As the summer winds down...

...we find ourselves enjoying just a few more lazy days of summer.

Today feels like fall...warm, dry, and a strong breeze.

School starts for Laura this Friday, and for the rest of the kids, in less than two weeks.

 

The kids are taking over meals again.  Amarin and Charlie made Mexican lasagna, with corn-on-the-cob.

 Icecream treats with Dad!

 Jacob loves reading, and Laura finds it all quite amusing.

 Jenna had a soccer evaluation since this will be her first year playing.  She did great, and thankfully, we remembered to remove her glasses as she got hit right in the face with the ball.  No tears!

 Laura and Gus are enjoying their last few full days together.  Laura heads back to school Friday, so Gus will be missing her!



More Beach Time

 Another day of beautiful weather...warm enough to play at the beach, but not so hot that we cooked.

Char found his relaxing place.

Jenna was busy for hours building in the sand.

 Laura was happy as long as she was near the water.

 Amarin built the city of Ninevah.

 He even added Jonah sitting in the shade.

Amarin loves to fish, but didn't get a bite! 

 Skipping stones, throwing rocks...

 And celebrating Laura's birthday again with our family.

We even squeezed in some time to buy new school supplies, and found Jacob his new Study Bible he had been wanting.

A Summer Vacation

I don't think there are cleaner, larger, or more beautiful fresh-water lakes in the world.

The Great Lakes surrounding Michigan are all that.  Living away from them makes us appreciate them even more.  So this summer, we decided to spend our vacation near the lakes, and near family. 

 

We left very, very early Saturday morning.  Laura assumed her regular sleeping-travel pose. 

We were at the cabin less than one hour, and they were already in the water.  Temps were in the high 60s...brrrr... 

My favorite time of the day?  My quiet, early morning time with my Bible and coffee, listening to the waves, and watching the freighters.

 Early travel mornings and swimming make for tired kids...even the teenager.  The bright sunrise couldn't stir this kid! 

 Breakfast outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. 

 In no time, they were back in the water swimming, collecting shells and rocks, and playing in the sand.

 That night, Amarin chose BW2s for dinner for his Gotcha Day.  5 years with us!  He chose THE spiciest sauce they offered.  Someone's mouth was pretty "on-fire!"

 While at dinner, a huge storm blew through the area.  Boats were damaged, docks were destroyed, and the waves were huge!  The north wind blew hard, and made for a cool Monday.  We took the kids to a local village to shop, and then to the longest suspension bridge in Michigan.  They thought it was a hoot to run and swing across the bridge.  I decided to stay put at the end with Laura!

Then off to visit family, and snuggle in the warm house.

 Later, well...Laura tried to get in some more swim time.  Sorry...no water, Laura.



It's always good to see "old" friends again.  These gals visited with their kids.  We had such a fun time catching up, and chatting like time hadn't passed at all.

 Jacob and his friends...so goofy!

Hot dog roast over the bonfire!

 And icecream cones for our friend's 12th birthday. 

 It's a great start to our vacation!

Catching Up

 Computers.  It's a love/hate relationship.

I couldn't get on my blog, and it kept telling me to get permission from the blog administrator.

I AM the administrator.

So, using a different search engine, I got access again.

Then I couldn't access my photos.

Ugh.

Nevertheless...I am back on and catching up...just for Uncle Jim!

:)

Father's Day in Michigan. Love the Great Lakes.

 Gus is still Laura's faithful friend.

 We celebrated our 20th anniversary on June 24th.

Four kids are now in glasses.  Glad we could make the eye drs. payment on his new car.



 We celebrated the 4th of July with friends.

 Laura's hair reached a length for donation.  Before...

 ...and after 6 inches were cut. 

 Laura turned 10 on July 19th.

 Her favorite present was her new pool.

 The kids are loving their slip-n-slide.  It has been such a beautiful summer.

Jacob went to Camp CoBeAc with the teens from our church.

Needless to say, they had a great time, and were exhausted on the ride home.

 Welcome home!!

Our friends have a pond and invited us over to swim.

Charlie had a blast on the rope swing, flying into the pond!

Those are the highlights, and hopefully I will be posting more often with a working blog site!

Another Tooth

Guess who finally lost another tooth?  At almost 10 years old, this is only her third tooth lost.

It was so wiggly, and we were all concerned that she would swallow it in bed.

So a friend pulled it out at church tonight. Phew!

I can handle bloody knees and elbows, but not a loose tooth.

Makes me squeamish.

Now if only the tooth fairy will remember...er...not be too busy to stop by.

Oh, and she needs to bring something other than money.

Because Laura will eat money.

Tooth fairy needs to stop at the store tomorrow...

In the past few days...

Jacob has started tearing apart our old piano.  He and a gentleman from church plan to build a desk and a coffee table.  Can't wait!

 Charlie was trying to be polite while sampling a garlic stuffed olive.  I think his face says it all.

 And Laura has found a new pastime...blowing raspberries.  She just cracks herself up every time!

What does he do?

A question we often get...so, what does he do for her?

No, he doesn't go to school with her.

And he doesn't detect seizures...thankfully, we don't need that right now.

He doesn't track her, because she doesn't run away.

He doesn't do behavior disruption, because she doesn't throw tantrums.

But when no one else is playing with her...guess who's there?

And when she lies down on the floor tired...guess who's there with her?

And whom does he choose to follow up and down the stairs?  And "wash" from the side of the bathtub?

And guess who he chooses to snuggle with during pizza/movie night?

Friends.  And that means a lot.

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