Chapter 3. Shut-down week.

Every year around the 4th of July, Jon has a week off of work. It is basically mandatory vacation time when (almost) all of GM shuts down for maintenance, re-tooling, and other big jobs that quite frankly are easier to do when no one around. It also usually coincides with the annual Speckhard family reunion in Mishawaka, IN so that works out nicely for us. I (Peg) also take vacation and we spend a week on the road visiting with as many loved ones as we can. This year, there was also a baptism, wedding, and birthday party thrown in, so it was busy!

This year's road trip started with short drive to Canton, MI. On Friday, July 1, our Godson, Leo Benjamin (Rosie and Lilly's baby brother) was being baptized. Of course we couldn't miss that! It was a nice, intimate ceremony followed by ice cream and visiting at Leo's grandparents' home. Leo and Stevie are just a few weeks apart in age. It was already fun to see them interacting and "talking" to each other. We think they will turn out to be pretty good buds!

PS - Thanks to Tabbatha Plomaritas for the great pictures!




As an aside, at the after-baptism party, Marie tripped while running in the yard, landing squarely on the sidewalk on both knees. There was quite a bit of blood and crying, but we eventually did recover from the first really good knee scraping of the summer. This provides the explanation for the band-aide theme you might notice in some of the subsequent pictures.

After the baptism, it was time to hit the road. We had never attempted the driving at night approach with our kids. We were a little leery about it, but we just needed to do it this time. On Saturday, July 2, Jon's cousin was getting married in Mishawaka, IN. Marie and Joey did fine...but didn't sleep. Stevie, who was (and is) still not a big fan of riding in the car, cried a good part of the way. But, alas, we did make it to the hotel and finally got everyone settled in for some restful sleep.

The next couple of days were packed full of wedding activities, playing with the Shibata's (the event was also attended by Grandma and Grandpa Shibata, Uncle James, Aunt Jaclyn, JJ, and Gracie, and Aunt Jess), catching up with family that we hadn't seen in a year or more, swimming, eating, outdoor games, celebrating Gracie's 2nd birthday, and the like. The weather was hot and humid. (Though that is reportedly not the reason the groom was in a kilt!) The pool was refreshing and thoroughly enjoyed. Joey did get a couple of wasp stings, but after a bit of ice, he was as good as new. Even though we don't get to see Jon's aunts, uncles, and cousins all that often, we always feel right at home and cherish the time with them. We are so grateful to have such wonderful extended family.

Gracie, the newest 2-year-old!

Needless to say, all the time outside in the sun and all the tremendous fun that we had really wore us out. Back at the hotel, Marie and Joey slept together in the pull-out couch. When they are teenagers and can't seem to get along, we look forward to pulling out this shot!

After a couple of full days, we got back on the road. We drove down to Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart's house on Monday, July 4th. This time the drive was during the day and went much more smoothly. By this time, we were beginning to figure out how to keep Stevie and happy as possible. Instead of Jon doing the driving (he almost exclusively did the driving up until that point), I drove and Jon sat right next to Stevie. Hey...whatever works.

Down in Illinois, there was lots of stuff to do and see. Marie and Joey got a kick out of the new kittens that Grandma and Grandpa had. The kids were kind of scared of them at first. (Scared of kittens...I know!) But, after a couple of days, they realized they were completely harmless and got up the nerve to pet them and pick them up. Marie and Joey still talk about them now!




We were kept busy checking the garden, looking for Purple Martins, fishing, watering flowers, driving the tractor, and lots of other fun stuff as well. Time always flies when we're down there!


Another one of our Illinois activities was taking the kids to the farm, where Grandpa Meinhart grew up and were his two brothers (and nephews) still farm. Marie and Joey were pretty nervous about the cows in the milking parlor and wouldn't even think about letting us put them down. They were also afraid of the dogs, calves, pigs, and steers. At least they're consistent! We were a little surprised about Joey being so nervous since last year, he got right in there and fed the steers by himself. But, they both still really enjoyed playing in the big pile of cottonseed.





We took a day to drive to St. Louis and see Great-Grandpa Boedeker. He is definitely slowing down and his hearing and eyesight is suffering, but he is still sharp as a tack. He always brightened up when the kids would be playing or running around. And, he could see well enough to comment a couple of times about how big Stevie was already! We can't get anything past Great-Grandpa.


After a packed few days in Illinois, we drove back up to Michigan on Friday, July 8. The next day, we celebrated again with our friends, the Roberts' family. This time it was to celebrate Lilly's 3rd birthday. No skinned knees this time, just pizza, cake, and ice cream.



Later that night, we celebrated with our friends, the Thomm's (and many others!), who were renewing their wedding vows and celebrating their 10th anniversary. Not only that, but Uncle Dave and Itaxso flew in for the weekend on their way to Chicago. Whew! So much going on, so much fun, and so thankful for safe travels, all the family that we got to see and events we got to celebrate. This year's shut-down week will be hard to beat in the years to come!

Chapter 2. Early Summer, Revisited.

Chapter 2...Early Summer...let's see if I can remember that far back.

I do remember that we had a very nice visit from Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart right around Father's Day. Grandma came up for about 7 days and stayed long enough to help put up strawberries. We took the kids during the week and they did pretty well. Marie actually did some picking. Joey was interested in it for a few minutes and then got a little bored. He was much happier looking around for rocks and other boy-ish things. I'm sure Stevie will be a bigger help next year. :)



After leaving the patch, we stopped at the park to have a picnic. We've done this the last couple of years, so it appears that we are starting a tradition. Later on, Marie and Joey got to help prep the berries for putting into the freezer.




We were able to celebrate Father's Day with both Jon and Grandpa Meinhart. Marie and Joey had made special cards (with tools on them!) for Jon and had gotten a kick out of wrapping (and unwrapping) the presents. Then they got to learn all about Purple Martins from one of Grandpa's gifts.





They other "fun" thing that went on while Grandma and Grandpa were here was the Hamburg Family Funfest. This annual event happens to be about 1 1/2 miles away from our house. For one weekend a year, they have carnival rides and games, car shows, a petting zoo, concerts, fireworks, etc. We certainly didn't take advantage of ALL that was going on, but the kids enjoyed the rides and petting zoo for a couple of hours. It did take them a little while to warm up to the goats, but they eventually got close enough to actually pet them thanks to Aunt Sarah!







Other than that, I think June consisted of a lot of playing outside (and inside), planting the garden, going back to work (Peg), a visit from the Mitzels (and trip to the outlets), and getting ready for our shut-down week road-trip. Stay tuned...

Chapter 1. Remember us?

Not sure how many chapters it would take to get caught up on all that has been going on around here. The busier we are, the more we have to blog about, the less time there is for blogging! The unfortunate result is that you haven't heard from us in way too long. :( So, in an effort to let everyone know that yes, we are alive and well, I'll include a brief synopsis of the summer along with some pictures. HOPEFULLY, there will be more posts to follow with more detail about trips and other events from the summer...there is always hope!

I (Peg) have been back to work (part-time) since the beginning of June. True to the nature of the business there have been times when I've been not so busy and times that I have been really busy. Somewhere in there, we also moved offices, from our temporary location to a more permanent home. The new office is really nice since we had everything to do with designing it the way we wanted and everything is well...new! I'm still enjoying the actual work, though during those busy times it does get to be a lot.

I've been spending a lot of time in the garden as well. The start of the summer was pretty rough with all the rain. We ended up replanting all of the green beans. Then we had a very hot, dry spell in July. Overall, I think we've weathered everything okay. We ate a lot of zucchini and cucumbers for awhile and now we're into tomatoes and green beans. It is a lot of work, but so good for the soul.

Jon has been keeping busy with yard work and maintaining the pool. It takes a lot of effort, but the kids sure do love it. There was that dry spell when he didn't have to mow the lawn for a couple of weeks. I'm sure he'd admit that he didn't mind, even though the grass was brown. He is still really enjoying his work at GM and was just awarded his first patent. And, it was for something that is actually being used in production! We were all very proud. Now he is getting ready to start his grad program again this fall. More late nights studying!

Marie continues to be a big help around the house, even when Joey would rather her not be. :) She had really taken off with her reading. It seems like it just clicked for her overnight. She had a great time at Vacation Bible School at our parish, which was a good warm up for school. She will be starting kindergarten in just a week! So far, it has been both fun and not so fun. The fun part has been getting school supplies, getting and trying on her uniform, getting to have play dates with her future classmates, etc. The not so fun part has been having to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. We have been gradually making that change and let's be honest, it is sometimes painful for all of us. But, it has to be done! It sure will be a change to have her at school every day.

Joey is turning into a big boy. He still has his 2-year old moments and can somehow find a way to narrowly escape serious injury (like when he pulled my almost 5' dresser and all of its contents over on top of himself...that will teach me to leave the room for 5 seconds). He likes to be doing whatever Marie is doing and has been doing a great job recognizing all his shapes and colors. He is even doing basic math ("Joey, if you have 3 bites of chicken left and you eat 1, how many will you have?"). He will surely miss Marie when she goes to school. We have been making some progress in the potty training arena. He is getting pretty good at letting us know and successfully going #2 on the pot. He is still not to interested in stopping what he is doing to go potty though. At least we're making progress.

Stevie is changing so fast...almost six months old already! He has been healthy and other than the last week or so (we think that teeth might be the culprit) he has actually turned into a pretty good sleeper. He is going to be just as active, if not more active than Joey. He rolls and scoots himself around the floor and gets up on all fours trying with all his might to get to whatever toy or colorful object he has his sights on. He can't quite figure out how to get his arms and legs coordinated so that he can really cover ground, but he is close. Then we'll really have to watch out. He has had a couple of check-ups this summer and all is fine. We still get the "You sure grow them big!" comment from the doctor, but we're used to that. He's big overall...most recently about 95th percentile for height and 85th percentile for weight. Compared to his siblings, he's somewhere in the middle, a bit bigger than Marie but smaller than Joey. We are going to be starting solid foods here very soon...fun, fun!

So, that is a brief update on us all. I'll include a few pictures and stories from the summer. Hopefully, you'll hear from me again soon to give you the update on our shut-down week road trip to visit the Speckhards, Shibata's, and Meinhart's, birthday parties and baptisms, our fun-filled weekend in Pittsburgh, lots of out-of-town visitors, and general summer fun...just to wet your appetite!



Marie: Joey, when you are seven your baby teeth will fall out. And then your big teeth will fall right in!

Marie dances and bops around the living room in her normal energetic fashion.
Itaxso inquires: Where do you find so much energy?
Marie: I just ate a lot of food.

Jon comes home from work and checks in with Joey on the status of his potty training efforts for the day
Joey, waking up from his nap.
Jon: Did you go stinky on the pot today?
Joey: I went potty on the pot.
Jon (in a disappointed tone): Oh. Did you go stinky in your diaper?
Joey: I hope so.


Joey: Dis-ter, do you love me?
Marie: Yeah.
Joey: Why?

Peg and Joey drop off Marie at Atrium and head to chapel at Domino’s Farm to go to a daily mass. The priest consumes the precious Body & Blood.
Joey whispers: He’s hungry!

Peg & Jon are talking...
With a very urgent tone Joey interrupts: Mom! Mom! Excuse me, Mom!
Peg: Yes, Joey!
Joey pauses: I can’t remember.

Overflowing with excitement from looking at the macaroni noodles on his plate Joey states: These are eyebrow noodles! I love them.

Marie: Mom! I just had a burp...and it tasted like Goldfish!

Joey climbs up to a precarious position on the side of Stevie’s pack-and-play.
Jon: Joey let go of that or you will fall.
Marie: And down will come Joey, cradle and all.



Joey talking to Grandma Shibata on the phone about packing and coming to visit when the baby comes.
Grandma: What do you think I should I bring when I come?
Joey: A present for ME!

Marie is talking to Peg while she is still very pregnant.
Marie: Mom? Does drinking Crystal Light always make you pregnant?

Joey, finishing his supper, very slowly.
Joey: I have a stomachache.
Jon: Well, I guess no dessert then.
A couple of minutes pass and Grandpa Meinhart asks:: Is your stomach better?
Joey: No, no yet.
Grandpa Meinhart: What do you think will make it better?
Joey: Uh. Just some milk... and a cookie.

Peg sighs as she is making dinner.
Marie: Mom? Are you getting tired of having three kids?

Joey has been making some progress in the potty training arena. Marie has been doing her best to encourage him. Jon and Joey return from the bathroom and come back into the kitchen where Marie is in the process of eating her dinner.
Marie (excitedly): Any news?!?
Jon: Yep. Joey went potty.
Marie: Good job! Don’t quit!






Joey: My tummy aches.
Peg: It does?
Joey: Yeah. Some goldfish would make it better.
Thinking he might actually be hungry, Peg reluctantly gives him some goldfish.
Joey downs some goldfish, brightens up and says: It’s good! I’m all better!

During the Knights of Columbus tootsie roll drive, Peg brought a couple home from the store. Quizzing Joey to see if he remembered what she had told him Peg asks: Joey, what are you eating?
Joey: A 2-year-old...candy.

Joey is drawing a picture and Peg overhears him talking to himself.
Joey: J-O-E-Y.
Peg: Hmmm. What does that spell?
Joey: Dad!

Peg and the kids are driving home from the park.
Marie: Mom? Can I have some pretzels?
Peg: We don’t have any. We’ll have to wait until we get home.
Marie (starting to whine): Why don’t we have any pretzels?
Joey: When we get home sweetheart.

After several weeks of watching Marie increase her speed at assembling a puzzle of the United States Jon is impressed at how well she can fit the pieces into the frame.
Jon: You sure love that puzzle, don’t you?
Maire: Yep! I can’t stop loving it!

We are nearing the end of our week long vacation. We started with three days with the Speckhard clan and were ending by spending a few days at Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart’s house.
Marie: Grandma before we leave tomorrow can you make all of my wishes come true?

Marie is talking on the phone with Grandma Shibata who is explaining how she had been sorting through some old toys still stored in their house.
Grandma Shibata: Grandpa and I have been playing with Legos... Can you believe that?
Marie (thoughtfully): Huh. I thought old people just rested and knitted.

Peg and Karen Mitzel enjoyed a fun shopping trip to the Outlets in Howell, small babies in tow. Meanwhile, Jon, Tim, and the rest of the kids (five in all) stayed back at the house to swim and hang out. As the Mitzels were leaving later that night...
Marie: Mom! I’m amazed that two dads could take care of so many kids!