Sorry I haven't had the chance to write in awhile. It's been a busy week, but thought I'd put some pictures on here and let you know what we've been doing real quick.

Noah had a really good week at school last week. He was sent home sick on Monday, stayed home on Tuesday.....but had awesome days Wednesday and Thursday. Of course they are out of school this week for the holiday, but he'll have two more weeks before summer school is over. I think this has been a good experience for him, and has really prepared him to start preschool this fall, which is what I really wanted from the experience anyway. He had a rough start to school, but I am relieved to know that he can indeed succeed in that environment. Hopefully his teachers at Nativity will be as great as the one he's had this summer.

The girls will be going to summer school for one more week, and then head off to Girl Scout camp. They are really excited about going, but I sure will miss them! It's going to be strange just having Noah and Amaya here with me. I will be driving the girls down to camp on the 16th, and then picking them up on the 21st. They are both upset that I didn't sign them up to ride the bus to camp, but I will feel better getting them settled into their cabins myself and seeing where they will spend their week.

My mother arrived for a week long visit last Saturday evening. She rode up with some friends that were coming to Tomahawk, WI for a visit. They actually grew up in Tomahawk, but moved to KC twenty five years ago (give or take a few years...). Barbara Erickson worked with my mom at a law firm in Liberty, MO and I was best of friends with Tricia (her youngest daughter). So when we interviewed and eventually moved to Rhinelander, it was quite a surprise to find out that Tomahawk was only 30 minutes from here. Anyway, Mom got to our house around 630. We brought her things inside and then left right away for the festivities at Hodag Park.

We had a great time at Hodag Park. We chose an area away from the crowd so the kids could play. It's a great place for a 4th of July party. They had some food vendors set up, and a moonwalk for the kids. We walked around so the kids could play and visit with their friends who were there. We ate snow cones, had our picnic dinner, watched the water ski show (well, bits and pieces of it), and then the fireworks, which were great. It was a nice evening, and perfect weather to be outside.

On the 4th, we had a great day too. The weather was amazing, around 72 and sunny. First thing we went to the logging/train museum for a pancake breakfast, and of course to visit the trains. Then we headed downtown for the parade. It was our first time at the Rhinelander 4th of July parade, and it was great. The kids enjoyed the parade, and Amaya was so cute waving the whole time. Noah was impressed by all the fire trucks in the parade, and we had some popcorn and cotton candy to make it even more enjoyable.

In the evening, we headed down by the lake for our cook out. The wind had picked up some, so it was a little chilly. Thank goodness for the big fire Pavan kept going for us! Once the sun started going down, the wind settled down and we were able to do some fireworks and make our homemade ice cream. Mocha chip, yummy!!

Last night we had Barbara and Larry Erickson, and Gordy and Vicky Lovsletten (probably spelled that wrong!) over for some good ole' KC ribs with my Dad's secret rub. Delicious! We had a great time visiting, and once again enjoying the unbelievable weather. Seventies again, sunny again, wonderful! Pavan is getting very good on his grill/smoker. We also had some chicken, which was great. Now we'll have to start experimenting with some other meats.

I'd better get going. This has taken longer than I'd anticipated getting all these pictures online and labeled. I'll write more when I get a chance.

Rebecca