Good-bye July

Dang! I can't believe July is almost over. We've been busy - really really busy. Being busy has been good, but I haven't had much time to stop and write about it...

Of course we celebrated the Fourth. But this year we were lucky enough to get to do it with one of our exchange students from year's past. Ying Ying and her fiance, Miguel, spent a few wonderful days with us. Catching up with Ying Ying and meeting Miguel was fabulous but somehow I managed to not get a single photo of either of them, though I did manage to capture the island's fireworks display.

A week or so later, we went camping with Allen's family up in the UP. Nine of us camped out in the middle of nowhere along the banks of the Carp River. Despite the mosquitoes and the lack of running water, it was a beautiful spot.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the Boat Building contest. Each boat had to be made out of 100% natural-found-at-the-camp-site materials. 

Everyone let them go at the same time and the first one over the falls won.

Even though the kids enjoyed the boat race, hands-down their favorite thing was spending time with their cousins. I just love how they all get along so well. 

A little later in the month, K got to go away to camp. It was her first time being away from home.

She spent a week down in Lapeer, MI at Lions Bear Lake Camp. The coolest part of the whole week was every camper and many of the counselors wore hearing aides. It was a wonderful opportunity for K to get to know other kids with hearing issues. She loved it, and has asked me to post more pictures, but it will have to wait for another day...

While K at camp, S got to go to "Camp Grandma," down in Southern Indiana.

She enrolled him in daily swimming lessons and made sure he got ice cream every day. (Sometimes twice!) Plus I think they went to see three movies during the week. He was thrilled and didn't want to come home when the week was over.

On top of all that I've been volunteering at the Governor's Summer Residence, the kids have been taking golf lessons and we've all been working together to care for three new pets. Not to mention I've been catching up on all those little jobs that I seem to be too busy to get to during the school year, such as washing the wool rugs, taking my wedding ring in to be repaired, cleaning out the car, etc. But tomorrow my brother arrives so we'll have several quiet days with him. And then: August...