WHAT'S UP WITH THIS WACKY WEATHER?

Just a quick update: On the heels of a massive flood, one not seen since 1982, the weather turned cold again and we saw several inches of snow. That melted, and we warmed up again and a major wet-front came through. We started to get rain last Tuesday night, and right in the middle, an artic blast roared through. A major rain storm changed into a major snow storm right in front of our eyes. We got just a couple of inches, but the roads were wet and slick underneath the snow. School was canceled on Wednesday.

Then, the snow melted some Thursday morning, but by Thursday night, another cold front came through and dumped fourteen inches on the ground. School was canceled Friday.

By Friday night, the roads were cleared and on Saturday, everything was fine, except for a little snow shoveling, which Charles absolutely hates. We're waiting for the end of season clearance sales to come through and Charles is going to buy a snow thrower - that is, if all the companies that make them don't run out of stock before then!

It's Sunday morning and Becca is sporting another new dress that Bizzy found in California. She picked it out herself, put it on herself and Bizzy helped with the hair do. What did Charles do? He helped Becca pull on her tights - what a job for a Daddy.

Please keep thinking of us - as we are thinking of you - and pray this wacky weather straightens out before winter is up in six weeks or so!

More to come later!

"I'M STAYING WARM!"

We woke up this morning to temperatures at or below zero (South Bend, just north of us, reported -3 at 7:30, while Argos, just south of us, reported 0!). We braved the Artic chill and dressed for church. Here, Becca is sporting one of her new red dresses Biz picked up for her while shopping in California on break.

Our gas stove continues to keep the front part of our house warm during these frigid temperatures.

SINCE THE FLOOD . . .

Sorry I haven't kept you up to date, but as they say, "No news is good news." Well, the good news is, the Yellow River crested early Friday morning at a max peak of 14.9 feet, some 8 feet or so over flood level. The river is back down, you can see all of the gazebo in Magnetic Park, and the town is almost back to normal.

The park, on the other hand, is still waterlogged with massive sized ponds still waiting to drain. As the river went down, so did the temperatures, and now we're having to contend with frozen ground that won't drain. We're sure the waters will go away when the temps come up again . . . just so long as the water is gone when the mosquitos come out to play. Ugh!

Also, over the weekend, Becca got her hair cut and is enjoying sporting the short hair cut look. Bizzy says she almost looks like a real kindergartener, and is as big as one, too! As you can see, we did get a little bit of snow earlier this week, but it's not sticking around long. Right now, we're waiting for the arctic blast to hit us, driving the temp down to single digits by the weekend (at the time the picture was taken it was 31).

Update . . . FLOOD OF 2008

January 10, 2008

THURSDAY - The Yellow River continued to rise, at least another two feet and washed over several roads in Plymouth. This major artery, East Jefferson Street, serves Plymouth east of the Yellow River.

The Boys and Girls Club has been closed since Tuesday, and the river bends to the left behind. Much of the neighborhood behind this is flooded.

From where we live, we're at least 25-30 feet higher than this part of town, as Michigan street, which runs north-south through town, just beyond that orange sign in the distance, is high ground above the river.

If you click on "The South Bend Tribune" link, you can see the news stories about the flood. If you go to Friday's edition, you can see Biz's students bagging sand. As the sun went down tonight, it started raining, again, and is supposed to turn to snow.

We're once again on a two-hour delay, and if they call school, it will most likely be tomorrow (Friday), as most of the access points in town that buses have to get through are becoming waterlogged. The river is supposed to crest Friday afternoon, depending on weather.

NEW WALKBRIDGE TO MAGNETIC PARK

Last Spring, the city finished this walkbridge over the Yellow River, one of three such bridges, and gives you an idea how wide the Yellow River is. That's Magnetic Park in the background and Becca's Jungle Gym is to the left of the trees. What you don't see is the park, which now looks like a lake.

This does show you how high the river is running . . . and running . . . and running . . .

THE SIGN SAYS IT ALL . . .

The entrance to the Magnetic Park clubhouse is under water. It's actually a walkway and motor vehicles aren't allowed. You park on the street and walk down the asphalt walkway. This is also an entry point for Plymouth's new Greenway Trails Project which runs along the river.

IS MY JUNGLE GYM SAFE?

I took Becca by the Jungle Gym at Magnetic Park this morning to check out the flood waters and we discovered that the river had risen another two feet or so, to the edge of the upper part of the park. Here she wonders if the waters are going to flood her jungle gym.

In the extreme background, where the green grass meets the water, is where Becca sleds on her snow disc. At that point, the park descends 10 feet or so to the lower part, so the water is pretty deep in the background.

It almost looks like a lake . . .

MAGNETIC P ARK GAZEBO - THURSDAY

If you look at the picture from Tuesday afternoon (the previous post) you can see that the water has risen another two feet or so. We're expected to crest tomorrow, but more areas of town are under water.

The white thing at the bottom of the picture was a berm of sand placed to prevent water from reaching the clubhouse at Magnetic Park. The water went right over it and flooded to the edge of the clubhouse.

FLOOD UPDATE - WEDNESDAY

The Yellow River has risen another two feet. I didn't take any pictures, but if you look at this gazebo, the water would be up midway from where its at to the roof line (it's already halfway under water!). The actual river bed is beyond the gazebo in the tree line some 100 yards beyond.

Roads in Plymouth are starting to flood and several neighborhoods that border the river are under water. Evacuations have begun in some parts of Plymouth and sand bags are now being put out.

We are on high ground and the only thing we have to worry about is the inch of water standing in our basement (knock on wood!). I'll take some more pictures tomorrow; we are under another two-hour delay, but so far we have not had school cancelled. However, with the new rise - the river is not supposed to crest now until Friday at Noon - Charles' school is cut off on three sides with road closures and river walk bridges unsafe to tread, who knows? We might end up with a flood closure day.

WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE! AND MORE THAT WE CAN SPARE!

We arrived home to rising temperatures, melting snow, falling rain and flooding rivers.

On the first school day (today), our local Yellow River flooded over its banks and filled Magnetic Park, which is only five houses down the street from us. Here, Becca is picking up sticks to build a dam to hold back the flood waters.

Don't worry; she's actually at the bottom of her favorite sledding hill (refer to January 2007 "First Disc Run Down the Hill" post) Becca is standing at the halfway point of the disc run. If there was snow on the ground, her disc would carry her more than 30 feet further out, now covered by flood water.

As I post this, the rain has begun again, and most local school districts will be on a two-hour delay, possibly facing cancellation if the waters continue to rise. Forecasts has the Yellow cresting on Friday, at 1 a.m. We are under Flood Warning until January 15.

Somebody call Georgia and ask if they need any water.

HAVE A WONDERFUL 2008!

If you are reading this post first, scroll down to Becca's Christmas pictures that were posted in December and read the blog from the bottom up. Thank you for visiting our blog.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you a very Happy New Year.

Our fondest wishes,

The Ratliffs, Sanders, Mays and Colton Hill

IS THAT FLIPPER?

For an hour, the dolphins (see post below) flitted about the boat and gave us a wonderful show. They truly made the voyage worth taking. Yes, many pictures were taken, but this says it all.

WHALES? I DON'T SEE ANY WHALES!

We capped our Carlsbad Adventure with a trip out of Oceanside Harbor to go see the migrating whales heading south for the winter (I thought birds did that!).

Here, Mom is enjoying the ride on the calm sea, with no hint of seasickness on the horizon.

We did manage to see a couple whales, but they only snorkeled - meaning they came to the surface to get air, but not to blow. One did, however, a few times, but both did not stick their tails in the air in their signature dive manuever.

After an hour of cruising on calm seas, we motored out 8 miles and ran into a school of 40 or more common dolphins (they act like flipper, but look like miniature versions of Orca). We steamed right through the school, and the dolphins played about the boat, jumping and somersaulting all around.

I'M A HYDRONAUT! (THAT MEANS WATER)

Colton tagged along with us to Legoland, California, and enjoyed himself almost as much as Becca. Although many of the rides were meant for little kids, at 13, Colton found rides more to his liking.

He went on the Hydronaut, which spins you around in a circle while friends on shore spend money and make underwater mortars send water bombs at you. This is one ride that gets you soaked compared to "Splash Battle", where you ride in pirate ships and shoot people with water guns.

Then there's the faster roller coasters that Becca didn't ride on, but Colton did - dragging Charles on the Dragon Coaster and Bizzy to the High Tech coaster.

LOOK AT ME! IT'S THE MIDDLE OF WINTER AND I'M ALL WET!

As the temps soared and reached 67, we decided to let Becca cool off in between rides at Legoland, California. We let her take her shoes off and run through the water fountains.

Don't worry . . . Mommy brought spare clothes along; which makes me wonder - did she know that Becca would get wet? Or, did she think . . .? Naw, that couldn't be it.

Anyways, Becca sure loves the water.

MY LEGOMAN IS TALLER THAN YOURS!

After New Year's, Bizzy, Charles, Becca, and Colton spent a day at Legoland, California, which, interestingly enough, is located in Carlsbad, California.

We spent the day touring the theme park; Becca went on her first roller coaster ride, her first Pirates Splash Battle water ride, and her first Hydronaut water ride. The temperatures approached 67, and we got lots of sun!

At the end of the day, Becca had her face painted and looked like a nice pink kitty!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA

After spending several days in windy Bullhead City, we headed out to Carlsbad, California, for New Year's on the beach.

Here, Becca adorns herself with New Year's Eve paraphernalia (yep! The same kind of stuff she used when she got into a war with Claude Eric last New Year's). We rang in the New Year's and spent the week sight-seeing.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

After Grandpa Claude picked us up in Wikiup, Arizona, he delivered us to Grandma Jan's in Bullhead City, Arizona, so that we might spend Christmas with the Sanders Family.

Here, Claude Eric doth protest a bit when Bizzy snapped his picture (well, maybe just a smirk:). After a few tense moments when we thought Becca was going to shy away, she finally latched onto her uncle and pestered him non-stop through Arizona and California. She hadn't seen her Uncle Claude since last New Year's when the two battled it out with New Year's Eve paraphernalia and we thought the sticking of tongues out would continue, but the pestering prevailed and the love shined through!

The family spent Christmas Eve together. On Christmas Day, we toodled over to Laughlin, Nevada, and had dinner at Chris and Leslie's house. We spent a few days in Bullhead, taking a side trip to historic Oatman, Arizona, to let Becca feed the burros. Then, it was off to California!

THE RATLIFF's: THE NEXT GENERATION

The Ratliff kids got a chance to spend some time together and Becca experienced life (if only for a couple of days) around older cousins. Although she spends her summers with Colton when he visits Bass Lake, Becca spent the weekend before Christmas with (from left) Ailey (Larry and Kristy), Evan (Russ and Kira), Ashley (Lee and Monta) and Caius (Larry and Kristy), her Arizona cousins. She's invited the kids to Indiana when next the opportunity arises and looks forward to dunking Evan in the lake!

The rambunctious five took five so that we might snap this keepsake. Here, they are standing in front of Russ and Kira's fireplace in the family room of their new house. Russ and Kira now live quite near where we boys grew up in North Phoenix.

Having come from freezing weather, we experienced temperatures in the 50s and 60s in Arizona and California and loved every minute of it!

THE FOUR RATLIFF BROTHERS TOGETHER FOR CHRISTMAS!

We began our Christmas 2007 vacation with a quick trip to Phoenix to see the boys, whom we hadn't seen in almost two years. We finished the year on Dec. 21 and flew into Phoenix on Saturday, Dec. 22. Biz, Becca and I stayed at Russ and Kira's new house in North Phoenix for two days.

Then, on Christmas Eve, Russ, Kira and Evan drove us to Wikiup, Arizona, and passed us off to Grampa Sanders, who drove down from Bullhead City to take us the rest of the way to Grandma's House for the Holidays.

There were many people we desired to see, and didn't, but know that we love you all and will catch you on the next swing through.

All our love and Happy New Year!

Merry

Christmas!

Love

Becca,

Bizzy,

and Charles

LOOK AT THOSE CRAZY KIDS DANCE!

Becca points to junior high students decked out in costume at Lincoln's Monster Mash Dance, held Oct. 30 at the school. Becca ran into none other than her friend Cameron S. from daycare. Cameron's dad and Becca's dad both had to help supervise the dance. These two hung out and talked and boogied to the music.

Most of all, they were amazed by all the costumes that turned out at the dance. Oh, and tractor boy and little girl on the prairie were a hit among the junior high kids who thought they were just sooooo cute!

LAST DANCE AT THE MASH!

Becca finally convinces her buddy, Cameron, to have a final dance as the lights come up. Sadly, though, Daddy and Becca couldn't go to the Dairy Queen with Cameron and his parents following the Junior High Monster Mash dance.

Maybe next time, Cameron!

COMPUTER TROUBLES FORCED HIATUS

I wanted to let all of you know that we had a slight problem, er, somewhat major problem, in that we had to purge some bad things that found their way into our computers. Put simply, our Norton expired and we didn't renew right away (Charles forgot!) and a worm found its way into our hard drive. We purged it, at the expense of some files, including our address book. So, we have been trying to put it back together, but many of your email addresses have been lost. If you haven't heard from us, please send us an email so that we can update our files.

Thank you for your patience and we hope that you are enjoying the blog!

CAN I GO AGAIN?

On the first day (Friday) of the Blueberry Festival weekend, Becca and Daddy hit the Kiddie Carnival. After going round and round on the motorcycles, Becca eagerly requested to go again.

And again. . .

And again . . .

Actually, she rode the other rides and had a blast while Mommy shopped the more than 500 booths splayed about Centennial Park in Plymouth.

WANT TO GO RIDING WITH ME?

While hanging out at the Blueberry Festival during Labor Day weekend, Becca took advantage of the kiddie carnival and rode EVERY ride!

More than half a million people/families show up at the Blueberry Festival in Plymouth over the four day Labor Day weekend.

THE LONG LAST JUMP INTO THE LAKE

Becca takes one last jump into Bass Lake and into Colton's waiting arms (That's Nicholas standing behind him). Only a few days before Colton left, he and Becca spent some time swimming in the lake, getting in those last strokes before calling it a summer.

A note or two about Bass Lake: Yes, it's that shallow, yes, that's Becca being that brave, and yes, Colton did, though partially, catch her.

Becca spent the summer learning how to swim, and as this picture testifies, becoming quite the lake jumper. She has learned how to hold her breath under water for about 10 seconds, and can swim strokes when she pushes off the bottom of the lake and practically swims like a fish. We think next year she'll be swimming without the aid of floaties.

After this picture was taken (by Grandpa, who just happened to catch the frolicers at the right second) more rain poured in at the end of August and the lake rose about 8-10 inches and came right up to the bottom of the pier. Even though the water looks dark, Bass Lake filled up with so much water this year, it's actually been the cleanest in several years.

The boats are out now, and by the time this gets posted, the pier will be in and the shore keepers will be readying the lake for winter. The year-rounders (1 in 8 lake residents) keep watch and people come and go, even on the weekends, and theft of equipment is a rarity (much of it is too hard to carry off).

As the weather cools, so goes the lake Rats. Mom and Dad have left, returning to Arizona, and we're spending our days pulling out the winter gear, rooting for the Rockies and Notre Dame football teams (Plymouth is up two wins more than ND, but are struggling just the same). So, we're looking forward to another quiet winter with, hopefully, a sunny respite in December.:-)

"I WANT TO RIDE!"

Becca, not one to be left behind, hitches a ride with Grandpa in his new speed boat. Of course, this picture was shot by Biz who was tagging along. Becca has become quite the brave little water Rat, riding in boats, tubing with Mom, riding on the PWCs, and learning how to swim. Now that Summer is over, we can't wait until next year, so we can go swimming in the lake again.

WATER SKIING - BASS LAKE STYLE!

On the day prior to leaving, Colton decided to get one more trip around the lake on water skis. He's spent the last two years learning how to water ski, and on this particular day, he decided to try the single board. With Grandpa's new SeaDoo Sportster, water skiing (and tubing, dude!) are more fun now that the speed boat can actually pull you up out of the water.

THE LAST DAYS OF SUMMER

Just before Colton went home, he spent time in the lake with Becca (not Abe, the little doggie he's holding!). The two cousins spent many hours in the lake this summer. Oh, and that's Grandpa's 14-year-old Pontoon boat in the background, as much a fixture at Bass Lake as the pier and the swimmers.

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL?

Recently, Becca's Aunt Kasey sent several beautiful dresses she had found that had belonged to her daughter, Anjelica. When Becca opened the package that arrived by mail, all she wanted to do was try them on.

Her mother, sensing an opportunity, had Becca try on the dresses and took her outside for pictures in her newly remodeled back yard flower garden. Becca sure got into the moment, posing for us with the flowers as her props.

At 3 and 1/2, our daughter sure is coming into her own as a beautiful little girl. It's just amazing to see her personality develop and wonder at how quickly she is growing!

CAN ANYONE SEE ME?

One of the dresses Aunt Kasey sent was the beautiful blue floor-length gown that Becca thought was so cute! She was so cute in fact that her mother took her into the flower garden in the back yard for a series of shots, including this one that has her peeking around a tiger lily.

Her father feels that she should pull that shoulder strap up.

I HAVE A SECRET!

As July is the month of Independence, Becca models this beautifully crocheted patriotic dress with matching purse, made by her Aunt Kasey. Notice the teddy bear is sporting a matching outfit? Well, Aunt Kasey crocheted that one a couple of years ago when Becca was an infant. We felt it was appropriate to model the two side-by-side.

OLD FASHIONED LACE AND BLOOMERS!

Among the many dresses sent to Becca from her Aunt Kasey included this lace-bordered red dress with matching bloomers. Becca adores this outfit and has hung it in her "to wear" closet. Her mother and father will adore the dress when it gets colder this winter.

CAN I TAKE HIM HOME?

Due to a recent misfortune, this little critter that Biz is holding lost its mommy and daddy. Barry Sanders, Biz's cousin, rescued him from the clutches of the family dog and have been taking care of "Rascal", as this raccoon is called. Biz got to hold him the other day and we were amazed at how so like a house cat he was, purring and clinging and all that.

Unfortunately, Barry and Crystal say that "Rascal" will have to go in a couple of weeks when he grows teeth.

STILL HAVE A FEW YEARS YET!

Trevor (at wheel) and Ethan (center) Sanders take Becca for a ride, er, that is, try to take Becca for a ride in Biz's new car. Due to the rising costs of gasoline, Biz and Charles traded in the old Caravan for this 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid back in March.

We chose the Civic rather than the more popular Toyota Prius because the Civic feels like you're driving in a car. Depending on in-town or highway, we're averaging between 41 and 48 miles per gallon. It also has a smaller tank (9-gallon overall), so it's not costing us a fortune to fill it up. We're getting anywhere from 360 to 440 miles to the tank, depending on when we fill up (Charles likes to top off when the gas gauge hits 1/4 mark; I guess it's just too many times of running out of gas!).

IT GOT POURED DESPITE THE RAIN!

After delaying the pour five hours because of rain, which threatened for a day and a half, our contractor decided to chance it and pour the eight and a quarter (8 1/4) yards of concrete. Then, when the rain threatened again, they put plastic down to protect the concrete, which set up in several hours despite the rain drops. The pad has now cured out and after a couple of 95-degree days, our porch has come out beautiful.

The concrete also wrapped the house on three sides and after a weekend of showers, very little water has seeped into our basement - yeah! We've put on the patio furniture and displayed Bizzy's Mother's Day present - the new grill!

One problem that "surfaced" during the pour - the concrete truck was so heavy it rutted our soft asphalt driveway, which has now led to Charles calling asphalt contractor's for more bids!

THE CONCRETE IS DOWN!

This is looking from the driveway across the patio toward the mud porch. After the concrete cured for three days, we set the fence back up. That metal stand in the middle is our 50-foot television antennae, with which we can pick up South Bend and, sometimes, Chicago. The only problem - birds sit atop the tower and poop all over the brand new concrete!

TIME TO POUR THE CONCRETE!

Our contractors discuss how the concrete pad is going to be shaped. To give you an idea of how much concrete is going to be poured, the pad will be flush with the bottom step coming out the back door. Oh, that's the mud room that served as the break from outside to inside. It has served us well during this past winter. In fact, after the pad was prepared, Charles crawled under the mud porch and insulated the floor. He plans to enclose the bottom once the concrete is poured.

BEFORE SHOT!

This is how our yard looked before the concrete was poured. Along with pouring the concrete, we had our contractor dig around our foundation and treat the basement outside walls with waterproofing.

THE MOST HEARTFELT COMPLIMENT ONE COULD GIVE . . .

Last weekend we were out visiting Biz's parents at the lake and I came back on Saturday to check on some concrete work we were having done, when, lo and behold, I found this waiting for me. . . er, waiting for Bizzy.

Our neighbors said its a tradition that occurs when graduation approaches (it's this weekend!) that students will go out and get crazy, teepeeing one's house with toilet paper.

That's OK. I laughed it off, pulled out the garbage bag and . . .

"You didn't call the police, did you?" my next door neighbor asked as I was stuffing the Glad Bag not so gladly.

"Oh, no, of course not!" I replied.

"The kids must like you, because you were paid the highest compliment they could give," she added.

"Really?" I continued to stuff toilet paper, wondering, 'Could I reuse . . . ? Nah!'

"If they didn't like you, they would have just egged your house," my neighbor said, emphatically.

We put out the word to the kids who tell, that is, at the High School where Bizzy works. One kid said, "Gee, Dr. Ratliff, you're not going to give them ISS are you?"

"Oh, no," replied Bizzy to the wondering tattle-tale. "I'm going to get even!" When he asked how, she told him how she was going to stuff the guilty party(ies) locker(s) with . . .

Needless to say, one only wishes, and we laughed off this particular practical joke.

I SEE WHAT YOU DID!

Plymouth High School students tried to hide their antics behind the bush, thinking we wouldn't see it. Well, we did! Our next door neighbor said she was worried that we, being from Arizona, wouldn't recognize it as a compliment.

So, we've been complimented!

The name is . . .

As the school year comes to a close, one of the things students look forward to is prom. And, where there's prom, there's the high school administration and staff supervising.

When Biz works for a high school, I always look forward to attending the events with her. The events are fun to attend and to watch the kids as they enjoy the fruits of their labors. The other thing I look forward to is the pictures. And, as sponsors, we get to take our picture right along with the students.

This year's prom at Plymouth High School was, duh, themed "007". The gym at PHS was decked out like a casino, with two big screens on opposite walls playing Bond movies. The sound was turned down so that the kids could enjoy the music and dance on the floor. The art dept. and student council really did a wonderful job decorating. We also enjoyed attending the event.

So, here's the picture we took at this year's Prom at PHS. The photo was taken by Ron Zimmerman, a local photographer. If all goes well, we plan on having our family photos taken in the fall with Mr. Zimmerman.

Have a wonderful Spring!

CAN WE GO TO CHURCH? HUH? YEAH?

Becca hams it up as we make our way to the car Sunday morning. It was such a beautiful morning we couldn't resist taking some pictures outside.

Despite the recent change in weather the last couple of weeks, our grass is green and the sun is shining. Although last week, I mowed my lawn one day, only to wake up the next morning to find a half-inch of snow on the ground and snow mixed with icy rain falling steadily. That's OK, because it was all melted by the next day! Now, that's my kind of weather.

Steve, Scott, Becca and Debbie at a recent Argos basketball game.

ANNIE SURE GOT THE GUN!

We spent Friday evening in Argos and watched Steve and Scott Sanders in the Argos High School production of "Annie Get Your Gun!" Steve played the role of Sitting Bull, while Scott was cast as "Mac", one of the roustabouts for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. All of the kids were marvelous as it was a rousing show.

Becca impressed all who sat around us, including the Sanders clan, by clapping when the audience clapped, and then during intermission, entertained one and all by being just the social butterfly! As the evening wore on (the play was a 2-act, 4-scene each two-and-a-half hours long), she began to tire, so instead of clapping, Becca began hooting "Bravo" with each applause, which made the audience roar even more (Yes, she COULD BE HEARD above the applause).

When we left Argos' auditorium at 10, we no sooner had put Becca in her car seat than she passed out for the ride home.

I know I shouldn't, but I just gotta . . . A good time was had by all!

A CHAMPIONSHIP-SIZE COOKIE!

Becca enjoys a cookie at the 3A state basketball championship game, at Conseco Fieldhouse.

I had to rearrange some of my posts, but I could not bear to drop this picture! Becca sure enjoyed the game, as did we all and is really becoming quite the fan!

Right, third from right, Biz stands with the those individuals who, behind the scenes, contributed to the Boys 3A state basketball championship and were recognized at the community celebration.

Brrrr! It's back to work . . .

We had the community celebration recognizing the boys 3A state champions. Because of Spring Break, it was postponed until everyone could get back from vacation. The community filled the gymnasium and listened while the team was recognized, the boys and coaches spoke, and the pep band and cheerleaders stoked the crowd into a cheering frenzy. Then, the team presented the Indiana-shaped, three-foot trophy to the high school principal and administration.

Well, as we prepare for Easter, the weather has dipped back down into the 30s, and yesterday's Easter Egg hunt in the park was postponed. That's OK. Becca still can't wait to meet the Easter Bunny and go to church to see her friends on Sunday.

Once it warms back up, I'll be needing to break out the yard implements, as the grass has begun to grow like crazy despite the cold. Leaves are beginning to break out all over and the only prescription for tending to the landscape is clearly cutting and trimming! Oh, the joys of spring and the tasks that go with it! I'll be going with it now, so enjoy your spring weather as we have had to dig the heavy coats back out after packing them away. Think of us as you sun bathe and jump into the swimming pool while we shiver for just another week or two.

Caio!

Charles in the stands at Conseco Fieldhouse cheering on the Plymouth Pilgrims in the 3A state championship game.

PLYMOUTH BOYS WIN STATE 3A CHAMPIONSHIP!

Well, it's been a hectic last couple of weeks, and I apologize for not posting earlier. We were in the midst of March Madness (er, Indiana High School Boys Basketball version).

After securing the regionals, the boys went on to defeat arch rivals Northwood (Nappannee) at Semi-state (Final Four) and was given a berth at the State Championship game in Indianapolis versus Evansville Bosse.

We started our Spring Break by attending the game on Saturday, March 24, which was held at the Conseco Fieldhouse (home of the Indiana Pacers). We were the ultimate fans, dressing up in our red t-shirts and sitting in the fan section, next to the students.

The boys took off and left Evansville Bosse behind, scoring 30 first half points to Bosse's 16, then held their own against a second half explosion by Bosse (45 points to Plymouth's 42). It wasn't enough as Plymouth downed Bosse 72-61. It was an exciting game.

Congratulations to the Plymouth Boys team and coaches.

OFF TO THE RACES . . . ER, THE REGIONALS!

As the Ratliff family arrived at Plymouth High School to watch the Plymouth Pilgrims take on the George Rogers Clark (Hammond) High School Pioneers in the first round of the Regional semi-championship last Saturday, what was sitting outside the high school than the Indiana National Guard and this NASCAR vehicle.

We finally were able to get a picture together without one of us holding the camera. Becca was excited as well to see such a neat race car.

"Can I go for a ride, Daddy?" "Not yet, Becca." As we retrieved our photo number, we began to head inside and . . . "Why not?" Becca asks. "We're going to the game." We went inside to hand our tickets to the gate ladies . . . "But, I want to go for a ride!" Oh, the joys of being three years old.

The Pilgrims won both their games and head to Warsaw for semi-state. With that win they would be in the running for the state championship game. Yes, Colton, Bizzy got you a t-shirt. Leslie will be semi-state, and Claude will get the final four shirt. Oh, I get the championship t-shirt! We just want Claude to experience the championship feeling at least once in his life (we know he won't get it in Lake Havasu!).

As you can see, the snow has melted away and Spring has sprung upon us quickly. This time last year we were visiting and wearing heavy coats. I spoke with Lee and Russ and they stated they had been working in shorts already (those rats!).

Well, it won't be long and we'll have the boats in the water. Gentlemen, start your engines!