Molly, Our New Dog

It was a very exciting evening in our house tonight. We adopted a new dog, a puppy really. Her name will be Molly. She is approximately 4 months old and was raised to date by a Purdue student who didn’t realize exactly how much work a puppy could be. It didn’t help that he did not have access to a garden.

We are not fully sure of her breed, the student adopted her from a shelter, but she is part retriever, part hound and only about 30lbs. She will not likely get above 60lbs. The kids are very excited and will be for a few days.

John Deere Fan

Here is a nod to all my John Deere friends. Connor loves his cap. It was a gift from Julien earlier this year when they visited.

Bike Riding Today

I went on three separate bike rides today. A one mile trip with Connor this morning, three miles with Anja at lunch and twenty with Lynne this afternoon. Love the summer.

Michigan Vacation

We just arrived back from our annual Michigan vacation. Just like the previous four years, this was a fantastic trip and on so many levels. Primarily it was very relaxing, something we all needed. We mostly did our usual activities, driven by the kid’s desires. The highest priorities all week were, fishing, swimming, picking berries and ice cream.

I have many photos shown below, which also feature Lorraine’s cousin Frank and his friend Wayne who visited us on Wednesday evening. Thanks again to Randy and Lorraine for sharing this holiday with us, we had a great time as normal.

Anja the Cake Baker

Our 4^th of July weekend continues with a very relaxing day today. We didn’t really do much other than chill out on the deck in the backyard. 

Anja, however wasn’t going to be slowed down. She went online and found a recipe for a cake, she fully prepared it herself, with literally no help from us other than the oven. Note, we made her do it outside so cleanup was a one step hose operation. She even made the chocolate frosting. It was a great after dinner desert. Well done sweetheart, great cake.

Happy 4th July

Happy 4^th of July everybody, it’s a fantastic morning here in West Lafayette; we're all looking forward to a relaxing day. For those of you outside the US, today is one of our rare national holidays where everybody takes a day off. We always put out our flags on national holidays and the kids love the tradition. Another tradition we seem to now have is a flag cookie/cake, something Brooke started. Ann jumped right in and did the same with the kids this week to much approval by all.