Early quiet time and events recap

So as it would be, Summer has sailed past and Autumn is slipping by as well. We have had quite a few changes this year and unfortunately have not captured many of them except in memories. I got the chance on the DST Fall Back day to watch the early sunrise in relative peace. The kids are up, MHM is in the bath and E is watching the tube. A nice cup of fresh ground coffee and yes, I feel quite well this morn.

Some of what happened this past four months are;

Ok, so all Hell has broken loose, back to my story...

In July, we boarded a plane for the Clark Compound on Beechill Pond in Maine. M had previously designed a T shirt which was quite a hit. We had a very nice arrival in a Limo and the week got better from there. We had a Dune buggy, Sea Doo's, and a great beach at our disposal. We went to Bar Harbor and did a Two hour harbor tour. One of the high points were the enormous Lobster Uncle E scared up in town. They were enough to have fed the whole lane. They did as a mater of fact as we had friends and family in the next day to enjoy Lobster Rolls. The kids loved our slow cruise on the Sea Doo's that took us out to the Wind Sock which was a marker for a sunken island. There they pretended to be in trouble and still play that game here at home. The other day MHM out of the blue said something to include the Wind sock and M and I sorta chuckled. The camp fires were nice as were the S'mores and going to the dock to star gaze was also awesome. Three other nice items were the Cotton Candy machine, the fresh Raspberries we picked on the power lines with Uncle E and E2 and of course the sound of the Loons is such a wonderful and exciting thing, I which I could hear the more often.

Upon arrival back to Michigan, we settled in for a couple weeks before I got a Five week layoff form work. We immediately did an excursion to Frankenmuth to the water park which was a huge hit for the kids. After that, M had to head back to work so we didn't get out anywhere else but H.L. for Labor Day which was very nice for weather and friend get together. Also during my time off, the kids and I did lots of running to the park and riding in our free Bell "Burley" we found lying beside the road from someones garage cleaning. That thing is great and we got lots of mileage from it so far.

Part of our changes are the fact that currently I am on third shift which has been an adjustment for everyone. It seems to be getting better slowly and we'll see where it goes from here.

More of the Autumn fun are the big piles of leaves that are still in the yard. The kids have had lots fun kicking, trudging and throwing leaves all over as well as playing rescue from the leaves. We just recently had a visit from Cousin S over the Halloween weekend which was full of activities. Starting on Friday, there was Trunk or Treat at their school then Saturday was a tour at the Police station and the Public access T.V. studio which everyone enjoyed. Then on to view a real race car then to Harris Nature Center for their annual Halloween day extravaganza. There the kids did a quick craft then whacked at a pumpkin pinata, went for a stroll down the Happy Halloween path to pick out a pumpkin then finally to the bon fire to roast some marshmallow. Previous to cousin S's arrival, we had gone on several "Night walks" which the kids really enjoyed with flashlights. As days got closer to Halloween day, we stressed the fact that they would have to be able to walk the whole way by themselves, and by golly, they were, mostly. This year, I started out kinda early with lots of Halloween books to get the mood going. The kids enjoyed them all as did we. Early this year the kids became infatuated with "The Incredibles" so in the back of our minds figured we'd go as the whole family. Much closer to the day, M assessed the mood to see if time into costumes would be worth it. They stayed true and she made some awesome ones. We had Dash, Violet, Mr. Incredible, Banana Girl and the Constructionater. Anyway, we had a very nice evening though a bit cold.

All in all, we have stayed pretty true to getting out and doing fun and different things with the kids from the MSU Homecoming parade, to biking down the river trail to M's work to picking up Black Walnuts and lots of other crazy stuff.

One more quick note, we have had for some time a Roomba to help with the vacuuming. She was without battery for some time and the E was also freaked out by her so she sat in the closet. Well now she has a new battery, and a new name. Lilly Grace is here to help and does so on a frequent basis. And the kids love her but still run when she heads their way.