School...

The white backpack with red hearts.

The cupcakes.

Calla and Miss Brill.

Calla and her classmate, Ella.

Calla and her cousin, Abby Grace.

I have been through my fair share of the first day of school. But the first day of school 2008 has, by far, been the hardest. I have been anxious for this day since my niece went to school last year. It reminded me that Calla's turn was coming.
In August, we took the garage sale money we made and went school supply shopping. A few weeks earlier, I had asked her what kind of backpack she wanted to find. "Maybe, a white one with red hearts. Or a white one with pink flowers with yellow middles." Yikes. Could we possibly be more generic. Purple. Pink. Nope she was set. Well, she miraculously found a white backpack with "burgandy" hearts on it. She was in love. It is the size of a small toddler, but she had to have it. Hopefully it lasts her quite a few years, or her tastes last quite a few years. We filled it up with horsie folders, pink erasers, a Hello Kitty lunchbox, and a fun Strawberry Shortcake pencil box from Amma per request.
Well, yesterday, it came as planned. Calla was so excited that she leaped out of bed and was fed and dressed within a half an hour. I made cupcakes for her to share with her class. She put her heavy backpack on and reluctantly posed for a few photos. Off to our very first day of school in the Cory Veldman household.

The lake...

The cutesie cheeks shot.

The kids' awesome sand volcano, with aide from Aunt Amie.

The missed shot.

Poor Neil. I gave him a run for his money.
Eventually, I turned to start throwing to Cory to let Neil catch his breath.

We are blessed to live so close to Lake Michigan (or Michigan Lake, as Calla calls it). Yet, we never seem to make the 10 mile journey to the lakefront. This Labor Day, we took the family out to the lake for dinner. We met Cory's brothers and their families for an evening by the water. I will preface the next few statements with the fact that I did thoroughly enjoy myself. However, I do know why we don't frequent the beach. I hate eating outside. Especially if there is sand involved. I also loathe wearing a swimsuit, especially around people plan to ever see me again. Lastly, I have a strong fear of deep water. There are stories to be told about this fear, but I'll leave those to Cory. He so delights in my weaknesses. But, my fear is magnified when it comes to my kids. The thought of them near the water...anyway.
The kids played with the dads in the water, so that fear was squelched.
I didn't go swimming, and the swimsuit remained tucked neatly in my dresser drawer. Dislike #2 was pacified.
There was a decent amount of sand in my food during dinner, but two out of three ain't bad.

County fair...

Our annual tire picture. Check out the growth since last year's shot.

Katie's horse.

The "big kid" rides. That's Calla in the center with two girls from church.

Bliss in a cup.

Granpa Cratchet from the annual puppet show.

It was a beautiful Labor Day weekend for the County Fair 2008. We decided Saturday would be our "day at the fair." We walked from end to end. All the barns. All the exhibits. A lot of the freebies. Too much of the food. Everybody has their favorite part. Amelia loves the cows. Calla loves the horses and the rides. I like the exhibits and the smiles. Cory likes the food. Ok. We all like the food.
This year, we spent a great deal of time at the horse stalls. Calla couldn't get enough. We met a young gal from the school who was showing her horse. She let Calla pet it, feed it a peppermint or two, and hold its bridle. We also watch the jumps and then toured the other barn as well. Hours of time with the horses. She is so anxious to join 4H so she can ride, too. Luckily, kids have no sense of time. She has to be seven before she can join. That's a lifetime in kid years.

Humor of the best kind...

One of the wonderful things about my dad's family is our heritage. My grandmother was English. Her humor was dry as a bone. It is awesome to see this humor remain in so many of my family members. Dad was king of the one-liners. So, the wedding brought together some relatives from the other side of the pond. One of my greatest moments of the trip was standing in a circle with relatives. Everyone taking turns with their best jokes. I will try my best to remember some of them correctly. Please note, these are best and most hilarious, when spoken with a British accent.

Why did the elephant paint his toenails red?
So he could hide in the cherry tree

Why did the elephant paint himself blue?
So he could hide in the bowl of blueberries

There were two fish in a tank.
One said to the other, "You take the wheel. I want to try the gun."

What is yellow and extremely dangerous?
Shark-infested custard

The trip...

Last weekend, we took a long trip to Michigan. My cousin was getting married and there were lots of festivities to be had. We had some new technological toys for our trip. Cory found free trinkets once again. He ordered himself a GPS and a portable DVD player for me. It sure made things a little less dull. The only kink...yep, there was a kink...the girls' headphone cables weren't long enough. They were constantly having to readjust their headphones. Calla had a little extra annoyance from a little sister's wandering foot that mysteriously found its way toward her headphone cable, continuously! Our 6 hour trip once again took us 9 hours. It is inevitable for us. The trip home was a breeze. We were right on schedule. Chicago traffic was uncharacteristically light. And Uncle Jim kindly bestowed NEW DVDs for the girls to watch. We even stopped at an outlet mall before heading through Milwaukee. We did arrive home in the reoccuring 9 hour marker, though. We had to stop for dinner...

Happy 60th birthday to my father-in-law...

We had a surprise birthday get-together at my brother-in-law's house. My father-in-law turned 60 this year and we decided he needed a celebration.
He is a wonderful example to those around him and deserves a little recognition. He also needs to know just how much he is loved.
We invited friends and family to gather and surprise him. A sign posted at the first intersection leaving his subdivision was the first hint. He knew something was going on. I believe the words he spoke were, "I wonder what else those boys are up to?"
We had an enjoyable afternoon. And I think Dad knows we love him!

So much to say...

The truth of the matter is...I have a lot to say. I just don't make the time to sit down and say it. I will often think, "I should blog about that." So once again, I will catch up my blogging world on the adventures of August.