WHAT A VACATION! I was blown away by Hawaii, as soon as we landed the place seemed like an exotic planet compared to Indiana! The water was crystal clear blue, the volcanoes and mountains in the distance were beautiful shades of bright green, and everywhere you looked was covered in bright flowers and etc. We landed on May 18th, and then we spent three days on Oahu. We visited Pearl Harbor on our first day, it was very interesting to see. We visited the USS Arizona Memorial and oil was still rising to the surface of the water from the sunken ship. The ship also still holds all of the soldiers that were trapped inside when the ship sunk. The next day we headed up to the North Shore to visit the beach where LOST is filmed....I was so excited. We also saw Banzaii Pipeline and snorkeled in Turtle Bay which we just kinda stumbled across. The sea turtles here were HUGE and very very friendly they would nudge right up to you. On our last day we hiked up Diamond Head which is a crater left from a dormant volcano, once we were on top (about a two hour hike) we could see the entire island!
We flew over to Maui on the 22nd. The first day we relaxed and settled into our beautiful condo. On the second day, Andrew and I took surf lessons. We were actually pretty good at the beginning boards so the next day we rented some shorter boards to hopefully be able to maneuver the waves better. Well the combination of the new board and "trying" to catch BIGGER waves about drowned us both. I got thrashed around and caught in a set of three really bad waves. My legs were pulled in every direction and I was pretty banged up from swallowing so much water and hitting the coral so much (it was only 4 ft deep). That idea soon turned out to be pretty scary! The next day we had a snorkeling trip planned over to Molokini which is a sunken crater in the middle of the ocean. The water is crystal clear and you can see down perfectly 60-80 ft. We saw all types of fish and even a shark! The next day we got up at 2:30 and drove up to Haleakali Crater, another dormant volcano. We got to the sumit at around 5:00 to watch the sunrise. It was amazing because we were higher than the clouds so when the sun came up the clouds all changed color. We spent the rest of the day on our beach hanging out and then went out to eat in Lahaina which is like a little "Panama Strip." The following day we drove the Hana Highway. This highway was hand-carved around the coast and took 30 years to complete. It had 618 hairpin turns, and 54 one lane bridges. The trip took us 12 hours roundtrip! We stopped and saw black sand beaches, red sand beaches, underwater caves, HUGE waterfalls (several of them), seaside grottos and sea arches. We also were driving directly through the rainforest the entire time, so the foliage around was BEAUTIFUL....but after about 7 hours I got pretty cranky. We had a few days of rest to shop and check out the rest of the island and then on our last day we took a helicopter tour over to Lanai and Molokai ...we saw the tallest sea cliffs in the world (8000 ft!!), some awesome reefs from the air, and the best part was we went over this mountain which opened up into a valley and there was 8 WATERFALLS in the valley. They are called Jurassic Falls and were used in the film Jurassic Park. We also saw another Waterfall that started at the top of the sea cliff and ran all the way down to the ocean......8,000 feet of AMAZING! At night we said farewell to Hawaii from the sea and took a sunset cruise (open bar was nice) and watched the island from the water. The next morning we hung out in Lahaina all day becuase our flight didnt leave until 10 at night. I loved my vacation but was ready to get home. I sure didnt miss Indiana but I missed certain someones and my doggy!
It was an awesome trip to take with my family, and something we may never have gotten to do any other time. Check out my pics cuz we spent over $300 bucks on getting pics developed (we had over 600, dont worry I didnt post them all!). But some of the pics are great!!!

You couldn't do this if you tried!

So this is my first ever wreck in my first car....aka the Silver Bullet. Somehow I managed to launch my car up onto this short wall. I thought it would be a great random photo/story.

The events of this incident occurred around 7:00 AM on my way to high school. Many of you know that I HAVE to drink milk (with ice of course) right before I go to bed, and once again for breakfast. Well the Silver Bullet didn't have cupholders (or a backseat) so it was always a true balancing act how I held my breakfast and my glass of milk while I was driving. On this particular morning I had lodged my cup of milk into this change holder thing in front of the console. I pulled out around this corner (blind corner may I add) and needless to say there was a car coming I must have missed seeing. So I sped up, as I sped up and turned my milk spilled on the floor. I was devastated about my precious milk, so I immediately reached down to grab it. Well....I forgot I was turning apparently and hit the stairway between this small wall "just right" to launch me up onto the wall. My car's undersides were sprawled out on the road, and I kinda tumbled out into the sidewalk. I still look at this wall and wonder....how the heck I managed to do it!!

Gran Prix

Me and Kelly (front row), Amanda, Kelly, Destri and Shrock.

GRAN PRIX 2006....how did I forget to post about it! Oh my what a wonderful day at Breakfast Club! Me and my girls dressed up as a drinking game (which we sucked at btw) and we double-fisted screwdrivers until we were slobberin and speaking jibberish. After an hour in line, we spent our day at Jake's and Stacks and I was completely drenched in beer and who knows what by 2:00, but of course I didn't care! After some breaking out into a random dance party at Stacks and some lovely conversation at the fire station we headed home to Amanda's place around 5. I puked, passed out and woke up to discover Amanda snuggling with a wild squirrel! It was such an amazing day....and the pictures sure "show" some memories I will NOT remember forever....at least I have the picture to try and use my imagination!

Thomas' House

May 7th a whole group of us reconvened for our annual visit out at Thomas' House in Burlington. I can't believe it has been six years since I lost my precious Adam, well we lost our precious Adam. Adam was such a wonderful a caring person, his life was cut way too short. He would have gone on to accomplish so many amazing things. I miss the kid like crazy and wonder how my life might be different if he was still around. Maybe I would live in Brazil with him while he was playing soccer for goobillions of dollars!!!

Adam's Garden and the Fishing Beach

Anyways, every year on the anniversary of his death, a large group of us go out to see his parents and we spend the day out at their house. They live on a beautiful property with a private lake, horses, four wheeling trails, cabin on the lake with a theater big screen and surround sound, pontoon boat, canoes, and Adam's garden. It is always so comforting and nice to see his parents and sisters and spend the day out there with them. It is amazing how many people still come out there, without fail, each year to be with them. This year we spent the day fishing, four wheeling (my favorite pastime to do with Adam!!) and sitting around the beach with everyone. It is always a truly amazing day. We love and miss you Adam!

Me and Monica (his mommy) and horse kisses!

Dad's Extravaganza/ St. Patrick's Day

We had an early retirement/last day of work huge bash at the Grill for my dad on St. Patricks Day. Sondy (the owner) said people had been calling all week to reserve a table to be able to come. I got up there with the rest of the fam for some dinner around 5. Then Krystal and I changed into our party shirts, which said, "Mac is our Hero" across the front. Of course the shirt wasn't complete without a pic of a famous glasses and teeth shot of the three of us. The party was crazy and the bar was packed! I had blast, and my dad was escorted home around 2. My night ended carrying an unknown 20-year old Indian Ishmaal to my car who couldnt even open his eyes, guys I was with fighting in the back parking lot losing shoes and shirts, trying to get away with stealing a huge truck cuz I was so fed up with its owner, and sleeping in a pair of shorts that were about three sizes too big for me.....all in all it was a great night that ended at about 6 in the morning. Mark it down in the book for a definate "night to remember."

Random Pic-(little delayed)

Ok- totally forgot about this random pic thing I started.....so here is the next one. Yes, this is my pet pig, Molly. We had her all through her piglet years. She was bottle-fed and even walked on a leash, we were convinced she was part dog. I snuck Molly into school under my jacket once for last period. We had a pretty fun time taking her around and showing her off. It was quite a sight to see a pig running down the hallways! Sadly once she started to get bigger, Molly had to leave the house and go to her new home out on a farm.

Special Delivery!!!

Jordan Christine Thatcher was welcomed with open arms last Thursday March, 16th. Her momma was on her way down to my house for some good-old Wednesday night TV, and her water broke so off she headed to the hospital. The next afternoon little Jordan arrived and what a cutie she is! Good thing our big hoopla of a shower was the weekend before, just in time, cuz Jordan was busting out early! (By the way the shower did turn out amazing, but I was glad it was over cuz it had been stressing me out all week!) Congrats to my little Annie and the rest of the Thatcher crew, I can't wait to watch this one grow up!

War Wounds

So as you can see, this Saturday was quite the blur. I woke up with this hideous mark on my side, and a pulled muscle in my left ankle. Needless to say I believe that each of these war wounds would be proof that I had a great time. We started out at the Wiseman tree dance, not really sure what it is for, some organization, but there was free beer and food so I was definately taking advantage of it. Then once the beer ran out around 11:30ish we headed up to the one and only Grill, and boy was it packed. My night consisted of dancing until my feet hurt, watching an extremely old woman pass out in the biggest bathroom stall, planning my relocation to Arizona, singing 1945 music, achieving half of my mission for the night (wink wink), being shoved into the bar when a fight started, making it impossible for anyone to ever know where I was, almost killing my dog, petting Krystal, and basically having to be told everything I did the morning after. And then of course....whatever caused that hideous mark on my side.

Random Pic of the Week

So recently I have been going through my thousands upon thousands of pictures trying to put some organization into them. I came across several random and odd ones. So I decided to do this little thing I call- "Random Pic of the Week." I am going to try and post a pic at least once a week, it will be random and crazy, and will make you think....hmmmm. I will post them on here, and then my Yahoo Photo page will still have all the archives of pictures from past weeks. Just go to my photo page and click on the Pic of the week album. Enjoy, this should be fun. http://photos.yahoo.com/boilerbabe44

This picture was taken after a soccer game. I remember doing a lot of interviewing into this banana. However, I have no clue what the back up dancers are doing. And if you look over Chach's shoulder...do you see a bear? hmmmm?

Tampon Birthday Prank

Krystal's dad turned 50 last week and I helped her and her mom with their birthday prank. We snuck out at night and went and "decorated" his trailer (he has a construction business). We hung tampons-dyed with Creme Soda, at all the entry ways- and all around the trailer. We stuck maxi pads on the fridge, on the doors and as many toolboxes as we could find. It was pretty funny, and the best part was the people who were driving by at night and slowing down to see what the heck we were up to! He was sure surprised!

Kokomo Krew

Ryan decided to make an appearance back in Kokomo this past weekend, so I ventured out into the land of karaoke and Cha-Cha sliding. It was great to be back with old friends. Plus, I had not been out in weeks so I hadn't gotten my monthly dosage of second hand smoke. When I woke up even my cell phone stunk of it! All in all it was a good weekend, some casual drinking and dancing. And thanks to the boys for their stellar rendition of "Friends in Low Places," which got several people up and on the dance floor Friday evening.

Babies, babies, babies!

My little Poppers is nearing her due nate. Anne Thatcher, a close friend of the family, is the first of "the kids" to have a baby! Several of the ladies from the group of about 4 familes have been planning a spectacular baby shower for her. The date is nearing and one of my duties was to create the invitations. I am really excited about how they ended up turning out, so I thought I would post a pic for all of you. It took me forever to finally decide on a design, and they are taking forever to make, but I LOVE them!

I used light yellow and pink cardstock and cut them into 3 inch by 8 inch strips to make a card that opened vertically. I used a hole punch and an eyelet for the closure. I used tacky letters which are double sided, and I applied rose micro-beads to the letters to make them a little more snazzy. They are just itty bitty beads like the size of glitter but much cooler. Then I used some regular stickers but attached foam backing to them to make them more 3D. The inside info is written on plain transparent vellum. Tell me what you think!

A half a decade later....

First I must apologize for neglecting to post this earlier. Blake and I mutually decided to go our separate ways about a week ago. It was the night before Jansen's passing so, obviously I had a lot of other things on my mind since then.

Blake joined the Air Force in December, and since then our relationship started to weaken. I wasn't wanting to pursue another long-distance relationship. I found it hard to be optimistic about everything, and imagine him being all over the country for the next several years. It is sad to see such a long relationship end this way, but probably is for the best.

So far, I have been happy with this decision. Many of you know Blake and I have been off and on again for the past five years. With the other break-ups I always had mixed emotions, but for once I think we made the right decision this time. I feel confident that we can begin to build a strong friendship before he leaves.

I am definitely enjoying the independence, I have no one to worry about but myself, and the "sky is the limit" so to speak.

A Life Remembered

It has been several days since Jansen's viewing and funeral. It was hard for me on so many levels. I tried to be strong for my brother as best I could, but learned that I could not shelve my emotions so easily. It was most difficult to see Jansen's lifeless body in the casket. Jansen was always so full of life and outgoing, and he was always moving around. But luckily they dressed him as he usually would be dressed, baseball cap and collared shirt. He would have been pretty angry he didn't have his "bling bling" in his ears though!

The viewing was amazing. According to the guest book, over 1000 people signed in. It was smart thinking to move it over to the church, instead of trying to house so many people in a funeral home. They held the services at St. Patrick's Catholic church. It is one of the most beautiful church's I have ever seen. Adams funeral was also held there. The ceilings are so tall, and the sides are lined with intricate and elaborate huge stain glass windows. Please take the time to look at the pictures, on this site. I love this church so much! Click on the picture of the church on the homepage. http://www.stpatrick-kokomo.org/

The line never got short, it consistently stayed at the same point the entire time. It took about 30-40 minutes just to wait through. They even had to conduct the rosary ceremony with people still waiting in line. I don't think Jansen would have ever imagined so many people to come and pay their respects. The funeral the next day was also beautiful. The priest did an excellent job. Again, the church was filled. We got to sit directly behind the family which made me feel so honored and blessed.

The funeral procession to the cemetery was the longest procession I have ever witnessed in my life. My dad even said the same thing, and he has lived a lot longer! At the graveside ceremony they played "I'll be missing you," by Puff Daddy. Jansen was always singing, so it was easy to imagine him singing along to it. My brother and I used to joke and say that "Jansen thinks his life is a music video!" :-) But, as soon as those first notes came out of the speaker you could just hear the people in the crowd immediately tear up. My brother took it exceptionally hard, and if you know the lyrics you can probably imagine why. It was a perfect song to play, because Jansen would have probably requested it. Our pastor did the graveside service. The Kucholick family are all Catholic, but they asked Mark to do the graveside, because Jansen had been attending our church for the past several years. Jansen really enjoyed Mark, and again probably would not have ever imagined Mark would agree to do his graveside. Of course Mark rocked the house with all his inspirational words.

Looking back at the past few days, I feel Jansen's life was honored and remembered to the largest degree possible. Everything was amazing, and the amount of people at all the ceremony's was unbelievable. The support and love coming from so many people flooded the room. I could just feel emotions and feelings, and people there to honor such a beautiful young man. I felt at ease to know he was looking down in amazement at how everything turned out.

Tragic News

Our family got some very tragic news early Saturday morning. My brother's best friend, Jansen, passed away. This is devastating news to my entire family. We all cared about Jansen just like he was part of our family. My brother and him had moved into their own house in November. Even though they had moved out they were still regulars around our house, especially when food was being served. My brother woke up to come over and eat lunch over here with all of us. Andrew went into Jansen's room and found him, appearing to be sleeping, in his bed. They are still investigating the cause of his death, and right now nothing has turned up on any tests.


Many of you have met Jansen, because over the past several years he has become a second brother to me. If you check my photos regularly he shows up in a lot of them. My family sort of "took in" Jansen as a second son. Jansen spent a lot of time at our house, and not many days would go by without seeing him. Jansen also spent many holidays and vacations with us over the years. Christmas's, Florida trips, visiting family out of state, or just a weekend trip to the lake. Honestly, we just planned on Jansen coming no matter where we were headed. But, really what sticks out most in my mind, is just him being around here and hanging out all the time doing nothing in particular.


My heart is breaking because I feel as if I have lost a huge piece of my life. To see my brother walk up to the house alone and not see Jansen trailing shortly behind him hits me really hard. I am having a difficult time even imagining getting older and Jansen not being there. It is hard to explain in words how much I cared about him.

I also have so many questions to ask, and I know that I can't get any answers. I wonder if he knew how much we all loved him. I wonder if he is ok, and if he is in a better place. I wonder what went wrong on that night. I wonder what was the last thing I said to him. I wonder if my brother is going to be able to get through this. I wonder what tomorrow will be like and the day after that.....and most importantly I hope Jansen knows that there are very few people in this world that I loved as much as I loved him.

Post-Graduation

Bye bye Boilers! Yes, finally three majors later I graduated from Purdue with an elementary education degree. I can't wait to get into my own classroom and begin teaching and touching young lives. I think I have finally found something I can excel in and be good at. After graduation, I got a temporary job in the school that I was student teaching in. I was filling in for a teacher's aide that was out for surgery. I was in a third/fourth grade classroom in the mornings and then back in my fourth/fifth split in the afternoons. I was very lucky because I got to stay longer in the classroom where I did my student teaching. I have grown so close to the kids and I was happy to be with them longer. PLUS I was getting paid finally! I recently finished that job on the 24th of January. And currently I am job searching in some surrounding areas. I really don't know where I will end up teaching for now I am just trying to get several options going.

My Introduction-Read First

Welcome to my first ever blog site. It really isn't much right now, but maybe I will jazz it up sometime later. I have lost touch with many friends since moving away from Purdue, and my hopes are that this blog can keep people up to date with what's going on with me. Unfortunately, my first few posts might not be as happy and cheery as you could hope, but you have to start somewhere I suppose. I am going to attempt to try and get everyone caught up with my life and everything that has been going on the past few weeks. Thanks for listening.