August

Wow, this time two weeks from now, I am gonna be getting ready for bed, as school will be starting! Julie has to report to official in-service on the 14th, and I have to report on the 21st. Olivia will start going back to Stephanie and we will be back into the routine. Where did summer go? Wow! We are enjoying the last couple of weeks the best we can, enjoying being together as a family.

We took our band trip to Minneapolis. It was fun! We had a few "bumps in the road", but got on our way. We took Rachel with us to meet her family who was staying in Minneapolis with her brother Kevin. We stopped to eat at Denny's, and I must say that the immature side of me took over. When we walked in the door, the waiter's name was Denny. His apron said Denny's, and his name tag said Denny twice! For some odd reason, I couldn't get over this. I probably did not look like the adult of that group! Then we met Jim, Nancy, and Kevin to part ways with Rachel. It was fun having her stay with us. After they left, we boarded the Minneapolis Queen and got an hour and a half tour of the Mississippi River. We checked into our hotel, and relaxed for a while, before eating at Fuddrucker's. I had never eaten there before, so it was a new experience. After a few wrong turns, we made it a little late to the Minnesota Orchestra. I know the kids probably didn't enjoy it as much, but I thought it was okay. After running through the pouring rain to our parking garage, and a few more wrong turns, we made it back to the hotel and turned in for the night. The next morning, we went to Valleyfair, and the kids had a blast! We spent most of the day there, and ate at the barbecue they had. We went back and relaxed for the rest of the evening. The last day in MN, we went to the Mall of America. That place was HUGE! It was easy to get turned around in that mall. After eating, we made our way back to Moulton. We were surprised to see Julie's mom and Olivia waiting for us in the parking lot at the school. We were both excited to see her. I know that Julie really missed her, as we haven't been away from her for more than a night. It was a good trip, and the kids were great.

Other than that, not much new on the Vanderlinden Ranch. Trying to enjoy our last few days of break any way we can!