote last Samuel has graduated and as some of you know we found out he had mono while we were in Texas visiting Hannah.  He seems to be feeling pretty well.  We finally were able to get senior pictures taken before we left:)  The photographer is doing the touch-up work and then we will share with everyone.  Samuel is planning to teach English in China for six months and would leave after Andrew's wedding.  We are finding out details about the school set-up and starting lists of things to check on and do before he leaves.

Erik has been taking a summer class - genetics.  He is also helping with research for one of his professors.  They are looking for the bacteria in lakes that can cause children to get ?(sleeping sickness?)  He has also been playing frisbee and "cooking" for himself as the cafeteria is not open during the summer.  He has a little fridge and microwave to produce cheese quesidillas, microwave mac and cheese,and little containers of instant potatoes which he says are quite good -  and lots of cereal:)

Tim is winding down his work at Southwestern.  Summer music festival went very well this year.  He will be interviewing two people the first of July to fill the band position.  Then hopes to have a couple of weeks off.  He will have MTNA meetings in Salt Lake and a vacation in Minnesota.

My work has been busy.  In May we made the Goodville top 10 list!.  A list of the top 10 agents in regards to how many policies were sold.  We were actually number 7 due to the large number of policies we wrote in May.  The garden is doing much better this year.  I have 3 tomatoes on the two plants.  The cucumbers and beans are blooming well.  The the potato plants still look healthy:)!

I wanted to add pics from Samuel's graduation and our visit to Hannah's but Walgreens photo dept was not working today.  So check back later for pictures!

Stay cool! Vicki, Tim, Erik, Samuel

A little link to share

Betty’s introduction and a little announcement are up on my blog today!

Productivity vs Pleasure

Hello Family!

Sorry for the delay! This has been quite a year - one of which James and I both seem to be favoring productivity at the expense of pleasure. We both have just finished our first year in a new job and are currently re-evaluating how to balance work and life for the coming year. The first relaxing project for me as the summer began was planting a few herbs. Our apartment is on the second floor, but we have quite a bit of balcony space, which seems to be working well so far.

Basil and Thyme

Mint and Rosemary

James and I enjoy spending as much time as we can outside, so we are trying to actively make time to walk, jog, swim, and kayak. Our latest trip to the Lady Bird Lake hike and bike trail down town was full of wildlife. We saw two lizards, quite a few turtles, and a water moccasin (a big one)!

Next on the list of summer's fun activities was a visit from Mom, Dad, and Samuel! We started with a unique Austin sushi experience at a restaurant called Roll-On Sushi Diner. They have rolls you've never heard of or tasted before, but they are exceptionally yummy and help with the city's motto "Keep Austin Weird" :-)! We decided our favorite was The Grouch with guacamole - roasted chicken, green chile, jack cheese, caramelized onions, arugula, chipotle aoli, and sushi rice rolled in a soy wrapper.

Roll-On Sushi Diner in Austin, TX

As we are posting on Father's Day, we would like to recognize all of those Dads out there that have given us so much. Thank you Grandpa for showing us how to raise a family and keeping us close even though many of us are now miles away from home. Thank you to my dad for instilling in his children a curiosity that continually refreshes us as we travel and wake up to new days full of possibility. May God bless them and Uncle Randy, Uncle Tim, Dan, and David! We not only have Dads, but we have engaged and loving fathers that truly care, say it and show it! THANK YOU!!!

James and I are looking forward to visiting Andrew and Katie in Chicago this July! I plan to be back in Kansas at least once this summer although I don't quite know when yet. Until then, take care and remember to do the things that make you smile!

Love,
Hannah and James

Johnston life

Things are always consistent but never boring at our house!

We traded blog dates with the Rivers because things were exceptionally busy at our house during our time slot. Now that the wedding is over, we can breathe again for a couple of weeks before a trip to KC. What kept us busy you ask? I will tell you.

After spray tanning for the first time last Thursday, (with bridesmaids for the wedding) I had some color for the first time… well, ever! It was cold! It was such a foreign and awesome experience! Dave just kept staring at me and saying “It’s so weird to see you tan!” We’ve known each other for half our lives, so I can see why it’s strange to him!

Friday morning Pam came to watch the girls because I went to get pedicures and pre-wedding stuff done in Wichita. Friday night we had rehearsal and dinner. Adelynn had so much fun dancing and playing with the two flower girls (age 5 and 3). I had my last sleepover with Amee (bride), and we turned in early and got up early – which is the opposite of every sleepover we have ever had!

We were at the church at 7:30am with Starbucks in hand. We spent the morning relaxing and getting ready for the day.

(Throwback to 5 years ago Friday!!! – when the roles were reversed.)

I was lucky to get to walk with a friend of mine from my 8th grade class. (Tristan Fouard) The whole wedding was a little reunion, and when you have 21 classmates, it’s fun to see everyone again.

After the reception wound down, we sent Ava with my parents to go home to Pam who had Adelynn (she was sick) and we went to dinner with close friends and some family for more wedding celebration in Wichita. We got home in time for bed. We got up for church the next morning then went to scarf down lunch and for me to head to our Women’s Ministry “P” Party at Regena Garber’s house.

After the party I got home at 7, cleared my calendar for Monday, and went to bed. I had about 6 awake hours at home over the weekend.

Women’s Ministry is something I love to be a part of. We get together about 2-3 evenings a month at Metro to plan events for the women in our church – our quarterly events include all 3 campuses. We are always there until closing time, and when the weather allows, we finish our conversation outside after 10. Dave knows not to expect me home early on those nights I have done this for a year and have loved every minute!

For this party, I was in charge of music and making cups for our parfait bar – I took light responsibility since I had such a wild wedding weekend!

Regena’s poppies are beautiful! She’s sharing her seeds, so watch for some of these beauties at our house next Spring!

This weekend was much calmer for us. We had a couple of BBQs, a swimming night, family time, time with friends and actually got out to go to a movie!

Bruce has started sleeping with Adelynn during nap and until we send him to the basement for the night. It’s taken 3 years, but he finally loves her

Speaking of cats… we have a new one. Not intentionally, but because she found us. And surprisingly, Dave is the reason we are keeping her.

This is Betty. She lives outside (and in the garage at night) for now until her ear mites are gone (they are contagious.) And then she will move inside. We aren’t sure of her story, but she is very young and playful. She was skin and bones when she came to us and didn’t know how to use a litter box. Thankfully she has made a great home here.


Ava is 3 months old already! She is constantly complimented on how happy and content she is. She’s a good baby and an awesome sleeper! At night she consistently sleeps 11-12 hours straight without stirring and during the day takes about 4 naps. Most are an hour and one is 3 hours. She laughed out loud at Dave on Saturday – twice! Then again at my Dad that night. It’s not a belly laugh yet, but it’s such a sweet giggle.

Adelynn danced in the rain.

Ava asleep in the ring sling.

The library had a Summer Celebration on Friday. Adelynn did many things and got lots of fun prizes, this is her helping with a volcano.

She was kind of small to do the sack race, but wanted to anyway. So he carried her and helped her “jump” the whole way. He was so sweet. Then we went inside and signed up for the Summer reading program. It’s not really a full summer long when the program is only 10 books… we signed up Friday and we are done now and headed to the library tomorrow to claim our prizes!

Sister still loves her baths!

Adelynn doesn’t want her to be bored!

It’s rough when you are too big to nap and too little to skip nap.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Summer!

Rivers Ripple

We are another 3 months out! Where did the Spring go? Summer is upon us, warm weather has finally decided to stay, and we are looking toward some exciting times this summer.

Most days are busy, even if we are just around the house.

Sarah has continued to be at home full time, although she did start back to ViaChristi Rehab in April. She plans to pick up some extra PRN hours while there is easy childcare available(thanks Grandma)!  Rainbows continues to use her to score Sensory Profiles and will contact her as needed.  The two and three year old Sunday school class has kept her on her toes-we'll take the summer off.  She has tried several new recipes, including several related to her recent dairy-soy free commitment. She has almost read two books, and has managed to squeeze in a visit/walk/coffee date with a friend

1x/ month (barely!).  

Dan has continued with his work at KWCH. He is still enjoying it. Over lunch, he runs regularly and has ran 2 5Ks this spring.  Olivia has been inspired to run as a result.  "I run, like daddy!"   While he's been on hiatus from church band, Dan has been leading a Transformers music band for a gig in August and working on his Brisco comic(if you'd like to see the comic and don't do Facebook let us know!).

Olivia is 2.5! She is beginning to be even more independent and enjoys doing things herself. Daily she's testing boundaries, learning new things, and playing hard. Livee is taking 'nastics at the Y with Sarah. She's also expressed interest in soccer. Recently, she got a trike. Her favorites continue to be dress up, puzzles, LEGOS/blocks, and painting.  She still enjoys baking.

Kinley, now 23 weeks (5 months), is beginning to blossom into glimmers of her personality. She is easy-going and sweet and likes to be held and cuddled. She's had quite the past 3 months, medically speaking. Since the beginning of April, we've been to the doctor every week. Visits to our regular doctor, dermatologist, cardiologist, and gastroenterologist have lead to cleared cradle cap, the discovery of a hole in her heart(ASD) and a heart murmur, various reflux med trials, and a mysterious rash that comes and goes. We also suspect a dairy and soy sensativity.  Although she often stirs at night due to her reflux, Kinley is now sleeping in her crib in the girls' room.  Kinley's favorites are her crinkly toys, soft toys, and laying on the floor to play.

Not to be left out, Brisco had a UTI and we discovered he has a heart murmur in April.  His allergies have flared up a bit in the past few weeks, but it could be because he has Olivia convinced that she should share every bit of food with him.

We enjoyed our trip to NYC to see Aunt Mary and Uncle Kurtis in March. Various spring visits and activities helped the never-ending winter seem tolerable. Although honestly speaking, it's been a bit more stressful with the medical appointments, challenging toddler behavior, and finding a balance.  Just in case we don't have enough to manage, as we head into summer, we are preparing to put our house on the market! Anyone want to watch girls while we clean, touch up some paint, and simplify? 

Catch our happenings(likely abbreviated for a bit) at theriverscurrent.blogspot.com