Camp Dearborn.

I went to visit a friend on Monday. They are staying at Camp Dearborn for a week.

They have been doing this for years. I have missed the last year or two so it has been awhile.

I took the girls and they loved it. They really want to go there. I don't know if we can work it out this year or not. I have fond memories of Camp Dearborn. My family never camped there but we did take a lot of day trips there. I did camp there a few times with the family who lived across the street from us. It really hasn't changed much. The nice things is the kids can run around and play and do things on their own. They still do Chicken Fat in the morning. (exercises to a song called chicken fat) They still have the teen dances at the canteen each night. You can still paddle boat, or fish. two beaches for swimming and paved roads for bike riding. My youngest wants to go camping this summer so bad. Our big family tent broke during a boy scout trip this summer. So Camp Dearborn would be perfect because they supply the platform tents with a fridge and a cook top and electric. Also 6 beds per tent. (Camp cots really but at least it's not the ground)

No promises being made, if we do this then we won't go to six flags. You can rent the tents by the day but it is much cheaper by the week. Paul may not stay the whole time he may come back to work and just come up for both weekends.

We still have some camping going on. We still have a 2 man tent and the girls have been trying to camp in the backyard for over a week. It has either been to cold, or raining, or rain prediction.

So tonight is the night. They just finished setting up. I hope the bugs don't carry them away.

South Haven Pictures

My getaway with the gals from

church. South Haven on beautiful Lake Michigan.

South Haven Retreat.

The quick trip to south Haven with the gals was a blast. I actually wasn't sure where we were going because I didn't plan any of it. I only knew we were going west to Lake Michigan.

The B& B we stayed at was perfect for our group. It was very quirky but it had lots of beds and plenty of room. We even had a kitchen table to play games on. The wether was so so but we did get some beach time in. Lots of shopping and eating too. Mostly just hanging out and talking. Of course we solved all the worlds problems.

The kids survived and it sounds like they did a good job making the meals while I was gone. when I came home on Thurs. they were finishing up a load of laundry. How cool is that.

The boys heads out of Sunday for Scout Camp. The girls and I will go to Camp Dearborn on Tues. to visit with a friend of mine who is camping there this week.

I haven't downloaded the pictures yet, when I do I will put them in a separate post.

Lots of errands to run today, and then a party tonight with some friends. They are hosting a 50th birthday party for all of us who turn 50 this year. (Me and a couple others have a whole year to wait but we will help them celebrate anyways.)

Here is a link to the girls new website. I think they did a good job.

http://natalienmarlo.webs.com/

short vacation

Tomorrow morning I am heading west with my friends from church. (Just the gals)

I am really looking forward to some laughs and good times.

We cleaned house today, and did all the laundry. Then I had the kids tell me what they would be making for lunch and dinner each day. Since I will be gone 3 days, they each get one day to make both lunch and dinner. They gave me the menu and then I went went grocery shopping. They will be in charge of the cooking and clean up.

Natalie has her official learners permit for driving. We picked it up today. She needs a lot of practice, but we will get there.

Be back on Thursday evening.

Garage Sale.

The kids insisted we have a garage sale. I had no heart for it. I have had one to many in the last few years and I find them a pain. I knew purple heart is coming on Sat. to pick up used clothing etc so thought OK why not what doesn't sell is going out on Sat. We made a little over 130.00 and got everything cleaned up just as it started to rain. The extra garage is looking pretty good. I have made it my mission the last few years to not hang on to stuff. I hate stuff. OK I like stuff but but I hate having stuff I don't need or use. I hate cleaning and then putting stuff I won't use right back where I got it from, never to be seen again until the next time I clean. We also sold lemonade and made watermelon cookies. (they just look like watermelons. )

I am attaching a picture. They turned out pretty cute.

The kids are making dinner tonight so I am here typing up my new post. There are some advantages to having teens.

I called Walmart again about the job and they are still setting up so she is still waiting. She told me again that I am on top of her list to call. So I am guessing as soon the they have things ready to roll she will call me. She didn't have a date. I just hope it is after the 23rd so I can go on my mini vacation with my care group friends.

Right now it has been a pretty laid back summer not to much going on.

Global warming? Not here.

So much for global warming. Maybe some parts of the country are having heat waves this summer, but it hasn't hit Michigan yet. Now for those that like it on the cool side you must be in heaven. Me, I just keep my sweater or sweatshirt handy.
Today is pretty nice but with the breeze going you won't catch me in the pool. I do not like to shiver when I come out of the water so it really needs to be warm for me to go swimming.

No more on the job at Walmart. I spoke with the woman who will hire me and she said she is still waiting for the official word that she can hire people. So I will wait a few more days and call again. Just to let her know that I am still interested.

We just might get to go on a short little vacation after all. I won 4 tickets to Six flags amusement park today. The closest one is near Chicago. I have a hotel gift card I won that will cover 1 or 2 nights stay (depending on the price of the room) and I am awaiting a free night stay coupon for red roof. We still have to pay for one ticket (57.00) but could be a fairly cheap trip if we keep it short and pack some of our food in the cooler like we usually do.

I am hoping to go on a short trip with my small group friends, unless I begin working about then.
I have some prepaid gift cards I won that should cover most of the expenses for that trip.

Natalie is not doing well in drivers Ed. I don't think they are going to issue her the papers to get her learners permit. The instructor is concerned because her reflexes are very slow. Also she seems to have moments of spacing out. She has always done this to a certain extent . She did see a neurologist when she was younger. They never really did anything, just diagnosed her with developmental delays. (which basically means she was not up to par but they don't know why or what to call it) I tried to get her in with that Dr. and they couldn't see her until the middle September. So I called someone else and they will see her the end of the month. They did check her for epilpesy long ago. There is a form of it where you don't have seizures but you zone out for a few seconds at a time. I will have them recheck for that. She was having greater than normal trouble concentrating towards the end of this year. So we shall see. Her hand eye coordination has always been poor; which can be a problem for for a beginning driver. Paul has taken her to an empty parking lot a few times and he noticed the same problems the instructor is having.

We had a fun night July 3rd. We had some friends over and then watched the fireworks from our front yard. They shoot them off at the park across the street. On July 4th they have an old fashioned picnic at the same park. So we went and played a few games and had hot dogs and ice cream. Then we picked up Grandma Sharpe and we played some family games.
All and all a nice weekend in spite of the cooler, dreary weather.