Sunday turned out to be another rainy day, perfect for staying indoors and studying with the kids. It was also a much needed break from a hectic week.
Besides the usual piano lessons and gymnastics classes, Allison had two field hockey games. She finally got to play an entire game on Friday afternoon. That was because the other team was so bad, the ball hardly ever came near her. But no matter, she looked terrific out there in the 95+ blazing sun! We had a ridiculously hot week; we even had to turn the AC back on! Tom was afraid his new grass was going to burn out and I spent a lot of time watering my newly planted fall flowers. So the rain break on Sunday was a welcome relief.
We all had a chance to catch Allison's game on Friday and that evening I took her and our previous neighbor's daughter to see the new animated owl movie(the girls have read all the books). They loved the movie. During the day I was busy with aerobics and came home and spent most of the afternoon baking chocolate cheesecakes -one for a church fundraiser and one for our neighbor's Saturday night dinner party.
On Saturday, I had to drop off one cheesecake at the church and then I took Scott to an all day Cub Scout nature class on Forestry and Natural Resources at the National Wildlife Refuge. We had class from 10-430. Scott's favorite part was chasing the frogs in their pond. On Saturday night we headed to the neighbors for a dinner party. The weather was so beautiful we all sat out on the patio while a million children ran around in the dark! Scott was happy to spend the night at his friends' Sammy's house.
It was a nice break after a long week of studying for tests. I swear Allison had a test or quiz in every one of her classes on Thursday. She also had to squeeze in a babysitting session for our new neighbors. (She loves the kids). And on the night before the field hockey game she had another pasta party so we had to swing by Pizza Hut for some lasagna. She loved the campfire they had after dinner and roasting marshmallows.
It still feels like Summer and yet September is almost over! And we are only going to get busier as the year progresses!
We did not have time to catch the MSU football game but we heard we won! Yeah! And the Ravens did much better this week. Tom is still enjoying his Monday night football games with the guys. He especially enjoyed the game without all the kids running around!
Talk to you all soon! I have to go organize GS stuff(cookie sales are almost done). Then come the booth sales! Kathleen and Family

Happy Birthday Mom Bozyk! Hope you are having as wonderful a day as we are here in Baltimore! It has been a gorgeous last weekend of summer. We are actually near 80 degrees, 10 degrees above normal. The warm weather hasn't been helping Tom grow his grass seed however since it means he has to water, and that is not his norm. He has been hoping for rain and we did get some last week. Along with a small thunderstorm late at night that woke everyone up. That was the same storm that kicked up tornadoes in New York City. It just has not been enough rain to get all the grass seed growing. It was enough to get the ground wet so I could finally transplant some little trees including my baby cedar I brought back from Michigan and a pine we received on arbor day a few years ago. Both were big enough to plant where I don't think someone would run it over with the mower(again). I also put a rosemary plant in my garden that I got from Matt Wagner as well as filling some big pots with mums and pansys for the fall.
We also spent our Saturday cleaning house and decorating for the fall since we hosted a wine tasting dinner party for Tom's work group. He has been promising his coworkers a wine tasting party for the past two years. We had quite a bit of red wines we moved from LA 14 years ago that we figured had reached their prime and needed opened. Tom was certain most of the bottles had gone bad and was pleasantly surprised to only find a few bottles had turned to vinegar. This was pretty good I thought since our wine has been moved from LA as well as transported up to Boston and back over the past 14 yrs. I was busy cleaning and cooking all day Saturday. I decided to throw a pasta party since I figured it was an easy way to feed a lot of people without a lot of hassle, and it certainly works with red wine. I had a big pot of spaghetti with red sauce and Italian sausage as well as cheese tortellini and vodka cream sauce. Then I just tossed together a green salad and fruit salad. I was surprised that people did not eat as much as I thought they would. We ended up with about a dozen people and one little toddler girl who fell in love with Scott. We also had a few appetizers that included homemade salsa(Tom's contribution). I wanted to use up the tomatoes that I picked from my plants along with some we got from Matt and Di. Tom's salsa was a big hit. So was my spaghetti it seems, but I did have to monitor my cooking since one of the guests was unable to tolerate olive oil and lately that is an ingredient in almost every recipe, especially italian food!
So while Allison and I were busy preparing food and putting out fall decorations, Tom and Scott were off practicing Boy Scout skills. We had a full Pack meeting Friday night(I was nominated to take Scott while Tom ran Allison to her piano lesson). The boy scouts already have a full schedule for the fall. Tom and Scott spent the morning learning camping skills from a boy scout troop. Scott especially enjoyed lighting the propane stove. This is Scott's last year as a Webelo and he will transfer to a Boy Scout troop next year.
Our house seemed to be party city last week. We also hosted the first Boys Only Monday Night Football. Unfortunately for Tom, some of the Dad's were left watching their little boys and they all ended up at our house. Tom said they don't seem to grasp the Boys Night Out concept. Such is the life of modern man. No matter, I ended up cooking Brats and hot dogs for everyone. And a few moms stopped in to pick up the little ones and stayed for a glass of wine and chit chat. So fun was had by all and the Ravens who were playing last Monday got the win(but it sure was ugly). And we all stayed up late for the whole game since the kids didn't have school on Tuesday(election day). Too bad Sunday's game didn't turn out any better. And we couldn't split our time between the MSU game and our wine tasting party, but it sounds like it had quite the exciting ending(with a win for MSU-we'll take it).
It is nice that Allison was able to stay home on Tuesday and watch Scott for us. However, she did have an early morning Field Hockey practice so Scott had to entertain himself for a few hours until she rode her bike back home. It was convenient for me to drop her off at the high school in the morning for practice since that is where I vote. I managed to get in and out in just a few minutes. Tom didn't think he could vote as he is currently registered as an Independent, but the voting poll volunteers told him he could vote a modified ticket(limited number of constituents) or the Democratic ticket(does that make sense?). I guess my mom must be rubbing off since I gave Allison a quick review of what was going on in local Maryland govt and her HS govt teacher mentioned how impressed he was with the insight of his students. Allison surprised him when she mentioned he must be an Independent since he also spoke of the difficulty he had when he went to vote Tuesday morning. She was also able to explain the purpose of the primary.
I got the lowdown when I attended Allison's back to school night. It actually wore me out running from one end to the other, each session lasting about 5 mins and 7 sessions total. the school building is going through a lot of renovations, but I think everyone would have been happier with a whole new school. The hallways and stairwells are still too narrow. You can't go up and down the stairs without getting bumped by the doors or the people coming through. I got a basic idea what Allison goes through and the chance to meet and greet her teachers. Even if the building is not the greatest, I was just happy to see that the teachers all seemed excited and committed about their students and their jobs. Tom missed Back to School Night since Scott had gymnastics and a whole lot of homework.
We did get to watch one of Allison's Field Hockey games on Friday afternoon(a tie for the girls). We missed their Away game on Monday but Allison did not get to play either game since they were very tough teams and the coach used the more experienced goalie for both games. No matter, Allison is still enjoying herself(as well as the pasta parties and goody bags the girls share) and learning lots, and getting some exercise.
Her game on Friday afternoon was early so it was nice that Tom had his day off. We even got to have a lunch date, but it makes it difficult for me to get my work done. I did manage to schedule Allison for driver's training next summer! However, a new law was passed in 2008 which requires the kids to take a test and get their driver's permit before going behind the wheel with the driving instructor so it seems a bit silly to take the class when the kids can go online, read the material and take the test on their own! No matter, I am insisting that someone(besides the parents and the computer) provide some type of driving instruction.
I also had to take time off work early last week for the kids dentist appointments. I am so glad neither one had any cavities. It also gave me extra time to run errands and shop for our dinner party.
Good luck with your dentist appointment Dad Bozyk. And Happy Traveling to Mom and Dad Seitz as they migrate down south to Florida for the winter. Enjoy your trip to Dubai Mark. If you are mailing out any souvenirs, we'll take a camel(no goats) and maybe a little sand. Love from Baltimore, Kathleen

Today, Sunday, was such a wet, drizzly day.A good day to do homework and housework and stay indoors and watch football. Except that Allison had to get up early this morning to serve mass. She was quite surprised to share the job with another high school girl(the boy scheduled with them did not show up or get a substitute). Allison also had a pasta party Sunday night to get ready for their first Field Hockey game scheduled Monday night. The team captain invited all the girls to her house(italian family) so her mom could cook up an enormous batch of pasta-all kinds including meat and shrimp sauces. I was just excited to get a homemade cannoli when I picked up Allison! But Sunday was a far cry from the activities we participated in on Saturday!
If you may recall, I mentioned my plans to participate in the Catholic Charities Dragon Boat races on Saturday, and I did! I had to be to the Baltimore Harbor at 630am for registration and team photos and to watch the sun come up and freeze and drink coffee. Then our first boat race was at 815am. The race is across the harbor, the length of 4 football fields(wow)! Our time was not too bad-1min 48secs. We had 3 more races that day and our worst time was 1 min 51secs. The winning teams had 1 min 35 secs. We also had a hat decorating contest and a chant contest during the day. And there was a special ceremony for 9/11 and the mayor of Baltimore who was also paddling on a team made a speech along with a blessing from one of the bishops. It was a pretty warm day, and I ran out of the house without my sunscreen so I got a bit toasty. Fortunately, all the paddlers got free beer after the race so I was quite comfortable. And our Team Tent was pitched in the volleyball sand pits, so I felt like I was at the beach! It was quite an experience-I just wish the family could have made it. Tom and Scott were off hiking through the woods that morning with the scouts so they didn't get home in time. I tried to talk Allison into coming down with me at 6am but she preferred sleep(can't blame her).
She was just getting over the cold I gave her. She struggled through school last week with a stuffy head and upset stomach and lots of cold medicine. Fortunately she had Thursday off(jewish holiday) to get caught up on some rest and a ton of homework. The teachers sure have started out with a bang this school year. On Friday she had a quiz in every class plus homework that was due. At least they back off a bit on the weekends. There is just so much going on this fall-the English and Math teachers are trying to get the kids prepped for their PSAT test in early Oct(not much time). Allison did take some time out on Saturday to start selling Girl Scout cookies. She always does well on our street, even though we are surrounded by other up and coming girl scouts. People have been buying from Allison since she was little. So let us know if you'd like to donate some boxes of cookies to the US Troops-we like to donate them to the USO or drop them off to the soldiers at the Baltimore airport ourselves when the Troops come home.
Saturday night we celebrated my race with cheesecake at our neighbors house although I think I was falling asleep in my coffee. The kids were busy playing video games. A very long weekend.
I ended up working on Friday since I had taken Monday off. That made for a long day too. Tom had to get Allison to her piano lesson. I was supposed to go help set up our tent, but I just didn't get out of work on time.
We also visited Scott's school for Back to School night last week. Scott is in 5th grade and is very excited about this year. He is especially looking forward to a trip to Northbay camp for a full week of science and nature activities. I was quite surprised since this is the first time the school is sponsoring this activity and also since my company owned the camp! I have been trying to get the kids signed up there for years, it just never fit into our summer schedule. So naturally I asked for the week off of work to join them. I can use the time towards our mandatory volunteer hours at school and even get paid for part of the time from work for volunteering. I hope this is a good year for Scott. We are also getting back to his gymnastics and Cub Scouts. Next year Scott will graduate to Boy Scouts. Good thing I have lots of calendars, cause I am having trouble keeping up with everything!
A very Happy Birthday to Mike Bozyk! We hope you get a job offer as a birthday present! That would make for a special day!
I had to send this out late since I finally got Tom to sit down and help me download a few photos-two Dragon Boat pictures and Scott and Sammy at Comic Con. I will send more(if I remember the steps!)

Labor Day-I thought this day should have a blog all of its own. We got back from Busch Gardens early enough Sunday night to allow me time to do some laundry and read through the mail. I had to pick up Cookie from doggy day camp Monday morning, so not much sleeping in. She was very happy to be back home. Scott gave her a bath and I trimmed the fur around her face-she is growing in her winter coat already.
We all had big plans for the day-biking and swimming(Scott still wants to go tubing). We managed to do none of it. The kids had homework to finish and check. Allison had a few quizzes to study for and we just ran out of day. Frankly I was feeling worn out from my cold and the busy weekend and had enough to keep me busy with laundry and grocery shopping.
Scott decided to rearrange his bedroom and do some closet cleaning(he even pulled everything from under the bed!)
Allison also started some closet cleaning and checking on the fit of her winter clothes. We did not have much luck finding her a well fitting but not ridiculously overpriced winter coat at the outlet mall. We really don't want to spend over $100 for a winter coat that she will probably outgrow next winter. I am just glad I forced her to try on some pants. She outgrew all but 1 pair of jeans from last school year. And don't get me started on shoe shopping(no luck). At least she still has something to wear! It is a good thing most teenagers aren't too fussy about their attire(believe it or not). Most of the kids at her school usually look like they rolled out of bed and went to class in their pajamas or gym clothes.
I did get a chance to chit chat with my parents on the phone-they are up at the Lake House. And I want to wish my brothers Dan and Dave a Happy Birthday(cards are in the mail). And Tom spent the day laying grass seed on the front lawn.
So not a terribly exciting day, but I think we all needed some time to wind down. We skipped a visit to Matt and Di's house since Matt was heading out to Philly Monday night and Diana was recuperating from an early morning run-she is busy preparing herself for her first mini marathon. She did a run last weekend and decided to try for something a bit bigger-we wish her luck! I will be happy with my boat race.
Let you know how it all turns out! Kathleen and family

Wow, what an eventful week. We started it off with the first week back to school-Allison in 10th grade this year at Mt Hebron and Scott back at Resurrection in 5th grade. And all without Tom. He was off working in LA this past week. I was just glad he had the chance to take my brother Mike out for dinner a couple of nights and give him a job hunting pep talk. Mike sadly did not get the recent job he interviewed for, but things are tough all over. Don't give up yet Mike-you are just getting started.
Scott seems very excited about his new school year-sounds like they have some new programs planned. We will know more at the upcoming Back to School Night. Allison seems overwhelmed already, with back to school quizzes and projects, but so far she is keeping her head above water. We had to run out Monday night to pick up her school supplies-they don't tell the kids what to buy until they actually go to class. First we had a make up piano lesson Monday night since we were planning on being out of town over Labor Day weekend. Since we had such a late night I took the kids out to a chinese buffet for dinner. I think I spent the rest of the week filling out emergency papers and signing Policy and Procedure forms. I am trying to get a form signed by Allison's doctor allowing her to keep some allergy medicine with her to take before Field Hockey practice. We had one more grueling weather week-temps were in the upper 90s to low 100s this past week. They even called practice one hour early due to Code Red air quality. It may be that Allison has to leave her medication with the school nurse, but it would be better than nothing. Kids are not allowed to keep medication on them during school, even over the counter medication. They can be suspended if caught-even with something simple like aspirin. And heaven forbid they decide to share! Drug dealing at its best.
And speaking of weather, we also had our first hurricane of the season to affect our weather. Fortunately this one stayed far enough out on the ocean as not to interfere with our holiday plans. Thanks for calling Sandra to check up on us-we were headed to Williamsburg, VA when you called. We never saw a drop of rain. I think it helped keep the crowds down along the eastern shore(at least until Saturday). We had an incredible trip to Busch Gardens and the Water Park on Friday and Saturday. We arrived at Busch Gardens early Friday afternoon and there was hardly anyone in the park. It closed early-at 7pm, but since the crowds were so low, we were able to get on all our favorite rides without hardly a wait. We met up with our next door neighbors, the Zarlengas who were also vacationing there with their kids, Alex and Kelsey. On Friday night after the park closed we all went out for Chinese buffet(can never get enough Chinese food according to Allison) and then we stopped back at the Zarlenga's hotel so the kids could swim and we parents could have a night cap and chat. On Saturday we all went to the water park and had a great time. After wards we headed back into Busch Gardens for a British Rock Band Hermans Hermit concert with Peter Noone. For those like me not familiar with the band's name, perhaps you will remember some of their songs like "Love Potion #9", or "Do Wa Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Do(There she was justa walking down the street)", "Sea Cruise(Won't you let me take you on a Sea Cruise)"and "There's A Kind of Hush, All over the World, Tonite", and Tom's favorite "Henry the 8th". He also did a fabulous Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Davey Jones and Mick Jaggar interpretation. And Peter Noone did a fabulous job entertaining all concert goers of all ages-by the end of the concert, he had little kids sitting up on the stage with him while he sat down and sang a song. (He also commented that it must be horrid being a teacher!). He had all of us laughing. And we were glad we got into the park for the rides on Friday since the place was absolutely packed by Saturday night. Our next visit will be for Halloween-they were already starting to put up the decorations.
On Sunday the kids had a quick dip in the pool before we stopped into the absolutely packed outlet mall. We were bargain hunting for school clothes and shoes(mostly for Allison). We managed to pick up a few things, but it certainly was crowded. We spent most of the day walking from store to store before heading home. Tom prefers to miss the Monday traffic rush, so we usually head back a day earlier. That way we have some time at home to work on projects before we all have to head off to work and school.
It certainly did not help that I caught a terrible cold this past weekend. It looks like the cold and flu season is upon us even before school got started. Our next door neighbor's daughter was ill with the flu last weekend, and residents at the Retirement center have been getting ill. We will all be in to the doctor's office soon for our flu shots(seems like we just got them!) And last season we had to get both the flu shot and swine flu shot!
I am not surprised I got sick. I really have been pushing my schedule. Last Weds I arranged to have Allison and Scott picked up from my neighbor after school and Field Hockey practice so I could get to my Dragon boat practice-the last one before our big day. And with the hurricane coming up the eastern shore, the water was very choppy. Plus we had a full boat and I was sure we were going in. I spent the whole two hours leaning into the center of the boat. Fortunately we stayed afloat, even though we took on quite a bit of water and we were all sopping wet. And lucky me, right after paddling for two hours I had to rush off to my GS Leader meeting. It was the first meeting of the year and I really did not want to miss it. I just sat in the back of the room with a beach towel wrapped around my waist. I wanted to make sure our Troop was registered since cookie sales start this Saturday, the 11th(hint hint). I already had one meeting of the girls and parents a few weeks ago at our house so everyone could fill out all the registration forms. I will be busy scheduling meetings for the girls from now on. And Scott will start Webelos II soon-next step is Boy Scouts.
So we are back to our extra busy schedules. I feel like I didn't get a break at all this summer-it just went by way too fast! Hope all of you can keep up too! Kathleen and family

Happy end of the summer-for us that is! The kids both start back to school tomorrow. We celebrated (the end of summer that is)by visiting ComicCon on Saturday. This is a huge comic book convention which is held all over the US and involves a lot of people in costumes as well as tons of comic books! Tom and Allison were primarily interested in searching through comic books for great discounts. Tom enjoys the combined comic book collections(big books of a series of individual comic books). Tom usually reads Spiderman and Superman-the classics. Allison has been reading Spider girl and enjoys the Teen Titan series. ComicCon varies with the old classics like the Hulk, Superman and Batman, etc, but also involves Star Wars, the Xmen, Ninjas, Godzilla, KISS the Rock band, the old Archie series, McScrooge McDuck and anyone who has ever been turned into a comic book. Scott's favorite is the Nintendo series, especially Mario. So Scott and his buddy Sammy dressed up as Mario and Yoshi and were a big hit at the convention. I could not believe how many people wanted their picture taken with Mario and Yoshi. There were many adults dressed up at the convention, but not as many kids. And we only saw one other adult Yoshi(looks like a turtle) along with a baby Mario. Scott and Sammy enjoyed hunting through all the booths looking for Mario stuff and both bought stuffed Bowsers(bad guy). I was actually surprised there were not more vendors selling "stuff" like lunch boxes or other souvenirs(like boxer shorts), but I guess the emphasis really is on the comic books. We already have lots of tshirts and cups. There were also a lot of comic book writers but we did not feel like standing in long lines for autographs. My only regret is that I did not charge $5 bucks per photo of the kids like ex Illinois Governor Rob Blagovich(spelling?). I hear he charged $50 bucks per photo at the ComicCon he attended.(He has a lot of lawyers to pay off).
As if that wasn't enough activity for the day, we also were invited over to dinner at Sammy's new house. Our old neighbors(Sammy's parents) have been wanting to give us the tour of their new, incredibly large house(about the same size of my parent's lake house but maybe a bit bigger). They lived across the street from us for about 5 years. And now they have moved out towards the county fairgrounds with only about 6 houses on their street. Plenty of trees, corn fields and cows. We enjoyed our tour, especially the mini concert in their new conservatory with their baby grand and grand Steinway piano. We all had a wonderful meal of steak, salads, potatoes and boston creme and banana creme pies. Everyone left very stuffed and the kids were all worn out from their long day. The kids I think were especially tired since they all had sleepovers the night before(little emphasis on the sleep). We hosted the boys, and the Santiago family had the girls. We figured it would probably be a while before all the kids had a chance to visit again so we let them get in a lot of togetherness.
After a very busy Saturday, you would think our Sunday would be much calmer(but it wasn't). Tom left for California on an early morning flight. He arrived early enough to take my brother Mike out to dinner. Mike has been feeling a bit down since he recently interviewed for a full time librarian position at the same library where he is currently working part time. Alas he did not get the job. So he is back job hunting for a full time position. Tom will be in LA all week.
Scott had a swim birthday party to attend all afternoon, and Allison was busy once again working on her confirmation retreat presentation most of the day.
I was trying to squeeze in housework and yardwork in between drop off and pick ups. I also scrutinized Scott's book reports which are due the first week of school.
I also sent Allison out in the evening with Scott for a run since she got a scolding from her coach last week on the "need for speed". Once again our temperatures have been in the 90s making it very difficult to get out and exercise during the day, or even during the night.
Allison wrapped up her last week of morning and afternoon Field Hockey practices. On Thursday her team had a scrimmage, but Tom and I were too busy running around to get to the game. We also managed to squeeze in a few evening piano lessons. Weds night Tom went up to the school with Allison for an open house of the new renovations. Allison does not seem to have any of the new classrooms this year. They plan to be done with the remodeling by the time Allison is a senior. Monday night we were at school for the parent meeting for all athletes and to hear the low down from the Field Hockey coach. (We did a lot of eating out last week!).
Scott wrapped up his last week of summer at the Y. Not very organized and a lot less kids during the last week, but it was well worth the trip to the Baltimore National Aquarium. Scott really enjoyed the outing and can't wait to go back.
I had one of my last Dragon Boat paddle practices. I was excited to find a dragon toy at the yard sale at our YMCA on Saturday morning. It may come in handy on top of a Team Hat some day. (and all for a quarter). This dragon actually moves. And I added a gold dragon from Target for a buck. We only have one more practice left this coming week. I hope we find someone to drum for us! I also got to my aerobics class on Friday since I can use all the conditioning I can get. The race is still scheduled for Sept 11th.
So next week I will be on my own getting the kids back to school. Again, wish me luck! As if I wasn't stressed out enough. The week before at work a pipe burst during construction on the 4th floor above our out patient dept and all the water came crashing down into our waiting room along with a hot water heater. We have all been working in cramped conditions for the past week and the end does not appear in sight. Meanwhile, our full time Physical Therapist quit to move the family to Alabama with her husband(so my boss is a bit freaked out right now). Such is life in the rehab world. And another PT left to go work in the school system. I am so glad I am in high demand. But then again, it is hard to get everything done that I would like to do. At least I hung out the "Back to School" flag!
Happy New School Year!

So we started our day with a lot of rain, which wasn't too bad since Scott had his second book report to finish. This one had to be in a letter form, so he managed to do most of the writing/typing on the computer himself. Allison helped with the graphics(he needed to add a border) and I helped with the grammar. We also managed to pick up a few more pieces of his school uniform this weekend, so he should be all set when school starts next Monday.
Scott wasn't feeling too well this week so he stayed home with Tom one day. That gave Tom time to stain our French doors that he had installed between our family room and the old garage space that Dad Seitz helped us remodel and turn into living space. Tom was able to put in the larger door opening in the winter when we had a leak in the ceiling since he had lots of drywalling and painting to do after repairing the leaky tub upstairs. We still never got anyone to come out again and look at our skylight. We thought it might be leaking. Tom also spent the week cleaning out the gutters again and finished installing a non clogging foam in each gutter. Last weekend it looked like Niagara Falls out my kitchen window with all the rain and water pouring over the top of the gutters. Since we have had so much rain and heat, my flowers have been exploding(nice to look at but not nice for allergy sufferers). Anyhow, I was happy to sit in the kitchen and watch the butterflies and hummingbirds flying around for a snack.
I just can't believe the summer has come and gone. Scott has one more week of Y camp. He finishes off this week with a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore(he should really enjoy that!). He was not too excited about last weeks camp at our nearby YMCA. The theme was State Fair, and the day they scheduled "the Fair" turned out to be an all day rainstorm. They moved the games inside and managed to rent one large inflatable slide which the kids earned rides on by winning tickets after they played the games. Scott was disappointed in the game selection since they mentioned several in the newsletter that did not appear that day. Scott would have just been happy going down the slide all day. It also sounds like the counselors are getting a bit burned out as Scott mentioned they don't really stick to a schedule and it sounds like they let the kids try to entertain themselves. He actually prefers the other Y camp, and I usually try to fill his day with the extra's that you can sign up for like extra swim lessons or science classes, but alot of that stuff fills up fast(back in February when I started this whole process!). He is actually looking forward to going back to school-primarily to see all his friends. I am sure the thrill will not last.
I also signed him up for another year of gymnastics at the same place he took summer camp. I did stop in and let them know he survived his flip a few weeks ago(I also owed them money for the before and after care). And I was glad I signed him up for the coming school year since last year we had to wait until the end of October for an opening.
Scott also spent the week dog sitting for our neighbors. He is saving up for a few motorized lego sets and lego computer games and decided to advertise a pet sitting service. Before he knew it, he had his first customer. He shared some of the work(and profit) with Allison since the dog was supposed to go out 3 times a day. Scott took the dog out before camp in the morning, Allison had the lunch shift and we all went for a walk in the evening, Cookie included. Scott is off to a good start saving for his Lego sets.
Allison will also start school next week, but she has been busy with Field Hockey tryouts all this past week. We are happy to report she once again made the team as goalie! The other goalie from last year did not return however, a new transfer student, also in the 10th grade made the team and she has experience playing the goalie position in Lacrosse and Soccer. She tried out for the team and made it as well. (She looks really good). So we are not sure how much Allison will get to play, but we are all very excited that she is part of a high school team once again. The girls worked very hard last week with two practices per day-two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. It has been unbelievably hot and humid all week. Allison actually had a hard time breathing out on the field, especially on the day they decided to cut the grass 15 minutes before practice. And she has to wear all the hot goalie clothes. She is definitely getting a work out! She has added allergy medicine to her morning breakfast.
On Friday they took team photos and all the girls went out to eat lunch together after practice at Pizza Hut to celebrate making the team. Tom and I decided to tag along. Got to love the Pizza Hut promise-20 minutes or 1/2 off the price of your order. Tom and I ordered a whole pizza and two sodas and needless to say, because of the large number of orders from the girls, they could not get our pizza done it time. Our whole lunch with tip was about 10 bucks! Bet that never happened to you Eric!
After our lunch I had to get Allison up to church to practice one of her confirmation presentations. She still has one more to go. Her scheduled retreat isn't until October, but they like to have everything ready ahead of time.
Friday evening we decided to visit the Wine Bin in Olde Ellicott City for Yappy Hour(where you take your dog to the wine tasting event). This time we decided to take the kids so we could all eat dinner out afterwards. Tom and I were busy sampling wine while Scott was socializing with Cookie and all the other dog owners. Allison just wanted dinner. We were able to let Cookie curl up on a blanket in the car while we ate out on the patio at the mexican restaurant across the street.
Saturday morning we were busy all day with Field Hockey preseason tournaments. We missed the games last year since I took Allison and the girl scouts camping. I did not sign my troop up this year, but I still ended up being recruited to teach the scouts about OT and the use of arts and crafts in therapy at the camp this weekend for an Artistic badge. I managed to see one of Allison's Field Hockey games in the morning(they won) before dropping off Tom and Scott at the house and heading out to the campground about an hour's drive. Turns out I had to teach 3 classes, each one different, but I got a free dinner out of the deal. I didn't get home until after 8pm. Allison's JV team lost the second game 1-0 but they certainly look good this year. We hope Allison has a good season.
Our neighbor's son tried out for his HS soccer team again this year and again did not make it. He goes to a catholic all boys school and he said each year they have to cut about 30 boys. How sad. He will once again play for the county recreational teams instead.
We had to paddle practice in the rain this past week for the Dragon Boat races coming up on Sept 11th. At least it didn't rain too hard and it wasn't too hot. There was a big fuss when the mayor of Baltimore showed up to paddle practice for the city sponsored boat. She showed up in a big black SUV with a whole bunch of followers and photographers. It was quite the Kodak moment. She is actually the replacement for the last mayor, Shelia Dixon that was convicted of accepting monetary favors while holding the office after the last mayor, Martin O'Malley took the governor position. Not sure how long this stand in will last. But not much practice time left for the races. Should be another exciting year. I just hope we have good weather. One year they had a hurricane! With all the rain we have been having, I'm a little concerned.
Tom managed to get out and cut the grass in between rain storms this past weekend. And I finally finished most of my edging. Only one more curb to go! I actually took a break from paperwork on Sunday to get out and do some yardwork. It was supposed to rain all day so we did not make any outdoor plans. But the sun came out in the late afternoon so the kids did a little rollerblading while I walked Cookie, and then Allison and I rode our bikes up to the grocery store to get dinner. Tom was busy shooting zombies on the Wii.
Happy last week of summer! Kathleen and family