Days with the Dorans

For a while there, I was bringing Rizzo to Room 119 every day and the kids loved it! They would feed her carrots through the bars of her cage until one day when one of my boys stuck his finger through instead and she bit him! He said it didn't hurt and admitted he wasn't supposed to put his finger through the bars but since I know knew she was capable of biting, I felt I couldn't bring her anymore. But the new kids in Room 119 were asking about her so I surprised them with a visit from Rizzo and her father! I was so glad that Sean could bring her up for them to see! Now they are asking when Morty and Norbert can come for a visit... We'll see...  

Well Friday Night Lights are back!! (except that the first two games are on Thursdays). I call them Marching Band Games though sometimes there are people throwing a football around (but sadly not too well). I feel badly for our team and wish they could have more success! The band is fun though and the band fans are loud! Since they didn't have their uniforms yet, they marched in T-shirts but it was great to see Seany doing his thing! 

After Away Camp, the band always puts on their preview show. It had to be at MY high school because Sean's is still under construction (even though my dad and I have been walking the parking lot there all summer). The parking at WLC is AWFUL but we got there early and managed to grab Sean's stuff quickly and get seats for his fan club! I was SO excited that Joe was able to make it home too! Sean went to all the Bigs things but with him the only one left at home, the sibs aren't able to get to his things. Ali and Z were home for the summer to work so I knew they were able to be there but when Joey came home it was the cherry on top! Sean was easy to spot because he has a unique Lions hat that he got in Myrtle Beach and we were so glad that he was wearing it! It is a bit easier to find him when he's not in FULL uniform but the hat definitely makes it easier! When I volunteered, I didn't ever see the band take the field or even play together so it was a total surprise,...

The day after Jeff and I got home from Kentucky, Sean was off to AWAY band camp. I hate that we had such little time together but we made the most of the Sunday night before and then next day, Jeff took Sean to the middle school (the HS is under construction AGAIN) and then he was off to camp with the band! The good news is that I was able to volunteer for band camp for at least one day. It was a long day though- because I went after tutoring (it was also the same day that Ali and I voted to I was pooped). But I was able to find Sean and take a few pictures myself. I swear my kids never get many pictures from the real photographers... Maybe it's because clarinets are usually near the back. I have been hearing from Sean regularly though! He is loving being an upperclassman and had fun in his cabin! I didn't get many pictures from him but I LOVED these fun selfies! I also loved his updates and in return I sent him pictures of his daughter (AKA Rizzo the guinea pig).

While we were gone, Sean had his band camp. It was weird not volunteering (but the sign-ups were filled up literally immediately- I've never seen anything like it). It was also weird that I couldn't see him and like his sibs, he's not the best at taking pictures. Thankfully the camp people take lots of pictures and I was able to see him in some! They had a Pink Day, Super Hero Day, America Day, Beach Day and Section Day. They wore Togas and I was logging in like crazy when we were away but they never posted them! I hope to find some eventually. Here are some of the pictures I got! Clarinets Flexing! (Their section won!) Mary H sent me this! I was so happy since I hadn't see him! And because that crazy kid of mine, they won!! Sean won the individual award for being "El Nacho"~ I guess he was a huge hit! America Day! Beach Day Someone turned my kid into a mermaid!  

It was the end of an era for Ali but I think that she didn't feel it as much as I did. We moved her out of her "Apartment" which was more like a house (that's her bedroom window up top). She lived there with five other girls and to be honest, I was impressed they lasted as long as they did. Four of them decided they wanted to live elsewhere and so Ali and her college bestie, Hannah, will be be heading to a new apartment in August. Because her one lease ended before the new one started, she had to move her things into storage so Jeff and I decided to make a weekend of it and scratch off some of our adventures. Jeff and I went up separately and we took Joey and his friends Mike and Liam out to dinner at Jon's restaurant. It was great to see him too. After dinner Jeff and I went to Bells. We had some yummy drinks and I ran into a coworker (Danielle- such a small world). There was a Led Zepplin tribute band that we could hear and that made it fun too!  Ali got to Kala...

I feel like this may have been the longest we have spent in Elk Rapids but it went by so fast. On one hand it was nice not having to worry at all about the dogs. I know my folks don't like watching them and although Garrett is awesome, it is nice to have them staying with family. On the other hand I hate that we didn't even have ONE day where all six of us overlapped and I'm hopeful that next year will be the year when we ALL are in our happy place! On our last night we hit the beach with guitars which is always a favorite for me. Z has recently started playing bass which is fun. I think that Sean needs to figure out a string instrument to play so he can join the males in this family. Playing music at sunset is always a favorite way we love to spend the time. The weather overall wasn't super hot (which I LOVED) but it meant not a lot of swimming and no pool time. I remember when the kids were little, that's all they did was SWIM! It was great having Ali up even if i...

  On Saturday, I was still a bit sore from my kayak adventure, but I got my miles in while Ali ran and the boys did disc golf. After we were all home and showered it was time to hit the Wineries. We decided to do a similar thing like we did when we went snowshoeing in February but Jeff would drive since it was a bit hot. We hit two wineries we had before and then one new one. The first one we went to was Bowers Harbor. I love the way they serve their flights and it is such a cool place. There is a lot of outdoor seating (which we also took advantage of in the winter). It was so cool to see it all greened up! Of all the places, this one is my favorite. We got a flight of red, a flight of sweets and a flight of ciders. While the wine was pretty much mine and Ali's thing, Joe will have an occasional glass (more than Jeff's once a year wine when the kids decorate the tree) and he really does prefer ciders to beer so he liked it took. Sean got a lemonade (which is usually his drink ...