It's the last unofficial week of summer. Scott finished his last week of Driver's Training and passed his final exam on Friday. Now it will be off to the MVA to take the real test for his Driver's Permit. Then we will start hitting the road. Oh boy. He also enjoyed the end of the summer Boy Scout meeting-one big water gun fight!

Allison finished cleaning up the GS camp with the rest of the counselors. Her favorite was the latrines I think(besides the horse stables). Yeah. She really did enjoy her whole summer experience. Next summer she will probably be turning in her hiking boots for heels while pursuing a business internship(with Tom's encouragement). She returned home to do her laundry and start packing for school. She also had to run some errands-like stopping into the bank. This year Allison and her roommates decided to rent out a condo. There are not very many dorms available for the upper classmen. Allison heads back to Salisbury as a Junior enrolled in the Perdue School of Business. Tom rented a Uhaul truck so we could move some furniture to her new condo over the weekend. I took her out on Saturday to do some shopping for supplies after we loaded everything onto the truck.

Allison was a huge help while she was home-even for a short time. She drove Scott to and from his Drivers Training classes, and then gave Grandma Bozyk a ride to and from her Sr Center program. Afterwards, SCott, Allison and Grandma all went out to lunch and for ice cream. I was happy they all spent some time together.  On Friday she joined her roommate for a turnaround trip to the condo to pick up the keys and drop off the first month's rent. Her roommates were moving in on Saturday. We planned to arrive on Sunday. Along with the cable guy. The girls need their wifi for computer hook up. We also had to purchase renter's insurance before Allison could move in, so she needed to drop off the paperwork.

Allison is sharing the condo with her previous roommate Jen whose family lives in our neighborhood. They also moved in Helena whose family is from Venezuela. Helena's family was visiting for the week and met us when we pulled up in the truck and our car caravan on Sunday morning. It was a family event-Cookie joined us. We had lots of helping hands to move in couches, a dresser, nightstand and a bed, plus clothes and cooking and cleaning items, food items, Field Hockey gear and a small fish tank. Tom and Allison assembled a small computer desk that we purchased at Walmart and set up her computer and gaming system. The girls have 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, a dining area, living room and tv,  kitchen plus lots of closet space. Also a small deck out back. Very roomy and very comfortable. Our old leather couches looked very nice in their new space with Allison's floor rug. And Helena's parents bought a grill so the girls can cook out in their backyard. Plus someone dropped off a table and chairs for the deck. So they will be ready to host their Ultimate Frisbee team!

Naturally, Tom and I had to run out and shop for new couches for our house last week.  Not a fun activity in my book. We ended up in La Z Boy and picked out a leather couch and love seat combo(fortunately on sale).  We were ready for a new couch set-the cushions on the last set were beginning to wear. Perfect for a college apt. We decided to wait on a new recliner chair as we go into Labor Day sales. Plus I am not so sure we can stuff anymore furniture into Allison's condo as she was looking at taking our old chair.  As it was, we moved in a Queen sized bed! Fortunately, Allison got one of the larger bedrooms.

After moving in all the furniture and hanging up the clothes, we headed out for a late lunch/early dinner with Allison's boyfriend, Tyler. Finally we had a chance to meet him and learn about his summer computer internship with a gaming company here in Baltimore. He is a Senior studying computer science/programmer. He also works part time at campus in the IT office. We took him to one of the campus favorite restaurants on the river, Brew River. We sat out on the deck and listened to the band playing near the bar. Tyler also plays guitar so it was fun to critique our entertainment with someone who has a music background. Tyler actually started out studying music at Salisbury. We had to drop him off and run a few more errands for Allison before dropping off the Uhaul truck and heading home. Allison then went out that evening with her roommates to pick up some basic staples(like milk and butter). We did not want to get home too late since Scott started school on Monday!

We did enjoy dinner on the patio at our neighbors on Saturday evening to catch up with all our summer travels and kids activities before everyone gets back to their busy school and work schedules. We also did the puppy hand off as we had been babysitting for our friends cavachon, Ripley last week. Cookie is still trying to recuperate.

Double Trouble(Ripley and Cookie_

 Allison heads off to School

 New Condo in Salisbury

 Cookie gets comfy in the condo Living room

 Allison gets comfy in her bedroom

 Our new couch

It was back to our usual busy schedule when we returned home after our trip to Michigan. That Sunday we arrived home in the afternoon in time to pick up Cookie from our neighbors before they headed out on their own vacation. We then spent Sunday afternoon unpacking the car and doing laundry as well as cutting the grass. Although it has been so hot and dry, it really did not need it.

We needed to get back for Scott to start his driver's training class which runs for two weeks, 3 hrs each day. I figured he could take the class at the main building near our house since he could ride his bike there every day. When Allison took the class I had to drive her every day-dropping her off before work and picking her up at lunch. Scott finished up his first week of book work on driving rules and regulations and seems to be enjoying the experience. I think he is mostly enjoying the idea of learning to drive! He finished up week 1 and so far has done very well on his practice exams.

He managed to have a bit of fun last week when he joined his friends at the local county fair. I dropped the group off in the evening for $12 Buck Tuesday-entry fee and unlimited rides. They all had a lot of fun checking out the animals, eating fried food on sticks and riding sketchy carnival rides. On Thursday I dropped Scott off at a fellow boy scout's house to assist with an Eagle project-assembling park benches for Scott's old elementary school. We figured Scott could use some practice building stuff since he will be doing his own Eagle project someday. Plus this was a fellow Resurrection school scout, so I figured he owed some favors.

I joined Scott at his Boy Scout meeting on Weds since I was busy finishing up the last details to our upcoming Hershey Park trip. Tom and I had signed up to organize the summer camping trip. I passed out all the Hershey tickets and the scouts made plans for camping and transportation. We decided to skip cooking this weekend since we would all be traveling on different schedules. On Friday I spent the day packing up the car. After Scott finished driving class, we both headed to Hershey PA. Tom ended up staying home since he was catching a cold and not feeling well. Plus it was our turn to watch our neighbor's dog while they went away on vacation. We had planned on Allison coming home from GS camp for the weekend and watching the dogs until we got back. Instead she had to stay and help close up camp. I think her last few weeks were long ones.

When we were in Michigan she participated in "Choose Your Own Activity" week. The scouts get to choose their own activities to participate in. A bit more chaotic. Allison enjoyed the last week of camp since she spent time on the climbing wall and shooting archery. She did not enjoy camp clean up. Especially cleaning the stables. She did manage to take a break on Saturday night and joined Tom at home for dinner and a movie. And she helped manage the dogs!

Meanwhile, Scott and I were setting up camp on Friday night at the Hershey campground. It reminded me of the time I took my Girl Scouts there for Camporee Weekend. Fortunately this time it did not rain. The weather was beautiful, albeit very hot and humid. And sadly the Hershey campground is right next to very busy train tracks which run all night long. But we set up camp on Friday evening and then headed to the park for preview night. Our group consisted of 25 adults and kids. We had a few hours to enjoy the park. Scott and his friend Joe spent time on several rides. Myself and Joe's mom scoured the park since they added a few new rides and we wanted to get the lay of the land. We also enjoyed our Chocolate World tour and a small chocolate snack as well as dinner. We took the shuttle back to the campground, but traffic was a mess. They have concerts at the park in an outdoor football stadium and Lady Antebellum was in town Friday night. It got worse on Saturday night with Maroon 5 and Nick Jonas in town. I thought I should just buy a tshirt since I felt like I went to the concert!   I had to deal with the crowds anyway.

We made it back to camp and our tents after Midnite Friday nite. On Saturday morning we were up early and back on the shuttle for early preview hours and some Dunkin Donuts breakfast. We got in early and the boys headed to the new indoor rollercoaster experience. Which they enjoyed. Then we spent the day on rides, searching for a shady spot to stay cool after splashing in the water park and eating BBQ. By 6pm  we had enough of the rides and spent the evening back in Chocolate World, eating dinner and enjoying York Peppermint Patty milkshakes. WE also caught the 4D movie. The place was absolutely packed. Most of the troop packed up their tents and headed home that evening. It was just myself and Joe's mom and our boys plus 1. Part of the troop left since they could not stand the noise of the train all night! We were back in our tents by 10pm and had no trouble sleeping. On Sunday morning we packed up and headed back into Chocolate World for some shopping and breakfast before heading home. However, I took a detour in the Hershey parking lot and test drove a few Chevys. They had a test track set up and were providing free driving trials. I especially enjoyed my first time in a Camero. I also asked the attendants to take Scott and a fellow Scout for a ride in a Corvette. Then Scott wanted to see what the hybrid cars were like so we test drove the Chevy Volt. That was strange. You look at the gas gauge and a big battery gauge at the same time. The car does not sound like it is running. Scott mostly sat in the back of all the cars and was unable to straighten his head since they were all very small!  Since Scott is beginning his journey into driving, I wanted him to get a feel for a few different cars. He asked to borrow 70,000 for a new corvette! Instead we got a free tshirt!

Long day at Hershey Park!

 Hershey Cows! It's the Milk Chocolate!

 Twizzler licorice art

 Hershey Chocolate World

 Cooling off in Hershey Park/Scott and Joe

 Scott's Hershey purchase

 Scott's Wish List/2016 Corvette

We headed home to spend the afternoon unpacking and cleaning up/folding up the tents and sleeping bags and to help Tom puppy sit!

Our summer travels continued last Sunday morning as Tom and I headed out the door with a drive to Toledo. We spent the night there and caught the new Mission Impossible movie near our hotel after dinner. In the morning we dropped into the Libby glass outlet store in Toledo on our way to MSU. We had fun picking up some odds and ends glassware. We decided to drive through West Bloomfield on the way to E Lansing. We stopped off at the old Bozyk house in WB to see if there had been any changes in a year. I think much to Tom's surprise, the house is still standing and it appears that the new owners are making some improvements. We noticed a new roof and windows being installed. Looks like a young family may be living there now as I spotted a baby stroller on the back porch. I also stopped into the Henry Ford Medical center to pick up some paperwork for my Dad. I am trying to get him some new prescription glasses and needed the paperwork. After lunch at Freakin Burger, we drove towards MSU.
 We stayed at a Hampton Inn near the campus. Scott had already arrived and was checked into Hubbard Hall. Unfortunately, most of the activities were set up on the other end of campus near the stadium. But I think Scott enjoyed staying in one of the dorm rooms and surviving on dorm food for a week. Each kid had their own room key and meal ticket, so they could come and go as they needed.

Scott had spent the weekend driving on the chartered bus with a day stopover at Cedar Point.
On Monday, Scott's group left at 5am from Cedar Point to check in around 830am at campus. The first day mostly involved orientation and an opening ceremony. Most of the ceremonies have big fires on stage. We met up with SCott to drop off a fan(no ac in the dorm rooms). Tom and I spent our afternoon walking and shopping along Grand River with a pitcher of beer and nachos at one of our favorite mexican restaurants for dinner.

On Tuesday Scott missed his afternoon track competition. He could not get to the event on time-too far away and the campus buses are extremely slow(too many scouts). We were busy trying to help him find his events and schedule via computer and cell phone as the campus wide program was glitched. He hooked up with a local Maryland troop and seemed to be enjoying the whole experience(ie pizza party at midnite). Meanwhile, we decided to visit Frankenmuth for the day.  We started our morning with a quick tour through the Frankenmuth brewery-built in 1862 after the germans settled in the area. The brewery was built right after the church went up! Good choice. We enjoyed brats and onion rings on the patio overlooking the river and then some souvenir shopping, including taste testing at our favorite Traverse City Whiskey co. Tom also dropped me off to wander through Bronners Christmas store before heading back to ELansing.

Weds morning SCott seemed to get the hang of his schedule. He managed to compete in a Mario Kart video competition and made it into the finals. He also traveled to Lake Lansing for some kayaking and his attempt at log rolling. (not his best event). But glad he tried it! Meanwhile, we drove to Kalamazoo to visit the campus of Western Mich U. They have an amazing engineering program and we thought we would scope it out for SCott. We dropped into the admissions office and especially enjoyed our tour of the Engineering campus which is actually separate from the rest of the school. Tom and I were surprised at just how large the campus really is. We spent the night in Kalamazoo and saw the new Mr Holmes movie at a Movie Tavern in downtown Kzoo where you order dinner with your show.

On Thursday I talked Tom into driving over to South Haven located on Lake Michigan. I was surprised how similar the town was to Charlevoix.  And we arrived at the start of the Blueberry Festival! We spent the afternoon souvenir and antique shopping, strolling along the pier and eating lunch(blueberry themed meals) at a local restaurant. I then talked Tom into waiting for me to take a dip in Lake Michigan at the beach with warm water and lots of sand! Naturally we could not leave without picking up a blueberry pie at a local farm stand. Scott competed in his second round of Mario Kart and made it through 3 rounds. He also enjoyed a large helping of MSU ice cream!

On Friday we headed back to MSU to pick up Scott. He was pretty much done after lunch, so after we got our MSU ice cream, we packed him up. We decided to give him a ride back to Maryland rather than him taking the bus. That way we were able to schedule him a tour of the Western Mich U campus on Saturday morning, including the engineering program. We had some time to tour Lansing before heading to our hotel in the evening. We visited Potter Park zoo for the first time and stopped into a a new Distillery in East Lansing to trial their whiskey and gin. We spent the night in Marshall, MI and on Saturday morning headed over to Western Mich. U.

I had made reservations for a campus tour. The place was packed! At least 60 or more people were scheduled for the orientation and tour which lasted several hours. They even gave us lunch in the dining hall! We could not believe how big the campus was and how hilly. Afterwards we headed over to the engineering campus. Their engineering school is so big it has its own campus about 10 mins away. Tom and I had scoped it out earlier int he week and were very excited about the entire program. Scott was also thrilled with the huge engineering facility and all the labs and programs they offer. Scott seems to be best suited for the Manufacturing Engineering program. And Western allows out of state students to attend school for a year and then apply for residency with in state rates. MSU makes students live in state for 1 year without taking classes and then allows students to apply for residency. WMU also has scholarships for out of state students. We even picked up a Broncos Tshirt for Scott to wear during his tour!

After our visit, we headed towards Detroit to stop in on our friends Dan and Laura. Laura was busy supervising her Polish Dance troupe at the pierogi festival. We caught the end of their program at the church in downtown Detroit and then headed into town for dinner. We had to share the space with all the Detroit Tiger fans. They were celebrating Mexican night and their uniforms read "Tigres". We caught part of the game on tv in the restaurant and then Laura gave us a quick tour of Downtown Detroit. They are busy putting in a train/trolley system. Not sure who is going to use it at this point, but maybe it will help give Detroit a new look. Along with the new Red Wings Hockey stadium going up on Woodward next to Ford Field and the Tiger Stadium. And we had a drive around Wayne State University which also has an excellent engineering program. We had to start back to Maryland that evening since we needed to pick up Cookie early from our neighbors on Sunday. We drove to PA that night and then home on Sunday.

 WB Bozyk House

 Frankenmuth Distillery

Lake Michigan Lighthouse

WMU Engineering campus

 WMU Engineering building

 Albert Einstein played Ultimate Frisbee for WMU!

Downtown DetroitDinner with Dan and Laura Hejza

Two  weeks ago it was a bit quieter  at our house since both Allison and Scott were off again to scout camp. Allison left last Sunday morning for another work week and we drove Scott up to boy scout camp on Sunday afternoon.

Both kids seemed to enjoy their time at camp. Meanwhile back at the ranch, I spent two evenings with the scouts myself. Monday night was the parent's scout meeting-I had to give an update on my planning schedule for the Hershey Camp and Play weekend in August that I organized for the troop.
On WEds night I dropped into the scout meeting to collect any last minute checks for the Hershey trip since I have to mail off an official Troop check to order more tickets. I ended up staying the entire meeting and chatting with a fellow scout mom.

Tom spent this past week working on the cars, including Allison's-oil changes, car washes, tire rotations and smog checks. We took a break last Saturday night to go see the movie Pixels with the kids. Allison and I enjoyed it even more than Tom and SCott(which surprised me). We liked Adam Sandler's humor in this movie. I thought it was fun to see all the old video games that Tom and I played and was impressed that the kids recognized them as well. On Sunday night Tom and I enjoyed dinner out at his favorite italian restaurant, Maggiones. We had a dinner for two special and got to take two meals home as well(less cooking for me during the week!).

Allison seemed to enjoy her week at camp a bit more. I don't know who has more fun-Allison or the campers! She was assigned to High Adventure. Her favorite activity was rappelling up in the trees, especially rappelling down a tree! And of course the ever entertaining Miss Conowingo pageant keeps them all laughing. She opted on staying at camp last weekend since we all were packing up and heading out the door on another trip. Allison stayed with one of the counselors at her house on Friday night(real beds and real showers and less spiders). On Saturday the counselors all traveled via camp van to Hershey Park for a day of fun. Allison got brave again and rode coasters!(at least the old wooden ones). Those were always my favorite too. On Sunday they were back at it again for another week of campers.

Tom and I spent last weekend picking up Scott from one camp and getting him to another. Tom actually picked up Scott last Friday afternoon while I hung around the house waiting for a package delivery(with signature) that never came. But I had plenty of time to do some packing, laundry, and housecleaning. I also managed to get my car washed along with the dog!  Scott had spent the week at a Boy Scout Tech camp and seemed to really enjoy it. This camp was all about computers, video games and science. He was encouraged to bring his Wii, Nintendo,  Tablet, iphones and anything else he could pack. He got to fly drones and take apart computers, make ice cream out of liquid nitrogen-all sorts of geekie stuff. And he finished badges in Animation, Game Design and Movie Making. His Scout Master put together the camp program and invited the Boys Life staff to come in and do a story since this is the first scout camp of its kind. Scott said they took lots of pictures of him on the computers. Maybe he will make an upcoming edition! They also had a Japanese scout troop visit and cook them dinner. Quite an experience and very enjoyable according to Scott. They had 40 boys sign up this year and already have 200 on the waiting list for next summer.

No sooner did we get Scott home that I had to wash all his clothes and repack for a trip to Michigan State University with the Order of the Arrow scout troop. We had to drop him off in the morning at a local school for a bus ride to Cedar Point. The group from Maryland was quite large and took up 3 chartered buses. They actually had to limit their numbers-I think twice as many signed up for the trip. Overall, there were 15,000 Boy Scouts visiting MSU at this event. Their first stop was at Cedar Point. The boys spent the night in these really cool cabins on the property. On Sunday they spent the whole day at the park. Scott rode every single coaster in the park! All 17! They were back on the bus early Monday morning to head to East Lansing.

We were out the door on Sunday morning. On Saturday Tom and I dropped Scott off in the morning and I visited with my parents in the afternoon. I took my mom shopping before dropping her off for dinner back at the apt. Then Tom and I headed over to dinner at our friends, Beth and Barry who  watched Cookie for us while we were gone. On Friday night we had drinks with our neighbors Dan and Gloria who watch the house and take care of Pika(cat). We spent time catching up with them on their recent trip to Italy. Everyone has been so busy this summer!


Scott visits MSU with the Order of the Arrow Boy Scout Troop for a week long camp.

Allison enjoys swinging in the trees at GS camp!