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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More to come! Kathleen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baltimore blog.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baltimore Blog

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baltimore Blog

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wow-Time to get caught up with my blogs. When I last left off it was early in July, the week after the 4th. And even though it was a short week, it was extremely crazy again!

Allison finished up her Driver's Training classes-all but one. She missed one class when she worked on a Friday(the day she hurt her wrist!). She signed up for a make up class at night at the end of the month when we get back from vacation. And even more exciting-she finally got her Driver's Permit! Tom took her out of town to Frederick(about a 30 min drive) to the DMV. They don't have as long a wait as our nearby huge DMV office, but it still took all morning. She had to take the test and get her eyes checked, not to mention turning in all the paperwork and checking all the documents. And then a photo and they had to wait for the permit to be printed. So that weekend we took Allison out driving for her very first time! (I remember when the driving instructors did all that!). She still has to take 3 classes driving with an instructor, but we have to make sure she completes 60 hours of behind the wheel time(1 hour down, 59 more hours to go!). We pretty much stuck to the school parking lot and our neighborhood. I think we have a ways to go! But we have started. Sunday we even got a key made for her for the Toyota Echo which she will now drive. An exciting start to her Birthday week!

She also had to squeeze in a few summer piano lessons, and go to her Physical Therapy sessions for her wrist sprain as well as another visit to the doctor(workers comp. is very strict). I also have her running to get in shape for Field Hockey season. Her coach asked the team to start running over the summer and to read a book about Motivation and Sports/Setting goals. She is slowly reading the book, but the running is coming along. We both usually head out into the neighborhood every evening-Allison runs a loop and I walk the dog. Sometimes I even get SCott to join us. When no one is home, Allison has been working out with Wii Fit. Tom even picked her up some decent running shoes. She keeps wearing out all the others.

While Tom was busy taking Allison to get her Driving Permit, I was busy supervising Scott while he was fishing at the Boy SCout Fishing Derby on Saturday morning. The fish weren't biting all that well-I think our big rain storms had a lot to do with it the two days before. But SCott still managed to pull out two decent sized fish. Compared to the finger sized fish most of the boys were catching. No big trophy though this year. We just enjoyed being outside on the lake, watching all the geese and ducks and turtles swim by. We even ran into a few of our neighbors who happened to give fishing a try with their kids SAturday morning too.

Friday had to have been the craziest day of all. Tom was off work thank goodness since I just couldn't be in two places at once.

I have been going to Physical Therapy myself for my neck so I had a few sessions to schedule last week. I also was running SCott to his YMCA camp. They moved his camp from the girl scout camp location a bit farther to another catholic school. It just involved some creative driving on my part getting back and forth to work. I even had to cut through the state park along some very twisty and winding roads. But I made good time with pick up and drop off! Scott was not as excited about the science camp I added him into at the Y. He would have preferred attending the regular camp I believe since they have changed the program a bit. They now bus the kids over to the Y so they can swim. Scott missed swim lessons since he was in the science camp. He was quite disappointed and tried to explain to the counselors that he was enrolled in both camps, but they didn't listen. They then told him he couldn't go on the outing on Friday, so I had to speak to the counselors myself. Scott really wanted to go to Ft McHenry which he did on Friday. He had a great time and really enjoyed the new museum and 4D movie. We have all been to Ft McHenry, but just the outside of the fort. He is the first one to go inside! (Remember, WAr of 1812 and our country's national theme song all started here!).

Meanwhile, Tom and I were busy getting Allison to her last driver's training class. She finished early and took a written test which she passed. Someone also had to be home since we had our air conditioner serviced for the summer, a roofer finally came by and replaced our skylight, and Tom purchased a used fridge from HOme Depot to replace our old, free garage fridge. The new one is a bit smaller than the old one, but actually works well. Our old fridge was more like an unreliable freezer(but it was free!). Tom promised me a big freezer to compensate for the smaller fridge. I was quite busy though cleaning out the old fridge so they could haul it away. And we even did some garage cleaning. Tom took a trip out to our local dump and was almost run off the freeway. He ended up spilling his used oil in the front seat of Allison's car and spent the rest of the morning cleaning up the upholstery. Fortunately we got everything done before a rain storm. And we are happy to see that the new skylight does not leak!

On Sunday, both kids served mass. It was very interesting as we had a few substitute priests. An older gentleman who walked with a cane and had a very strong polish accent along with a young deacon from Africa(also a very strong accent). Allison and Scott had no clue what either one of them said. I had to translate. The polish priest was basically asking for donations for his group of priests that are placed in Africa, Russia and South America with limited priests and resources. He made me cry when he talked about being placed in a concentration camp with his mother and sister when he was young living in Poland. He spoke of all the polish people that lost their lives along with the jews and catholics. He said there were still so many places where the priests had to walk hundreds of miles to service their congregation, and quite a few of these priests were elderly. I had to laugh though to watch Allison trying to open the bible for the polish priest with her hand splint in place-she wasn't having much success. And he was trying to get her attention to step forward to him on the altar so he could read the prayer since he could not walk well without his cane. Looked like the blind leading the blind. I thought everyone did a great job considering! And our Monsignor should be back in a few weeks! Kathleen

Here are a few photos of Scott fishing in the Boy Scout Fishing Derby and his last day at Pets N Vets class in June. On the last day the kids get to bring in their pets for show and tell. Scott brought Cookie and his Hermit Crabs.

Happy 4th of July weekend! I can't believe another holiday has come and gone.The 4th always seems to come too early in the summer months. We spent the holiday weekend watching lots of fireworks and attending lots of events. On Saturday night we traveled to an outdoor concert with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and fireworks afterwards. We went with a group of our neighbors and enjoyed a picnic dinner together. Sunday we ended up at Matt and Di's house with about 30+other people. We ate too much food as usual and had fun in the pool and hot tub. Monday night we sat and watched the fireworks display in nearby Columbia and then joined Scott's boy scout troop in cleaning up the park afterwards. What a nasty job. We are all back home after midnite and taking very hot showers. Before the fireworks, we stopped into the local movie theater and took Allison and Tom to see Cars 2.

And just when I thought things couldn't get any crazier last week, it did. My neck has started to really bother me from the car accident. I looked up all my symptoms and seems that I have a grand case of whiplash. I finally got a prescription for PT and started therapy on Friday. Right after my appointment, it was time to pick up Allison from work. She missed a day of drivers training so she could work at the roller blade rink helping out with summer camp. I found her in the office after work with a bag of ice on her wrist! She had fallen backwards onto her wrist. We then spent the rest of the afternoon at a workman's comp clinic getting xrays and a wrist splint. Thank goodness it is not broken, but then she fell on the same wrist while cleaning up the park after the fireworks display! Sounds like a Stacey thing! She is scheduled for therapy and a doctor's appointment on Thursday afternoon. Thank goodness Tom has a somewhat flexible schedule and can take her. I had to schedule all my PT appointments after work and on Friday when I am off as I am just crazy busy with patients.

Last week was a scheduling nightmare for drop off and pick ups, but it all worked out in the end.
That was because Tom was in Great Britain. He had left on Saturday and was supposed to come home on Friday. Instead, he got stuck in an airline strike with United Airlines at Heathrowe and they postponed his flight to a "possible July 3rd" departure. He decided to find alternative routes and flew to Montreal Canada and from there took a small propeller plane to DC-Dulles airport. Guess I am glad I did not join him. He spent 15 hrs traveling to get back home as opposed to 5.5 hrs. But he was happy to return home before the holiday weekend late Friday night. He was also disappointed that he did not get much time to sight see in London while there since he was so tired from his traveling and most of his time there was filled with meetings.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch I had to get Scott to his Kids on Campus classes at the local college. And that would not have been an issue if they hadn't moved Allison's driver's training class to another facility. It was scheduled to be held up the street at her high school so she could have ridden her bike there and home everyday. Instead I ended up dropping off Scott, then Allison and then picking her up everyday at lunch time. I had just enough time to leave work, pick her up, drop her at home and return to work. And at least Scott's after care program went to 6:30 pm so I was able to get caught up on my computer work that I missed while gone for lunch. Scott really enjoyed his classes-he had a Pets and Vets class in the morning and then a Lego robotics class in the afternoon. We picked him up a few hermit crabs that he took to class each day-he was supposed to "show" a pet for his boy scout badge. Kids all bring in pets on Friday, the last day and give a small presentation. Scott also wanted to bring Cookie, but he could not use that towards the pet badge. He is earning his Dog Care badge with Cookie. The class came in handy since the teacher was a Vet Tech and she helped Scott answer alot of questions that he needed for his dog care badge, as well as the pet badge. Now he is keeping a two month log of dog care and he has to write up info on the hermit crabs and care for them at least 4 months for the badge. (I hope they make it). We have been enjoying watching them change their shells non stop! I also had to take him to his boy scout meeting on Tuesday. The boys have been working on their physical fitness requirement for Tenderfoot during the meetings.

Allison managed to get to all her driver's training classes except for the Friday when she went to work. Now she will have to make up that class at the end of the month. She has also been taking summer piano lessons-we will have to see how her hand is doing before scheduling any more classes.

So I will let you all know how things have been going. HOpefully better!

At least we haven't had to cut the grass! There hasn't been near enough rain. We had a tstorm early Sunday morning, but everything is so dry. I mostly spend my time watering. Imagine Tom watering the grass! So my flowers look pretty good though-the butterflies like my garden. And I sent a few more photos from Ft McHenry on Flag day-the stand in flag over the fort and fireworks over the harbor.

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