BIG Weekend!

All kinds of things went on this weekend. Many of them were good... On Friday evening, we had a group of friends over for a cook out so that we could introduce Sabine to this American tradition. After discovering that she really did not enjoy shucking corn, she did discover that she very much enjoyed eating it!

She also loved potato salad, cole slaw and brats. On Saturday morning, after getting Tabitha off to a basketball tournament, I was supposed to come home and pick up Max, Sabine and Anne-Heloise for a weekend in the Indiana Dunes. Instead, it started pouring down rain. Raining so hard that it was not safe to drive and our basement started to flood. Fortunately, with lots of towels, a couple of neighbors, a borrowed pump and a borrowed shop vac, we were able to keep the damage from getting too far into our main basement room. Sabine and the kids helped immensely and we were all soaking wet and tired after a couple of hours of moving things around and sopping up water. We then paid someone to come in and dry things out. We have massive fans and dehumidifiers running as we speak. Finally, the rain let up enough that we were able to take off on our trip.


After the four hour drive to northern Indiana, we had a great time exploring the massive dunes and hiking around the National Park.

Anne-Heloise could not get it through her head that this was a lake that we were seeing and not the ocean. She even tasted the water, looking for the salty flavor.

After being sand covered and worn out, we headed the Michigan City outlet mall, which cannot be beat. We shopped for a couple of hours before giving up out of sheer exhaustion. We went straight back this morning though to find some more bargains.

Anne-Heloise and Max are really great friends and enjoyed each other's company all weekend long.

After shopping and exploring the park a bit more, we finally headed home late this afternoon. Unfortunately, we drove through torrential rain the entire way home and had to stop several times just to be safe. We are now home safe and sound however and thrilled to be so!
Josh took Calvin and a couple of friends to Dave and Busters to celebrate Calvin's birthday. Calvin will turn 11 tomorrow and is so excited! Happy Birthday, buddy!

I am very proud to say that my oldest nephew is now an Ohio State graduate as of this weekend! Congratulations, Adam!