Oh the busy times are over.......ha ha

Well, where y'all been for the last couple months I been waitin by the tele for your stories. Summer has come and almost gone. Lets see.....We started a FREE soccer clinic for kids 3-10, play Ultimate on Tues nigths (my team finished league with 4 wins 1 loss), Monday night soccer for Des, let alone the trips to various parts of the world, ok region. We just finished our soccer clinic. Man what a riot!!! There is something about having 3-6 yr olds dribble a ball to the horizon the whole time saying I can't turn around. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or the adults. Chris started as the coach but eventually "Mrs. Coach" took over, damn work anyway! The first 4 weeks we worked on skills and the last 2 weeks we did a combination skills and scrimage. We started with about 15 players and finished with about 6. Ellianna got in on the action as well. She is the best camp robber there is! She would wonder around taking things out of peoples bags and purses. And the fruit!! She could win an orange eating contest!! On Tuesdays was Ultimate! Daddies addiction to sport continued this year with Ultimate frisbee taking the stage. For those who don't know, Ultimate is kind of like playing soccer on a football field with basketball rules. Doesn't sound very hard but it's like running a mile or two at sprint pace. Des would bring the kids to the park and let them tear up the grounds. The opening of the water splash pad towards the end proved to be invaluable. Especially for the hot sweaty adults. Many adventures were had on the swings and slides. For a couple of weeks, Des played soccer with a group of ladies, at a park of course. Something about watching your wife play the sport you love that will drive you to the......playground. This playground has 3 different play areas and man is it hard to watch both your kids when they (dakota) have so many options of play. So, That was our weekly activites. Thank God I can say was!!! Take this craziness, add some smiles, simmer with love, stir in some laughter, poke with a fork, and add some vacations. That's our summer. We have been booked the whole month of July! Chris was fortunate enough to have someone trade vacations with him for the 4th of July. SOOOOO,,,, we went to the most amazingly beautiful tropical southern Isle of South Dakota!! Rapid to be exact! This was the first year that Dakota was excited about doing fireworks! And as soon as they came out he ran inside and hid. Maybe next year!! If you know my family, he'll have to start liking them with the pyrotechnical boom loving blood that courses through most of the Seaver veins. Regardless was great to see the cousins, Logan & Connor, have as much fun as I ever remember having. They shot off tanks, and motorcycles, and chickens(never knew chickens had fire come out there butts), and smoke bombs, and sparklers, and snaps, and roman candles, and all the other amazing things that come with being young! We had to go visit a Rapid City classic: Story Book Island. Man what insanity ensued! The kids were everywhere. Up ladders down slides, in houses, around islands, on trains, in trains, swings, merry go round, Pooh corner, everywhere!! Then we took a vacation, while on vacation, to the Black Hills. Grammy and Papi Seaver had all of us stay in a cabin for 3 days and drive the locals crazy. We took a ride on the 1880 train. I don't recall taking a ride when I was young so was great to see the hills from the train. Papi had to meet us in Hill City so he drove next to the tracks and would race us to the next road crossing. Where we would yell "Hi, Papi!" About half way through we had our whole train car, some 50 people, yelling it and by the end of the ride most of the train pitched in. Papi said it was hard to find us on the train because everyone was yelling at him. We did several tours as well. Took a few routes through Custer State Park and fed the wild asses, oh , and the donkeys outside the car too. Saw a whole herd of bison, a squirrel, several hawks, and turkeys, and the usual ever elusive domesticated tourist. Was great to see the needles and Silvan Lake and the Hills in general. We went to Rapid and recouped for a day then off to the marsh. Eastern Northern Isle of South Dakota. Oh the life of farming, it's either too wet or too dry. In this case it was too wet. I've never seen the entire state SOOOOO green in July. Usually the state is a nice golden color spotted with cows and pheasants. The corn was short and the ditches were full of blue, that cursed stuff that seems to come at the wrong time if at all, h2o. Spent sometime with my Grandma and the farmer at their farm house. She finally got to meet Ellianna and see what a sassafrass she has become. On the way home Papi and Chris had a great talk about grandpa and some of the tribulations he endured. Was a great trip!!!! Back in Rapid, we got to go visit the Ham family where we stayed up til 1 am talking about family and health. I don't think Des and I have the energy for 3 kids but was good to see what we have to look forward to. Then, back to the STA salt mine!! The following weekend, July 17, we went to a wedding in Montana at Chico Hotsprings, just east and south of Bozeman. We spent one night at a KOA in a cabin. we were directly across from the playground and next to the pool. Perfect!! We went to the picturesque wedding on Sat and that night we splashed a bunch in the warm waters at Chico. Was great to see some of the ole college buddies and partake in the beautiful Montana scenery. And again the drive back to the salt mine! We did stop in Missoula and ate downtown. By accident, we came accross quite possibly the coolest playground in the world!! A HUGE castle with impossible combinations of paths for the little folk to galabant around, under, through, over. All made from donations. It's amazing what happens when people open there hearts and cooperate. The weekend after that, July 25th, we went to Leavenworth, WA for our Juice Plus Bootcamp. Oh, the time we had. The best part about this event is that everyone there is very supportive and act as a large supporting staff. Elli stole most everyones hearts with her dancing on Saturday night at the karaoke party. Saturday afternoon some 80 of us floated down the Wenatchee river. Kota absolutely loved it!! Elli absolutlely hated it!!! She didn't like the life vest. But after we got her in the water she calmed right down. Kota spotted a raccoon and loved seeing the valley from the river. And then..... they both fell asleep. Was great to hear and talk with leading doctors about health and wellness. I've never met a group of professionals that you can approach and shoot the breeze with. I've found that most doctors and health professionals don't give people the time of day. At the conference we learned more about the health benefits of Juice Plus and how truely independant the research is. Check out: www.fromheretowellness.com for more on Juice Plus. And unfortunately we had to go back to the salt mine, at least for now. In the next few years there will be enormous changes for this family. And several of you just might get a visit from us in our RV, whether it's Alaska or Scotland it won't matter the distance.

The future is Now!! Carpe Diem!!!!