Dad got Ran Over by a School Bus

     By the title you can probably assume Dad was ran over by a bus. Well, you are slightly correct. Dad was biking to work last Thursday, the last day of school, when he was hit by a school bus. He hurt his knee and is a little sore but other than that, he is okay. The thing I find most funny about about this is we actually made it into the local newspaper. I will always remember my last day of sixth grade.
     Maybe you remember Wesley the wild pup. It has been a little over a year since we talked about him. He was a very mischievous puppy. Well, we have met another crazy boy. His name is Gabe and he is a basset hound mix about 10 months old. We decided to take him outside because he has such an adorable face. He turned out to be an unstoppable bundle of energy. I started running around to get him to play. He didn't need much encouragement. He loved chasing the ball, but not the part where he was to give it back. He was wound up and didn't listen to anything we said. He chased me and nipped at my bottom a couple of times. Gabe also turned out to be a thief. He tried to steal mum's phone out of her pocket, but she caught him and he stopped. He then tried to make off with my Godzilla paperback. Mum caught him again and told him no. He did leave it. After several laps around the yard, Gabe began to tire. It was time to take him back to his kennel. We had many laughs with Gabe. Good luck to his new family! It will be exciting.
     Hoover's birthday happened on the same day dad was hit by the bus. Hoover is now a seven year old. I can't believe he is now considered a senior. I got him the perfect gift, mum's not so sure. We got Hoover a pig that can squeal. Mum has taken plenty of video of Hoover playing with his toy. Hoover was kind of scared of his toy at first. Hoover wanted the toy when he saw Lizzie checking it out. Now he growls at it as he squeaks it. It is the first toy he growls at. We're not sure Lizzie likes the toy or enjoys keeping it away from Hoover. Do any of your pets enjoy keeping toys away from their pack mates? 

    Stay tuned because summer adventures are about to begin!

The End of an Era

    Last week I went to my school's sixth grade party. I had the time of my life! It was mostly filled with dancing, but there were many competitions and it was hilarious to watch and compete in. There was also a huge table that carried so much food it would take several people to eat it. My night was further improved when mum had to go back to work to finish up something.  I got to talk with mum's coworkers, Lora. It is always fun to geek out with Lora. It truly was a great night. 
      On Thursday we celebrated 6th grade in a calmer fashion. We had a graduation and we all got a certificate sending us off to middle school. We also were able to see a slideshow made by mum showing all of our baby pictures. It was very nice. I'm excited to head to middle school. It is going to be a great new experience. I will miss University Elementary, but I can always go back to visit and maybe volunteer at the Learning Festival. 
      In dog related news, mum's garden is still being trampled by dogs. First, it was Lizzie. She would lay in the garden and torment mum. Soon, Hoover followed in her footsteps. And now Nikita is hopping into the garden and rummaging through it as well. This is quite extraordinary for Nikita to climb over the stone's surrounding mum's garden. As you know, Nikita isn't as spry as she use to be. She has been known to get tripped up on the grass. Mum's poor garden will never thrive with all the dogs destroying it. I have a confession to make, I sometimes accidentally
kick my soccer ball into the garden. So, four organisms hinder the gardens progress. 
     As we've told you before, we found a husky named Chloe located at our local animal shelter. She was a very overzealous dog, who had enough energy to run around the world four times. I'm excited to announce that Chloe was adopted! I'm glad she got a forever home.
     The dogs sure like to be involved in our exercises. Mum and I do 20 sit ups every day and try  to do 10 push ups every other day. Sometimes the dogs head over and try to give us kisses. Luckily we can shield our head with our arms. I was getting ready one time when Lizzie crawled under my legs and laid down. That night it was a little harder to get up.  
      I have a lot to look forward to this summer. My summer will be filled with soccer, soccer, and more soccer.  I'm excited to have some relatives from Minnesota visiting. Mum and I are also planning our bus trip around town this summer.

Lizzie's Big Outing

 
    As part of the Mother's Day celebration, mum and I took Lizzie on a walk to Bryan Park. Hoover went to Bell Trace with dad so he wouldn't be jealous. Nikita enjoyed the peace and quiet at home. Lizzie enjoyed walking around and sniffing all the plants. We also got to see something extra, too. We were able to watch some LARPers LARP. LARP means live action role playing. Basically you watch people battle with foam weapons. Lizzie wasn't too keen on watching them. She kept tugging on her leash and wanting to explore. We eventually listened to her and finished our walk.
     Afterwards we took Lizzie to the Chocolate Moose for some ice cream.  We got a bit of ice cream in a cup for Lizzie. Mum fed her some by a spoon. I had a HUGE ice cream sandwich. Lizzie was the first one to finish. Although Lizzie did have the smallest portion of ice cream. 
    When we returned home, Lizzie was dog tired. She barely moved the rest of the night. Hoover was also a very tired boy. The next morning we discovered something very funny. Hoover and  Lizzie were both downstairs trying to sleep in. We found Lizzie on the couch and Hoover was in the office. Dad and I kept calling for both of them to come upstairs to go outside. For once, Nikita was the first one outside.  Hoover finally came into our view but he just sat back down and looked up at us. Finally he came up because he was out of ideas for procrastinating. Lizzie was completely ignoring us. I went downstairs and threw a blanket on her to see if that would get her to move. She slowly got off the sofa and took her time stretching. She then sauntered up the steps and finally made her way outside. 
     Lizzie will only eat PetSmart biscuits. She doesn't bother with other good biscuits we give her. Mum has decided to not even give Lizzie a biscuit when we leave. Dad will still leave one with her. The other two dogs take advantage of this and swipe her biscuit. Yes, even Nikita. Recently Nikita was getting up to go outside when dad came home at noon. He watched as Nikita spotted Lizzie's biscuit on the dog bed. Nikita plodded over to it, took the biscuit and turned around to head out the door with the biscuit in her mouth. We can only assume she took it out there to eat without the other dogs knowing what happened. I'm surprised Hoover didn't get to the biscuit first. 
     The end of the school year is approaching very quickly. We did our Inquiry Fair last Friday. My topic this year was the causes and effects of the crusades. I really enjoyed this topic. I made a stop-motion about the crusades. I loved dressing up as a crusader. We also had the school Learning Festival last Friday. This Friday is the sixth grade party! I don't care for this year's theme (Black and White), but I'm still going to have a blast. I wanted the theme to be '70s disco. To top all this off is the sixth grade promotion next Thursday.

Playing in the Rain

     Hoover is a very sneaky boy. However, he is not much of a thief. Lizzie likes to save her biscuit and Hoover usually ends up eating it. She likes to have one around her, I think she enjoys teasing Hoover. One day mum came home for lunch. Lizzie came up to greet her. Mum realized Hoover took off downstairs. Hoover remembered Lizzie left her biscuit downstairs. When Hoover came back upstairs, mum suspected Hoover was hiding the biscuit in his mouth. It was obvious because his mouth was clamped shut, Hoover usually has his tongue hanging out.  He then ran outside. Mum followed him and found Hoover in his favorite spot, about to eat the biscuit. Mum also discovered another of Hoover's crimes. Hoover had been digging a huge hole. When she started investigating the hole, Hoover laid down so his tail covered the hole he had been working on for awhile. Mum busted Hoover in the process of two crimes. A success for the M.P.D. (Mum Police Department). 
     On Saturday we had a big soccer tournament in Terre Haute. Our first game started at 8:00 in the morning against Marion Lighting. Unfortunately, we lost 5-4. Our team played really well though. Our next game was against Putnam County at 1:00. We won this game 5-0, although it could have been much worse. I said to my coach I didn't feel good about blowing out the other team. He said we have to do our best to challenge them. One thing coach did was move players around to play different postions. A special guest attended my afternoon game. Chris, an important volunteer at Northern Lights Sled Dog Rescue, and her son came to watch my game. I'm glad they could come and see us win.       

On Sunday we had a big game against Terre Haute. We lost by one goal to Terre Haute the Sunday before. We needed to win this game by a lot of points to move on to the championship. We destroyed Terre Haute 9-2. In this game we showed no mercy. Our game was played under very raining conditions. After the game we had to wait around to see if we made it to the championship. Because three teams were tired with the same number of wins, the winner was decided by number of goals scored and goals allowed. We snuck in by one goal! We learned we can't show any mercy in tournament games. Every goal counts. 

     The championship was to be played at 1:00. In the meantime we went to dry our uniforms and socks. When we went back to the fields, it was raining harder than in the morning. The championship game was exciting until about the last five minutes, it did not end well for us. The field was getting messy and the other team scored a few quick goals to pull it out. At least we got a trophy! It was a good tournament. We now prepare for the grudge match of Cutters vs. Terre Haute at Karst on Saturday.      

Too Many April Showers

     We started our spring soccer season on Saturday. We didn't start off with a bang though. The game ended 4-0. None of us really did well. I think one of the reasons we played so unenthusiastically was because we had played only once on the grass. Our practices keep getting rained out. Unfortunately, our practice fields are drenched. Hopefully the rest of the season will be more dry. 

     On Easter I discovered a startling fact: I am a horrible egg hunter. While searching for eggs, I walked by a few eggs a couple times. My parents had to give me a couple of hints for me to even have a chance at finding the eggs. However, we all had good time. And the Easter Hoover visited! The Easter Lizzie and Nikita chose not to appear for long. 

     To celebrate with the dogs, we went on an Easter hike. We went down our trail and headed to the lower part of Cascades Park. The dogs enjoyed every bit of the walk. Yet there are side-effects to our hike. Hoover was tired after walking such a long area (well, for him it was a long walk). Poor Hoover didn't have time to rest. He then went to Bell Trace to visit my grandmother, dad's mom. Then he went to visit my other grandma. Hoover was on his toes Sunday.  By Sunday evening, he was dog tired! Lizzie didn't go along to Bell Trace because she isn't a big fan of meeting a lot of people and socializing. We didn't want to interrupt Nikita's sleep so she stayed home with Lizzie. 

     The end of my school year is approaching. And that means (drum roll)... inquiry is upon us! This year I've chosen to research the crusades. More specifically, the causes and effects of the crusades. The only problem I've encountered is deciding on what I should have as a visual. Do you have any ideas?  I'm open suggestions.   
    We faced another storm Thursday night or was it Friday morning? The thunder was getting loud and poor Hoover couldn't take it. He came into my room again and woke me up. He then crawled under my bed. The only thing I could see of him was his tail. I was about to go back to sleep when Lizzie came in and jumped on with me. She bugged me for awhile trying to get me to pet her. After a bit, I ignored her and tried to go back to sleep. She then decided to settle in and go to sleep. When I woke up, they were both gone. I know one thing now, I'm going to need a bigger bed if these April storms keep coming.

The Madness of March

     Sunday was not a good day for my grandmother. After watching the NCAA bastketball tournament games, my mum was taking her to her to apartment. Then Grandma took a tumble. She crashed in the driveway and hit her head. She had a gash on her forehead. Mum then took her to the hospital, just to be sure. Luckily, Grandma turned out okay. However, half of her face turned purple. Soon, the other side started to turn purple. For fun, we made game called,"What will Grandma look like next?"
    Tuesday night was very restless for the dogs. All the dogs except Nikita knew there was a storm coming. Hoover and Lizzie would not sleep. Hoover started off by sitting next to dad's side of the bed. Then he started panting in his face. Lizzie jumped on the bed and tried to lick my parents. Then the dogs decided to bother me. Hoover came in my room first. He tried licking me. When that failed, Hoover managed to crawl his big body under my bed. Lizzie then came into my room and jumped on the bed. She decided to sleep with me on the bed and took up a lot of space. Now I had a dog under the bed and one with me. Hoover, surprising didn't cause much trouble. For awhile Lizzie tried to get me to pet her, but after I refused she relented and went to sleep. I didn't see Lizzie leave my bed, but I think the reason she eventually left was because she got too hot or I started taking up too much space. Hoover may have gotten too hot under the bed and ended up sleeping next to my bed until morning.
     We meet two huskies at the animal shelter. Chloe has been at the shelter for awhile. Red is a newcomer to the shelter. He is a very hyper boy, but once he settles down he is a real lap dog. We took Red out to one of the yards. Red was incredibly ready to get outside. He was running back and forth by the fence trying to see the dogs next to him. Once the other dogs went back inside, he started to calm down. When we sat on the bench, he jumped on with us. Soon Red was climbing all over me. He was very gentle about it. As I said before, Red is a great lap dog.
     Chloe is a great girl. She is a young husky mix with A LOT of energy. I mean A LOT! When she is in her kennel she is very calm. However, when you take her outside, she is an overzealous girl sprinting around. We watched her two college student take her outside. Chloe ran rings around them and jumped up in excitement. It looked like they were screaming for help. They eventually escaped the yard area and had  a staff person take Chloe back to her kennel. I hope she finds the right owner soon.

    As March Madness is winding down, I've decided to talk about my ruined bracket. However, my dad's bracket is even worse. I don't how but my grandma is beating all three of us. She knows little about basketball. Yet she is winning. If you have a bracket, how is your bracket doing? Hopefully you are doing better than me.
    

Nikita's Big Day

    Nikita reached the age of 15 on the 15th. We took her for a long walk. Well, in Nikita's world it was a big walk. Hoover and Lizzie tagged along. She enjoyed the walk, partly because she got to trot around on her own. She could walk on her own because even dad could catch her if she "sprinted." After dinner we held a small party in her honor. When we sang her Happy Birthday, she completely ignored us. Then again, she is 15 and may not have heard us. When we gave her the birthday treat, then she started to pay attention. After the party, Nikita decided she wanted to play...with the PS3. She got stuck between Hoover and the video console, trying to get out, her nose bumped into the on button. Too bad she didn't know how to turn it off. After all her celebrating, Nikita was dog tired.

    I'm ashamed to admit this but I LOVE Comic Con! I'm even more ashamed to admit I REALLY LOVE LARP! LARP means live action role play. In other words, this is pretty much geeks battling with foam swords. We went to Comic Con in Indy on Saturday. I absolutely loved it. The first thing I did was go play LARP. There dad and I picked our foam weapons and "bruised" each other in our battle. We then went to the exhibit hall and checked out the artwork, collectibles and comic books. Dad discovered he could be rolling in the comic book dough. Except his mom sold all his comic books for around $160. We found two of his old comic books and they were both over $100 a piece. These are memories dad doesn't prefer to talk about.                                                                            We went back to the LARP room and we were able to watch some of the LARP tournament. I have to say some of those LARP people are extremely quick. It was great fun to be part of the audience participation. We left Comic Con all geeked out and very happy. I'm not sure mum will be up to doing it again. It may have been too much geekiness for her. 
      Last Saturday I went up to Michigan to play A LOT of soccer against some really good kids in Michigan and Illinois. I had a lot of fun playing up there. The Michigan and Illinois teams were a lot better than Indiana, but it was exciting to play against kids better than us. It was a good experience to learn what level of soccer we are at and what we need to improve on. 
      These past two weeks have been amazing. Now I am on spring break and hopefully more adventures will come. That includes failing at my March Madness brackets.