The Best Week of July

Time for another update as it's 2:09AM and I cannot sleep.  I spent hours working on lesson plans with hopes of getting tired but nope, wide awake.    Probably going to go work on organizing part of the basement after this.    Oddly enough I was exhausted around 2:00pm earlier today and kind of slept then for like an hour so I'm slowly screwing up my sleep schedule.   Go me!

• I'm excited for this week because it's the end of the summer program.    I enjoy it and the such but by week 6-7 I am ready for it to be done.   We have the usual Family Night on Wednesday so I have some preparations to do for that event.    I need to do them today (Monday) and Wednesday because Ames will be a zoo on Tuesday.   Why you ask?   RAGBRAI will take over the city.
• Cory and Katie and their crew are camping in our yard on Tuesday evening and are welcome to use our facilities and showers.    Dan's boss and her fellow bikers aren't camping on our property but we are letting them shower if they want to as well.    It's going to be a little odd as both Dan and I will likely be at work when people actually get to town but I'm making Gavin stay home to be the host so people aren't in the house without anyone present.   I actually just made some signs to post so people use the correct door, bathrooms, etc.  
• I'm oddly excited that Jude is FINALLY going to the dentist on Tuesday too.    He's getting a bit nervous but it's been something I've been pushing Dan about for two years.    The next thing on my list was a well-child check-up but that's actually happening without my nagging.    Jude lost his place in his after school program and is using a new one and they require a physical.   Wahoo!    He has a physical on August 10.   The next thing on my list---he has to get a flu vaccine this year.    After the number of times he got the flu last year, I would hope his mother doesn't fight Dan on this.   
• Gavin finished his thank-yous today.    He's pleased to have that endeavor done but now he needs to start organizing himself for moving into his dorm.    I had mentioned buying his laptop in the last update but I noticed my debit card was never charged.    I contacted the store and was informed I should have gotten an email stating the purchase had to be canceled.    We are buying a laptop through the bookstore at the university and the model of laptop we bought was no longer going to be bought under contract by ISU.     Thankfully they just bought a contract to similar (better) model of laptop of the same brand so we bought that instead.    It was slightly cheaper too.    I'm just irritated because I never got the so-called email that was to notify me the sale couldn't happen anymore.     
• Dan and I spent time today organizing our furnace room and added another shelf and it is the last shelf we needed to organize our extra food and extra appliances for the kitchen.    The room looks a lot better and bigger now too.    We also got a lot off the floor too in case we would ever get water but I hope that never happens.    
• I am grateful for this extra job in terms of the extra money (not that I've seen any of it yet) but I am very sick of being on a computer so much as well as writing lesson plans.   I am actually having to wear my glasses more often because my eyes dry out too much with contacts when I stare at the computer so much.   Sad but true.  I'm going to have to bring my computer and do work on our vacation which is sad and I have to participate in some webinar meetings too.    Our hotel has a business center so I'm hoping I can bop into their to have those meetings and not have them in our room as I doubt the others can be quiet.    The last time I tried having a meeting at home I had a loud meowing cat and a 9-year-old asking about yogurt a lot.   

Computer battery is almost dead so update is done for now.   Here is a picture of our damn cute cat.  

Hello July

Time for another update.   It's been busy since the last update but there have been lulls so that's nice, especially on weekends.

• We had Gavin's graduation shindig in Waukon in June and I have to say it went quite well.   He was surprised with how tiring it was but we had a good turn out.   It was nice to not have a plethora of food left over.   I did have a ton of paper plates, cups, etc. left over but we'll make good use of them.    I'm thankful for all the help we had and it was a much better idea to have it in Waukon and not Ankeny.  
• I taught a class for 5-6th graders at the end of June and it went fairly well.   The students were talented and gifted so I was a bit nervous but I simply tweaked some of my college content and activities and they thrived.     The maturity of some of those students was concerning for them being so bright and smart.    Still waiting for my paycheck but should be getting it at the end of July.   I actually had a couple of the kids in my after school program a few years ago.  
• The summer camp is going well and we are entering the last three weeks.    I am happy with 75% of my employees.     A couple need to be fired but I cannot get rid of any life guards so my ratios are OK and another culprit is a grad student.    I did have to dismiss a child from the program due to his anger issues.    I hope that's the only dismissal so far.
• A group of people are starting a book club in Ames so I'm excited to join it.   It's supposed to be a variety of genres as well as a social mixer type of thing.    The leader for the endeavor says about 25 people are showing interest so far.    
• It sounds like our vacation plans will take us to Minneapolis at the end of July and early August.    The Cleveland Indians are playing the Minnesota Twins (Dan), there is a good zoo (all of us), and maybe a trip to ValleyFair (all of us).   It's close to Dan's birthday hence an activity focused on him.    He's still trying to get days off work though which is proving to be difficult thanks to his work environment.    He's the first to help people and work for others yet no one steps up to help him.    He needs a new job.
• We attended a concert recently and I was finally able to see Bush and Gavin Rossdale in the flesh.   It was actually a great concert and paying a bit more for good seats was wise.   Our next concert is July 29 (Shinedown and Godsmack).  
• I’m procrastinating at home and still don’t have my office in order as well as storage in the basement.   The “man cave” is also in shambles but that’s Dan’s job to fix.  I need to have my tasks done before ISU starts.   
• We had a meeting this weekend in regards to Dan’s troubled 15 year old.  We are taking a step back from things.  He’s going to Newton after treatment and not staying in Ames.  He won’t agree to our terms and conditions so his mom can deal with him.  She keeps sabotaging things away so she can deal with the consequences too.  Case and point, he’s not to be using the internet (says his therapist) yet when he’s on pass with her, he’s on the Internet all day.   We would uphold that rule and be the bad guys.  We can’t win so we are bowing out.   She can fix the mess she keeps contributing toward yet isn’t taking responsibility for at the same time.   You can’t be your kid's friend.  You need to be their parent.  
• Gavin had his orientation for ISU and was guided thanks to LeAnn.  I was able to pop in at times but I had conflicts due to the 5-6th grader class and my summer camp program too.  We’ve picked out a meal plan and he’s done his financial aid counseling.  I finally purchased his graduation present too.  His new laptop will be arriving in a week.  We are going to start searching for his textbooks online too so we can find deals and avoid the bookstore prices.  We got his dorm situation worked out too and he’s living with his friend fromAnkeny in the Birch dorm.  I’ll share his address in the future if people want to pepper him with mail in the future.  His ISU email is gfsmith@iastate.edu

That’s enough for now!