Since I last wrote, things have been much quieter than the beginning of our trip. Quiet is a good thing!

Jeffrey attended Magic Tree House camp, for two weeks. It was an incredible experience and he'll be going back later in the month. Until Jeffrey introduced me to Jack and Annie last fall, I had no knowledge of the tree house-- magic or otherwise. There are approximately 40 books in the series and in each book, the main characters take on some sort of adventure. The first week they worked on Tigers at Twilight. The whole week was themed around the tiger. Crafts, games, activities and a trip to the zoo were the highlights. On the last day, they put on a short and sweet show. The next week was Knights at Dawn. Jeffrey made his own coat of arms, a highly decorated sword, went on a scavenger hunt and visited Squire's Castle- a landmark in one of the many Cleveland parks. (David went there as a child.) Of course they did regular camp things too- swimming and sports. Jeffrey's favorite thing, barring nothing, was spending time at the creek in the woods. He fell in more times than not, but had a great time playing in the mud and trying to catch cray fish, minnows and water bugs. Initially I tried washing the clothes, but just resigned to throwing them away. Believe it or not, my motto is "the dirtier you are, the more fun you had." He had a very fun time!

I was supposed to go to FL last week, but had a change of plans. I tried inviting myself on David and Jeffrey's Daddy Weekend, but essentially was not welcomed. As for me, I hung out in the hotel, read, watched movies and scrapbooked. Life doesn't get any better! I took myself out of the hotel for one meal a day and couldn't have been happier. I probably could have stayed in the hotel for 72 hours, but figured I was better off seeing the light of day.

Jeffrey and David drove to MI to visit cousins Larry, Nancy and Amanda. He had a great weekend and of course went to see the Indians get crushed by the Detroit Tigers. But it was Kid's Day at the stadium, so after the game, he was able to run the bases. Maybe next Sunday we'll get a better game, when we go to an encore game in Cleveland.

On Monday, they left MI and drove to Sandusky, OH to Cedar Point-- a bigger than life amusement park. First things first, they played miniature golf and then explored some of the rides. I wouldn't say they went on too many of the 17 roller coasters, but everything they did, they enjoyed. David went here as a child and it was exciting for him to return with Jeffrey. (I have a picture of David in 1961, on the beach and ironically, David took the same picture of Jeffrey 47 years later.) They arrived home around midnight and today is a new day.

This week is going to be catch is as catch can. It is after 2pm and neither of us are in any hurry to get dressed and out. We should, because it is a beautiful day, but for now, we are content. We may watch Tootsie in a bit.

That's it for now. Life is good.

Best,

Ellen