October thus far...

Ok, so it's actually only October 3rd, but since it's been FOREVER since I posted, I figured I didn't want to overwhelm myself :) Here's what's happening in Holman Land - the condensed version..... Rick - looking for a "real job" to supplement the "oh so seasonal" moped rental business. He's not picky - we have bills to pay and my income doesn't quite cut it. Feel free to send job leads this way. He's done sales for YEARS with the mopeds. He's also gearing up for the start of Cub Scouts.... Joshua is a Webelos 1 this year, which is so close to Boy Scouts and a little overwhelming from a leader standpoint (well, at least from and Assistant Den Leader standpoint... Rick's probably not worried in the least!) Amanda - busy working, Cub Scout Fundraising, Assistant Den Leadering, organizing, staying on top of the family and their various social engagements, and trying to keep her head above water.... It's only been a month... I'm still trying to get a handle on things. I'll get it all figured out just in time for it to slow down again :) Joshua - is a 4th grader!!!!! Yikes! A ridiculously smart 4th grader, who is just starting to get a little bit of a preteen attitude. Not such a fan of that... I'm sure it will get worse before it gets better, but goodness - he's only 9 years old! I thought I had more time.... He is currently selling magazines for school and popcorn for Cub Scouts, so if you're interested, let me know and I'll pass the info along. Logan - trying to figure out this whole "kindergarten thing". Nah... actually he's pretty much a pro. He gets upset because he's not in school long enough each day, LOL! I wonder how long before he starts complaining that school is "too long"??? He loves his teacher but seems to spend an awful lot of time playing by himself (as in, "who did you play with today?" "no one. none of the other kids wanted to play with me" or "no one. I played by myself.") I'm not sure if he's exaggerating just a smidge (he's been doing that a lot lately, too.....) or if I need to send his teacher an email. I might just stop by his classroom on Friday afternoon, but I digress, lol. Riley Roo - lays around a lot, looking very annoyed at the puppy. I think she's too old for this "nonstop playing" crap! Coco (aka the puppy) - is definitely half horse. She is SO HUGE (like a Great Dane should be!), but she still thinks she's a teeny tiny lap dog. She has no concept of her size and gets into all kinds of trouble and knocks everything off my coffee tables, lol!! Well, that's about it from this neck of the woods. I'd love to say I'll be more consistent, but I hate to make promises I might not be able to keep! Suffice it to say, we'll just have to see what happens with the "keeping up on the blog" thing!!

Mother's Day

To all the moms out there, how are you celebrating Mother's Day this year? I'm spending mine at an indoor water park with my super cool husband and amazing boys :)

My 8 year old was extremely determined to be a top reader in his grade during the month of March - the kid logged 13 hours of reading for the month! The goal for third graders was 300 minutes (6 hours) and he blew that right out of the water. His prize was a free pass to the water park at the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury.

Sounds like a good way to spend Mother's Day to me :)

The weather is supposed to be amazing. I hope all my great mom friends out there have wonderfully special days with the ones they love most.

Silver Lake Sand Dunes

(for those of you seeing this as a "note" on Facebook, you might have to go to my blog to see the pics - I'm not sure though. This is the address: www.holmanhouseholdhappenings.blogspot.com )

I am married to a sand dune loving man. Rick and I spent pretty much our entire first summer together up at Silver Lake, driving through the dunes in his Ford Explorer. We've gone every summer since. I have a million and a half memories of exciting things that have happened at Silver Lake. I get him an ORV sticker every year for his birthday, since the dunes open April 1st and his birthday is April 11th. We went up there today for the first trip of 2011 to celebrate Rick's birthday a little early. It was absolutely amazing. Beautiful weather, not too busy, but enough big trucks and Jeeps around to still make it fun. We took the Escape since we don't currently have a big, beefy truck. I was pleasantly surprised at how well my little girl did! She can't make it up the biggest, steepest hills, but she gets us around just fine. Plus, she looks really cute with a dune flag on the front  :)

The boys were really excited, but Joshua started to get a little nervous as we were going in. Keep in mind, we've always taken the kids up there, so there's no reason for them to be worried, but it is really bumpy and takes some remembering what it's like if you're in the back seat, I suppose. I reminded Joshua about the time he was in my belly (I was like 8 months pregnant...) and I had to bail out the passenger side window because we got in water that was too deep and the Explorer stalled out and there was water pouring in. I told him that the sand dunes are in his blood, so he might as well relax and enjoy the ride!!

I got some excellent pictures to mark the 1st Dune Day of 2011, so enjoy!!

Blue skies, sand and Lake Michigan.

Taking a break to watch the action on Test Hill.

Testing out the Lake Michigan water - probably about 40 degrees this early in April.

Me and my dune loving man!

3 of the strongest men in the world!!

Driftwood bench.

Logan making a "Sand Angel".

Waiting to get the tires aired back up.

Is it springtime yet?!?!?!

I really want to believe spring is finally here. After all, the first robins of the season showed up at my house last Friday. Plus, some irises and lilies have popped up in my front yard. They're like 2 inches tall, but at least they're there!

In an effort to speed things along, I've been doing silly things like wearing tank tops in the house, opening the slider door just a little to pretend it's warm enough to air the house out, and insisting that we get the patio table and chairs set up on the deck.

Tonight was no exception. While Rick was grilling burgers for dinner, I went out and hung some sheets on the clothesline to dry. It is, after all, a balmy 43 degrees here in Michigan, and there's a breeze, so they should dry quickly! The sun has been out for days, but it's still cold and I still have some lingering snow at my house. I just REALLY need it to be spring, though!!

Maybe this weekend the last of the snow will melt for good. I'd like the think we're done with winter - for real this time! Not like last time when we were in the 50's for a week and then "bam!" - snow and ice storm....

Gotta love Michigan!

It's Official!

Joshua remains cancer free!! Radiology report from Friday's MRI states "NED" (No Evidence of Disease)!!!!

Happy Dance!!!