So this past week Allison wrapped up her last days of 10th grade. She had finals Mon, Tuesday and WEds. all half days. They were spaced out pretty well so she had plenty of time to study. She even got out to see Super 8 with Tom on Tuesday since he had to leave work early for a dentist appointment.

Looks like Tom will be scheduling an appointment soon to have his wisdom teeth removed! Apparently his new dentist located a crack in one of the teeth and told him they should all come out. Better late than never! That will have to be on hold at least until he gets back from Britain.

He has been busy preparing for his trip-obtaining an updated passport and getting a physical along with a tetanus shot. Then it looked like the trip was going to be cancelled since the guy he was meeting had a death in the family. Instead they found someone else for Tom to meet with and off he went Saturday night.

But before he went I put him to work on Friday night helping out with my Girl Scout troop. I had Tom run the Car Sense Badge for the girls. They had to practice changing a tire, changing the oil, checking all the fluids and the air pressure and learned about air bags and anti lock brakes. We also went over how to register your car and obtain your Drivers Permit and license. Two of my girls are already driving with their parents and finished Driver's Training and got their permits.

Allison was supposed to start Drivers Training last Monday, but school was extended, so they started classes on Friday morning. Now she will have to go until after the 4th of July. And she is missing one class and has to make it up since she was scheduled to work that morning. ON top of all that, they went and changed the class location. It was originally scheduled at Allison's high school which would have been convenient for all of us. She could ride her bike to class and home again. Instead, the night before class started they informed us that due to the remodeling at the high school(they have the parking lot and front entrance all tore up), they would be moving the class to another school! So now I spend my lunch time driving from work to pick up Allison and drop her off at home before running back to work! Lovely. AT least we are headed in the right direction.

Scott spent his last week at the YMCA camp. Nothing too exciting there but he loves the fact that this Y was built on the property of an old estate. And down in the woods there is a creek and small pond. He loves hunting for crayfish and newts and splashing in the water. Sometimes the Y has an outing or special event for the week. This past week the theme was Western so they had a BBQ at lunch, but SCott said he could have eaten a whole lot more than they gave him! He also got to swim a few times last week which he loves. He is looking forward to his classes at the local college next week-Pets n Vets and Lego Robotics.

After our Girl Scout badge on Friday night, I fed the girls and a few ended up sleeping over. We put a movie outside in the backyard for them and they cooked S'Mores. Scott practiced his boy scout skills by making our fire in the fire pit on the driveway. We also ended up with a few straggler neighbor kids and adults that stopped by. I think I was just ready for bed. I had spent the day cleaning up the house for the guests, typing up an outline for the badge and shopping for the food. I also had to run Allison to her class and back and get SCott to camp. And I had to take the cat in for one more vet appointment since she was being treated for a bladder infection. Looks like it is all cleared up and I found out that the cat vet is retiring. Too bad-she was quite the character.

Tom was home busy with the yardwork. He still had to put some cleaner on the back of the house-last week he power washed the siding. The cleaner is supposed to help keep the algae from growing on the side of the house. Sadly it also killed my beautiful cucumbers and zuchinnis. Looks like I will just have tomatoes this year. Tom was also busy cutting the grass, although we have not had much rain lately and everything is drying up. And he finally fixed my poor Michigan cedar tree that was tipped over from the big snow last winter. I tried to tie up the branches, but I was too short. Even with the ladder-so Tom was able to pull all the branches together with twine and trim the top for me. Now it looks like a real tree again!

Allison also took a break and visited with some friends from school-watching videos and working on crochet projects. She discovered that one of the girls(a junior) lives just around the corner from our house. Since Allison is in quite a mix of classes, she has quite a mix of friends-all from different grades. A whole lot different than when Tom and I were in High School. Same for the driving program. The class she is in will only cover the book work. AFter it is done, she has to schedule her own time behind the wheel with an instructor: one on one. But before that she will have to get her permit. All in good time.

Scott and I were busy early SAturday morning with a boy scout service project while Tom was picking up bagels for the girl's sleepover. Scott and I and the scout's church group was busy cleaning up the side of our major road Route 40. I took along gloves and my picker upper(reacher) for the job which really helped. It gave us the practice for the upcoming major clean up after the 4th of July fireworks in Columbia that we are scheduled to help with. Scott will get paid for his time, along with all of us and the money is used to help pay for boy scout camp. Plus we get great parking for the event!

When Allison and the girls finally woke up, Allison had to go to work. Tom was busy running her back and forth. I ended up taking Scott and a neighbor friend out to see CArs on Saturday afternoon. We all really enjoyed it in 3D. When we got home, Scott invited himself over to his friend's house for a swim. Tom had already left for the Dulles airport and I was too tired to visit even though Allison and I were invited over to our neighbor's house as well. I just managed to get a walk in with Cookie.

ON Sunday morning I had to drop her off early to the pet store for her summer buzz cut. While she was there, I headed off to work. It has gotten very busy on our rehab unit so I went in for a few hours to help with patient evaluations. I did not get finished though when the pet store called to pick up Cookie. I decided to take a break and picked her up and then Scott and I went off to pick out Hermit Crabs for Scott's boy scout pet badge project(don't tell Tom). Scott enjoyed the rest of the afternoon setting up the terrarium. Meanwhile, I went back into work. Then off to the grocery store and before I knew it we were eating dinner at 730 that night.

Another very busy week. Plenty more to come in the following summer months! Here are some shots of the CAr Badge experience and SCott and fellow scout cleaning up the road.

Well my story continues. Last Sunday Tom flew off to Long Beach CA for a week of work. I was busy dropping off and picking up Allison from work, running errands with Scott and cutting the lawn. Still no real issues with my back or neck, so I thought I would try to see if I could get some work done.

Monday I had to drop the van off at the dealership and pick up a rental car since I spotted some scratches on the fender after they washed it. They said they could buff those right out. They also scratched up the back door when they placed a temporary license plate on it so we could test drive the van. They were going to fix those as well.

Tuesday I had to send Scott off to his boy scout meeting with a fellow scout family since Allison and I had a program to attend with the Girl SCout choir. We were singing for Flag Day at Ft McHenry in Baltimore. I dropped Scott off around dinner time and he got to go to Fuddruckers for dessert. Allison and I drove downtown to Ft McHenry for the Flag Day celebration. If you recall your history, Ft McHenry was the place where Francis Scott Key got the inspiration to write our National Anthem during the War of 1812-US against the British. Baltimore fought off the British right after they stormed DC and burned the White House. The original Stars and Stripes flag is hanging in the Smithsonian-some of you have seen it with us. Our choir sang two songs this year-Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and Rolling Hills-two short songs but I thought we sounded good. We were also asked to help the boy scouts carry the state flags in the Parade of Flags. They were short by 15 scouts, so all the girls were included. And a few of us adults too-I carried an American flag. It was a lot of fun, and afterwards we sat down with some friends to watch the fireworks over the harbor and listen to the Navy Band play along. I then had to rush home to pick up Scott.

By Thursday night my car was done and I turned the rental back in. They did a great job on the back door, but missed the fender. Guess I will be taking it back. After I picked up the van, I stopped into a friend's house for a Pampered Chef party. Turns out the demonstrator was an OT! No real surprise to me! We OT's are into everything. Speaking of OT's, I have been getting myself into trouble at work by speaking up about our recent renovations in our out patient department. We finally had a bathroom and kitchen installed in the out patient department. Something we have been discussing all 8 years I have been working there. However, they did not bother to hook anything up. The shower stall, dishwasher and the stove were inoperable. All we added was a sink, bigger fridge, newer microwave and toilet. The administration figured I could "practice" on the non functioning appliances. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to practice if nothing worked. I just couldn't believe they would spend all that money and not make everything work! So I said so. And I got reprimanded. But they hooked up my stove! And my boss bought me a rolling bag for my computer too! Finally! I have to lug my laptop all around campus since I work at so many different clinics and not only have I developed bursitis in my hip, but I also had a swollen knee most of the year. The hip is good, the knee is better and I am now still recovering from this car accident. And getting lectured at work. But I can't wait to try out my new work space with the patients.

It was fun to take a break at the Pampered Chef party with a bunch of moms. I found out that one of them has a son in Allison's government class. She was telling me all about the forms we need for Drivers Ed -to obtain the Driving Permit. Guess Allison will have a few more tasks to do next week besides take her finals.

She has really been working hard this last week of school. She finished up all her projects and turned in all her papers and notebooks for grading. They were also preparing for her finals by going over review packets. Her English final however took 3 days this week. She had an English Quarterly exam that took 2 days and the English final for the class on the 3rd day. At least she won't have to worry about that one next week. Sounds like college!

Tom was off to LA and even had time to visit with my brother and go out to dinner. Mike starts his new job in a week at a new library right near Magic Mountain. I think he will like it! Tom flew home through Dulles airport and arrived early Friday morning. He had the day off so we went up to see what we could salvage from my damaged car. SCott was with us since he was home all week. I actually hired our neighbor's son to stay with him for the week. Summer camps had not started, and I did not want Scott spending the whole day stuck in the house by himself. He and Alex had a great time playing video games, having water balloon fights and riding their bikes up to 7 Eleven for slurpees.

They brought my van around from the salvage lot on a fork lift. It was all wrapped in plastic to keep everything dry in case of rain. We even had a sparrow inside that must have got trapped when they wrapped it! I was able to pick up most of my things in the front, but the back of the van was smashed in and I couldn't pull out my lawn chairs that were there from the Wine in the Woods festival. I also noticed that a tool was stolen out of my van-they stole the tool and left the ripped box on the front seat. I figured something like that would happen. Anyway, while digging through my van, Tom finished negotiating a settlement price with our insurance company. It was about $3000 more than they originally offered. Way to go Tom.

We had to head back home since I had a dentist appointment, so we all had lunch at the mall and after my check up we all went to see Green Lantern. It was a fun movie. Then we had to get home to take Allison to her last piano lesson of the school year.

On Saturday, Allison was back at work. Scott was supposed to go on a Water Trip Boy Scout outing, but noone got it organized in time. We did go to our neighbor's house that evening to help our friend Phil celebrate his 50th birthday. The kids had a great time swimming in their pool while we adults all put together some interesting gag gifts. Tom also picked up an autographed photo of Gordie Howe (the hockey player). Phil is a Michigan boy and big Hockey fan. He also plays ice hockey, so Tom picked him up a 8x10 autographed photo on ebay. Unfortunately, Tom bought it from some guy in Canada, and their postal service is on strike and it is stuck in the mail somewhere between here and Toronto. So we gave him a photo copy of the real thing to come.

And then we had Father's Day the next day. Tom spent his time power washing the back of our house. It always builds up a layer of algae on the siding back there. He also washed and waxed the two small cars. I was busy cleaning the house since we decided to have our neighbors Dan and Gloria and their kids over for dinner. I also had some grocery shopping to do. But mostly I spent my afternoon studying for finals with Allison while we waited at the CVS Minute Clinic for a sports physical for Allison for fall Field Hockey. We decided to get her paperwork in before school let out since we will probably in Michigan the week before try outs in August. I just wanted to make sure they had all the forms so Allison could just step out on the field when we get back. Our medical insurance would not schedule another appointment until August and we will be gone then. By the time we got home, I was busy putting dinner together for our guests.

So Happy Father's Day all you guys! We got Tom a cordless LED work light for the garage, a set of adapter plugs for traveling(Tom is now planning on a trip to Britain next week) and I also got him a set of cooking spices from Pampered Chef.

Here are some photos from our evening at Ft McHenry. Anyone recognize this state flag?

More to come

S0 last week was going pretty well -busy as usual. Until Tuesday morning on the way to work. I was sitting in the merge lane on I-70 trying to get onto the beltway. The kids were all dropped off to school, and Tom was at work. Usually my lane is slow moving and the other two lanes are backed up heading north on the beltway. Today our lane was at a standstill. I had just stopped and was trying to figure out what was causing the delay when I heard tires squealing behind me. I knew right away that someone had not stopped in time and I immediately swerved my van to the left, into the middle lane to avoid being hit from behind. Sadly that was not the case. The next thing I knew there were two big bumps and I could hear all the traffic noise coming into my van. When I turned around I could see that I no longer had a back end to my van. All the windows were broken and the back of my van was in the rear seat. I could not believe it. Fortunately, no one was in the middle lane, and all the traffic had stopped. I also did not have anyone in front of me either since I swerved, so the front end of my van was fine. I called Tom right away while people were running all over, asking me if I was OK. Tom thought I should try to pull my car over to the side of the freeway, but I told him I didn't think my van was going anywhere except with a tow truck. I crawled across the front seat and got out on the shoulder side. After hanging up with Tom I called the insurance company. There was a white lexus behind me and a woman was trapped in the front seat. A man was sitting in the car with her while she held a cloth to her bleeding face. Looked like the airbag had broken her nose. The last car was a big, red SUV-a Dodge Durango and the engine was pushed up into the front windshield. There were about 5 young kids(19 or so) sitting and standing on the shoulder and two had bloody faces. All their airbags had gone off. The police, state troopers, fire trucks and EMTs began to arrive. They shut down the I-70 for over an hour while they loaded all the other people into ambulances with neck collars and placed them on gurneys. I think the I-70 was probably backed up all the way to Frederick, about 30 min drive from our house. I spoke to the state trooper briefly. Gave him my info. He told me he could not take the time to exchange information because everyone had to go to the hospital. But he told me I was not at fault. Tom in the meantime had arrived to pick me up and took some photos. I snapped a few shots on my cell phone and called work to let them know what had happened. I thought I could go into work that afternoon but found out it was not a good idea. The EMTs wanted me to go to the hospital but I felt well enough to go back home. Regardless, they said I should be seen by my doctor since I could be hurt and not realize it. I was already sore-my neck, left shoulder from the seat belt, my back and knees. We waited until the tow trucks came-mine was hoisted onto a lift and we pulled some items out of the van before it left. Everything in the back was wedged in so we couldn't get to it. I also had to alert the state trooper that they had left someones purse and wallet on the hood of my van before everyone left and they towed the cars!

Tom brought me home and I spent the day trying to get a doctor appointment and attempting to contact our insurance agent from Progressive that was assigned to our case. He left a message before we got home, but I never got through to him the whole day. I also could not get a doctor appointment until 11pm. Instead, my doctor prescribed some muscle relaxants and strong ibuprofen. I picked up my prescription at the local CVS that night. I also took a nap. That evening I was feeling well enough to take Allison to a Girl SCout choir event. We were having our end of the year meeting and singing at a local nursing home. I had already promised we'd be there so away we went.

I had finally made a doctor appointment the next morning, so I went in late for work. My doctor had recommended I stay home the rest of the week, but I was already behind in my documentation. OUr computers went down last Friday and I was still trying to get caught up with billing. And I only worked a half day on Monday because I volunteered at SCott's school for the used uniform sale.

I also worked a full day Thursday which was a bit of a struggle I found out. I was having trouble reading the computer screen. I think I had a small concussion from the whiplash. My eyes actually felt swollen and it was hard to focus on the computer screen. But I made it through work. Before I went in though I called our insurance agent again. Two days had now gone by and we had not yet heard from him. Tom wanted another agent, and I spoke to the night shift who gave me the name of the office manager. When I got her on the phone I was rather irate to say the least. She kept making excuses for our assigned agent. That he had tried to call all day for two days and our answering machine was full. I told her I sat at home all day Tuesday and called his number all day also and never got through to anyone. Not to mention they had my cell phone and there were no calls on that line either. Amazing that the doctor's office kept calling all day to keep me informed of any openings, and the state trooper was able to call me. Plus our phones always show missed calls and his number was not on either line. Then the office manager told me she could not reassign our claim to another agent. She said once it was assigned, that was it and then an excuse about them all being too busy anyway. I was livid. She finally agreed to start our file and asked if I had taken any photos that I could email to her. Since I had some on my phone I sent them to her. After she saw the photos she understood why I was so upset that nothing had been taken care of in two days time. She said I could have died and that the Toyota saved my life. I told her I already knew that!

Anyhow, we were on the phone for over an hour. Of course I was late for work. But things started happening. I didn't actually talk to our personal agent until Saturday, and that is because I called him. I also had to update him on what had been taken care of since Tuesday. He sat and took my recorded statement. After 5 days had passed! He said he had an emergency and was not available. His own boss said he was off for the day-they didn't even know what he was doing. Tom sent off a nasty email to the district manager. Of course no response from them yet.

At least Tom was able to speak to the manager who actually did some work. They gave us an estimate after moving our van to a salvage yard. Progressive also has a discount car buying service with Toyota, so we went out car shopping this past weekend. We were just planning on test driving mini vans. We tried out the Honda Odyssey on Friday-I thought the suspension was a bit stiff. Felt like driving a truck. On Saturday we went to look at the new Toyota minivans and were quite impressed with all the upgrades they have in the 2011 models. Needless to say, they had one on the lot, in the color we liked, with all the bells and whistles and the price we could afford. So we ended up buying a new mini van on Saturday! Now I am nervous to drive it!

We showed off our new van to our neighbors on Saturday night. We had scheduled a dinner date with them at a local restaurant the week before. After dropping Allison off to a birthday party and Scott off to their house so he could hang out with their son, we all went in to Olde Ellicott City to a recently opened Italian restaurant. Tom told the waiter we were all celebrating our June Anniversaries, so we all had complimentary champagne. Yum!

Tom and I also had a preplanned date night on Thursday. Back in March we won tickets to a dinner show at Scott's school fundraiser gala dinner. However, there was only one ticket in the prize! I thought that was a bit odd, so I said so to the committee member in charge of donations. She agreed, and was able to pick up another ticket for us. We ended up seeing the Happy DAys musical which was alot of fun. And before the show, the theatre has an all you can eat buffet. Tom and I were pleasantly pleased with the food and the show too. We sat at a table with fellow catholics whose son just graduated from 8th grade parochial school, and the husband was a fellow boy scout and a mechanical engineer who worked for the navy. Tom was very familiar with their work in the DC area. The wife was a civilian secretary on the base. We also swapped some very entertaining boy scout experiences(and SCott has not even been a scout for a year yet!).

We still had a few programs to get the kids to as school winds down. Allison is still having piano lessons. Scott missed his last gymnastics class, but he is going to gymnastics summer camp. And he already advanced to the second level for gymanstics so he was very happy. He did get to his last swim lesson, however since there was a t-storm SAturday morning and they had to empty the pool. So his last lesson was cut short. He had a full day of school on Monday, but Tues and Weds were half days. I had arranged for our old neighbor to pick him up and drop him at home when Allison got back from school. On Tuesday, she picked him up in time for our neighbor's son's birthday party, and then Tom dropped him off at his End of the School Year Swim Party and afterwards, he had a Boy Scout Award Ceremony/Party at his scout meeting. Weds he spent the night with his friend and the boys had a blast playing all day Thursday together. So he survived 5th grade and came out with A's and B's on his report card. Yeah. Now we are going to start working on some merit badges.

Allison was just wrapping up a few projects in school. Next week she will prepare for her finals. Allison and I also volunteered to assist with the RElay for Life Cancer run by selling luminary candles. The bags are prepared in someone's name that has died from cancer or is a survivor. Last year we volunteered as a family and made all the bags(over a thousand) and received free Disney tickets for our work. This year just Allison and I showed up at the walk to help sell the bags. The woman in charge got an early start this year by preparing the bags the week ahead of time. So Allison and I did not have as much work to do this time around. We put the bags out that were already prepared, and sold a few to walk ups. Then the sky was getting dark and I thought Allison and I should leave before we got rained on. The woman that runs the station hoped it wouldn't rain since they did not have a back up plan. However, as soon as Allison and I got in the car it started pouring-sideways! We just made it to Allison's piano lesson. I heard later that all the tents at the event blew down and all the luminary bags were ruined. How sad. They usually light the bags at night during the walk so they missed out on this. I don't know if they can find some type of waterproof bags or containers to use next year just in case of rain. Of course, the bags are not too expensive but the committee did take the time to cut out wood blocks that just fit into the bags and hold the candles in place. Quite the project.

I also had to take Pika back to the vet for a follow up visit. They ran extensive blood tests on her, mostly checking out her thyroid. Looks like she is still healthy although very skinny. They thought she might have a slight bladder infection so they gave her an antibiotic injection and did a follow up assessment. They decided to give her one more round of antibiotics, so I will have to take her back in another two weeks.

So I am including some shots of the van. What is left of it and the accident scene.

I will keep you all informed of any updates for sure! Kathleen

Well we are wrapping up the end of school days. Scott just finished his last full week of 5th grade. School was trying to get in a few more assignments-hopefully they will actually put the grades towards their final report card. Scott could use some help in a few areas. This was such a short semester with Easter being so late that Scott's class didn't really have very many assignments. They did manage to finish reading the Rats of NIMH which Scott admits was good but did not like the ending.

Tom took him to his Boy Scout meeting this week. I got him to gymnastics-happily he has graduated to the Intermediate group next year in gymnastics class. We really don't want to take this program too seriously. Some families at the gym live there with their kids if they are on a gymnastics team. They practice for several hours a day, 3-4 days a week if not daily. And they travel quite a bit to compete. We are just not into all that(yet). Then I took Scott to his swim lesson and sure enough they recommended he consider joining a swim team. I said the same thing after I watched him swim his first class with a little redirection from the instructors. Scott said "No Way" to a swim team. Too bad(for now). I also took Scott for a physical for his boy scout summer camp. I had lots of forms that had to be turned in by next week for his camp scheduled the last week in July. I also had to drop off more forms at the YMCA to cancel his STEM class so he can go to boy scout camp instead! Love forms.

Allison is back at it full force with school work after a minor break over Memorial Day Weekend. She is putting together a spanish presentation and she had Tom take her to the library to work with her project partner on SAturday after she got off work. At least she has today off of work to study for an upcoming math test. And tonight she was invited to a Mexican Fiesta at church as a Thank You to all the hardworking church volunteers. That was a lot of fun. Our four priests dressed up in traditional mexican costumes, complete with the big sombreros and did a skit from the movie The Three Amigos with Steve Martin, Martin Short and Chevy Chase. The priests were so funny! And when they weren't dancing and singing for us, they were tending bar! I decided to go as Allison's "date" since it was Mexican food and Tom figured it was right up my alley. We also got a Salsa lesson, so Allison and I spent a little time on the dance floor before heading home. It was very nice and a lot of fun. And I am sure alot of work for the church staff that put it on. Allison is also wrapping up her school year piano lessons but we have classes scheduled during the summer too. If she doesn't sign up for summer lessons, she doesn't have a guarantee that she will have the same piano teacher in the fall. And because we love her piano teacher so much, we sign up. Musical blackmail.

Tom and I enjoyed an evening out on Friday night. I bought Tom tickets for his birthday to an evening at the Capital Jazz Fest. It is an outdoor concert event held every June here in Columbia by our mall. We have always gone on Saturday or Sunday with the kids and spent the entire day. Sometimes we have been parked up on the lawn with our sun umbrellas, or tenting out in the wooded area, literally with our tent pitched because it was raining. They show the concert on large screens all over the park. We would pack games for the kids and lots of food and beverages and spend the whole day. Then we would run over to the Meet and Greet table and get autographs of the jazz performers. This year we decided to try sitting in seats in the pavilion on Friday night. The concert ran from 730 to 11pm and they had 4 performers, including Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, George Duke and David Sanborn. We were a bit disappointed that they put the last 3 performers on stage together because they are wonderful to hear just by themselves. And Herbie Hancock was the headliner for the evening and plays incredible piano, but he played a lot of slow, quiet music that night-you could barely hear the music as everyone started talking. It was like listening to dinner music. At least he ended with
something more lively. He also got stuck on playing other musicians' music like John Lennon's Imagine with some girl trying to sing that you couldn't hear because the music was so loud. Anyhow, it was still alot of fun and I literally ran into David Sanborn coming back with coffee drinks during the break. I did not buy a poster this year though-it looked like the label off a beer bottle.

On SAturday morning I discovered that SCott did indeed sign up at the Boy Scout meeting(Tom missed this part) for a Boat Float scheduled at 230 Saturday afternoon. There had been talk about participating but the boys kept missing their meetings(either they were sick or it was raining). So they did not build a boat ahead of time. Instead, you could show up the day of the race and construct a boat with the cardboard, duct tape and plastic provided by the Rotary Club that sponsors the event. The event was also supposed to be scheduled next weekend, and this weekend was supposed to be a Cub Scout Olympic event. The Cub SCout event was cancelled and the boat float was bumped up a weekend. So after Scott's swim lesson, I ran him over to the boat float. Fortunately we were early enough to get parking since this was held on the lake, next to the mall, next to the Jazz Fest. ONe of our previous Cub Scout moms took the initiative and registered the boys for a walk on team. She already had them started on the design after studying suggestions for boats on line. We all got busy with the duct tape and box cutter and built a boat for 3 boys. Afterwards it was all wrapped in plastic. Then the mom disappeared to a soccer game with her son and promised to be back in time. She wasn't. The next thing I knew I was the impromptu captain of the Duct Tape Pirates. I even had to scrounge up enough boys to paddle the boat as they were all wandering around. The event was running early, so our race started 45 mins before the scheduled time. We carried our boat down to the dock and dropped it in the water. I was sure the boys were going to sink so I kept giving them directions on where to swim after they went down. The lake is manmade and only 4 ft deep and full of duck poop. The course was 200ft and the boys were competing against a group of Girl SCouts, and another bunch of older guys. I was so proud of the boys: they did not sink! And they took 3rd place(out of 3 teams)! They even won a trophy! Good thing I had all that Dragon Boat racing experience!

That was enough excitement for me for the weekend. I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon raking up leaves and shrub clippings. Tom had decided to trim all the shrubs on Saturday after he dropped Allison off to work. Boy are my arms sore! When Tom decides to trim the shrubs I liken it to clipping your toenails with a chain saw! So I usually have to go back and reshape, retrim and then pick up all the clippings. And because it got so warm so fast this spring, and we had plenty of rain, everything was growing like crazy.

I sent a few photos of the boy scouts and their cardboard boat. They are also proudly holding up their glass trophy after they won 3rd place(and did not sink!). And a group shot of our priests singing to the audience.

Baltimore blog

Happy Memorial Day! For a change I took the day off and just switched my work day to next Friday.

I wanted to take the day off so Allison and I could sing in the Annapolis Memorial Day parade with the Girl Scout choir. We had to be down to Annapolis by 9am and already it was about 80 degrees out. We sang four different patriotic songs and practically ran through the parade(they had a fast pace this year). We were all sweating by the time we got down to the docks. This year we did not sing in the Naval Academy ceremony at the end of the parade, so Allison and I headed over to Kilwins for ice cream. Yes, there is another bit of Michigan here in Maryland. Allison was happy to have Superman ice cream and I had the Moose Tracks.

Tom and Scott spent their morning at Game Stop. And Tom cleaned up all the camping equipment out of the garage to put away his new used car! He decided he'd better pick out a car for himself since Allison will need to start driving soon. He picked out a Pontiac Vibe(4 door hatchback looking car) from Car Max on Friday. It looks like it will work for him-he likes that he can lower the back seats and put in camping equipment. I just don't like that it seems to have that cigarette smell and someone must have had a dog since the inside door on the passenger side is peeling off. Tom thinks a dog scratched the lining while sticking its head out the window.

Welcome Back from India Eric! WE loved reading your email and checking out all the cool photos. Sounds like you had an incredible trip !I am always amazed at how much you appreciate the United States after visiting another country. There's No Place Like Home!

We also spent Memorial Day doing some housework. Tom spent 3 days unclogging my kitchen sink! After gallons of Drain -o and countless hours of snaking the pipes, he decided he either broke through the clog or the pipe! Guess we will have to wait and see. He just couldn't bear having to call a plumber in on a holiday weekend(or any time for that matter). He thinks the pipes clogged where they hooked up the newly remodeled line to our previous, original pipes when we redid the kitchen. I hope that does not happen again! I meanwhile was busy reorganizing and cleaning out our shed and parts of the garage. Tom started putting away all the camping gear in the attic. I am sure by the time we get it all washed and put away, it will be time to pull it all out for another trip! I also spent some time doing yardwork-edging in 99 degrees is probably not the best idea, but I never seem to have any time to get it done!

At least I talked Tom into turning on our air conditioning. Summer weather came early to Maryland this year!

In the evening after dinner, we all went over to our neighbor's house to congratulate their daughter on her high school graduation. She opted out of the family party because she thought all her friends would be having parties instead. Turns out she only went to one party and none of her family members came to visit from Ohio except her grandparents. We were invited over on Monday night for cake and we dropped off a graduation gift.

I sent some official Memorial day photos-Allison in Annapolis after the parade at the docks, Scott waiting to put the flags out at the Veterans cemetery and our all American car collection(red, white and blue!).

So Tuesday we will all be back to school and work. If we don't melt first!

Well, I survived a week without Tom(sort of). I managed to clog my kitchen sink. Guess I can't do 20 things at once! Like dishes, laundry, cook and study with the kids.

Allison was mostly on her own this week.She was busy preparing for the High School Assessments. Thank goodness for online quizzes. She feels like she did well on her last two high school assessments(biology and english) last week, but the government test this past week was a bit tougher. And to think they may not have it next year! (Not in the budget!)

Scott was loaded down with homework and tests since he doesn't have much school left. I would have liked to have had him start his studying last weekend but we did not get the study guide until Monday(and because I asked the teacher for one). We mostly just worked on his spanish(telling time) and the vocab for his American history test. He also took a break while I was cutting the grass and washed and vacuumed my car for me. There has just been a yellow layer of pollen on everything. I also had him hose down some of the camping equipment(it was still full of mud) before I had to run and pick up Allison from work.

Last Sunday evening we had some guests drop by. The woman I met during Ladies Night Out who is from Michigan and is a Girl Scout volunteer. Their family moved here to Baltimore for work since her husband is an engineer and did not have much luck keeping a job in the Detroit area. She dropped by with her husband and twin girls(Scott's age) to visit with Cookie. They are shopping for a dog and thought about a Labradoodle. I told them to consider the Cavachon and she did. We are still waiting to hear if they found an available puppy yet. Not many here in Maryland. I think her girls could have stayed all night. They were mesmerized by all of Scott's electronic toys(they have two older brothers) and I think they enjoyed Scott's company too! I know he was in no hurry for them to leave! Their oldest brother just graduated from high school and was accepted into MSU, but being out of state, their Dad said it is too expensive. I guess their son was very disappointed. We hope to see them all again.

Tom arrived in Reno on Sunday afternoon with a fried computer. Tom was chosen as a Keynote Speaker for his group. He had his presentation on his laptop but since it was down he had to rely on the conference people to give him a copy of his presentation. Fortunately he had the back up and his talk went off well on Monday afternoon. He was then done for the week and decided the conference wasn't terribly exciting. However, Reno was not too exciting either. Instead he drove into Northern California to do a little sight seeing. Mostly just trees. He did have time to do a little networking. A woman from Hershey wants to hire him! I think it would be awesome to work for the candy company-and Tom could watch all the Hershey Bear Hockey games too! The hockey was tempting, but not the job.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch there was lots of homework going on. Allison was busy studying and working on her National Honor Society essay which is included with the application. Scott and I were busy studying for his history test, but he also had other homework assignments to complete first. Besides studies, we had fun activities to catch up with. I took Scott to his boy scout meeting on Tuesday night. First he had to type up his menu that he made from the rafting weekend and thenbreak it down according to the Food Pyramid as one of his boy scout assignments. Next we started on the budget assignment. Scott also stayed after school for his firs Lego Club meeting. The school is going to sponsor a Lego TEam next year to build robots and compete. Scott is very excited. Tom signed up to help out too(part of the STEM program). I also had to run Scott up to the dentist for his cavity. This time he had a real cavity and thought the whole thing was a bit uncomfortable. And it took longer for the novacaine to wear off.

Weds we were back to studying. I also was proofreading Allison's essay, so we decided by Thursday it was going to be turned in(it was due Friday). She managed to get all her paperwork turned in on Thursday morning, and I was asked to fill out a recommendation too from one of my girl scouts and Allison's classmate. (Nothing like last minute!).

Tom arrived home on Thursday night. I got Allison to her last Field Hockey practice, but I could not get SCott to gymnastics since they were at the same time. Allison has decided after trying out positions on the field, that she is happy to stay in goalie. She has also decided that field hockey in the spring is horrid for allergies. She said the Claritin is just not working anymore and we have switched to Allegra. A lot of the other drugs just make her very sleepy.

Right after her field hockey practice, I fed both kids and Allison and I went over to meet with the instructor for the Therapeutic Horseback riding program. We just missed her last Thursday, but we caught her this week(and no thunderstorm for a change). We took some more photos and had her sign Allison's paperwork as well as discussed her hopes for the project and needs. She said another girl scout was going to take on making picnic tables and clearing up a place for parents to sit and watch outside. We also found out that the woman in charge just happens to be the Aunt of one of my previous girl scouts and a great friend of Allison's! Small world.

Over the weekend, Tom finally was able to visit the stable with Allison to help her draw up a design on the computer. He decided to really meet the new handicap standards for ramp dimensions, it is going to need a double ramp with a landing. (Bigger project, more money). He is now busy working with Allison on pricing out the lumber. Allison needs to write up a proposal for approval first from the Girl Scout board before she can start work on the project. Unfortunately, the board only meets the first Weds of each month to review Gold Award submisions which is this WEds and I don't think we can get through all the paperwork and drop it off at the main office by then. Especially with Monday being a holiday. So it may have to go in for July. Still better to try and get it done this year I think than next year.

Tom and I had Friday off, but I was busy with doctor appointments. One for me and one for the cat. My doctor likes to keep an eye on my blood pressure. The medical field wants everyone to stay under 120/80 and I run 122/82(not enough for them to worry about right now so no drugs for me) Yeah! I then had to take the cat in for her yearly check up. She needed some shots and I still worry about her weight. She actually gained a 1/4lb from last year and is up to 8lbs. They said all her bloodwork is normal, but did give her an antibiotic shot since they said she might have a slight bladder infection. Overall, she is in great health for 11 yrs old(much to Tom's disappointment).

In the evening Allison had piano and Tom took Scott to a boy scout event. The boys place flags on the graves at the veteran's cemetery every Memorial Day Weekend. We have participated in this event for the past 5 years. After Allison's lesson, she joined our old neighbor's daughter at the movies to see the new Kung Fu Panda. Their Dad dropped off and I picked up.

On Saturday, after SCott's swim lesson, he joined the boys to see the movie and afterwards we hosted a sleepover. Allison had to work so we had some running around to do. Tom invited our neighbors over for drinks and an outdoor movie. The kids all watched the Yogi Bear movie on our projector in the backyard while us girls chatted inside.

On Sunday Allison and I had a singing event for a Girl Scout Award banquet with the GS choir after which we headed over for a pool party at Matt and Diana's house. Everyone brought their dogs so it kept us busy keeping an eye on Cookie with the big dogs(Cookie actually told the big dogs what she thought about them!). The weather has been incredibly hot over the weekend so it felt good to cool off in the pool, and Matt made incredible ribs and too much food. We were in charge of dessert so I had Allison bake brownies(even though it was much too hot to turn on the oven). Tom was finally able to clean out the vents and turn on the air conditioning(and Mark it is actually still officially Spring by the way). Summer doesn't start until June 21st and Allison has to go to school until June 22nd! Scott is done in two weeks.

At least the kids didn't have a lot of tests or assignments over the holiday weekend. Allison just finished up with reading A Catcher in the Rye(she liked it) and SCott is finishing The Rats of NIMH. And we were excited to see she got an A on her research paper that she worked on for several months. And she really did all the work herself. I especially like Allison's Honor English teacher this year-I thought she did a great job truly showing the kids how to write their own research papers step by step. But as I said, it is not over yet!

A Huge Happy Birthday to Christopher Bozyk who turned 14 this week! Happy Birthday Christopher!

I am sending beach pictures from our Spring Break(I wish we could have spent Memorial DAy weekend back at the beach!) That's Venice beach after a rain storm, Nokomis beach on Saturday before EAster Sunday and a stroll along the beach with Mom Seitz and Tom after dinner at Pops.

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