Leftovers, July Edition

Hi fellas (and fellettes.)

July was a pretty decent month, if I don't say so myself.  Weather was awesome, and so I kinda wish I didn't have to work as much.  I felt like my summer didn't really start until our stint at Eight Point Lake, in the third/fourth week of the month (I continued my week-long workshop marathon at Delta College, teaching Animation, Photoshop, and STEM exploration right up until that vacation, so these last two months have really flown by.)  Hooray for adulthood.

Anyway, here's a little bit of what we managed to document from this last month. . .

This neighborhood kid practically lives at our house.

Birthday sampler.  My family gets me.

I may have consumed this entire thing within 24 hours.

Educating the offspring in some fundamental music history. . .

I've had a stack of 45s that have been collecting dust, and I decided this month to finally get off my ass and sort through them.  I have no idea how/when I acquired half of them (most without sleeves of any kind), and in the end I donated the sound majority to Goodwill.  Dad scored a handful - along with the LP shown here - that were from Granny's and part of his childhood.  I kept, like, eight 45s, I think.

One of the days I was off teaching at Delta, Kris took the girls out to the Midland Center for the Arts to check out their Dr. Seuss exhibit. 

Arts and crafts is always a big hit with our tax deductions. . .

Way to reach for the stars, kid.

Emulating her old man (I really need to buy a new drum set. . .)

Not sure what the news story's about, but I'm sure she's off-script.

She's got the posture down, I'll give her that.

That's one of the Cannonball's friends, Samantha - some day they had a play date or something.  Who knows, I was at work.

Kids playing banging on my grandmother's piano.

After years and years and years of her growing out, Kris had finally had enough of Alayna's hair reaching down to her ass.  One of our neighbors just so happens to cut hair on the side, having a salon set up in her house, so the Cannonball finally had her hair did.

(She had about eight or nine inches taken off - looks a hell of a lot better.)

Delta College, where I've spent the majority of my summer so far.  I've been teaching week-long courses in Animation, Cartooning/Illustration, Photoshop, Storytelling, STEM exploration, etc.  A crap-load of planning, but the kids are well-behaved and the pay is good. . . it just eats up a lot of my summer, which kinda sucks.  I'll probably scale it back a bit next summer.

These computers were AWESOME.  This was my classroom for my Animation and Photoshop classes.  I want one these iMacs for my home office. . .

The annual Ivy/Rapanos/Dina neighborhood picnic.  We knew a lot more people this time around, but once again opted against eating/bringing a dish (it had been pouring rain up until twenty minutes or so before the picnic was supposed to start, so a lot of people didn't know if they'd still have it.)

Another year, another water balloon fight.

Riverdays at the Tridge Park (whatever that place is called.)

Kris wanted to check out these dueling pianos, which, as could be expected, featured a lot of Billy Joel.  Way to be original, fellas.

The kids weren't thrilled with it, and we ended up having to split earlier than anticipated.

They did have a playground nearby, so we let the kids scamper about that for awhile to burn off some of their pent-up energy.

The Tridge

On the way back, Kris and I decided to hit up the Cork and Ale party store (formerly Valley Produce) - in my opinion the best craft beer store in town.  She wanted me to pick her out a sixer of random ciders (the only beer she'll drink), and while I was in the store getting some local ciders for her - and mixing up a sixer of my own - this is what my roommates were up to in the van.

They thought it'd be funny to move their parking spot while I was in the store.  They're hilarious.

At the beginning of another STEM workshop at Delta, I was given a brand new room to use.  Upon entering the room for the first time, I found this scribbled across the front white board.  Obviously kinda creepy.

Yes, of course they knocked it all down.  All over the floor.

Bunch of chicks, gettin' their nails did.

Seriously.  This chick lives here.

Abby felt it was necessary to warn her friends of the swords in our office.  'Cause, you know, we let the kids run in there and play with them all the time.

One day we came out side and saw that - SOMEHOW - a bird had impaled itself on the radio antennae of my car.  It soon became big neighborhood news with the kids.

Every time Kris got close to touching it, it started flapping its wings all over the damn place in fear.  And then Kris would recoil, freaked out, and the whole process would repeat itself.  This went on for about ten minutes.

(Eventually she got it off and the bird awkwardly flew away. In definitive defiance of God's Will.)

- Brian

Lemonade from Lemons, Pt. IV

And now, the thrilling conclusion to this year's not-as-epic-as-last-year's venture at Eight Point Lake. . .

Monday

July 25th

"Nephew Wranglin'"

Monday morning saw the departure of Dad and Kris, who both had to work.  Yours Truly was to be charged, once again, with keeping children entertained with all things boat-related throughout the day.  Let's do this. . .

Blake had a friend of his up staying the night at the cottage, and they had hounded me about taking them out fishing in the morning.  I was actually up and around before they were, and by the time they got their gear around it was already 8 - 9am.

If you're a middle-school-aged fisherman, this is the best spot to fish on the lake.  Or so I'm told.

After an hour or so, we anchored in one of the inlets, close by the cottage.  I don't think either of them caught anything throughout the morning, though.  That's what they get for sleeping in so damn late.

Back at the Cottage, trying his luck off the dock.

Cindy served as my spotter while taking the boys out and about on the tube.  It's always fun throwing kids off into the lake.

After lunch, I loaded up all five kids (the nephews, Blake's friend, and my own Tax Deductions) and drove the boat over to Eight Point's sandbar.  Since it was during a weekday and everything, it was pretty dead (on the weekend, it's nothing but Pontoons piled up on top of each other - super annoying.)

Digging for treasure

I always worry some stupid high-schooler on a jet ski is going to fly across the sandbar and run over my kids' heads like speed bumps.  Pictures like this give me anxiety just looking at them.

(Abby wanted a picture of her taken in front of her 'cave.')

I had to tether the boat to a tree, even with the anchor out, due to some strong wind.  It would be just my luck to have the boat float off while we were out in the water.

Man down.

After dropping off the three boys, the girls and I headed over to the Waite's cottage for some lunch (and beers.)  By FAR, the most stressful part of boating this week is docking at this cottage: the wind coming in is ridiculous, and their dock is L-shaped, so you can't bring the boat in like you can at our own cottage.  Still, miraculously, I was able to pull it off without a hitch.

The Waites do have a pretty awesome 'beach,' though - the girls had fun playing in it while I had some beers with Al, Lucy and Larry.

A flotilla of pay-to-use boats at the Waite's.  The cottage's owner charges a ridiculous amount for people to use these boats, so they just sit tied to the dock throughout the week.  And rightfully so.

Castle Waite

Later on, after dinner back at the Cottage, the Waites hung out with us and I made a campfire.  Here, Abby perfects her 'under the smoke' marshmallow-roasting technique.

Evening cigars - you can always count on Al to bring up good ones from Grand Rapids. . .

Obligatory tiki torch picture.  You're welcome.

Netflix 

Tuesday

July 26th

"Lucy, Larry, and the DNC"

In the morning, Bradley insisted on helping me make breakfast (he gave up after making a huge-ass mess in the kitchen.)  Cindy had to work, so I was left as the sole adult until she - and Kris - returned to the Cottage around dinner-time.  That meant no tubing, due to the lack of spotter. . . which, honestly, I was more than okay with.

Brian swung up and picked up the boys later in the morning, and after they left I got the girls around for a morning over at the Waites' cottage.  Fortunately, the weather was once again perfect.

The boat loaded up with adventure gear, coolers, and just about anything else you could want for a morning on the lake.

The girls have definitely gotten the hang of this.

I'm going to miss this a lot come winter-time. . .

The Waites' cottage has a significantly more 'rustic' theme going on. . .

After lunch, we came back to our family's cottage for a change of scenery. . .

Alayna napped for nearly the entire afternoon - a morning filled with sun, swimming, kayaking, and fighting with her sister took a toll on her.

Larry took over grill duties for dinner, which I'm sure Cindy appreciated.

The evening's big event centered around the cottage TV, oddly enough: the Democratic National Convention.  I don't have a lot of pictures for this, obviously, since it was just a bunch of us sitting around a TV watching state after state throw their lot in around Hillary frickin' Clinton.  R.I.P.  The Bern

Gruncle Larry, gone fishin'

Bored watching politics, the girls 'played catch' with these thingies (whatever they're called.)

. . . needless to say, they sucked at it.

Cindy and Kris made it back around dinner time.  Reinforcements are always appreciated when it comes to wrangling children.

Trudging through some knock-knock jokes with Aunt Lucy

Out on an evening cruise - one, last sunset over Eight Point Lake

Not surprisingly, this was the best family picture we had taken of us the whole week up at the lake.

Wednesday

July 27th

"Swan Song"

Last sunrise over Eight Point Lake

Watson assumes his favorite position in the cottage.  He did so much better up here at the lake this year compared to last year:  we didn't have to tie him up on a run, like my folks had to do with Bailey, and he didn't bark nearly as much as he used to.  Cross your fingers he keeps this shit up.

Lazy morning, watching Netflix

Last pipe and book session on the Cagafuego

Another morning coloring session on Nana's iPad

No idea what they're so focused on, here.

Dance party on the raft.  Watson is not amused.

Kris, having fun on a boat.

Taking the girls out on a leisurely cruise about the lake.

Back to the Sandbar - once again void of pontoon boats (thank God.)

From deep within our hideout, peering out at a 'Mom Monster.'

These things are pretty fun, actually. . . but I'm pretty terrible at 'em.

Aunt Lucy swung over for a little bit while we were down there (just in time for Abby's limbo routine), as her cottage is literally 30 or 40 feet from the sandbar.  Pretty convenient.

Ol' Captain Whitebeard, setting course for the Cottage.

The Beast returned, raising hell with his swimmies. . .

No dogs allowed.

While Nana and the girls did some swimming, Kris and I took the nephews out for one, last tubing ride around the lake - the weather was starting to look dastardly. . .

Coming back into port, after beating the bejesus out of my nephews around the lake

Swimming with Nana

Chaos

Drying off

Santa's Little Helper

In the afternoon, the Rain God looked pretty pissed, and so as the ominous clouds drew closer and closer to the lake - and seeing how we were already planning on leaving at some point in the day anyway - we packed up for our trek back to Midland, and Civilization.  We said farewell to our family and the Cottage, and ended our annual stint on Eight Point Lake.

- Fin -