almost August (already?)

The scout

I sent Alec off to Webelo's camp this morning. He will be there Thursday and Friday nights and then we will pick him up Saturday evening. It is his first camp without Mom or Dad there. He will be fine. Not sure about his mom. :0)

July has been pretty quiet around here. Michael moved back to South Dakota a few weeks ago. He plans to go back to school and is currently living with friends.

Crime entered our lives a couple of nights ago when my sister was car-jacked. They approached her in her carport and demanded her keys. They slapped her once in the face but luckily she is fine. She gave them her keys and screamed. They ran when she screamed and she called 911. Unfortunately, they came back and took the car a few minutes later. It has not yet been found. The police took 1 hour to show up and will probably never catch the guys. I personally would like to catch them and beat them up side the head. Don't be messing with my sis! If you see this car - let us know



My nephew is having knee surgery tomorrow for a torn ACL and meniscus. Please keep him in your thoughts.

It's been awhile....

I looked back over my blog and realized I haven't actually 'written' anything since Hunter's graduation weekend.
Autumn was here from May 17 through July 2. We didn't do anything real exciting while she was here - but I think she had a good time. We went swimming a few times, went to Bass Pro Shop, went to Crown Center and the Liberty Memorial. Most of time we just hung out at home. She discovered Facebook and played on the computer quite a bit. Michael worked a lot so she spent most of her time here with us.
On June 6 I went to Chicago and Milwaukee with two old friends of mine. Kathy Q lives here and I have known her for 23 years. She and I went to visit Kathi Mc who lives in Chicago. We have both known her for 20 years. The 3 of us drove up to Milwaukee for one night. We stayed at the Pfister in downtown Milwaukee, went to the art museum and to the Third Ward shopping district. We took the 'scenic' route back to Chicago along Lake Michigan. It took us most of the afternoon - but was a nice drive. It was about the journey - not the destination. We didn't really get to see Chicago as we had planned - but that's okay. It will still be there next time :)
Taryn and Hunter came down for Father's Day weekend - so all Brad's kids were with him this year. Probably for the first time in years.
My summer class was canceled due to lack interest. Only 4 people signed up. So I am just spending the summer with the kids. I waste a lot of time on the computer but I have also been working on photography some. I took pictures of my Milwaukee trip and Jake's baseball team. I added the baseball team pictures to a Shutterfly share site - leishajdg.shutterfly.com. I also came up with a name for my photo biz - It's All About the Image.
Michael took Autumn back to SD on July 2. We had our cul-de-sac '4th of July' shindig on the 3rd of July - due to other commitments for the neighbors. On the 4th we went to watch Independence fireworks show with Mom, Dad, Nan, Trent, Michelle, Jake and mom's friend Debbie. It was a nice evening.

I think that is about it.

Jason on the last day of 8th grade. That means he is now a high school student!


Alec and Marissa on the last day of 3rd grade


Autumn deep in thought


Autumn at the Liberty Memorial


Autumn with a loose tooth