A Sunny, Funny Day at the Fort Wayne Zoo

Sunday was the last "official" day of 2010 Zoo Season at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.  It was also a gorgeous day, sunny and warm.  You can't tell in this picture, but Peyton is wearing Allison's old shirt that says, "I'm the Big Sister".  NO, SHE IS NOT GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER.  She just loves the shirt because it has a princess on it and because it was Ally's.  The girls love to climb in the cracked eggs.    

My two cuties, Peyton and Ally sitting on a frog.

The kangaroos in the Australian Adventure were very active.  They were jumping all over the place, across the path in front of us.  This guy happened to stay still long enough for me to snap a pic.  Thank you, Mr. Kangaroo!

The girls each wanted to do something different for an activity at the zoo.  Darren took Ally to ride a pony named Trish.  I took Peyton on the Sky Safari, or as she repeatedly told me, "it's the sky ride!"

A view from the Sky Safari of the African Journey.

Our final stop was to see the giraffes.  There were a lot of people waiting to feed them, but they must not have been too hungry.  Darren and Ally got impatient and continued to the drums while Peyton and I stayed by the giraffes.  Eventually they moved closer to the feeding station and we saw a few up close.

A Quick Trip to Napa

On September 29-October 2 I had the opportunity to visit beautiful American Canyon, California for a Leadership Summit for work.  I headed out after a full day of work on Wednesday, leaving at 7:40 pm.  After a layover in Chicago, arriving in Sacramento, picking up the rental car and driving about an hour to American Canyon, I finally got to sleep around 4:30 am Indiana time.  Whew!  I was exhausted, but excited to be in California.  The next two days were packed with workshops and networking with the wonderful people associated with the New Tech Network.  I cannot believe how fortunate I am to get to work with these outstanding educators!  Our conference was held at the new American Canyon HS and we also got to visit the newly renovated Napa New Technology High School.  Both are amazing facilities with innovative educational practices occurring at them.

As it happens, a friend from high school lives not far from Napa.  We were able to get together and he served as our tour guide for Friday evening.  We visited a two wineries and a neat Spanish Tapas restaurant called Zuzu in downtown Napa.  It was a fun evening with friends and colleagues.

The entrance to Mumm.

Mike Yurkus (friend from high school) and Me

Red, White & Blue Sparkling Wine Sampler at Mumm

Next stop was Castello di Amorosa.  Supposedly there was an episode of The Bachelor filmed here.  I wouldn't know though, I don't watch The Bachelor.  Either way, it was a cool place.

New Tech Colleagues from NE Indiana...Eva, Me, & Sean

 Statue of a gargoyle 

Vineyard

Beautiful view of Napa Valley

After a few busy and fun-filled days, it was time to head back to the Hoosier State.  Got up at 3:30am to head to the airport in Sacramento.  Once again, I had a layover in Chicago.  I literally ran through O'Hare to make my connection and got seated on the plane only 6 minutes prior to my scheduled take-off.  Needless to say, I was not surprised when I made it to Fort Wayne, but my bag that they made me gate check in Sac was still in Chicago.  Thankfully, my bag was delivered to my house about 6 hours later.  

It was a great trip, not nearly long enough to truly enjoy all Napa has to offer, but I guess that just means I'll need to go back...

Live well. Love much. Laugh often.

This year the Renier family broke from tradition and spent the 4th of July weekend with friends rather than family.  We headed to beautiful Brown County for a weekend getaway with two of my co-workers and their families, the Gulleys and the Gasaways.  I suppose I do consider these guys like family!  We rented a large cottage that was big enough for all 12 of us, 6 adults and 6 kiddos ages 2-8.

Connor, Ally, Gracie, Liam

I did the shopping for the group ahead of time so we wouldn't have to drag 6 kids through the grocery store after a 3 hour car ride.  We had PLENTY of grub!

Michael & Jeremy get the grill going...eventually...with a big torch.

Behind the cottage was a pond stocked with fish.  The kids had a blast fishing and did quite a nice job.  I think Ally caught 11 fish over a two day span.  She was very proud! Gracie and Peyton didn't do much fishing, but were interested in checking out what kind of goodies Jeremy had in his tackle box.

JG showed Ally how to properly bait her hook while Daddy watched.  She's a pro now.

On the 4th, we headed to Lake Lemon which was only about 10 minutes away for some fun in the sun and splashing in the water.  Gracie was all smiles!

Even with her broken arm, Ally was able to enjoy the water with caution and a little assistance from Daddy. We are looking forward to this coming Friday when she gets her waterproof cast! :)

Evelyn had a blast digging in the sand and burying her feet.

Jennifer and Darren observe as the kids had a water balloon "fight".

We missed the fireworks in Nashville as they were on the 3rd, but we had a little bit of firework fun of our own thanks to Jeremy for being the brave soul willing to light them.  The kids were so cute and lined up in order of age and height (I don't really think they planned this, but it worked out).

Liam-8, Connor-7, Ally-6, Gracie-4, Peyton-3

And from the rear, this time all 6 made it in the picture.

Evelyn-2, Peyton-3, Gracie-4, Ally-6, Connor-7, Liam-8

Peyton's 1st sparkler on her own.  She was still a bit timid.

Gracie shows Michael, Peyton and Tamara her special glasses that "make the fireworks pop in your face". :)

Ally with her sparkler.

Me & Darren--This was actually taken at Yogi's in Bloomington.  We made a slight detour on our way to Brown County to visit our old stomping grounds.  The B-town fun didn't stop there though. 

We brought along our authentic Nick's Sink the Biz bucket for some late night fun for the adults.  Michael and Tamara were introduced to this game on a recent trip to Bloomington after I highly recommended a stop at Nick's.  Jennifer and Jeremy were first timers, but took to it with ease. Although I haven't played since my college days, I am happy to report that I've still got the touch!  Darren held his own too.

I don't have pictures of everything else, but we did play some cornhole, soaked some in the hot tub, made s'mores, went into town for ice cream and I enjoyed early morning coffee and conversation in the quiet outdoors before the kids woke up.  All in all it was a fun-filled getaway with friends making many new memories.  Peyton summed it up well when we were unloading the car this afternoon at home.  She looked at me and said, "I just loved Brown County, Mommy".    

Friends in a Far Away Land

Not one, but two dear friends are set to deploy to Afghanistan in just a few short weeks with the 3-19th Agribusiness Development Team.  Major Jeremy Gulley, my current boss, and Major Shane Robbins, a former collegue, are both with the Indiana National Guard and educators in Indiana.  They are deploying together and will be doing their best to keep those of us at home updated.  If you are curious as to their efforts and mission, I am posting the link to Shane's blog here.    http://afghanistan.monroecentral.org/

Please pray for Jeremy, Shane and their families over the course of the next year.  I thank them both for their dedication to our country and wish them both a safe return home!

What have we done?

It's been several months since I last posted anything.  So, here's a summary of what the Reniers have been up to since November...

~Ally went from group swim lessons to private swim lessons.  The kid is seriously part fish!  She love the water and is really progressing as a swimmer.

~Peyton is now in a big girl bed.  She picked a Tinkerbell theme and loves it!


~I have been very dedicated to getting and staying fit.  My co-workers have been a huge help in the process.  We worked out together at least 3 days after work in our school's fitness room.  We also challenged one another to a 5K in April.  I was so proud of completing my first ever 5K that before I came down off my high, I suggested we do another in May...what was I thinking?! :)  So, we ran another and I got roped into being the running portion of a mini-tri for United Way in September.



~Darren got involved in a fantasy football league with his brothers and some friends.  That proved to be a lot of fun for him.

~Ally thoroughly enjoyed school this year.  She began the year reading only a select number of words and finished Kindergarten reading at late first grade level.  She loves spelling.  Once she mastered all of the Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade sight words, she moved on to spelling.  (I hope she will always enjoy learning so much!)

~Peyton doesn't sit still for long unless she is watching Caillou or the movie UP.  She also enjoys watching Tom and Jerry with Darren and Ally.  Instead of Tom and Jerry, Peyton likes to call it "Tom and Jerome" which sounds more like "J'rome".  Of course, she got this from her Daddy.

~Darren plays racquetball at least one time per week, usually two or three times, with a few guys.  It allows him to exercise his body and his competitive side.

~I have been incredibly busy with work.  My latest project is Viking New Tech which is a school within a school that will be opening in August.  I will be the Director of VNT (basically this means "principal") which means I am in charge of EVERY aspect of school design and implementation.  I do this in addition to all of my responsibilities as assistant principal of the larger high school.  Whew!

The Things My Kids Say...

When taking a picture of Peyton, she says, "Did you get my pouty face?"

Allison:  "I have the best handwriting.  Mrs. Courtney (Kindergarten teacher) says I even write better than she does sometimes."

Me:  "I love you so much."  Peyton:  "I know, Mommy.  You always tell me that."

Fall, Friends & Fun

What could be better than my favorite time of the year spent with several of my favorite people? This past weekend we went up to Pokagon State Park and met up with my college friends (Jen, Kristy, Michelle, and Tara) and their families, between us we had 10 kids ranging in age from 10 months to 5 1/2 years old. The kids became fast friends and had so much fun together. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather, 60's and sunny. On Saturday we had a picnic lunch, the kids played on the playground equipment and jumped in piles of leaves. We went on a hike and stopped by the nature center before heading back to the inn. It just so happened that there was a Puppeteers convention going on, so we took some of the older kids to see a few puppet shows. With 10 young children we decided dinner in would be easier than a restaurant, so we ordered up some pizza. The inn has a really nice social area with table and chairs, sofas, and rockers. With our large group, we somewhat dominated the room, but we didn't mind. Our husbands graciously put the kids to bed, allowing time for the girls to have some quality time together in the evening. We gathered again for breakfast on Sunday morning before we all had to head our separate ways.

Although the miles may separate us physically, our friendships remain strong. I am so blessed to have these fine women in my life!