Summer is coming to a close.........

The summer is winding down. Tiffany and the kids have been busy preparing for school and after school activities. As you can see from the pictures in the previous blog, Tiff took the kids to Burlington, IA to Fun City, a Best Western Hotel with a huge indoor outdoor water park/casino/arcade/indoor go kart track/bowling alley/doesn't it just sound cool already? Along with Tiff, Gabe, Abbi and Elli on the trip was Aunt Ally and cousin Riley and Miranda and Michelle Metz, Abbi's best friend and mom. They left in the morning and came home in the early evening. I was working so I didn't go, but when the gang came home both Abbi and Elli bombarded me with the tales of an all around great day. Michelle marveled at Elli and her never ending smile, even on the big slides. Abbi, as you can see on the picture riding what is now know as the toilet bowl slide, was daring. Fun City will be visited in the future by the entire Ivanlam clan. Reminder: You can click on the photos to see them larger!

Gabe started football practice at Central a couple weeks ago. Things are going well, he should see quite a bit of playing time this fall for the freshman team. This past weekend he completed show choir camp at Central, classes start at 7:40 sharp, Thursday morning.

Abbi and Elli also start school Thursday morning, Ab in 3rd grade and El in 1st grade. We completed our school shopping Sunday at KMart, finding book bags for 50% off. Notice I didn't write back packs, the girls went trendy, opting for over the shoulder book bags.

Last Friday was the premier of High School Musical 2 on Disney. Abbi was invited to a party at a friends house, so Elli was allowed to have a few friends over to watch. A few parents also stayed for drinks and conversation out on the front deck, or Dover Court Pub, as we call it. For those of you who don't know it, HS Musical is the 'Grease' of this decade. This shot was taken before the movie started....top row is Marissa, Lauren and Ivey. Bottom row is Elli, Jamee and Claire.