Last minute summer fun!

Well, as I mentioned before, we have had two broken bones this summer!  That totally counts as summer fun!  For a minute I thought we had a third broken bone ~ courtesy of soccer on the varsity mens level.  But alas, no broken bone, no "third times a charm" kind of thing.  I'm grateful.  A lot.

Last Thursday we took Sophie in for her bone repair to one of the best orthopedics this side of the Mississippi. 

Before



After

See?  Summer fun!

Before the ill fated incident, which consequently she gets to wear her mummy garb to her homecoming!  Yea, she is excited about that.  Before the incident, we eeked out a trip to Utica, Ohio.  Never heard of Utica?  Can't say that I blame you.  It's not like you are making a trip to NYC.  Or to The Flats in Cleveland.  No.  Utica has a total population of about 50 people.  If you blink you miss the town all together.  However, on the outskirts of the town there is a small slice of heaven.  The Velvet Ice Cream factory, also known as Ye Olde Mill.  Oh gracious, will that tickle your fancy! 

I highly recommend you make a trip to Ye Olde Mill (Velvet ice cream headquarters) if you get a chance!  Great ice cream, great atmosphere, playground, walking trails with a river to play in.  It is a terrific place to go for a day trip if you are in the area.

Another bit of summer fun was having our church fellowship meet in other people's homes.  This last month we met at a family's house that has lots of critters.  They have about 75 acres and it is loaded with fun.  I can't convey to you the depth of which we feel so blessed to be able to call our fellowship "friends".  These times of home meetings are so wonderful because again, we are able to bring food and have a pot luck, we sit around after a time of worship and we chat, hold babies ~ that's me, sneaking off with someone else's baby, share stories of what is going on in each others lives, encourage one another.  I'm just saying, it was one of the best moves we ever made in our lives.  Painful as it is to leave one place because of the love you have for individuals, it has been wonderful for us.

While we were there, a certain parent came to me and told me that my 11 year old son was jumping on a trampoline.  Not just jumping, but flipping like a maniac.  Hmm.  Only three weeks before he was on a trampoline and went flying off and still had the marks of that incident on his arm...

So we had to ban him from the trampoline.  But boys will be boys and do you think he took the ban lying down?  NEVER!!!



So he and Chloe sauntered on over to the barn and found themselves a fantastic hay stack.  And they proceeded to do what any normal, non broken boned child would do...  go to the top AND

JUMP!!!!!

I then proceeded to toss in the proverbial white flag.  Clearly I'm fighting a loosing battle.  This child is a Reel.  Reel's are crazy.  He did not get this from my side of the tree!  We value life and limb.  Rodger grew up with three brothers, two older and one younger.  They jumped off bridges, roofs, drove dirt bikes, dug tunnels in the ground outside their home (ground contained more sand than dirt...)  AND their mother was in the thick of it with them!  She drove the dirt bike and ramped it.  That's a story to hear.  Maybe I'll get her to do an interview with me for that one. 

Back to our wonderful Sunday!  Food!  Babies!  Kids!  Fellowship!  Critters! 

We have had a great summer here but now reality and school have beckoned us back to the daily grind!  School, soccer, football games, raking, cleaning out the gutters and chicken coop before winter sets in.  Yes, good times.

I hope you have had a great summer and now, a great fall!  Enjoy!

Tammy