Does Time heal?.........

It has been awhile since I last posted. Several reasons for that. My computer had to go back to be fixed that was one thing and my camera has died. I had a Kodak camera that I loved. It was getting old and I knew it would die some day. It did and so I bought another. I bought a Canon. I did not seem to have much luck with it and eventually bought another, a Nikon. Well the original camera came back to life after a rest so I continued to use that one.I think it has finally given up for good. (we shall see) I can not get used to either one of the new ones. The Nikon is working but the pictures are not as crisp as my old camera. For some reason the Canon is refusing to work and that's the newest one. So I will have to see what can be done for that. Anyway, the reason for saying all that is NO PICTURES.
We have had Tristen for a couple of weekends and several days here and there. He is settled in to his new home and life but is very sad. When he comes he enjoys himself especially if it's over night but he never wants to leave. It is hard for all of us.
Tomorrow is the court date. I guess signing a paper is not enough for them I actually have to go to court. I hate that. I will never and have never respected the justice system here. I don't trust it. There was nothing to stop the judge throwing Laura H petition out of court. Both the judge and the DHS or child services agreed there was no cause to remove him from our home, but because Laura H refused to give up, they sent it to trial. I refused. I won't go to court and bad mouth everyone, call witnesses and stress people out, make them lose work time and everything else. Beside that we don't have the money. Plus emotionally and physically I just could not stand in the witness box and do what I needed to do. If Tristen were going to a bad home that would have been different. So tomorrow will see the end to this sad episode. It could have been handled so differently. I do not understand how any decent human being can take a child away from people and a home that he loves for no just cause.
That is how it is, and that is how it must be.
So we did several things while Tristen was here. One weekend we went to call of the wild



and Hardwick Pines State park. A good day out.



The following day we went to a small zoo in Roscommon




Tristen said can we do something else fun today? So we stopped at Wellington Farms

Both kids (Reina came too) had a great time, got spoilt and got stuffies and Tee shirts and stuff as reminders.



After that they were more than ready to go home and Tristen said next time I come over can we stay home and play. I said Yes please.
We have tried to do things with them both now we don't have Tristen all the time. They have been raised together for all intents and purpose. So more like brother and sister than anything else (Reina is really his aunt being his mothers sister).
This past weekend we had him on Saturday, Laura H was on a cruise and he had been with Todd all week. I offered to give Todd a break and he was happy to accept. We went to Pahls Pumpkin Patch
It is usually a good place to go but this time it seemed more like it was for smaller kids. Last time we went they had face painting and crafts and other things to do. This time not so much but it was something to do. The kids were glad for some free time to play at home. Tristen cried when he had to go home. Not sobbing but silent tears running down his face, that seemed worse somehow. Trying to be brave, it breaks my heart. He will be OK though and maybe as time goes on it will all be OK. I can only hope so.

Dinosaur park.......................

This past weekend Tristen came home for the weekend. Laura H dropped him off Saturday morning and we were to take him home Sunday afternoon. Well it rained all day Saturday, so what to do? We had taken out his piggy bank. I had needed change for my yard sale. So We emptied out his piggy and what we did was give him the amount to spend at Toys R US. Actually we gave him a bit more so the day was saved. He chose his toys and was happy for the rest of the day.



Sunday turned out to be a lovely day and so I called ahead to be sure the Dinosaur park was open, it was and the weather was great. So I called Laura to have Reina ready and off we went. It is a 3 hour drive over to Alpena. Wow, it sure does not seem so far when I go with Edna. Edna says that's because we are yapping all the way. Gerry is not a talker. The kids dozed off so it was a nice quiet trip out. We got lost a couple of times, well not exactly lost, we just had to turn around a few times.
When we arrived they hit the floor running.



This one got the boy

But he got away

I personally though the models were rather cheesy but the kids loved it.

They were so wound up they made it around in record time I think

They were just so excited.

I also bought a pass so they could do the mini golf. They whizzed around that too they were eager to get to the shop.

They didn't slow down even at the golf.

They just wanted to get to the shop. Posing here with Paul Bunyon and they have their chosen stuffie.

We stopped at KFC and bought something to eat before heading home. Tristen wanted to go back to our house. He said my house is home not Laura's house, but that will pass soon enough as he settles in. I am not sure when he will come again. Time will tell. It's his birthday next week and I am sure they will have a party for him. I have had a party every year so far, so this is sad too. I won't be going this year and neither will Laura. We will just have cake and ice cream next time we see him and get him a gift then.

A day without kids.........................

First day of school and Laura and I were out and about relishing our freedom. It was a beautiful morning and we went to our usual beach to look for Blue Stones. We knew that a storm was coming in the afternoon but were willing to risk it. They said it would be in the 90s later in the afternoon.

We were about ready to quit, aching backs and all that. The sun hot on shoulder and so on. Then we began to hear thunder. I was hoping for some good pictures but we didn't see the lightening. We carried along the beach for a time watching the clouds. Some beautiful dogs on the beach this day.

The wise ones lowered their sails and came in.

This lady took her drink and got in the tube to weather the storm, crazy? Yes I think so.

We decided to have some fun and head into the storm. The next picture is not black and white

It was bad further north but we just got a lot of rain. Still we went to Port Oneida and by then the rain had stopped so I got some pretty shots of the mist in the forests that reminds me of the Smokey Mountains. The old farms looked so pretty



We headed up through the woods on the dirt roads, everything smelled so fresh and lucky for us no wash outs. Hehe dare not loose the muffler again. That would be hard to explain.


we stopped at a couple of farms we had not gone to before. We must go back when it's drier. I did get to take off my swim suit bottom. Wearing jeans and no undies is not comfortable but beat the sand and wetness.


We saw this guy drying off on branch he must have got caught in the rain. He didn't mind us talking to him and taking some pictures.


We went up on a couple of different roads that wind through the forest.


We actually saw someone going the other way. These roads go nowhere, just to abandoned farms and views of the surrounding countryside. We love them.




The deer were out in one of the fields. A doe and two fawns who are growing up. Wish them a good life and successfully getting through hunting season and winter.
We came out of the woods again and saw some Sandhill Cranes. They were grooming themselves, also caught in the rain no doubt


Some more farms. We think about what these places were like when they were bustling with life.
This one had a sort of German look about it with the carvings. There are Bohemian settlements around among others.




We saw some Monarchs. They are getting rare. We used to see fields of them, now its amazing to see two


Well we didn't do so well as storm chasers but we did get to see how pretty it was after the storm

I must say Laura may not be cut out for storm chasing. SHe was eating a muffin and the rain was sheeting down, she freaked when the lightening was close by, but never let loose of her muffin. I forgot she didn't like lightening but we stayed on the road and made it home in sunshine.