The Houghs: June: The Soft-Spoken Summer Month

Welcome back, gang.

Alayna hanging out Erika, her foreign-exchange friend from South Korea.

This month was quiet compared to previous summers, and honestly that shouldn't come as all that much of a shocker to you guys 'cause the last six or seven months - with the exception of May, which was frickin' nuts - has been like that. Just really, really quiet.

All the dogs pics you see in these blogs posts are ALL courtesy of Alayna.

We didn't have any camping trips this month, which is the first time that's happened since moving back to Michigan, I think. That's more of a reflection of our indifference to it these days rather than an inability to make it happen - aside from our friend group's annual blow-outs to Jellystone each year, and my smaller High School outing I squeeze in, we usually try and go one other time per summer as a family. Lately, these have been met with disastrous results, so this year we weren't overly- gung-ho about undertaking it again, and said 'screw it.'

With Alayna getting a car this year, we didn't have any major family vacations planned (like, say, to Florida - that'll happen next summer), and with the dock not being situated up at the lakehouse until halfway through the month, we only made it up to Eight Point Lake once (for the Cannonball's Sweet 16, if you'll recall.) This meant that we stuck around Midland all month, keeping things low-key.

The Cannonball works on getting some much-needed drive time in around town.

Three or four times per week, Yours Truly would go to the gym in the late morning for a couple hours and try and combat the ravages of age, while the girls would sleep in until practically lunch time. In the afternoon, while I'd either be bronzing or doing yard work, the girls would work on house stuff, watch TV, meet up with friends, or otherwise have me shuttle them around town for random crap. Abby had JV Pom practice at Midland High every day from 4 to 6pm -with us sharing drop-off/pick-up duties with the Johnsons - and aside from some random crap that popped up from time to time, that's been our last month.

Oh, and Kris worked. Some people still have jobs right now (I guess.)

Anyway, next month will pick up, I'm sure, but for now, here's a look back at the first half of summer, which started off slow and quiet. Behold. . .

Teaching the Cannonball how to fill up gas at the Shell station on South Saginaw.

So once again, both girls have been wanting to redecorate their rooms over the summer, and have been on Pinterest and Instagram getting ideas. One of the aesthetics that's super popular with teenagers right now is hanging up records on one's bedroom walls, so my two kids actually had the audacity if they could have any of my records to display in their rooms. After the mandatory lecture that followed this query, I took them over to Radio Wasteland and introduced them to the 'Dollar Bin' section of Jim's store, where even the multi-record box sets are only a buck. Alayna was only interested in decor pieces, but Abby ended up buying a few classic rock (especially late '60s) compilations while we were there. When we got back home I busted out the ol' Spin Clean machine and we got to work cleaning up their newly-acquired records and cataloging Abby's 'for playing' albums in her Discogs account.

Alayna walked away with a couple boxed sets and a stack of single LPs (she was looking at center labels to make sure there was some variety in color and pattern), and I walked her how to clean up and dry out the records using the Spin Clean.

While Alayna was using the Spin Clean first, I walked Abby through how to use the turntable in The Study and she spun one of her newly-acquired comps.

Jim had a stack of 45's for free, so the girls snatched up some of them as well (though they said they need to go back and get more, so we'll probably do that at some point later on in the month.)

Ever vigilant guards of the house.

Feels like we go through this every couple years as the girls' tastes change. Alayna removes the last of her 'Paris'-themed wall decals, which dates back to when we re-did her room with a Paris-theme back in 2018.

The work in progress. I told her she needed to add some 45's in here or more 33's in order to give it a less stagnant look - she's gonna mess around with it some more (she was smart enough to use Gorilla Glue Poster Putty for these so she can remove them and reapply them as often as needed without damage to the walls.)

At long last, we finally had a solid day of decent weather and Yours Truly was able to undertake the hours-long process of deep-cleaning the shed (the much-needed power-washing will come later, I promise.)

Definitely not as filthy and rodent-infested as last year, but we had taken some half-assed precautions last fall to prevent squirrels and chipmunks from nesting in there over the winter. I set up a live trap and strategically placed those peppermint pouches around the entrances and under the lawn mower (because last year mice or whatever chewed up some of the cords in the engine and we had to have the mower serviced.) The rodents were still getting in, though - there was droppings and some minor attempts at nesting - so I nailed in place some grating along the roof overhang along the walls, where I assumed they were getting in. Not foolproof, but it'll keep a lot of the crap from getting in next year.

Process still took the majority of the afternoon, though - glad I only have to do it once a year.

Out for a nighttime walk with the dogs (and kids) later that evening.

We had my brother, Jeff, and his family over the following night for some drinks and games, and I busted out this dessert, summer beer that I picked up at Cork n' Ale a few weeks back. Southern Tier, as you all know by now, is one of my all-time favorite breweries, and they did not disappoint this time around either.

The Cannonball had to show off her new set of wheels to her cousins Scarlett and Kinsley while they were over (the younger girls latch on to their older cousins whenever we hang out.)

Showing Owen the ropes with Skip-Bo.

The four of us adults hung out here at the table and played a series of games while kids cycled in an out throughout the evening, which is to be expected.

Owen put on The Wizard of Oz on the projector downstairs and was occupied with that for a brief period of time.

Kinsley playing with some of the girls' old Playmobil (not MY Playmobil, obviously - that shit's off-limits to kids.)

Playing M.A.S.H. with the cousins.

I take a lot of abuse at the hands of these kids, I assure you.

One of the girls snapped a pic of this flower over by our shed one day. Once and awhile our gardens look pretty awesome.

This month I was able, at long last, to complete The Fellowship from Weta Workshop (the prop/costume/art department that worked on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies.) Like I said before, they created a line of statues based on the likeness of the actors from the movies, and usually these pieces cost far more than I'm willing to spend on something like this, so I keep an eye out for them on ebay. After years of monitoring prices, I finally pulled the trigger on the last of the nine heroes from the series.

Legolas Greenleaf, son of Thranduil of the Greenwood.

Behold, The Fellowship. Now complete, after years of work.

Kris buzzed the girls up to the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library one afternoon to take part in some kids activity they were doing up there.

The girls - and, of course, Ella - added their personal touch to a mural that was going up on the outside of the building.

Ella and Abby leave their mark.

Samson and Watson, in summer mode (not unlike 'normal' mode, but still. . .)

Kris and the girls picked out this metal bar sign and an accompanying twelve-pack for me for Father's Day this year. That sign's gonna look badass behind my bar in the basement (I've been amassing a series of metal signs over the course of the last year, and will have to start putting it all up soon.)

With a week of mid-90s temps and plenty of rainfall (and sprinklers) saturating the ground, we've developed a couple problematic areas in our lawn where a fungus is starting to surface. Super pissed about this, a man's lawn is his life in the summer. . .

Fortunately this can get knocked back down with a simple $30 application of fungicide, we just gotta run over to Cohoon's Elevator and pick some up.

I accompanied Alayna one day across town to some retirement community off of North Saginaw Rd to submit a job application (she's been applying to places around town the last couple of weeks.) Her friend Maddie works here and said they were looking for additional help, but being almost 16 has hindered her prospects with work considerably thus far - most businesses want older employees who have prior job experience.

Some random selfies Abby took with her mom's phone evening on the couch.

Adjusting sprinkler heads throughout the yard one afternoon. I hate absolutely every, last part of this process with a passion.

At long last, the Cannonball finally lands herself a job. One of Kris' coworkers' friends manages this Taco Bell, and upon hearing that Alayna had applies, said she would definitely hire her upon receiving her application. This is when I dropped Alayna off for her job 'interview.'

Later that day, I noticed Alayna had some low tire pressure in her car. Kris ran her up to Discount Tire to get it checked out, and, as it turns out, she had a nail in her tire. Fortunately, they were able to fix it for free, so we definitely dodged a bullet there.

Halfway through the month, my eyes started to get super-sensitive to the light (red and itchy, super watery, etc.) Long story short, turns out my left eye was just dry, but my right eye had severe corneal scarring, a result of when I had ophthalmologist shingles back in October of 2022. I had to go in to my optometrist three times over the course of ten days, and a corneal specialist in Saginaw, and basically it's not going to get any worse, but neither will it improve. I'll just have to increase the frequency of artificial tears eye drops and decrease my use of contact lenses, and this is just something I live with now. Pretty f***ing awesome. . .

Kris' sister, Jessica, and her kids swung in to town for a last-minute, surprise visit one Thursday, driving up from Texas for a two-week tour throughout Michigan, visiting relatives. They stayed with us for one night before moving on to visit Clare and Farwell relatives for a few nights.

Alayna and Abby with Isis and Jessica's new baby (seriously), Ripley.

The next morning, Abby met up with the rest of the Midland High JV Pom Team at Plymouth Pool for another 'social day.'

Um. . . I think this is one of their routines. . .?

Selfies with some of the team.

Kris was away at Momcation, Abby was at the pool with friends, Jessica and her family had left, and Alayna was away at a friend's house. So, Yours Truly met up with some of the dads over at Lonnie Big Balls' house to hang out, play some cards, and have some drinks.

Ended up hanging out over there until 11pm or so, keeping it low-key, before heading home (Abby had to be at Midland High at 6am for the next morning's, previously-discussed pom boot camp.)

Sunday night, once Kris had gotten back in town, Jessica and her kids rolled back through town and ended up staying a second night, before they were to head downstate for the remainder of their Michigan trip, visiting extended family on both sides down there. Here's Ripley, the new addition.

Watson stands guard, not really sure what to do with a frickin' baby.

Running down chipmunks in the backyard by the wood pile behind the shed.

Jessica, Kris (and Ripley), Alayna, Isis, Abby, and Ben (and assorted animals.)

Playing a few rounds of Taco, Cat, Cheese Pizza in the dining room while the adults hang out in the living room.

Watson, in the zone.

The infamous Hercules (better known as Herc the Jerk.) Our neighbors, the Angelotti's, were out of state for the last week of the month, and once again asked Alayna to stay with the dogs. Like I've said before, they paid what they'd pay a kennel, so Alayna's all about staying nights there, playing with the dogs, letting them out, and feeding them. Easy money for her and way easier on the Angelotti's. Definitely a win-win.

A day or two later, Alayna was once again caddying at the Midland Country Club for their stint in the national LPGA tour. Alayna usually scores really good tips doing this, and this year was no different, but Abby had no interest in doing it this time around. Alayna took this pic of this car, claiming she wanted one when she got older.

The Angelotti's always let us use their pool while they're out of town, so one evening when the weather was super nice out, we all went over there to swim and let their dogs run around in the backyard. Toccatta and Hercules enjoy tug of war a great deal.

Abby works on her dive.

Our house, from the view of the Angelotti's backyard.

The previous weekend, while everyone was out of town, my uncle Larry passed away after a years-long battle with oral cancer. We're going to hold a Celebration of Life in August, but in the meantime his family had a small memorial service for him down in downtown Grand Rapids one Thursday.

I carpooled down with the Whites after meeting up with them in Clare at their house, then, after hanging out at the memorial for, like, an hour, we turned around and drove all the way back up north. Kinda like our Tennessee adventure last fall, just on a much smaller scale.

Samson has no shame.

This is why our dogs beg. I do not allow this in my house, so I was super happy to find these pics and video on Alayna's phone. . .

I'm slowly replacing some of the old Christmas lights in the Captain's Quarters with smart, LED strings, which not only look cooler (obviously), but last far longer. Still have a lot of work to do in here, but it's a start. . .

And I have it synced up to music. Which, you know, is way cooler.

Sister selfie while watching a family movie on the projector downstairs.

Smooshie and the dog-sitter.

The last day of the month, Abby and the MHS JV Pom Team held a car wash fundraiser at Garber Chevrolet in order to raise funds for their upcoming pom camp at Northwood next month. (You can spot Abby second from left in this pic.)

It lasted from 10am to 1pm, and Kris and Courtney ended up volunteering down there the entire time (as the Grand Moms usually do.)

Alayna and I rode up there around 11am so Alayna could have her car wash (Yours Truly is looking forwar to trying out our new power washer to wash mine - bought some premium car washing detergent for it.)