Sea Lawyers.

Here's the latest fiasco .....

John comes in on Thursday and asks if he can take "Dad's new tent" outside and set it up. The answer from both Jim & I was in no uncertain terms, "NO!". It's Jim's new 6-man tent that is intended for a family camping trip this summer. (Which will probably be a future fiasco in and of itself.) We really didn't want the neighborhood gang of kids rolling around in it with their "bug & stick" collection.

Fast forward a couple of hours and one of the neighborhood teenagers, Alex, is walking John to the front door crying with a newly skinned knee. But they're coming from our backyard. So silly me asked Alex, "What's going on in the backyard that brought you down the street?". "Oh, I was just setting up the tent for the kids. They came and asked me for help."

So this is what "Detective Mom" was able to piece together:
1. John was told that "HE" couldn't take the tent out and set it up.
2. However, Madde (one of the gang) was never given those instructions directly, even though she was standing 3 feet behind John when he received his instructions.
3. Madde "sneaked" the tent up the basement stairs and outside.
4. John & Madde proceeded to ask Madde's Mom, Rose, if she would help them set up the tent. Rose was too busy (and knew nothing about the "sneaked" portion of the story).
5. When Mom says no, go ask Alex down the street.
6. The tent was set up in a strategic location behind the garage where it would not be noticed as easily or quickly. Also, somewhere along the line Ros got in on the caper.
7. John skins his knee on the driveway and we're back to me asking Alex a silly question.
8. Parental involvement included Rose not allowing Madde to play at our house on Friday and no one would be allowed to play in the "illegally assembled" tent. (Jim was leaving to take Pete to LaCrosse practice and I had hockey practice so there was no time to take the tent down there and then.)

Fool me once, you earn points for ingenuity. A nice bit of "Sea Lawyering", especially for two 4 year olds and a 5 year old.

Friday Jim left for a London trip and the tent still hadn't been taken down. Now it's Saturday and Ros & John were "reminded" that they were not to play in the tent nor were their friends. If their friends didn't follow the rules they were to tell me so that I could talk to them. Later, I was trying to get some of my homework done. (Once again, silly me.) Ten minutes later I went outside to water the garden and guess what I see? Madde & Ros in the tent along with the lantern, 2 sleeping bags, a box of books & a bucket of blocks.

Fool me twice, the tent is disassembled, you're grounded and your friend is sent home. The end.

Quack! Quack!

After much stress and 3 business days of dealing with AADSAS (Associated American Dental Schools Application Service) to correct my screwed up GPA, my application was FINALLY verified and sent out to schools on Monday June 25. They screwed up my GPA so badly that my overall GPA went down from last year, which was mathematically impossible considering I'm carrying a 4.0 since returning to school! And, not surprisingly in the process I discovered that the GPA they calculated for me last year was incorrect also. I never even thought to double check their work because everyone knows that AADSAS does things their way. This year the error was so obvious that I immediately set up multiple spread sheets to get all my "ducks in a row". It was a good thing too because throughout the correction process they continued to want to make minimal corrections. I was able to quote published instructions by page and paragraph that they didn't even know about. All in all, the fiasco ended per the letter of their law and thus in my favor this year. Yeah me and my ducks. Who knows whether the GPA error last year caused me to miss out on any offers of admission. C'est la vive. I'm off to my hockey practice....

Happy 26th B-day Brian!

Brian as a "Sand Rat".

Brian on patrol in Iraq.

Brian & Mitchell hanging out.

Lil' bro Jonathan & big bro' Brian playing dress up.

Fishing Adventure.

Jim took the kids fishing this morning at west beach so I could study in peace. (He's a regular Saint!) It was Ros & John's first time. There are no pix of Mitchell from this trip. Apparently, he was too busy actually catching fish to be photographed. Well, he caught one fish, which is still one more than everyone else combined!

Roslyn's 1st time fishing.

John's 1st time fishing.

Petey & Ros on the pier at Crystal Lake West Beach.

Eeew, worms!

Jim's Belated B-day Cake.

Yesterday we finally celebrated Jim's B-day since Mitchell is home for the week. His presents included a king size sleeping bag and a 6-man tent for camping. He opted for a DQ ice cream cake, which is gone already!

Jim's 42nd B-day.

Summer Fun!

School's out, the sun is shining & the hose is accessible. Here are the results:

Roslyn's new shades & Crocs.

John in the world's coziest pool.

Petey, ready for action.

Coming down the chute ....

....mud surfing.

Mitchell in action.

The mudslide.

Ros in action.

John in action.

The muddy aftermath.

Husmann Elementary presents .......

Peter, Chris, Sarju & Adam performed as a "Gymnastics Comedy Act". Picture four 5th grade boys doing what they do best, using physical comedy for laughs. The show was a raging success. (The pix however aren't so great.) There were some of your more typical acts like piano or violin pieces, but the best acts were the ones the kids did on their own. As you'll see below there were girls performing original dance numbers to songs, a Monty Python performance (complete with shrubbery & a herring) and even an appearance by the famous Blue Man Group. The show was introduced by an adult, but everything else was completely handled by the 5th graders. Only 1.5 days of 5th grade remain, then they're all officially middle schoolers!

Sarju, Chris & Peter

The arch

Flopping for laughs

The tumbler's tumbled pyramid

That's What Girls Do

The Knights Who Say Nee

The Blue Man Group

John's additional plans.

Today while I was making dinner, John announced that when he grows up he is going to plant flowers, go into outer-space, paint "really good" pictures, be a rock star and be a Dad. I hope Hailie is still okay with that!

Helping the Feds help you- Jury Duty Scam

Rhonda sent me this:

A scam has been verified by the FBI (see link below). Most of us take summons for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty, that a new & ominous kind of scam has surfaced. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and bingo, your identity just got stolen. The scam has been reported so far in 11 states, including OK, IL & CO. This scam is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they're with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

Check it out:
Snopes link
FBI link

Way to go Mitchell!

Mitchell has earned another privilege at school. Now, not only can he transition to meals & counseling without a chaperone, but he can also run errands for the staff. That's a big step towards coming home for good. Great job Mitch!

Lil' Sis, Big 'Bro

George Patton.

Hey, there's only old maids left in here. Oh, & my head.

Bad to the Bone.

Hamster sitting.

Ros & John's class has hamsters and the kids get to sign up for weekend "hamster-sitting" duty. The dark one is Hoam & the light one is Teddy.

Ros, John & the rodents.

Mmmm ... lunch.

John's fiancee.

John and Hailie have announced that they will get married when they're older. Maybe, 2nd grade or so. They are equally smitten with each other and Hailie is okay with the idea that John doesn't want kids because he's going to be a rock star.

Hailie & John

Nose-nose

First Kiss

The Wedding Party?

Pix of Mitchell's Soccer Team

District Game

Smiley Mitchell

Mitch in Action

The Team

Hanging out between games.

The Fans

John, inspired by his Big 'Bro

Top 5 reasons ....

...... that dentists are cooler than MDs:

5. Dentists can pre-numb an area that requires an injection before the injection occurs.
4. When you go to the dentist you get a toothbrush to take home, even as an adult.
3. If a dentist needs to take your temperature, you know exactly which orifice that will occur.
2. Dentists NEVER make you change into a flimsy paper gown.

...... and the #1 reason that dentists are cooler than MDs ......

1. Hermy. None of Santa's elves ever wanted to be a MD!! (Sorry Bethie)