Update on things...

Okay! So what has happened since we last met? Quite a bit actually! My son returned from his trip to England, Wales and Ireland. We are still getting stories from him and it seems to have been a really great experience for him. He had a great time and made some really good, new friends. It took him a while to get back into the swing of things at home, but after finding him a job walking beans for a week or so, that helped put him back on track.

Both of the kids had birthdays. My daughter turned 9 and my son turned into an official teenager. I think we had good days for them. Each of them had friends over and we got them some nice, but not out of world gifts. It is nice that they are not be more discerning about their gifts and that one or two, rather than more is enough for them. We also planned a large party for them with some other family that has a birthday in August. We rented out the local sportsman's club and had a family day of fishing, shooting, cookout and just hanging out. Later that evening, the invited friends showed up for a DJ that came to play tunes for them. All in all, it was a great evening. Things learned from this party though... Glow stick liquid can irritate some peoples skin, and glow sticks float on the lake and they certainly can't stay in the lake, so loading a canoe on a van at 10pm is not much fun and physically holding it to the top of a van is quite a workout...

Other things...
on a down side, a family in town, very good friends of ours, are facing the decision of having to move in the near future to follow a job. This pretty much sucks for them because of all the reasons it would. Packing, selling, leaving school, etc. But it sucks for us too, as they are probably some of our best friends in town. It would really be a downer to have them leave. We, and they, are holding out hope that something will keep them in the area. But right now, I don't have much hope. It would also mean that I will have to look for a new gamer buddy, as he is my main gaming friend.

Speaking of games, I am heading out, with the family, to Gen Con over the upcoming weekend. It was a great time last year, which was my initial year. I convinced the family to go and I hope that we all have a great time. I have some apprehension that there may be some logistical problems, but I hope we all have a good time. (If you don't know what Gen Con is, think of it as the Mecca of gaming conventions with 30,000 other people who share the same love of gaming as you might.)

And school starts up in one week, and think that maybe, just maybe, my kids are looking forward to it. I think that three months of travel, heat, and just hanging out at home has killed their enthusiasm for summer vacation. We will see. I personally am looking forward to having them back in a routine.

So, that is it for now!

Talk at you later!