It's the last unofficial week of summer. Scott finished his last week of Driver's Training and passed his final exam on Friday. Now it will be off to the MVA to take the real test for his Driver's Permit. Then we will start hitting the road. Oh boy. He also enjoyed the end of the summer Boy Scout meeting-one big water gun fight!

Allison finished cleaning up the GS camp with the rest of the counselors. Her favorite was the latrines I think(besides the horse stables). Yeah. She really did enjoy her whole summer experience. Next summer she will probably be turning in her hiking boots for heels while pursuing a business internship(with Tom's encouragement). She returned home to do her laundry and start packing for school. She also had to run some errands-like stopping into the bank. This year Allison and her roommates decided to rent out a condo. There are not very many dorms available for the upper classmen. Allison heads back to Salisbury as a Junior enrolled in the Perdue School of Business. Tom rented a Uhaul truck so we could move some furniture to her new condo over the weekend. I took her out on Saturday to do some shopping for supplies after we loaded everything onto the truck.

Allison was a huge help while she was home-even for a short time. She drove Scott to and from his Drivers Training classes, and then gave Grandma Bozyk a ride to and from her Sr Center program. Afterwards, SCott, Allison and Grandma all went out to lunch and for ice cream. I was happy they all spent some time together.  On Friday she joined her roommate for a turnaround trip to the condo to pick up the keys and drop off the first month's rent. Her roommates were moving in on Saturday. We planned to arrive on Sunday. Along with the cable guy. The girls need their wifi for computer hook up. We also had to purchase renter's insurance before Allison could move in, so she needed to drop off the paperwork.

Allison is sharing the condo with her previous roommate Jen whose family lives in our neighborhood. They also moved in Helena whose family is from Venezuela. Helena's family was visiting for the week and met us when we pulled up in the truck and our car caravan on Sunday morning. It was a family event-Cookie joined us. We had lots of helping hands to move in couches, a dresser, nightstand and a bed, plus clothes and cooking and cleaning items, food items, Field Hockey gear and a small fish tank. Tom and Allison assembled a small computer desk that we purchased at Walmart and set up her computer and gaming system. The girls have 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, a dining area, living room and tv,  kitchen plus lots of closet space. Also a small deck out back. Very roomy and very comfortable. Our old leather couches looked very nice in their new space with Allison's floor rug. And Helena's parents bought a grill so the girls can cook out in their backyard. Plus someone dropped off a table and chairs for the deck. So they will be ready to host their Ultimate Frisbee team!

Naturally, Tom and I had to run out and shop for new couches for our house last week.  Not a fun activity in my book. We ended up in La Z Boy and picked out a leather couch and love seat combo(fortunately on sale).  We were ready for a new couch set-the cushions on the last set were beginning to wear. Perfect for a college apt. We decided to wait on a new recliner chair as we go into Labor Day sales. Plus I am not so sure we can stuff anymore furniture into Allison's condo as she was looking at taking our old chair.  As it was, we moved in a Queen sized bed! Fortunately, Allison got one of the larger bedrooms.

After moving in all the furniture and hanging up the clothes, we headed out for a late lunch/early dinner with Allison's boyfriend, Tyler. Finally we had a chance to meet him and learn about his summer computer internship with a gaming company here in Baltimore. He is a Senior studying computer science/programmer. He also works part time at campus in the IT office. We took him to one of the campus favorite restaurants on the river, Brew River. We sat out on the deck and listened to the band playing near the bar. Tyler also plays guitar so it was fun to critique our entertainment with someone who has a music background. Tyler actually started out studying music at Salisbury. We had to drop him off and run a few more errands for Allison before dropping off the Uhaul truck and heading home. Allison then went out that evening with her roommates to pick up some basic staples(like milk and butter). We did not want to get home too late since Scott started school on Monday!

We did enjoy dinner on the patio at our neighbors on Saturday evening to catch up with all our summer travels and kids activities before everyone gets back to their busy school and work schedules. We also did the puppy hand off as we had been babysitting for our friends cavachon, Ripley last week. Cookie is still trying to recuperate.

Double Trouble(Ripley and Cookie_

 Allison heads off to School

 New Condo in Salisbury

 Cookie gets comfy in the condo Living room

 Allison gets comfy in her bedroom

 Our new couch

It was back to our usual busy schedule when we returned home after our trip to Michigan. That Sunday we arrived home in the afternoon in time to pick up Cookie from our neighbors before they headed out on their own vacation. We then spent Sunday afternoon unpacking the car and doing laundry as well as cutting the grass. Although it has been so hot and dry, it really did not need it.

We needed to get back for Scott to start his driver's training class which runs for two weeks, 3 hrs each day. I figured he could take the class at the main building near our house since he could ride his bike there every day. When Allison took the class I had to drive her every day-dropping her off before work and picking her up at lunch. Scott finished up his first week of book work on driving rules and regulations and seems to be enjoying the experience. I think he is mostly enjoying the idea of learning to drive! He finished up week 1 and so far has done very well on his practice exams.

He managed to have a bit of fun last week when he joined his friends at the local county fair. I dropped the group off in the evening for $12 Buck Tuesday-entry fee and unlimited rides. They all had a lot of fun checking out the animals, eating fried food on sticks and riding sketchy carnival rides. On Thursday I dropped Scott off at a fellow boy scout's house to assist with an Eagle project-assembling park benches for Scott's old elementary school. We figured Scott could use some practice building stuff since he will be doing his own Eagle project someday. Plus this was a fellow Resurrection school scout, so I figured he owed some favors.

I joined Scott at his Boy Scout meeting on Weds since I was busy finishing up the last details to our upcoming Hershey Park trip. Tom and I had signed up to organize the summer camping trip. I passed out all the Hershey tickets and the scouts made plans for camping and transportation. We decided to skip cooking this weekend since we would all be traveling on different schedules. On Friday I spent the day packing up the car. After Scott finished driving class, we both headed to Hershey PA. Tom ended up staying home since he was catching a cold and not feeling well. Plus it was our turn to watch our neighbor's dog while they went away on vacation. We had planned on Allison coming home from GS camp for the weekend and watching the dogs until we got back. Instead she had to stay and help close up camp. I think her last few weeks were long ones.

When we were in Michigan she participated in "Choose Your Own Activity" week. The scouts get to choose their own activities to participate in. A bit more chaotic. Allison enjoyed the last week of camp since she spent time on the climbing wall and shooting archery. She did not enjoy camp clean up. Especially cleaning the stables. She did manage to take a break on Saturday night and joined Tom at home for dinner and a movie. And she helped manage the dogs!

Meanwhile, Scott and I were setting up camp on Friday night at the Hershey campground. It reminded me of the time I took my Girl Scouts there for Camporee Weekend. Fortunately this time it did not rain. The weather was beautiful, albeit very hot and humid. And sadly the Hershey campground is right next to very busy train tracks which run all night long. But we set up camp on Friday evening and then headed to the park for preview night. Our group consisted of 25 adults and kids. We had a few hours to enjoy the park. Scott and his friend Joe spent time on several rides. Myself and Joe's mom scoured the park since they added a few new rides and we wanted to get the lay of the land. We also enjoyed our Chocolate World tour and a small chocolate snack as well as dinner. We took the shuttle back to the campground, but traffic was a mess. They have concerts at the park in an outdoor football stadium and Lady Antebellum was in town Friday night. It got worse on Saturday night with Maroon 5 and Nick Jonas in town. I thought I should just buy a tshirt since I felt like I went to the concert!   I had to deal with the crowds anyway.

We made it back to camp and our tents after Midnite Friday nite. On Saturday morning we were up early and back on the shuttle for early preview hours and some Dunkin Donuts breakfast. We got in early and the boys headed to the new indoor rollercoaster experience. Which they enjoyed. Then we spent the day on rides, searching for a shady spot to stay cool after splashing in the water park and eating BBQ. By 6pm  we had enough of the rides and spent the evening back in Chocolate World, eating dinner and enjoying York Peppermint Patty milkshakes. WE also caught the 4D movie. The place was absolutely packed. Most of the troop packed up their tents and headed home that evening. It was just myself and Joe's mom and our boys plus 1. Part of the troop left since they could not stand the noise of the train all night! We were back in our tents by 10pm and had no trouble sleeping. On Sunday morning we packed up and headed back into Chocolate World for some shopping and breakfast before heading home. However, I took a detour in the Hershey parking lot and test drove a few Chevys. They had a test track set up and were providing free driving trials. I especially enjoyed my first time in a Camero. I also asked the attendants to take Scott and a fellow Scout for a ride in a Corvette. Then Scott wanted to see what the hybrid cars were like so we test drove the Chevy Volt. That was strange. You look at the gas gauge and a big battery gauge at the same time. The car does not sound like it is running. Scott mostly sat in the back of all the cars and was unable to straighten his head since they were all very small!  Since Scott is beginning his journey into driving, I wanted him to get a feel for a few different cars. He asked to borrow 70,000 for a new corvette! Instead we got a free tshirt!

Long day at Hershey Park!

 Hershey Cows! It's the Milk Chocolate!

 Twizzler licorice art

 Hershey Chocolate World

 Cooling off in Hershey Park/Scott and Joe

 Scott's Hershey purchase

 Scott's Wish List/2016 Corvette

We headed home to spend the afternoon unpacking and cleaning up/folding up the tents and sleeping bags and to help Tom puppy sit!

Our summer travels continued last Sunday morning as Tom and I headed out the door with a drive to Toledo. We spent the night there and caught the new Mission Impossible movie near our hotel after dinner. In the morning we dropped into the Libby glass outlet store in Toledo on our way to MSU. We had fun picking up some odds and ends glassware. We decided to drive through West Bloomfield on the way to E Lansing. We stopped off at the old Bozyk house in WB to see if there had been any changes in a year. I think much to Tom's surprise, the house is still standing and it appears that the new owners are making some improvements. We noticed a new roof and windows being installed. Looks like a young family may be living there now as I spotted a baby stroller on the back porch. I also stopped into the Henry Ford Medical center to pick up some paperwork for my Dad. I am trying to get him some new prescription glasses and needed the paperwork. After lunch at Freakin Burger, we drove towards MSU.
 We stayed at a Hampton Inn near the campus. Scott had already arrived and was checked into Hubbard Hall. Unfortunately, most of the activities were set up on the other end of campus near the stadium. But I think Scott enjoyed staying in one of the dorm rooms and surviving on dorm food for a week. Each kid had their own room key and meal ticket, so they could come and go as they needed.

Scott had spent the weekend driving on the chartered bus with a day stopover at Cedar Point.
On Monday, Scott's group left at 5am from Cedar Point to check in around 830am at campus. The first day mostly involved orientation and an opening ceremony. Most of the ceremonies have big fires on stage. We met up with SCott to drop off a fan(no ac in the dorm rooms). Tom and I spent our afternoon walking and shopping along Grand River with a pitcher of beer and nachos at one of our favorite mexican restaurants for dinner.

On Tuesday Scott missed his afternoon track competition. He could not get to the event on time-too far away and the campus buses are extremely slow(too many scouts). We were busy trying to help him find his events and schedule via computer and cell phone as the campus wide program was glitched. He hooked up with a local Maryland troop and seemed to be enjoying the whole experience(ie pizza party at midnite). Meanwhile, we decided to visit Frankenmuth for the day.  We started our morning with a quick tour through the Frankenmuth brewery-built in 1862 after the germans settled in the area. The brewery was built right after the church went up! Good choice. We enjoyed brats and onion rings on the patio overlooking the river and then some souvenir shopping, including taste testing at our favorite Traverse City Whiskey co. Tom also dropped me off to wander through Bronners Christmas store before heading back to ELansing.

Weds morning SCott seemed to get the hang of his schedule. He managed to compete in a Mario Kart video competition and made it into the finals. He also traveled to Lake Lansing for some kayaking and his attempt at log rolling. (not his best event). But glad he tried it! Meanwhile, we drove to Kalamazoo to visit the campus of Western Mich U. They have an amazing engineering program and we thought we would scope it out for SCott. We dropped into the admissions office and especially enjoyed our tour of the Engineering campus which is actually separate from the rest of the school. Tom and I were surprised at just how large the campus really is. We spent the night in Kalamazoo and saw the new Mr Holmes movie at a Movie Tavern in downtown Kzoo where you order dinner with your show.

On Thursday I talked Tom into driving over to South Haven located on Lake Michigan. I was surprised how similar the town was to Charlevoix.  And we arrived at the start of the Blueberry Festival! We spent the afternoon souvenir and antique shopping, strolling along the pier and eating lunch(blueberry themed meals) at a local restaurant. I then talked Tom into waiting for me to take a dip in Lake Michigan at the beach with warm water and lots of sand! Naturally we could not leave without picking up a blueberry pie at a local farm stand. Scott competed in his second round of Mario Kart and made it through 3 rounds. He also enjoyed a large helping of MSU ice cream!

On Friday we headed back to MSU to pick up Scott. He was pretty much done after lunch, so after we got our MSU ice cream, we packed him up. We decided to give him a ride back to Maryland rather than him taking the bus. That way we were able to schedule him a tour of the Western Mich U campus on Saturday morning, including the engineering program. We had some time to tour Lansing before heading to our hotel in the evening. We visited Potter Park zoo for the first time and stopped into a a new Distillery in East Lansing to trial their whiskey and gin. We spent the night in Marshall, MI and on Saturday morning headed over to Western Mich. U.

I had made reservations for a campus tour. The place was packed! At least 60 or more people were scheduled for the orientation and tour which lasted several hours. They even gave us lunch in the dining hall! We could not believe how big the campus was and how hilly. Afterwards we headed over to the engineering campus. Their engineering school is so big it has its own campus about 10 mins away. Tom and I had scoped it out earlier int he week and were very excited about the entire program. Scott was also thrilled with the huge engineering facility and all the labs and programs they offer. Scott seems to be best suited for the Manufacturing Engineering program. And Western allows out of state students to attend school for a year and then apply for residency with in state rates. MSU makes students live in state for 1 year without taking classes and then allows students to apply for residency. WMU also has scholarships for out of state students. We even picked up a Broncos Tshirt for Scott to wear during his tour!

After our visit, we headed towards Detroit to stop in on our friends Dan and Laura. Laura was busy supervising her Polish Dance troupe at the pierogi festival. We caught the end of their program at the church in downtown Detroit and then headed into town for dinner. We had to share the space with all the Detroit Tiger fans. They were celebrating Mexican night and their uniforms read "Tigres". We caught part of the game on tv in the restaurant and then Laura gave us a quick tour of Downtown Detroit. They are busy putting in a train/trolley system. Not sure who is going to use it at this point, but maybe it will help give Detroit a new look. Along with the new Red Wings Hockey stadium going up on Woodward next to Ford Field and the Tiger Stadium. And we had a drive around Wayne State University which also has an excellent engineering program. We had to start back to Maryland that evening since we needed to pick up Cookie early from our neighbors on Sunday. We drove to PA that night and then home on Sunday.

 WB Bozyk House

 Frankenmuth Distillery

Lake Michigan Lighthouse

WMU Engineering campus

 WMU Engineering building

 Albert Einstein played Ultimate Frisbee for WMU!

Downtown DetroitDinner with Dan and Laura Hejza

Two  weeks ago it was a bit quieter  at our house since both Allison and Scott were off again to scout camp. Allison left last Sunday morning for another work week and we drove Scott up to boy scout camp on Sunday afternoon.

Both kids seemed to enjoy their time at camp. Meanwhile back at the ranch, I spent two evenings with the scouts myself. Monday night was the parent's scout meeting-I had to give an update on my planning schedule for the Hershey Camp and Play weekend in August that I organized for the troop.
On WEds night I dropped into the scout meeting to collect any last minute checks for the Hershey trip since I have to mail off an official Troop check to order more tickets. I ended up staying the entire meeting and chatting with a fellow scout mom.

Tom spent this past week working on the cars, including Allison's-oil changes, car washes, tire rotations and smog checks. We took a break last Saturday night to go see the movie Pixels with the kids. Allison and I enjoyed it even more than Tom and SCott(which surprised me). We liked Adam Sandler's humor in this movie. I thought it was fun to see all the old video games that Tom and I played and was impressed that the kids recognized them as well. On Sunday night Tom and I enjoyed dinner out at his favorite italian restaurant, Maggiones. We had a dinner for two special and got to take two meals home as well(less cooking for me during the week!).

Allison seemed to enjoy her week at camp a bit more. I don't know who has more fun-Allison or the campers! She was assigned to High Adventure. Her favorite activity was rappelling up in the trees, especially rappelling down a tree! And of course the ever entertaining Miss Conowingo pageant keeps them all laughing. She opted on staying at camp last weekend since we all were packing up and heading out the door on another trip. Allison stayed with one of the counselors at her house on Friday night(real beds and real showers and less spiders). On Saturday the counselors all traveled via camp van to Hershey Park for a day of fun. Allison got brave again and rode coasters!(at least the old wooden ones). Those were always my favorite too. On Sunday they were back at it again for another week of campers.

Tom and I spent last weekend picking up Scott from one camp and getting him to another. Tom actually picked up Scott last Friday afternoon while I hung around the house waiting for a package delivery(with signature) that never came. But I had plenty of time to do some packing, laundry, and housecleaning. I also managed to get my car washed along with the dog!  Scott had spent the week at a Boy Scout Tech camp and seemed to really enjoy it. This camp was all about computers, video games and science. He was encouraged to bring his Wii, Nintendo,  Tablet, iphones and anything else he could pack. He got to fly drones and take apart computers, make ice cream out of liquid nitrogen-all sorts of geekie stuff. And he finished badges in Animation, Game Design and Movie Making. His Scout Master put together the camp program and invited the Boys Life staff to come in and do a story since this is the first scout camp of its kind. Scott said they took lots of pictures of him on the computers. Maybe he will make an upcoming edition! They also had a Japanese scout troop visit and cook them dinner. Quite an experience and very enjoyable according to Scott. They had 40 boys sign up this year and already have 200 on the waiting list for next summer.

No sooner did we get Scott home that I had to wash all his clothes and repack for a trip to Michigan State University with the Order of the Arrow scout troop. We had to drop him off in the morning at a local school for a bus ride to Cedar Point. The group from Maryland was quite large and took up 3 chartered buses. They actually had to limit their numbers-I think twice as many signed up for the trip. Overall, there were 15,000 Boy Scouts visiting MSU at this event. Their first stop was at Cedar Point. The boys spent the night in these really cool cabins on the property. On Sunday they spent the whole day at the park. Scott rode every single coaster in the park! All 17! They were back on the bus early Monday morning to head to East Lansing.

We were out the door on Sunday morning. On Saturday Tom and I dropped Scott off in the morning and I visited with my parents in the afternoon. I took my mom shopping before dropping her off for dinner back at the apt. Then Tom and I headed over to dinner at our friends, Beth and Barry who  watched Cookie for us while we were gone. On Friday night we had drinks with our neighbors Dan and Gloria who watch the house and take care of Pika(cat). We spent time catching up with them on their recent trip to Italy. Everyone has been so busy this summer!


Scott visits MSU with the Order of the Arrow Boy Scout Troop for a week long camp.

Allison enjoys swinging in the trees at GS camp!

This past week had a change in my usual schedule. I took off Weds instead of Friday to join my parents on a baseball game outing. The Sunrise community took the residents out to a Senior Baseball game event with the Bowie Baysox. The Baysox are the Orioles farm team, so we were decked out in our orange and black. The event was set up in the sky box above home plate. Mom and Dad took the Sunrise van ride over and Scott and I followed in my van(yes, Scott joined us!). I brought along a wheelchair to help get Dad moving. He is struggling with everyday tasks, so I wanted to see how he managed on an outing in case I tried to take him out myself. I think after this outing, I decided he is just too much for me to handle along with mom for any day trips.

But while we were there, we really enjoyed ourselves. The baseball staff was wonderful and very helpful. And so were the Sunrise staff that came along. There were 10 residents in all on the outing. Besides enjoying the game(we won!), we also were treated to a picnic buffet lunch and Bingo! And Mom won an Orioles tshirt!  So we all had a great time and I was just happy we got Dad out for awhile. Though I don't think I will be doing that very often.

Scott was home this week, in between scout camps. He did a great job earning his Robotics and Motor Boating merit badges last week at camp. This week at the boy scout meeting, I was busy putting finishing touches on our upcoming scout trip to Hershey Park. Scott spent the boy scout meeting working with his fellow patrol members planning an upcoming meeting in which they will run the activities. We requested the older boys get more involved in running the weekly meetings rather than sitting and listening to the adults speak. And the scout leader agreed. So the boys have come up with some camping training, badge work and games. As we say, scouts should be "Boy Led". Then why am I so busy?  On Sunday morning we packed Scott up again for another week at Boy Scout camp. This time he is headed off to a computer boy scout camp. His Troop Leader developed the program and it is the first of its kind. They plan on writing up the program in Boys Life. Maybe there will be photo of Scott in the article. They had 40 boys sign up for the camp. It is more laid back in that they don't have specific hours for meals, they can stay up late playing video games and they can use all the tech equipment they want(ipads, computers, cell phones, you name it). They will work on badges as well as science programs, including learning to fly drones.  I think he will be able to find something there that he enjoys!

He also managed to get in an afternoon of work at the Roller Blade rink on Friday. He had to work with a newly hired "challenged" employee, and found himself doing all the work. I was very proud of how hard he worked including cleaning and rearranging the entire skate room.

Allison was also up early on Sunday and out the door for another week of Girl Scout camp. She probably would have enjoyed her last week celebrating the holidays a little more if she had not also been babysitting one of the other counselors with special needs. The girl needs supervision herself which makes it tougher for Allison to get her job done. Plus Allison was asked to give the girl a ride home each weekend. So she ends up getting home late on Friday nights.

Welcome to Equal  Opportunity Employment Scott and Allison!

Scott and Grandma B enjoy a Baseball game in the Skybox

 Grandma B wins Bingo!

 Grandma and Grandpa Bozyk take in a Bowie Baysox baseball game/Orioles Farm league

Last week it was just me and the girls(Cookie and Pika). I had the whole house to myself. Scott headed off to Boy Scout camp for a week at Camp Rodney on the North Side of the Chesapeake Bay. He rode up with his friend Joe and their family on Sunday morning. Allison was up early too and headed off to work another week of Girl Scout camp with a Hawaiian Theme.

Allison celebrated her 20th Birthday at camp and shared a huge platter of cookies with fellow counselors. I packed her up a goody bag and shipped it UPS directly to camp. I included some homemade cookies of her own since I figured she would probably not get any that she brought! I also included a few Hawaiian themed items which she really enjoyed, like a blow up palm tree, Hawaiian shirt and glow in the dark ring toss game(the palm tree was a big success). Plus a few snacks and a coconut cup. She loved getting her care package. And she had a wonderful week(again). She even stopped off for pizza at a local restaurant with fellow counselors before heading home on Friday. One unique experience she had this past week involved a possible non worldly sighting in the woods. The Girl Scout camp is already rumored to be haunted by civil war era ghosts. The stories are written up in the book, Weird Maryland. The GS camp property originally belonged to the Bell family(telephone company), and their house which is used by scouts today remains on the land overlooking the Susquehanna river. The house is supposed to be haunted. Along with the ruins of a homestead where several children died in a fire set by Union soldiers. All that remains is the chimney where the mother hid the children before the soldiers burned down the house. But Allison believes she was one of many that may have spotted the spirit of a new generation of ghosts. Possibly a Girl Scout who died several years ago of cancer. Her father is the archery instructor and helped establish several nature centers in his daughter's name, Caitlyn Dunbar. Apparently she loved scouting so much, she spent her entire summer at camp each year until she died. And her family has devoted their time and resources  towards Girl Scouts and camping in her name. Allison and a second counselor were taking a camper to the Nurses station at 4am with a stomach ache. ON their way back to their cabin, Allison believes she saw a girl walking down the path near the pool house and Caitlyn Dunbar nature center wearing white socks, shoes and shorts. Allison tried to call to her and approach her since the girls are not supposed to be out on their own, but she disappeared. When Allison mentioned this to the other counselors, they reported having the same experience. We may need another chapter in the Weird Maryland Book! We told Allison to take her camera or cell phone with her next time she is out walking at 4am!  I think she especially enjoyed being home though to catch up on her sleep!

Her eery experience did not however keep her from returning to camp again last Sunday morning as she headed out to enjoy the Holiday theme at GS camp. They celebrate a different holiday each night including Halloween, Thanksgiving, and  best of all, Christmas.

SCott was also happy to return home from camp, mainly to get a good night's sleep. He spent his week at a scout camp on the northern end of the Chesapeake bay, sleeping in a hammock. Except when it rained. Since the camp was right on the bay, he signed up for lots of water sports including sailing and motor boating. He actually earned his sailing badge last year, but signed up again to spend time sailing with his friends since he enjoyed it so much last year. He especially enjoyed learning how to operate a motor boat!  Which he was able to do since successfully completing his Maryland Boating Safety program the week before. And for a break from the water and sun, he finished up his day with the robotics badge. Tom and I drove up on Saturday morning to pick up both SCott and his friend Joe.

While Allison and Scott were off to scout camp all week, Tom traveled to California to work. Before he left on Monday, we enjoyed dinner out on Sunday night and took my mom out for ice cream. He also had a chance to meet up with my brother Mike for dinner in LA along with his roommate Suzanna.

I found ways to keep myself entertained during the week. On Monday I took my mom to her dentist appointment and then we went out to dinner. On Tuesday I relaxed at home after work. Weds I took Cookie for a walk in the park while enjoying a free Jazz concert. On Thursday I was invited to dinner at our friends who watch Cookie while we are gone. So naturally, Cookie and I went over together for dinner and to drop off a Thank you gift basket for doggy sitting. Cookie was not ready to have her ears chewed on again by their puppy however.  On Friday I spent the day running errands and taking care of paperwork for my parents. I had hoped to try and take my parents out to a local pool or small lake, but the weather turned cloudy and grey. I stopped in to take my parents out to dinner, but they had already eaten by 5pm. Instead I shared dessert with mom and we headed to the grocery store. On Saturday Tom and I spent the morning picking up Scott from camp along with his friend Joe. Our family decided to catch a movie since it was a rainy day, but we could not agree on which one. So Tom and I saw Antman which we really enjoyed and the kids caught up with The Minions. Afterwards we decided to try something different for dinner and we stopped into a Thai restaurant that Tom visits with fellow workmates. Very spicy. On Sunday Allison was headed off to camp early in the morning. Tom and I worked on yard work even though it was a bit too hot. I had a lot of weeding to do in our garden. Unfortunately, our yard has turned into a nature sanctuary and the deer nibbled most of our tomato plants and pepper plants. So I was trying to see what was left. We really have had an interesting selection of creatures in the backyard:snakes, a box turtle, deer, fox, rabbits, and a wide variety of birds. I was very excited to have assisted in contributing to the blue bird population as our birdhouse saw 4 new baby blue birds hatch. Now a crazy wren is busy building a nest in the box. Seems a little late in the year. But it keeps her busy! Now if we can just get some veggies to grow!

Another Happy Birthday goes out to our nephew Nicholas Bozyk who also turned 20 last week. Happy Birthday Nick!  And Get Well Soon to nephew Clayton Bozyk who underwent emergency surgery for appendicitis. Hope you are feeling better!

Allison S celebrates her 20th Birthday at Myrtle Beach

Mommy and Daddy Blue Bird watch over their House

We recently returned from our whirlwind Seitz family reunion in Myrtle Beach and we all had a fabulous time! Thanks to the entire Seitz family et al for a great week-the food, the company, the entertainment. Thanks so much to Grandma and Grandpa Seitz for putting up with all of us and providing us with such terrific memories. Our group included our family: Tom and myself, Allison and Scott, Grandpa and Grandma Seitz, Susan and her husband John Potts, Linda and Mark Seitz, Eric and Sarah Seitz, Stacey and Matt Draper and their friend from Germany, Alexandra. For a grand total of 15 guests!

We all arrived  Saturday, the 4th of July,  with a 4pm check in. Our family spent the night before in Florence, SC, so we did not have much of a drive in the morning. We spent the day doing some shopping and scoping out North Myrtle Beach. Allison and I treated ourselves to a mani-pedi. When we all arrived at the condo, we put together dinner and then headed to the beach. We watched an extensive firework display while sitting on the beach and we enjoyed shooting off a few noisemakers of our own. Happy Birthday America!

Sunday morning we were all up for church and then breakfast at a diner. We spent the afternoon enjoying the waves, sun and sand.

Monday morning most of us headed out for a horseback riding adventure  including Allison, Scott and myself, through the woods and onto the beach! I can check that off my bucket list-horse back riding on a beach. After your ride you are treated to a free ice cream-a great ending to a great outing. The afternoon brought us putt putt golf and shopping for souvenirs.

 Tuesday we were up very early in the morning to head out for a deep sea fishing trip. Allison, Scott and myself joined the team. The water was a bit rough, but we hung in there like troopers. And it paid off! We all had the opportunity to pull in some sort of fish. Eric even caught a barracuda! Not good for eating though. We caught shark, mackerel and a cobia(all very tasty which we enjoyed during dinner on WEds night). Allison pulled in a sucker fish which was entertaining but also not good to eat. After our fishing trip, we sat down to lunch at the local fish fry. Tom and I loved the fresh shrimp and hush puppies the most! We then took a drive down to the boardwalk in Myrtle beach, but decided we enjoy our own Ocean City MD boardwalk-more places for ice cream and boardwalk fries and a whole lot bigger. However, the tourist shops and restaurants, including Broadway at the Beach and The Boardwalk had more than enough entertainment for the whole family.

On Weds morning, our family decided to go look at the fish together at Ripley's Aquarium. Very interesting. Afterwards we did some shopping in the large, outdoor complex and then Eric and his wife Sarah joined us to see the Terminator movie. That evening the whole family pitched in to prepare a fish dinner cooked on the grill. It was delicious!

On Thursday we all took a boating cruise out to a barrier island that left from historic Georgetown just south of Myrtle beach. We cruised through the bay and spotted some dolphins along the way as well as listening to our guide describe the history of the area-a few presidents enjoyed visiting local rice plantations and quite some involvement in the civil war. We stopped at the mouth of the Atlantic and everyone scurried off to look for treasures near a lighthouse on the beach. We all came back with something-shells, crabs(they stayed on the beach), and Scott brought back a cedar hiking stick. Since our whole group went on the outing, we enjoyed lunch together at a local restaurant before driving back to the condo in Myrtle beach. Thursday night was Pizza night for the whole family.

On Friday we celebrated Allison's 20th Birthday(a few days early). She and Scott started off the day with a trip to a zipline park. They had to travel through the trees on an extensive obstacle course traveling from platform to platform as well as zipping through the woods and over a lake. The group that went spent about 3 hours and loved every minute. When they got back, it was time for lunch and then Allison requested a visit to the Alligator Farm. Our family spent the afternoon watching small and large gators jump for chicken! After gators, we treated the entire group to dinner at Dick's Last Resort(per Allison's request). A restaurant where the waiters abuse the guests. Imagine that. I think Mark Seitz and I had more fun trying to abuse the wait staff, especially since they split up our group into two tables. Afterwards it was cake and ice cream and presents.

On Saturday it was time to pack up and head for home. Both of our kids had to repack for their upcoming trips to scout camp. It was certainly fun to spend time together with the whole Seitz family. Looking forward to any future adventures!  Baltimore Blog

4th of July at Myrtle Beach

Fun and Sun at the Beach

                                                                                          Horseback Riding at the Beach (Allison,                                                                                                                   Scott and Kathleen)

Deep Sea Fishing Expedition

 Shark Bait! OohHaHa                                                  Sucker fish are friends, not food!(and                                                                                                                                    entertaining)

                                                                             
 Holy Mackerel Boy Wonder!

Swinging through the Trees at the Go Ape Ropes Course(Allison gets stuck over the lake)

John, Allison and Scott, Alex, Eric and Mark

Alligators Big and Small(taste like chicken!)

Shelling on the Barrier Island with the Entire Seitz Clan

  Visit to the Aquarium(crazy fish close up)

Celebrating Allison's 20th Bday at Dick's Last Resort