Once more, with feeling! I took the van in to Ab & Tom's again on Wednesday. Believe it or not, they found a rock wedged in between the subframe and the exhaust which seemed to be causing the roar and hum. They also noticed that the idler pulley and tensioner were really worn and noisy, which they were and have been for a while but I never took it in for that. They fixed those too, I figured I might should have that done since the problem this time just seemed to be a rock. So what's another $339.67 but less than another car payment, even if it is the third such payment in about 6 weeks..... Friday was game night at the Rodgers house. Alex was working and it was thunderstorming, so we had to leave a bit early to pick him up, but we joined the group (pretty well attended) for dinner (bake your own pizza) and some games. Beth and I played a round of Survive, the Escape from Atlantis game, before we had to excuse ourselves and go get Alex.....Saturday we all went to Fort Wayne to do some shopping for clothes for the kids. The girls are in dire need of girl things that I can't help them with and which aren't very good at the places in Warsaw, so we hit Penney's for them. And a decent jacket for Alex. We (mostly Beth) got them taken care of, then I headed to Mom's place for a visit. However she was asleep the whole time I was there. I sat in her room for over an hour but she never woke up or even stirred......

We're back tonight from Michawana, something like the 11th annual family campout. It was much more subdued this year, several families were not able to come due to prior commitments, so there was a lot less boozing this time. I wasn't sure it was going to go to plan because Nat had a huge panic attack at school around lunchtime, a worse one than I've ever seen. I took the day off so I was at home when the call came, and after she was able to be moved we took her out on a wheelchair and to home where she feel asleep. These attacks just exhaust her.....Missy was on a school field trip to Chicago to see an art expo on Friday, so after school got out, Alex, Natalie, Nat's friend Holly and I headed to Michigan. We were actually there in time to set up the camper in the daylight. Nat and Holly set up the tent since they were sleeping there, but we did have to run to Walmart for an air mattress and pump. The truck battery somehow was dead for that (something was plugged in) so Marve had to jump it for that trip. Beth and Missy came up Saturday morning since Missy was so late getting back. The weather was nice so the girls hung out at the beach or on a paddle boat for quite a while (and I had a close encounter with a snake at the lake). No zip line or anything. We all had a community meal (Beth made a big fancy salad) and made our specialty tin foil dinners, and had the birthday party for Marve and Margie. Saturday night didn't last very late though, because the rain started at around 10 and chased everyone inside. The firewood that Marve and Ric brought was a bit green so it wasn't burning well even before the rain, so we rigged up the mattress air pump to act as a bellows and kept it going that way. It rained most of the night, but stopped in the early morning long enough for us to pack things up. Everyone went to the Walldorf for lunch and we headed back. However, on the way out of the campground, Beth reported, there was a loud crack from somewhere near the back of the van and then it got really loud. Roar, hum, vibrating. We stopped at Plainwell Ice Cream (so I could check out the noise), then it continued all the way home. Have to call the shop, again..... Thursday Beth and I got a letter in the mail from the county clerk, telling us that we had a court date set for the adoption hearing, and it was...tomorrow at 9:00 am! Thanks for the advance notice. We didn't know much about what it was for, if it was to finalize everything or what, but when we got to the courthouse it turned out to be a hearing only if someone showed up to contest it, which nobody did. Natalie was sure she saw her dad there, but the guy just waved at her and walked away so Beth and I weren't so sure it was him. Also, nobody else saw the guy. Anyway, it was a formality so now the judge just had to sign the paper and it's done. He was on vacation Friday so maybe Monday it'll be final.... Beth got her CPAP this week, finally, and slept with it for the first time on Tuesday. No snoring, but it's not a miracle cure for everything, either, it seems. She slept all right but woke up several times, and had a headache and drainage going on today. And it hurts her face, so it probably needs to be adjusted.

I got the van in to Ab and Tom's, again, on Monday this week. The check engine light was still on, but it wasn't chugging and coughing and wheezing like it did the other day. Of course, it doesn't do it when I get it to a mechanic. Anyway, they did find something. The check engine code was for a fuel injector circuit open, and they found fuel sitting on top of the valves indicating an intermittently sticking fuel injector. They replaced the injector, cleared the codes, and it seems to be running fine now. $356.71 is still less than a car payment..... Monday this week was the "celebration of excellence" at the high school. Alex was honored for having achieved a 4.0 for the previous school year, during at least one semester, and got to go up on stage with all the other honorees and receive a pennant. Yep. It was sort of surprising how few kids showered up for it, maybe 20% of the honorees were there.....For some reason, the computer I ordered about 3 weeks ago is not available. I got a message from Dell that some parts or other could not be ordered, so the whole order had to be cancelled, and I had to place a new order. For, apparently, a computer without whatever it is that was not available. So I did, after I contacted Dell to make sure it was a legit notice from them. So yeah, new computer ordered and new delivery date of late October....

Today we got lunch at Shoop's and when we came out, the van chugged and coughed terribly when I started it up and it rode really rough all the way home, with the check engine light on. Great, I sure need that. Oh well, at least it didn't do that the day before when we went to Cedar Point. Or even the day before, before we went there....Saturday was the Zimmer Biomet company picnic at Cedar Point. I had just about completely forgotten about it until last week when I flipped the calendar over to September. I wasn't sure what we were going to do since Alex had to work all day Saturday, but he was able to find someone to cover his entire shift. Nor was I sure that Missy, Alex, or Beth would want to go. But they all did, so I found an AirBnB for us (one night only, and a real steal since it was so late and still available). It was a whole house maybe 10 miles from the park. We got going Friday night after Alex got out of work and arrived at the house around midnight, and crashed. Then in the morning we were gone. So, barely 8 hours in the house but worth it? We were late getting to the park so it was already crowded when we got there. Nat and I headed for Steel Vengeance hoping the crowd was lesser back there, but no. Two and a half hour wait. Beth and the kids did some shopping. When we finally got done with the coaster, Alex was ready to try the mine car ride and Iron Dragon. We met up and rode those (short lines), then got lunch and split up again. Alex went to the arcade, Beth and Missy shopped, Nat and I rode Rougarou (short line) and Millennium Force (2 hours). After that Nat was done. She hadn't been sure about Steel Vengeance but after the last one she was done. By around 5 everything still had huge lines, I'd only ridden 3 good coasters, and we headed for home. Short day, but it was a nice time..

Labor Day weekend, and I hadn't even realized it was a holiday and I didn't have work on Monday until late last week, so bonus for me. And the kids, no school. Saturday we all (except Alex, at work) went to Plymouth for the Blueberry Festival. Man, can you spend a lot of money fast there. Nat and I (rides) split up from Beth and Missy (shopping) shortly after we got there, and we all were about done at the same time. Nat and I rode 3 rides, the biggest one being one of those where you swing back and forth and go all the way up and over ultimately, which we hadn't been expecting when we got in line. Nat was a little freaked out but recovered, mostly (she's been struggling with the anxiety lately). We never even made it across the covered bridge to the really big side of the park before everyone was done with it, though....This past week I got the new tabletop in the camper done; I cut and stained a premade shelf from Menard's and screwed it in place over where the sink used to be, so we will have some more countertop space now.....Today we went out to FW to do a little clothes shopping for the girls (mostly Nat). The Monsma kids both went with us as well. Missy did the mall with Katherine, Alex did the mall with Luke, and we had supper at Red Robin.....I have volunteered to be a guide for FCC Kids on Wednesday nights again, which starts up next week. There was an informational meeting for volunteers Wednesday. Seems like it might be pretty good this year, some structural changes are being made. I'm with Larry with the 5th and 6th graders, sounds like it'll be ok.