That's a Wrap

Summer started winding down, but the activity level didn't. August is Dream Cruise time, so off we went to Woodward Avenue. We visited with friends and watched the cars go by. As usual, Nate loved every Mustang that went by, especially the Detroit Tigers Mustang.




August came to a close with our last Cub Scout summer event: family camping weekend. Despite the rain (again!!!) and the whole sleeping-in-a-tent thing, it was fun as always. The kids just carry on with what they're doing and don't seem to care if it rains, and the adults get to share some good company.



Labor Day weekend was the last hurrah before the unofficial end of summer. Paul, Nate and Abby went camping with the Leming clan again. One last trip in the camper for the summer. I headed down to Ann Arbor to watch Western Michigan University take on University of Michigan and kick off college football/tailgating season. The game was a little painful as my Broncos got spanked by the Wolverines, but the tailgating was good though!

Summer Daze

July came in with a bang--of fireworks that is. The Leming clan was together again for more camping and 4th of July fireworks.



July also means birthday time again. Paul and Nate got a mini celebration with the 4th of July festivities, then we headed to the beach to celebrate again with the Platts. Nate hit the big 1-0 this year--double digits!



Then it was off to the west side of the state with the Cub Scouts for Silver Lake Sand Dunes. The dune rides were a blast. Even the doubters of the group had fun. Then we climbed to the top of Little Sable Point Lighthouse for a spectacular view of Lake Michigan and the dunes--at least that's what I'm told. While Paul, Nate and Abby took in the view, I clung to the inside of the lighthouse for dear life and hyperventilated. I made it to the top though!

Long Time, No See

Ok, it's been a while. Life has been kind of a whirlwind of activity. Let's see if we can catch up a bit here. It's gonna be a long one, so get comfy.

Nate's baseball career sprang into action again in May. Although his team didn't do very well in the standings, Nate had a great season personally. He finally got that elusive home run and a game ball. And he proved to be quite the play-maker on first base and even got a chance to throw some pitches.


May also brought some Memorial Day camping with the Leming clan. We headed up to Frankenmuth for some geocaching, hot air balloon watching, a ton of activities for the kids with Yogi Bear, and just general fun. The hot air balloons were quite a site when they lit up at night and you were standing in the middle of them.


June may have brought the end of the school year, but it didn't slow the pace down any. The end of school brought Cub Scout day camp for Nate, led by none other than my husband, Mr. Scouts. Months of planning paid off, and Paul, Nate and everyone else had a lot of fun.


After the craziness of day camp, the kids and I took a road trip down to Dublin, Ohio, to spend some time with Jeff and Lisa. We spent some time relaxing and playing at the park, hit the COSI (one of the coolest science centers I've been to), made a splash at the water park, devoured some ice cream, and even got to catch one of Jeff's hockey games.

Happy Birthday, Abby!

I don't know where the time goes, but Abby is now 3 years old. We celebrated with the whole family (and Tinkerbell) with cake, ice cream, and dinner on the grill (the rain was kind enough to subside by then). Abby got Barbies, Tinkerbell stuff for her bedroom, a Dora scooter, and gasped, "Oh...my...god!" at new clothes for her Dora doll.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Yes, the Easter Bunny came to the Leming home. And he would be sitting in jail facing larceny charges if it was up to Abby. First Santa was a home invader, now the Easter Bunny was going to steal Abby's basket. The poor girl is going to need therapy.

We are happy to report that Abby did, in fact, find her missing Easter basket (behind the couch in her toys), as did Nate and Mommy and Daddy. All Easter goodies were accounted for, except for Abby's "bellyjeans" and chocolate bunny. Those items seemed to go missing as soon as Mommy left the room.

The Platt crew came over for some Easter brunch (complete with mimosas--nice!). We enjoyed some Easter Wii and Easter Sorry. Then we went to Grandma Eva and Grandpa Steve's for dinner with the Leming crew. Tragedy struck after an Easter egg hunt in the yard, as chocolate bunnies were maimed and mutilated. They did, however, seem to be delicious.

Spring Break

Grandma Chris decided that the kiddies needed a little vacation fun over spring break. Daddy was stuck working, so Mom, Grandma, Nate and Abby headed out "west" to Watervliet, Michigan, and Surfari Joe's indoor waterpark.

Abby loved the "green slide", as long as the giant bucket of water overhead didn't dump on her. And who knew you could spend so much time filling up a watering can and dumping it into a bucket? Unfortunately, we had to make a 3:00 am trip to the emergency room when she woke up with a high mystery fever. She wasn't quite herself for the rest of the trip, but she did have a lot of fun "apple picking" at the Curious Kids Museum in St. Joseph.

Nate had tons of fun convincing Mom to go down the water slide with him. After the bathing suit incident in Columbus last summer, I was a bit leary of the water slide. He also had fun snapping pictures at the pier in St. Joseph of the lighthouse, boats, bridges and anything else he could find. Someday that kid's going to be a photographer--I just know it.

Beds and Boxsprings and Staris, Oh My!

After much debating and deliberating, we decided it was time to make the great bed switch. Abby traded in her beloved Dora toddler bed for Nate's twin bed, complete with new Tinkerbell sheets. It's amazing what a little bribery can do. She actually ASKED to go to bed so she could sleep with Tinkerbell. Nate traded up for his mom and dad's queen bed. The blue and brown striped bedding he picked out should look "cool" (that's the official Nate-approved word) with the sports-themed room he is working toward. A definite upgrade in his book from the construction machines of 5 years ago.

With all that said and done, it was time for Mom and Dad to get their new bed up in their room. Do you think that could actually work out right the first time? Heck, no! What fun would that be? After wedging the new (and apparently larger than the old) boxspring in the stairway, we slept on the new mattress on the floor for 2 days until we could go trade our new boxspring for our old 2-piece boxspring that's been spending its days in my sister's house. Mind you, the reason there is an old set of 2-piece boxsprings is because we couldn't get the boxspring up the stairs in our townhouse 11 years ago. I guess some people never learn!

A Barenaked New Year's Eve

While Nate, Abby and Sophia drove Grandma Eva and Grandpa Steve nuts with their New Year's noise makers, Paul, Angie, Dan and Teresa rang in the new year with Barenaked Ladies at the Fox Theater in Detroit. Great concert, great drinks and great fun. Happy New Year!