THE LONG LAST JUMP INTO THE LAKE

Becca takes one last jump into Bass Lake and into Colton's waiting arms (That's Nicholas standing behind him). Only a few days before Colton left, he and Becca spent some time swimming in the lake, getting in those last strokes before calling it a summer.

A note or two about Bass Lake: Yes, it's that shallow, yes, that's Becca being that brave, and yes, Colton did, though partially, catch her.

Becca spent the summer learning how to swim, and as this picture testifies, becoming quite the lake jumper. She has learned how to hold her breath under water for about 10 seconds, and can swim strokes when she pushes off the bottom of the lake and practically swims like a fish. We think next year she'll be swimming without the aid of floaties.

After this picture was taken (by Grandpa, who just happened to catch the frolicers at the right second) more rain poured in at the end of August and the lake rose about 8-10 inches and came right up to the bottom of the pier. Even though the water looks dark, Bass Lake filled up with so much water this year, it's actually been the cleanest in several years.

The boats are out now, and by the time this gets posted, the pier will be in and the shore keepers will be readying the lake for winter. The year-rounders (1 in 8 lake residents) keep watch and people come and go, even on the weekends, and theft of equipment is a rarity (much of it is too hard to carry off).

As the weather cools, so goes the lake Rats. Mom and Dad have left, returning to Arizona, and we're spending our days pulling out the winter gear, rooting for the Rockies and Notre Dame football teams (Plymouth is up two wins more than ND, but are struggling just the same). So, we're looking forward to another quiet winter with, hopefully, a sunny respite in December.:-)

"I WANT TO RIDE!"

Becca, not one to be left behind, hitches a ride with Grandpa in his new speed boat. Of course, this picture was shot by Biz who was tagging along. Becca has become quite the brave little water Rat, riding in boats, tubing with Mom, riding on the PWCs, and learning how to swim. Now that Summer is over, we can't wait until next year, so we can go swimming in the lake again.

WATER SKIING - BASS LAKE STYLE!

On the day prior to leaving, Colton decided to get one more trip around the lake on water skis. He's spent the last two years learning how to water ski, and on this particular day, he decided to try the single board. With Grandpa's new SeaDoo Sportster, water skiing (and tubing, dude!) are more fun now that the speed boat can actually pull you up out of the water.

THE LAST DAYS OF SUMMER

Just before Colton went home, he spent time in the lake with Becca (not Abe, the little doggie he's holding!). The two cousins spent many hours in the lake this summer. Oh, and that's Grandpa's 14-year-old Pontoon boat in the background, as much a fixture at Bass Lake as the pier and the swimmers.

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL?

Recently, Becca's Aunt Kasey sent several beautiful dresses she had found that had belonged to her daughter, Anjelica. When Becca opened the package that arrived by mail, all she wanted to do was try them on.

Her mother, sensing an opportunity, had Becca try on the dresses and took her outside for pictures in her newly remodeled back yard flower garden. Becca sure got into the moment, posing for us with the flowers as her props.

At 3 and 1/2, our daughter sure is coming into her own as a beautiful little girl. It's just amazing to see her personality develop and wonder at how quickly she is growing!

CAN ANYONE SEE ME?

One of the dresses Aunt Kasey sent was the beautiful blue floor-length gown that Becca thought was so cute! She was so cute in fact that her mother took her into the flower garden in the back yard for a series of shots, including this one that has her peeking around a tiger lily.

Her father feels that she should pull that shoulder strap up.

I HAVE A SECRET!

As July is the month of Independence, Becca models this beautifully crocheted patriotic dress with matching purse, made by her Aunt Kasey. Notice the teddy bear is sporting a matching outfit? Well, Aunt Kasey crocheted that one a couple of years ago when Becca was an infant. We felt it was appropriate to model the two side-by-side.

OLD FASHIONED LACE AND BLOOMERS!

Among the many dresses sent to Becca from her Aunt Kasey included this lace-bordered red dress with matching bloomers. Becca adores this outfit and has hung it in her "to wear" closet. Her mother and father will adore the dress when it gets colder this winter.

CAN I TAKE HIM HOME?

Due to a recent misfortune, this little critter that Biz is holding lost its mommy and daddy. Barry Sanders, Biz's cousin, rescued him from the clutches of the family dog and have been taking care of "Rascal", as this raccoon is called. Biz got to hold him the other day and we were amazed at how so like a house cat he was, purring and clinging and all that.

Unfortunately, Barry and Crystal say that "Rascal" will have to go in a couple of weeks when he grows teeth.

STILL HAVE A FEW YEARS YET!

Trevor (at wheel) and Ethan (center) Sanders take Becca for a ride, er, that is, try to take Becca for a ride in Biz's new car. Due to the rising costs of gasoline, Biz and Charles traded in the old Caravan for this 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid back in March.

We chose the Civic rather than the more popular Toyota Prius because the Civic feels like you're driving in a car. Depending on in-town or highway, we're averaging between 41 and 48 miles per gallon. It also has a smaller tank (9-gallon overall), so it's not costing us a fortune to fill it up. We're getting anywhere from 360 to 440 miles to the tank, depending on when we fill up (Charles likes to top off when the gas gauge hits 1/4 mark; I guess it's just too many times of running out of gas!).

IT GOT POURED DESPITE THE RAIN!

After delaying the pour five hours because of rain, which threatened for a day and a half, our contractor decided to chance it and pour the eight and a quarter (8 1/4) yards of concrete. Then, when the rain threatened again, they put plastic down to protect the concrete, which set up in several hours despite the rain drops. The pad has now cured out and after a couple of 95-degree days, our porch has come out beautiful.

The concrete also wrapped the house on three sides and after a weekend of showers, very little water has seeped into our basement - yeah! We've put on the patio furniture and displayed Bizzy's Mother's Day present - the new grill!

One problem that "surfaced" during the pour - the concrete truck was so heavy it rutted our soft asphalt driveway, which has now led to Charles calling asphalt contractor's for more bids!

THE CONCRETE IS DOWN!

This is looking from the driveway across the patio toward the mud porch. After the concrete cured for three days, we set the fence back up. That metal stand in the middle is our 50-foot television antennae, with which we can pick up South Bend and, sometimes, Chicago. The only problem - birds sit atop the tower and poop all over the brand new concrete!

TIME TO POUR THE CONCRETE!

Our contractors discuss how the concrete pad is going to be shaped. To give you an idea of how much concrete is going to be poured, the pad will be flush with the bottom step coming out the back door. Oh, that's the mud room that served as the break from outside to inside. It has served us well during this past winter. In fact, after the pad was prepared, Charles crawled under the mud porch and insulated the floor. He plans to enclose the bottom once the concrete is poured.

BEFORE SHOT!

This is how our yard looked before the concrete was poured. Along with pouring the concrete, we had our contractor dig around our foundation and treat the basement outside walls with waterproofing.

THE MOST HEARTFELT COMPLIMENT ONE COULD GIVE . . .

Last weekend we were out visiting Biz's parents at the lake and I came back on Saturday to check on some concrete work we were having done, when, lo and behold, I found this waiting for me. . . er, waiting for Bizzy.

Our neighbors said its a tradition that occurs when graduation approaches (it's this weekend!) that students will go out and get crazy, teepeeing one's house with toilet paper.

That's OK. I laughed it off, pulled out the garbage bag and . . .

"You didn't call the police, did you?" my next door neighbor asked as I was stuffing the Glad Bag not so gladly.

"Oh, no, of course not!" I replied.

"The kids must like you, because you were paid the highest compliment they could give," she added.

"Really?" I continued to stuff toilet paper, wondering, 'Could I reuse . . . ? Nah!'

"If they didn't like you, they would have just egged your house," my neighbor said, emphatically.

We put out the word to the kids who tell, that is, at the High School where Bizzy works. One kid said, "Gee, Dr. Ratliff, you're not going to give them ISS are you?"

"Oh, no," replied Bizzy to the wondering tattle-tale. "I'm going to get even!" When he asked how, she told him how she was going to stuff the guilty party(ies) locker(s) with . . .

Needless to say, one only wishes, and we laughed off this particular practical joke.

I SEE WHAT YOU DID!

Plymouth High School students tried to hide their antics behind the bush, thinking we wouldn't see it. Well, we did! Our next door neighbor said she was worried that we, being from Arizona, wouldn't recognize it as a compliment.

So, we've been complimented!

The name is . . .

As the school year comes to a close, one of the things students look forward to is prom. And, where there's prom, there's the high school administration and staff supervising.

When Biz works for a high school, I always look forward to attending the events with her. The events are fun to attend and to watch the kids as they enjoy the fruits of their labors. The other thing I look forward to is the pictures. And, as sponsors, we get to take our picture right along with the students.

This year's prom at Plymouth High School was, duh, themed "007". The gym at PHS was decked out like a casino, with two big screens on opposite walls playing Bond movies. The sound was turned down so that the kids could enjoy the music and dance on the floor. The art dept. and student council really did a wonderful job decorating. We also enjoyed attending the event.

So, here's the picture we took at this year's Prom at PHS. The photo was taken by Ron Zimmerman, a local photographer. If all goes well, we plan on having our family photos taken in the fall with Mr. Zimmerman.

Have a wonderful Spring!

CAN WE GO TO CHURCH? HUH? YEAH?

Becca hams it up as we make our way to the car Sunday morning. It was such a beautiful morning we couldn't resist taking some pictures outside.

Despite the recent change in weather the last couple of weeks, our grass is green and the sun is shining. Although last week, I mowed my lawn one day, only to wake up the next morning to find a half-inch of snow on the ground and snow mixed with icy rain falling steadily. That's OK, because it was all melted by the next day! Now, that's my kind of weather.

Steve, Scott, Becca and Debbie at a recent Argos basketball game.

ANNIE SURE GOT THE GUN!

We spent Friday evening in Argos and watched Steve and Scott Sanders in the Argos High School production of "Annie Get Your Gun!" Steve played the role of Sitting Bull, while Scott was cast as "Mac", one of the roustabouts for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. All of the kids were marvelous as it was a rousing show.

Becca impressed all who sat around us, including the Sanders clan, by clapping when the audience clapped, and then during intermission, entertained one and all by being just the social butterfly! As the evening wore on (the play was a 2-act, 4-scene each two-and-a-half hours long), she began to tire, so instead of clapping, Becca began hooting "Bravo" with each applause, which made the audience roar even more (Yes, she COULD BE HEARD above the applause).

When we left Argos' auditorium at 10, we no sooner had put Becca in her car seat than she passed out for the ride home.

I know I shouldn't, but I just gotta . . . A good time was had by all!

A CHAMPIONSHIP-SIZE COOKIE!

Becca enjoys a cookie at the 3A state basketball championship game, at Conseco Fieldhouse.

I had to rearrange some of my posts, but I could not bear to drop this picture! Becca sure enjoyed the game, as did we all and is really becoming quite the fan!