Just a July Weekend...

Nothing too terribly interesting went on this weekend. Kept up with the yard work, the house work, general chores and maintenance. Jeff came by to help work on the boat Sunday. Rob and Jeff are trying to get it all cleaned up and tuned up and maybe get their last year out of it. The weather has been kind to the yard. We did have one minor incident. Rob had the boat over at our friend's house for some help on a few of the electrical issues. The boat was being pulled out of our friend's garage and accidentally the door to the hatch on the back of the truck was left open. It caught on the rope in the garage used to pull down the garage door. The guys heard the crashing of glass before they knew what had happened. Thankfully, nobody was hurt and it doesn't effect the ability to drive the truck. We knew we would have a busy week and Kelly and Julie are coming this weekend so we wanted to get organized around here. We took Kendra to U of M on Thursday for her annual visit to the neurosurgeon to check on a malformation she has had since birth. No changes reported! We go back in two years this time! It is something that will most likely cause her some troubles, but usually not until later in life. We stumbled on it while doing an MRI for a different reason and since then have been monitored just to be safe. Everything is fine and our visit was very quick. Came home and did a bonfire out back with the kids and had all of us asleep before 11pm! Glad Friday is here!!

Cadillac, MI

Every year Michelle's family and some old neighborhood friends spend a week or two up in Cadillac at a resort called Pilgrim's Village. We only live an hour from there, so we try to at least get up there for the day. In the past, it hasn't worked out for Rob to come (sometimes week days are less hectic and he hasn't been able to get off time at work) but this year, we went as a whole family! The weather was super! Not too hot or too cold. Kendra and Jacob never left the water except to build in the sand or when Jacob rode the wave-runner with Rob, and Kendra did some fishing off the dock. We were all exhausted by the time it was time to go, but at least got a chance to visit with some loved ones!

Canada, eh?

Wow! It's been awhile since our last update. Wish I had more exciting things to share! Rob was gone to Canada for 5 days at the beginning of July. He, his brother and his parents made their annual fly-in fishing trip to Canada. Limits were caught. Weather could have been better, but was not bad enough to deter the fisherpersons! Rob was missed here in many ways, but we stayed busy. We made our own bird feeders out of milk containers, re-painted Jacob's room to a more mature motif, and the kids got hair cuts. Would love to say we did more than that, but at this point I'm just glad we were all happy and healthy upon his return! Lady (our brown dog) is finally over the hump on a horrible ear infection that we have been treating since we got her in mid-April. We were swimming almost every day at the local pool until this crazy Fall weather hit! Our plan was to do a stay-cation this weekend and put the tent up in the backyard. The kids were super excited, but when yesterday found us in long sleeves and pants we all agreed sleeping outside would be no fun at all for this weekend. Tomorrow we head up to Cadillac for the day to stop and say hello to old friends and family we rarely get to see. We are out to prove that Rob is not invisible! I think he has not seen some of my family in almost 3 years!! Hoping things warm up a bit or our visit will be brief. The kids really need the outlet of the beach to make time go by quickly enough for their enjoyment. Will try not to be so long in between postings! Hope everyone is enjoying your summer time!

Cedar Point! June 28-30

Christmas in July...almost! Rob's parents generously gave us a family trip for the four of us to Cedar Point for Christmas (and threw in "puppy and house sitting" too) and this past weekend was the weekend! As with most great plans, there were some hiccups like; the disposable cameras that continued to be left in the van, the lack of warmer clothes being packed for that last day in wind and random showers, the missing knife, bowls, and cups to go with the sandwich goods, cereal and Kool-Aid powder. But all in all, we had a great time! Fortunately, it didn't take Rob and I long to view the trip from the kids' eyes. Everything got better after that! Our run-down motel (we chose on line) was "the greatest place ever!". The seemingly boring kiddie Indy-500 Peanuts ride ended with our excited children running back in line yelling "Let's do that again!!" The roller coasters seemed a bit much for them just yet, though somehow Jacob ended up trying the Iron Dragon with Rob as his baptism to coaster life! He quickly decided he was "never riding another roller coaster ever again!" He did manage to muster up his courage for the Junior Gemini, but decided that it really did not deserve another ride anytime in the near future. Bumper cars were a big hit, as well as the water park - Soak City. There was definitely something for everyone, but it took us some time to learn just what was for whom. Rob did get to ride the Corkscrew and the Gemini (which were more challenging than he had remembered them to be! Could we really be growing older??) The train was one of 4 rides that earned a "let's do it again!" Although we had a few isolated showers on our last day, the weather overall was kind. Sunny and not too hot. Like good amusement park guests, we even left with a souvenir dog Rob won for the kids, appropriately named C.P....As mentioned before, no camera for pictures, but hopefully tomorrow I'll get some shots of the kids' sun-kissed faces and maybe some trip mementos! For now, we are all just appreciating the comforts of home!

Father's Day - June 21st

Father's Day and the first day of summer! What a great combination! We all played hookie from church, as it was the first Sunday I did not teach Sunday school since last Fall! (A different group will do the summer) So, Rob and I enjoyed our coffee on the patio admiring the now finished flower gardens and taking in the quiet noises of a Sunday morning. After breakfast, Kendra and I dropped off Rob and Jacob and their bikes in downtown Rockford. They rode 6 miles to AJ's Mini Golf and Go-Karts and we met them there by truck. (Still a pretty big adventure for Kendra just yet) Our plan was to enjoy some family time playing miniature golf. We tried. Overall we succeeded, but it was SO HOT!! On our way out to the course Jacob and Kendra helped me rescue a toad who made his way into the cool arcade but quickly realized he wanted out! He made it safely to the shrubs with a little human help! We made it safely to the Cannon Pool as soon as we arrived home!! Lots of splashing fun and cooling off! Rob loved his home-made cards and we all enjoyed just having a relaxed nothing-too-important-to-do day!

American Bandstand

Saturday night was Kendra's recital! She did great! They really had to learn a lot more complicated steps than last year, and as a group looked very good too! On her way out of the auditorium Kendra was feeling excited and proud and told a few people (we didn't know) "I was great!!" Jacob let her know what a good job she did too. He was rating each dance group and soloist and Kendra's was the only one to get two thumbs up! Somehow we were fortunate enough (as we turned in our request for tickets late) to get the first row of the balcony. This actually ended up being better seats than last year. Jacob enjoyed the novelty of these fun seats, though wasn't ready to peek over the side with Dad. Rob noted that Jacob would not be sitting in the front car when we go to Cedar Point for sure! Grandpa and Nanny were able to join us too and enjoyed Kendra's love of the spotlight! They danced a tap routine to "American Bandstand".

Sunday afternoon - June 7th

Rob had been threatening to take up his friend, John, on his offer for all of us to come out for a visit and dinner - so we went. John, his wife, and their two girls, who are very similar to Jacob and Kendra in age, live in Middleville. They have quite a bit of property complete with pond, pet ducks, two labs, and a four-wheeler. Who could ask for more? We had a great time. Their next door neighbor (who was just a quick ride down the road) has a great pond stocked with blue-gill, bass, sunfish and pumpkinseed. It made for lots of great catch and release fishing for the kids! At various times throughout our visit, we saw a doe right across the street from us, a buck in velvet on the trails, a turkey crossing the road, and birdnests in the sand bank at the pond. We also heard bullfrogs, peepers and many different birds. Jacob and I went to check out a stump of a very large tree as he advised me "Each ring represents one year the tree was alive!" This one was hard to read. Somewhere between 50-60. The kids almost fell asleep on the way home (7pm) but roused enough when we returned to take a well needed bath! I guess you can measure the adventure by the amount of dirt in the tub!