May Update

We have waited so long for spring and now it seems
more like summer!  Temperatures have been in the 90s
the last couple days.

We are looking forward to the new underground sprinkling
system.  And hopefully the lawn will begin to look good
again.

Grandpa is doing better with his new machine.  It is called a Smartvest
and it helps to keep his lungs clear.

Pam & I have a garden again.  Have potatoes up and planted
tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers & egg plant. The rabbit has his
eye on it too but so far hasn't chewed through the plastic fence.
He did eat most of the tulips before they had a chance to bloom.

Our first workday at the pasture was rather chilly but we got a
lot accomplished. We  have another one scheduled for this week-end.

Hello from Wichita:

Our time is not as busy as some of you have posted but it still seems to go fast!  Tim has been busy with interviews to replace two faculty.  One retiring and one moving on.  They have found two that they hope work well.  He is also calming students who seem to think Southwestern will fall apart with these two people leaving.  He continues to teach private lessons as well.

Vicki recovered from her surgery in February and was happy that no further treatment was necessary.  Thank you all for the prayers.  I finished directing the hand bells in April and they are polished and put away till the fall.  That frees up Wednesday evenings - probably for yard work:)  April also provided a week in Chicago.  I was asked to watch Theo as Katie had a conference out of town.  Her mom was traveling with her dad and Andrew's office moved to downtown Chicago that week and he wasn't sure what his schedule would be.  So of course I have pictures:)

 In the park he liked watching the other kids.

 Andy took off Wednesday and we went to Botanica

I also helped make table decorations for Nami

Erik continues to send out resumes and job applications.  He has had one interview but finally gave up on them even though they said he was still in the running every time he called.  I think the one he would most like now is Tanganika.  The hours would be days so no interference with Ultimate:)
One of his shipmates came to visit in March.  He showed her all the sites in Wichita and Hutch.  Her name is Jessica. 

Samuel continues to write music and practice his violin, guitars and piano.  He has been planting various things and was able to grow a pepper plant from seed.  We have great looking potatoes, onions and garlic in the garden.  He has a couple of lavender seeds that sprouted and today he found an avacado sprout!

Best wishes for an enjoyable spring.
Love,  The Wichita Shooks

Maybe Spring

Today, it seems like maybe spring is actually here.  I’m not sure how much longer I can keep my succulents a live inside.  They are ready for some outdoor temps.

50% success on this pot!  One survived and one did not.

So far so good with purple hippo.

We’ve had a busy spring.  Plus, work is at it’s peak.  We have about 900 campers enrolled of which each generates 3 pieces of paper at the minimum.  You get the picture.  Add in doing rocket launches, trash can launches and puppet shows and my work week equals about 48-50 hours currently.  I did get to write a puppet show called Mr Meet Moon.  It turned out well and shocked so many co workers!  They didn’t know I had a creative side, only the organized side.  Now if they only knew about the side that is interested in bones and dead animal carcasses….. oh maybe it is better if I keep that to myself.

Rat carcass in a pasture trap.  I really wanted to study how the bones went together but the smell was too bad to get that close.

Tim and I enjoyed a day trip to Liberal. Chris and Theresa are settled in and Chris loves his work.  If you are ever out that way, he gives a great tour of the museum.

Yes, you can get in this plane.

Kids area inside

Plane outside

Tim traveled to San Diego to drop Kate off for a 30 day trauma program.  He wasn’t there long but enjoyed the different plants and such.  He then came home for a day and left again for a conference in Kansas City.  The pets were very confused by this coming and going to say the least.

We are helping Tyson with some house spiffying while Kate is gone.  Mostly it includes paint, cleaning and just rearranging.  They never quite got settled in after the move.  Tyson planted grass first thing after Kate left in hopes it will be up when she returns.  As he remarked, Kate has no patience when it comes to waiting for the grass to grow.  He knows her well.

Here’s to a great spring and summer.

Love Auntie and Uncle Tim

Rivers Ripple

We are already well into 2018! It’s been a good start to the year for our family, and hard to believe we are looking ahead to summer already!
We enjoyed a family ski trip to Ski Cooper in mid-February. Aside from some unforeseen hiccups, we had a fun time. The girls learned to ski and we got to spend some time with Grammy and Grandpa too. The hiccups included a very cold first night, some delays for Grammy and Grandpa, and Spring winds!
Dan is hard at work most days. He’s working from home for Gray Communications still building touchscreen apps, supporting products, and doing web work. He’s also nearly done with his Masters degree coursework! He’s had a band break since the New Year, but they are hopefully going to have a lead singer soon. His knee surgery in October went well, but it has limited his winter running.
Sarah added a few new things over the past few months. She continues to drive the Rivers taxi five days a week. She’s been volunteering in Olivia’s class every 6 weeks and helping with the class parties. Recently she’s started New Parent Outreach with the Down Syndrome Society of Wichita. Basically when a new family is referred, one of a team makes contact to share resources and welcome the new baby. They seem to come in waves, we just had three new families. Sarah also helped with the connections date in February (make it and take it activities).  Teaching Sunday school for Kinley’s class (and often Olivia and a few other older kids) has been a good use of time. In the in between there is music class, playgroups, playtime with Kinley and Emily, exercise at the Y, and the daily laundry and house stuff.  She reduced her work Saturdays in 2018, so is now working  2 Saturdays every other month and just one Saturday on the other months.  Sarah recently found out she received a scholarship to attend the Down syndrome Conference in Dallas, TX in July!
Olivia is enjoying first grade.  Her reading has really improved since fall and she likes math.  Her favorites at school are recess and lunch, she's pretty social.  Olivia recently had her first grade music program and had a line in it.  Olivia has taken swim lessons, gymnastics, and is currently participating in soccer.  She hopes to take ice skating lessons this summer.  On Wednesdays, she and Kinley attend Elevate at church.  In her free time you will find her playing outside in the sandbox or rollerblading, playing with Kirsten doll, pretending house or some other elaborate scenario.  She also loves to draw.
Kinley is having a good year in preschool.  She is excited for Kindergarten next year!  She will have Kindergarten Connection at the end of April.  At preschool, she has several friends whom she enjoys playing with.  Kinley is taking swim lessons and is in dance academy at the Y.  She is excited for a recital in May.  On Tuesdays, Kinley goes to music group and every afternoon Kinley has soaked up time with Mommy playing.  Kinley enjoys pretending with various small figurines, playing house with Olivia, and playing Barbies.  She also enjoys games, puzzles, and coloring.  She just got a scooter at the consignment sale, so is excited for warm weather to ride it.
Emily turned two on February 1st.  She has been walking since shortly after she turned 25 months.  But, was starting to take steps before then.  :)  Since starting to walk, she has grown up so much!  She has a bit of a sassy attitude and is enjoying getting into anything she can.  Emily has therapy on Mondays (Rainbows Early Intervention and private speech therapy),  music group on Tuesdays, playgroup on Wednesdays, and sometimes swimming on Thursdays (when our schedule allows).  She loves music best.  She currently has 20+ signs that she can use.  She's imitating so much in terms of signing and actions to songs right now.  Her favorite songs are Roly Poly, Ring Around the Rosy, Oh, Elephant!, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and 5 Little Monkeys Swinging From A Tree.  She uses a handful of words.  Emily's thyroid level came back high, indicating hypothyroidism in February so she has started on a thyroid medication.  This is not uncommon in Down syndrome, however we will visit the pediatric endocrinologist at the end of April to be sure it is managed well.  The cardiologist felt like it may have been off for awhile as she's had the fluid around her heart for no reason for awhile.  It was better at the check up in March which he felt like might be because of the medication.
Brisco is an older doggie, costing us big bucks in October, but still gets around just fine most days.  He spends his days sleeping on the couch in Dan's office and leisurely enjoying life.

Whew!  I think that's a pretty good overview of what our lives have involved in the past few months.

Emily's 2 year old pics preview

Kinley playing in the Easter grass

Easter church ready!

After a day of ski school.

Skiing with Grandpa!

Our family on Easter Sunday after church.