The Allens visit

Lisa, Katie and Sam (otherwise known as Tommy Callahan Junior) came to visit this weekend. They made a pit stop here in Ann Arbor for a few days to break up a long trip from Chicago up to northern Michigan. Katie is 4 y.o., adorable, polite and brought lots of hand me downs for Miss T. Sammy is nearly 2 y.o., handsome, sweet and surely will be selling break pads before we know it.

Getting Ready for Company

When there is company rolling in to town we do the proper thing here at the Baughman household and clean house. The toys are just over abundant and find themselves strewn all over the entire house despite having a designated toy area/room/wing. And while you want to teach your children to clean up after themselves and the rewards of keeping things such as toys neat and tidy sometimes (almost every time) it's so much easier and quicker to just go ahead and do it yourself. There is something about finding an old toy or book or box of baseball cards that inspires a child to play with it then and there despite the fact that it's been collecting dust or napping with the dead bugs untouched in the corner for days or weeks on end. Today Nate didn't go against the grain as much as usual. He loves to organize! I even got him to vacuum and he didn't ram his sister's feet with it as if he were going to suck her up into the Bissell. On the other hand, Tessa, posing as strange-80's-Jane-Fonda-look-alike, was killing her momma. As toys hit the shelves and boxes and bins, Tessa's eyes would pop out of her head as if it were Christmas morning and this were her first encounter with each and every toy, book, marker, puzzle, doll, etc. And, every discovery led to yet another mess. Needless to say, it took all day to accomplish neatness in the toy room and sadly, we all know this will not last.

Independence Lake

Spent the afternoon at one of our local watering holes. Independence Lake. Not sure what I was expecting. It's no Archer Lake. But, when it's a million degrees and you need to get the kiddos out of the house, we'll settle. There is a splash pad that's lots of fun but seemed to be filled with lots of little babies that Nate and Tessa were practically trampling. So, to avert any accidents and lawsuits we decided to park by the beach. Well, from the beach there is a fantastic view of a giant jungle gym. And, that my friends, is where we spent the majority of our time. At a lake but playing on a jungle gym all the while it is five hundred gazillion degrees outside. Nate has been quite obsessed with his iPod that Gramma Gayla got him for his birthday. His favorite tune is Who Let the Dogs Out and we've heard it about 72 thousand times along with Nate barking like a dog. Now please picture my kid swinging on the monkey bars, barking like a dog to the tune of Who Let the Dogs Out coming from his iPod looped on his bathing suit strings and a handful of other children joining in and barking as well. I got some strange looks from other parents and all I was thinking was at least it wasn't OPP or Back That @ss Up blaring from his pocket (those songs, for the record, are not on his iPod)! And, I also found it funny that Tessa played with a little girl named after an IUD, Mirena and a little boy named Earl. And I had to remind myself that it is our right as parents to name our children.

This was the only pic I snapped as I was consumed with keeping my two kids in the same area, not hurting or drowning themselves or others.

Wakeboarding and Seaweed Woes.

These pictures will not do justice to Nate's first attempt at wakeboarding. So, I will do my best to describe the happenings on this sunshiney morning.


It's very early and the sun is shining. The lake is like glass. And, Nate has interestingly announced he's ready to try to wakeboard. We get the boat loaded and the excitement is abounding. Nate jumps in the water and is taking his instructions very seriously. Board up, bend your knees, let the boat pull you is followed by several very sure okays. The engine revs and pulls forward and Nate gets up for a nanosecond and falls face forward into the water. This surprisingly doesn't deter him. Everyone in the boat reassures him he's doing great and to try again. The neighbors have even gathered outside to watch him. The instructions are repeated again. The boats circles to get him the rope. And, well, this is where it all ends. A piece of grass is hanging from the handle of the ski rope and crosses Nate's arm and this is followed by blood-curdling screams and thrashing in the water. No he didn't hurt himself during some crazy wipe out and he didn't take a gusher of water up his nose. A piece of slimy grass brushed across his arm and he was completely freaked out! The boat circled to get him and he couldn't wriggle his way out of those boots and into the boat fast enough.

Summatime fun.

Jill, Roach, Rosey and all of their hooligans (minus Levi cuz Gramma Carol apparently had visions of him drowning even though he lives in Florida and has been on a boat or on water more than not his entire 7 mos of life!) came to Archer Lake for a day of fun. We had lots of Popsicles and ice cream and the only time there were really any tears was when we got stuck in a very random, torrential downpour at the southernmost lake on the chain. Good thing we had 17 kids on the boat, two towels and a cooler full of beers! Jill showed off a little bit and did some wakeskating. She even got up on the first try! It was a special board for those over 30 though.

Left to right: Kate, Kendall, Emma, Layla, Amy, Tessa and Molly.
Miss Kate with Popsicle face.
Layla with serious face.

Emma and Kate.
Left to right: Kendall, Layla, Emma and Jack. This is pre-Gilligan's Island rainstorm.
Kendall and Layla, preschool buds!
Rosey, Emma, Kendall, Jill and Kate post-torrential downpour.


This next segment is "Jack: Livin' Large."




Jill hot-doggin on the wake-skate.

Enginerd in the Making.

Nate is a little busy body with quite the imagination. It is also no secret that he is quite cautious (otherwise known as chicken-poop). So, all summer long Troy and Uncle Bubba have been harassing Nate to try to wakeboard and ski. And, all summer long they have gotten nothing but "no, I'll do it next time" or "I'll try it tomorow" out of Nate. After a long weekend at the lake and another long weekend of harassment for Nate I had to laugh when this it what I found in the garage.

I think this is his version of a wakeboard. Pretty clever too. I'm just wondering how it worked out for him during the test run. Do you think this kid is gonna be an engineer like his father?

Post Parties

Just a few post party pictures. Still sucking on robo-pops.
A little duct tape and another round on the pinata.
And, check out my nephew's killer abs!!

4th of July

Well, after the Weasel extravaganza we crashed in Napoleon and then made our way to the lake for sunday's events to complete our jam-packed, fun-filled 4th weekend! Gramma Char and Papa Kenny hosted another extraordinary 4th of July bash at Archer Lake. The O'Haras and Pearsons rolled in to town. There was sunshine, pounds of food, plenty of Americana-wear for the lake parade and relaxin' and competitive activities for everyone. We celebrated Papa O'Hara's 87th birthday and cousin Scott's graduation from the Merchant Marine Academy. We also informally celebrated Scott's engagement to Kim and are hoping we didn't scare her off completely! Just a warning...this one's a biggie for pics!


Our filthy and exhausted dirtbags refueling for the next party.

Aunt Jeanie, Paige and Lola.
The gang gathering for the parade. Most of the 'vehicles' in the parade do not have 4x4!
T hanging out with Daddy watching the parade.Nate and Molly sportin' major American pride!

Triple P (Psycho Party Planner) appropriately had a throne on the truck.Lola and Aunt Mar
Team Pearson vs Team O'Hara in corn hole.
Papa O'Hara relaxin'.

Softball challenge.

Tessa playing kiddie version of corn hole.

Awwwwh. How cute is baby Stella?!?!

The celebrants, Papa O and Scott.

Scott and Kim.

Molly and Tessa.

The O'Hara kids gabbing and eating. Mar, Char, Bill and Jeanie (they are pry talking about John who is missing!)
Pearon family pic.

O'Hara family pic.

O'Hara grandkids and great-grandkids.

3rd of July....Weasel Style.

From left to right : Corrine, Colette, Cole, Terran, Grayson, and Nate.






Gramma Gayla and Grampa Steve hosted their annual 4th of July Weasel Family bash. The kids played games galore...including a drinking game that Gramma cleverly modified without having the munchkins doing shots or chugging beers. There was too much food, swimming in the pond, a pinata chock full of candy for teeth rotting and of course a Bic lighter and bucket-o-fireworks for every kid that could walk!