The softball team continues on a hot streak. We won another tournament game Tuesday, defeating Wesleyan 14-4. They never really got into the game, just scrapping together a couple runs here and there over the course of the game. I think we’ve already surprised some people, we already can’t finish any lower than 3rd place. Next week we get Leesburg in the winner’s bracket championship, and they really hammered us twice during the season..…Thursday there was another orientation of sorts at the high school, although I could have sworn we just did that. This was more of a time to meet the teachers, though. We took all 3 of them and walked around meeting everyone’s teachers kind of randomly. Afterwards there was an informational meeting about a student trip to Europe that Missy was invited on. We thought it was an honors class thing but as it turns out it is open to all. It’s a 2-week tour through England, France, Germany, and Italy, looks amazing. Of course it’s over $4k per person and both the girls would like to go. And it’s just next summer, when Alex is going to France, so there’s not a lot of time to pay for it, and we do not have the budget for it right now. So, we have to disappoint both the girls this time. I hate doing that, especially since we already have Alex’s trip paid for, but his was less money and we had more time. Missy was brought to tears because she thought she’d be able to go. But, there will be another next year and I’m ok with making them wait until after sophomore year like Alex. Hope it’s a trip they’d like to do, when we can send them..…Friday night Beth and I went to another game night at the Rodgers’ house. Several other work people/couples also came. We played rounds of Rise of Augustus, For Sale, and Azul, and Beth loved the last 2, especially Azul. She’s already looking to buy that game as soon as she gets a paycheck…..Did some more driving Saturday with Alex, he’s probably got something like 10 hours in now…..Sunday the whole family did some geocaching (first time in quite a while) at a conservation area or something (swamp) up near Lake Wawasee. There are something like 9 caches in this natural park with several walking trails and a pavilion. We got two of them (including one that was hidden in a fake wasps’ nest up in a tree, which you had to lower with a string and pulley) and were looking for a third when the bugs got way too thick for us and drove us out. I’d told everyone that we would go to Lake Waubee to cool off and swim after geocaching, and it was about a million degrees outside and soaking wet, so I think that’s where everyone wanted to be anyway. So we decided to come back when the bugs would be less dense, and go swim. The lake is our new go-to place; it is certainly cleaner than any of the lakes in Warsaw and it wasn’t as crowded either. We swam, played Frisbee, and Alex drove us home.

Tuesday was the first day of school! All 3 of the kids are now high schoolers. That does simplify the ride in to school. I’m taking them in, and Beth is picking them up. None of them were particularly looking forward to it, but I think it’s going to be just fine for all of them. Alex and Missy even have a programming class together, hee hee. Beth is also now back to work at Lincoln after last year off, her first day was actually Monday. She’s been incredibly stressed about it, but really was enjoying it once she get started. She also got exactly the job she wanted, which helps..…The softball tournament started on Tuesday, and we continued on the stride we’ve been on lately. Once again we played Fellowship Baptist and jumped all over them, scoring early and often. They got a few here and there but we beat them 13-5, and for the third time this season. We’re really clicking lately, hope we can keep it up…..FCC Kids started on Wednesday. I didn’t want to do it again this year but I know it’s hard to get people to do this sort of thing, so I said I would as long as I didn’t have to do the teaching. My counterpart for the year couldn’t come this week, but she should be there from next week on. To fill in, I had Bob most of the time this week. I have the 1st – 3rd graders this year, there are 8 and all but 1 are boys, and a couple of the boys are, uh, challenging…..Alex had a sleepover on Friday night for a friend’s birthday party…..Saturday Laura came for a quick visit. She had flown to Chicago to see Monica for a day, then drove to our house to see us. She arrived around lunch time, and we had lunch and visited for a while and then headed to Fort Wayne to visit Mom. Laura didn’t really want to but she did. The visit went as well as any has lately, Mom didn’t want to go walk around but we were able to get her to anyway. She didn’t talk much but she wasn’t agitated, and what she did say didn’t make sense. The most amazing thing was she remembered Laura’s name. We went to walk outside, and we saw one of the nurses coming inside who asked her who this was, and she said ‘Laura.’ We had said it before we went outside, so we’re not sure if she just remembered it because she had just heard it, or if she really knew who Laura was. It’s hard to tell if she actually recognizes us, but I think she does to some extent. She was also short of sheets and towels so Laura and I went shopping for her at Kohl’s to pick some up. It was a hard visit for Laura but I thought it was one of the better ones lately. Laura stayed on our couch overnight, then left after we went out for breakfast....today we all went out to see "Christopher Robin," which was a bit cutesy but serviceable.

Dad’s birthday was Monday, which left me a bit melancholy.....Monday evening Warsaw was hit by a tornado. Beth was just getting home from somewhere as the weather started kicking up, and Missy looked out the back window and remarked that the wind was really blowing hard. Which it was; I looked and saw a bunch of trees across the ditch just being whipped around, but it didn’t look like it was that strong closer to the house. Which turned out to be good since it was a confirmed tornado, practically skipping over our house after touching down near Pike Lake, and then touching down again just across 30.....Tuesday we finally got to make up the softball game that has been rained out twice. We played FUM and once again only had 8 players show up, and once again we won it, 13-10. We won with only two players in the outfield. Scored early and often, and held them off. Gotta love beating that team, they are sorta whiners and talkers. So we're going into the tournament on a hot streak! I also took a bouncer off my knee (still got the guy out at second) which had left a gnarly bruise by the end of the week, complete with a pattern from the laces.....Beth has been spending most of this week shopping for back to school clothes for and with the kids. Holy cow are we spending a lot of money. Nothing fits them any more, and their shoes are all trashed. It's also very difficult to find school-appropriate shorts for the girls, we're finding...Saturday we all went up to Michigan to visit with Judy and the rest of the family. We went first up to Judy and Neill's cottage on the lake and visited with them most of the day. The flood waters have receded a little bit but the lake is still really high there. Ric and family came over a bit later and we all had a cookout for dinner. Judy also gave us a roll-top secretary, which is very nice and I think will replace the little computer desk in the dining room at home. It took a bit of doing to get it to fit into the back of the van with the back seat up, though. Anyway, things broke up just after dinner because everyone had places to go, but then we all headed up to Marve and Beth's house to visit with them for a while. We all swam at their pool for the evening, and when it started getting dark we played Farkle. We headed for home late, like 9:30 or 10, and in the process of packing up our stuff I managed to walk into the rear lift gate of the van and split open my head on it. Put about a 1" gash just under my hairline on my forehead. So that delayed our leaving by a bit as I worked on stopping the bleeding. I don't think stitches are needed but it will probably leave a scar.

Beth took the kids to Black Pine Animal Park (again) on Monday (without me, which was fine). The girls love the place, but Alex and I kinda feel like we’ve seen it enough…..Monday evening I took the rebuilt RC foam plane to the church for another flying session, which like the last one ended quickly. It took off and ascended initially, but was banking hard left from the start and I couldn’t keep it under control. The flight lasted about 5 seconds. I thought I was going to be able to keep it under control for a second or two but then it crashed hard into the parking lot and was totaled. Parts flying off and everything. The battery started to swell so I’m going to have to replace that, but the rest of the parts should be salvageable and I’ll try again…..Tuesday was supposed to be a make-up day for softball. We were rained out a few weeks back, so last Tuesday was originally an off day before the tournament starts, and they took advantage of the free day to make up the game. However, the rainout was rained out. It was one of those days when it kind of drizzles during the day and threatens rain all day, so nobody’s sure if we’re going to play or not until game time. Most of the team was at or on the way to the park when they finally announced that games were cancelled…..since we had a free evening after the game was called off, Beth and I took the kids to see “Ant-Man and the Wasp” afterwards. It was a little boring, I thought, but maybe I’m just not used to the lighter Marvel fare…..I made reservations this week for Cedar Point for the company picnic in September. I found an Airbnb house about 10 miles away for a lot less than a hotel near the park.…..Beth and Nat had some difficulties on Wednesday; Nat was going to a friend’s house in the evening after counseling but her friend thought she was coming over to our house. So while she and Beth were gone her friend’s dad dropped her off at our house. Then we waited for them to get here, which (I didn’t know) they weren’t going to. After a while I get a choppy phone call from Beth, that they had gone to drop Nat off at the friend’s house but they ran out of gas in middle of the trailer park, which is a place where Nat had some bad history and she’s having a panic attack just from being there, and now they can’t get out. And Beth’s phone has died. So she has to go door to door in this trailer park asking if someone will let her use their phone to call me, while Natalie is lying on the floor of the van and Beth is getting panicky herself. But she did it! And the person that she finally found to let her use a phone didn’t have service so she had to find wi-fi somewhere to use it. She finally got a hold of me and I (with the friend) came to get them and brought enough gas to get them back to a gas station…..Natalie has finally finished summer gym online! What a pain to deal with this teacher all summer but it is done.