The Howerter Family Homepage

Jay and John grilling in the rain.

Jay and Katherine had a picnic scheduled for Memorial Day, and the weather turned very wet.  They did not cancel the picnic, and we had a great time.  They set up tables in the garage, and we ate and visited all afternoon.  It was a wonderful time, even with the rainy weather.  Jay and John cooked the burgers and hot dogs on the grill in the pouring rain with huge golf umbrellas.  It was funny to see them out there in the pouring rain.  Lauren and Chad came, and it was great to see them again.  Brandt and Angel came too, and it was fun visiting with them.  Brandt’s taco dip was a hit.  Carla, Katherine’s grandma, wanted the recipe!  Nice job Brandt.  (Angel, if you made the dip, nice job.)  Lauren brought dirt cake with gummy worms in it.  The kids thought that was pretty cool.  Thanks Jay and Katherine for having us!

The family all dressed up and ready to go.

Elijah with his diploma

As hard as it is for me to believe, Elijah graduated from Kindergarten last week.  The school had a very nice ceremony and tea to celebrate.  Grandma Nell, Grandma Betty, Grandma Tracy, Dad, Mom, Josiah and Lily all came to the ceremony, and most of us cried at some point.  The ceremony started with the kids coming in to Pomp and Circumstance.  That song always makes me tear up.  Mrs. Ames had the kids recite their “blends” that they had learned through the year; they sang a  song; they did some spanish and various other things they had learned throughout the year.  Then Mrs. Ames announced each student and what they wanted to be.  On the big screens was the picture the student had drawn about their hopeful vocation.  Elijah wanted to be a basketball player.  Finally, each student was called, and they received their diploma.  It was so nice.  Calvary did such a nice job.  I am so proud of Elijah.

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and I had a wonderful day.  We went to church, and Lily layed on my shoulder for about a half hour.  She was just hanging on to me.  It was wonderful.  We all went to Xochimillco for lunch after church, and my Fajita burrito was fantastic.  John and I then went home and had a nice Mother’s Day nap.  Jay and Katherine had us all over for dinner that evening.  We had a great dinner, and we enjoyed hanging out and talking.  The kids were good, and Uncle Jay let them watch Star Wars.  Thanks Jay and Katherine for having us all over.

I am so excited!  I finally get to go to Europe with John.  James and Noella are getting married on November 14, so I get to go to the wedding.  John will be over there working for a week, and then I will fly in on November 7.  We will spend the week sightseeing, and then go to the wedding on Saturday.  We will then head home on Sunday.  We will defiinitely go to Paris, but I don’t know if we will try to squeeze anything else in.  I am happy to see the sights in England and Paris!  I will be flying over by myself, but I don’t think that will be too bad.  I am pretty good at sleeping on airplanes, so I am hoping to sleep most of the trip.  John will be at Heathrow to meet me, so I won’t have to navigate anywhere by myself.  Thanks James for asking Noella to marry you!  Thanks John for taking me!  I love you.