Last of the First Days

Today was Meg's last time of being in a first day picture.  It was sad when I thought of it that way, but it was time to get her senior year started.  She left early to participate in crazy park Tuesday.  I was thankful that she let me take a picture before she pulled out of the driveway.  Since she was had to be at school early I took Cameron.  I was glad to do it.  This morning his picture showed up on my Facebook page from his first day of 5th grade at Bethany.  I couldn't believe the change in him over the past three years.  I realized when I saw it that there have definitely been times this summer that I have still thought of him as that ten year old.  Cal said he agreed with that.  We also decided that Meg hadn't changed that much over the years as evident in her kindergarten picture.

After I dropped Cam off I walked on the path at Bethany.  From start to finish I got in over 6500 steps.  That felt great.  I stopped at home to shower before my haircut.  I talked Amanda into cutting it shorter than she had the past few times.  I really liked it.  The rest of the day was spent hanging out with Cal and cleaning Meg and Cam's rooms.  They both had practice tonight and although tired when they got home they had plenty of positives to share about their day.  I was glad to hear that it went well.  Doug pulled in right behind them and almost immediately he, Cal and Cam headed to the golf course.  I was happy that the rain held off for them.

End of Summer Blues

Cam was up early to play golf with my Dad.  It wasn't his best round ever, but the worst part was realizing that summer was over.  We talked about it and decided that the best solution was to eat lunch at Petterson's.  We talked a lot about the positives of school starting especially his friendships with Joey and Breece.  We then stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's afterward to wish them a good trip to Las Vegas.  We even had time for a round of Ladder Golf before it rained.

Meg wasn't able to join us on our afternoon adventures.  She met the senior class at noon to decorate the school for tomorrow.  She finally finished Devil in the White City and in the end liked the book quite a bit.  She still has some work to do on her college applications but it's getting closer to being completed.  After practice tonight we were able to take both Cam and Meg to Oakwood for dinner.  It was a nice way to end the last day of summer.

Family Get Together

Doug had to usher today at the 9:30 a.m. mass.  The Knights were in charge of everything including being altar servers.  Cal said he'd help if needed except for that position.  He hadn't served in over four years.  Once mass was over, Doug, Cal and I headed to Mom's to pick up the tables from the garage sale.  Cal was pleased with the outcome of his portion.  He sold his Nintendo DS Lite, Air Jordans and a few other items to make $88.

This afternoon we spent a few hours at Jeannette's.  She hosted a family get together so that everyone could see Mary and her baby Jack.  They came up from Florida on Friday.  Jack spend quite a bit of time hanging around Cameron.  That was an interesting experience for Cam as he hasn't really been around toddlers much.  It was fun to see them and to meet Benjamin as well.  I also got a chance to catch up with Anna before she starts school.

On the way home we stopped at Putt Putt.  It was hot, but we still enjoyed it.  Cal and I were tied going into the last hole.  He ran in a long putt for a hole in one and I hit the worst putt ever to three putt.  Cam and I ended up tied for second.  Guess my reign of Putt Putt Queen had to come to an end sometime.  We ate dinner at Evil Cheque afterward which everyone enjoyed.

24+ Hours of Fun

Yesterday while Meg and I were shopping, Cam spent the day with Evan.  They hadn't seen each other at all this summer and had a great time together.  Mary texted me in the middle of the day to let me know that it was just like old times - they were already arguing about whether drinks were better with ice or without.  Mary took them to Pierceton Days in the evening to watch the parade.  Cam was impressed with the amount of chili cheese spiral spuds that he ate.

I picked Cameron up from the Brower's at noon so that he had time to eat and relax before heading to Kayden Mayer's birthday party at Shanklin Park at 2 p.m.  Cam was excited to go to that as most of his friends were going as well and he hadn't seen Kayden since school got out.  He had fun swimming and hanging out with everyone.  Doug went to work while he was there and was able to get a lot done before he picked him up at 5.  They found out that Kayden will not be returning to Bethany next year.  That will change Cam's chess team dynamics quite a bit.

Meg and Cal also spent time with friends tonight.  Cal headed to Jeremy's for the afternoon with Cameron.  Meg had Preston over for awhile as he leaves for Muncie tomorrow.  The rest of us hung out at home.  My parents came up once Dad finished his golf tournament.  A game of Euchre and Croquet was the perfect way to unwind after a tough day at the golf course.

Back to School Shopping Part 2

I picked Meg up at 10 a.m. this morning at Ana King's house.  She was wiped out, but ready for our annual back to school shopping trip.  She had a lot of stories to share with me on the way to South Bend.  The dunes and the game were a lot of fun and she had a great time with her team, especially Emma, Jackie and Kassy.  I'm glad that she has found a group of teammates to hang out with that are also supportive of her.  The best part is that they will all be together at basketball as well.

Our first stop of the day was Kohl's.  I had decided this trip to work on budget shopping with Meg.  Although Doug's increase in pay has made up for my lack of salary this coming school year we have decided to still watch our spending.  This year will be the most expensive one for us as a family with Brett in grad school and Meg at Bethany.  Thankfully, those payments should end in May.

Meg found some great buys at Kohl's and with a 30% off coupon and a $10 reward we saved a lot.  We next stopped at Shoe Carnival.  Meg bought a pair of Crocs and a pair of Converse shoes once again following the sales that they had advertised and using a reward coupon.  Normally, she chooses Noodles & Company for lunch, but this time she was in the mood for Chick-Fil-A.  I was happy with either as they both have great chicken noodle soup.

After lunch we stopped in Hollister, Forever 21, American Eagle, Journeys and a new store called Lunchbox which had the perfect BB-8 Hawaiian shirt for Cal.  Meg ran into her friend Emma at American Eagle and had time to review purchases with her before she left.  Our last stop in South Bend was Target where Meg found all of the school supplies that she needed.   Both she and I were happy with the purchases that she made today.  Meg will be outfitted with new clothes, shoes and school supplies for the start of the school year and we spent a lot less money than we had in the past.

A Day with Cameron

Meg was busy today with her soccer team.  They first went to the Indiana Dunes for a team workout that included sprints and a two mile run.  Afterward they were given time to hang out on the beach together.  From there they drove to Chicago to watch the USA women's soccer team play Brazil.  From the pictures that they took, Meg had a great time.  The Kings offered to keep the girls when they got back to Elkhart, so once I dropped Meg off in the morning I didn't see her again except on Instagram.  Although it was an exhausting trip, Meg did really enjoy the team bonding part of the day.

With Meg busy and Cal with his friends Cam and I found it the perfect day to go back to school shopping and finally see the movie Skyscraper.  Our time at Target was short.  Cam's only real need was a backpack.  He was happy with an orange and gray one.  I liked it too!  I let him pick the lunch spot.  He chose a Whopper, and I stuck with my tuna and applesauce.  Our next stop was the carwash.    Just like Meg he felt that I was crazy for vacuuming a clean car.

Skyscraper came out in June.  Cam and I really wanted to see it, but hadn't found the time.  Cal talked about going with us, but after the reviews, he opted out.  I was glad that we didn't read Rotten Tomatoes  before we left because Cam and I absolutely loved the movie.  Of course I had my eyes closed on all of the elevated parts.  My favorite moment was when both Cam and I thought a dinosaur was breaking through a wall.  Guess Jurassic World was still on our minds.  Either way it was a lot of fun and as we were the only two in the theater, we got a private showing.

I dropped Cam off at the golf course after the movie.  He wanted to see if he could better his 81 from yesterday.  I went to Mom's to help at the garage sale so that she could play with him.  Although he didn't beat his best score of the season he was able to finish eighteen before soccer practice.  It was a busy day for him, but a lot of fun trying to stretch our summer days out as much as possible.

Garage Sale & Mini Golf

Cal helped my Mom all last weekend on her garage sale.  I opted out of joining in this year as they have been a lot of work in the past especially taking everything to Mom's.  We did put three items out - the freezer, fish tank and a small cabinet.  Cal was able to fill a table with items that he cleaned out.  A couple of the items were his siblings, which I marked for him.  Mom found some of mine from last year.  I told her to give Cal the money as he had put the time and effort into helping her and Vicky.

Yesterday he took a break from helping at the garage sale to go to Columbia City with Cam, HM and I to play mini-golf at Paige's Crossing.  He had never been there before.  It did rain, but not enough to stop the fun.  The first round was close with Cam pulling ahead by a stroke to win.  I was on fire the second round and finally beat everyone shooting a 38 with three holes in one!!  We stopped at Walmart on the way home to pick up groceries and Ben's Pretzels for everyone.

Jayce came over once we got home.  He and Cal worked out and then hung out in our basement with Weideman.  Cameron Adams left Colorado this morning at 5 a.m. and pulled into our house at 11 p.m.  He was happy to be there and the boys were glad to see him.  He's been gone for three months.  It was great to hear everyone together again.