Fun with friends both old and new

Last week, we had a fun-filled week followed by a very busy weekend and this week started off a bit crazy as well, so I haven't had any time to sit down and write until now.  I've also been affected by some issues with numbness in my right hand which I was sure was being caused by a pinched nerve, and after a visit to the doctor on Monday, has been diagnosed as most likely Carpal Tunnel.  Thankfully it hasn't been terrible to deal with most of the time, but I'm hoping the stretches I've been doing and the arm brace I have to wear at night will help solve the problem completely.   Only time will tell.  For now, I do what I can to relieve the symptoms and just keep making the most of life.  What else can you do, really?

While Labor Day was just a little over a week ago, we have already reached the middle of September.  Time is just flying by so quickly!  Maybe part of that is the crazy week we had, but at least we started off with a little down time.  Maddie has become quite happy to nap much of the morning and I'm happy that I can sit near her and get some work done while she's napping.  I just love to watch her sleep.  Most of those morning Peaches spends outside in the yard enjoying our end of Summer weather, and it's nice that each girl can spend time doing their own thing.  

We had our weekly vet visit to start the week and Maddie was a little slower than normal all day, but still happy to see her friends at the vet.  I had to help her into the building and it took both the vet tech and vet assistant to help her walk out of the building, which is very unusual.  She just wasn't having the best day, but that happens when you're 15 years old.  Once she got out to the car and loaded up, both Maddie and Peaches were hoping for some extra treats, but to their dismay, I didn't have any to give them.  Once we got home, I gladly let them spend the rest of the afternoon outside while I worked from the comfort of the patio.  I hope that made up for the lack of treats!

Mid-week, we headed to Uncle John's Cider Mill outside of St. Johns to watch my nephew, Mason, run in a cross country meet.  I bought a cider slushie and a couple of dougnuts before the meet and then headed to find my parents to watch with them.  Of course, one of the doughnuts I bought was a plain one meant for the girls to share and they were pretty excited about it.  It was a good way to get them to pay attention to me and settled in for the duration of the meet.

Maddie was excited to be out on an adventure and eventually climbed out of the stroller to walk around and take in all that was happening.  Eventually both girls settled in, laid down, and just enjoyed being outside.  

Cross Country isn't the most exciting sport and you don't see much of the race at this venue without running around a lot yourself, but Peaches and I made sure we were close as Mason ran by us so we could cheer him on.  It was a great night to be out enjoying what remains of our Michigan Summer and it to visit with family.

Thursday our adventures took us to several local small business to buy Michigan themed snacks for two baskets I was putting together for the ISR reunion raffle, one basket with human treats and the other with dog treats.  I made purchases at a few stores in Old town before heading to Preuss' Pets where Peaches was able to join me for my shopping.   We then headed to the brand new Soldan's location in South Lansing to check out the store and do a little more shopping.  I was excited that Maddie was able to join me for this portion of the shopping trip because the aisles are wide and there was plenty of room for her stroller.  She enjoyed her visit and even spent sometime outside of the stroller sniffing around and checking things out for herself, and of course she got treats from the cashier as we made our purchase.  It was a pretty good night for the old girl!  We will definitely go back again because Maddie loves visiting a good pet store.

After a quiet day spent mostly at home with a nice walk around the neighborhood on Friday, I was excited to take part in a special geocaching event on Saturday afternoon.  During the event, we introduced a group of Girl Scouts to the fun of geocaching and helped them earn their geocaching badge.  I left the girls at home because this was just not going to be an easy place to bring Maddie and it's best if Peaches stays home with her.  I know Vanessa was pretty surprised when she got to the event and I didn't have them with me.  It was definitely strange being out on an adventure without them, but I know it was for the best.  

We met at the Lake Lansing boat launch for an introduction to caching where I was able to meet several other local geocachers.  Before starting our caching adventure, we taught the girls about CITO, Cache in Trash Out, by picking up trash around the boat launch area.  We then headed across the road to the Lake Lansing North Park to begin the caching lesson.  Our first stop was a brand new cache which had been placed especially for this event.   The girls were pretty excited for the find and ready to continue on to find more.  It was a fun day with fellow cachers and the enthusiasm and excitement of the girl scouts made it even better.  We found several caches while there and enjoyed a nice hike around the park.

After a couple of hours of caching through the park on a beautiful day, the girls began to get tired and it was time to head home.  It had been a lot of fun, but I needed to get home to the girls and get some stuff done around the house.  I'm really glad I decided to join this event and look forward to joining other events in the future.  It's fun to share stories and talk with other people who enjoy caching.  Hopefully next time, the girls will be able to join me.

On the way home I had to get a couple pictures of the trees along the lakeshore.  Boy was I surprised at the number of trees already changing color near the lake.  It was pretty, but it's just too early!  

Sunday arrived and we were up early because we had a big adventure planned for the day- a trip to the Chicago area for the Illinois Shorthair Rescue Reunion!  We were sad when the event had to be cancelled last year due to Covid because it would have been the 15th Anniversary of the rescue, but boy were we glad that we were safely able to gather in a little smaller group this year because this is the one time of the year that we get to see most of our rescue friends and, more importantly, their pups!

We were on the road early with a couple of quick stops to make along the way to pick up a couple of geocaches in counties that I didn't have a geocache yet.  I was able to make those stops and get back on the road pretty quickly, and luckily the traffic was clear nearly all the way to Chicago so we made good time.

We had to make a stop downtown to pick up Emmalee, who would be joining us at the reunion.  We don't see her often since she's busy at medical school, but we were glad that she was free to join us this year again.   The girls are always happy to see her, and I appreciate the extra set of hands to help with the crazies!  Peaches spent the day dragging Emmalee around, making friends, playing games, and eating ice cream.   It was a great day for her!

Maddie also got to make new friends with both two- and four-legs and took part in both the ice cream eating contest and musical dogs contest.  But most of the time she was relaxing in the grass, looking for more water to drink, or just waddling around and exploring the area.  She had a really great day!

Both girls really enjoyed their time at the reunion and we came home with toys and treats and lots of great memories.  It makes for a long day to travel there and back in one day, but it is always worth it to see all of our ISR friends and the bonus of spending some time with Emmalee too.  The drive home was smooth and quiet since the girls were exhausted from a day of fun and the traffic was light.  What a fun day we had!  I look forward to doing it all over again next year.

The girls spent most of the day Monday snuggling and recovering from our busy Sunday.  I just love how cute they are!  This week has been stormy and we've had rain most evenings, so we haven't been able to get out to do much, but I have been taking advantage of this time to prepare my tomatoes for freezing.  I've made several batches of sauces, both pasta and chilaquiles, and have roasted lots of tomatoes too.  Soon I'll begin to do a little more baking to take advantage of some of the fruit harvest, and I have plans to pick some raspberries at a local farm to enjoy fresh now as well as to freeze for the Winter.  We also have more fun plans for this weekend and the few days that remain of our Summer.  While I'm sad to see the Summer end, I know we've made the most of it, and I look forward to sharing our end-of-Summer adventures with you next time!

It is hard to believe that by this time next week it will be Fall, but the trees around us are starting to make that feel a little more real.  I hope you can all get out and enjoy the last few days of Summer.  Soon our adventures will begin to focus on more Fall fun and, while I prefer Spring and Summer, I promise we'll have some great Fall adventures to share too.  Thanks for following along on our journey!