Joe-Thought you would like an update on Mom. I sent this to the boys after Easter. Hope you and Kathy are doing well. I was also hoping to catch the two of you on the way back to Michigan from Florida here in Baltimore. I am guessing you are both back in Michigan. No trips planned at this time to Michigan, but we will be taking Mom B to Virginia beach for the weekend in August. Looks like Dave and Sandra will be joining us.

Thought I would send you all some extra photos of mom.  I have been trying to send mom to the Sr center 2x/wk. The staff at the program recommended it(helps to keep her oriented and active). And the nurse recommended it at the apt complex. They have a very nice program with exercise classes, art classes, entertainment, games and lunch. She can participate in these things at her apt complex, but does not always do so. This way she is kinda forced to do some things at least 1x/wk.

I had a care plan for mom a few weeks ago. Overall her health seems pretty good. I need to get her a yearly dentist check up. She felt that her knee was feeling pretty good, so we skipped the injection. Recently she said it was bothering her again, so if it keeps up, I will reschedule an appointment with the orthopedic MD. She is not taking too much medication-Blood pressure, memory, anti depression, vit., I think she was fairly healthy this winter-no serious colds or flu. A bit runny nose like usual, but not as bad as it used to be. Maybe a better environment! She will have a yearly heart check up. She still gets very short of breath with walking. We convinced her to let the aid help her get a shower 1x/wk. I keep checking on her laundry. She keeps hiding stuff(dirty clothes, purses, her watches, key, money, food). If we can't find it, then someone stole it. Eventually we/she finds it. I always check on her room when I stop in to go through drawers. She also picks things up from around the building and takes them to her apt, so I try to keep it organized and uncluttered.

One thing, they had Mom listed as DNR-Do Not Resucitate. Sp? I asked the Nurse Practitioner to put her back on Full Code. They switched Dad when he began to decline, but I did not want that for Mom at this time. I think she could pull through if anything happened, but I will speak further to the heart doctor when we see him again. Mainly she just needs to get her toe nails trimmed and go to the hairdresser more consistently. She forgets to go at the apt in-house hairdresser, so I usually take her out for a wash, set and color.

I also really enjoyed the Aquarium trip with her and the group and Scott, Tom and I enjoyed having Brunch. We like to take her out to dinner also if not having her over to our house for a meal. And Easter was very nice with a beautiful mass and brunch which included Allison.

Mom keeps asking about Dad and I have to remind her that he is gone and buried in Florida cemetery. I try to put out photos for her of Dad and she puts them away. I think they make her more sad. She says she needs to come live with us because she has no one. She has latched onto one friend, also named Kathy. Unfortunately, Kathy is a bit of a couch potato too so sometimes mom skips out of activities because of Kathy. But they do love the weekly restaurant trips for lunch out!

They continue to have special activities and events at the facility and out in the community. Looking forward to more baseball games. That was also a lot of fun. I also thought it would be fun to take Mom to the beach for a weekend this summer. Plus she has pool passes for the community. It was just getting too hard to take both Mom and Dad especially by myself since Dad was such a handful. I had a hard time keeping an eye on both of them at once, and Dad was getting more difficult to manage(at risk for falling, bathroom issues, and watch out when he was angry!). So trying to get mom out and about as much as she can handle. She is a lot more flexible, but boy is she stubborn!

Baltimore Aquarium trip

Easter Sunday mass at Charlestown Retirement Community

Disney/Epcot trip at Christmas

Florida house

Dad's Memorial/cemetery

Memorial Luncheon for Dad B.

Bozyk Family

Mom, Joe and Kathy

Busch Gardens/Tampa Bay

We have been so busy lately, I got ahead of myself! Allison and I went off to see the movie "The Secret Lives of Pets" last week while Tom and Scott were down in Norfolk. Tom had dropped Scott off at Busch Gardens for the afternoon while Tom attended a planning meeting for his upcoming trip back to Norfolk. Tom met up with Scott in the afternoon and toured around the park before they headed home. They did stop in for dinner at the Movie Tavern and caught the new Tarzan film(I think they liked the Disney cartoon better).

 We even had to skip a few activities since we were so busy. Bronycon was going on in Downtown Baltimore(My Little Pony convention). I took the kids int the past, but we were just too busy. They had 10,000 participants this year. Scott also had to work on Friday night. I did not even have time to visit with my mom. I was too busy running around. I spent Friday and Saturday picking up supplies for Scott's upcoming Boy Scout camping trip. I also picked up a few designer cupcakes for Allison's birthday celebration. One of my co worker's sister is a Master baker at a local bakery, so we tried out a few of their specialty cupcakes to celebrate Allison's 21st birthday on July 13th.

On Tuesday I took the kids to the Tie Dye class along with Scott's girlfriend Tori, and then out to dinner for Taco Tuesday. I thought the shirts came out nice.

On Weds July 13, we celebrated Allison's 21st Birthday! Now she is official for everything! She received one of the first, brand new Maryland Driver's Licenses. So new you can't use it to get on a plane. They cannot run them through security. And no one recognizes it as being real when they check her ID after she orders a drink. But it hasn't stopped her. Her first choice of drink was a Beergarita(a small bottle of Corona beer flipped over into a margarita). Interesting. She drank the margarita part and gave me the beer part. Worked for me. We all went out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant along with Allison's boyfriend Tyler. We sat outside on the deck so they could also play Pokemon Go. Yes, our children(and Tyler)are hooked on the mobile game. At least they are smart enough to know not to drive and play, and to watch where they are walking! It has certainly increased their physical activity. They like walking the dog alot more as long as they can play Pokemon Go on their phones. However, Allison found out that she cannot ride her bike and play as she had a close call with a mailbox! Some people don't like the game. I think it is great-anything to get kids/young adults out and about. And interacting with each other in a positive way! We took Allison out to dinner for her birthday in Olde Ellicott City and the entire town was over run with young people playing Pokemon together in the parking lot and up and down the street at night! We also spent the evening opening up her gifts including some new clothes and jewelry to wear to her internship, new running shoes and sports clothes for Field Hockey and Frisbee and a portable camp stool to have something to sit on at the games, a room air purifier(darn allergies), some computer games, and a bird feeder for her Salisbury condo.

On Thursday night we celebrated Allison's 21st Birthday with her roommate Jen. Tom and I took the two girls to a wine tasting class. This was a white wine tasting class put on through our Community College.  Tom is not a fan of white wines, but he ended up chatting wine facts with the instructor. It was a 3 hour class! The information was quite detailed, and we all learned something new as well as sampling a lot of different types of wine, including a few red wines at the end.  The cashier at the registrar office at the Community college could not believe they actually had a class on drinking wine! Works for us!

Last weekend they had a Pokemon game day at our Baltimore Zoo. Scott, Allison and Tyler met up at the zoo on Saturday morning, all decked out in their Pokemon finest to collect Pokemon and do battle with other players. Unfortunately, on the morning of the event, the website went online in Europe and the entire program crashed. So the kids were forced to enjoy looking at the real animals until the server came back online! Actually we all really enjoy the zoo. And Allison reintroduced Tyler to the zoo as he had not been back  there since he was in grade school. They were excited when the game came back online and they stayed longer to play and eat lunch. I needed them to get back home so we could finish packing Scott's chuck box for Boy Scout camp.

I also purchased tickets to see The Three Musketeers outdoor play at our historic Patapsco Female Institute. The school was built in the 1800s and was the first, all girl schools in the US. We have seen a few plays there in the ruins, including Dracula at night, and a Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing. They kept as much of the original stone structure as they could, like the walls and window frames. All the original wood is gone of course, so they built up a few stages outside and inside the building. Our play was looking like it was going to be cancelled due to a thunderstorm. I had picked up a picnic dinner, so we unpacked and ate at home. The rain stopped just as the play was beginning, so the evening turned out well. I thought they did a good job putting on the story, and I even heard some giggles from Allison.


On Sunday we packed up the van and drove North of Philadelphia to drop Scott off to boy scout camp. He is really looking forward to spending the week at camp since he will be driving ATVs and Horses! I just hope he stays safe! He did not exactly have an easy time at Church Work camp this summer. It was an all day event , plus we picked up another scout for the ride and we did not get home until late in the evening. We stopped off for lunch at an interesting restaurant with the boys called Chicken, Wings and Other Things. We were a bit concerned about what the Other Things would be(chicken feet and beaks?). Turns out it was deep fried oreos and snicker bars as well as funnel cakes! We had dinner out on the patio at Bahama Breeze on the way back.  Allison had to sample a Mango Margarita. We just could not believe they ran out of guacamole at a mexican restaurant. We needed to get back home so Tom could repack his car and head back down to Norfolk where he was working this past week.

Sending out another Happy 21st Birthday to Nicholas Bozyk! You guys are growing way too fast!

Hope you all  enjoyed your 4th of July week! I spent my holiday at work. Along with my student(she might as well get a taste of the real world!). The kids and Tom caught a movie. By Tuesday, we were all back on our busy schedules(except for Scott). He was enjoying some well earned time off. But not for long with my scheduling.

Tom was in town for the week. On Friday we dragged Scott off to the bike shop. We wanted to get our bikes inspected and cleaned to take on vacation this summer to Hilton Head. I discovered that my bike was in pretty bad shape. Scott had borrowed it and rode it to school for a year and it took quite a beating(along with a few falls) until he got his own bike. So I decided rather than pay to spruce it up, to go ahead and invest in a new bike. Plus I was able to trade in my old bike for a discount on the new model(Bike Max!) I really like the new style and can't wait to take it out on the road/bike path/beach! We also spent some time learning about bike maintenance. Do not wash your bike with a hose! No matter how dirty. Use a damp cloth to wipe it off. Apparently water can get into all the small spaces and damage or rust out the frame, joints, etc. . We have never done this, but thought about running it through a car wash. Instead, we can bring it back to the shop for an overhaul/cleaning as well. We enjoy the trips to our recently built, large bike shop here in Ellicott City. The staff is incredibly helpful. They have their own, huge bike workshop so you can just ride in and get an immediate inspection. Tom also bought a new bike carrier for the back of the van. It is a lot easier to load all 4 big bikes.

This was the week to buy new wheels. On Monday Tom was busy car shopping online. On Tuesday we were test driving cars. The Buick that Tom purchased from his Dad was starting to have problems with the electrical system and the front end alignment, wheels and power steering. The repairs seemed more costly than the trade in value, so Tom opted to trade it in for a Ford Escape that he found at Car Max. He also decided that it would be a good car to pass down to Scott when he gets his license. Our little Honda Echo training car is beginning to poop out. By the time Scott goes off to college(just a few years away!), it will be time for Tom and I to invest in another car. So far Tom is really enjoying all the bells and whistles they put on this Escape. This is the first Ford vehicle we have owned since my Mercury Villager Mini Van(Dad B would have been proud!).

So Tom had to clean out the garage to get his new car inside. He had several dead microwaves to disassemble for parts. Then he had to drop off what was left over to the dump, along with a dead speaker system for the tv. He also set out several items on the sidewalk for any takers, including our old bike carrier, our old snow blower(he bought a new replacement model after winter), the dead electric scooter that Scott brought home from the Hamfest sale and a few of my leftovers from the recent garage sale, like Scott's xbox guitar hero game and a coffee maker. Everything went fast. Except for the very heavy train table that our neighbor built and gave to Scott for his trains and hot wheels that was taking up a lot of room upstairs. That just got picked up Sunday after I posted it on the neighborhood webpage.  Our neighborhood is constantly selling/trading/buying/giving away items and they post them online. You never know what you might find at the end of someone's driveway! Tom also had to make room for the supplies for Scott's upcoming Eagle project.

On Friday after visiting the bike shop, we stopped into Home Depot to ask for a donation for Scott's wheelchair accessible planters. I was amazed to hear that Home Depot often donates to boys towards their Eagle projects, and they requested a letter from Scott explaining his project. He dropped off the letter Sunday and hopes to hear back from them soon. We will probably have him try Lowes and Ace Hardware too. Anything to help defray the cost of the project. While stopping at Home Depot, I decided to pick up a few more veggie plants. Some of the plants I bought back in May did not make it since we had a bit of a cold spell. It is a bit late to plant new veggies, but it has been plenty warm lately, with lots of rain, so I have my hopes up that we will get something. I picked up cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash, along with dill and some Monarch butterfly flowers. So far our jalapenos have been the best. Scott has been busy grilling them and putting them on our burgers. We also put some in the salsa that we got from Allison's work. Her boss's Dad cans his own salsa. But it was not very spicy, so we kicked it up a bit. So I was out in the yard cleaning up the garden and putting in the new plants Friday night.

Scott  helped out one of his fellow patrol members on  Saturday morning by assisting with  his Eagle project-self watering garden planters(which were basically a large, plastic bucket with lots of holes. Scott spent the morning drilling holes in the buckets with a power drill. Not quite sure where these projects were headed, but Scott's planters are quite a bit more complicated and expensive. Tom decided he will just have Scott and a few adults actually cut and build the planters and ask the young boys to come out to the nursing home to set up the planters, clean up the patio and the grounds and complete a gardening activity with the residents in the new planters. I can also serve them lunch at the facility(part of the project!).

On Saturday night our family headed out to a minor league baseball game with the Frederick Keys. I was singing the National Anthem with the GS choir, so we got discounted tickets. We took along my mom and good friend, John Dutton. Scott was invited to a Birthday party that evening at the Sky Zone Trampoline park, so he passed on the baseball game. He had a great time playing dodge ball while bouncing on a room filled with trampolines! Afterwards, he went home with his friend to spend the evening playing video games. Earlier in the day, we dropped him off and picked up my mom and John and headed out to Frederick, about 30 mins from our house. The game was fun(even though the Keys lost), it was a beautiful night and we had a wonderful firework show afterwards! The stadium is small, so easy to park, get to our seats(handicapped with mom), purchase good food off the grill, and even the bathrooms are easy to get in and out. So we all had a terrific evening as we continued to celebrate the 4th of July week. (although Allison seemed to be sitting near some grumpy people fighting over the general admission bench seats as well as the kissy face people). But Mom and I definitely had a good time! And John who rarely gets out for fun stuff.

I threw my mom off her schedule a bit by taking her to see the summer theatre's production of "White Christmas" at Scott's high school. They did a great job, we loved the music and they even made it snow in the theatre at the end! But mom kept thinking it was going to be cold outside. Only a mere 92 degrees outside, but they sure made it feel like Christmas in Vermont! I was mostly impressed that mom sat through both events-the play was about 3 hrs long and the baseball game was a 6 hr program. What a trooper!

Sunday night,  Tom and Scott were headed to Newport News Virginia. Tom had a meeting to attend on Monday afternoon, so he thought he would take Scott with him so they can stop into Busch Gardens or WaterCountry USA along the way. Especially since Scott is free. And Tom thought it would be a good idea to let Scott get in some freeway driving in the new Ford Escape.  Nothing like driving around the DC beltway!  Before they left, we were invited to our neighbor's Dan and Gloria's house for dinner. We have been trying to get together for weeks and everyone has been busy.  Especially since both of their kids just moved back in with them! Alex decided to live at home while going to college, and Kelsey quit her job with Verizon in Virginia Beach to move back home and look for a local sales job. She graduated a year ago with a Bachelor's in Psychology(not much available in the work force in that area). So now she is hoping to save up enough money to move back to Towson where she graduated with a more stable job. What fun for them.

Allison and I were free on Monday night, so after dropping off a registration for an upcoming wine tasting class(someone is turning 21!), we dropped into the movie theater at the mall to see The Secret Lives of Pets. Naturally, Allison and I really enjoyed it.

On Tuesday, Scott was back in town so I took him and his girlfriend Tori, and Allison up to the YMCA for a family tie dye event(or I thought it was a family event). Turns out it was for 6-12 yr olds. However, it was not advertised as such. So since we showed up with tshirts, the counselor let us make tie dye shirts after all the little kids were done. It was a bit chaotic and of course, messy. Allison and I ended up helping some of the kids since we have had practice making shirts in girl scouts and during birthday parties. To make up for my boo boo, we took Tori out to dinner for Taco Tuesday at Glory Days. On Weds night, I volunteered to teach the Nature Badge at the Boy Scout meeting. Scott made me a power point presentation and we talked about all the native Maryland birds, animals, fish, rocks and plants.  We also talked about the young bear that has been traveling through the counties in search of a new home, including very close to Ellicott City! Then we went outside and played a Food Chain game with popcorn. The plant eaters had to run around and collect popcorn for food, and then the meat eaters had to catch the plant eaters and fill up their cups with popcorn. The first meat eater to fill up his cup was the winner. Naturally he won a bag of popcorn!

Looks like my schedule next week will be just as busy as we will be celebrating Allison's 21st Bday.

Happy 4th of July!  What a busy week!  What a busy weekend!

Tom was busy working in LA and returned on Thursday afternoon. We celebrated our 29th Wedding Anniversary just like we spent our first year of marriage-in two different states! Tom surprised me with a beautiful bouquet that he had delivered at work. I left it there to share the incredible flowers-lavender roses, just like my wedding flowers,  with all the staff and patients. Plus I got to enjoy it more since I spend more time at work than at home!

I was just sorry Tom did not get a chance to visit with my brother Mike. But his trip was short and busy. Tom was not the only one away last week. Allison and I dropped Scott off to Church Work Camp last Sunday. The group stayed at a local church, sleeping on their cots or air mattresses and eating their meals in break rooms. They showered at a local Y and spent a few nights swimming in the pool. They were all allowed to have cell phones and laptops to utilize during their free time which was very limited. Scott said they spent a lot of time in prayer group, saying the rosary and went to mass every morning at 6 am at a local church. When they weren't busy praying, they were busy working. That was Scott's favorite part of the trip. He was very proud of the work he did and the improvements he made on an elderly man's trailer. However, he could have done without keeping up with the Seitz tradition-that is, A project is just not complete until you bleed on it.

On Monday he sent me a photo with a bandaged elbow. And the hole in the floor where he fell through! Seems the entire floor of the trailer needed replaced. Scott was very proud of the fix. On Tuesday he sent me a photo with his eye bandaged! He got sawdust and insulation in his eye, even though he was wearing safety goggles while cutting wood. After several hours of rinsing and even a dip in the pool, the chaperone and I decided he should go to an urgent care to have it assessed. Fortunately he did not scratch his eye, and was given antibiotic eyedrops and an eye patch.
On Weds he scratched up his leg cutting down trees and shrubs. I figured the Youth Group counselors were ready to pack Scott up and ship him back home. But they were amazed at his hard work and good attitude, even with all the injuries. I was just so happy nothing worse happened to him! And grateful to his wonderful chaperone, Stacy.  He managed to survive the rest of the week and returned home Saturday morning, very tired and glad to be done. I think it was a wonderful experience for him, and he enjoyed spending the week with his friends, but he does not think he will be going back next year!

Scott came home in time to shower and take a nap and we were off again! We were invited to our friends,  Beth and Barry's house for a 4th of July dinner. We were also looking forward to seeing photos from their European tour to Paris and London. We were also excited to see their puppy, Ripley again! And Mom B was invited, so I picked her up and we headed over to dinner. We had steamed Maryland crabs for dinner, but Tom and Mom are not crab fans. So I also made a big pot of baby back ribs and brought corn on the cob. Needless to say we had too much good food to eat! And we topped it off with strawberry cheesecake.  Everyone had a lovely evening, and we 'kids' finished the evening with a walk around the nearby lake in the park that Beth and Barry live next to, along with the dogs.

On Saturday morning Allison took her Honda Fit into the dealership to have the air bag replaced. The air bags were on recall. I was glad she was able to get the appointment so quickly.

On Sunday, we celebrated the 4th of July early with a trip to the outdoor concert stage at Oregon Ridge to hear the BSO-Baltimore Symphany Orchestra and to watch the firework show. We usually like to go to the early show to avoid a late night before returning to work.  We packed up a chicken dinner from KFC along with Allison's homemade brownies and crab dip. Her boyfriend Tyler joined us for the evening. He moved back in with his parents near Baltimore since his lease at the condo at Salisbury was up. He is currently working working but hunting for just the right full time position and his own apartment. We stopped into his parent's house to pick him up since he was on the way. I thought about bringing my mom. We used to take both my parents when the kids were little if they were visiting. But that was when both of them were a lot more mobile. We did not think Mom could handle the long walk on the grass among all the crowds.  We also invited our good friend John, but his gout was kicking up in his knee and he did not even think he could handle the long cross country walk to the stage. So off we went with our wagon, folding chairs and cooler. We arrived early enough, around 6 and set up our space. Naturally, I always seem to run into people I know at the concert. I spotted my previous GS co leader and her entire family. It was fun catching up, and Allison and her daughter got a chance to chat as well. The girls were in scouts together and have not seen each other much for the past 3 years as Jeannette goes to school in Tampa and has worked at Disney during the summer months. . I also ran into one of the therapists that I used to work with at Charlestown. I actually introduced her to this event and she has been coming ever since. And she keeps trying to recruit me to come work for her. But for now I am plenty busy and happy with my current job.
 I also happened to bring along some noise makers and poppers to fill in the extra time. They were  non flammable fireworks. We had a great time eating our picnic dinner, drinking wine(for those 21 and older), and shooting each other with confetti poppers. Even the little kids sitting around us got into it and asked for some poppers. We had plenty to share and the kids had a great time shooting poppers at us and their parents.  But apparently someone did not share in our enthusiasm. When the concert started, 3 security guards showed up to ask if we had seen anyone shooting off fireworks or lighting sparklers. (I can't go anywhere without getting in trouble!). I showed them our confetti poppers and they were not interested in our pitiful noisemakers. They did comment on our mosquito smokers, but even those were in compliance. Oh well. Some people just don't know how to enjoy themselves! The concert started and was a lot of fun, with patriotic music and even the Star Wars theme song followed by a great fireworks show. And then the long walk back to the car and the long, detoured drive home(after dropping off Tyler). Quite a memorable evening that lasted until about midnite when we arrived home. (another reason not to take mom-she worries about lots of traffic, lots of people, and getting home early!)

And I was off to work on Monday the 4th. No rest for the weary. And I was just as busy during the week. I had a parent's boy scout meeting to attend on Monday. On Weds, Allison and I took Cookie to the local park for the summer concert series. Cookie loves being out with all the people, especially the kids as well as other dogs. We even sat down next to another family with a cavachon. But Cookie attracted one very cute little girl that tried to use Cookie's tail as a pillow! The local newspaper could not get enough photos of Cookie and the kids. On Thursday, Allison and I joined my mom for her apt complex's  4th of July picnic dinner. We had to leave after dinner as we attended our neighborhood's meeting to protest the building of a new, condensed housing complex near our existing neighborhood. The meeting got a bit ugly when we discovered the builder hijacked our neighborhood web page. They want to squeeze in houses, villas, condos and a 55 and older community along with a community center and pool(for them) in an already overcrowded space that would join up with our neighborhood. So lots more traffic mostly running through our neighborhood. Plus there is a lot more building going on around the area-mostly condos and larger homes on smaller and smaller lots.  So Allison got to see a clear picture of government working at its best. I thought it was going to get ugly. It began to look like a Trump rally. But the whole meeting didn't do us much good as we only had the builder present. We really need to speak with our local council members. We pretty much know we can't stop the building, but we would prefer to have some say in what and how much is built in the area. As it is, our roads and schools are already over taxed.

Tom and the kids spent the 4th of July at the movies. They went to see Independence Day 2. Tom had seen it in LA and thought it was pretty good, but not like the first movie. The kids seemed to enjoy it. I really liked the first movie with Will Smith(not appearing in ID 2). It was a good day for the movies since it was so rainy and stormy. We just watched the fireworks on tv. It was so overcast, the Public tv  switched to old footage of fireworks. I guess they got busted. No one prefers to be fooled by DC politicians! Even with their fireworks!