June/July 2010

What a crazy first two months of summer! We have been busy, busy, busy. Unfortunately much of the craziness was due to way too much work and studying. But, I do have super exciting news. For those of you who have commiserated with me over the last (way too many) years of studying for actuarial exams - I'M DONE, I'M DONE, I'M DONE!!! I can hardly believe it myself. I successfully finished my last requirement on July 30th, thanks in great part to Aunt Karen who spent lots of extra time playing with Dominic on Wednesday's, my "day off", and a few weekends as well. He had tons of fun during his extra Aunt Karen time swimming at swim school, taking walks to the playground, and doing a lot of weeding. Dominic has become completely obsessed with pulling weeds, particuarly all of the tiny unwanted maple trees that seem to pop up everywhere. He is not satisfied unless he gets them out down to the root. I hope this continues for many more years!

In between the work and studying we had a lot of fun. Friends Kelli, Noel, and Ben came to visit from South Carolina. Noel joined Dominic at the Memorial Day parade, while Ben came over a few days later for some playtime. He and Dominic had a blast after they discovered a nice big puddle on the sidewalk to splash through. Holly stopped by to see the gang as well.

Congrats to cousin Paul who graduated from Eisenhower High School in June!

Great-Grandma Mari and Great-Aunt Rosalind came to visit from Ohio at the end of June. By the end of dinner, Dominic was signing "more" thanks to some training from Aunt Rosalind. He now asks for "more" of EVERYTHING!

We ventured downtown to Comerica Park over the 4th of July weekend where Dominic experienced his 1st Tigers game. The Verlander t-shirt that Grandma Robyn purchased for him early in the season was just perfect for cheering on the starter that night. Thank goodness we were lucky enough to utilize my work suite, because Dominic could not be contained. But he had tons of fun running around the suite and concourse.

In addition over the 4th of July weekend, Dominic was excited to be invited over to the neighbors' house for some swimming on a 90+ degree day. He loved the Davenport's pool, so much so that for several days after he ran over to the fence and cried to go back over (a bit embarassing for mom).

Kit enjoyed a whirlwind July weekend in Seattle to celebrate at the wedding of college pal Ryan Parker. Congratulations to Ryan and Amy!

Happy birthday to cousin Tommy who turned 3 in July! We had fun celebrating at his birthday party near the end of the month.

Overall, it has been a lot of fun watching Dominic explore and discover the world this summer. Pictures in the June/July album, top right.