Bad Night Sleep

I had the brilliant idea to drive to Lancaster, PA the night before to a meeting so I didn't have to wake up at 4am and drive.

The result ... 

The scene outside the Hampton Inn at 4am

Hallway outside my room

The other bonus was that to control the damage, they turned off the water. So I showed up unshowered and unshaven for my business meetings the next day.

Church Picnic

The St. Luke Church picnic was squeezed between a cross country meet, a hockey game, 2 soccer games, the 7-8th grade parents party, and a sort-of sleepover.

Julia winds up with the 'red' ball (one with the most Velcro). With persistence, she managed a bulls-eye which earned her a piece of candy

RJ is always up for game of laser-tag. He's the bright yellow guy (cross country shirt)

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Not pictured ... Doug working the grill for 3 hours in the sun on a super-humid 80+ degree day.

Sourdough bread

Two examples that the kids run the house (1) Sara agreed to foster a dog, (2) Doug agreed to make sourdough bread. 

The sourdough story began in March when we borrowed tools from Craig to replace the rider mower engine. The kids liked it so much that Doug was convinced to get some sourdough starter from Craig and sacrifice 2 days to breadmaking.

We started making bread on Saturday and at 9:00pm on Monday ... 

we got 2 awesome loaves of bread 

Less than 24 hours later (8:30pm on Tuesday), the bread was gone. Looks like another weekend of break making is coming up.

Batches 2 & 3

Batches 2 & 3 were quickly added the next week. Batch 2 was gone in 24 hours. 

Kids supervise preparation of batch 2

Dog Soccer

Julia enjoys going to RJ's soccer games because she gets to babysit Coach Joel's dog Jiro. RJ scored two goals, the girls couldn't have cared less.

Julia and Nora D. keep an eye on Jiro

 

Girls Night at Wolftrap

Sara and Julia headed to Wolftrap for an evening with the Washington Ballet. Doug picked up RJ from soccer practice and got to bed early.

perfect weather for an outdoor show!

Pump Track

The Chambersburg Bike Park provided some entertainment after sunflower viewing. One kid explained how to 'pump' you bike so you can go around the track without pedaling.

We talked Julia into trying it out

RJ could jump the entire double-hump by the end

add video of jump

Sunflower Farm

We explored a sunflower farm near Chambersburg, PA. Kids were skeptical at first, but it turned out to be a short and fun stop on our way to the BMX pump track.

Sunflowers were pointing to the sun, so squinting was required for the picture

Sara, RJ, Julia in the middle of the field

There were lots of bees, but they were much more interested in gathering nectar than pestering people.

Photo credit: RJ Johnson

First Day of School - 4th and 7th

After an awesome summer, the kids were ready to go back to school ... NOT!

RJ enters 7th grade, Julia enters 4th grade.

Mandatory first day of school picture

 

 

Julia learned this pose from Vivian's friend at the Clear Spring Carnival

Homemade Lasagna

The modern world has made it too convenient to get lasagna. You go to the store, pay $15 and heat it up for 2 hours ... done.

Therefore Sara helped the kids make their own. This involved (1) purchasing $15 worth of ingredients, (2) dirtying the entire kitchen, and (3) 4-5 hours of labor - including clean up. 

The result was lasagna that the kids didn't like (too much ricotta cheese). Fortunately Doug loved it! And Sara made dairy/gluten-free 'lasagna' that she could eat.

About 2 hours into a 4-5 hour process

Speaking of pasta ... here is home pasta camp from an earlier week.

Making pasta the hard way ... a good prep for sourdough bread

Beach Vacay

The Kovacs and the Johnsons spent a few days at the beach. This year was Sea Isle City, NJ. Summary of fun:

• 10 minutes after arrival we were on the beach
• Day 2 featured super awesome surf
• Day 3 featured red flag surf
• Boardwalk at OC, NJ was fun - pizza, rides
• RJ and Milo ate lunch at Bubba Dogs every day
• Doug got to visit his college roommate Shawn who has a place in Avalon (10 minutes south).
• Beachy Towel News covered the events
• Digging and sand sculpting was popular for all

Boys got good at boogie boarding on day 2 ... notice the body surfer (Doug) in background

Julia heads out to catch some waves

Adam and Summer on joy ride

RJ racing the Indy 500

Rides on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ

After riding waves for hours, the crew needed some downtime

Lots of time digging in the sand ... Milo's shark sculpture

Doug stole the competitor's art designer (Milo) for help with the Beachy Towel News logo

The gang in front of the completed puzzle

Lots of digging kept the kids busy while not in the ocean

3 out of 3 days, the boys had Bubba Dogs for lunch

Whitetail antics

Kids and Sara spent a week in Whitetail. Doug showed up on Friday night in preparation for the Clear Spring Carnival on Saturday night. 

The Clear Spring Carnival is always a hit. A large posse of Whitetail folks (LJ and kids, Heather and Vivian, Erika and kids, the Kenemuths, and us) took on the vomit-inducing, headache-creating rides.

The 'Hamster Wheel' was new this year ... and actually called OMG

Julia and Nico load into the Zipper ... RJ rode this with Rocco about 15 times

RJ scored some free tickets from a random person (Brad has them) so adults rode the Round Up (a.k.a. Throw up)

The kids convinced Doug to stay until the bitter end ... thankfully rides stopped at 11pm

By the end of the evening we were tired and dizzy ... another successful carnival night. Don't forget to ask Ms. Heather about her knife collection she obtained.

On Sunday the normal Whitetail antics resumed ... 

Antic 1: Quicksand

While wading into a pool of runoff water near the resort, Kaleb got stuck in quicksand (if such a thing actually exists). Thinking quickly he leaped out of his shoes and scampered to safety. 

The next day ... 

Doug and Julia spotted one shoe that floated to the top and got stuck before heading down the stream

The other shoe required a heroic effort from Mr. Brad using a shovel to dig up mud (a.k.a. quicksand). The process took about 20 minutes of stench from decaying organisms and leaves, but he managed to uncover the other croc that was buried in mud. $30-$40 saved!

Antic 2: Build your own Boat

Rocco and RJ decided it would make sense to build a boat to float out into one of the seven ponds. Building materials consisted of sticks, string, and several things from a dumpster (bubble wrap, plastic bottles to hold air, other stuff). The kids supplemented this free stuff with a roll of duct tape to hold the entire thing together. 

After a few hours of planning and building ...

... the raft floated ... RJ was the second rider while other kids waited their turn.

Antic 3: Repair Work

After replacing a light switch and contemplating replacing an outlet, a light bulb went off for Doug. Maybe the table lamp was having intermittent issues because the LED light bulb was bad. 

A quick trip to the local hardware store fixed the problem for $10 (it was a 3-way bulb).

While at the hardware store we purchased a latch for the broken structure around the propane tank. After disassembling the door, painting everything, and re-assembling the door the 'simple' repair was complete. 

... the repair to the propane enclosure

Trampoline #2

Common sense and safety dictated that we purchase a new trampoline. RJ picked it out.

 

We started by disassembling the old and leveling the ground

The 'patient' boys declared that leveling was a waste of time. Nevertheless, Doug spent 2-3 hours in the boiling heat trimming the bush and leveling. RJ helped but petered out when Bradley arrived.

90 minutes of installation ... Julia's feelings were hurt within 10 minutes

Fostering Maggie Mae

The kids talked Sara into fostering a dog. The shelter provided us with a rescue named Maggie Mae. Maggie was super chill ... except she had trouble figuring out that dogs go to the bathroom outside.

The kids and Sara spent a LOT of time walking and sitting outside waiting for Maggie to pee.

Maggie joins the family for 3 weeks

At first Maggie was comfortable in her crate, but she ruined the mattress and liked RJ's bean bag

RJ took the morning shift and Maggie enjoyed getting a scratch

In case you were wondering ... in the picture above you can see a mattress that blocks the living room. That 'barrier' soon became just something that was fun to jump over and knock over.

Maggie got to visit Whitetail when the gang went there for the week. Maggie loved running around on the tennis court off-leash. She also loved sniffing everything on the 7 Ponds Trail.

Fun running around on the tennis court

Alas, all good things eventually come to an end. On Aug 10 Maggie Mae found a permanent home.

ND Summer Vacation

Summer vacation featured a trip to North Dakota. Brief itinerary and highlights below.

• Saturday, Sunday: Grandma and Grandpa's farm
• Four wheeling, trains, BMX 2000, fish spawning
  
• Prairie Village Museum, Steve & Andrea's presentation
  
• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: Jimmy and Kelly's farm
• Horse camp and Fritel Farm
• Golf, Medora show, cats/chickens
  
• Thursday, Friday, Saturday: Bismark
• German's from Russia conference
• Science museum, swimming pool, Grandpa's 80th birthday, bounce park
  
• Sunday: Minot
• State fair
  
• Monday, Tuesday
• Bonus days in Buffalo, MN at Anna's due to Delta Airlines fiasco

Grandma and Grandpa's Farm

Plenty of fun at Grandma and Grandpa's farm. 4-wheeling, trains, touring the fields, visiting the new house in Rugby, and visiting the Prairie Village Museum for a great talk on the Friedel/Fritel family history. 

 

As a special treat we went to "Horse and Animal Camp" and the Brossart Farm.

Trains parked near (but not on!) Grandpa's farm

One of the hopper cars with a sweater on top was 'open' so Doug ventured in

After Andrea and Steve presented Friedel/Fritel history, we toured the Prairie Village Museum

Doug pretends to be the milk car worker on the trains

While 'in town' we stopped - kids climbed the monument

Canola field with windmills in background

 

Fritel horse camp made everybody a cowboy

Out on the trail/road

There were cats, dogs, chickens, rabbits, and horses. The dog in the background was detained for eating baby rabbits.

Next Up - Killdeer

Stop #2 was Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Kelly's farm. Kids loved hanging out with their cousins, collecting eggs, driving the golf cart, playing golf, and going to the show at Madora.

Stopped at the Garrison Dam Fish Hatchery - Julia is 'eating' fish food (we fed fish by cleaning up the floor)

Golfing with Grace ... and oil fields in the background

Show at Medora ... always entertaining!

Medora - TR was the host

On to Mandan

Grandpa and Grandma (and Aunt Anna) attended the German's from Russia conference in Mandan (near Bismark). We hung out with cousins Claire, Lydia, and Cecilia at the Science Museum, trampoline park, and spent hours in the swimming pool.

Julia got the determination award at the Science Museum and the trampoline park.

We learned the economics of farming in different ND zones

Doug and Sara lit the full set of lights using the generator

Julia persisted, but finally gave up. Lucky Lidia got her helicopter in the basket on the 2nd try

Kids (and Doug) spent a lot of time at the pool. We managed to break literally EVERY rule that was posted in the pool area.

Pool rules. Or should I say guidelines.

Awesome 2-story slide went outside and back in (RJ ran up about 100 stories worth of steps)

An early celebration of Grandpa's 80th birthday

Dancing at the Germans from Russia event

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Before leaving, we hung out at the ND State Fair with Grandma and Grandpa

Got our picture taken with Daryl before the pig race

Julia persisted again - and casted her lure through the fish target ... Doug was not so lucky.

Bonus Vacation

Due to the Delta Airlines debacle caused by the CrowdStrike outage, our flight from Minneapolis to DCA was cancelled 10 minutes before delayed boarding. So ... we rented a really expensive car, drove to Aunt Anna's house (cousins were not there), and stayed in Buffalo, MN for 2 more days.

Doug worked at Anna's for most of the 2 days, but we got out for some Kayaking on the lake

Doug and Julia prepare to launch, RJ had to paddle the 4 miles by himself