School's Out for Summer!!

Wow. It's been almost a year since the last time I blogged...

Having a great summer so far. We kicked it off with a cub scout pack camp out at Rotary. It just so happened to fall on the same weekend as the Young Eagle flights were going on at the Ray Airport. The boys got to fly alone with a certified airplane pilot. The roundtrip flight took about 30 minutes. Sam was very nervous about flying alone so he opted to wait until next year. Zack loved it. He wasn't the least bit afraid and I swear he was still flying high when he got off the plane. He had a huge smile and was so excited to tell us about it. Pretty cool.

The boys are in the Parks and Rec program at their school and they love it. Which means I love it! They go M-Th 9 -12. Fridays are optional field trips, which we opt to send them on! They've seen Cars 2 in a special showing at the Romeo Theater; picked black cherries at Westview Orchards; Sam went swimming at the high school (Zack opted not to go and we visited with Alice instead) where he learned to "swim" wearing a swim belt and flippers - came home asking us to buy him his own, and we got the flippers not the belt (more on this); and had a water field day event at the Romeo Rec center (it was in the 90s this week!). One field trip left for a Bingo day.

I took them to see Mr.Popper's Penguins when John was in Saginaw. Great movie, they loved it!

John changed jobs in May and now works for GM. His schedule changed a bit and he was getting home about 2 hours earlier (4 vs 6pm) and I had a hard time adjusting in the beginning. Now I love it! Love that he is no longer in management, carrying a Blackberry, and basically "oncall" all the time. We are all much happier with this new position. It's been a great blessing.

With the job change came an unexpected and last minute 11 days off so we used the time off to do a few fun things: Estate Sales- found some pretty neat things: at typewriter and metal table from 1931 in excellent condition for $12.50, some collapsible fishing rods for John, agate slices and UP copper for Zack, and a golf club and balls for Sam. Really great stuff for CHEAP$$.

We went to Huckleberry Railroad and rode the train and went on the boat, fun but hot, went to the Magic show and there were only 3 kids in the audience so the magician called all 3 on stage to do all the tricks with him. It was cute and cheesy. They liked it.

We rented the mini cabin at Metamora for 2 nights and invited Jonathan and Haley to join us. JV came and Haley joined us for dinner and smores one night. We even took Pumpkin although we were worried how she would do. She did great. The family enjoyed swimming, hiking, campfires and peanut butter cup smores (thanks Shannon!) It was a great time and the weather was cooperative.

We saw Rio and X-men at the drive-in. Sam has a thing for parrots lately (Echo on America's Got Talent) so it was perfect setup for everyone. I really like that we can save money bringing our own snacks. Sam watched Rio and fell asleep before X-men started. I made 1/2 way through X-men and John and Zack made it through both (I think).

Throw is some fishing, trips to the beach, and playdates and it has been a busy fun, fast paced summer.

This weekend John's parents invited us to join them at the cottage they rented. It's beachfront right on the lake and perfect, or so we thought. Jeff and Marilyn (with Ava) came up Friday night, we arrived on Saturday afternoon. The weather was hot. It's been in the 90s and even hit 100 on Thursday. Yesterday when we arrived the boys raced in to say hi to Grandma and Aunt Marilyn. John and I started to bring Pumpkin is and set her up. The guys get back and they are hanging in the backyard. The boys put on their bathing suits because there are shells to collect and swimming to be done. I'm unpacking the car. I see Sam's kickboard and fins in the back of the van and grabbed them to take to him. I stopped because I thought "No, he can have these once I'm in the water with him. I don't want him to try these on his own. and I'm not ready to go in yet." So I leave them in the car and grabbed my bag of clothes and some food stuff. and this is where it gets wierd.

You know how time and the concept of time just stops or goes in slow motion? Well, I swear I took the bag of food in and I start to make sandwiches for us when I go outside to see if they want to eat. I know that Sam and Zack have been in the water and Zack is still walking along the shore collecting rocks. I notice that John is soaked. His shoes, shirt, shorts, up to his armpits is soaked. I asked him in a teasing way "what happened to you?' (he doesn't like to swim at all.) He said "Sam went in to deep and I had to go in and get him." I wasn't really hearing him. Then it dawned on me what he was saying, Sam almost drowned. I asked where he was and they thought he came inside to get me. I went in and asked my MIL and SIL if they had seen Sam come in. He hadn't so I was getting panicky. I was calling him and he wouldn't reply. I found him hiding and sobbing in the garage. I made sure he was okay. He is. Thank God (literally)! He was embarassed and thought the adults would be mad at him! Of course we weren't. John told him that if something had happened to Sam and if he hadn't gone in to save him, everyone would have been mad at him(John). Sam was still really shaken and said he wasn't swimming ever again. I told him we understood he was frightened but that he had to go back in (with adults, CRAZY short beach area with a murky steep dropoff. Unlike any of the lakes we swim in around here. lesson learned for all of us!) and that we would make sure he was safe. After lunch, he used a float ring and we all went in with the kids. He did great and got really brave about how far he could go. Success. We called John a hero. Everytime Ava would get in the water with her ring and her mom and I right next to her she would cry "Uncle John, Uncle John, save me!" So sweet! Eventually it rained and we made a dash to get out of the water and get the towls into dry spots. After dinner the guys took all the kids on the rowboat to fish. Ava came in first, the twins stayed out with John and Jeff. We started the campfire and when the guys came back in we were ready for smores! The kids ate their smores and then we put them on the pullout couch all in a row with the dogs and the Transformers on while the adults enjoyed some beverages and the fire. Again, Sam and Ava were sound asleep by the end of the first rounds and Zack lasted to the end of the movie! After John's parents went to bed we stayed up talking with Jeff and Marilyn until after 1 in the morning. It was an amazing time.
The kids got up this morning begging for muffins and to know when they could go swimming! They didn't care that the wind was strong and everyone was wearing sweatshirts and jeans. John did take the boys and I out on the boat and then just he and I went out alone. Such a great time and a great weekend.
So thankful for our family and for my hero. I swear I love him more everyday.