We are home. We are not supposed to be home, but we are. This entire week, Saturday through Friday, we were supposed to be camping at Turkey Run State Park. However there was no cooperation from the weather. It's been awfully wet this spring and early summer, and it looked like the rain was going to continue this week so we kept an eye on things, and decided to go for it anyway since we'd already paid for it. We drove down to the park on Saturday, got there in the evening and set up in a swamp. The campsite was mostly mud, but we were able to find some semi-solid spots to put the chairs. We tried to swap sites to move to a less muddy spot but had no luck. The park itself was half-closed due to high water; many of the trails were closed and the suspension bridge was closed for the whole weekend. All of the rafting and canoeing rental places along the river were shut down, too. From one end of the bridge, you could see that the water was covering even some of the boardwalk parts of the trails on the other side. I went for a run on Sunday morning along one of the trails but had to turn around because a large chunk of it was literally under water. But anyway, we did do some fun camping stuff while we were there; a park ranger took us on a hike to show and explain the edible plants in the area, we came to the interpretive center in the morning to help set up the bird and wildlife feeders and watched behind one-way glass while they all came to eat (Missy loved that), we were able to hit the pool Sunday afternoon since it was sunny and warm, but that didn't last long...we went horseback riding a bit later and by the time we were done, it was starting to rain again. The forecast was calling for rain pretty much all week. So, we packed up very early and went home. Funny story on the trip home. We got dinner at a KFC in Crawfordsville, then an hour or so down the road, Beth says "where's my purse?" Ha ha! Yep, back at the restaurant.

This week Missy has been away at Michiana Christian Service Camp at girls-only camp. We also helped out with sending her bestie Rebekah to camp with her, and dropped them off last Sunday. They've had a great time. This is Missy's second time at girls-only, and she already has told us she wants to go again next year.

Alex and I are back from a GT trip to Cedar Point. At some point during the school year they did some study using roller coasters as an illustration, so they thought it would be fun to organize a trip to Cedar Point to kind of bring it all home. This was the trip that the Nelson's fundraiser was for. Anyway, they needed chaperones and I volunteered, even though the trip fell over Missy's birthday. We caravaned to Ohio on Sunday, where arrangements had been made for us to spend the night at the KOA near the park. We had several of those mobile-home-slash-cabins, which were serviceable but crowded (not nearly enough beds. Alex and I doubled up), we grilled burgers and hot dogs for dinner, and were ready to hit the park first thing in the morning. We were there when they opened, and although it threatened to rain pretty much all day, it never really did. That was awesome because it kept the crowds way down, enough that I rode Millennium Force twice, and Gatekeeper maybe 8 times altogether. Alex kind of struggled all day though, because he's not a roller coaster rider. We got him to ride Gemini early on, but he didn't like it and wouldn't ride another. I wish we had started with the Iron Dragon, which would have been a much better first ride. Gemini is so clattery. Just about everyone else was riding the coasters so he did a lot of waiting and walking. But things got much better when we got to the water rides, especially the Thunder Canyon, where everyone sits in a round raft and floats down a wild river going under waterfalls and such. That, he loves. We rode it enough times to get soaked to the bone several times over, which came with its own problems because of the subsequent chafing. We played some games and rode some less thrilling rides too, and ended after dark. The next morning we hit the water park, which Alex would have gone to all day both days if he could have. I was one of the few parents that was diligent with  the sunscreen, which was good because unlike the previous day, Soak City day was bright and sunny and hot. Alex kept a t-shirt on and so did I, and we were noticeably not burned to a crisp by 5 o'clock like may others were. Anyway, the park is very nice, with a lot of really cool water rides. And again the park wasn't super crowded so we had no super long lines. We headed for home by about 5 on Tuesday, everyone was pretty tired and quiet on the drive.
As noted, Missy's birthday was while Alex and I were gone. On her birthday, Beth took her and the Purvis' to Black Pine Animal Sanctuary over near Columbia City. Missy LOVED it. She wants to do a birthday party there now instead of a sleepover.

We're back from the family party in Michigan. Since Missy's birthday is coming up, Judy offered us the use of their beach house for a birthday party. Mom and dad left earlier in the day, and we all headed up to Michigan. It was a very nice party, with all the cousins and aunts and uncles. We had a cookout and took the boats out, had water balloon fights and did some fishing. Missy caught maybe half a dozen fish altogether. She also scored a whole lot of Legos.
This past week I also set up the pool. It's been in storage on top of the camper since last fall, but now it's back out and not even any holes. But wow o wow does it take a long time to fill 5000 gallons from a garden hose. The kids are pretty excited even though it's still as cold as ice.

Lots happening lately. The school year is winding down, and summer is winding up already. Monday was Alex's last elementary school field trip, to the Fort Wayne Zoo, followed by 6th grade graduation Wednesday morning. I ducked out of work to go to the graduation but I wasn't expecting it to go on as long as it did. Anyway, Alex and Missy both won class awards, Alex for math and Missy for creative writing, and both were on honor roll or high honor roll. So now Alex is moving on to middle school...where life sucked for me...but I'm sure he'll do fine.  Last day of school was Wednesday. Tuesday the softball winning streak ended at one. The stump from the ginormous tree we had cut down a few weeks ago got ground out Saturday, and I spent most of the day getting all the wood chips and sawdust cleared up. The lawn is going to need some serious rehab. Mom and Dad also arrived Saturday evening, and in keeping with recent trends the rain kept up; today we all went to the Winona Lake art fair, but of course shortly after we got there the rain started, and most of the vendors were already packing up by the time it started. Figures, the one thing there is to do in town while they're here. We were there for maybe 15 minutes and went home because of the rain and lack of artists at the art fair.