Busy, busy

Well it has certainly been a very busy few weeks.  I will try to re-cap but still be brief.

- We took the boat to Leland for a night on Sat. night the 18th and visited with the Mark, Shelley and Ruth there.  Always nice to get a chance to stay in Leland.  Beautiful spot.

- Venetian week started in Charlevoix on the 20th and Jamie and the kids arrived on Tues.  It was fun having them here and getting to "play" with Jacob and Ashlyn.  Jacob's such an easy going GREAT kid (no prejudice here at all) and Ashlyn is a hoot with all her funny faces and she's learning and trying to learn new words.  So she's starting to communicate and letting her needs be known.

- Mom and Dad Spaulding arrived Friday afternoon and then I got to take a small plane back to Holland to go to a Drama Club reunion.  It was great to see so many there but the highlight was to see Ellen Doyle Mizener and Cathy Zeeb Golliday!!  The three musketeers back together again however, briefly.  It was also great to see so many others - Jodi, Beth, Mary Jo, John, Dan and Brenda, Phil, Jim, Brad.........  Although some were missing it seemed a good "core" of my friends were there.  We had a great time reminiscing about how so many people in Drama had affected our lives in such a positive way.  I was sorry I couldn't stay longer but had to get back to Charlevoix...

- Mary and Dave and the kids came up to Charlevoix as well as Ken on Friday night.  Also Travis and Allison came back with me on the plane.  Larry took them for boat rides and wake boarding on Sat. and also he entertained the "gang" Friday night while I was gone and took them into Lake Charlevoix for the fireworks.

- Lots more activities in town - carnival, "flying dogs" and then more fireworks Sat. night right on Round Lake so we had front row seats.  Jacob wasn't sure which night were the best fireworks but later decided that Sat. night's were the best.

- Tim and Elizabeth and the kids also arrived about dinner time on Sat. night and got to join the fun too then they were off to Boyne City to camp for the week.

- Most everyone left Sun. afternoon but Mom and Dad stayed around until Wed. and went down to the campground to join Tim, Elizabeth and kids on Monday and Tues.

- Larry and I took the boat to Mackinac Island on Monday, met a customer of his there who was also on his boat, went out for dinner with them at a great place on the Island called Woods that I had never been to before, spent the night there on the boat and then came back to Charlevoix on Tues.

- Mom and Dad left for home Wed. and Larry took that small plane to Minneapolis for business

- Wed. night two more customers came into Charlevoix and Larry took them today to see a product that is made here in Charlevoix.

- Jamie had her court date on Tues. even though it seemed she and Jeff were quite a bit apart in agreeing on things but they worked it out between the Judge, lawyers and themselves so they still have to see the final written agreement and then sign and things will be final.  :-(  Not a good time for anyone but now at least Jamie can move on with her life.  It has been really difficult for her but we have seen her grow stronger through it all.  Please keep Jamie and the kids in your prays as they continue to "adjust" to the situation.

Whew - so much for being brief.  Oh well, had lots to re-cap.  If I would add to this every day or so I could make it shorter each time.

Maybe next time, or when I'm caught up with what has happened I can add some things that I am looking forward to.  

Italy, The Race and Up North

Wow, I can't believe it has been almost a month since my last posting and SO much has happened since then.  We had a very nice weekend with Mom Hilldore and Uncle Ray and Aunt Shirley.  Relaxing but fun.  It was good to see Mom in good spirits and she even walked quite a bit with us.  I think we tired her out because she slept really well!!

We spent the 4th of July Holiday in Italy!!  A good customer of ours got married in the little town of Silvi on the east coast of Italy, about a 2 1/2 hr drive, almost straight east of Rome.  We flew into Rome, arriving on the 4th and had a "taxi" ride (really a van) over to Silvi Marina, right on the Adriatic Sea where we stayed.  The wedding was on Sat., the 5th up the "hill" in the town of Silvi.  About the most picturesque place you can imagine.  They got married outside in front of a fountain. (See above)  It was just beautiful and I think half of the town was there just to watch.  We spent an extra day there relaxing and had pizza back "up" at the town Sunday night while an orchestra played just around the corner with singers singing O Sole Mio.  How much more "italian" can it get??

We then took the "cab" (van) ride back to Rome and spent a few days there.  Two days of touring really with a driver recommended by the wedding couple.  It was about 90 degrees F. there so it was nice to be able to ride around and see the sights in air conditioned comfort.  He also told us what we were looking at and gave us some information about things.  The first day we did have a tour through the Vatican which was pretty neat.  The second day Salvedore (our driver) took us up out of the city to a really pretty spot for lunch that was a little cooler.

So we saw lots of cool things and had LOTS of great food,  too much to list here.

We returned home on Thurs. night and then on Sat. took our grandson Jacob and his mom - Jamie to the NASCAR race near Chicago.

Jacob is a huge NASCAR fan and his favorite is Kyle Bush.  We had bid on a "package" at the Hospice dinner and won this trip for 4.  We had a private plane ride from Holland to near the race track, a car to use to go to the track, passes to the pits and garages, two rooms at a hotel for the night, breakfast in the morning, then the flight back to Holland.  It was all pretty cool and was a surprise for Jacob.  It was really fun to do that with them and I think Jamie was just as or more excited about it as Jacob was.  

That was Sat. and Sun. then on Monday Larry and I brought the boat up to Charlevoix and met some friends of ours - Mark and Shelley Hawks and Ruth Dailey from Holland here.  We got to keep the boat right at the marina next to them and spent some of the nights sleeping on the boat too so it really seems like "vacation" and the boat trips we have done with them in the past.  It was nice to spend time with them again too.

Well, if I knew better how to post the pictures between paragraphs I would add more but can't seem to get the hang of it.  I will have to get some instruction and then try again.

OK, so the pictures are kinda backwards at the top of the page but at least you can see them.  Jamie and Jacob in Kyle Bush's garage, Larry and I in Rome and the fountain where the wedding was.  Maybe I will get better at it at another time.  :-p  But you get the "picture."