Weekly Preview and Review

Park Day turned into "WATER Park Day" because it was supposed to be 90+ degrees - hot! Perfect for the water park we've been trying to get to all summer. This is their last weekend for the summer. Nice time at the park with friends!

Suzy started soccer practice this week and James and David continued with their practices. Games begin next week.

We've had two weeks off karate, since our belt promotion.

The highlight of my week was meeting one of my favorite actors, Richard Armitage. I haven't typed out the story anywhere, so I will put it here for now. Who is he? Well, he had a small role as a bad guy in Captain America, so that's the likeliest place you've seen him, if you aren't a BBC watcher. He's a British actor, so he has been in relatively few American productions. My favorites are the BBC Robin Hood (in which he plays Guy of Gisborne) and the BBC North & South. He will be the dwarf king, Thorin Oakenshield, in the Hobbit movies, the first of which will be coming out this December.

Mr. Armitage has been in Southeast Michigan filming a tornado movie called Black Sky since late July, but I haven't had a free day that I knew the filming location in advance. My friend Tarla happened to drive by the set on Thursday and texted me to tell me where it was. Emily and I quickly made plans with my friend Darlene and our friends Skylar and Haley and hopped in the van. Tarla had other plans so she couldn't join us.

The filming was only about 40 minutes from my house, near the Palace of Auburn Hills. The set was located in an empty field behind a strip mall. We wandered into the area thinking it was best just to start asking for what we wanted - to meet Mr. Armitage. We asked a couple different employees and they directed us to where they knew we could stand and be out of the way. Soon, an assistant who seemed to know what was going on came by; we asked if Richard was anywhere we could see him. She told us to hang tight and he'd be coming out soon. But NO PICTURES were allowed since he "is in costume".

So, we stood behind this strip mall in a little clump in the shade waiting. We were near an open door and inside we could see a buffet set up and employees eating. But we didn't wait long! Maybe 15 minutes later, Mr. Armitage came out of the open door. Darlene shrieked aloud and I think she startled him a bit, but he regrouped and came over to us, escorted by the helpful assistant. He shook each of our hands and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Rich." We had brought things for him to sign, so he did that very kindly and then he was off to film his scenes. By the way, his "costume" was a blue dress shirt and dress pants (I think brown"?). He plays an American high school teacher in this film. He was tall, very handsome, and pleasant, although clearly in a hurry. He spoke in his British accent, which I was happy about.

From there we decided to head up the hill to a building that seemed like it would have a good view of the filming since from where we were, the view to the set was blocked by some partitions. Once we were up there, we gazed across the open field to where the filming was going on. Large platforms were hoisted up to provide some shade (making it look overcast in the filming) and rain machines were squirting water on everything. The scene was being filmed in a large culvert, so there wasn't much we could see. The teens ran down into the valley between where we were and where the filming was and they had a better view. Emily took some pictures I think.

Since we weren't allowed pictures with "Rich" (lol), I never got my camera out. The filming will continue, so maybe we'll get another chance!? OK, fine, I am a fangirl!

9/2 Sunday - church?
Monday - Labor Day
Tuesday - Work 5, Soccer GAME (D), Soccer Practice (J,S), First Day of Lessons
Wednesday - Work 5
Thursday - Work 5, karate, Soccer (J,S)
Friday - Work 5, Co-op, Soccer (D)
Saturday - Soccer GAME (S,J), Soccer Practice (D)

Bob has to work on Saturday 9/1 and on Labor Day this weekend, so for us, it's not a holiday weekend really.

Ice cream sundaes will celebrate our first day of lessons on Tuesday. David also has his first soccer game of the season that day.

My baby boy is a senior this year!!!! Oh my goodness....

Weekly Preview and Review

Our camping trip was wonderful. The campground was clean and in a stand of pines. Our site was about half a mile walk from the beach, maybe a little less. The sun shone during the day, making the days warm but not hot. By evening we all wanted our sweatshirts and to sit 'round the campfire - also just perfect!

Monday found us heading out to Michigan's Adventure, a small amusement park about half an hour away. Bob really wasn't expecting to be able to ride much, but we found a couple things he could do. The rest of us all rode a scary wooden rollercoaster called Shivering Timbers and James and I rode the Corkscrew. The little kids rode the most rides because they don't mind the spinning ones that the rest of us can't tolerate. Warned ahead about expensive food ($18.99 for a pizza?) inside the park, we brought a cooler for tailgating. After we ate, we headed back in clad in swimsuits for a go at the water rides and wave pools, which we all enjoyed!

Lake Michigan was our focus on Tuesday and we spent the afternoon on the beach. My sister Janet came to join us and spent the night with the girls in the tent. In the evening, she and I took the kids to the drive in theater where we saw Paranorman (way better than I expected) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (about what I expected).

Packing up took all of Wednesday morning and then we struck out for Grand Rapids where we stopped for a couple hours to visit with my parents. Then home again, home again, jiggedy jig.

We passed our karate test and received our new stripes last night at belt promotion! Pix on facebook.

Thursday and Friday the kids started painting the barn. They've already used almost 5 gallons of paint! Ack! Gotta get more, I guess.

David still feels sore, but he's going to try soccer practice tonight.

8/26 Sunday - church?
Monday - Work 5, Soccer (D)
Tuesday - Work 5, Soccer (J,S), Co-op Orientation for new families
Wednesday - Work 5, church?
Thursday - Work 5, Soccer (J,S)
Friday - Work 5, Park Day, Soccer (D)
Saturday - Work 5, Soccer (D)

No karate this week! I will spend most of the week getting ready for lessons to start the day after Labor Day. James will jump back into soccer practice and Suzy will have her first practice. Games start September 8th. I'm also going to try to pick up some extra hours.

Weekly Preview and Review

Karate testing is over! Whew!!! I wasn't nervous, but neither did I feel overly prepared. I messed up a couple of SIMPLE things. @@ Silly me. The kids said they all did well. I can't watch them test as I am testing at the same time and it takes all my focus.

We spent an idyllic afternoon at Lake Huron with some homeschool friends. The weather was not too hot nor too chilly. No waves, but the kids didn't seem to mind too much.

On the way TO the beach, I started feeling very very sick. Enough that I stopped the van and got out, trying to decide if I needed to throw up or go home. But after a few minutes (10?), the queasy awful feeling just went away. I felt 90% better all at once, having done nothing. I said to the kids, "Who was praying for me?" They all said, "ME!" Thanks kids! And praise God for healing me. I felt fine the rest of the day and since.

James had his first soccer practice, but due to karate test & promotion, as well as our vacation, he won't be able to go to another one until August 28th. Suzy starts practice that night as well. She has a coaching team she has had before. She will be U12 this year and James is U14 (which is a TRAVEL LEAGUE). So now I have three kids on travel teams, although thankfully David only plays fall and Emily only plays spring.

Have you ever had a therapeutic massage? It is not the same as a relaxation-type massage, but is more like physical therapy. The goal of a therapeutic massage is outcome-based, either to maintain wellness or to improve or solve physical issues such as carpal tunnel. I had my third therapeutic massage yesterday; Bob also had a massage. We go to a local massage school and pay only $10 for an hour treatment. Best deal around! I made appointments for both of us and for David too, to go back in September.

David took a shoulder to the chest at soccer practice Friday night. Bob took him to the doctor Saturday morning for X-rays because he was still complaining of pain and not being able to draw a deep breath. The doctor said no broken bones, but he has internal contusions and he should take it easy until he feels better. So he did not go to Saturday practice. He will miss Monday practice since we will be camping so hopefully he will feel better by Friday.

8/19 Sunday - heading to Hoffmaster
Monday - Michigan's Adventure!
Tuesday - Lake Michigan & Drive-in Theater!
Wednesday - Visiting Grandma and Grandpa and then heading home
Thursday - Work 5, karate, Karate Promotion!
Friday - Work 5, Soccer (D)
Saturday - Work 5, Soccer (D)

Camping time again! This is our second camping trip this summer and we are heading to Hoffmaster State Park for the first time. We also plan to visit Michigan's Adventure and the local drive-in theater while we are on the west side of the state. On our way home, we hope to spend a little time with Grandma and Grandpa. We have never camped on Lake Michigan before. Feel free to come out and visit us!

We should receive our 2nd stripe on our green belts at Karate Promotion on Thursday night.

And, um, I have to work hard Thursday - Saturday to make up for missing Mon-Wed. I also need to get cracking on some lesson planning. I just can't get excited about that this year.

Oh, and one more thing. David has decided that he doesn't want to do Robotics this year. Tough decision. And we left it up to him. It is his senior year, after all. He still has a few days to change his mind.

Weekly Preview and Review

Suzy LOVED the three days of sports clinic; she did volleyball and track & field. Emily ended up hanging out there and "helping".  I went to the ending program and was very impressed!

Rain prevented us from going to the water park, so we hung out with some friends that day instead. The moms watched The Bourne Ultimatum and discussed plans for a ladies-only trip we want to take. The big question - a cruise? or Las Vegas? (or somewhere else?)

Bob put up mini-blinds in the living room. Our roller shades were completely destroyed in there. Just old and torn. Looking good now!

I mended a couple sleeping bags. 

Since our Shakespeare in the Park ended up rained out last Saturday, Emily and I tried again THIS Saturday. Weather stayed clear and the performance was WONDERFUL!

Everyone here is feeling better, except for some nagging lingering coughs. 

I started the Body for Life fitness & nutrition program last Sunday. Week 1 of 12 is complete!

8/12 Sunday - relax
Monday - Work 4; karate, Soccer (D)
Tuesday - Work 4,  Soccer (J)
Wednesday - Work 4, Lake Huron
Thursday - Work 4, karate, Karate TESTING
Friday - Work 4, Soccer (D)
Saturday - Soccer (D), Massage (L,B)

James starts soccer practice this week; looks like it will be Tuesdays and Thursdays. David practices on Mondays and Fridays. Wonder if Suzy will be Wednesdays again. LOL James can only make it to one of the first four practices though. Oh well.

We're going to try again for Lake Huron this week; our last scheduled trip ended up canceled due to weather.

Karate Testing is this week; we are testing for Green 2 (our second and final stripe on our green belt). We will be testing for red belt in November and that marks a new level of learning. Still two+ years to black belt though.

Bob and I both have a massage scheduled at the massage school on Saturday. I called and got the last two appointments, I believe. YAY! Saturday will also be filled with packing since we are going camping at Lake Michigan August 19-22.

Weekly Review and Preview

I didn't end up taking David to the Maker Faire. When I weighed all the options, it didn't end up being a good choice. But maybe next year....

The highlight of our summer - we just finished 5 days at homeschool camp - always a favorite for everyone! Will post about that more on Cornerstone.

Missed three karate classes in a row - one was canceled (no power) and two due to camping. So, now we need to buckle down and work hard. Just four classes until testing on the 16th! We are going for Green 2 - just one more test before red belt!

Soccer VBS for Suzy went well. She attended with a friend and they had a blast. Except she did come home telling me that the Bible says wives are supposed to be submissive. Hmmm.... Yes, it does, but.....

I didn't miss any work hours due to homeschool camp. I worked extra the previous week and will make up the rest today. But I got to have four days in a row without any work - refreshing! 

I did well at the book sale - made about $100. Pretty happy with that, and the now-smaller stack of books. I have it consolidated into two large boxes now. 

8/5 Sunday - Church, relax
Monday - Work 4; karate, Sports Clinic (S), Soccer (D)
Tuesday - Work 4, Beach Day, Sports Clinic (S)
Wednesday - Work 4, Sports Clinic (S)
Thursday - Work 4, karate,
Friday - Work 4, Water Park outing, Soccer (D)
Saturday - Soccer (D)

David has started soccer practice.... And so it begins....

I didn't do a post last week, but tonight I am going with my book club to Shakespeare in the Park for a performance of Henry V. I am SO EXCITED! (OK, call me geeky.)

Suzy has sports clinic three nights at the church where she does Missionettes. Kids get to choose two sports to try; she chose Volleyball and Track & Field. 

James was diagnosed with whooping cough (Pertussis) on Tuesday. I had a heads-up from a friend whose son was diagnosed last week, so James was already on antibiotics by the time I got the call. His case is nowhere near as severe as his friend's condition. Yes, James was vaccinated but he did not have his 12yo booster yet. (He's 12.)  The other kids started antibiotics on Tuesday as a prophylactic and will finish the course today.  A course of antibiotics is supposed to kill the bacteria, so they would not be contagious even if they do have pertussis. Prayers appreciated, especially for Bob and me not to get it. (We are not on the antibiotics.)

Have a lovely week!