Slipping Through my Fingers

Last Friday Jacob picked up his 9th grade schedule. Yes, that's right, my baby is starting high school. It was weird enough that my firstborn entered his second year of grad school last week, now my youngest is officially a high school freshman. Where have the years gone?

Anyway, Jacob got a pretty good schedule. Our local high school is huge and is situated on a 305 acre "campus" that includes three large, separate buildings housing over 6,200 students. Five of Jacob's six classes are in the same school, but his fourth hour is in one of the other buildings, which will require him to trudge back and forth outside in all kinds of weather - rain, shine, hot, cold, snow, ice, etc. Adam managed to do that when he was a student there, so no biggie.

School begins next Tuesday and, hopefully, Jacob will not only be successful, but he will somehow be able to enjoy himself, too. Do any teens really love doing schoolwork, though? I doubt it.

Week in Review

Another week has zipped right on by. On Monday morning, Jim, Jacob, and I dropped Adam off at the airport for his return flight to Denver. We then drove to the Detroit Zoo where we met Nancy, Carey, Barb, Abey, and Josh. We all stayed for hours and I am happy to report that a lot of animals were actually up and active, which seems to be an unusual occurrence whenever I visit a zoo. Early Tuesday, I brought Jim to the airport so he could catch a plane back to Houston. Naturally, his flight was delayed, and, as a result, he was late to work. There was also a small earthquake on Tuesday that was felt by lots of people in Michigan, but not by anyone that I know. On Wednesday, there were severe storms around town. Thursday morning, Jake and I had to wake up at 6:10 so he could get to the 9th grade high school orientation at 6:45. In addition, he had his dyslexia tutoring in the afternoon and managed to stay awake despite getting very little sleep the night before. On Friday, we rolled out of bed at 6:30 a.m. in order to get to the high school for Jacob's 7:30 time slot to pick up his fall schedule. (Whose great idea was it, anyway, to make teenagers and their parents rise at such horribly early hours during summer vacation? Bad idea. Yawn.) This afternoon, Jacob, Nancy, Steve, Richie, and I tried our luck at our local 9-hole Disc Golf Course. Steve was the victor and we had a lot of fun until the mosquitoes began swarming us around the 7th hole, forcing us to spend more time swatting them than throwing our frisbees. I talked to Jim a few times today and felt sorry for him in Texas, as the high temperature there reached 109 steaming-hot degrees. Geez. I am now watching the Weather Channel to keep tabs on Hurricane Irene, as we have nine family members in the path of the storm. Hope everyone stays safe and dry!

Abey and Josh popped their heads up to get a close up view of the prairie dogs at the zoo.

This guy - or gal - amused me. Can't remember if it was a gorilla or an ape or a baboon.

Happy Days

We have had a hectic few days ever since we left Texas on Tuesday. Family members arrived in Michigan from far and wide all last week in anticipation of Laura's wedding. Yesterday's nuptials, originally scheduled to take place outdoors, had to be moved inside due to a passing thunderstorm. The couple's vows were punctuated by an extremely loud clap of thunder at a very appropriate time during the ceremony. Mother Nature works in strange and mysterious ways. We had a great time at the reception and were excited to have all but one of our clan in attendance. (We missed you, Kim!)

The newlyweds left for their honeymoon cruise this morning and the rest of us gathered at our condo for the family's August birthday celebration. The weather cooperated nicely today. We enjoyed temperatures in the upper 70s and a lovely brisk breeze. (So refreshing after enduring that scorching Houston heat the past few weeks.) Tomorrow people start heading back to their home states and by Thursday all should be back to work. Looking forward to the next family shindig.

A blurry family picture. I'm sure the official wedding photographer got some better shots!

.

Laura and Rob cutting their awesome cake.

Grandma with (almost all of) her grandkids.

Jacob dancing with Samantha.

The five August birthday peeps.

Birthday Weekend

Jim celebrated his birthday on Friday. He had to work - and he said it was a very busy day at the office - but we did manage to get out to dinner in the evening. On Saturday, we were signed up for a boat tour of the Houston Shipping Channel. The 90-minute cruise was quite interesting. It was not overly informative, but was fun nevertheless. Since the whole area is government-owned and secure, we weren't allowed to take any pictures. On Sunday, we had some of Jim's work friends and their families over to the house. One guy is into brewing homemade beer and he brought along numerous samples, which we all enjoyed. The merriment will continue next weekend in Michigan when we have a party for all of the family members with August birthdays.

Jim received some yummy homemade beer as a gift.

Jake and I surprised Jim with some nifty presents.

The pool is as clear as it has ever been. The water temperature hovers between 88 and 93 degrees.

Six Months

What began as a delightful spring in Houston has turned into a downright unpleasant summer. Rainfall has been well below average and temperatures have been far above normal for a very long time. Here is my month-by-month synopsis of the past half year at our Texas house.

March - Temps were lovely, 60s and 70s. Neighbors turned on their air conditioners, even though it was absolutely perfect weather for opening windows.
April - Warmed up nicely. Pool water jumped into the 80s. Spent lots of time walking, biking, swimming, and working on the yard. Really enjoyed wearing shorts and flip-flops here while it was still below freezing in Michigan.
May - Weather really heated up. Highs in the 90s, humidity climbed. I perspired whenever I left the house, sometimes even inside the house. Became more and more intolerable for outdoor activities.
June - Temps were super hot. Felt sorry for anyone working outdoors in the sizzling heat. I don't know how they managed. Pool water soared to 90 degrees, but it still felt good compared to the 98 degree air.
July - Just sweltering outside. I broke out in a sweat every time I had to walk the few feet from one air conditioned venue to another. Wouldn't even consider making the grueling trek to the street to check the mailbox.
August - Unbelievably miserable. 100 degrees every stinking day. Why anyone chooses to live in this state is beyond me. Too hot to walk or bike ride without risking heat exhaustion. Seriously. Ugh.

Jacob, Jim, and I are all heading back up north soon for Laura's wedding. Summertime in Texas has certainly given me a new appreciation for midwestern weather. I am so used to stepping outside here and feeling as if I am walking into a blast furnace that anything below 90 degrees will seem cool. Remind me of that when I start whining about Michigan's heat and humidity next week.

The Best Man

Last month, Adam's U of M roommate, Mike, married Andrea, Adam's friend from elementary school. The bridal party consisted of all of Adam's pals, including one girl he first met when they were only 4-years-old. The childhood chums all became so close over the years that another parent and I referred to them as "the group." When Andrea first began dating Mike during their freshman year of college, he quickly melded with the posse and was welcomed with open arms. To make a long wedding story short, the big day was simply lovely, the kids (sorry, I mean the adults) all looked fantastic, and the whole idea that someone from "the group" was old enough to get married stirred up a lot of emotion among the parents. I mean, wasn't it just yesterday that we were helping them with spelling words and multiplication tables? Sigh - where does the time go?

The best man and the groom.

Adam escorted the two maids-of-honor after the ceremony.

Adam gave his best man speech at the reception.

The wedding party staged a fake-fighting pose for the photographer.

Travel Woes

Adam, Jacob, and I left Michigan on Tuesday afternoon to drive to Colorado. The traffic jams we encountered on the road were simply hideous, including a stretch in Illinois where it took us 55 long minutes to crawl five miles on I-80. We eventually stopped in York, Nebraska to find a place to stay for the night and were disappointed that every hotel at the exit was booked. We ended up at a dingy-looking Super 8 that had vacancy, and were pleasantly surprised that our room was actually quite nice. On Wednesday morning when we set out for the rest of our drive, we were dismayed to discover that the battery was dead in Adam's Jeep. After no one in the hotel lobby would agree to jump start the vehicle, I called AAA and used my road service for the very first time. The battery was so far gone that I had to keep my foot on the accelerator to keep the motor from dying. I drove two-footed - left foot on the brake and right foot revving the engine - out of the Super 8 lot and across a major highway to a Walmart where, fortunately, the mechanics were able to replace the battery in about 10 minutes. Whew. We arrived at Adam's apartment six hours later.

Jacob and I stayed in Colorado until Friday, when we were scheduled to fly to Houston. We carefully monitored Tropical Storm Don, which was due to hit the Texas coast Friday evening. Sure enough, we arrived at Denver's airport and found all the flights to Houston delayed. Luckily, the storm ended up striking far south of Houston and we arrived there only an hour late. Naturally, it is as hot as blazes here in the Lone Star state, but we are having a fun time running from the air-conditioned house to the air-conditioned car to the air-conditioned stores. And we're doing lots of swimming to keep cool in the 100 degree heat. We still have an exceptional drought going down here, so a bit of rain would be welcome. But, please, no hurricanes for our poor, unprepared house.

Camping

Jim, Adam, Jacob, and I just returned home from our annual friends-and-family camping trip. We had a big crowd this year - 26 people in all. The weather was the warmest it has been in a long time, and the only rain that fell came in the form of a quick shower while everyone was sleeping on Saturday night. We had a blast frolicking on the beach, cooking over the campfire, playing frisbee, canoeing, walking, talking, eating, drinking, and telling anecdotes of past trips. (One of the more popular stories was of the time our group walked in a parade. Most of the twenty-somethings & younger had never heard about this rather embarrassing venture from long ago.) It was nice to welcome back Char this year, who has missed the "Bear" trip for the last decade or so due to work commitments. Hooray for her recent retirement! Unfortunately, there were also some very aggressive ground bees hanging around our campsite and 11 - yes, 11 - people were stung by the pesky critters. Luckily, the stings were minor and no one had a reaction - other than a few choice words for the annoying insects.

The group cavorted on a beautiful Lake Michigan beach.

Adam and Hollie tried to beat the heat.

Seven hardy souls started out on a grueling 4+ hour hike across the sand dunes. Three dropped out early. Four completed the trek.

Adam and Julia assessed the coastline.

Lots of digging and building took place at the lakeshore.

Upper Peninsula

Jim and Adam drove from Colorado to the U.P. last week to meet up with the rest of us. We visited our little cabin on Lake Superior, where - despite the fact that the black flies were out in full force & the water temperature was 55 bone-chilling degrees - we had a great time. We also toured the very interesting Quincy Copper Mine in nearby Hancock. After several days of eating pasties and roaming around the area, we headed back to the Lower Peninsula to prepare for the wedding of Adam's old roommate. Pictures of that event will follow soon.

Adam and Jacob built a sand neighborhood on our Lake Superior beach.

Jim had a unique way of keeping the pesky black flies off his head.

The boys posed at the beach.

The entrance to the Quincy Mine. We ventured in about a half mile.

Our mine guide showed us an old fault line that went through the wall.

Christmas in July

Jacob, Nancy, Irma, and I are meandering through the Upper Peninsula, making our way towards Calumet. We left Detroit this morning and, although we could easily make the 570 mile drive in one swoop, we always stop overnight when Irma is with us. Something about 87-year-olds not enjoying sitting in the car for long stretches at a time. We traveled about three quarters of the way to our destination today and ended up in the town of Christmas for the night. We have breezed through this little city many, many times in the past, but - with the exception of dropping in on their local casino for short stints - we never really took the time to check out the area. There are decorated Christmas trees, colorful lights, and holiday displays everywhere. It is quite gimmick-y and cute. I like the atmosphere a lot.

Notice Jacob standing by Santa's boot. The picture is a bit dark because it was taken around 10 p.m. and there were clouds everywhere as well.

The streets in Christmas all have holiday-themed names.

This display is outside of the Christmas casino, where Irma won almost $80 and Nancy & I each dropped $10.

Brushes with Beasts

I have been doing a lot of walking lately. I usually wait until dusk to go out since the temperature is much more comfortable at that time of day than it is in the middle of the afternoon. The mosquitoes have not been too much of a problem yet this summer and the bats that inevitably appear around twilight are not nearly as plentiful here in Michigan as they are in Texas. (Bats are, in my opinion, the absolute creepiest creatures ever! YUK!) I come across the occasional frog in the neighborhood, or maybe the critters are toads - I don't know if I will ever learn the difference. Typically, though, my walks are uneventful. Jim and I did encounter a fox while on a stroll near Adam's apartment in Colorado in May, but evidently foxes are common to the area. I didn't like that at all.

This evening while walking, I had a chance rendezvous with a skunk. I'm not sure if the weaselly varmint is a regular resident of our condo complex, as I have never smelled any skunk aroma around here. What I do know is that I was really surprised when I spotted the animal right out in the open moseying along on a neighbor's lawn. I'm just relieved that, while I was shocked to see it, I apparently did not frighten or agitate the skunk at all because, happily, I am odor-free. I will have to ask Norm what types of wildlife he comes across while out on his nightly treks, as he walks more than anyone I know. Ever since 2006 he has gone for a walk almost every single day. I'll bet he has some interesting stories about confrontations with animals.