What a fabulous day!  OK so it might be 77 degrees in the house and maybe a little toasty, but that’s OK.  One of the kids asked if we could turn the air on and Travis and I both said no way!  We do NOT turn our air conditioner on in April!  Plus, it’s suppose to SNOW Wednesday night with a 1″ accumulation expected.  Seriously?  Only in the Midwest can you tan in a bikini (Sidney), mow the grass, turn your air on, plant flowers, wear a sweatshirt and scrape the ice off your windshield in a 24-48 hr period.  Our weather is pretty bipolar right now but at least it’s causing the drought to weaken with the cooler temps hanging on.  I’ll take it.  I guess you can say our weather keeps life interesting – and kids complaining!

We are in the midst of the end of school countdown and right now I think there are only 18 days left.  Of course all we are really counting down to is our beach trip which is only 32 days away (yes, I am counting).  We are all so excited but I have to say I think my dad is more excited than anyone else.  I love that he randomly calls asking questions about the trip – have you found a hotel near Nashville yet, are we taking our bikes, are you driving your van or SUV, what are we taking for food vs buying there?  This is the first trip we will have taken with my dad and step mom and I have to say, we are all very excited.  Heck, they are fun.  How many people can say their parents who are in their 60’s and 70’s have gone sky diving for the first time only a month ago?  They like to travel, love new experiences and most of all, love their grandkids so I’m sure this will be an adventurous, fun time.  And these are memories we will all cherish for years to come.  OK enough about vacation…can you tell I’m excited?  We never get to do stuff like this because of Ryan’s health and finally we get to take a trip as a family – all of us.  Lyndsey, whom Sidney and I both call our sister, is coming with us so we can still go have fun when Ryan needs to nap or isn’t able to venture away from the house. 

The kids are all in sports mode with Brad still in the midst of golf tournaments and enjoying every second of it.  Sidney has one more volleyball tournament this weekend and possibly a bid to nationals (I’m secretly hoping not but don’t tell anyone).  And Trevor has had a couple of baseball practices and he is feeling much more confident in his skill level now that he has a year under his belt.  And with summer coming so soon, we are signing kids up for camps, clinics, drivers ed. 

I love that as I’m typing, Sidney and Trevor are sitting at the kitchen table while Sidney works on homework while Trevor is making a Genghis Khan model out of a toilet paper roll and a bunch of Sidney’s craft and thread stuff that is due on Friday.  All the while they are both singing to Everfound which is the group who performed at Dare to Share this year.  Brad is still at golf (great day for 18 holes!) and sweet little Ryan is very out of it on the couch.  This little guy just doesn’t handle the heat well at all, never has, and these warm days really get to him.  They zap him of energy and put him in zombie mode.  I feel so bad for him but this is how he has always been so to some degree it always bothers me.  Maybe some day Travis, Ryan and I will move to northern Minnesota and live on a lake.  Think we can do Ellisbrook all the way up there in the middle of nowhere?  Honestly I know we will never leave the Lincoln/Omaha area with our dreams, but I’d rather be here loving on disabled adults in my air-conditioned home with our crazy weather than anywhere else in the world.  Every day I pray God will move us closer to our dream; of course I want to get there faster than He obviously does.  I firmly believe God placed this dream of Ellisbrook in our hearts because He fully intends for us to serve our community by loving and caring for our area’s disabled adults.  I can’t wait to get there!

Travis has been busy working in the yard, doing projects around the house and helping me to get ready to paint the basement bedroom which needs an update from a sports theme to a more mature teen look.  For several years Travis has been wanting another bike trailer to pull Ryan so they can bike together but Ryan outgrew the one we had.  Good heavens, the kid weights 97 pounds already! He is taking after Travis and Brad’s build and is going to be huge. A few months ago Travis was sharing with Ryan’s therapist at Madonna how he wishes we could get another trailer but at the cost of $1000 it isn’t in the budget right now.  Well come to find out Madonna had federal grant money and after applying, we were blessed with a special needs bike trailer which is exactly the one Travis wanted.  It’s huge but Ryan will be able to use it until he is 150 pounds.  I see a lot of exercise in Travis’s future.  We are hoping to bike together every morning after the older kids head off to school and before Ryan’s nap.  It will be great exercise and a fun way for Travis and me to spend some time together doing something we both love.  In fact, here is the trailer right after we assembled it (sorry for the crappy Iphone pic) with a cute little boy who wasn’t so sure what to think of this big contraption.  What a blessing!