3rd Week of Summer

This week we had a house full of kids. Eliza had her friend Gideon over for the week. They picked out recipes for us to make together.

Alex had 4 friends come over and he was the Dungun Master for D&D for the week.

Eliza and Gideon enjoyed the pool and I am figuring out how to keep the pool clean and in proper balance.

Alex in his work station for the week.

Eliza and Rosie enjoying some TV time together. 

Eliza and Gideon made Strawberry Freckled Lemonade one day. They cut up the fruit and smashed the lemons. 

Man has it been muggy. I thought our new window seals broke, but it was just that moist outside.

We have some Black swallowtail caterpillars in the garden eating our dill trees. 

With all the storms lately a lot of branches were down at the church so the boys headed over to do some clean up.

Our friends invited us to come over and swim on a hot day, and we couldn't turn that down.

Gideon and Eliza made blueberry crumbled bars that were delicious. They had a hint of lemon in the crust and that was just delightful.

The deer found my hanging basket. :(

Gideon and Eliza strawberry picking in the garden.

Eliza and Gideon made these fruit pops (mango, pineapple, and strawberry puree), they were a bit big and we will use smaller cups next time.

They were kind enough to share with friends. 

I went down to the basement and saw water, and Mike figured out it was coming from the furnace. We also found out the de-humifier was no longer working and the whole furnace was dripping from condensation. 

We found out that the water was leaking from the upper left into the furnace and into the brains and electronics of the furnace and leaving a puddle at the bottom.

So we put a tarp over it until we could get someone to come and fix the issue.

Eliza goes to the garden to visit with her swallowtail caterpillars everyday. We have even more now, perhaps 10.

 

Second Week of Summer 2025

The kids begged us to get this 10'x7' pool at Costco. There was debate as to where to put it so it doesn't kill the grass, the conclusion was by the garden and not on the deck for fear it would be too heavy. The kids were kind enough to help me clean up an area by the garden and use the leaf blower to make sure there weren't any pokey bits.

We visited with Oma and the boys got in a game of checkers while we were there. We also helped her put in screens in her sunroom and get a table out of her van and into her house.

The kids in science this week had kits that they could make a model out of. In German this week we learned how to say our age and how to count from 1 to 10.

Evan made a race car.

Eliza made a plane.

Alex made a tank.

We learned that friction is an enemy when you want free rolling vehicles. We also learned you need to put the motor on correctly or the vehicle will not function as predicted. 

Alex has grown fond of Sourdough so I offered to make it with him.

Stretch and fold. 

We added parmesan and fresh thyme.

Finished product was delicious. He wants to try cheddar next time.

Eliza  wanted to make fruit pops

We will be eating these delightful things this week.

Alex made Taco Dogs for Dinner.

He was very happy with the finished product. 

Mike and Alex were finally able to get the Atari working from Oma's house. Oh my the amount of cords needed because the TV doesn't have the connectors the Atari needed.

Evan decided to break open a bunch of geodes in this heatwave. 

He was so thrilled.

So pretty!

Eliza was invited to one of her best friends houses for her birthday.

The family was kind enough to invite the family over. We all had a lovely time even with it being 100 degrees out, thank goodness there was a breeze! They had piñatas, bounce house with hose, great food, and just a really nice time had by all. 

Eliza couldn't hold herself up at church this week, she just kept leaning over on Daddy or I. 

The neighbor kids came over to play in the pool. Always a nice time when it's 104 degrees out. :) We figured out that in the neighborhood we have 12,10,8 (Alex, Evan, Eliza) and 6,4,2 (neighbor kids), and our kids asked who's having a baby this year. 

First Week of Summer

 

Eliza's End of School Party. I got to serve Ice Cream to the class.

First Day of School and Last Day of school pictures. You can really see the 4" Alex grew this year. 

On the last day of school Alex and Mike had their Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) crew over for a game. 

Both the boys had separate birthday parties one evening so Eliza and I were on our own for dinner. Eliza requested we have a 'buffet dinner', so we had meat, cheese, crackers and fruit. 

Over the summer we will be keeping up with school. Monday we will do math, Tuesday we will learn German, Wed. we are doing Science, and Thursday we will be doing English (cursive or writing about your favorite thing that week). 

Our dogwood bushes by the front door got a worm and the worm got them, so we dug them up and put these plants in. We aren't sure what the deer will eat or not, so we are testing them out and will plant the ones they don't eat.

I am proud of my people. I ordered new tires for my car, I wanted them last fall, and they called and asked us to come in early and have them put on. So the kids and I loaded up into the van with our books and read quietly while I got my new tires. 

Mikes putting up the numbers on our front door! :) 

We went to the Young Adult reading kick-off at the library and we were joined by a few of Alex's friends. They were able to escape the Escape Room truck. Eliza and Evan enjoyed playing VR and ping pong and other video games. 

We went to an event where we could meet some of the West Bloomfield Police and eat free donuts. We got to meet Lanzo the police dog and his handler Officer Miller.

We had the Degen family over for a game night. A and Eliza decorated the deck with bubbles. 

The adults played a few games.

Evan and I made caramel for the first time and it was amazing! Totally making that recipe again!

Evan and Alex are starting to Acolyte at church. 

And they are doing an awesome job!