15 years old

May I present to you my prized clematis plant!

 This plant is 15 years old! It was planted before we had a deck or a fence. The part of the house behind the plant was originally our screened in porch. The plant just hung out and climbed around the corner back then. During the construction of the above mentioned items, the plant was sad looking and sparse but it came back even better the next spring with the fence to grab onto and spread out.

 Each fall I trim back all the vines. And in the spring I baby the plant carefully wrapping vines around  the fence.

At last count there were close to 300 flowers!  In this photo you can even see the clematis creeping into the deck. 

I got a new toy on Sunday.  I have wanted an Apple Watch for quite a while.  I love it!  It's really just a glorified watch but the extras are fun.  I can track my heart rate and keep track of my exercise and movement.  I previously had a Fitbit Altra.  I liked it but the watch was hard to read.  With the Apple Watch I can choose my watch face and even change it every day if I want.

 This butterfly is my favorite.  Each time I turn my wrist the butterfly changes into another variety or flutters it's wings.  So cool!

This Minnie Mouse watch face is another favorite.  When you tap Minnie she giggles and says the time.  Sometimes she says, "Good morning" or "Good evening".  It is very cute.

I am still learning what all the watch can do.  I answered a phone call on it the other day.  I could here the caller very well and she could hear me but I looked a little ridiculous talking into my wrist!

Our favorite Chinese restaurant...

When we first moved to Indiana, we ate at a superb Chinese restaurant.  We found the place even before we moved in while we were house hunting.  So since 1995 we had been eating all our favorite dishes and then about 2 years ago they announced they were closing.  DARN!!!  Bob and I have made it our mission to find a replacement but so far we haven't found that one restaurant that ticks all the boxes.  We like the hot and sour soup at one place and then the General Tso's chicken at another.  We discovered our old time favorite Chinese restaurant has a another location about 50 minutes from our house.  We kept saying we would make the drive all the way to Columbus, IN, but we never did until this past weekend.  It was everything we remembered it to be!  It was like coming home!  It was food worthy of pictures while we eat!   They even used the same plates!

All the girls will be home for Memorial Day weekend and we plan to take a road trip to our favorite restaurant.  The kids will be so happy!!!

The picture above is of Bob eating his favorite dish.  We sent the picture to the kids with a text that said, "Guess where we are!"

M, L and J

The girls are all very busy this summer and that's a good thing.

Leah and Jenn moved out of their dorm room at the beginning of May.  Yes, they lived together 2nd semester and it was a huge success.  Their room was tiny but they made it look great!

Move in day back in August was rainy and cold so it was fitting that move out day was the same.  Once they were home it was time to clean out Freshman year junk and repack for summer.  Leah is now back at Purdue.  She is doing 2 research projects.  Her morning consists of researching viruses and her afternoon is neurological research.  She has explained her exact duties but they are quite technical.  She is working with 2 different professors and as an incoming Freshman on a research team, she is doning most of the grunt work.  She doesn't mind at all!  Leah has discovered that a college campus is quiet in the summer.  She took her Bass to up to Purdue to practice.  She plans to try out for the orchestra next year.

Jenn is doing an engineering internship in Kentucky.  She is very lucky to be getting this experience as a Freshman.  She has her own apartment and has discovered that cooking for yourself is hard.  The grocery shopping isn't so easy either!  Bob is truly enjoying the discussions they get to have about manufacturing and the engineering field.  She is hoping this internship will lead to more and more opportunities in the chemical engineering field.

This summer is a lesson for both the girls in being apart.


Maria is at home but we rarely see her!!  She is at IUPUI studying nursing.  Believe me, all she does is study, study, study.  She loves it.  Her degree will be from IU which is a hard pill to swallow for her since her first degree was from rival Purdue.  Another reason we rarely see her is because she spends most of her free time with the sweet guy in the picture below.  He is a keeper.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was fun! Mom and Dad, Bob's parents, Bob's brother and his wife and all the girls came to celebrate.  Everyone actually came on Saturday. We enjoyed a nice dinner at our house outside. Sunday morning we had church and brunch before everyone had to go their separate ways. Maria went to her boyfriend's house for their MDay dinner. Mom and Dad drove back to Jerseyville in time to play golf. Jenn drove back to Louisville to resume her engineering internship. Jim and Cindy went back to Chicago. Mary and Primo went back to their house down the street. And Bob and I took Leah back to Purdue to begin her research position in the biology department. 

Maria with her breakfast

Primo awaiting his plate. His walker is pretty spiffy!

Mom having fun. 

Food

Pancakes

The buffet