Now we were into August and still so much to do. Scott started off with a full week of ACT class preparation. I signed him up for a half day tutoring class at our local community college. The class focused on the math and science section which are the two areas   that Scott needs to bump up. Actually, he mostly needs to bump up his math grade so he can start college at a higher math level and be engineering ready. Besides the class, he was busy studying on his own with a program that Tom downloaded. Plus he had the opportunity to practice his new driving skills as we had him drive himself to class every day. Both good things.

We were also busy with Boy Scout meetings the past two weeks, preparing for the upcoming camping trip and visit to Six Flags Amusement park. I was getting rather frustrated as the scouts were asked to plan cooking activities to complete requirements for rank advancement or for their cooking or camping merit badges. Unfortunately, we had more scouts wanting to cook and not enough scouts signing up to go and eat! Scouts are supposed to cook for at least 3 fellow scouts each.  So we were trying to organize a camping trip along with a trip to the local Amusement Park. I managed to find a nice KOA campground very close to Six Flags. We got 50% off discount tickets to the park. Surprisingly, we did not have many scouts or adults sign up. We ended up with only 10 scouts out of a huge troop of near 75, including our Venture Troop and Cub SCout Pack. I was very frustrated. I had a lot of upset parents wanting their sons to attend and camp only, just to get their cooking done, but this was also supposed to be a fun trip to the Amusement Park. I also only had a few adults(primarily Tom and I) sign up, and even our Scoutmaster had to back out since his mother in law was ill. I think Tom and I ended up eating some of the cost of this trip. We headed over to the campground on Friday afternoon. At least it was close. Tom was expecting to cook for adults, but it was really just the two of us. We had another couple that took pity on us and the mom ended up camping one night(her first time camping) and her husband camped Saturday night. Tom and I were sharing our large tent on the other side of the campground, so they pitched their tent with the boys on a group site. The boys all arrived early in the evening, made their dinners and cleaned up before it got too dark. Unfortunately, we had a few that forgot their tents, so Tom had to make another run home to pick up a few extras. Tom even decided to cook us a few steaks that evening and I tossed some potatoes and corn on the cob on the grill too. Scott became the acting Sr Patrol Leader since the actual SPL was unable to attend the event, . So Scott kept track of the progress for all the boys, shared several meals for those cooking, and then he joined us for a grilled steak dinner too!  We had hoped to to enjoy a bonfire that evening(I brought s'mores), but it started to rain and even tstorm. We quickly discovered that our large tent and Scott's small tent were not very waterproof. We quickly threw some tarps over the top to help keep out the rain. The boys had also hoped to spend the evening swimming in the campground pool, or playing yard chess, ping pong or pool, or even bouncing on the giant trampoline. Instead, the campground staff put on a candy bar bingo game under the pavilion right next to the boys campsite. Unfortunately, no one else in the campground brought candy bars(except me)so they just played for fun and then showed a movie outside. It kept the boys entertained, and they stayed dry under the pavilion.

On Saturday morning we did not have to get up too early. The park opened at 1030 and it only took about 20 mins to get there from our campground. So the boys had plenty of time to cook breakfast and get dressed and ready for our big day. I even had time for a shower! And fortunately the rain stopped. It made for a long night and little sleep though. Everything was damp. Not to mention the guests that kept arriving during the night and the noise and lights as they were setting up their tents. We ended up with a few Michiganders right next to our tent(quite the partiers) on their way to an outdoor, all day concert at Pimlico. We packed up our boys and headed to the Amusement Park. We split up and Tom and I had the younger boys. They were a bit hesitant to go on rides, but did try a few and enjoyed every minute. We then took a break in the middle of the day to join up with our other group at the water park and have lunch. Then it was off for more rides and a few shows. It was just terribly hot and humid. It was a good thing Allison did not join us. She had come home to rest after a long week at Girl Scout camp supervising girls at the reservoir. She thought she was going to get some rest while the girls swam, but she kept busy since the other two counselors were not feeling well.  So she was a bit burned out.  I had wanted her to quit the week before, but she figured she could manage one more week. And then she had to head back for a few days to help clean and close up camp. I had a few extra tickets for the park from people that did not show up, but did not find any takers. We actually ended up with only 8 boys, which actually made it a little easier to supervise.


By 7:30pm we were pretty much done with the park. It stayed open until 9, but it took about 30 minutes to get the boys out to the parking lot. They were busy buying souvenirs near the front gate. However, a very large storm was brewing on the horizon. Tom had left about 30 mins earlier with Scott(he wasn't feeling too well), and another scout to head back to camp. They were already getting blasted by the tstorm. We managed to get to our cars and down the road before it hit. We decided to stop into a pizza restaurant for dinner along the way and wait out the storm. When we arrived, the storm had passed but everything was pretty wet and sandy from the campground. The other parent's tent actually flipped over in the wind, but remained staked to the ground. Scott and the other scout reset the tent before we arrived. And since the rain had stopped, we decided to try and get a campfire going. Scott managed to keep the wood dry enough with a tarp the night before, so the boys lit a fire and we enjoyed our s'mores and some jokes(and completed a requirement for one of the boys). Even though the tents were still soggy and damp, we all managed to sleep much better that night(even us with our Michigander neighbors returning around 2am from their all day outdoor concert).

On Sunday morning of course it was absolutely beautiful. We all got up early, the boys cooked their last meals, washed their dishes, packed their tents, picked up trash and were ready to leave by 9am. Moms and Dads starting rolling in. Tom cooked breakfast while I packed up. And the boys had time to play yard chess while waiting for their rides. Tom and Scott headed out since Scott was scheduled to work that afternoon(we brought separate cars).  I decided to get some grocery shopping errands done on the way home at Costco(and gas). Allison had already headed back to camp to start cleaning.

So we spent the rest of the day unpacking wet, sandy tents and doing laundry. I was planning on picking up my Mom for dinner, but after my shower I passed out on the couch and was done for the weekend!

So we returned home from our trip to Wisconsin on a Saturday afternoon. Just in time to unpack the van and pick up Cookie from our friends. I spent Sunday doing laundry and we decided to have my Mom over for dinner. We had brought back quite a bit of fish from our trip, so we grilled it for dinner. However, Mom and Tom opted for the natural casing hot dogs we bought at Usingers. It was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed dinner on the patio while looking at the photos from our trip. It was also nice to have Allison home with us. She usually is off to Girl Scout camp by Sunday. I asked her to stay home an extra day and stop into her doctor's office for a check up before returning to work.

Frankly, we would have preferred if Allison quit for the summer and spent her time recuperating from her anemia. It really took a lot out of her. But she was determined to finish the summer(and she said they were desperate to have her come back to work). So on Monday morning we dropped into the doctor's office together for a quick check up and bloodwork. Unfortunately, we would have to wait a few weeks for an iron level report. And Allison was feeling up to returning to work, so off she went.
She spent the week visiting Pennsylvania with her travel group. The girls visited several factories including the UTZ and the Herr's Potato Chip plants and the Turkey Hill Ice Cream Factory. They also stopped into an Amish Market. And the trip wouldn't be complete without a visit to Hershey Park. Allison seemed to manage the work load, and she made sure to buy hamburgers whenever she could! Not to mention taking iron supplements twice a day. But I think she was pretty wiped out by Saturday, especially after her trip to Hershey Park. She was happy to come home over the weekend, do laundry and rest up before heading back to camp on Sunday.

Allison's Pennsylvania tour inspired us to take a trip up to the Turkey Hill ice cream factory on our own. Of course we included my mom. We decided Sunday was a good day for a road trip. We purchased tickets for the ice cream making class ahead of time online per Allison's recommendation. Turned out to be a good thing as the tours sell out. We arrived around lunch and sat outside on the patio enjoying a pizza from Pizza Hut before our tour began. We had some time to kill before our class, so we wandered around the 'factory' while enjoying lots of different free ice cream samples. They don't actually have tours of the factory, but a tourist building that covers their ice cream making process and lets you try out their products, including ice cream and ice tea. We did sit in on an ice cream making class though and were given a pint of vanilla ice cream with instructions to add any flavoring we wished. Each of us tried something different with flavoring, toppings and even fillings like gummy bears, chocolate chunks, peanuts, granola, cookie pieces, etc. They had a whole wall of fillings to choose from! It was way too much ice cream to eat, but you really could not take it home! It was quite an experience, but we could have done without the masses of crying kids!

On Saturday, our entire family enjoyed dinner out in Olde Ellicott City. Afterwards, Scott and Allison headed home(Scott was practicing his driving). Tom and I joined our neighbors to watch "The Manchurian Candidate" 1950 version in black and white outside at the Wine Bin. We had a great time sipping our wine and munching popcorn while watching the movie in the store parking lot. And surprisingly I really enjoyed the movie. I know they did a remake, but I never saw that one either.

On Friday, Scott and I spent the morning touring the Uof Maryland Baltimore County campus. They have quite an extensive engineering program and the school is up and coming in the technology field. Scott is still very interested in Western Michigan, but we thought it was a good idea for him to see other campuses and compare other engineering programs. Now he just needs to kick up his ACT score.

By the way, I let July pass me by without wishing Nicholas Bozyk a very Happy Birthday! So Happy Birthday Nick!

On Saturday morning we woke up in Green Lake Wisconsin in time to head to town for a fishing license and a cup of coffee. Scott and I joined Dad Seitz, Eric and Sarah Seitz, Mark and Linda Seitz for a day of trout fishing. In Wisconsin, we not only had to purchase a temporary fishing license, but a Trout Stamp as well. Dad Seitz chartered a pontoon boat and captain, along with his grandson to spend the day trolling along Green Lake, fishing for trout. And we were not disappointed. We pulled in quite a few trout-about 30 lbs worth!  It was a wonderful way to spend the first day of vacation. Meanwhile, Tom, Allison and Mom Seitz were running errands and picking up provisions. We all met up in the evening for dinner out. Stacey and Matt arrived later in the day. Unfortunately, Susan and John were not able to join us this year and stayed back in Florida.

On Sunday morning, we were all up for church and brunch in town. We spent the afternoon on a bike ride with a visit to a local winery. In the evening a few of us tried a dip in the lake. I blew up a few floaties. The lake is very weedy, and our beach had a sharp drop down to the lake, so you had to climb down a ladder from the dock. The water temperature was perfect. On Sunday evening we enjoyed eating a portion of our fish off the grill. I think this was the first time I had trout-a bit like salmon. Tasty.

On Monday, our family headed out to Stevens Point brewery with Mom and Dad Seitz for a taste testing, along with a stop into a local dairy for squeeky cheese curds. After lunch we caught the SpiderMan movie.

On Tuesday, the whole clan headed over to Osh Kosh for the famous air show. We were certainly amazed by the extent of this event. The fairgrounds are permanent, with an air museum. Once a year, pilots from all over the world converge on the fairgrounds with their lightweight planes, experimental planes and historical planes, including bombers and bi planes. Every day there is a different air show and lots of things to see and do, including exhibits from NASA, Ford Motor Company and plenty of food and "AS Seen on TV" sales booths. We had a wonderful time walking around the fairgrounds, checking out all the amazing planes and helicopters. Scott even located a Western Michigan tent advertising their Aviation school. He had a chance to talk to some of the student representatives about the engineering program and even got free Western tshirts!  It was even more exciting to sit along the runway and watch the air show. We even got an extra taste as most planes flew over Green Lake.

On Weds our family took to the lake and the road. Allison and I took my double kayak out for an hour long paddle down a small estuary off Green Lake. Tom and Scott meanwhile biked a bit around Green Lake. We were amazed at quite a few large estates along the lake. And we were all amazed at the wildlife in the area. When we arrived we pulled up to the house surrounded by deer, an owl, rabbits, raccoons and during the day we spotted wild turkey and lots of cranes. Apparently the SandHill Crane spend their summers in Wisconsin. And Allison and I spotted deer, geese, carp, cranes and witnessed an Eagle and an Osprey in flight, attacking each other. Turns out the Osprey was protecting a nest of fledglings. Very cool.

On Thursday we packed up and headed out to Western Michigan. I wanted to take a drive up north and swing through Northern Michigan with a stop in Charlevoix. But we had limited time and too far to go. So we traveled south with a stop over at the German village in downtown Milwaukee for lunch. We also picked up some sausage and cheese at the Usinger sausage factory. We then made our way around Chicago and over to Benton Harbor for the night. On Friday morning we headed to Kalamazoo and a visit for Scott to Western Michigan. We arrived in time to speak to an admissions counselor, right before a presentation at noon and a 2 1/2 hr walking tour of campus! We actually went on a tour before and sat in on a student presentation, but this was so much more in depth. And it was very helpful to speak to an admissions counselor about the engineering program. After our tour we were starving, so we went into town for lunch at the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange. We just had enough time to run over to the Engineering campus to pick up the syllabus for the Manufacturing Engineering program, and a quick peek into the labs. While standing in the hallway, one of the professors came by and let us in for a personal tour and to speak to Scott about the engineering program. Turns out his sister lives in Ellicott City. We also ran into a student from Columbia Maryland, the town next to ours. His Dad works for Southwest airlines, so he said he often flies home on a non stop from Grand Rapids to Baltimore. Good to know.

We traveled to Ohio for an overnight, and then back to Maryland on Saturday afternoon.

This week in July we were busy getting ready to go on vacation. Scott finished up his house and dog sitting job when the neighbors returned on Tuesday night from their trip to Wisconsin. On Weds night we dropped Cookie off to our friends after the Boy Scout meeting for our upcoming trip.

Now it was our turn to get ready to head to Wisconsin with the Seitz Family. I had gone in to work on Sunday to get a jump on packing. We were loading up our bikes and the double kayak on the mini van, so I knew I had my work cut out for me to get the car packed before Tom and Scott loaded on all the toys. Besides clothes, I also had to pack up some snack goodies and lake toys. I had a busy week at work, but enjoyed having all day Thursday to do laundry and pack.

Tom was happy that he had completed his recent online course and had the rest of the summer free. He had taken an accelerated course, which meant a lot more paper writing and research in a short period of time. And it included a few group projects which makes it a bit tougher since you have to chase down the rest of the people in your group and make sure they are getting their work done on time. But he liked getting it done in a shorter time period. He plans on looking into more classes like that one.

He also finished up a project that he was working on outside. I have wanted to put in a few pathways through our outdoor flower beds by laying down a few slate stepping stones. Unfortunately, the stones are usually very expensive and very heavy. I can't just run up to Home Depot and drop a few in my cart. I looked into ordering online with delivery and you usually have to get a large amount. I am not building a patio. Then I looked into ordering pea stone-just something to lay down for a small pathway. Tom was not crazy about that idea. One of our neighbors gave up and filled their beds with stone rather than mulch and I guess Tom did not like the look. Plus I wanted brown and he wanted black so it would blend with the mulch. So instead he bought a make your own cobblestone path mold, mixed up cement and formed gray slabs of cobblestone pathway. Then he filled in the cracks with brown sand. Exactly what he did not want. So I encouraged him to search out gray colored sand which he found, replaced the brown and it really looks nice. He experimented on the side of the house, in case it did not come out, but we both like it and he plans on making a path for the front of the house. (Now if  I can only  get him to put a bit of a curve in the path!).  I just need to stay away from yardwork because I always manage to get poison ivy! At least now I know how to treat it. And it cleared up pretty fast this time. At least that is all I had problems with-I almost picked up a snake when I was cleaning up a pile of leaves on the driveway. When will I learn!

                                                                                                  Tom's cobblestone pathway

Congratulations also goes out to Allison who officially received her Green Belt rank in Management from Northrop Grumman. Her project was approved and she received her certificate and Green Belt pin! Awesome job Allison!

Her summer seemed to be going well working as a Unit Leader at Girl Scout camp, except for her occassional stomach flare ups. She had spent the week before vacation traveling to Amusement Parks. They visited Six Flags which is south of our house near DC. Even ran into the Obama's daughter, Melia. No photos allowed, but the Girl Scouts had a quick chance to speak to her. They finished off the week with a trip to Hershey Park. It was incredibly hot that week. Allison was having a great time, but she started to feel very strange/ill and took herself to the nurses station at the Hershey campground. There they took her to a Patient First clinic, did some bloodwork and then sent her to the Hershey Milton Penn State Hospital because it appeared she was anemic. They ran lots of tests on Allison and decided she was still just anemic, probably from poor diet. Not enough red meat and iron in her diet. Meanwhile, this was Thursday and we were hoping to get on the road after she got off work. She was released from the hospital, released from work, drove home after stopping to pick up some iron pills and transferred to our van with her dirty clothes to hit the road again Thursday night.

                                                                   Loaded van

                                                                                                     
                                                                                                             Green Lake House

We made it about 5 hours down the road and stopped for the night in Ohio. The next morning we were back on the road, traveling across Ohio, Indiana, around Chicago, Illinois and finally we stopped outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We needed some provisions for our trip, including iron laden treats for Allison. Finally we had dinner at one of our favorite Midwest fast food restaurants, Culvers. They have great fried chicken dinners, fish and chips and patty melts. But most importantly, they have frozen custard! Sadly, we were too full from our dinner to make room for dessert.

We arrived in Green Lake late Friday night and quickly unpacked the van.

Happy Birthday Allison!  This week Allison celebrated her 22nd Birthday(at GS camp). She was off the entire week to Harper's Ferry, a small historical town located on the Potomac river where Virginia, W Virginia and Maryland all come together. I've been there with the kids in the past on a tour and to hike the Appalachian Trail. Scott and Allison also went there during middle school for a historical tour as this was a hot spot during the Civil War. This time Allison was camping in the tree houses with her traveling Girl Scouts.  The lodges are built on stilts around large trees. The tree trunk is actually inside the lodge!  I was glad she had a chance to camp there since I missed scheduling the outing to the tree houses when I had my Girl Scout troop. Allison enjoyed being out on the large river for a 6 hour tubing adventure, along with a hike along the Applalachian trail. Although it was quite hot and they did not get far. But the girls all really enjoyed their trip and camping experience.

Allison celebrated her birthday on a Thursday, July 13. I had mailed her a Birthday celebration box that was waiting for her when she got back to camp. I included  some  butterfly sugar cookies and a large Chocolate Chip cookie decorated with roses to share with all her counselor friends. I also threw in some flip flops and a bamboo mat to use at camp, as well as some birthday balloons. We were holding the bigger family celebration for when she came home.  That was easier said than done. She had planned on coming home on Friday evening after dropping off all the campers via bus and van. Allison was following the chartered bus full of girl scouts on their way down to Annapolis after dropping off girls closer to Baltimore first. Unfortunately she got caught up in tstorms and heavy downpours which slowed down their progress, along with a bus accident. Seems their driver took a sharp turn on a country road and caught a car coming the other way between the bus and a small cliff. So they had to wait for a police report, another bus and the tow truck to pull the car away from the bus. She then had to drive her van back to GS camp to drop off staff about 1.5 hrs north of our house. She called at 11pm quite upset and exhausted and very much wishing to come home for the weekend. So Tom drove up to camp and picked her up(right after he got back from picking up Scott at work). They did not get home until after 2am.

Friday was quite a long day for Tom as well. He had taken Scott off to his driving test in the morning out in Frederick MD. We found that this office had a simple and fair driving assessment-30 mins on the road. Scott had spent the entire week practicing driving with Tom, especially practicing backing up. They eliminated the parallel parking assessment and switched to a 3 point turn, including backing into a narrow space. Guess the DMV figures cars are coming with the built in automatic parallel parking, so why bother. I think it is crazy, but then again, Scott passed his test and is an official driver now! Congrats Scott!

As soon as he got home I took him back to the doctor to have his ear checked. He had finished his medication for an inner ear infection while at Boy Scout camp, but his ear was still hurting and now leaking. Turns out he had an outer ear infection too. So now he had ear drops for a week. Anything to get him in shape for our upcoming vacation. Then he was off to work.

On Saturday we enjoyed a trip to Hershey Park. Allison wanted to join us, so Tom picked her up from camp the night before. We had free tickets to Hershey that expired at the end of the month, so this was our only chance to use them. First Allison opened her Birthday presents and had a piece of Brownie Birthday cake. We then spent a beautiful day at the Park, not too hot, and the kids got to ride a few roller coasters, eat Hershey chocolate and shop for goodies. And Tom and Allison enjoyed their summer Chevy Test Drives and free tshirts in the parking lot. We even took Cookie along with us and she hung out in the "Barking Lot" kennel during the day. This way we were able to feed her dinner and take her for walks and potty breaks during the day.

On Sunday, Tom was up early in the morning to drive Allison back to camp. I was off to work for the day to get a head start on our upcoming vacation. Scott was just getting off work! I volunteered Scott to house and dog sit for our neighbors. They were headed to Wisconsin but did not want to travel with their Golden Retriever, Ellie. She is a very sweet dog, but extremely afraid of tstorms. They wanted someone to be around in case any storms rolled in while they were away. So for the entire week, Scott played, fed and walked Ellie during the day, as well as took in the mail and trash cans. And at night he slept at their house with Ellie in the basement on a mattress on the floor they set up for the two of them. Fortunately we only had 1 tstorm roll in during the day, so Scott kept Ellie company while she attempted to sit on his lap in the basement!  Scott enjoyed his house sitting job, but did not get a whole lot of sleep. Ellie gets up around 5am to go outside which was Scott's #1 job(besides security for tstorms), and then after she had breakfast, he would come home and go back to sleep in his own bed!  We also had back up during the day in the form of neighbors that checked in on Ellie and her water and food bowls which came in handy when we were gone to Hershey Park for the day.

Hope you all had a Happy 4th of July! I can't believe the year is half over already!  Here we are in the middle of summer. Both of the kids were gone for the first week of July to Scout Camp.

Scott worked on the 1st of July at the Roller Rink, but I had to take him into the doctor Saturday morning to get his ear checked. He was having pain in his ear and last summer he spent vacation at Hilton Head with an ear infection. We did not want to have a repeat performance at scout camp, so I took him to the Kaiser Urgent Care. He spent the next 10 days on antibiotics for an inner ear infection. Allison had been ill for the first two weeks of GS camp, but was feeling much better. She was able to come home Friday night for a much deserved break.

Scott was off to Boy Scout camp Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, this camp was not too far away-just the north end of the Chesapeake Bay which is about 1.5 hrs drive. All the boys arrived at 1pm to set up camp. This was the first year the boys were scheduled for camp during the holiday week. They took the early week since part of the troop is headed to Jamboree in W Virginia at the end of the month. Since Scott has finished all his required Eagle badges, he was able to pick out a few activities that were just plain fun. I talked him into kayaking to start off his day. He was not crazy about the idea of kayaking, but ended up loving the experience. The boys paddled their own kayaks, so lots of freedom and lots of getting wet. (another reason to have his ear infection treated before camp).  I tried to talk him into the Jet Ski badge, but he did not want to have to ride with another scout. And he already completed sailing and motor boating, so kayaking worked out just fine. He also signed up for a few badges he wanted to try over the years and just never had time including Art, Pottery, and Graphic Arts. These badges were especially nice since they were indoors which worked well when it was extra hot and very rainy. And he took his bike to camp which made it really easy to get around. On the 4th of July, the boys parked their camp chairs on the shore and watched fireworks all over the Bay. Scott brought along some patriotic music on his phone to accompany the show. On Saturday morning we picked him up, along with his very wet and smelly clothes, tent and sleeping bag and headed home. He had a really wonderful camp experience this year(and no broken arm!). On the way home we decided to drop in on Allison who was still up at camp over the weekend. She had to stay over for a short Mommy and Me camping program. She was so surprised to see us pull into the campground! She gave us a tour(I have not been up to GS camp in a few years) and we even ran into our neighbor's daughter who is also a counselor this year for the first time. We wish we could have stolen Allison and taken her out for breakfast or lunch, but the campers were already arriving.

Allison had come home Friday night before the holiday week for a much needed break from working at Girl Scout camp. She had spent the week running around assisting with multiple stations, although archery is her favorite. She helped run a week long camp for girls and a weekend camping trip for a Mommy and Me event before coming home for a few days before the holiday week. Allison found herself assigned to bus driver, responsible for driving down to the Baltimore area to pick up scouts to transport them to camp and then back again for drop off as well as shuttling the staff needed to monitor the campers. She is learning to navigate the freeways in large, Ford extension vans that the camp just purchased. I sent her a goodie box with an extended rear view mirror!  She was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed, washing her clothes and eating red meat! Unfortunately, she did not plan an unexpected meeting with her boyfriend Tyler on Saturday morning before the holiday week.  He decided he just was not getting enough face time with Allison, especially with her being gone during the summer to GS camp and then leaving for school again in the fall to complete her Masters. So sadly they broke up. Allison was of course sad, and mad, but a bit relieved that she does not have as much pressure trying to schedule visits with a boyfriend, especially with her upcoming school year which will prove to be challenging.  Plus she is still trying to find another roommate to take Jen's place in their condo which is turning into another challenging event. I had planned on taking Allison out to celebrate her graduation with Grandma Bozyk on Saturday night, but she wasn't exactly in the celebratory mood. Instead, our family all headed out to see an outdoor movie at The Wine Bin in old Ellicott City-Air Force One with Harrison Ford(or as Allison puts it, with Han Solo). The kids never saw the movie, and they really liked it. We packed up wine and popcorn and even our neighbors joined us for a very crowded viewing. It was a lot of fun although incredibly hot. I will have to reschedule Allison's celebration dinner with Grandma.

Usually Allison has to head back to camp on Sunday morning to welcome the new scouts for the upcoming camp week, but because of the holiday, they had a short week scheduled. However, they decided to have the counselors come up on Monday to complete two days of training before the campers arrived on Weds. So Allison had Sunday off and decided to drive with us to drop off Scott. His Boy Scout camp is located near a cute, small town, so we stopped in after dropping off Scott to enjoy some ice cream and a stroll through the gift shops and antique stores. On Monday she was headed back to camp to finish up the training. The girls did take some time to enjoy a fireworks show too on the 4th. And Allison also brought along her downloaded patriotic music to play along with the firework show that they caught at a local school. I have trained my children well! Looks like neither one can watch a firework show without accompanying patriotic music!  I think it was all the BSO concerts we went to with the pomp and circumstance and 1812 Overture with fireworks that we so often attend at each year. Unfortunately, we missed it this year. The concert was scheduled on Monday night, the 3rd.  We had such a great time last year, and even brought Tyler along. But this year, both kids were at camp, and of course, Allison was no longer dating Tyler. So no concert.

 Since the kids were both gone during the 4th of July week, Tom and I decided to take Monday off and visit the distillery on the eastern shore with our neighbors since I had bought Tom a tasting and tour. We enjoyed lunch out at an Alehouse just on the other side of the Bay Bridge before visiting the distillery. It was a very interesting presentation on how they distill whiskey, vodka and rum. And we had the place to ourselves. After a few samples we were given our own shot glasses and a bottle of vodka to take home. It was a very nice outing. The distillery is named after an old sailing ship, The Sloop Betty. The original ship carried wine from Spain and was captured by Blackbeard's pirates in the Chesapeake Bay. The plan was to sell the wine and steal the ship. Instead, the pirates drank the wine and sunk the ship. Silly pirates. The distillery hopes to get a liquor license to sell mixed drinks and bring in Food Trucks to expand their tourist industry. We will have to go back. Plus it is on the way to visit Allison at school(works for us).

I decided to work on the 4th of July. I get paid double time, and Tom and I did not have any special plans. I spent the evening walking Cookie and watching the DC Fireworks and show on tv. Never have been brave enough to travel to DC for the fireworks show in person. I was holding off for my fireworks show at the Frederick baseball game on the following Saturday night. It was scout night, and our Girl Scout choir was once again asked to sing the National Anthem. And they have a great fireworks show right after the game. I worked from Tuesday to Friday and was very busy. I finally squeezed in an outing with my Mom on Friday night. We enjoyed seeing "Mary Poppins" at the High School with the County Theater players. They did a terrific job, even had Mary Poppins flying across the stage! And Mom got to sing along!

Saturday morning was our outing to Boy Scout camp to pick up Scott and visit Allison. Saturday night was the Frederick baseball game. Scott stayed home and did laundry. We took our friend John D instead. Sunday we had our neighbors over for dinner after I spent the afternoon at our GS choir director's house filming a training video. Lots of  GS activities!

Just catching up on the end of June.  Scott was enjoying his time off school. He spent his time cleaning his room and his turtle tank. Also preparing for Boy Scout camp. He has pre requisites to complete for his upcoming badges, so he finished up the research. Now he just has to pack. He is just so happy not to be studying!  Before he heads off to boy scout camp though, he is going to be volunteering at Cub Scout Day camp. He needs volunteer hours for his Honor Society in school next year, as well as his Tech Honor Society. He is happy to be scheduled to work the Science and STEM station. This year's theme is bugs. On Sunday afternoon, we headed to the fairgrounds where they hold the day camp for training. That lasted about an hour, and it gave Scott extra time to practice his driving there and back home. Tom also took him out driving during the week. His driving test is scheduled for mid July. We also are practicing parking and backing up. I still cannot believe that they eliminated parallel parking as part of the test. I guess they figure newer cars are doing it for everyone, so they don't need to learn! Crazy! Of course, we all try to avoid parallel parking if we can, even though we know how to do it.

Scott wanted to enjoy some of his time off, so he invited a few friends over on Friday night(thank goodness he did not have to work). He even offered to cook for his friends, so we picked up some burgers and chips on Friday afternoon and he grilled out. He had a few friends over Friday night and after dinner they played video games and watched a movie. It is weird that he has friends that can drive themselves over to our house now. Scott kicked them out at 10pm though. He did not want to entertain too late into the night!

And on Saturday he was off to work in the afternoon. I picked him and my mom up after he got off work and took both to the hair salon. Scott got a summer hair cut and mom stayed longer for a perm. Meanwhile, Scott and Tom picked up one of our scouts who was attending another Eagle celebration near our house. The boy needed a ride home and I promised his mom that we would help them out.  She is always doing us favors and giving Scott a ride when he needed one. Since it was getting late, I picked up dinner for mom at Burger King at dropped her off to her place around 8pm. Tom ended up inviting our neighbors over for drinks and dessert later that evening out on our patio. They had us over  when I got back from Ocean City so we owed them one. We tried sitting out on the patio, but there were a lot of bugs. A screened in porch sure would come in handy. So we made it an early evening.

Before heading over to Scott's scout training on Sunday afternoon, we spent the day working outside in the yard. Tom was busy cutting the grass, and Scott and I spent the day trimming trees and shrubs in the backyard. We have a couple of trees that grew branches over our neighbor's fence, and I wanted to trim them before anything broke off into their yard. Or fell and broke the fence for that matter. Scott did the trimming and cutting, and I did the clean up.

Allison did not get to come home for the weekend. She had spent her first week up in camp training, and this past week the first summer campers arrived. Before the week long campers showed up, she worked a Mommy and Me weekend camping trip. Unfortunately, she started feeling ill. Turns out she was sick to her stomach for about two weeks. She seemed to have developed a stomach virus and it really got in the way of work. She spent two days sleeping at the nurse's cabin in the air condition. She was also having problems with her allergies. She stopped into a Patient First clinic during a break over the weekend to make sure it was nothing more serious. They gave her some anti nausea pills along with Benadryl for her allergies. Allison and the rest of the family has been taking allergy medication for years, but not usually Benadryl. Allison is not used to it, and she ended up nodding off during arts and crafts, dragged her feet on the hike and finally fell asleep next to the swimming pool. Fortunately she is feeling so much better and has been enjoying the camp food once again. Since she did not make it home the first weekend, I sent her off a care package.

The last week in June I ended up taking off work on Tuesday. One of the girls at work wanted to switch days off with me. Turns out it was June 27, our wedding anniversary. I spent the morning at the dentist with my mom. She had more dental work that needed done and I had my yearly cleaning. I also had taken Scott to his dentist appointment the week before early in the morning before going to work. We are keeping the dentists busy!  Mom and I enjoyed our day out together. First the dentist, then lunch and shopping before I dropped her back to her apt.

I had to pick up Scott. He had started working at Cub Scout Day Camp this last week in June. It is an early start. The boys have to be to camp by 7:30, so I was dropping him off before work at the Fairground and getting home early. With plenty of time to get to the parent's scout meeting on Monday evening. On Tuesday night, Tom and I decided to celebrate our 30th Anniversary with dinner out. I had a gift certificate to the Iron Bridge Wine company that we have been wanting to use. The restaurant is in a small house and always incredibly crowded. They put out a Happy Anniversary card for us at our table and gifted us with two glasses of champagne. We enjoyed cheese, sausage and cracker appetizers, steak and salmon dinners and chocolate creme brulee for dessert along with a glass of wine. Tom bought me some pearl earrings to mark our 30th. I mentioned that pearls were the old gift and diamonds were for the new tradition. Tom is old fashioned.  He also had to get home to pack. He had an overnight trip to San Diego for work and had an early start on Wends morning. On Weds night there was a scout meeting. I am busy putting together our August camping trip and outing to Six Flags. On Thursday night I dropped in on Mom for an early 4th of July BBQ at her apt. We all sat outside and enjoyed burgers and hot dogs, chicken and ribs. It was quite tasty. They also had a musician playing patriotic songs during dinner. On Friday night, Scott was back to work after a long day at Cub Scout camp. He enjoyed his time, but was pretty worn out. He spent most of the week making fidget spinners(not exactly the bug theme we thought it would be). Fidget spinners keep the kids occupied(if you haven't seen them) with a small triangular top that sits on your finger while you spin it. They are ideal for kids with ADD. Scott and I thought it was hysterical that they made so many when they were banned during his training session before camp started.  He spent 3 days building fidget spinners with hundreds of cub scouts, and then they switched to catapults and paper airplanes. The adult Scout Leaders were very grateful for all of Scott's hard work.

By Friday night, he was worn out and not feeling well. When he mentioned his ear was starting to hurt, I quickly made him a doctor appointment for Saturday morning. I did not want him going off to Boy Scout camp with an ear infection. And I did not want a repeat of last summer!