And So Begins 8th Grade

The beginning of school this year was the beginning of CJ's year of Big Man on Campus. He and his fellow 8th graders began their day by grabbing those most coveted seats in the back of the bus.

This year they will be ending their day with advisory and academic assist rather than beginning it that way. I think this will be a good change for CJ.  

Another sign of a good year to come is that according to CJ he has 'the best teachers' for his 8th grade team.

For the first time since he began school we do not have a first day of school picture. It was yet another rainy day (yep, just like the last day of 7th grade). The good news is that the school pictures this year came with a cd and a release to be able to use the picture any way I want! So here it is.

A Lovely Day to Sit Outside...

Cello lessons at Otterbein have been a great time for me to sit and enjoy the sun and do some reading.

When CJ's lesson was over he joined me on my blanket. We enjoyed a picnic dinner and watched the clouds go by.

We watched this cloud move across the sky and wondered if it would end our picnic. It did, but we did have enough time to finish dinner first.

We drove home in the rain with full bellies and pictures of cloud animals in our heads.

Yike - Skunks

 This summer has been a very smelly summer. Just about every dog in the neighborhood has been sprayed, a few more than once.
Tucker was no exception.
One beautiful summer evening we were at our neighbors enjoying a lovely bonfire and roasting marshmallows. There was the sound of animals in the nearby pine trees that we wrongly assumed was raccoons. Tucker took off and ran head first into a momma skunk. I have never seen a group of people scatter so quickly. Tucker and Steve headed for our backyard, I headed for the odor removal ingredients and CJ ran inside away from the smell. Tucker got bathed twice with the hydrogen peroxide solution and was fairly stink free by bedtime. His leather collar didn't fare quite as well. Here it is soaking in the solution, after a while we gave up and bought a new collar.

Jersey Tomatoes

On the way home from vacation we stopped at a roadside farmers market for some Jersey tomatoes. It didn't matter that we were in Delaware, they were still Jersey tomatoes.
A Jersey tomato is unlike any other tomato I have tasted and makes my mouth water just thinking about them. I thought about how to make the most of my 3 lovely tomatoes and decided on a tomato sandwich to get the full effect of the luscious flavor. So off to the store I went for some squishy white bread (although I did buy the one with a bit of whole grain). That afternoon's lunch was simply yummy. Something that will keep me in happy thoughts this winter.

Vacation in Ocean City, MD

Summer Vacation 2011 found us back at one of our favorite spots - Ocean City, Maryland.
Do I look happy?  Do I look ready to relax?
Yur' darn tooting I do!

This year logged a ton of beach time under the shade of our new umbrella. It was a great year for sun worshipping and doing nothing.  Newspapers and books got read cover to cover, naps, Frisbee and football catches rounded out most of our days. 

It wasn't more than an hour or two of arrival that the first hole to China was constructed. The boys got pretty far until the tide got the better of them.  China is a little damper now. 

CJ's picture reflects the epitome of vacation this year - plenty of relaxation.  The chilly and rough water had something to do with it - it was funny to see a majority of the people standing on the edge of the water, about ankle deep, but not going in.  There were a few brave (or stubborn) people like Steve who got in - I heard it was refreshing - Hah!

This picture shows how rough the surf was for a majority of the week.  The shallow parts were very rough - lots brush burns from people getting thrown down.  The waves were tall and powerful - tough to get over.  And did I already mention that it was COLD!

The (not so) little boy mentioned that he wanted to be a mechanical designer for La-Z-Boy...he just might have a future after all.

Ah.... the Dogfish Head Brewery in Rehobeth Beach!  Great beer (the 90 minute IPA is highly, highly recommended), great food and awesome Ginger Ale according to CJ.  It was about an hour from Ocean City, but definitely worth the trip.  We'll probably make it a stop on our next trip.

It wouldn't be a complete summer without a few battle field re-creations:  Gettysburg, Normandy and others.  It was nice to know that CJ didn't forget all of what he learned this past year.

It was a great year for hanging out with each other.  In this spot we were waiting to get into a very cool, (literally and figuratively) family owned Italian Restaurant on the boardwalk.  The closeness was short lived however, CJ ate the linguine with a garlic clam sauce.  Thank goodness it was a breezy week. 

"I am bronze!"...can't you tell?

Bourbon Tasting 2011

 After dropping CJ off at camp Steve and I headed to Kentucky for a quick bourbon tasting tour. Our first stop on that blazing hot July day was Buffalo Trace. We opted for the 'hard hat' tour that took us right through the factory. We saw the whole process and enjoyed the learning process even with the withering heat.
The tasting room was nice and cool and there we enjoyed the different bourbons that Buffalo Trace offers. They even distill a vodka called rain that was quite good, if you like that sort of thing. In the gift shop we bought a bottle of bourbon and some souvenirs.

We then headed to Woodford Reserve were we had a more reserved tour. There was an air of snootiness to Woodford Reserve that was reflected in the taste of the bourbon. The old limestone buildings were both cool looking and cool feeling. They have a spring fed water fountain that was quite refreshing. We were able to walk right up to the fermentation tanks and watch the process in action which was very neat.

After our tour we headed to my cousin Tim's house. He graciously invited us to spend the night and to dine with him. He is quite the cook and I don't foresee me ever turning down one of his meals. The salad was yummy with homemade dressing, dinner was an amazing chicken and dumplings and even though I was full I 'forced' myself to eat dessert which was yummy.
The next morning Tim joined us for a tour of Four Roses and Wild Turkey before heading out to spend the day kayaking on the Kentucky River.

At Four Roses we purchased a bottle so that we could compare it with Buffalo Trace.

Wild Turkey had quite the tour complete with an air conditioned bus. We did not care for the less than mild taste of Wild Turkey and left the facility empty handed.

We enjoyed the tours of both facilities but found that bourbon tasting should be reserved for the afternoon or evening!

While Tim headed to the river we headed north to listen to an amazing performance from the Olentangy campers and to pick up our favorite 'college' student.

Several weeks later ,after recovering from morning bourbon tasting, it was determined that our favorite so far is Buffalo Trace, with a combination of  Red Stag and Jim Beam a close second.

Orchestra Camp

This summer CJ went to Orchestra Camp at Otterbein University.
Each morning I dropped him off at Otterbein. When I picked him up in the afternoons his smile was huge. He spent his days learning new music, playing camp games and eating in the student cafe. On Thursday morning Steve and I dropped him off with an overnight bag. He spent the night in one of the dorms like a real college student. We picked him up on Friday after listening to a wonderful performance that spotlighted their learning.
He loved every minute of camp and is planning to spend the whole week sleeping in the dorm next year!

Hot and Sticky

July has been hot and sticky. East Coast sticky. Yucky not at all like Columbus sticky.

This morning all of our back windows looked like this.

And you thought I was exaggerating!!!



Visiting Aunt Nancy & Uncle Dick

CJ and I took a road trip to visit Aunt Nancy & Uncle Dick. On Wednesday morning we hopped in the car and headed east to Central Pennsylvania. About 5 hours into the trip we got off the turnpike and  then made our way through the windy mountain roads. The roads were narrow, steep and lined with lots of trees, it was a fun drive! We turned on their 'road' and continued our journey up and to their wonderful home nestled into the mountainside.

Thursday was spent exploring Raystown Lake by boat. CJ gave water skiing a try but decided against it. I manged to get up on the skis once but it wasn't pretty. What was pretty was the lake and the day.We had beautiful weather with sunshine and a few puffy clouds. After some exploring we enjoyed a picnic lunch on shore and then swam in the lake.

On Friday we spent the day at the pool. CJ and I went off the diving boards and raced each other to the far end of the pool. CJ and Nancy spent time floating and talking. It was another beautiful and peaceful day.

Our evenings were spent on the porch enjoying the cool air and each other's company. After dinner all the competition began. Nancy taught us how to play Canasta. Each night we got a little better, not good enough for Nancy to worry about losing, but better. We will have to practice a lot before we go back.

Hocking Hills, zip lining

10 zip lines + 5 rope bridges + 1 rappel to ground level + 2 fun guides = 3 hours of fun at Hocking Hills Canopy Tours.

After a bit of training on a short line just above the ground we went off to our adventure.

Our guides were kind, informative and lots of fun. We learned a bit about the history of the area, the river was named Hockhocking by the Delaware Indians because of it's shape and about the beavers and how long it takes them to chop down a really big tree, 2 weeks. We also learned that screaming is recommended, kind of like when you are on a roller coaster.

We zipped from platform to platform, crossed adventure sky bridges, and had fun. Not being an adrenaline junkie I was concerned that I might not have fun. There was no need to be worried, zip lining is a blast, I smiled the entire time!

Me

CJ

The Z's, Urban's and our guides, Chris & Jared.

Thanks for a great day!

Hocking Hills, caves

This was our second trip to the caves of Hocking Hills. The rock formations were no less awe inspiring this time as they were before. Our trip this time took us to Old Man's Cave and Rock House. I will let the pictures tell the story.

Old Man's Cave

Rock House