Well we survived another disaster. We knew the hurricane was coming last weekend, so we had time to put away all items from our yard that could go flying, fill up the gas tanks in the cars, stock up on water, buy more propane and most importantly, do all the dishes and laundry before the power went out! Not to mention buying toilet paper and milk(a Baltimoron thing).

I kept Scott home from camp on his last day, Friday, since he was not feeling well. It gave us some time to finish reading his last summer assigned reading book. I opted to read Dr Ben Carson's book, Gifted Hands to Scott since it was on the 7th grade summer reading list and I figured he would not get the surgery discussions or finish reading it in time. I was very happy we both heard the story-the black boy from Detroit who grew up poor with his mom and brother and became a world famous pediatric neurosurgeon still practicing right here in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins. It was fun reading about all the places he'd been in Detroit, the different companies he worked for while going to Uof M for his undergrad. He ended up here in BAltimore at Johns Hopkins University for Medicine and still practices here today. Scott and I spent Saturday morning of the hurricane weekend typing and editing his book reports. He also made a diorama of his first book (the scene in the shoebox). Fortunately I had plenty of supplies left over from his last diorama.

Last Friday evening Allison was invited to a swim birthday party at a local pool club. Scott and I were invited too, so after eating dinner at the girl's house here in the neighborhood, we all headed over to the pool. Scott is friends with the girl's younger brother, so Scott came along to visit and play video games until we went swimming. The water was a bit cold since it was 8pm and not a heated pool. It didn't slow Scott down though-he had a great time on the slide and the diving board. I splashed around a bit, but by 9pm I was frozen. The club house staff was also busy putting away all the pool chairs since they were getting ready for the storm too. I drove a van full of girls back to the party house for a bonfire and s'mores. Then I had to try and stay awake to pick up Allison after the party was over at midnite. She was just disappointed that she missed the Field Hockey swim party at lunch. After her morning practice, she had to work. So only one party for her!

By Saturday night our power was out. We didn't get a good night's sleep with the wind howling and the power going on and off. Cookie wasn't too thrilled either and couldn't settle down to sleep, even in the basement where it was very dark and very quiet. At dawn the wind seemed to slow down a bit. Tom went out looking for any place that was selling coffee. Power was pretty much out everywhere, including the traffic lights. Starbucks got power and opened at 10am. We decided it was a good quest for a hike so we grabbed Cookie and the family went out on a coffee mission. We then had to stand in a long line for coffee after the police helped us cross the street. After we got our coffee, I asked if the family didn't mind walking to the library to return SCott's book. It wasn't like we could do a whole lot at home, and we were pretty much trapped all weekend. Church was still going on, just without power. That afternoon, the sun finally came out. Tom went looking for a place to get Scott's hair cut and buy an extra pair of tennis shoes for school, but the power was out all around Maryland. Trees were down and it made driving difficult. We had free tickets for the State Fair that day, but it had shut down too.

We had also planned on a weekend trip to Busch Gardens in Virginia. Tom and I were so looking forward to seeing Pat Benatar there in concert. Naturally it was cancelled and Busch Gardens was shut down for the weekend. Looks like the Seitz family has not had much luck with concerts this summer. Mark and Linda Seitz ran into weather problems with their Sugarland concert at the Indiana State Fair a few weeks ago. You all probably saw the news, how the stage blew over. Mark and Linda had been attending that concert but left before the storm hit. They were heading to their car, walking through a tunnel to the parking lot when the wind kicked up. Linda saw the stage blow over when they came up out of the tunnel. They were able to get out of the fairgrounds before everything was closed and the emergency trucks were arriving. Not a good year for outdoor concerts!

I also spent most of the weekend doing spring cleaning since we were really stuck at home. I had the kids getting rid of clothes that didn't fit anymore and old school papers(just to make room for more!). I even decided to take advantage of the nice sunny afternoon on Sunday after the storm passed and taught Allison how to cut the lawn with the push mower. She took a 4-H safety class back when she was 13, but I never pushed the issue since she has such a hard time breathing with her hay fever. I figured the hurricane had probably blown everything away and just had her cut our backyard. She did very well but discovered that the tough part is starting the mower!

Monday was the first day of school-but not in Baltimore. Neither was Tuesday(for Scott). His school was out of power, and half of our county was still out of power, but they decided to start sending some of the kids off to school anyhow. Guess the other kids don't have to make it up since we were under a State of Emergency.

Allison was a bit overwhelmed by her class load. I was most concerned about her fulfilling her internship requirements. She brought home a syllabus that explained the kids need to get in 30 hours of placement by Nov 3rd. Since Allison is now playing Field Hockey, she has to be at practice by 230. She doesn't get out of class until 115 and she would have to walk all the way to Scott's school for her internship and then back again by 230 for field hockey practice. She would probably be spending all her time walking, if not biking back and forth, so we decided it would be better to do the internship next year when she can drive and have more class time. She was also the only Junior in the program. She talked to her instructor and they agreed to look at completing the program next year. Instead she is taking Piano 2 in its place. I am sure she will keep busy with Pre Calc, World History, American Lit, Chemistry and Spanish along with her Child Development class for the teaching program. Not to mention Field Hockey, Piano lessons, and work(and oh yes, driving practice).

Allison's first week of school consisted of classes, Field Hockey practice and work every night. Her sports clubhouse shuts down at the end of the summer for a massive cleaning, and Allison had to go in every night to help scrub yoga mats and throw away trash. And their cleaning schedule was behind schedule since they were without power for a few days too.

Scott on the other hand just had two days of school and loves his teachers and is looking forward to an interesting year including mummifying a chicken!

Next blog-How I Spent my Labor Day Weekend. Enjoy more photos from Hilton Head. I sent some outdoor shots-kayaking, biking on the beach and of course, our favorite-beer and food out on the restaurant decks. I would also like to thank Matt D for catching the mackerel. Allison and I enjoyed it for dinner when we got back to Baltimore. We threw it on the grill with lots of butter and onions. Very tasty and no annoying fish bones!

Kathleen

Welcome to Hurriquake week on the East Coast(or as we like to call it, the Right Coast).

My last weekend before school started kept me busy camping with Allison and another girl from my scout troop. We packed up and headed out on Friday evening after Tom took my van in to get a small crack repaired on the windshield. Of course I caught a small rock from a truck to the front windshield while driving back from Detroit.

Friday was overcast and a bit chilly so most of the girl's evening activities were indoors. Parents staying for the weekend are assigned different jobs and have an orientation to attend as well. This year I had attendance. In the past I have helped monitor the swimming pool, did archery and made tie dye shirts all day long. Last year Allison had field hockey games all day SAturday so she could not attend. Instead, I drove up to camp myself and taught a class on the use of crafts and the OT profession. This year the girls earned 3 badges-All About Birds, Graphic Communications and another Archery badge for Allison. The bird badge I thought was interesting-I did not know there was a cage of raptors on site at the camp. They had owls, hawks, an eagle and young turkey vulture-all injured at some point. With the graphic communications badge the girls learned all about advertising and using computer programs to make displays. They also had to cut out and design their own prints. And Allison just enjoyed another chance to shoot archery. She had planned on doing some tie dye, so she packed a few pieces including a cami and a scarf. Since she ran out of time to tie dye, I did it for her. I even volunteered to help rinse out the shirts Sunday morning, but the volunteers already had left early for a local laundramat(something the instructor swore she would never do again). So the pieces were already washed and dried for all the girls to take home when I arrived. I thought my pieces came out pretty good too!

We got home Sunday morning with plenty of time to attend the Comic Con that Scott and Tom were looking forward to attending. Even Allison thought it would be interesting, but she swore none of her books/comics would be available. She did not think her comic interests ranked with such comics as Spiderman or Thor. Scott mostly looks forward to dressing up. Last year he and his friend Sammy dressed as Mario and Luigi and they got a lot of attention(and photos). This year SCott asked Tom if he could go as a Mario Zombie. They found the costume on line and Tom put one together for him. Scott had outgrown his overalls which Mario wears, so Tom had to cut them and tuck them into a pair of jeans. The hat and mustache finished it off along with a zombie face painting. I had to ask Tom to wrap SCott in a blanket so he wouldn't get fake blood all over my new van seats. Again, Scott was a hit-everyone wanted his photo. And there were lots of adults dressed up as well. Captain America was very popular this year along with the Green Hornet-just wait until Halloween. Scott carried around a skull with a mustache and green hat-all that was left of his partner Luigi. The guys especially thought that was hysterical. And Allison even enjoyed finding some of her favorite comic books as well as a new author who autographed the book she bought from him and even drew in a cartoon on the back of the front cover. We were just happy to have made it downtown in one piece since a huge thunderstorm hit just as we were leaving the house. The Baltimore Convention Center where it was held had a few leaks in the roof, and we could barely see the buildings downtown through the rainy haze when we were driving in. It was also extremely crowded since Stan Lee, creator of Spiderman and Marvel Comic Books was the guest lecturer. Tickets for his program were sold out at $125.00 per person! Baltimore does love to read!

During the week, Allison was busy each day with 1 or 2 field hockey practice sessions in the morning and afternoon with the Varsity team. She was surprised that several girls from her previous JV team were cut, but competition is always pretty tight.

Scott was busy spending his last week before school starts at the YMCA. No special events, but he got to swim and try to stay dry during on and off t -storms and rain.

And just when we thought things couldn't get any crazier, the east coast decided to have an earthquake. I was at work in an older building with windows for a change and couldn't figure out what was shaking the floor and walls. There is a lot of construction going on at campus-they are building new elevators on each of our buildings, remodeling the pool and Fitness center and main entrance as well as our auditorium and completely remodeling an entire building with larger apartments. So I thought maybe a truck was going by but the shaking did not stop. I finally figured out it was an earthquake and mentioned it to both of my patients that I was treating. We turned the radio on after the shaking stopped and learned that we had just had a 5.8 quake near Richmond, VA about 3 hours drive from our house. I felt like I was right back in LA. Allison was home alone and immediately jumped under our high counter with the dog. Cookie was howling and they both ran outside with the neighbors when it was over. Scott was at camp and said their canopy was shaking all over. They both knew it was a quake. Tom was at work and said they emptied his building-twice. No one here really knew what to do. The quake was felt as far north as Canada and down to Georgia in the south. DC took the most damage here in the area. The tall Washington monument has a crack in the top and the National Cathedral lost a few spires. There was also a lot of ceiling plaster that came down in the Capitol and many other older buildings. We checked for damage to the brick and looked for gas leaks but looks like we held up just fine. Tom and I thought it felt like a 5.0 here in Ellicott City.

Because buildings needed to be inspected, evening activities were cancelled at all schools and public buildings. Allison was supposed to attend a drivers training class in order to obtain a parking permit for school any time this school year. She and Tom attended instead on Weds night. Allison had to have a parent with her to sign her off. They got to watch nasty movies on teens dying in cars while drinking and texting. She then had a student sports orientation during the day at school on Weds, and I attended the parents sports orientation meeting on Thursday night and signed up for lots of fund raising activities for Allison's field hockey team. She also started up her piano lessons this week. Isn't back to school time so much fun!

Meanwhile, Scott spent some extra time working with Tom to finish up his first level in Scouts-Tenderfoot. He also turned in his cards to receive his 3 badges he earned this summer. They were planning a ceremony the following weekend, but had to post pone due to the Hurricane.

More fun info on the Hurricane during my next blog. I am including a few photos from our minor league baseball game where Allison and I sang the National Anthem with the girl scout choir. Also Allison's archery skills and Scott's Mario costume at Comic Con. Kathleen

The weekend after returning home from Michigan I was busy again doing laundry, cleaning house and grocery shopping. Allison had attended her first try out for Field Hockey on Saturday morning and we had the neighbors over for dinner on Saturday night.

Sunday afternoon we headed off to a minor league baseball game, Cal Ripkin Jr's Ironbirds team. CAl was a Baltimore Oriole player along with his Dad, Cal Ripkin Sr. When Cal Jr retired, he built his own stadium north of Baltimore that looks like a mini Orioles stadium. OUr Girl Scout choir was singing the National Anthem, so we had to arrive early to get out on the field. We had a lot of fun even though my family are not major fans of baseball. Hot dogs were only a buck, and we even got some free birthday cake and free baseball hats. And the game was exciting, plus our team won. Whats not to love? Tom was hoping we would be rained out.

We had another week of summer camp for SCott. He really enjoyed this Y camp since he spent the morning hours in a Lego robotics class and was able to work on his own robot set. Allison was busy with Field Hockey try outs.

And we are excited to report that Allison made the Varsity Team as a goalie! How exciting. And our schedule just got a lot crazier! She had practice twice a day, and the girls decided to get the morning sessions done early, so she was heading off to school at 730 am. That actually helped her get ready for the early start of school on August 29th. She also got done in time to head to work on Friday as a skate guard. They are still running summer camps on Friday and Allison was overwhelmed with the number of kids that showed up, especially since her coworkers were less than helpful(it appears they hired a nephew that was not keeping up with the busy pace which gave Allison twice as much work to oversee). At least it is just a part time position!

While she was off to work, I was busy packing for our weekend away with the Girl SCouts-our last camping activity of the summer. I managed to locate one other girl to go along with Allison at the grocery store the weekend before. I ran into her and her mother in the store and asked them along. They managed to get the paperwork done and I ran it over to our Service Unit Managers house on the way to the baseball game so she could get her registered. MOre on our camping weekend next blog.

Here are a few fishing photos from our Hilton Head trip. Even Mom Seitz braved the waves! Susan and husband John joined myself as well as Allison and Scott. I caught the sting ray, and Allison and Scott each caught a few baby sharks! I was not going swimming in that bay!

Kathleen

So after dropping off the dog to the kennel and loading up the van with a dishwasher and suitcases, the kids(minus Tom) and I headed out to Michigan. Since I am not a very good long distance driver, I like to stop near Youngstown Ohio/Boardman Ohio(about half way to Detroit). I enjoy the area since they have lots of hotels, restaurants, shopping and movie theaters.

We got to our hotel around 530-plenty of time for me to walk across the street from our hotel to get a manicure for my high school reunion on Saturday night. The kids were anxiously awaiting the Phineas and Ferb 2 hour movie, so we searched for a pizza place for dinner that night. We were pleasantly pleased when we stopped into a Little Caesars for a Hot and Now meal-a pepperoni pizza, breadsticks and 2L bottle of soda ready to go-no waiting. How wonderful. We ate dinner at the hotel and the kids settled in for their movie. I fell asleep. I had hoped to take the kids to the movie theater next door to see CAptain America, but they had their hearts set on seeing the tv special.

The next morning SCott and I enjoyed a swim(I was too tired the night before) and a brief work out in the exercise room. After we dressed and packed up it was time to go. I made great time getting to Detroit since they upped the speed limit on the Ohio Turnpike to 70mph. I even had plenty of time to stop into Meijers on the way to my parents to check out MSU and Red Wing stuff and start stocking up on Vernors ginger ale soda. While shopping I gave my parents a call to see if they needed anything for the week since they had just returned from Charlevoix. They were busy visiting with Dan and Sheila and their twins, CAroline and Clayton as well as Dave and his two boys, Nicholas and Christopher at the lake house. They drove back down to Detroit to spend time with us. That afternoon they were headed off to church, so we joined them for the 430 mass. Afterwards, DAd and I unloaded the dishwasher into his Expedition, and unloaded the van. I had to hurry and shower and dress and head out to my 30th High SChool REunion at the Somerset INn near the Somerset mall on 16 mile road.

I decided to go to my reunion since I have never had the opportunity. The reunion is usually scheduled in September and it is too hard to get off work and the kids out of school to travel. I went not knowing who would be there-I was hoping to see some old friends from grade school as well as high school, and even my cousin Anne Marie. Turns out that is exactly what happened. I was sorry more of my high school and grade school buddies did not show up. WE had about 60 students from a class of 350 show up. I really had a wonderful time and enjoyed talking to so many people and trying to catch up with 30 years! I even chatted with a fellow high school student who is also an occupational therapist and even works for the same company I work for, Erickson Living, just in the Michigan facility down the road from my parents house. The reunion went from 7-1 and I stayed until 130 helping to clean up. I also helped take out supplies brought in by one of my grade school/high school friends who I was very sorry to hear has lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and was hit by a car not long ago with lots of residual physical problems. She also was wearing a boot on her foot from torn tendons and was recently divorced from her husband, can't have children, lost her house where she and her husband were living in Buffalo NY and had recently moved back to Sylvan Lake, Mich. She just did some renovations on her newly acquired house when the basement flooded. And she can't work. I cannot believe these people are my age with so many problems. But also many doing well(of course not for the dozen or so that had already died!). Amazing what can happen in just 30 years!

I am truly blessed with a wonderful family, job, home and life!

On Sunday I talked my parents into joining us at the Detroit Science Center. We all have accounts at BAnk of America, and they offer free admission to local museums twice a month. The Detroit Science center was on the list for the day so off we went. I hadn't ever taken the kids there either, so it was a new adventure for all of us. We even had tickets for two movies, all about dinosaurs.

On Monday I took the kids over to visit with my wonderful friends Laura and Dan Hejza. I can't believe that both Laura and their son Brandon had just been up to Boyne City that weekend dancing for the Polish Festival and marching in the parade. How many times we have been to the Polish festival(love the Polish mass-good accordion music!) and Laura has never been there. She and Brandon are in a traditional Polish dance group and were asked to perform. They even stayed at Shanty Creek which looked so nice.

We took the kids out for the day after a quick lunch at CJ Barrymore's-an outside play area with midget race cars, putt putt golf, rock walls and video games. We spent most of the afternoon outside. Before dinner, we headed back to their house and SCott swam in their pool while their son Brandon went to soccer practice. Allison and their daughter Katelyn practiced volleyball and ran the neighborhood since both girls had tryouts coming up for high school sports.

We visited Dave and Busters for dinner and video games and then back to their house for a sleepover. I enjoyed sharing our photos from Hilton Head, and the Hejza's shared their photos from their recent trip to Poland.

ON Tuesday we said our goodbyes after a great breakfast, and I stopped into the Somerset Mall for some souvenir shopping. The have a Detroit shoppe which is almost like a small museum itself. I found a great poster of old Detroit landmarks(thanks for the tip Laura!). After some back to school shopping with the kids, I drove Allison to the West Bloomfield library so she could log onto a Webinar for Girl SCouts and her trip to Houston in November. She sat for an hour on her laptop while Scott surfed the web. Afterwards, mom and dad Bozyk came over and also got to see my photos from Hilton Head. All this while a big storm was blowing and raining over our heads. It knocked down quite a few trees in my parent's neighborhood.

On Weds the weather cleared and we decided to head to the Detroit Zoo since I have zoo passes. We got in for half price. And everyone else still living in Detroit decided to join us that day! It was absolutely packed. But we got to see everything and mom and dad B made it all around the entire zoo(walking!). We were there from open to close at 8pm and stopped to have a picnic lunch. They even had a dinosaur exhibit with lifesized models which I took the kids through. Afterwards, we decided to introduce CiCi's pizza to my parents-an all you can eat pizza, soup and salad bar. Then we all headed home exhausted.

ON Thursday I decided to get my oil changed before heading home to Baltimore. DAd and I got up early and visited a Toyota dealership in Farmington Hills. I have free service for 2 years, no matter what dealership. We were done in an hour and headed home so I could pack up. While I was packing I noticed that the wheel key was missing from its pouch. I called the dealership and they thought it was in the glove compartment(it wasn't). INstead they asked me to drive back so they could find it. ON my way back to Baltimore, I had to swing back over to the dealership just to find out that the kid that worked on my car threw the key in the storage in the back where they keep the car jack and it fell down in the wheel well and he couldn't get it out. But he did not say anything after he saw they had brought me my car. It took 5 guys to get the key out and the manager was not happy. Neither was I that I had to discover this problem on my own. Anyhow, I had to stop into one more Meijer's to pick up Kogel Vienna Hot dogs, more Vernors and Detroit REd Wing flip flops, and then we were on our way.

We arrived in YOungstown around 730 pm so we missed the first movie at the very cheap movie theater I located while hunting for a CiCi's pizza during our trip out. So instead I took the kids shopping! We ended up catching the 945 movie of Xmen the Beginning. This movie theater shows last months movies at only $2 per person(.75cnets on Tuesdays). Allison and I really enjoyed the movie, Scott did not know exactly what was going on since he doesn't know the Xmen. I really liked the movie, and since it was so late when it was over, we decided to sleep in the next day. WE got up just in time for the free(not really) breakfast, showers and repacked for the end of the drive home. ON my way I almost got run off the road and a rock hit my brand new windshield-lovely crack.

Of course. I decided I had to take a break with the kids(shopping of course) at the outlet stores in Maryland before arriving home.

Overall it was a wonderful trip and I loved seeing my parents and visiting with Laura and Dan and their kids. It was a quick trip, but very productive, fun and a nice break at the end of summer.

Tom meanwhile made it to Virginia on Sunday night. He spent Saturday installing our new water heater. He bought a new one for the savings and because our water heater kept turning itself off. At least it wasn't leaking. He managed to carry the new monstrosity downstairs to the basement and hook up the gas and water lines, but could not carry the smaller tank upstairs by himself. He is waiting for the men to visit during Monday night football for some extra help. The weekend before he was busy installing a new garage door opener(of course on our extra long garage). He was happy I had given him a Home Depot gift card at Christmas. It came in handy. He also spent a day washing and sprucing up our bikes that were a bit abused at the ocean in Hilton Head. They were full of sand, and Scott's bike chain rusted. And they did not like being smashed together on the bike rack. We needed to make sure Allison had an operational bike to get to school and back for Field Hockey try outs the next day.

Tom was supposed to travel to Virginia and return to Baltimore on Tuesday. Then fly out to LA until Sunday. Instead, they kept him in Virginia(sorry Mike) and he came back on WEds night. He decided to pick up Cookie early too from the kennel.

We had to get back by Saturday since Allison had Field Hockey try outs. She spent two hours in the morning with several Freshman girls who were trying out from our neighborhood. Allison however can only make Varsity or she can't play. Wish her luck.

That evening, I was hoping to invite some friends over who just bought a CAvachon puppy, but they were at the beach. Instead, we cleaned house, bought food and invited our neighbors over for dinner. The husband just returned from China and the Phillipines and we wanted to hear about his trip. He brought Tom back some strong alcohol from china which we all drank. Don't think there will be any risk in us dying from lead poisoning-I am sure the alcohol content would kill us first!

I added two photos of our visit to the Girl Scout Founder, Juliette Gordon Lows house in Savannah as well as the visit to the Detroit Zoo.

More to come! Kathleen

The first week of August was just as busy as the rest of the summer(of course). I was just finishing up SCott's laundry from his boy scout trip and repacking him for another camping trip scheduled overnight during his Wilderness Adventure program.

Allison needed packing up too as she was off to Pennsylvania as well for a week of Field Hockey camp. The Field Hockey team recommended sending the girls to World Camp near Philly(again) and since Allison has to try out for the VArsity team(or not play), we decided to take their advice and signed her up.

Camp started early Monday morning, so Tom and Allison got up early and hit the road.

Scott on the other hand was participating in a camp sponsored by our County Parks and REc dept. I had signed him up for this camp early in the year not knowing that SCott was heading off to Boy SCout camp this summer. He spent the week kayaking and canoeing, swimming, zip lining and completing the high ropes course before they headed out for a day of rock climbing and tenting. Except the day they were supposed to rock climb it was storming, so they ended up seeing a movie and shooting archery at a nearby park. The weather cleared at night, so they were able to sleep in tents. The next day they went tubing which SCott absolutely loves. This camp is just a 4 day, so he had plenty of time to pack again for our trip to Michigan!

Allison spent a very busy week practicing her goalie skills and getting pummeled with the field hockey ball. Fortunately she caught a ride home with a fellow team mate on Thursday morning. That gave her time to repack her suitcase too!

On Friday I packed up an extra dishwasher for my parents(my favorite dishwasher that died last November). Tom replaced a part and we thought we'd try installing it in my parents lake house. Their old dishwasher in the basement kitchen died, so hopefully this one will work. Tom could not join us on our trip to Michigan as he had a busy travel schedule for work and they did not want to give him up for another week. He was looking at traveling to Virginia for half a week, and then off to California the rest of the week. So instead we put Cookie back at her kennel and I hit the road. I am not a very good long distance driver, so I had to make the trip in two days, stopping near Youngstown Ohio.

Tom and I did enjoy an evening out with the kids gone as I had purchased Tom tickets at EAster to see Steely Dan at our local outside concert stage. We had a beautiful evening and I had picked up tickets for lawn seats. It wasn't terribly crowded so we had a great spot on the lawn-we just wish the facility had a better sound system. The music was terrific, but it was hard to hear Donald FAgan singing. (And yes he is much older but still sounded great and played the keyboard the whole night-they even have some new music which sounded just as good). The base guitar however drowned out the lyrics. And we could have done without all the smokers-don't know why the facility did not remind people of the designated smoking areas, but we found that there are a lot of very rude people around. ONe guy even asked me if he could smoke next to me since someone else had yelled at him and told him to move. Needless to say I was not very sympathetic. I was also very disappointed to see that the tshirts cost more than the concert tickets! So we may not be visiting Merriweather Post Pavilion anymore for concerts. We are still stuck with that place however when Allison graduates from high school! WE also tried to bring along our neighbors, but Dan was traveling as well-to China and then the Phillipines. I attempted to invite some other friends but the wife got ill and had to skip the evening with us.

I will fill you in on my Michigan trip in my next blog. Enjoy more photos of our Hilton Head trip-HOrseback riding expedition! And Scott's very first trail ride!

Baltimore blog.

A very Happy Birthday to Nicholas Bozyk who also turned 16 on July 17th! You guys are getting too old! Makes us look bad.

We returned home late Saturday night (July 23rd) and I tossed a load of Scott's laundry in to wash and worked on packing for Boy Scout camp. Scott's troop headed to Pennsylvania at a Boy Scout camp-Ockanicken, north of Philly. However, they went the week we were in Hilton Head. I had heard that some of Scott's school mates were in the boy scout troop at our church, and were also going to the camp, but the week when we returned from Hilton Head. I decided to check with the ScoutMaster to see if Scott could join them. I figured he would know several of the boys since he went to school with them and could work on his badges. Happily they let him join their troop for the camping trip. We would have loved to have joined him, as many parents now join their kids at camp, but couldn't get two weeks off in a row at work. Instead, we packed him up on Sunday morning and drove him the 3.5 hrs up to Pennsylvania and dropped him off with 70 other boys in the troop. He spent the whole week there and returned with the troop on Saturday afternoon. We were very proud of him as he earned several merit badges, one being a requirement towards his Eagle SCout-his swimming badge. He learned how to make a float out of his clothes and took an early morning polar bear plunge in the pool among other requirements. He also earned a mammal badge and fingerprinting badge. He was so happy to be back in his own bed as he seemed to share his sleeping bag with a lot of caterpillars! (Allison always gets stuck camping with spiders and ants!).

While Scott was busy camping with the Boy Scouts, Tom had to make a turn around driving trip from Pennsylvania down to Virginia for work on the same day. Allison and I stayed home since I was working and she had to go into work as well on Friday afternoon. At least her wrist was healed up and she wore another excellent birthday gift, wrist guards on her first day back. No more wrist sprains!

She was done with her therapy and doctor appointments for her sprained wrist, but I was still working with the physical therapist on my neck. I had therapy that week, and was finally starting to feel a lot better. I had begun to have numbness and burning in my feet, hands and mouth and my doctor had me on medication for the swelling. Vacation sure helped alot too. On Friday I finally went in for my neck MRI. I just wanted to be sure I hadn't done any serious damage. Instead I found out I just have lovely arthritis in my neck-a nice way of saying I am getting old! I also had a doctor appointment in the morning, so I spent most of my day in waiting rooms.

Allison also had a piano lesson to finish up for the summer series that week, and a driving class to make up since she had to work. At least she had one week of rest and even enjoyed catching up with her summer reading.

Tom returned home on Friday and SCott on Saturday. Another busy summer week. Enjoy the shots of SCott at Boy Scout camp.

Baltimore Blog

Now we come to our exciting vacation in Hilton Head, South Carolina! We left to drive down to SC on Saturday July 16. It is a very nice, 10 hour drive(once you get past the DC area). The crape myrtles(flowering trees) were exploding with blossoms along the highway especially in the south. We stopped for a bit of outlet shopping in North Carolina and for dinner in South Carolina, so we did not arrive until after dark.

Linda Seitz had rented all 13 of us a large house on the beach, complete with 7 bedrooms with balconies, and a pool, jacuzzi, outside bar, formal dining room, kitchen, living room and family room/play room upstairs. We were vacationing with the Seitz family and celebrating Mom and Dad Seitzs 50th Wedding Anniversary. After a tour of the house and hello to all the family, we settled down for the night.

We had all done quite a bit of on line research on activities in the area and planned at least a summer's worth of fun that we would have to squeeze into a week's time! Sunday started off with church at St Francis of the Sea and a quick hunt for alligators in their pond(didn't find any-must have had the day off). After a quick grocery store stop at the Piggly Wiggly, we decided to spend the day at the beach. I packed up all our toys and out we went to bounce and boogie board in the waves and hunt for shells and critters. Scott enjoyed trying his hand at crabbing in the bay with several other boys also from Maryland. South Carolina has the same blue crabs that we have here in Maryland. Sunday night the whole family enjoyed a great big dinner together at the house.

On Monday we all headed to Savannah Georgia for several different types of tours. Mom and Dad Seitz, Mark and Linda Seitz and Susan and John opted for a riding trolley tour. Our family opted for a hop on and off trolley tour so we could visit our GS founder Juliette Gordon Low's home.I also had Allison working on several badges-one all about Juliette and one that focused on the history of Savannah. We also visited Leopolds, one of the oldest ice cream shops in America that made Tutti Frutti a household name. And even had a song sung about it from Johnny Mercer- (Tutti Fruitti oh Rudy). Johnny Mercer was a Savannah boy. He was also known for the song 'Moon River' named after the river that Savannah is built on (and also the name of a haunted tavern-more later). At the end of our day, we ran into Tom's sister Susan and husband John who were getting ready for a Ghost Tour. We tried to join them, but the tour which actually goes into the haunted houses was full. We decided to try another tour on another night. They seemed to enjoy the house tours although they were very crowded and both wished they could have spent time learning about the history of the cemetery(which is closed and locked after dark).

Tuesday morning half of our group hit the horseback riding trails and visited a beautiful stable. We all enjoyed a great ride through the woods and around small lakes in a private estate. The stables were immaculate and the horses well cared for(although maybe a bit spoiled). Nephew Eric's horse Cajun seemed determined to scrape him off his back on every turn. Good job showing him who was boss Eric! The other half of our group went shopping and sightseeing in the local town while we revisited the beach in the afternoon. That evening we all dressed in khaki pants and white shirts for a large family photo out on the beach. After many many shots, I think we managed to get a few keepers, regardless of the wind, squinty eyes and biting ants at the seashore. Who knew family photos could be so challenging! Or maybe it was just us! Anyhow, we had a wonderful rib dinner that night and got our white shirts all dirty! (some of us)

On Weds it was time for water sports. I went out first for a bike ride on the beach with Scott. When the tide is low, you can ride along the beach as the sand is solid. I could have ridden all around the island. Earlier in the week, Tom and Scott took a bike ride on the very convenient and extensive bike trails on the island and stopped in for a game of putt putt golf. This afternoon, half our group tried out parasailing off the back of a boat in the bay, and the other half toured the bay by kayak. We kayakers spotted a dolphin and lots of birds and oyster beds during low tide. The parasailers spotted sharks from their high vantage point.

Thursday I managed to get in a little souvenir shopping. The kids got tshirts, Allison- a Henna tattoo that washes off in a week, and I got a live turtle! We also brought along our hermit crabs on vacation. They loved digging in the beach sand we placed in their tank. Sadly Cookie and the other dogs could not join us, but they were all in good hands while we were away. That day I also spent time making a peach pie from a Southern Living recipe magazine(thanks to some great peaches provided to us from a run that John did in Georgia on their way down and great pie making tips from Mom Seitz). Thursday night our family headed back to Savannah with Eric for a walking Ghost tour. We enjoyed learning even more history of Savannah, especially on a leisurely stroll in the evening when the sun was setting. And we especially enjoyed catching ghost "orbs" in our digital pictures at a few of the haunted houses. After our tour we stopped in for ice cream(again) at Leopolds, and then off to dinner at a haunted tavern named Moon River. Scott wasn't too thrilled with eating in a place that advertised ghosts in the basement and on the second floor. We were allowed to tour the basement, but you had to pay for a tour of the second floor(we opted for the free tour, but did not spot any ghosts).

Friday was our big fishing day. Half our group took out our chartered boat and tried their luck at deep sea fishing. They caught mackerel, rock fish and shark! In the afternoon, the rest of us went fishing in the bay. Not much edible, but truly an experience as Scott and Allison pulled in baby sharks and I caught a huge stingray. We also had a dolphin tour as the dolphins were busy swimming and jumping around our boat. We loved the boat ride and sight seeing in the bay-lots of activities like pirate ship rides, parasailing and jet skis. Even Susan and John spent an afternoon jet skiing in the bay. We probably would have done the same if we had more time.

On Saturday everyone had to head off home. We made it back home SAturday night.

It was certainly an incredible vacation and we have Mom and Dad Seitz to thank for it. We loved visiting with the family and trying new things(like eating alligator and shark fishing, riding bikes on the beach and hunting for Savannah Georgia ghosts!). We are looking forward to the next 50th Anniversary!

Baltimore Blog

I am finally home from traveling and am catching up with blogs. Here is the week of July 11-July 15, M-F

The week before we were to travel to Hilton Head, Allison and I we were busy with therapy appointments and doctor appointments. Allison was still trying to squeeze in some therapy for her left wrist sprain. She was still wearing her splint. We were just hoping she healed fast since she had a lot of activities planned and really needed her L hand.

I was having more problems with my neck. My fingers and feet were starting to go numb and burning from my whiplash. I decided I'd better get back to my doctor before heading off on vacation. I was also getting a lot more sore, and the physical therapy I was doing seemed to make it worse. My therapist had to tone down my exercise program. I managed to squeeze in a doctor appointment last thing on Friday night and was put on some medication to help with the swelling in my neck and spine. It sure helped.

When Allison wasn't squeezing in therapy and doctor appointments, she was working at the Girl SCout Day CAmp on the Archery range. She was very excited this year since she tested to become an official Instructor. NOw she is certified for 3 years to teach archery.

It was also her Birthday week and she turned 16! I can't believe I have a 16 year old. We didn't have a big party this year. Allison really wanted to travel up to New York to see Wicked, but I couldn't pull off a trip. (No time). Instead, Allison got some very nice gifts including a drawing board for the computer which she loves. She also has taken over as driver of Tom's Toyota Echo, so she has her own keys now(something to attach to her keychains), new sunglasses and even more important, an Invader Zim cartoon seat cover! I also ordered a surprise birthday card sign for her and had it set up at the Girl SCout camp when she arrived. She was quite amazed to see her big birthday greeting when the bus pulled into the camp grounds! And the sign people had their very first delivery to a girl scout camp. I asked permission to post the sign first and the Girl Scout counselors thought it was a fantastic idea. We also took Allison out to eat at her favorite restaurant, Sakura Japanese Steak House. We also got her into another summer piano lesson. I am impressed that she has still been able to play with her sprained wrist. Actually it is probably good therapy since we haven't been able to get her to many PT sessions since they are scheduled while everyone is at work(and she still can't drive by herself yet!).

Now that she has her permit, Tom and I have been busy trying to get her out on the road to practice driving skills. She has 3 sessions to schedule independently with a driving instructor but it is not like when Tom and I were in high school drivers training. The behind the wheel training now is done independent of the coursework. And parents are supposed to spend 60 hours on the road with their kid before they get their driver's license. No pressure. Fortunately Tom's old car is a good training vehicle(I just wish it had an extra steering wheel and brake for us like the instructor cars!).

Scott spent his week at Gymnastics camp. They have camps each summer at the gym where he takes weekly lessons during the school year. He went last year and wanted to do it again. He missed his last day last summer when he pulled a muscle doing a flip into the foam pit. I had to rush him to the doctor last year since we thought he said he was having trouble breathing. Looks like he knocked the wind out of himself. No problems this year though, except he was the only boy in the group! (We were not counting the one other boy who was a few years younger and followed Scott everywhere!). Scott was the terror of the girls, especially during water gun playtime, and then the Laser Tag outing! They didn't stand a chance! Poor girls.

At least Tom did not have to do any traveling this week.

So I am off to pack for our Hilton Head adventure! Kathleen and Family