Lessons Learned

With the end of the season upon us, we felt it necessary to reflect on what we have learned this summer. Let's see...(pardon the ramblings):

• Even though you may think the wind will just "blow right through", it will reduce your trampoline to rubble.
• Never put your own sunscreen on. I don't care what you think, you can't reach your whole back.
• Dogs smell. Its a fact, learn to cope.
• When allowing your pet, entrance to the home, check her mouth for live creatures. Baby rabbits do not enjoy the living room. Also, four children do not enjoy baby rabbits in the living room.
• While installing the new clothes line to save energy, realize the holes must be dug to China. If the holes are to be dug in clay, buy a new clothes dryer.
• Playing Wii too much, causes arm strain and some injuries.
• Never punch your big brother, cause he will find you, when you least expect it.
• When your the smallest of the herd, be wary of the animals. They are genetically conditioned to attack and eat the smallest of the herd.
• When playing golf with Grandpa, do not try to steal his new driver, because, "it fits me good and I hit it better than him."
• Don't pick on the little girl, before 10:00 am. She can get cranky.
• Begin preparing for teaching in the fall, the day after school lets out in the spring. It will benefit you in the end.
• The best hot tub you can have, belongs to the neighbors.
• While sailing, even though you hear "turn away from the wind", turn into it. Otherwise stuff breaks and the retribution will be swift.
• When leaving the beach, begin saying "time to get out of the water", 2 hours before it's time to leave.
• Going to Target shopping for one item, means, "we are about to spend $76.34, on a greeting card, two packs of gum, and a toilet plunger. Don't know what happened to the rest."
• Never attack a basketball size nest of hornets with half a can of Raid and a rake. The Raid will run out rapidly, and a flailing rake against a swarm of angry hornets is just stupid, no matter what you thought.
• And our best lesson...A bad day in the summer is still better than a good one working.

Check back soon, for our "Yeah, the school year has started", update.

Playing outside...

Well, summer has struck again. Today it was 130 degrees, give or take a few, and the sun peeled the paint off the house. Without sunglasses, a local guy went blind from what was described as nuclear flash, when he went to get the paper this morning. The clan went to the beach on Saturday and tried to beat the berating temperatures. We, of course had to take in Art in the Park, in Holland, prior to the beach. This event was an awesome reason to spend our savings on cool trinkets cooked up by some guy named Lou, who loves to hang out in his wood shop.

Bunch of Wooden Swords: $ 36.00
Pile of Clothes for Dolls: $ 24.00
Some Weird Look'in Lawn Thing: Don't ask

But, right after that, we headed out to the beach. 2 to 4 footers rolling in with the cool breeze, was just what we were after. We did not count on the waves being full of seaweed, bark, medical supplies, and old tennis shoes. Ah, nature in all its glory. It was good enough though, as the 72 degree water was better than our sweltering home. Plus, Dad got to change into his suit while in the car. Did I mention the parking lot was full, and the windows are not as black as he thought. Boy, the tourists from Iowa got a tale to tell. A few hours after arriving home, it did become apparent that Dad also forgot sunscreen on himself. Paying for it now. Glow in the dark paying for it.

Grandpa and Grandma R. came in last night to spend some quality time with us. They rolled up in their new sled (I have been told that sled is a cool and current term for car). We enjoyed their short time with us, and have hopefully convinced them to take us to the Bahama's next year. Hint: We prefer the royalty suites...just in case they are reading. The kids do love it when they are with us and we were able to take them to the exclusive, VIP only, Culver's restaurant for lunch before they traveled away. Oh yeah, didn't know Grandma knew how to play 4-square, and really had no idea she played with such an aggressive streak.

Today, we took in the dune rides, just for something different (See picture). Pretty sweet riding in a car with no top or windows. We all came away with inspiring and not quite right hair styles. The view from 300 feet toward Lake Michigan left us without words. It was a cool 2 minutes before the bickering fired up again. It was worth the trip and nice to know things like that exist only 10 minutes from home. All in all I would say we are pretty lucky.

Signing off to get some Aloe...back is burning again. Hopefully, the peeling process starts soon.