Our Family Reunion

What a family! My Mom organized a family reunion to her hometown, Oglesby, Ill. This will be in our hearts forever. Mom flew in from CA. Nancy (my OLDER sis) and her honey flew in from GA. They were the lucky ducks, because we had to drive! What an adventure! John took an evening nap on June 5 so he could be well rested to drive through the night. We pulled out of our driveway around 10pm. As you can imagine, 6 boys can bring some pretty heavy excitement to a small space. We drove about 12 hours and arrived in Kentucky at the Creation Museum. What a day! It was so nice to be in a place that felt Christian from the moment you walked in. The boys were in awe, surrounded by Noah's Ark, dinosaurs and so much more. We arrived in Ill. the next day around 4pm. As we checked in to the hotel we heard squeeks, screams of "Cool, No Way!, Is this all for us!" There was an actual Waterpark and Amusement Park IN the hotel! For kids that pretty much play baseball all day, everyday in the backyard as their big life of entertainment, they couldn't believe their eyes! We tortured the children by telling them "there is no time to enjoy the parks today AND tomorrow was the family reunion" What mean parents! The next day we headed to my cousins house. They live on a beautiful lake in Henry IL near their 4,000 acre farm! The boys were amazed at the size of the tractors and combines. In fact Joel could stand up in the rim of one of the wheels!Jane planed a "Hawaiin Luau" for our reuniting. It was great to have our family together and meeting cousins that have grown into successful people. I think the thrill for me was to just watch and listen to my Uncle Howard. So sharp and whitty. FINALLY, the long awaited day came...WATERPARK! It was quite amazing to see this structure of fun under one roof. I think John and my brother in law, Ramiro had as much fun as the kids! As you can imagine the waterpark became the daily event. The men took the kids to Starved Rock one day while the ladies went shopping in Princeton. We ended our time with family at a wonderful Chinese buffet. It was a great reunion that will always be treasure. I can't thank my Mom enough for planning, helping and organizing such a dream vacation. It was great having my sis next door to laugh with, cook with and play games with. The kids are still talking about what a great time they had!!

A Special Day

The Ludka's have much to be proud of. Joel started our day off with his kindergarten graduation. He was so excited to participate in all the days activities. His class had been practicing the play The Little Red Hen. Joel was the pig....and a very good pig was he! I personally loved his costume that was so creatively made by his Mother out of her old pink sweatsuit. He also was awarded the Good Attitude Award. It is hard to believe Joel will be a big first grader next year!

That evening the boys school puts on the Awards Ceremony for all the other classes. Here are a few awards...(blogs are a safe place to brag, right?)

Jonathan: Sports - Best base-runner, Best hitter, Best out-fielder,

High Honors in Academics, Biology, Speech, Citizenship (I have no idea what that award is...maybe he helped little old ladies across the street)

Justin: High Honors in academics, Cross-country running award

Jacob: Honors in Academics, Great Student and the EAGLE Award

Jeffrey: High Honors in Academics, Joyful Disposition and Good Attitude, Hard Worker Award

Joel: Good Attitude

Pasha: Diligence Award and Most Improved in every area.

The High Honors Award means you had staight A's for at least 3 quarters in a row. Are these our children???

Now, the Eagle award is the greatest most honorable award that is granted to a student. There are only 2 kids that can get this award. One is for the entire elementary and the other for Jr and Sr. High. There are a lot reasons for this award, but in short...you are basically the best in every area!! We are very proud of our Eagle!!