Summer decided to arrive last weekend! And just as quickly, it left. The temperature was in the 80s last Saturday. We were busy catching up with our spring cleaning. Both inside and out. The whole neighborhood was busy cutting the grass and cleaning up the flower beds. Including us. Everything seems to be blooming all at once.

Tom had been out working in LA all last week. He got home Friday night and spent Saturday sprucing up the lawn mower so he could get the grass cut. Scott helped out by restacking our stone wall around the beds in the front. He was not happy to come across a small snake in the process!

At least Tom had a chance to meet up with my brother Mike in LA and they enjoyed dinner together. Back here in Baltimore, Scott and I had a busy week. On Tuesday night we attended Scott's Confirmation pot luck dinner. I asked Scott to put a lasagna in the oven, but he missed the timing. So I had to run and pick up some wings from Pizza Hut, and throw some spinach pie in the oven before heading over. Fortunately there was more than enough food. The dinner was to give the candidates and their sponsors time to think about the whole confirmation process and chat. Scott enjoyed visiting with his friends. They also made sure the kids completed all their requirements. Looks like Scott is right on track for his big day, May 9th. We will be enjoying having Mark and Linda Seitz come visit as Mark is Scott's sponsor.

Scott and I were also busy on Thursday night. Tom assisted with organizing the Resurrection Science Fair. Again, he was out of town during the event, so he conveniently signed me up to help out. Not a problem except I did not want to judge the projects. That is what I was assigned to do anyway. I just remember how strict the judges were on Scott and Allison, and I was not sure I was up to the job. So Tom requested that Scott join me as a judging partner. Turns out we only had 12 projects and 8 judges, so we did not need to interview every kid. However, no one knew how the process worked, including the teacher. Tom usually gave out the instructions. I decided we would pair off and judge at least 3 projects each which worked out. There were also 3 research projects and an engineering challenge(balloon cars). But they only had 8 entries for the engineering  contest and two teachers judged the research projects. So it did not take us too long to come up with the top 3 science projects. The number one project was an experiment by two 4th grader boys on the Super Powers of Dog Drool. They placed dog and human saliva in petri dishes with bacteria to see how it would react. The bacteria won, so don't let your dog lick your wounds/cuts/etc! Antibiotics work better for infections it would appear. They did a great job with their experimentation and the presentation. So we wrapped up the evening around 8pm.

And last week was a first for Scott with his track team. He finally competed(twice) last week in a track and field event. He got to throw the shot put and a discus. He likes the shot put better and throws a little over 20 ft. It is a whole new experience for him. He especially enjoyed the bus ride over with the team to a local high school for one of the meets. This is his first, official team sport. He continues to work out at the Y on Friday nights also with a friend. That gives me time to run errands-like picking him up a suit for his confirmation. I get my exercise class done on Friday mornings.

And since we had such a beautiful weekend, we decided to make sure our bikes were up and running for next weekends camping/biking trip with the boy scouts. I was going to take my parents out for a small boat ride on the Potomac as a birthday gift for my Dad, but the weather turned a bit windy and chilly. Best to save that for a warmer day. Instead, Scott, Tom and I took out our bikes on a quick ride up  a trail nearby. It was all uphill, and Tom and I decided to take a break midway at a local bakery for a drink break. Scott went on another block to the top of the hill and then we coasted all the way back. Unfortunately I blew my back tire on the way down and had to get off and walk. At least we were close to home for a repair. And later that evening, I had to take Scott over for his Boy Scout annual swim test with the whole troop.I was nominated to mark off the boys as they finished their tests. Scott bailed me out so he could get home and study!

1st Place Winners of Science Fair-Dog Drool

 Spring has finally arrived!

 Saucer Magnolia

Meanwhile, Allison spent her busy weekend in Delaware playing Field Hockey. Her Club team signed up for the Delaware Beach Bash tournament and needed a goalie. Allison played every game for two days and was completely exhausted(and bruised too). But she had a lot of fun, even though their wins were limited. Seems that the entire team was a bit out of shape. Not used to playing in the spring. She is staying busy with classes too. But managed to finally meet up with a guy that her friends introduced her to since he is a computer science major and they have a lot in common(ie video gaming).

We also kept busy last weekend enjoying dinner with friends at their house(Beth and Barry). Naturally, Cookie came along to keep their puppy company. We will be puppy sitting soon, so we want them to remain friends!

Dave, I mentioned in a previous email that I had copies made of your family photos, framed them and has you can see, they have a prominent spot on mom and dad's new cabinet in their apt(top R hand shelf). 

Did you ever have one of those days? That was my Sunday. Tom and I have a running joke that we seem to break kids that are under our care. When Allison and Scott were little, we had a few mishaps with a couple of the neighbor children under our watchful eyes during playdates. We broke two of them-one wrist fracture and one elbow fracture.

This weekend we had one go to the hospital with an asthma attack. On our watch. We did not cause the asthma attack, but we keep wondering why we volunteer to watch other people's kids. Anyhow, we opened up our house to Allison's Ultimate Frisbee team. All 20 girls. The team travels each weekend to different Universities for tournaments and they usually bunk down at a house of one of the players. Allison has had the pleasure of staying at several different homes, and we thought it was our turn to volunteer. And so we did. We spent last week frantically cleaning bathrooms and making floor space to accommodate  up to 20 girls. Also planning a dinner and two breakfasts. Plus the shopping.

As well as celebrating Dad Bozyk's 80th Birthday smack dab in the middle of the week. (We actually had to postpone dinner until Saturday). I did a run by their apt with a balloon bouquet on Weds night, but Dad had already drifted off to sleep by 8pm. It is tough turning 80! At least he seems over his cold. And they removed the room restrictions in their building.

So Friday evening, we were lucky to have just 8 girls sleep over at the house. They all drove up together from school. They enjoyed dinner of pizza and salad(per their request), along with cookies and cheese puffs. EAsy enough. Then they were up watching movies and slept in our basement, our play room and the living room couch. On Saturday I was up early making breakfast-egg casserole and french toast casserole along with the usual breakfast stand-bys-cereal and bananas. They were out the door by 9am. They played all day and then about 12 showed up in the late afternoon to start taking showers and get ready to go out to dinner. Of course they were all sunburned. Our Spring/Summer has officially arrived. I was busy passing out the Aloe Vera gel, along with ice bags, bacitracin and bandages for a few banged up girls. (Remember, this is non tackle football with a frisbee). Yeah, no sprained ankles or wrists! But they did not win any games that day.

Tom and I had been out for an early dinner with my parents. We took Dad Bozyk out to Olive Garden, courtesy of Mike Bozyk, and then opened birthday gifts. We decided to hurry home when we heard all the girls were coming back to the house early. After they cleaned up, they all went out to dinner at Pizzeria Unos(see a theme here?). But not all of them came back right away. Late at night a few girls informed me that Allison had driven one of them to the Howard County Hospital ER. She was having an asthma attack. Oh great. Her parents were in New Jersey-4 hours away. The young lady was admitted to the hospital but hoped to be discharged in the early morning hours. I was waiting up to go pick her up and drop her off at another girl's house in the neighborhood(Allison's roommate). They were pet free and I did not want the girl to have any more issues that might involve our cat. Turns out the hospital kept her overnight, and then kept her until Tuesday morning! Apparently it was more than an asthma attack.

Our girls were up very early Sunday morning. Tom picked them up Einstein bagels and left for the airport to travel out to LA for work. I filled them up on fruit and cereal and they packed up and left. They had a few early games(won at least a game) and then drove back to Salisbury. I still had the hospitalized girl's suitcase and pillow. Her mother arrived at our house in the afternoon from Jersey. Very sweet but a bit overwhelmed trying to find her way around and of course worrying about her daughter. She was just glad she had been staying at our house(little did she know our reputation!). Anyhow,  she picked up her daughter's belongings and I offered our house if she wanted to stay. She thought she might stay in the hospital with her daughter, or look for a hotel. But she was going to insist that her daughter see a specialist when she got back home.

In the meantime, while waiting for her to stop by the house, I was trying to decide if I should drive about an hour north of Baltimore to pick up Scott at his Confirmation retreat. Apparently their bus broke down and they had to wait 1.5 hrs for another ride. Both Scott and the girl's mom were supposed to show up at our house at the same time. Scott opted to wait for another bus so I just had to pick him up from the church parking lot. Right before the girl's mom arrived. Never a dull moment.

Anyway, Scott survived his weekend away at retreat from Friday night to Sunday and he had a lot of homework to catch up on. Plus a letter to write to the Bishop due the next day. He also was back in school last week after an exhausting Spring Break. They had a wonderful article in the local paper on the Robotics Tournament held at U of Maryland over break that Scott participated in. Even his Boy Scout troop was in the paper this past week to honor one of the scouts that developed a patch for the Honor Guard used to conduct flag ceremonies. Scott's troop has a group of boys that volunteer for special programs such as activities involving the Wounded Warriors to act as Honor Guards during flag ceremonies. And now they have a National Patch to go along with the job.

We definitely stay busy here in Maryland!

Another Birthday Wish goes out to Sandra Bozyk who also celebrated her special day this past week.

Dad Bozyk turns 80

 Salisbury Frisbee girls in the House!

Happy Easter! Spring has finally arrived in Maryland. Thank goodness. The flowers are starting to bloom and the trees are getting their leaves. For those with allergies, this is not a good time. And with Spring comes Spring cleaning! Tom and I started working on projects all over the house including putting away winter holiday decorations. This weekend, Tom put up a bluebird house for me in hopes that a pair of birds hanging around our yard will move in. He also put down crab grass killer and fertilizer on the lawn.

Easter puppy brings treats

Last week he stayed home a day as we had roofers out to the house repairing areas around our chimney and vents as well as replacing our skylight. We would like to have the whole roof replaced and repaired, but it is a bit pricey. For now, we just wanted to keep the rain from leaking into our family room.

We are also getting ready for a house full of girls this coming weekend. Allison and her frisbee team will be bunking down in our house for a tournament over the weekend. All 20 of them! For now I was just getting ready for EAster and the April birthdays.

Saturday was Tom's birthday. Allison came home for the weekend to help us celebrate. We took him out for dinner at Maggiones Italian restaurant. He tried to eat there with Allison a week ago and there was a 2hr wait. So we made reservations and had a wonderful late evening dinner. We wanted to go out to the movies, but the timing was not good. So we came home and enjoyed a variety of cupcakes that Allison picked up at a local bakery and opened gifts. Tom wanted to update his Kindle. And we picked up a new camp chair(in Salisbury colors) to sit and watch Allison play Field Hockey or Ultimate frisbee. I also put together a wine package complete with a gift card that I won in an auction at the high school Viking fest. And a Capitals hockey shirt to top things off. I am also trying to get Tom to look into picking up a Hershey bear tickets package. Plus I picked up a new garden hose rewinder. Just to keep things interesting!

We also were enjoying our MSU in the Final Four basketball tournament. I made sure to put out our school flag, but sadly they did not make it to the end. I knew something was wrong when Cookie's MSU dog collar broke.

On Easter morning, the kids hunted for their Easter baskets before church. They loved all their treats and a few extra gifts including clothes and even an egg cooker for Scott! (He loves to make deviled eggs). We decided to go to Charlestown Retirement Community center for the morning mass at the cathedral on the grounds. We really enjoy the pastor, Fr Leo and his homilies. He always preaches a positive message. Afterwards we had an early Easter dinner since Allison had to head back to school.

My parents have been staying indoors most of the week. Their whole building is closed down for respiratory illnesses-bronchitis, pneumonia and colds/coughs/fevers. Dad seems to have caught a bad chest cold. I had to take both mom and dad to the dentist on Weds. and we spent a few hours there while they got a cleaning and xrays. Mom could not get the whole cleaning done since she was supposed to have antibiotics before her appointment and they missed giving her the medication at the right time at the facility. So she has to go back. Dad needs more work and will have to seen an endodontist and oral surgeon. Afterwards we picked up Boston Market and stopped at our house for dinner. But Dad had had enough, and was ready for bed.  So Mom and I packed him up and got him back to the facility.

So they have been mostly staying in the apt with meals brought up to all the residents. I did stop in on Friday for a meeting with the nursing staff and dropped in on mom and dad. On Saturday I took mom over to get her hair washed and set and then on Easter Sunday I dropped off their Easter baskets and Easter dinner. It was so beautiful outside, I had to take them out for a little walk around a local lake. Mom sat in the van since she has a sore knee, but Dad and I went for a short stroll with Cookie tagging along. When they got back, they enjoyed the meal I brought them. So mostly they have been stuck inside. They missed mass and even their swimming pool trip again. Maybe next week they can get out to the Sr Center.

Scott was busy enjoying his week off from school, although he stayed at home. He still had homework assignments to complete. And he spent 3 full days participating in a Mt Hebron HS Robotics competition at Uof Maryland campus. The team was gone from 7am to 7pm each day. He did get out a bit early on Friday and asked me to pick him up. Yuck. Traffic on 1-95 on Friday night on a Holiday weekend is not fun. But I went to get him. It just took a couple of hours. And his team did well, but not well enough to get into the Finals. They came in 17 out of 58. There were teams from all over the world including Brazil and Israel, as well as local high school teams competing. Scott primarily enjoyed checking out all the vendor booths including a Microsoft booth and their free stuff. He was not really needed since he was on maintenance, and the robot was running well. He was not interested in driving the robot as it is a big pressure position and you need a lot of practice. The robot was designed to complete a particular task. They had to pick up and stack containers. Scott was disappointed that the team did not go with a different design that he voted on since other teams seemed to do better. Maybe next year. I also tried to get him to a dermatology appt, but we were running late in the rain and traffic so they had to reschedule. He did catch a boy scout meeting too. And he could not let April Fools Day go by without abusing me. Including adding hot sauce to my water bottle! (too much time on his hands!).  So his break was quickly over and he will be going  back to school this coming week.

So Happy Birthday again Tom!

This past week was the kickoff for Scott's Spring Break. Allison has been busy with classes as she returned to school. She was excited to be traveling back to our neck of the woods to participate in an Ultimate Frisbee weekend of games. Hard to think about playing Football Frisbee when it is so cold outside. But they managed to squeek out a few wins, and Allison managed to resprain her Left wrist. But like a trooper, she wrapped it and kept playing. Now she  has bum L wrist and L ankle. Just like a true sportswoman. We would have enjoyed her coming home for a visit, but the girls all stay in one house together(very nice parents of one of the team members volunteer for the event). We also would have enjoyed traveling to watch some of her games, but they landed on top of our busy weekend schedule.

On Saturday we spent the morning storing away the winter decorations(ie snowmen) in the garage attic. I put Scott to work on his 1st official day of Spring Break running up the attic ladder with loads of holiday decorations. We are still at it. Plus we needed to bring down the Easter bunnies. (Spring is really trying to get here). None of the flowers have popped up yet, but soon. Even the Cherry Blossoms in DC are late this year. I was going to take the family down to DC on Saturday for the annual Kite Festival, but it was so cold and windy and I spotted a few snowflakes. Plus we had to be home early to attend our friend's 60th Birthday party. That was alot of fun. Plus we got to take Cookie since it was a house party and they have their Cavachon puppy too. I just had my hands full keeping the dogs out of the kitchen area and getting under the feet of the caterers. And Cookie had her paws full trying to keep Ripley from biting her ears. At least Cookie's ears are a whole lot shorter since she got her Spring Shearing(aka haircut).

On Friday I was busy dropping off Cookie at the pet store for her trim. Also I took Tom and SCott out to lunch at a new Mexican restaurant in our area. Scott had a half day to kick off his spring break and Tom was off work. I needed to pick up a gift card to the Painting/Wine drinking place as a birthday gift and we decided to check out the restaurants in the new shopping complex. Afterwards we had errands to run, and then Scott wanted to spend the evening with his friend. So they worked out at the Y and then it was off to rollerblade. Scott wanted to try out his new rollerblades before starting his new job, and his friend had never skated before and wanted to try. Unfortunately for his friend, the rink was very crowded with kids on Spring Break and he fell down a lot. After 1 hour, he had enough and Tom picked them up so they could hang out here and watch movies and play video games. His friend stayed the night and enjoyed Scott's waffles in the morning before going home.

On Palm Sunday we were up early as Scott served the 9am mass. They always do a re enactment of the Passion and the mass usually runs late. Afterwards we headed over to Mom and Dad Bozyks's for brunch at their complex. Dad was not feeling well and stayed up in the apt for his breakfast. Mom came down and had brunch with us. They did a nice job serving shrimp and Mimosa's(with real champagne), roast beef and eggs, chicken and carrots, green beans and rolls plus homemade peanut butter caramel pie. Afterwards I had Scott dye some Easter eggs up in their apt.

Now I am just getting ready for all the upcoming Birthdays and EAster. Tom celebrates his birthday this coming weekend along with my Dad who is going to be 80! And a Huge Happy Birthday to Dad Seitz who unfortunately celebrated his birthday in the hospital this past Sunday! I think medical procedures should be scheduled after the Birthday celebration.

So Scott will be home this week during his Spring Break. He is just happy not to have to go to school although he does have a few assignments over the holiday. And he will still be busy with a scout meeting and a Robotics Tournament.

And By the Way, Go MSU! Who knew? The Final Four Basketball championship. I need to go put out my MSU flag!

Scott dying Easter Eggs at Gma and Gpa Bozyk's after Sunday Brunch