Views from in and around Charleston

Great Grandma's house



The tree out front of Great Grandma's house.



The front (north side) of the Jefferson Street house where Joey was born.
Notice there is no front door anymore—does that make it the back or side?



The same house—maybe the front?
A really dressed up, 2-year-old Andy stuck his arms in waste oil at this
house before attending a formal function. Aghhhh.



Barney the beagle dog lived with us at this house.
Also Timothy Macintosh the poodle who bit Andy's hands in play.



Johnson's Automotive, Inc. - just around the corner.

A view from out front of Rural King looking to the west—the high school on the right.
One can see all the way to campus - Old Main.



Westfield.

Audrey & Addison visit Great Grandma Cooper

Over Shenandoah's Spring Break Drew and I took Hannah and Valerie and Audrey and Addison to Charleston to see Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Cooper. We borrowed Joey's van and headed out one Wednesday morning. Great Grandma loved seeing the girls and especially got a kick out of their tricks of "Touchdown" and "Be Strong." The girls were all good travelers.




Addison in the car on the way to Illinois.

Valerie reading to Audrey on the way to see Great Grandma Cooper.

Valerie, Addison, Great Grandma Cooper, Audrey, and Hannah pose for a picture at home.



Hannah, Addison, Valerie, Audrey, and Drew visiting
Great Grandpa Cooper at the nursing home with Great Grandma Cooper.



Addison getting a kiss goodbye from Great Grandma Cooper.



Grandpa Drew serving ice cream to the girls.



Audrey tentatively eating her ice cream cone.

Addison digging in to her cone.

Happy Easter!

An archive photo from Easter 2008.

New Car

Miles per gallon on first tank — 38.9 just driving around town.

Hannah got her driver's license on Thursday last week in this little Toyota Yaris.
She even parallel parked after practicing once the night before
in this car, which she had only driven once.

Bat in The News

One night Drew came up and told me he saw a bat in the "shed," the back room behind Joey's studio where the kids keep their bikes and the bird seed. He took me down there to look for it a day or two later but we couldn't find it. We hoped it had gotten out somehow.

A couple of days later Joey came upstairs and said there was a bat in The News office. Drew and I followed Joey downstairs and, sure enough, there was a bat flying around in the office. We opened both doors and Drew stood at the back while Joey and I stood at the front with brooms. As the bat flew by us we swatted at it and tried to scare it out the door. It wouldn't go out for anything. Finally, after about ten minutes, Drew hit the bat squarely with his broom, it hit the floor, and ultimately it got caught in a softball pitching screen that was in the back of the office. We carried the net outside hoping the bat would untangle itself and fly away.

He spent the night out there and in the morning was still alive there. He would bite the net and hang on with his feet. We figured he hadn't eaten in a few days (figuring he was the same bat Drew saw in the shed) so he must have been hungry. Later that morning I took some pliers outside and untangled his wings and knocked him to the ground. He didn't ever move again and expired later that day. Sorry little bat, but you shouldn't mess with the Coopers.

Christmas Present is Installed!

As mentioned in a previous post, my children gave me a Lowe's gift card for Christmas to purchase a dishwasher. The following post shows Drew's progress and installation of the Bosch machine I picked out. I didn't know that dishes could be so clean out of a machine. There are no spots, bits of food or stains.

As of today, only one dish has been altered by the machine. I put an old dusty set of cups, saucers and bowls in the dishwasher one night when there was extra room. The next morning when I unloaded the machine, I thought the dust had stayed on one of the cups, but when I started drying it (it had a base that held water) I noticed that the inside had turned a dark brown and that had bled through to the outside. I guess as long as I serve coffee in the cup before the drinker sees the bottom, I will be ok. The cups aren't expensive or anything though they are pretty.

Drew making the sink table 4" taller to match normal sink heights now that our kids are taller.
Notice the huge puzzle Hannah was working on in the background.




Alien antennae - the new water pipes coming up from the basement.
Red for hot and blue for cold (duh).

The sink table back in place and all the plumbing hooked back up
with the extra drain connection for the dishwasher.

The dishwasher is installed! We are using the machine once a day for sure and some days we run it after lunch and then again before bed. I must thank my kids for a wonderful present that saves me lots of time each and every day. And my dishes are clean—even the ones high up on the shelves that I use to fill it when I want to run it and it isn't quite full.

View from the back. (Oops, this picture shows that the dishwasher isn't really hooked up.) We have added a paper towel holder to the back and we keep the trash below on the floor.



The new Manabloc in the basement.
This is Drew's part of the new dishwasher setup.
We (Drew) re-plumbed the entire kitchen and office restrooms and
ran the pipes through this contraption.



Our Bosch tankless hot water heater; it is just to the east of the Manabloc in the basement.



The new PVC drains that replaced the old 100 year old cast iron monster.

~Addison walks, too~

This was the best picture I could get of Addison walking.

She really is running and won't hold still for a picture.

~Audrey walks~

~Muskrat detected by William~

Tea Party

I belong to a home ec club called the "Pin Pals" which is part of a larger group from New Castle called the Purdue Extension Homemakers. You could look at our group as 4-H for mommies. The Extension Homemakers host a Tea every spring for all the Henry County clubs as a membership drive; we bring our own tea cup and saucer, have tea & crumpets, and invite a guest speaker. This year I was on the committee to plan the tea but I was in England during their meeting. So, I just made some desserts for the event and arrived early to help set up the tables and decorations. We held the party at the New Castle Public Library's auditorium/meeting room. Over 60 ladies attended to hear Celia Burns speak about her trip to Tunisia. Celia and her ex-Courier Times photographer husband, David Burns, put together a nice slide show presentation about their guided tour of northern Africa. She does a fine job of telling about the history of the area and not going into too much detail about each individual photo. After she was finished I wanted to take a trip right away to Tunisia to see for myself the caves, oases, camels and colorful tapestries.

Valerie turns 12!!

On March 2, Valerie turned twelve on a very cold day. She had a family party with grilled steaks (Drew stood out in the chilly, windy weather), fruit salad and chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream. For gifts, she received summer clothes, cards and money. She is saving her gift money to buy a new iPod Touch.

Valerie has improved greatly at her public school studies. Her reading and writing have improved the most. Last semester she almost got on the honor roll for sixth grade. By the end of the school year she will be on the honor roll. We are very proud of all her hard work and her positive attitude.

Hannah's Miraculous
3-Point Shot at the Buzzer!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6JRdEf4Law

At the junior varsity game in Yorktown, the Raiders were tied 19-19 near the end of the game with the home team Tigers. The Raiders had 10 seconds on the clock and possession at the far end of the field. The ball was inbounded, Hannah got up the field to about four feet behind the three-point line and she just heaved the ball toward the goal in a last ditch effort to try for a goal. The ball banked on the backboard and went into the basket for three points just as the buzzer went off. You can't hear the buzzer on the video. The Raiders won the game 22-19; it was very exciting.

Hannah actually did the same thing when she was put in for the last seconds of the Sectional game in Knightstown from the bench. Unfortunately we were behind more than three points and we lost the game. I guess she needs high pressure and she can make any three pointer.

~Addison getting ready to wash dishes~

Secret Keeper Girl Tour

Valerie and her friend Leah after the presentation.
(Sorry not so good cell phone photo)

The Secret Keeper Girl Tour came to the Middletown Church of the Nazarene in February. It was a fun evening of singing, praising God, and learning about dressing modestly. The tour presenters showed up around noon to set up the stage and organize the evening show. Hannah and I volunteered to blow up the 200+ balloons. We tied two purple and two red balloons together and then tied 30 long balloons together. Later the organizers put together the display seen behind the girls. It was pretty neat. You can see other pictures from the local tour at http://blog.secretkeepergirl.com/?m=200902.

Secret Keeper Girl Valerie posing in front of the balloons Hannah and I helped to blow up.

Pretty blooms