Puppy puppy puppy...

Marley is 7 months old. Even though she looks like a big dog (and weighs 55 pounds) she is still a puppy at heart. She entertains us with her funny antics like attacking the kids and pulling off Choochie's socks and pants. Last week she thought it would be "fun" to destroy a brand new 8-pack of papertowels. NICE. Thanks to Papa Dan, who happened to be babysitting, for cleaning it up and for snapping a shot on his cell.

Another First Day...

Can't forget about Chooch's first day of four year old preschool! So CUTE!

First day of school

The first day of school, a day of mixed emotions: sadness that the summer is over, excitement about seeing old faces and meeting new ones. Trepidation about more difficult subjects like advanced math or reading. Wondering if the new teacher will be cool or interesting or let me sit by my friends. Will my new patent leather shoes give me blisters? It is a great time of year!The fifth grader and the third grader

August...part 4 - the last hoorah of summer!

We just returned from our annual family outing at Camp Osto!
We did a two hour tube from Beauty Bend to Crawford Park - the view of this stretch of the Muskegon is worth the extra effort involved in getting into the river at this point (steep with poison ivy to dodge). The kids played rousing games of Bloody Murder each night, screaming and running in terror every few minutes! There was also swimming at the park, pond fishing, outdoor showers, playing in the pump, driving black beauty and wandering the trails. The adults enjoyed too much food, just enough drink, nightly campfires and the company of family. One nice addition for the weekend was a portajohn we rented. Its kinda funny (and pathetic) that I felt spoiled by an outhouse this weekend! Bobo and Mike visited for the first time too.

Dan and Nancy also celebrated their 40 year wedding anniversary! We celebrated with the world's largest cake, homemade cards and a framed collage of their wedding pic, their parent's and their children's wedding pictures. Thanks to Missi for working out all the details on that one. Congradulations to 40 years - that is a hell of a long time!

Thanks everyone for sharing in our little campout. Even though you have to rough it a little, it means a lot to Osto and me to share the outdoors with our nieces, nephews, kids and family. These are great memories!

August...part 3

The Biggest Fish We Ever Stole

by T-Bird, Cal, Chooch and Papa Bob

One morning at the family cottage, we went fishing in the pontoon. Calli saw a big eagle flying overhead. It made a sharp turn and dove into the water. It brought up something very large. The thing was very heavy and the eagle could not get it into the air - even with its large 7 foot wing span. Since it couldn't get airborne, it did the "eagle stroke" pulling the thing, trying to swim to the island to where its baby was squawking. It gave up so we drove the boat closer to get a better look. It was a huge pike! We drifted away hoping the eagle would return to retrieve its catch but it wouldn't. So we decided to scoop up the big fish and bring it back to the cottage to show everyone and tell the story. The fish measured 27" and you could see the talon marks where the eagle grasped the fish! We returned to the island and put the fish there. Later that evening when we took another boat ride, the fish was gone and the eagles were still perched in the trees.

Our "prize" - a stolen 27 inch pike!

These marks are where the eagle's talons cut into the fish.

The baby eagle doesn't have a white head yet, but is almost as big as its parent.