Gettin' on a Jet Plane

Sigh.
Summer ends.
Time to get on a jet plane.
Clean the townhouse.
Vacuum and wash the car. Pack the bags.
Photos in case of missing luggage.
Books and toys in carry-ons.

And sad, sad goodbyes.

Reeve's Annual Photo

Which picture is best from Reeve's photo session?

Which just proves that only Tracy can make good choices during photo sessions.  (Number 1 is the correct answer.)

Rania's Annual Photo

Which picture is best from Rania's annual photo session?

If your choice is the second to last - then you, like Doug & Rania, are officially fired from making choices from photo sessions.

Gabi's Annual Photo

Which is the best picture from Gabi's annual photo session?

(If you chose the second one, then you clearly are in the same category as Doug & Gabi and should not be allowed to make the choice.) 

Ear Candles

There's always the chance for something new.  We'd never explored ear candles before.  Based on advice from Dr. Grof, we decided that Reeve and Tracy should give it a try.  Not sure how successful it was - but it sure made for some great entertainment.

Interesting twist to whether Tracy Woodward or Katniss Everdeen best matches the title of "girl on fire."

Short Story Contest

On the penultimate night in Ohio before returning to KL, we had the epic short story contest.  There was boy meets girl (and gains confidence)(Tracy), the story of a boat and a lake (Carrie), a modern Bartelby stuck in a dying profession (Doug) and a dystopian tale of the animals who survived the apocalypse (Michael).  In the kids category, there was the discovery of a new world under our terrain (Laura),  a saga of dragons (Rania), the heroic tale of John Muir (Reeve) and the tale of a great escape (Gabi) in the kids contest.

It was a challenge to put together a story within the guidelines of the contest.  But a fun chance to dive into each other's literary interests.  After the contest, there was, of course, more yummy food and lots of good times together.

Ah.. . .Troubles

A combination of too little sleep, too much junk food, stress over leaving summer and returning to school, too much screen time, and who knows what else led to an epic crash (after a bit of dissatisfaction with a parental decision).  We're not at the teenage stage.  Yet.

Fire & S'Mores

It was bizarre in our final days before leaving for KL, wearing sweatshirts and being cool enough to have a fire outside.  This summer has definitely had some most welcome cool weather in Northern Ohio.  We greatly enjoyed the break from heat and humidity for the vast majority of the summer.

We enjoyed an evening at the Sandlins with a fire and s'mores.  Thanks to Grandpa Barrie for the wonderful fire - and for the kids for some fun entertainment in the yard.

Uncle Carl and Aunt Dianne!

It was so great to be able to connect with Uncle Carl and Aunt Dianne before we returned to Malaysia.  We were so impressed with the artistic skill that Uncle Carl has shown as he has taken up oil painting.  Impressive landscapes and such simple skill.  It was so fun to see so much of his work.

It is always great to laugh and enjoy the time with family.

Dance Show

The girls prepared a Dance Show for all general audience members.  In addition to individual performances, there was also a group performances.  Once finished, the judges had the opportunity to have their say before awarding prizes and certificates.  Can you guess how many winners there were?

Rania's Prayer

For the past year or so, Rania has been saying her evening prayers. They don't vary too much from night to night. Here is a part of the main prayer which she adds each night.

Aunt Marcia's Condo

One of the highlights of each summer is when we get a chance to go and visit Aunt Marcia.  Kayaking, swimming in Lake Erie, great food, and time around the pool are all fun parts of the day.  We picked a day that happened to be quite cool and very windy.  There was less swimming than normal, but still lots of fun.

The girls were very much into their dance and acrobatic routines.  (Michael, too, of course).

It was another special memory of getting to visit Aunt Marcia.

Fun at the Condo!

THE Baseball Game

It may someday be confused with "The Game" but for now, THE Baseball Game pitted two rival teams against each other in an epic battle of forces.  The game swayed back and forth, a few members of the teams (ie: Gabi) floated between the game and taking care of young'uns.

In the bottom of the final inning, the team was rallying and team Nikki trailed by one.  Both Grandpa Barrie came up but couldn't drive in any runs - but did load the bases with a grounder to the pitcher. Then Uncle Doug failed to make any damage - with another feeble, pathetic grounding to the pitcher.  Doug's disastrous at bat resulted in Kaiden, the game-tying run being forced out at home.  The agony of defeat.  The thrill of victory.  Another episode in THE Baseball game - one of the great sports rivalries of our time.

Balcony View

One of the delights of summers in Ohio is the view from our balcony.  Especially on bug-free, relatively cool nights, it is delightful to sit on the balcony and enjoy a good book or even work on the laptop.

Delightful clear, blue skies over the pond.  With the construction starting on the other side of the pond, it will be interesting how long our serenity remains.

Cousin Time

We had a fun baseball game in the Quockert front yard, and Gabi was a superstar taking care of her cousin.  What a super help!

While we were playing, a couple of hot air balloons went right overhead.

Toledo Zoo

We had a big outing to the zoo, which was fun.  Thanks to some memberships+2 we were able to join some of our relatives with only Tracy being the fee-paying person to enter.

The polar bears put on quite a show, we enjoyed seeing the wolves, and lots of impressive animals.  Even a stop for some ice cream was allowed.

Greenfield Village

A bit of a KL reunion in southern Michigan!  We made the drive up to Greenfield Village and met the Bouwens.  It was a hot day, but what a neat experience.  There were lots of highlights.

One silly highlight was running the wagon down a small incline while trying to avoid oncoming Model-Ts.   Considering we were going to reunite in KL in just a few weeks, it was funny to think of an actual North American reunion for all of us from SE Asia.  We enjoyed lingering and talking and having a good day together.




Kids were cute in hats!

Reeve and Samuel played baseball the old-fashioned way.

 We visited Menlo Park and Edison's recreated workshop where we got to see one of the original phonographs.  We finished the day outside chatting while the kids tried to ferry coins from the fountain to the coin machine where 51 cents gets you a designer penny.