More Summer Updates

As I said in the last post Mike was gone A LOT this summer. I just got the calender out and counted the days he was home. Starting from June 26th and going till October 20th Mike was home exactly 59 days! (Huh, that means he was gone 59 days, no wonder he get free first class upgrades now.) He went to Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco (2 times), Cologne Germany & Paris (2 times).

During his last trip to Paris we had quite the trying day at home. Gabriel was having a hard time breathing, took him to the doctor's (asthmatic bronchitis). Got home from the doctor to find that Dutchess had punctured her foot on something in the backyard (blood was all over the kitchen & dining room), took her to the vet to get stitches and they had to tie off two arteries. And Mia called from school, she was sick and needed to come home. But don't worry we had lots of fun days when Mike was gone too. Here are a few pictures to end our summer updates (well into fall).

Mia's outfit Mike brought back from Paris

Rust & Dust Days in Hanover (he sure loves tractors)

Playing in the sprinkler

I sure have busy kids! This is one of the very few pictures I got of them both this summer.

Summer Road Trips

Because Mike was so busy this summer with his work stuff we didn't go on any long vacations. We did however get to take a few quick trips for some fun family time!

*At the end of June Cousin Krista (Peter's cousin) got married in Madison, WI. Mike didn't get to go with us because he had to be in Denver and Gabriel spent the weekend with Grandma Kathy (I was not about to attempt to corral this busy body alone at a wedding). Even without our two guys we had a van full, Peter, Lisa, Mia, Myles, Carson, and me! We had lots of fun hanging out with everyone. I am so lucky that I still have such a wonderful relationship with this part of my family!

*The weekend after the wedding was the 4th of July and once again we headed west (slightly). We went to Great-grandma Douglass' (Peter's Grandma) 4th of July party (and Mike came with us)! It was raining but that didn't stop us from having tons of fun. The kids played in the yard with umbrellas and we had lots of fun with the African drums.

*When Nickie was home at the end of July to celebrate her birthday/move all her stuff down to Florida we took a trip to Cedar Point. It had been 9 years since I had gone! And I loved it just as much. :)

Nickie was home for a week (not long enough but I guess I will take what I can get) then I helped her drive her 26 foot Penske truck the 993 miles to Panama City Beach. That sure was an adventure! I am sure you heard all about it if you follow us on Twitter or watch our status updates on Facebook. It was an early morning!

Why are we up at 4am? Oh cause we have to drive across the country with this truck full!

Girl Scout Camp

As I told you WAY back in June... Mia went to two camps this summer. She had such a great time meeting new friends and learning new skills.

Packing for camp!

In June she went to Art Explosion for three nights, we wanted to start off slow just to see how things would go. The first night she was a little nervous and said she didn't sleep at all that night. In the morning she fell asleep at breakfast, after rest time they couldn't wake her up, and she fell asleep DURING painting. She did however paint an awesome picture. After getting to know the girls and her counselors she had a great time and didn't have trouble sleeping at night. When I went to pick her up she was NOT ready to leave.

So Sleepy

Mia's painting

In August she went to Trial Blazers where she got to learn the importance of horses to the pioneers and basic Western Horsemanship skills. I would have to say I think this was her favorite part of the summer. Mia had a pony named Anne. They played musical stalls (like musical chairs) on the horses with roped off "stalls" to practice getting them in and out. The best part is she got to scoop the horse poop and now says "cleaning the dog poop out of the yard in not really that bad" BONUS!

One post in SIX months?

I keep waiting till I "feel like Blogging" and I am starting to realize that is not going to happen until I just do it. But really, one post in six months, there is just no excuse for it. So this is it, I am back. I am going to start updating you with a few things (and pictures) that happend over the summer.

It's Summer

It has been over a month since I posted anything and I have no excuse, sorry for my lack of bolggingness. A few updates from the last month...

• Mia is now a FIFTH GRADER!
• Gabriel is saying new words everyday. Some of them include: Dandi (the dog), fish, yes, no, bye-bye, eyes, and a number of other "words" that I can't make out yet. (And some I can't think of right now)
• Aunt Allison got Gabriel a pair of squeaky shoes and he loves them. She put a video on her facebook page (if you are her friend you can see it). Too cute.

Now that it is summer vacation Mia is going to be a very busy girl. Some of the things she has planned are:

Participating in the library's summer reading program. (they are doing it different this year) They have 3 activity sheets to complete. Mia is done with the first one already! She did things like read a book by an author you never read before, read a biography, and read a non fiction book.

• Spend the weekend in Lansing with her cousins.
• Go to "Art Explosion" Girl Scout camp for 3 nights.
• Take a trip to Madison, WI with me to go to cousin Krista's wedding. While Mike is in Denver and Gabriel is hanging out with Grandma Kathy.
• Go to Great Grandma Douglass' huge 4th of July party!
• See Aunt Cori & Uncle Paul when they come home HOUSE HUNTING!!
• Visit with Nickie when she comes home for her birthday.
• Spend a week at Girl Scout camp learning about horses (how to ride them and take care of them).

We are also going to try and fit a few family getaways in there sometime. Wow summer just started and I can tell it is going to be over before we know it.

So About This Derby...

It's a good thing Mia had such a great time building her car with Papa, because the poor car would not even pass the finish line! The funny thing about this is that Mia's best friend Haylee's car also would not pass the finish line. I think they "cared" for about 10 minutes then it was off to play on the playground and eat cake! They did both get medals and had lots of fun watching their cars race.  

The "Computer Fun" cake Papa Don bought (and Mia ate)

Haylee & Mia with their medals

Powder Puff Derby

Tomorrow Mia's Girl Scout troop is competing in a pinewood derby. She and Papa Ron (Peter's dad) spent two days last weekend working on her derby car and it turned out GREAT! It was fun watching her take her time painting, she is normally in such a hurry with everything she does. And at the derby for family partnership Mia's troop is selling cakes representing a Junior Girl Scout badge. Mia picked "Healthy Relationships".

I will be sure to let you know how everything goes tomorrow.