Small steps

Anna passed her entrance exam for driver's ed!! Yahoo!! Next we go to the state facility and she gets her permit. Then, the dreaded behind the wheel sessions start.

Gabriel has his second week of rowing camp, combined with varsity practice. He is fishing with his friend Matt all weekend.

We are hoping to check out the World's Longest Yard Sale on Friday, it is 675 miles long and extends from Hudson, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama! Will let you know if we find any deals...

Welcome to Driver's Ed

Anna started Driver's Ed today and was a bit nervous, but I think she'll do ok. There are great instructors and she doesn't do the behind the wheel stuff until next week or the week after. This also happens to be the only driving school that will teach manual transmission if we want her to learn that. Bogdan says yes, let her burn out someone else's clutch.

Gabriel is helping out with the beginner's rowing camp and reports that the new recruits are uncoordinated and awful. When I asked him if he was the same way last year, he replied "I hope I was never that bad!" :)

Last day of vacation

Today is our last day of vacation and I have reminded the kids that now there is only a month and school will begin. The summer has gone by fast already, but no more vacation and we will just have a month of lazy summer days.

The boys caught some nice fish yesterday, Gabriel caught his biggest yet, a saltwater trout (22 inches long)

We are still hopeful that the turtles will hatch tonight!

Still no baby turtles

The due date has come and gone and still no babies. We are still hopeful that we'll be able to see them.

Yesterday, the boys went golfing, it would have to be the hottest day in the week! The boys played for free and Bogdan had the best score. Peyton says he won, because he had the most points.

Today is the big fishing expedition, and the girls and I are headed to mini golf and then the beach.

Yesterday was also the 6th anniversary of my kidney donation, and I am thankful I was able to undergo the process and help someone in need.

Turtle Watch

Gabriel's first shark!!
Day 3 of turtle watch and no baby turtles yet. Tomorrow is their due date and Anna is really hopeful that she'll see their arrival.

The boys have been fishing almost non-stop since they've been here. They have been on the pier for 2 days and tonight more night fishing. Tomorrow will be a golf day (more of an afternoon) and Thursday some backwater fishing.

North Carolina beaches

The beaches are very nice here and to us, they are deserted. We are so used to beaches up north that are wall to wall people. This is nice, since there is no one here (well practically no one).

We are having fun, but got a bit beach burn out today. We were on the beach and suddenly some of us felt sick and we came back to the house and we are now better. The girls are now off to the lighthouse to check it out up close. The boys are still fishing (off the pier) and having a good time. We are hoping for a quiet night, watching a movie.

Beach bums

We arrived safely in North Carolina, only after some minor fights and raging at my kids. The place is very nice, we spent the day at the beach. The kids all had fun. We did a lot of body surfing, the kids made a sand castle and the boys even tried some surf fishing.

They want to go on some backwater (causeway) fishing and may rent an afternoon on the boat. The boys also want to rent Jet-ski's. We'll see if they make the cutoff age. (Secretly, I'm hoping they have to be at least 16....)

We are right near a sea turtle sanctuary area, which means that there are at least 3 areas very near us on the beach that sea turtles have laid their eggs. We think it may be soon, as one of them already has the guided walkway to the sea set up. (hard to describe, but it's a pathway that guides the baby turtles right to the ocean) Anna loves sea turtles and is so excited to maybe see the event! (here are the pictures of the turtle contraption)

We also saw dolphins off shore flipping in the ocean!

Patron Saints

So, if St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost items, then I offer up 2 new saints.

St. Gabriel (my son, who is NOT a saint, but there's hope), the patron saint of losing things. He has lost so many things just today, I have lost count. #1 he lost his pocketknife, #2 he lost his fishing pliers, # he lost his wallet at Wal-mart. (we did go to customer service and the wallet was turned in and with all the money--there are still good people in the world). After the wallet, I've stopped counting.

St. Peyton (Gabriel's friend, also NOT a saint, and I don't think there's any hope), the patron saint of breaking things. If there was someone born without any sense of right/wrong/good/bad, it has got to be Peyton. Common sense is something he thinks he'll just buy at Wal-mart someday. The prime example took place 2 weeks ago. I had just bought something and it was on my counter for not even 5 minutes and I'm in the other room. He breaks it, because he can't figure out how it worked. I was livid.

If either of these 2 become saints, you can say I predicted it here first.

Activities for the week

We leave on Saturday for Oak Island, not having been there since 2002, we are sure it is a beautiful as we remember. We are staying at a beach house, on the beach this time and looking forward to sun, beach and relaxing.

Gabriel is bringing a friend, Peyton, and they will most likely bike, fish and swim all the time. Golf is also planned sometime with Gabriel and Bogdan, and Peyton will be their caddy.

When we are back, the kids will only have another month and then school starts.

Happy 4th of July!!

Anna is back

Anna is back from camp, loving orange juice and white water rafting. She had a great week and it only rained 2 times. Very hot weather and only came back with a slight burn on her shoulders, she remembered sunscreen all days except yesterday (when it was 101 !!)

After doing a huge load of her laundry, she showered and sat down to a plate of french fries, spaghetti and garlic bread. Ah, the joys of civilization, she exclaimed.

She loves her new green room!