It's a Wonderful Life (By Ben)

Hello, its Ben. I am going to tell you the events of my resent past. Last Thursday I received a (french) horn. I learned three notes so far. They are a, b flat, and c. I chose it because it's cool and because my great grandpa Lindren played it.
One more interesting fact; I GOT MY CAST OFF TODAY!!! I got a splint to wear when rough housing or playing sports. I now feel free! My brother, Jacob, and I are having a youth group service project tomorrow. SEE Y'AL

9-1-1

This morning the boys smelled smoke in the back of the house! I went into Grace and Eli's room where there was definitely a terrible "electrical" smell and some smoke. I checked around and couldn't find anything obviously burning, yet worried about the old construction in this house and the older wiring as well! After evacuating everyone, I went to the next door neighbors and Wayne came over and agreed that something was definitely not right. His wife Karen called 911 and then took the kids to her house. We caused quite a scene on our block with five large fire trucks coming with all the sirens and lights! Initially the firefighters could not locate the source...this being very disconcerting to me! But then they discovered that the ceiling fan was burning on the inside! An electrician came and disassembled the fan and the fire dept. declared the emergency over! I think they may have been a bit disappointed that the whole hulabaloo wasn't more exciting!

We are so thankful that we were home and discovered the problem before it became worse and burned the house. The kids are still a bit jittery but will probably feel better in a few days! Sorry Rob had to miss all the excitement. I know I would sure appreciate a little less drama in the days to come!

Our Deductible Has Been Met!

The "Ribbe's Big Southern Adventure" has certainly been nothing short of that! We chalked up broken bone # 7 for our family this past Saturday. Eli made an amazing save as goalie for his first Columbia Dynamos soccer game, unfortunately at the expense of his radius! The ER doctor commented in his notes that "brother was recently seen for fx arm"....good thing we have about 30 witnesses for Saturday's incident! It would be nice to not meet Child Protective Services during our stay in South Carolina!!

To Eli's delight, the Orthopedist on Monday said he can most likely resume soccer in a week. The league requires casts to be wrapped in bubble wrap for games (so as not to accidentally render any opposing player unconscious!), so we will need to dig through our packing boxes in the attic to find a quantity suitable for two boys!!

I have to take Rob to the airport at noon today...boo hoo! Thirteen days until he is back with us for six months! Onward with the adventure!

Urban Weekend

Once again we had a fun weekend in the "big" city! Friday night Jacob's 8th grade band was invited to play with the high school pep band during a football game. Jacob looked so "old" playing there with all the highschoolers! Our whole family enjoyed watching the game (and the pep band of course!). We were thrilled to be able to sit at an outdoor football game in late September in shorts, instead of being bundled up in hats, mittens, and scarves!

On Saturday we attended a local Greek festival (not to be confused with "Geek" festival...right Kyra?). One of Grace's friends from 2nd grade was part of one of the groups that did cultural dances (she is pictured with Grace above). We devoured a sample platter of Greek pastries and I enjoyed a yummy piece of spanakopita. We took a guided tour of the local Greek Orthodox Church and learned a lot about their religion. It was really interesting. The stained glass windows and icons throughout were truly beautiful.

We ended the afternoon with Ben and Eli's first SC soccer game. Tomorrow's entry will be about that, but I must finish now in order to take Eli to an orthopedic doctor appointment...hmmmmm!!!!???????

We're in full swing!

You can see from the time that has lapsed since our last entry that life has really been going full swing! Ben and Eli had their first soccer practice yesterday. They are both on the "Columbia Dynamos" with their first game being tomorrow. You can see in this photo why everyone asks us if they are twins!! Jacob's team is still looking for a coach, so he hasn't started yet.

Rob is back again until Tuesday. It was a much easier transition this time around! The kids are enjoying having him walk/bike with them to school each morning. I am enjoying having him here to help with Algebra! Yesterday was an open house at the boys middle school. We were able to meet their teachers and hear about their lesson plans for the year. It seems like a great group of teachers and for that we are pleased!

Tonight Jacob's middle school band is playing with the high school pep band at a football game. We are all going to go and cheer him on (and enjoy a little high school football). It looks like Ben is going to be playing the french horn this year. I was actually informed by the new musician that they no longer use the term "french" for this instrument and just call it a horn, since France apparently had nothing to do with it!! Well....excuse moi!

Tomorrow we are going to Greek Fest at a local orthodox church. I can't wait to sample some yummy treats and hear about Greece (my dream 20th wedding anniversary destination...2011! ). Grace's friend Anna from school is going to be part of a cultural dance which we are hoping to see. Her dad is actually the parish priest.

Lasty, after a $9.99 purchase of an antenna for our TV, we are now able to receive about 8 channels! It's practically cable for us two channel northwoods folk:) Rob and I have been enjoying the retro channel at night, especially re-runs of a childhood favorite, "Emergency"...no gloves, no seatbelts and always an IV with D5W!!

Fun in the Big City!

One of the many advantages of living in a city is having close access to so many fun things to do! Today the kids and I ventured to the Columbia Zoo. We had a great time! Among our favorite exhibits were the penguins, gorillas and chimpanzees. I could have done without looking at the anaconda, python or tarantulas! We decided to buy a year long family membership, so now we can go anytime and also bring some of you along!!!!!

This week I realized that one of the advantages of the kids not having a big social life yet, is that they are really focused on their school work! All the kids have been pulling excellent grades, and seem to be enjoying their teachers praise and good favor. We do seem to be consumed with lots of homework each evening, but it has been bonding in its own way. Most of the teachers have had a little or no Friday homework policy for which we have all been greatful.

I had to smile yesterday when the crossing guard at school (whom I see twice daily) asked me "what is it that you do?" I answered quite sheepishy, "nothing". We chatted about what that meant and I think she doesn't believe me to be a slug, but I did find it funny. I truely am enjoying not having to be scheduled by anything other than the kids. I exercise, read, do my bible study, explore and am slowly making some friends. I actually was brave enough to ask a nice mom whom I talk to daily while waiting for Grace and Eli to come out of school, for her phone number. She was delighted to give it to me and even called me yesterday to see if the kids and I wanted to join them at the park!

Rob returns to us on Wednesday night and soccer starts Friday. Hip, hip hooray!

Eli Eating El Fresco! (by Eli of course)

This is a picture of me and my friends. On the left is my friend Jackson. In the middle is my best friend Shayon[Shy on, is how you prenounce it]. My mom came and ate lunch with me. I got to pick 3 friends, but my other friend wanted to eat in the cafeteria. I hope you are all doing well.

Soccer should start soon. I am on the same team as broken arm Ben. There are 1,000 kids playing for the YMCA like me. I can't wait to start! Miss y'all.

Dining with friend's (By Grace)

Today my mom came and had lunch with me and I got to eat outside with two friends. Their names are Kate and Olivia. All the girls wanted me to pick them to come outside with me, but I could only pick two.

School is fun. My teacher is named Mrs. Shaw. She is very, very nice. My favorite subject is social studies. My social studies teacher is Mrs. Yandle. At lunch you grab a milk and go to the end of the line and get your tray which already has all the food on it. This is way different from Three Lakes.

My family is having fun in South Carolina. On Saturday we went to the beach until Monday morning. My dad left Monday morning. I like going to the library. There is a really big library downtown but it is scary. We go to the branch, it is much smaller.

Ben's Broken! (by Ben himself)

Unfortunately over Labor Day weekend, I was playing on a skim board at the ocean and it slipped out from under me and I fell back on my right wrist. I was feeling pain for the next few days so my caring mother took me to the doctor for an x-ray. I found out that while I had not broken anything, I injured my growth plate still requiring a cast. I picked green and yellow for you guessed it...PACKERS! I have to wear the cast for three weeks and then go back to the doctor for more x-rays and a splint. I think I might want to break my limbs more often because the ortho office is really nice with free video games to play in the lounge!

All my teachers except for band, let other people help me write or didn't make me write at all. I'm hoping I will figure out how to write with my cast on!

Hilton Head Fun!

We had an awesome Labor Day weekend thanks to the generosity of the Wall's who let us use their condo on Hilton Head Island! The weather was perfect and the ocean waves just right for wake boarding and body surfing. We spent many hours playing at the beach and soaking up some much needed vitamin D. We were able to connect with Rob's uncle Paul and aunt Elna Ribbe from VA who were on their last day of vacation at Hilton Head when we arrived. We also spent some fun time with an "old" (as in years since HR) HoneyRock and Wheaton Grad school friend Jean DeVaty who is an Episcopal pastor on the island.

Besides playing in the ocean, we clocked in a lot of time playing speed scrabble! It is amazing how often the word f-a-r-t can come up in a game when playing with three boys!! Bummer moments were getting stung by jelly fish (Jacob & Ben), and a hurt arm from skim boarding (Ben). Today we get to make a visit to the orthopedist!! The biggest bummer by far was having to drive Rob to the airport on our way home yesterday. He is back in Wisconsin until next Wednesday. This week he is wrapping up summer at HR with a full time staff retreat on Wed and Thurs. Things will be a bit different on this trip home as he will be "batchin" it with Rick Masters since we have rented our home to the Volkmann family until June! Thanks for putting out the welcome mat Rick!

Too Much Homework! (by Eli)

Fouth grade is tough! I get too much homework! I am studying lattice and area in math, pirates in english language, native americans in social studies, and astronomy in science. I have to read one chapter of a book every night and write a summary. When I'm not doing homework I like to scooter around the block. I cannot wait until Friday when we go to the beach. I hope I don't get stung by a jellyfish like my grandpa did!

My mom said I have to write about one thing I like about South Carolina....WEEKENDS! Especially Fun Sunday. Fun Sunday is where our family gets together for a family meeting to discuss the week, then we pray about the upcoming week and then do something fun. Last week we went out for pizza.

I do not like sharing a room with Grace because she is so messy, but we do have a clean room sometimes! Miss you all!

From the Hallowed Halls!

Yesterday I was reminded of the true purpose of this southern adventure....PHD! Rob and I went to the USC library where we met a girl from church who works there as a librarian. She was gracious to give us a tutorial in researching at the library as well as some "tricks" on navigating a very complex system. Rob and I then went to a computer "catalog" to begin looking for a few books he could use to get started. I was lovingly dubbed his "research assistant" and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of finding the books he needed among the stacks. This particular library has five levels underground, so I became quite familiar with the elevator and the fact that flip-flops are very hard to keep quiet! Rob seemed like a kid in a candy store, devouring such titles as "Identity, Culture and the Postmodern World", and "Models for Christian Higher Education"....hmmmm!

Today Rob is at the Institute for Freshman Transition, fulfilling his responsibilities there. Tonight we are off to Parent Orientation at the elementary school. It still seems so wierd to be a part of a new school. Things are much the same, but also much different. This week the lunch menu is Creole steak, Fish nuggets, Grits with Cheese, and Beef-a-Roni with collard greens. Needless to say our kids decided on cold lunch...where is their spirit of adventure???? Onward we go!