Are you a Ty Guy

ARE YOU A TY GUY?

Hey everybody. I know I don't write much, but I wanted to let everyone know about how cute Maddie and Josh and Ty are. It is Tyler's annual Down Syndrome Walk at the end of October. We are very excited around here because this year we'll have a BIG team. Family from all over the country are coming to walk with us. All the teams make their own T-shirts and Josh and Maddie wanted to make Tyler's. So they decided on making Ty's T-shirts, Tye Dyed! So here they are. Josh wanted all the boys to wear camo, and Maddie wanted girl colors(though I couldn't find a packet with pink so this had to do.).

They made T-shirts for the whole team that's coming: Grandma Nettie and Boss, Will, Jakey and Naomi(There is a big debate about Jakey wearing one of Maddie's or one of the boy ones, I honestly don't know who's going to win that one), Jessie and James, Jo, Ashley and baby Eliza. Holy Cow we're going to be a huge team!. But if anyone else wants a T-shirt, the kids will make one for you too. They are $10 each and the donation will go to Down Syndrome of Indiana under Tyler's name. Please visit http://www.firstgiving.com/davidorme if you'd like to donate(if you come walk with us, the T-shirt's on us)

You can also read about other's stories at the Buddy Walk home page:

http://www.dsindiana.org/buddyWalk.php

Practicing is tough work!

I just got done practicing with Josh and Maddie at 9:00 on a Saturday night. Whew! I definitely have great respect for all mom's out there who have the diligence and patience to practice with their kids on an instrument. Big thanks to my mom who never gave up on me even when I would throw fits about practicing! I like the look on Tyler's face. He is thinking in his head, "Excuse me mom, can't you see I am busy working on my skills?!" Have you ever heard this little guy sing? It is.....hmmm...what's the word?

Maddie's sale

Hello, Would anyone like to buy a small piece of play dough that is stamped with a flower in the middle? That is the sale that Maddie wanted to have last week. There was no stopping her. She sat out there for about 30 minutes. Not one soul drove or walked by. Except for this weird lady that kept coming back dressed up in different disguises. She always had a funny voice and her face covered. (It was me. Shhhhh!) Maddie refused to sell anything to that weird lady even when offered a lot of money. All of a sudden Dave pulled in the driveway after a long day at work, and Maddie let him buy the stamped piece of play dough. I guess Bowie Lane is not the place to have a lucrative sale. Tyler has started a one day a week play school with 3 of his buddies from church. On the far left we have Grant Romriell, Sammy Evans, Ty Ty, and Trent Bischoff. We love playing with such a cute group of boys!

The first week of school, I hosted. We put 4 leashes on Tucker so that they could all feel like they were walking the dog. We played in the sandbox, slides, swings, toys, and talked about the letter "A". Then we painted pictures of big red apples. Grant was upset that I would not let him paint his apple blue. (I probably would have let him, but I couldn't find any blue paint.) Grant is pretty much the only big talker, so he keeps things interesting.

The wagon ride was also a big hit. Aren't these boys cute! I love it that Tyler is starting to have his own little friends. Trent especially gets super excited whenever he see's his buddy Tyler.

Too busy!

I feel like my blogging skills have become super rusty lately. I am going to play a little catch up. Here are 10 things I have failed to mention over the last month.

1. Josh lost his first tooth two days ago. He was squealing with excitement. We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Within 3 minutes, he had dropped the tooth and fell to the ground moaning while I searched for 10 minutes. The tooth was never found, but good thing for Josh, that trusty old tooth fairy didn't forget! That trusty old tooth fairy even wrote a poem for him!

2. I have discovered a whole new world! It is the world of ZUMBA! I am addicted to it. At my gym, I am usually the only white girl in this particular class. Most of the women have me by at least 15 years and about 50 extra pounds. I am not trying to be rude or racist, I am just trying to give you a picture of my zumba experience. I LOVE IT! I am learning how to shake it baby!

3. Maddie has moved up to the next level in gymnastics and ballet. I love watching her and practicing with her around our house! Oh, I would love to be a dancer.

4. Dave just finished two long months of adult psychiatry. He is now back to working with kids, thank goodness. You can only deal with so many suicidal people per day!

5. Last month I auditioned for The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir. I have had 4 rehearsals and am completely loving it! Our first performance will be the beginning of November. We have a great season of music ahead. The practice schedule is every Tuesday night from 7-10 p.m. My sweet husband has a soccer league he has been playing on every Tuesday night. He has been very supportive of me singing but has not quite been able to say goodbye to his team. Thus, he takes 3 kids to late night soccer games by himself. (That tells you what kind of parents we are.)

6. Josh has picked up a new sport this fall. (My dream sport) Ice hockey!!! We got him some great skates on clearance for $15. He also has his own helmet, gloves, and stick. It is once a week and I am amazed by his improvement after 6 practices. I don't know why I get some type of high being around ice. I am pretty sure it has something to do with my love for the movie, "The Cutting Edge." I told my mom I wanted to be an ice skater when I was little. She gave me one private lesson and decided it was too expensive. I don't blame her. Now, it does make me smile to see Josh out there cruising on the ice.

7. Josh is loving first grade. I was a helper in the classroom this last week. I helped the kids cut apples to make applesauce. Very cute classroom and teacher. I was amazed by how well behaved all the kids were.

8. Maddie is loving preschool 3 days a week. She should really be going every day. I can not keep that girl entertained to save my life! She wants to be doing something every second! I actually have been wishing my kids liked T.V. more because they never want to chill out. It is always go, go, go!

9. Dave and I have been taking full advantage of this weather by going biking as much as possible. It is perfect biking weather! We also have been hooked on a hamburger joint called "Five Guys". After all that biking, we need some burgers and fries. SO GOOD!

10. So, life is good around here. It's Saturday night which means I better start thinking about what I am going to do in primary tomorrow. Primary chorister can be quite an exhausting calling at times. Our primary program is coming up in a few weeks. I really liked church when I could sit for three hours. Now I never sit anymore. Tyler is absolutely NOT doing the whole sacrament thing. 10 minutes on the bench is all I can hope for with him. Speaking of church, I was able to see the R.S. Broadcast tonight. I loved every word from President Monson. Truly inspiring.

P.S. If you want to see what I did with a few crazy friends of mine Thursday night, click on the link below.
http://www.pjbischoff.blogspot.com/

Downtown Indy

I have to admit, I really love the feel of being in a big city. I would like to try the farm life,

but I think living in a big city is great!

Looks cozy huh?

Anyway...

Anyway- Mother Theresa

People are unreasonalble, illogical, and self-centered,

Love Them Anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives,

Do Good Anyway.

If you are successful,

you win false friends and true enemies,

Succeed Anyway

The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow,

Do Good Anyway.

Honest and frankness make you vulnerable,

Be Honest And Frank Anyway.

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight,

Build Anyway

People really need help but may attack you if you help them,

Help People Anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.

Give The World The Best You've Got Anyway.

I have to remind myself daily of all the good in the world.

There is so much more of it when you're looking for it.

Who lost the lizard?

I am not talking about my mom, by the way! (Her nickname has often been "lizard" since her name is Liz.)

Ok, I have failed to mention on our blog that 3 weeks ago Dave and Josh bought a new pet. A gecko lizard. Sorry I don't have a picture to post, but I must say that he is perhaps the most beautiful lizard I have ever seen. (next to my mom, ha,ha!) He is (or was) bright yellow with black dots all over and super sticky feet that can climb anything. Josh named his new pet, "Vein." Interesting choice, but the name actually started to grow on us. (He must have thought Vein was a cool name because he hears Dave talking about the blood in our veins, and he knows about vampires sucking blood from your veins." So I guess it is a pretty cool name that a 6 year old boy would choose.

I actually started to grow fond of this new pet of ours. I had fun scaring one of our neighbors during our "Bowie Lane Ice Cream Social". (A big black dude in the air force screamed and ran away when I startled him with it!)

So, last night at midnight I went to give Vein some fresh crickets and meal worms, when lo and behold......he was gone!!! Dave was working overnight at the hospital and I was a little uneasy going to bed knowing that a lizard was on the loose in our house! So, who lost the lizard? We are still trying to unravel the mystery. It was not Josh because when I told him the news this morning he broke into hysterical sobs.......so that leaves one culprit. Maddie. She has not fully confessed yet. Her story is a little jumbled. Little Maddie's arms are not long enough to reach into the cage on her own. She must have had some help from our mischievous neighbor next door.

It has been over 24 hours. We have searched the entire house. No Vein. Poor guy. I know it all sounds a bit weird, but I kind of miss him already!

FHE

FAMILY HOME EVENING

Last night we had FHE as I was to be on call Monday. It started out with a normal, straight-forward song, and then Maddie took over. I thought we should share her dancing with the world.

Honestly, I know she's only four, but she already has it all. She has the grace and poise of a ballerina, but at the end, she'll show you a little sass too.

Summer...don't end!

I am trying to soak up as much good weather as possible right now. I love being outside! We don't get family pictures with everyone very often, so I thought this was pretty cute.

Just please don't look at my thighs in this one. PLEASE! Did you look? You jerk.

(I admit, it is hard to miss them.)

Indianapolis isn't such a bad city. It is actually a pretty great place to live.

4 more years...I can hear the west calling out to me....

We'll be back!

We are NEVER too old to roller blade. I am lucky enough to be married to someone who LOVES to blade on a regular basis just like me. We do our best to get our blades out at least once a week. Pushing a stroller on blades is so much more fun than just walking or running.

Our last day with Dan was action packed. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I feel like I wore him out. Three kids can do that to just about anyone! Now we just need Cortney to come visit us! And let me thank my younger brother one more time for driving all the way to Indy from Utah in just 24 hours!! How often do I get that kind of one on one time with my brother? Pretty much never. I love ya Dan!

Now, about those "thunder thighs" up above. I have come to the realization this year that I can no longer eat whatever I want and expect to stay thin. I have always felt that as long as I am active and hit the gym a few times a week, I can eat anything. I guess that philosophy does not work in your thirties. So, for the first time, I am actually limiting my food intake.

We'll see how I do.
I am grateful for the good examples of my husband and some of my friends out here who love to be healthy and active every day!

(Yes, Jessica and Amelia, I am mainly talking to you!)

Being a mom...

It can be a little rough, but I would have to say that overall,

"IT'S THE BEST!"

I mean SERIOUSLY, look at that face!

When Dan came to visit, this bright idea of his entertained the kids for a good two hours.
This picture really says a lot about my daughter. I love her to pieces, but I have to admit at times she is a crazy nut!

Yesterday I was lounging at the pool with my kids and some good friends for FOUR HOURS.

I had to think how totally spoiled I am while Dave slaves away in the hospital day and night. Have I personally EVER wanted to be a doctor??? What do you think?!