Congratulations EM Knight Pony Team!

Way to go EM Knights Pony team.  You may have fallen short of first in the end, but you should still be proud of second in the league tournament, and 1st in the Tyler Eggert Memorial Tournament.  You had a great year, and it was fun to watch you! 

Parade Fun.

 The Murdock 4th of July Parade was lots of fun.  The float turned out cute too.  We got Runner Up for best float and won $80 so it was well worth the effort.  We raised another $80 by selling water, beads and kids games, so over all the 2 hours was a success.  Here are more photos from the day.

 The Family on the back of the float.  John was more than willing to skip the second day of de-tasseling so he could ride on the float.

 Ben enjoyed an ice pop before the parade started. 

 We had kids from the 4-H club and families that have walked with Ben's Brigade in the past come help throw candy and hold the banner.  Noah got demoted from throwing candy, since he thought it was fun to throw it as hard as he could. 

 Here is the other side of the float.  Anna's Angels team was kind enough to loan us their posters so we had both boy and girl representation.  I also cut up one of the mis-printed calenders an put those pictures on the sign holders as well. 

 Hey guys!  There a two under here!

 Soon Ben figured out it was fun to dunk his head in the duck wash pan.

Noah found the best way to sell water, was to get a ride from his friends.  By the way, that red hair paint still has not completely come out.

Over all it was a fun day.  Thanks to the community for supporting Ben's Brigade!

Happy 4th of July.

Wishing everyone a very happy and safe 4th of July.  To celebrate, we will be doing a little fundraiser for Ben's Brigade.  Yep, it is time to start thinking about the Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk.  October 6,will be here before we know it.  In addition to the games, we will also have a float in the parade.  I have been wanting to use those Fact posters I have been collecting.  Now is as good of time as any.  Here is our flyer for the fundraiser tomorrow:

If you are in Southeast Nebraska, stop on by! Hopefully  it will be a fun day, where we start the ball rolling to raise a lot of money for Ben's Brigade and the DSAF of Nebraska.

Awesome Surprise!

Yesterday, when I got the mail, there was a big envelope in the mail box marked media from Woodbine House. I was so excited to see the new addition of Early Communication Skills for Children with Down Syndrome inside.

It was back in January that I saw a post on one of the Facebook groups asking for pictures to be submitted.  At the time the deadline had been a few weeks off yet, so I thought I had some time to think about what kind of picture I would like to submit.   I had a few pictures of him using sign language, so I decided to send in one of him signing eat.  (one of his favorite signs). Thinking that it might be good to give them a choice, I got out Ben's flash cards while he was having a snack, to see what would happen.  The second card down was nose, and I got a cute picture of him pointing to his nose as he read the card.  I had wanted to try for a better shot, but knew that we might not get a better one before the deadline, so I went ahead and submitted these two photos and called it good.  I was shocked that about an hour later, I got an email back from an editor at Woodbine House, stating that they already had all the pictures they needed for the book, but since Ben's pictures were so appropriate to the theme of the book, they were going to try to squeeze one in.  So after I signed the release and sent it back, they said to expect the book some time this summer.  So when I got the book yesterday,  I was surprised and happy to see that both pictures made it in the book. 

Page 74, Ben signing eat.

Page 104, Ben sight reading the word nose.

Yesterday was one of the busiest days of the year for me, so all I had time to do was quickly skim through the book. Today is a big laundry day, as I try to catch up from not being home the last 4 days, due to baseball tournaments.  Hopefully between loads, I will be able to start reading this book.  It looks like it has a bunch of great information in it.  It also has some adorable pictures in it of many beautiful children.

One Down, Two More To Go

Congratulations to Noah, his team, and coaches for a great season and for coming in second in their league.  It was a hot weekend for baseball, but it sure was fun watching you guys win!  Way to go Knights!

Signing Times Sale!

June 5th and 6th $10 Signing time DVD's. That is half off the regular price. Ben has been saving his Christmas money and finally completed his Signing Time collection. He is one thrifty shopper. OK. Maybe I tipped him off to the sale.
This is the series of videos that accidentally taught Ben how to sight read. I highly recommend them, so please take advantage of this great sale if you can. http://www.signingtime.com/