Christmas Chimes Program... Rescheduled January 22, 2017

Back in December we had a nasty ice storm, leaving much of the county shut in for the weekend. Cars, streets, trees, and so on accumulated as much as 1/5" of ice.  That weekend, among many other things going on, was to be the Children's Christmas Program at church which was a coordinated performance by the Celebration Chimes, Youth Handbells, and Children's Choir.  Although it was in the best interest of everyone's safety to postpone the event, it meant delaying the performance by a month.  The good news is that everyone got another few practices in!

Carol Festival

Away in a Manger

Christmas Vacation...Minus The Griswalds

Back in the fall we began discussing where we might want to go for Christmas and we opted for somewhere warm and tropical. Last year was fun in Colorado - skiing and snow - but this time around let's focus on sun and sand.

We've talked for a while about checking out the Cayman Islands after hearing many great things. So off we went, the four of us plus Holly's parents, for a week of relaxation in Grand Cayman.

The flights were relatively short, each two hours (Chicago to Atlanta and then Grand Cayman). A quick highlight on the journey there included Kari and Grandmo using Kevin's two first class upgrades. They sat two rows in front of the rest of us and enjoyed the pampering experience of first class.

Once we landed it was a 40-mile drive to our residence for the week. In the dark, we quickly learned that roads are not well labeled, and many times you just had to rely on your inner compass to know you were going in the right direction.  Holly found a beautiful 3-bedroom, 3-bath house on the beach with its own private pool that the kids would frequent daily. The house was perfect, newly built with nice furnishings and two of the best hammocks ever created.  Our house was one of five identical houses that all shared the pool, but created this great little community.  We were able to meet so many interesting people throughout the week.  Bryce hit the jackpot, having two 7 year old boys throughout the week to play with.  One of those families were 15 year Cayman residents by way of Toronto, Canada who came for a stay-cation by for a couple days away from the more hectic life on 7-mile beach. 

Gathering and cracking open coconuts was a highlight.  Actually drinking the coconut water was not.

One of our outings included a nearby trip to Crystal Caves.  Because the Cayman Islands are created out of limestone and coral reef, natural caverns and caves have formed.  Crystal Caves has only been open to the public for 12 months, so we felt pretty lucky to be on this relatively new island experience.  Kari and Grandpo particularly liked this tour.

 Can you see the mortar and pestle?

Gigantic ficus roots at the entrance of the caves.

The weather was ideal virtually the entire trip, other than some gusty winds the first two days. Every day it was 82-85 degrees and 76-78 at night. Really, it was never too hot or too cold.

A nap in the hammock was on the daily agenda.

The hustle and bustle of 7-mile is where the vast majority of tourists and locals are. The restaurants, hotels, condos and shopping is there, but we wanted to be in a more tranquil setting and found just that.

We were close to a place called Rum Point that offered boating and recreation as well as a nice restaurant. Holly and her dad did a bio-luminescent tour one night loved it. The entire gang got in a glass bottom boat and went our to snorkel and swim with the stingrays. Even Minerva made it in to touch the stingrays!

 Grandmo concentrating on the horizon, trying not to get sea sick.

Other highlights included fresh seafood, spending lots of money on groceries (the Cayman dollar was valued equivalent to the Brittish Pound) and learning to drive our little "mini-van" all over the island on the left hand side all the while getting 50-miles per gallon on a whopping 8-gallon tank.

 Dinner at Rum Point, only a few miles up the road.

The few lowlights centered around a flu bug that Kevin brought with him and generously passed on to everyone except Bryce and Holly. They, however, were fortunate enough to get it once we returned home.

It was a wonderful week of relaxation and warmth and one the family will remember for a long time!

4th Grade Indiana History Project

Today marked the culmination of several weeks of hard work for Kari, and well, let's be honest, the whole family.  A large part of the 4th grade curriculum focuses Indiana history.  Earlier in the fall the class took a field trip to Fort Ouiatenon to learn about the earliest settlers and interactions with the Native Americans.

Right before Thanksgiving the students were given the assignment to identify an Indiana advancement, landmark, development, or natural space.  Students were not allowed to pick a person as that will be the major spring project.  Kari narrowed her choices down and thoughtfully selected the West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick.  (Her parents think she ultimately chose this because it has gambling and she thought it might interest them in visiting!)  While visiting the landmark was not a requirement of the project, we thought it would be best to learn about it first hand.  So, early on Black Friday morning we steered clear of the mall shoppers and headed South... for three long hours.

Upon arrival to the cute Southern Indiana town, Kari and I headed straight away to the gift shop to sign up for the hotel tour.  Not knowing what to expect, we discovered that the Keckler family significantly brought down the median age of the tour group by probably 30 years.  Kevin and I quite enjoyed the tour, the long and winding history of the hotel, and the secrets it holds.  Unfortunately, the tour was not geared for kids and the 90 minute tour could not have ended a minute too soon for K & B.  We persisted and Kari gathered pictures and facts for her project.

 Intricate tile work all imported from Italy.

 The atrium with hotel room windows overlooking the gathering spaces.

 The atrium dome is a national engineering landmark.

 Kari used the windows as inspiration for her project.

 Spurtle the gnome above the grand fireplace.

We might have made a short detour in Bloomington on the way home to do a little Christmas shopping for family members who made poor higher education choices.

The next couple of weeks saw Kari working on her project a little bit each night.  Finally, things came together and the entire 4th grade of six classrooms gathered in the cafeteria for a showcase for family. To our surprise, Kari ended up being the only one who had chosen West Baden.

 Behind each window Kari had selected a significant fact about the hotel and local area.  Overall, all of the kids did a really nice job on their projects and it was interesting to see what others had chosen.

Kari was right next to one of her best friends, Marley.