Hersha Reunion Time!

Erik and I (and Pudge) are leaving Sunday with Ali and Gram to head north. We love going to Aunt May and Uncle Barney's for a few days before going to the campground. Aunt May lives on Intermediate River and the kids kayak all over the place! This year Aunt Jo is meeting us in Grayling and Gram will be going to see her new house in St. Ignace before they all come down for the reunion on Thursday. John and Connie, Chelle and Ken (and Punky) and Mom are coming up on Wednesday to the campground.
I hope Lake Michigan is warm by now, but I won't hold my breath with all the cool evenings we have had lately!
I don't know what to expect with Pudge and camping, but we will make it work. She is too little to leave home. Although she is growing like a weed. When I took her to get weighed for her heartworm meds she weighed in at a whopping 4.1 pounds and just five days later when I took her for shots she weighed 5.2 pounds! By the time we are done camping I bet she will weigh almost 7 pounds!! (Still just little!)
Aunt Connie and I will try to find a place to weigh us in while we are up north. S'mores are probably not the best choice for people trying to lose weight, but I bet I'll still have to have at least ONE!
Pictures later...

Introducing Pudge

We finally found a puppy. Her name is Pudge and she is adorable. She is a lab mix and looks like a yellow lab. She is quite smart so far and is doing well with her house-breaking. It is a long process! I had forgotten how time-consuming it is to break a puppy, but she is a quick study and I think we will have it pretty much under control by the time school starts in the fall - which seems to be right around the corner! One good thing - I get up a lot earlier these days and seem to be able to get much more done in my day - even with all the "Go potty" and "Good girl" commands and praises that I do now! I can't wait to introduce her to Magnus because they will love each other to pieces! She doesn't jump and I hope that doesn't change! Here are a couple pictures of Pudge and her sister, Punky, who lives with Michelle and Moose. (Moose thinks he is Punky's mother!) Aren't they CUTE!!!

Our Little Peanut - and Thomas Train

Magnus was such a good boy when he stayed with us this summer. We could not get over how much he has grown. It is very difficult to be so far away from him, but we understand and are trying to be patient. It will be even more difficult after little brother arrives this fall, but we will handle that when the time comes. Magnus slept in our spare bedroom in the big boy bed all week. We only had one incident when "the pillow tip over, the pillow tip over" in the middle of the night and Magnus and Thomas both ended up on the floor between the bed and the wall. That was when silly Gramma pushed the bed up against the wall like she should have done in the first place. Magnus loves Thomas the Train and we had to get at least one picture of the two of them together.

Magnus and Grampa

Magnus liked riding the 4-wheeler this year. He didn't like it at all last year. Now he wants to "go fast" with Gramma, but Gramma is a pretty slow driver. Next year we will have to get a helmet for Magnus so he can "go fast"er.
Grampa and Magnus played "hide and seek" games around Grampa's chair. I don't really know what the game was about - except for spending time with Grampa. Thomas the Train got a lot of mileage going from one side of Grampa's chair to the other!
Grampa looks like he isn't paying attention - that was part of the game - then he would say something and Magnus would run back to the other side of the chair; then the game would start over - again and again...
Gramp was pretty good at grabbing the blessed "mir" - which was what Magnus was waiting for him to do...
The boys had to water the new grass every day. Magnus likes to water things.

A Visit from Magnus

Magnus LOVES Grampa's barn. He was helping Grampa fix the lawn tractor on this day. He especially likes to "drive" the tractor.
The ducks are getting bigger every day. Magnus helped feed the ducks in the morning and in the evening and he even helped put the ducks to bed in their cage every night. He was a good helper for Gramma.
Magnus really enjoyed playing in his sandbox at Gramma and Grampa's house. Even tho' the sand was not what Gramma had in mind, it worked for Magnus' purposes. He had lots of fun.

Magnus got really tired from all his swimming and after getting all snuggy in blankets and dry clothing , and under cover from my sunglasses, he fell fast asleep on the pool deck!