Year 2, Day 229: Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Thursday, August 17th, 2017

We stayed "home" for the most part because it was rainy for most of the day.  It was great having a stay at home day, because we were so exhausted from our big trips to Sleeping Bear and Macinac Island.  We originally had planned to stay home yesterday, but when we looked at the weather for the week, we rearranged our outings so we would have great weather days while we were out.  But the kids had a great time with their 2nd cousins and I got to go work at a coffee shop (see below).  Swimming, eating, playing games, napping, reading, that's what Johnson's do on vacation.  And a little work sometimes.  But that's how it goes.

Some coloring and screen time with Grandma.

Dance party?! Abishai does dance even when there is no music on because he sometimes sings or hums to himself.  Or he was playing "(you) can't get me!"

Finishing up the doughnut puzzle!

Homework, always more homework.  But he finished it before Friday evening.  He even made his own breakfast, a fruit and yogurt smoothie!

It was neat having two dining room tables so we could leave games out on one while we ate at the other.  Here they are playing a dice game.  I think, one person rolls the dice, while the previous person writes down numbers in order until the first person rolls a certain combination.  Then the number writer stops, and the dice roller starts writing numbers where they had left off previously on another turn.  I think the first person to write down 50 or 100 wins.  It is a fast moving and loud game and great practice for the younger kids to write down their numbers!

Time to compare and contrast.  This is Justin's side of the bedroom over the garage.  The bed is tidied up, there are no clothes on the floor, and the books are stacked neatly.

And guess whose side of the room this is?  Benaiah's of course!  The bed is never made, there are clothes on the floor, and while it isn't as messy as his areas at home, there are books and things strewn across the desk.  Two brothers, 3 years apart, very different kids.

A friend of ours gave us a ton of old jewelry that the girls meticulously laid out and organized so they could each pick out their favorites.  It's a good thing they all like different things, and there was no fighting!  Thanks, Sherry!

Gary noticed that a lot of roofs in this area do not have gutters.  Instead, they have these metal roofs where the rain flows off of them.  There were multiple downpours that day. Thankfully, places like the deck, which is the roof for the pool, are well made and slant down slightly so the water just runs off.

Because of the low clouds, we can't see the state park, never mind the harbor!

Wowzers, so much rain!  This is out of one of the windows from above the 4 stall garage.

Jared loves thunderstorms, so he went outside to sit and watch it rain while he worked on his Bible lessons for Benaiah's school next week.  The porch did get a bit damp though because it was raining so hard and the wind was pretty strong.

Girlie time painting nails with Everly's new nail polish that changes color slightly in the sun!

Rainy days are great days to read our new to us books from the bookstore (see iPhone pics below).  This books is about Lightning McQeen.

I wish we had a gas grill!  Anything meat that is grilled automatically tastes better than just simply baked, boiled, or even crockpotted.  Jared would rather cook over an open fire pit though.  Jared and Aaron both take turns grilling here and at Gary and Leah's house though.

Pork with sea salt and Mrs. Dash, and chicken with Italian dressing.  Yum!  This stack lasted 3 days!

The sun did peak through the clouds a few times.

Ending the day with movie time!  The only working TV and DVD player were in the "boys' lounge" over the garage.  The home theater never worked and there were two other TV's, one in Gary and Leah's bedroom and one in the 2nd kitchen but it only had a VHS player.  For once, there wasn't a TV in every room!  They watched "The Secret Life of Pets."  I am not impressed with that movie.  They could have conveyed the storyline without all the butt shaking and almost swear words and adult stuff.  There's better movies out there.

Swing time with Daddy watching the rain.

There were two rocking chairs that had really wide seats in the main living area.  So, two little people could easily fit on them.  Keturah is holding her kitty she got with a bike basket she purchased on Macinac Island the day before.  The kitty has a helmet with it, too.

Aaron and Shauna did a lot of the doughnut puzzle for the girls after they had separated out the colors.

When the rain let up a bit, Aaron, Shauna, Justin, Keturah, Everly, Nora, Abishai and I checkout a new and used bookstore, complete with a cafe and some special drinks and prepackaged snacks.  We walked toward the back of the store where the kids' books where.  Abishai was automatically intrigued by the Lighning McQueen plushes from the Cars 3 movie of course.

I would have bought this book if they hadn't used the word, "jackass" at the end of it.  To back up, this book is about a donkey and this monkey talking about the differences between screens and books.  The donkey asks things like, "How do you charge it?" or "I can't swipe to the next page!" and the monkey answers me, "It's a book! You don't have to charge it!"  It was very funny, but I don't need the mild swear word in it.

I love these little books!  And these two describe Justin to a "T"!

Fair Trade and maybe organic coffee.  And at $14 a lb and up, I'm not buying.  But the wall was pretty to look at!  And they had those yummy syrups, too!  I love the old coffee grinders.  This shop was exactly how a book/mini coffee shop should be.  Quaint, quiet, unique, with a little bit of old, and a little bit of new.  Shop local!  Oh and that's what one sign said.  "See here, buy here, shop local."  Instead of looking up a book on Amazon and buying it for cheap.

Perfect sign for most people in our family.

Why bother buy the book to read when you can just read the whole thing in the store while your parents shop!  They had new and used books, and local authors and stories, too.  Like some of the Native American folk tales.

Lots of tiny Beenie Babys with those big "cutie" eyes.  Abishai wanted them all since he loves the manatee/porpoise one that Keturah gave him called, "Cutie."

What?! Ok then.

Adorable!

A few different fun gifts like these mugs where a hot beverage literally makes Henry VIII's wives disappear!  Or, a bandage appears on the Van Gogh one.  I've seen a Doctor Who mug where the Tardis will disappear or appear or something like that, too.

The stores were empty because we were just in the downtown Boyne City area and it was rainy.  But we found these cute sayings!  I could hear Leah sarcastically tell Benaiah, "Let me drop everything and work on your problem."  And the "I'm saracastic because punching people is frowned upon" fits Benaiah and several other very sarcastic people I know (not in our family).

And of course, Abishai finds the rack of cars wherever he goes!  He loves this size of metal cars.  But at $10 a piece at this shop, I said no way!  We can get them at CVS or Meijer for around $6 at home.

After our little jaunt downtown, we went home for lunch.  Then Benaiah and I went back to the bookstore for some coffee and quiet time.  I just really wanted to go back because some of my favorite vloggers frequent coffee shops often and I wanted to pretend I was a real vlogger or blogger.  The shop was so cute and I know it's a lot of hard work, so I didn't mind paying Starbucks prices for a mocha.  It tasted just as good, too.  They did have alternative milk, but I didn't know that until after I drank my cup!

Work date with this one.  Free wifi!

Gotta prep some homechool lessons this week!  But I'm blogging it because well, that's what our generation does! Silly, I know, to some but cool to us.

Another cute bike rack!  We got home right before it poured rain again and in time to help with supper.

Poor Abishai and his tiny waist.  He walked out of his jean shorts multiple times today, so, Uncle Aaron being Uncle Aaron, put them on his head and kept making supper.  Abishai loved it!  I know I can sew a tuck in the waistbands, but I'm lazy.

It's the no pants child hiding from someone.

Brothers deep in discussion about who knows what.  Some day, this might be Benaiah and Justin, too.  I bet when Gary and Leah were raising the boys, they dreamed and prayed that this kind of relationship would happen, but it took lots of hard work and prayer to make it happen.  I'm sure some days, it seemed they would never get along.  In fact, they used to fight so much that they couldn't even share a room!

Some girls deep in thought, too, over, drumroll....a hide and seek/mystery video game.

A tell tale sign that it's time to go to bed!  If you lay your head down on the table to watch a YouTube video.  Good night!

Everything but the "go fishing" works for our current family.  The Johnson boys used to go fishing in a stream near Grandpa Johnson's cabin when they were growing up though.

Some more of the pictures of the bookstore.  Cute old ceiling and modern lighting!  I will say that the chairs were very uncomfortable for me.  But other than that, I loved it!

Here's the outside view of the bookstore/cafe.