Driver's Ed

Cal started Driver's Ed this past Thursday.  He has to ride/drive with two others for three hours on six different days.  Cal already has his permit, finished the online class and has driven over 50 hours with Doug, Mom, Dad and I.  Thus, he is finding this extremely boring.  I don't blame him for that.  It is boring, but he will learn several things that we didn't think to teach him.  He also got in a car with a couple of boys that he knows and he should be able to get his license three months earlier than if he hadn't taken it.  By the time he gets home at 9:30 a.m. he has the rest of the day to do what he wants.  As I told him tonight, however, there isn't really much to say to make it less boring.  He does have a better instructor than Brett did and if he views it as a job, then maybe it won't seem so bad.  No matter what as of today he is halfway through the experience.  Then he can join the rest of us who survived Drivers Ed and have stories to share.

Summer Party

Meg had her summer party tonight and it went off without a hitch.  She invited eleven friends and all but Graham and Mercedes were able to make it.  We started off with a scavenger hunt.  I had the girls plus Preston and Aaron.  It was a lot of fun and although I was sure our group would win, the boys destroyed us.  After that Doug cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone.

Once dinner ended the games began.  First was dodgeball.  Marshal and Josh volunteered to take on everyone else.  The boys proved their worth by beating them three times in a row.  After that the girls wanted to try charades.  Not sure how that went but pretty soon everyone was back outside for a bonfire and badminton.  The egg toss was a big hit, especially for Preston.  He ended up with two eggs smashed upon him.  The night ended with a couple of games of Ghost in the Graveyard.

Doug and I weren't sure when Meg sent out the invitations that they would be able to keep busy for five hours, but overall they did a great job.  It is a wonderful group for Meg to hang out with.  I am sure they will all be back in the fall for a cookout before a football game.

Sleeping In

This morning Cam, Meg and I all slept past 11 a.m.  I couldn't believe it when I woke up.  The trip yesterday most certainly wore us out, but everyone talked all day about the rides and the fun they had.  Brett had to work, so he was up earlier than the rest of us.  There weren't a lot of people to feed, so happily his day was pretty easy.

Spent the day getting some work done around the house.  Cam went golfing with my Mom and Doug went with Cal.  Cal shot a 36 on the front which sounds great to me, but he was disappointed as he was two under going into the last hole.  He did well this week also at his Indiana Junior tournament at Black Squirrel shooting an 81 to finish in the top ten.  Cam missed a tournament Friday to go to Six Flags, but he didn't mind.

Tonight Meg and Cam went swimming at Mom's.  Cal hung out there while Doug and I went to dinner.  We went to an Italian restaurant in Elkhart that has awesome desserts.  Mine was peanut butter pie!  Watched several episodes of Twilight Zone with Cameron before we headed to bed ending a much needed relaxing day!

Six Flags

Brett asked to go to Six Flags to meet the Montavon family one time this summer.  Today we were able to make that possible.  The drive up was pretty uneventful and we were able to meet them around 10 a.m. Illinois time.  Tatiana wasn't able to go because of softball and Cal had driver's ed, so it was just the five of them - Brett, Anastasia, Tasha, Meg and Cam.  Alexia and I were just along to hang out as neither of us really ride much anymore.

It was a hot, crowded day, but they all made the most of it and enjoyed being together.  They rode all of their favorite roller coasters and decided to leave the newest one, Goliath, for next years trip.  The wait for it for most of the day was three hours long.  It looked like for awhile that they wouldn't get to ride the Raging Bull either and everyone was bummed about that.  It finally opened up at 7 p.m. and luckily, they had run to get in line when they saw it doing a couple of practice rides and were one of the first ones to ride it.

We took Subway for lunch and ate at our vans.  Each of the Heinisch children picked out a snack for the day.  Meg and Brett liked the soft pretzels and Cameron had a funnel cake.  I did manage one ride - the double decker carousel.  It was our last of the day and although a little slow, everyone had fun.  Cam and I chose the pigs to ride.  Tasha and Meg picked the Ostriches and Brett and Anastasia were able to ride her favorites - the rabbits.

We left the park around 7:45 Illinois time and were on the highway by 9 p.m.our time.  The ride home was definitely more interesting than the one there.  The exit for the Indiana toll road was lined with barrels and challenging to negotiate with two lane closures.  There was a lot of construction as well.  First we took the wrong exit and then once we were on the right one we had to navigate a narrow bridge that was half removed with a great big spotlight facing us.  I told Cameron that it was the closest I have ever felt to being in a real live Mario Kart game.  We did make it through, however, and it was smooth sailing after that.  Happy to make it home alright and glad that everyone had a great time.

Soccer Camp

Today was the last day of soccer camp for Meg and Cameron.  Overall, they really enjoyed it.  This is the first year Doug has attempted to have a summer camp for middle school and elementary students.  I couldn't be more proud of his success.  They had almost 45 children sign up and all of the feedback so far has been positive.  Doug and his players ran the camp the first two nights and the boys' coach and players ran it the last two.  Even with the bill for the shirts the soccer programs should each clear $400.

Tonight I wasn't sure that Cam would make it through camp tonight.  Cade spent the night last night and they were going on five hours of sleep.  Meg had Preston over today and the four of them played badminton, went swimming and built sand castles.  We also rode over to Goshen for Chief ice cream and they sang and danced all of the way home.  Definitely wore everyone out, but they all made it through two and a half hours of soccer.  What a great week!

Zoo Day

Meg and I decided this morning that we wanted to spend the day at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.  Cam was up for it too, so we were off.  Cameron did not remember being at the zoo before, so for him almost everything was new.  :Meg pointed out that we follow the same every time, but it works well for us.

Our starting point was Africa and the sky safari.  We then headed to Asia.  The orangutans were out and we all enjoyed the rain forest.  Meg and Cam decided that they are old enough to skip the carousel.  Meg mimicked all of the sounds of the animals much as one of her least favorite radio commercials.  That was really funny!  Australia was under reconstruction, but the log flume was still open.  We also had time for the train ride, petting the goats and feeding the fish before it was time to head back.

We had a great time today.  As Meg said, "It sure beat watching T.V."  I had a lot of fun with Cameron and Meg.  I am thinking that we should try the Toledo Zoo next.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

For the first time ever I colored my hair tonight.  This is not the first time that my hair has been colored.  My Mom has been doing it for me since I had Cameron.  She does a nice job, but I thought it was about time that I tried it on my own.  I told the Heinisch children before I dropped them off to soccer and tennis about my plans.  They were sure I would end up looking like Greg Brady on the last episode of the Brady bunch (green hair).  I appreciated their support and promised I would return with a hat if it didn't work out.

Overall, it was a lot easier to do than I originally thought it would be.  My hair is pretty long right now and at first I wasn't sure I could get it all, but the outcome was a lot better than they predicted.  I was able to color my hair, wash it out and dry it before I had to pick up Cal.  I know it wasn't the biggest accomplishment of my life, but it felt pretty good to be able to do it by myself.  Now I won't have to bother anyone else to do it and maybe, just maybe I will try a different shade.  No one will ever know if it doesn't work out!!