Hannah is now counting down the days until Grandma and Grandpa's house. We leave on Tuesday for Indiana. Looking forward to seeing everyone there, to the hot dog stand, the new Olive Garden, Roma's pizza, fishing, the water park, campfires, etc. etc.
I few things to update on-
Auctions for Sarah-we did fairly well between the auctions and the donations. So far, we have raised $700, which I have already forwarded to Sarah's family. I am still awaiting payments on some auctions, so I hope they will come in and raise our totals a bit. THANK YOU to all of you that bid on the auctions and donated money. Sarah's mom is so appreciative of everything from all of you.
Backing up a bit-
Hannah was in the summer play again this year-Beauty Lou and the Country Beast. What a difference from last year. Last year Hannah took a while to warm up to the play and the people. She had one of the assistants with her the entire time. I had to go each day at lunch to eat with her because she had such a hard time socializing with the other kids, even her friends. One year later, although she was reluctant walking in on the first day, she jumped right in. No longer did she need Marissa, the wonderful young girl there by her side 24/7. She was able to function independently, and she was having fun! She did mention to me that she ate lunch by herself (because she just couldn't go over by her friends that were already sitting together) but she was happy to go back each day for practice. She had a speaking part this year (two lines I think). Even Marissa noticed how different Hannah was this year, so great to see! Here are a few pictures of Hannah in the play as one of the "country folk."
This week has been a bit of a tough week. we have all been sick, it started with Dave so we're blaming it on him (ha ha). Then it moved to Hannah, and this week Colby and I both got it. Starts with a sore throat and fever, eventually turns into a cold. So, on top of not feeling well, we had a death in the family.
Chester, Hannah's hamster died this week. I went in to wake up Hannah and noticed Chester "climbing up" the side of the cage, but not moving. Poor thing didn't live that long here. We wrapped him in newspaper, carried him (crying) out into the front yard, and buried him (after kissing the package) with a few words of what a good life he had here with us. He really was a good pet, he was friendly and we had a lot of fun with him for the short period of time he was here with us. THANK GOODNESS it wasn't little Tod, that's what I kept thinking!
Hannah also got to throw out the first pitch at the
North Fork Ospreys game yesterday. It's a team of college students that are invited to play from all over for the summer in this league. These players are from division I, II and II schools. It's quite an operation! We thought it was very nice of them to call and ask, and Hannah, already having experience from her Hofstra debut, was ready to go! She kept saying that she was too nervous to do it. She said she was nervous because they were all BOYS! One of the "boys" lead her out to throw the pitch and she threw a stinger, right to the catcher! It was great! The players were very nice, each coming out to give Hannah a high "5" after her pitch and signing a ball for during the game. She also got it signed by Ozz, the Osprey team mascot, which completed the team for her!
To round out the week, Hannah went to horseback riding today, while Colby stayed at home with a fever. Hannah was riding a horse today that was quite a bit bigger than the pony she usually rides. She was trotting along when she started to tilt a bit to the side and I could tell she was losing her balance. She slipped off the side of the saddle, almost in slow motion. The horse was very good, and stopped right away, but Hannah just wasn't strong enough to pull herself back up. She let go and fell to the ground. She wasn't hurt, but she was upset. She ran out crying. She was finally coaxed back in by the instructor, got back up on the horse (as they say) and trotted around again. She wasn't hurt at all, just mad and upset. We told her she is now an official horseback rider. You have to fall off before you can join that club!
Hope you all have a great weekend.
♥Kim
