Colts Game

This picture of the banner is supposed to be farther down, but I accidently deleted it and can't get it back where it goes. So, when you read that the banner was revealed, this is it! ;)

Well, where do I begin? Oh my goodness this was so much fun!! First I'd like to start by saying, "Thank You, Thank You, THANK YOU" to Deb Wuertly for suggesting Sue and I to her Dad as possible buyers for their extra two tickets! This was an incredible experience! For those reading who don't know what I'm talking about, Thursday night was the Indianapolis Colts season opener against the New Orleans Saints. They had a free NFL Kickoff concert at Monument Circle in Downtown Indy from 5:00-7:45 featuring Hinder (should be named Hideous), Kelly Clarkson (A fav of mine) and Faith Hill (probably my all time favorite female country singer). So, Sue and I flew out of school and hit the road to Indy about 3:45. We were parked in the Conseco Parking Garage by 5:15. Traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We made our way over towards Monument Circle where there were 50,000-100,000 people milling the blocked off streets and crowded like sardines a few city blocks deep to see the concert. The first picture is the screen I could see of Kelly Clarkson and the next picture is Faith Hill. As crazy as it sounds, it was really a fun atmosphere. We enjoyed listening and watching via screen two of our favorite artists.

Around 7:30, we started heading toward the RCA Dome. The ceremony presenting the 2006 superbowl banner and a performance by John Mellancamp was to begin at 8:00. This next picture is the scene in front of me going into the Dome.

Once I was in the gates, I took pictures looking down at the crowds of people waiting to get in and the people streaming from all over the city towards the Dome. The seas of blue and white was so cool to see.

Our view of the stadium. The Porters seats are excellent. Back row of the bottom section. You have a wall at your back so the drunk who goes for his 35th beer won't spill it down your back when he returns to his seat. You also have the replay TV's right above you so you can watch the replay up close. Below they are setting up the stage for the pregame ceremony. The replica Superbowl ring was for the players to run through as they took the field. It was amazing. ( I feel like I'm running out of adjectives!)

Sue and I decked out in our Colts gear!

The people are going wild as they are getting ready to start. The white towels are a waving!

Here you have the Colts cheerleaders and below is John Mellancamp on the big screen. I couldn't get the pictures while he was performing to come out. It was too dark. He introduced Jim Irsay to the stage at the beginning of the ceremony.

Here come the Colts!

The 2006 Superbowl Banner was revealed!
Ready to score! The game was so exciting! First

half was a little slow, but Peyton and crew really put on a clinic in the second half. The drunk guy in front of us, who was really a very nice guy, was into high fives for every good play, so we felt like a real part of the group! There is nothing like being there when that long pass into the endzone hits it's receiver perfectly for a touchdown. The crowd goes wild and it's so exhillerating! (sp?) (Trying to find a new word.) Well, I guess that's it. The game was awesome and we won big! Sue and I looked at each other on our way to the car and agreed that it was worth every penny! Go Colts!

Labor Day '07

What a great Labor Day! Actually the whole weekend was great. We couldn't have asked for better weather. I got the kids on Friday night, mom and dad and Andrea and Jon came on Saturday, then J and Holly joined us today. We ate and swam at Sue's house along with Sue and her parents, Bob and Janet. No one could complain about an empty stomach. After we ate, we all jumped in the pool where much splashing and a serious splash ball war took place.

After pool time, we went back to my house where the kids rode their new bikes that get to stay at Aunt Kelley's house. Emmy learned to ride without training wheels. We tried Zeke but he wasn't quite ready.

I love having all my family together. These weekends are always full of special memories. Sunday night we cooked out around the fire and enjoyed sitting out on the patio. The weather was perfect. It's always so much fun, but a major let down when it's over. Back to the grind tomorrow. I can't help but wonder where this long weekend went!

A New School Year

Well, here I am...One week in! It's been an okay start to the year. It's too early to make any predictions. I'm wondering why I wanted to switch subjects. While Science is not my area of expertise, all my lessons were prepared. I'm back to square one with Language arts, but I do love the subject more, so I guess that's a good thing. I have a big bag of work with me tonight.

To be honest, I'm having a hard time even writing. My heart is just sad and heavy for my friends the Osbornes and Hummels. I know most everyone who reads my blog is also connected to them as well, so I won't retell the story, but if you are unaware, you can go to http://hummelnest.blogspot.com/ for the updates on Bryson. It really just breaks my heart. It seems like I've known more people who've experienced tragedy in their lives in the last few years, than in my whole life leading up to it. I wonder why that is? One thing I would like to share is about a book I read called The Shack. It's about where tragedy meets eternity. The book is fiction and can only be purchased online from the website http://www.theshackbook.com/ but it was incredible. As a matter of fact, I feel the need to read it again to help myself wrap my brain around this situation with Bryson. I know God has an amazing plan for this little boy. I pray for peace and comfort for his family and for him as he deals with the loss of his leg.

Well, I hope everyone is having a good start to the week.

Kelley

Catching Up

This post will probably seem like it's all over the place, but it's been a while and I have lots to say. First let me explain this photo. While Holly had Emmy in St. Louis visiting friends, Jason gave me the opportunity to have the boys for a few days. We had just arrived home and Elijah went straight to the bathroom for a, shall we say, longer bathroom experience. Zeke had to go in a bad way also, so I shouted the first thing that came to my mind..."Go out by the tree!" He literally ran for the tree and dropped his drawers. I...ran for the camera! Doesn't he just have the cutest little bum?

Holly likes to call him quirky...I think she knows what she's talking about. He asked me to take his picture while he made funny faces. We took about 10 shots, but he kept getting closer to the camera and the pictures kept getting scarier so I'm only posting a few. What a nut!

At the end of the week, Holly and Emmy came to my house to pick up the boys on their way home. They spent the night which gave me some time with my sweet Emmy too. When they arrived, Emmy jumped in my arms, wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist and hugged me for a long time. She's definitly Aunt Kelley's little buddy. While that was happening, I was thinking that there is nothing that brings me greater joy than being with my neice and nephews...now if only I could have more....OH WAIT! Andrea called last night and she's going to have a BABY!!!! Aunt Kelley was a blubbering mess. I was so emotional. To say I'm excited would be a major understatement! Zeke's 3 1/2 and it's definitly time for another baby in the Grate family. Andrea and Jon have also bought a house so the timing is perfect. The should be moving at the end of Sept. Andrea's excited about the timing because she won't be able to do any heavy lifting...Dad just wants to know if she can still golf! Priorities, you know.

Well, now that I've caught everyone up on my family, what have I been up to? Well, I have literally become obsessed with my flower gardening. It's a little frightful and my friends and family are wondering what happened to the real Kelley. I'm out watering, weeding, pruning and deadheading by 7:00 each morning. While I'm thrilled with my progress, my visions just keep growing. I'm reading gardening magazines constantly and am wondering if I shouldn't have gotten my masters in business so I could start my own gift and garden center. That would be my dream job. I envision it in my huge backyard where it's probably not even possible, but it's fun to dream. Maybe I'll take early retirement and open a small shop with the millions I've saved. Oh, guess, I would have to quit spending for the to happen. Which leads me to my next adventure.

Wed. Missy, Sue and I headed to Shipshewana. Now I know what you're thinking...95 degrees and you go to an outdoor flea market in the Amish country. Well, we were there by 8:00 and there was next to nobody there. We were able to cruise right along. It was cloudy until 11:30 so it wasn't too awfully hot. The river running down my back kept me cool. We were able to finish up by 12:30 and head for home. Sounds simple right? The only problem is I bought a cabinet for my kitchen that fit, but only by putting both seats down in Missy's car. So, that left 2 seats and 3 people for the trip home. There was a small wedge next to the cabinet so I molded my soft pliable body in there, hiked the other bun in the air while Sue slammed the door..twice. Needless to say, the trip home was long. We stopped in Wabash about a 1/2 hour from home at a couple of shops and then Sue rode the rest of the way in the back. I was very thankful. All my treasures look great so it was a worthwhile day, however, I'm putting my application in at wal-mart because I'm gonna need a second job to cover the expense. I went a little nuts. Which leads me to....

No, I didn't find a principal's job. I had 2 good interviews that felt like real possibilities, but neither panned out. So, it's back to HCMS as a language arts teacher next Tuesday. The disappointment has faded some. I went through some pretty depressed times this summer, but have come through it. I don't know what the plan is. I don't know what the Lord is trying to tell me. Maybe the perfect job is just around the corner. Maybe I'm not supposed to be a principal. I sure hope that's not it since I spent A-LOT of time and money on that degree. I would sure be bummed if that were the case. I just don't know. But, I'll keep looking and praying for direction. That's all I can do. One cute story about this. Zeke and Elijah were here when I got the call that I didn't get the 2nd job. I was pretty much devestated. I really thought this was the one. So, I put my head down on my desk and just sobbed. Zeke was in the kitchen playing and he heard me crying. He came over to me and started rubbing my back. He very quietly said, "I like your back." Then later when I asked for a hug, he looked at me and said, " I think you need some sugars first." So, with lots of sugars and hugs from my little man, I made it through that disappointing day. Don't think I haven't realized that God probably sent them to me for those few days for that very reason.

So, that's it. Summer is over. I start school on Tuesday and can't believe it. It's always interesting to wonder what this year will hold.

Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!!

Today is my Dad's 60th Birthday! We had his party 10 days ago in order to actually surprise him. It was a great time with lots of old friends and family.
I think he's shocked!
I always knew he had a lot of hot air!
He was a trooper; he read all his funny cards (and sappy cards) aloud for all of us to enjoy!
The big surprise...a flat screen for his bedroom!

I would like to take this opportunity to say how blessed I am to have Keever Grate for my Dad. He's amazing! He is a man of God who has been a wonderful role model in my life. He has a great sense of humor, he's gentle, kind, he's a do it all kind of man. He takes care of me even still and far away, he listens and offers sound advice. I've watched him be a wonderful, faithful husband to my mom. I think sometimes that I can't find Mr. Right because I compare all men against the "Keever" standard which is about impossible to measure up to. You know what else I love about my Dad? I love his hands. They are rough, calloused, hammer holding hands. They have always been tough, yet gentle hands. They remind me of Grandpa Grate's hands. Hands that have worked hard to take care of their family.
I love you, Dad!

Kenny Chesney ~ Flip Flop Summer Tour 2007

It's that time of year again. The time of year where we go to see that beautiful man named Kenny. Some might say that we have a slight obsession...they might be right.
Sugarland opened for Kenny and they were wonderful. They are another of my favorite groups and they were a great opening act.
This year we partied like pirates...a little Pirates of the Carribean theme going on.

Awe...there he is!

Hilton Head, SC...Here Come the Grates!

Our family vacation to Hilton Head, South Carolina was wonderful! We don't get to vacation all together as a family very often. This was a special treat. We rented a beautiful home on the island that had 5 bedrooms, 51/2 baths, and a huge living and kitchen area. We all enjoyed it immensly. We spent days on the beach jumping and playing in the HUGE waves! We all enjoyed that, even me who doesn't usually swim in the ocean. I have phobias about swimming where I can't see what's swimming around me. But, I put my fears aside and enjoyed the waves. We also took a day and went to Savannah, Georgia where we took a historical trolley ride. I loved that. It was a great way to see a beautiful city. We also ate at Paula Dean's restaurant, The Lady and Sons. It was a fun, special treat. Mom, Andrea and I are big Paula fans, so we were really excited. The food was delicious! I've included a slide show of my favorite pics. Enjoy! v

Tag...You're it!

Okay, so I've been tagged. I think I was technically tagged by Deb when she did her post and tagged everyone reading it, but I ignored it. But, Anon officially tagged me in my comment section, so here it goes. 8 interesting facts...I just want everyone to know that I put A LOT of effort in to coming up with these. It took me an hour and a thought provoking re-run of Dawson's Creek to come up with these.

#1 - I could eat mashed potatoes everyday. I know this explains alot for some of you. Why can't I lose weight? hmmm... let me think. It's really quite ridiculous how much I love them. Just to clarify, I DON'T eat them everyday, but I could.

#2 - My perfect day is laying by a pool reading a romance novel. Not too much to say about that one. I got to do that in Florida a couple of different days and it was heavely.

#3 - I'm addicted to Little House on the Prarie. I probably watch 3-4 episodes a day in the summer. I love this show. I find though that it feeds my melancholy. When I'm depressed, this is not a good thing. Nearly every episode makes me cry. I've been a little down this week and every time Sue calls to see what I'm doing, I'm watching Little House and sniffling. So, I'm not going to watch it today. I'm feeling pretty good and don't want to mess it up.

#4 - I was in Florida for Hurricane Charlie. A quick little trip to Florida the weekend before school starts turned into quite the adventure. Sue and I watched the hurricane go through from our hotel window. It was very exciting. There was a ton of damage but we were lucky. Our rental car was missed by the falling trees. We saw others that weren't so lucky. The airport was damaged, but we were able to fly out which was a good thing since school started the next morning.

#5 - I'm terrified of needles. I know most people don't like them, but I avoid doctors at all costs. It's really not healthy. I should go, but my fear of needles overrules all common sense.

#6 - When I was in H.S., my friend's sister tried to drown me at the city pool. Sadly, this is true. The worst part is that she was my friend too. She actually used to be my babysitter. They were an interesting family. I'm pretty sure she was high when she tried to kill me. I thought she was joking around at first, but when I was running out of air and she wouldn't let me up, I began to realize it wasn't a joke. Her sisters had to pull her off me. So, I guess you all are lucky to know me.

#7 - In my alternate life, I am an FBI agent. Clarise Starling from Silence of the Lambs is my hero. I love to read and watch these serial killer mysteries. When I do, I imagine myself being brave and strong and taking down the bad guys.

#8 - I skipped school 18 times my senior year. Close your mouths. I know you're in shock but it's true. I was very good though. I kept track and made sure I didn't miss more than 7 times in any class per semester. That was the limit to pass. I was usually in school, just hiding out in the auditorium with my friend Mindy. One time we had to jump behind the curtains and hide because Mr. Kline came into the auditorium and I was supposed to be in his class right then. It was pretty intense. I felt a little like Ferris Buehler.

Well, there you have my 8 interesting facts. I hope I have provided and new and interesting view of me. Cousins John, Kim and Carolyn...consider yourself tagged!

TaTa for now!

Question????

How do you get experience, if nobody will give you the job until you've had some???? This always baffles me. Well, as you can tell, I didn't get the job...again. I'm trying to remain upbeat and positive. I only shed a few tears. No major breakdown like last time. I guess that's good. Just thought I'd let everyone know. I appreciate your prayers. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks,
Kelley

We had a MAGICAL Time...

Well, it seems like ages since my last post. Since that time, I have finished up the school year, spent a week at Disney and have been back floating on a raft in Sue's pool for a week. Okay, about Disney. Sue and I took her neice Amy to Disney World for a week! We stayed right on the Disney compound at the Pop Century Resort. We had a fabulous time. I of course LOVE disney! When I taught elementary, my entire room was decorated with all the disney characters. The fun part of this trip, was taking Amy who had never flown or ridden any kind of rides. She loved it! By the end of the week, I even had her flying upside down in the dark on the rockin roller coaster with me at MGM studios! We failed to convert Sue into a roller coaster lover, but 2 miracles in one week might have been alot to ask. :) The above picture (not state the obvious) is of the 3 of us with everyone's favorite mouse, Mickey!
Best friends, Sue and Kelley, with best friends, Pooh, Piglet and Tigger. Aww!
We got a little worried by how much the characters loved Amy. They were always hugging on her and wanting her to kiss them. Must have been those killer dimples!
This was the Hippy Dippy pool in our 60's section of the resort. It was awesome! Each of the decades was decorated with phrases and memorablia from the pop culture of that decade. Below you'll see some of our 60's phrases.

It was a full, fun, but exhausting week. I felt like I walked 100 miles. If you've never done Disney, this is the way to do it. Unlimited access and freedom to come and go is the way to go. Now I can start looking forward to the next vacation to Hilton Head with my fam! I'm hoping this one will be a little more relaxing! Hope everyone's having a great summer!

Kelley

P.S.

Interview at Madison Grant at 8:00 Tuesday morning. Please pray! Thanks!

Memorial Day Weekend

What a fun, fun weekend! Sue and I picked up the kids on Friday evening, Andrea joined us on Sat, Mom and Dad joined us on Sunday and Jason and Holly arrived on Monday making the fam complete. It was a full busy weekend, but loads of fun. Just a quick run-down of activities. Let's see, there was jump rope (Emmy is the queen of jump rope!), line soccer (Andrea and I one on one is a sight you have to see to believe), Red Rover (Andrea about took Emmy out. We all ended up on the ground laughing till we cried. When we asked Emmy if she like red rover, she replied, "Not so much." This made it all the funnier), 4 square, baseball (Elijah is the master of this game. When I asked him how his season was going, he replied, "Great! I'm the best one on the team." And so humble too!), Frizbee, and the list goes on...
Sat. night we cooked out around the fire pit which was lots of fun. Emmy had a smore disaster, which if you notice Sandy in this picture, she had a nice bite of that smore in Emmy's hand while we were taking this picture.
Emmy helped Aunt Andrea make an incredible peach cobbler dessert to go along with our homemade ice-cream on Monday. It was delicious.

Did I mention a squirt gun war? That was lots of fun!
Zeke enjoyed squirting himeself more than anyone else.
What a crack-up!
Andrea enjoys the smores by the fire!
Zeke helped collect some sticks for the fire. Funny how the little guy brought the biggest sticks!

We also did some swimming. The weather wasn't perfect, but we made it work.

The weekend was perfect. The kids were a hoot and I loved every min. of it.

Recent activities

What a busy week this has been. I feel like every day has been full and they are flying by. After today only 7 more days of school. Everyone else at my school has 8, but I'm taking tomorrow off. I've saved this personal day for just the right time and tomorrow is it. Well, let me take you through my most recent adventures. I actually can't remember much about last week. We started softball last Monday night and actually have 2 games this week, one tonight and another tomorrow night. So, you can be looking for a post about that sometime soon. Let's see, Friday night we had a Sunday school progressive supper. Haven't done that since the Bennet St. Wesleyan days so that was lots of fun. It was a full evening and we all had a good time. Sat. started bright and early at 9:00 with some landscaping at the Buck's. A few of us from SS went to help Cindy since Geoffrey is graduating next weekend. We had such a good time and had it all done in 3 hours. Then I came home and raked out my front courtyard to prepare it for planting and new mulch. After 4 trips to the burn pile, I jumped in the shower to get ready to head to Indy. I need new tennis shoes, but have some serious feet problems. I find that I can't wear the new shoes after I get them. So, a friend of Sue and I told me about this place in Indy called Runners Forum where they watch you walk and try to fit you with a specific shoe to help you specific areas of need. I got a pair of Brooks that have great arch support. My "expert" shoe fitter said my arches were collapsing and my feet were turning in thus giving me my shin splints and many other pains. We'll see. You might see me training for my first marathon sometime soon. After a nice dinner out, we headed back to Marion. There was about an hour of daylight left so we thought we'd take a bike ride. Have I mentioned that Sue and I bought bikes? No, well, we did. Now, when we did, we ran into a girl from our softball team. She told us the next night at softball that she had purchased 2 bikes from Wal-mart only to have to return them both. Now, did she share this with us in Wal-mart, of course not. Sue had to take hers back because her back tire wouldn't hold air. Then we got ready to ride for the first time, my pedals went round but nothing was happening. Got to looking and the back sprocket wasn't even attached to the wheel. So, put the bike into the truck and off to Wal-mart. I exchanged it for this nice little beauty pictured a little ways down. So, by the time we got home, it was too dark to ride so we rode laps around Lakeview's parking lot. We rode between 2-3 miles both Sunday and today. I'm really enjoying it, but hope my rear grows caluses soon. Now, on to Sunday. After church and dinner, we jumped into my courtyard landscaping which is what these pictures are off. The top picture is taken from my front door looking out. The next two are taken as you come into the courtyard. I planted about 50 petunias that mom gave me last weekend. They were her leftovers (and she didn't think she had bought enough!) and they filled my space nicely. I put them in clumps of five to make some nice big plants. The new mulch really jazzed it up too. I have discovered something a little disturbing. Every morning, there are half eaten rabbits under my japanese maple tree. Something is catching them and bringing them up there to eat. I don't know if it's wild dogs or coyotes, but either way, it creeps me out to know they are up that close to my front door. Anyways, one more area down. Now, I just have my big hill out front to plant. I'm not sure when that will get done.


So, here we are at the beginning of another week. They sure do fly by. I'm looking forward to next weekend. My family will be here, all except J and Holly. Jason has to do a wedding, so we're just getting the kids. I can't wait to spend a few days with them. I've been missing them.

I may have an interview soon so be praying about that. I just want to be where the Lord wants me, but I hope it's in a new job for the fall. :) Well, I need to start getting ready for tonight's game. I hope every one is enjoying this fabulous spring weather, I know I am!

Kelley

Mother's Day

My Mother with her daughters!

Andrea with Susan, her Mother-in-law.
Mom and Dad

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! Andrea and I were both home and we had such a good time. We all worked outside together on Sat. doing mom's landscaping. It was exhausting, but I enjoyed the time we all spent together doing it. Sat. evening we attended the annual Mother/Daughter banquet which was lots of fun. We sat with our cousins, Carolyn and Kim, Aunt Eva, and Susan, Andrea's Mother-in-law. It was a fun evening filled with laughter. Sunday, we all went to church and then to Grandma Grate's for a big dinner. I love my mom so much and enjoyed this weekend with her! It was a GRATE weekend!

Landscaping

What a weekend! I really don't know why I'm still awake at 10:42pm. I used muscles this weekend I didn't know I had and everyone of them is screaming at me. But, for some reason, I'm not tired. Maybe there's something to this physical labor thing. The fun began Sat. morning when Bob and and Sue showed up at 8:45 with the heavy equipment. Bob totally cleaned up my burn pile and carted off my rusting, horrible burn barrell. It looks so much better! Then, he took out some of the dirt off my huge hill in the front yard. Way better! Then he removed the pesky bush on the corner of my drive that everyone nearly hits and then removed the horrid, green ground cover on the corner of my landscaping by the garage! Way, WAY Better!

In the afternoon, Sue and I took off for Cincinnati! We always go to a couple of games through the season and this was our first this year. It was a disaster. First it was raining so the game was delayed an hour. 2nd, after the rain stopped if was chilly and breezy, bbbrrrr. 3rd, they lost. So, we arrived home around 2:00am this morning wondering why we did that.

Today after church, we dug into my landscaping. The pictures about do not do it justice. The mulch is the red kind and it looks so sharp! We worked all afternoon on the section in the back yard. The spilling basket is sitting where the groundcover was taken out. I had to put something there and that was easy. Sadly, this is only a tiny, small part of what i have to do, but I am feeling pretty proud of myself today. I think it looks good and I feel proud of my productivity.

Well, before I head off to bed, I just wanted to say thanks to all my commenters, especially Susan. Thanks for making yourself known. I always love comments even from stalkers! :) Actually, I have been thinking about the phenominon of this whole blogging thing. I started it as a way to share my life with others, mostly friends and family, but strangers too if they're interested. Somewhere along the line though it became more about the comments. I gauge how interested I am in writing by the feedback. I think this is normal, but I realize that it puts alot of pressure on those of you reading. I am going to try and make my posting, hopefully more frequent, more about my desire to express myself. I find it somewhat theraputic even if it's just a matter of sharing my day, so, comment if you like or just read if you want. I'll keep right on writing!

What to say?

Well, I haven't posted for a while, but I really don't know what to post about. Nothing much is happening. Spring is speeding by with only 20 days of school left. (Not that I'm counting) :)

I did have a question on my comments section asking about my car. It's working fine, just like it always does after I've had it fixed. Actually starting today, Heidi is driving for the rest of the year, so the Honda is going to get very little use. Maybe it'll last longer that way.

My big plans for the weekend are to begin landscaping and working in the yard. There might also be an impromptu trip to Cincinatti to see the Reds play on Sat. night. We'll just have to see.

Well, that's about it. Boring I know. I can't even think of some deep subject to talk about. I think part of my problem is that bloggerland seems dead. Nobody's posting much and nobody's commenting. Makes it hard to be motivated. Well, I hope everyone's doing well.

Kelley