Wednesday

Sometimes a rainy day in July is good. I am catching up with laundry, cleaning and paperwork.

The day started with an email from Northwest that changed our Hawaii vacation reservations in February. They had Steve and I coming home on different flights and different times as well as changing our departures. I was on the computer for hours making the original reservations using miles for first class travel. So today has been hours getting things reorganized. Fortunately it has worked out well.

Mike and Kristin continue to be doing OK. We are meeting again today to try to co-ordinate their services. As it stands now Kristin works with one person and Mike works with a different person. We are hopeful that Mike can be added to Kristin's service coordinator's work load. Shopping and meal planning is still the biggest issue.

Jessica leaves for an Italian vacation on Saturday. She will be gone for 2 weeks and is looking forward to getting some new stamps on her passport. We will miss her summer stop in Toledo this year but look forward to visiting her in California later this year.

Mike Update

I played special olympic golf with Mike and Kristen tonight and they seem to be doing well together. The house was a little less organized and clean then I would have wanted, but it is probably more typical of a two twenty something working couple household. They both seemed happy and we had fun at golf. Kristen is playing with another volunteer so I really did not spend much time with her. Mike seems to like the job. He says it is pretty easy and he is working on the routine. He is anxious for the job coach to leave.

Sending out a Happy Birthday to Rocco. Just turn all of those 60 cards over and celebrate '09.

Some light news from the Blade

It is not often (thanks goodness) that I am mentioned in the newspaper so I was quite the little kid this week to see my name in the sports section. The Toledo Women's District Golf Association (TWDGA) held their match play championship at Belmont this year. I decided to participate even though match play is not my favorite format. After a qualifier on Friday which placed me in the 2nd flight, the matches began on Tuesday. I enjoyed playing my opponents and I think tournament golf probably is good for your game but three days of competitive golf has left me pretty exhausted. I think Steve is ready for me to start cooking again too. He thought once Mike moved out he would be head honcho, not golf.

I even got to feel the affect of incorrect reporting. The match on Wednesday which was reported on Thursday I actually won 3 and 1 instead of the reported 19 holes. Those of you that know golf would understand this slight. In the final I came back from 3 down after 7, to even after 11, but I just couldn't put my game to the next level from there. Maybe next year.

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Pictures from the Birthday Party

Steve is trying to explain to AJ that the card says 09 Celebrate

(of course it really says Celebrate 60)

Flying was the order of the day from AJ

Happy Birthday Steve

Clouds

When Jessica visited from California last summer she was enthralled by the Ohio clouds. She said she missed the clouds in LA. I do not think I ever realized that our clouds are so pretty. Ever since then I have tried to appreciate the summer clouds. These pictures were taken Wednesday night after dinner.

Monday July 6 turned into Tuesday

The holiday weekend is finally over. It was a long and fun time with parties and moving Mike and Kristin. Mike started the orientation for his new job Monday and it went well. He is excited but I know just getting back to a schedule will be good for him. He and Kristin seem content in their new home. The neighbors have been great and I am sure will continue to be supportive. At least until the karaoke machine gets warmed up.

I haven't heard about the 4th of July fireworks in LA but Jessica was at a party in an LA marina. I am sure the fireworks were spectacular. Steve and I did watch the Bowling Green City fireworks on Saturday night after bringing more stuff down for Mike. We enjoyed the comparison with our own Belmont fireworks saying not only how much fun it is to be so close up but that the quality of our little country club matched the city display.

Monumental Move

Mike has his own place! The move has taken place over the last few days but "his" room at our house is virtually empty now. He has spent the last 2 nights in his new duplex and Kristen will complete her move today. They both have their own bedroom, a great little kitchen and a large living room. The best part of the duplex is that Mike has a garage for his car too. It is really a cute little place and perfect for the two of them. They were very excited all weekend.

Belmont Fireworks Party

Last night was the Belmont Country Club Independence Day Celebration. We again invited Steve's law firm to join us in the festivities. While the weather was more like football season than summer time everyone enjoyed themselves. The food was great and the fireworks were spectacular. The wind was blowing from the west so this morning we did not have to clean up residue from the explosions. A treat from the last couple of years for us although I understand there was clean up duty this morning on the 16th and 17 hole of the golf course.

One of the highlights for the kids was the new found talent of Mark in face painting.

They say the apple does not fall far from the tree and so we should not have been surprised that AJ immediately went to the keg of beer and began to insure that the tap was working correctly. The tap by the way was one that John had bought while he was in college and we inherited after one of our previous 4th of July parties.