Summer

It's summer and I'm doing summer things and haven't felt like sitting at the computer. I can keep up with email and twitter on my phone. I can FEEL the memories slipping away, though, and I'm trying to take pictures so I have a way to recall them.

A took E to a Tigers' game a few weeks ago and they had a great time. He said that traveling with her and watching the game with her wasn't any more difficult than being by himself. She was an ideal companion. She read her most recent Bone book for most of the drive and played games on the iPad. They got hot dogs and cotton candy and souveniers and had great seats for a home team win.

L, C, and I went to a movie, spent an hour at a bounce house, and then played on the airport escalators until A's sister and her family arrived from Germany. They're here for three weeks and Karen was kind enough to brave ridiculously hot temperatures and take some family pictures of us. This one is my favorite of our family, but we took one inside a giant button sculpture, too, and then A and I jumped off of it. 

We went with our German family and my in-laws to Great Wolf Lodge last week. I prepared my children for the fact that it's summer, not the usual February week we go, so there would be more people, longer lines, etc. When we walked into the park, our jaws dropped because it was practically empty. I asked one of the workers why and he told me that the hotel was booked with a lame (implied) insurance clerk conference and few attendees had brought their families. It was AWESOME. There were times that no one was in the kiddie pool area or on the lily pads or we'd get to the top of the big slides and the lifeguards would be standing around chatting so we'd go down the slide, climb back up, and they had gone back to chatting because no one else had come up since us. I would pay extra to know when those kinds of conferences are.

I took L to get some groceries with me when we got back from GWL and gave into her pleading for the U-scan even though we had a lot of stuff. She was a whiz at scanning things and I bagged everything. I only had to show her ONCE how to look up fruits and vegetables and she was faster than 90% of the adults I've waited in line behind. Now she wants to be a grocer.

We are eating a lot of ice cream - Mint Moose Tracks is the current favorite - and all three kids like to choose two different flavors for their bowls. At first it was just L, but then I told her that my mom used to do that - usually a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of mint chocolate chip - and suddenly it's the cool thing to do.

Every night I am trying to remember to be thankful that I do not have any school lunches to pack.

Comments

[Andrea]

your family picture is FANTASTIC! YAY!
And my daughter would be very jealous of the Tigers game. She (and my husband) are HUGE Tigers fans. Which is an oddity around here (Yankee country) but my husband justifies it by having been born outside Detroit (lived here for the last 39 years but who's counting?!?). Sounds like you are hvaing a fabulous summer!

[liz]

Hooray for an empty GWL, and kids who love to scan groceries, and good family visits!

[Nikki]

Tigers games are da bomb diggity. Can you believe it's supposed to be almost 100 degrees by Thursday? Uggggggg.

[SarahA]

CUTE pictures!

[shari]

Great family pic! And, amen to no packing school lunches -- the novelty has still not worn off for me :)