Well, we survived! Summer 2011 is coming to an end!!
We of course got the trailer up to camp! We love Minerva!
Dylan failed his senior year of school! Snot wad was going to have to go to summer school but I wasn't going to let him ruin everyone's summer. As far as I was concerned, he could repeat the grade. His solution: we bought a bike and rode every day!!
We put an offer in on a house we loved! They came back with a counter, we countered, then it was pulled from the market! We were devasted but, in the end, it was the best thing. The family was being forced to sell and as it so happend, the Federal aid they had applied for months earlier, came through after negotiations began. I would have hated for it to come through after we closed on the house! I would have felt terrible. It really was a beautiful house though! Down side, it was right on a main road and the kids wouldn't have been super safe.
Well, knowing how devastated Holley and I were, Peter went online to MLS and found another great house! This one has fenced in yards AND a pool!!! When you are looking for a house with 6 bedrooms and a yard, you don't expect to find GREAT houses. We knew we would be settling! We were in a double wide mobile home because that is all that would fit us! Our double wide was almost 2000 square feet! Try finding that in a stick built house!
Well, reluctantly, we went for a walk through and we made an offer that day! That fast, we found a house that was perfect for us, with only a hint of "settling". We really could use a bigger kitchen~ but, we also have a pantry, shelved basement for seldom used gadgets that I love, and the sunroom has a passthrough into the kitchen! I think we will make it just fine!
The best part is that not only does it have enough bedrooms, but part of the upstairs is set up for a little apartment. It works great for Ashley and the kids! They have their own little area, with their own entrance, but still have the rest of the house to be with Gramma and Grampa! When they get established and move out, it can be a little apartment for my mom to retire to! That way, she can be part of the family when she wants, and be left alone when she wants! Super win - win!
So... we start packing and cleaning and planning! Summer is underway!! My niece Amanda comes to visit since she is a regular at our place during the summer! Latonya is our Fresh Air daughter who is 15 and has been visiting since she was 6! Summer would not be complete without the two of them!!
Chase and Leigha really enjoy camp and all it has to offer! We had been working with the 2 of them at the Y, learning how to be comfortable in the water. Chase was terrified of the lake last year, but since he could swim with his bubbles on at the Y, he had new confidence this year in the water!! Sissy isn't afraid of anything!! Lake water is quite cool though and she wasn't too sure of it! Her little floating car did the trick and she had a great time this year!
Holley was super busy! Last fall, she was accepted into the People to People Student Ambassador program. She immediately started off selling candy at school and soon got a job at 14 years old, working for McDonalds! After earning over half of the money herself, McDonald's gave her the summer off with no threat of losing her job! See what happens when you are a valuable employee, even at 15 years old!!!??? Anyway, she went with People to People Student Ambassadors to Explore Europe! She started off in Italy, went to France and England. This was a whirlwind 3 week European tour that she earned a half credit for high school!
She came home and two days later, Amanda came back with my mom. Amanda and Latonya watched the babies while I took my mom and my Girl Scouts on their final Scouting activity. We started off at Medieval Times in Maryland and spent the night at a hotel. We loved the show at Medieval Times althought after being at the Medieval Times in Orlando with the castle and torture chambers and the whole atmosphere, I was kind of disappointed in the Maryland set up. The Castle was part of the mall which was kind of cool-- it was right next to a shoe store and the girls went wild! BUT, the whole outter realm of the castle was just too consumerish. Anyway, the next day we toured DC. It was hot, but the girls can now say they have been. Then we went to Big Creek Missions in Kentucky. We arrived on Sunday and stayed through Saturday. The girls met some really interesting people they will stay in touch with for a long time! We were mostly split up into seperate groups.
My mom spent some time working at a local school that was in threat of not being able to open on time. They did lots of things to help out there.
Mackenzie was also at a school but unfortunately, she spent most of her time stapling pages together. In that area, they can't hand out the books and expect them to remain in one piece for too long. The group working there would rip the pages from the books, sort them out, then regroup and staple them together again. Sounds tedious but... this way the teachers can pull out the stacks of pages-- say page 1 from the book and hand them out to all the kids without having to take the time out of class or have the kids take the books and ruin them. It seems simple but it was beneficial.
Karli started out with a group that was working on an outdoor classroom for a different school. That lasted 2 days. Then she split into a seperate group that went to work on a hoarder's house. There was a fire in the house which led to further help for the family. The first day on that job, Karli was part of a group that found, not only a dead puppy under lots of stuff but 2 overstuffed big chairs. The next day, they found a whole seperate room that had been buried behind a bunch of stuff! Can you imaging "finding" a room in a house?
Holley and I were in a group together and we did a few different things. The first few days, we were at an outreach working with young kids in a "camp" type format although it was really just a dirt field in a little neighborhood. We spent time at two adult community centers "hanging out" with some of the retarded adults who go. We met some really fun people! Brian REALLY likes to sing to his best friends and David LOVES Harry Potter! We had some really good singing voices and some comics who had us laughing for hours! What a way to spend a few days! Our group helped out at "God's Closet". It is kind of like the Salvation Army stores but ~ it is the biggest I have ever seen!!! Like a food pantry, the stuff there was free to people who are referred. In a warehouse building, in Kentucky, in the summer, sorting and tagging and hanging clothes, with NO AC was killer!! We were dragging by the end and then my buddy Tyler went into the Prom room and started "dressing up." First were the suit coats, but he got board with those quickly! The prom dresses were it! We had lots of fun trying them on him and he was a good sport! The organization rents out prom dresses and wedding attire to families in need so that they can participate in special occasions with everyone else!
In the mountains of Kentucky, I blew a tire so I had to spend my last morning taking care of that. The rest of my group had a free car wash and got to hand out school supplies to the local kids. It was really cool for Holley to be able to do that since we brought a trunk full of supplies down. She actually got to meet some of the kids who received them. When I got back from fixing the tire, I helped out around the mission. We were the last summer group there and we were getting things ready for the slower season.
If anyone has an interest in mission work, Big Creek was a great place to go. The young group leaders are fun and they put on an awesome band!! I really wish them all much success!
After the mission, we went to Kentucky Down Under and played with kangaroos and rainbow lories. Our second to last leg of the trip brought us to Niagara Falls at night. The Falls are neat during the day, but at night, they are lit up in a rainbow of colors and they have fireworks over the falls. It would have been better from the Canadian side, but our side was awesome too!
We returned home and the next day, Mom and Mandy left. Two days later, we closed on the house and started moving!
On the 19th, Dylan graduated, Latonya went home and Holley boarded another plane to spend a week with her other grandmother! This is one summer Holley will never forget! We keep cleaning, packing, sorting, moving!
Holley is registered for school~ but still hasn't met with the guidance counselor. Chaseman is on a waiting list for Head Start. Dylan is looking for a job! Ashley starts back at work soon, after her summer break. Peter and I keep on keeping on!
Then we got a notice... Ivy is getting married after the new year and wants Peter to walk her down the aisle! I was there when Jordan was born and Peter is walking her down the aisle when she gets married again. Is there any question who her parents are?? Who needs a court order??
SO... summer is coming to an end, but our madness? That will continue, as always!! Grab life by the horns and go for a ride!!
