The hiatus is over. It was a fantastic summer filled with wonderful visits and activities. We were on the go non-stop and full speed. Now that I’m back to work and the kids are less than a fortnight away from starting school, we should return to some level of normalcy very soon. (Stop snickering.) I wouldn’t want to be accused of having one foot in the plastic tub though, so I figured I better get going on the blog again. Thanks to all of you who noticed and reminded me. Who knew so many would notice?! I think I won’t risk boring all of you with the list of summer events/activities gone by. But in an effort to have some sort of closure on things . . . I will mention that Emma had an absolute once-in-a-lifetime experience in Ireland with her Nana complete with castle tours, fiddle performances, celtic dancing, and even a tour and performance at Guinness. No, no taste-testing though. J This summer was the summer of visits though including the kids and I going down to Atlanta to see my brother’s family as well as the majority of Joel’s family coming to Michigan for an overdue nearly month long reunion coming as far as California, Georgia and Tennessee. It was great fun for the kids to reunite with cousins from multiple generations and build on those relationships. Our families are scattered all around the U.S. so the opportunities to be in each other’s company are so precious to us. Even the four-legged members of the family are loved. The kids are still talking about cousin Kathryn’s dog Skylar.

And speaking of . . . Ludlow Avenue welcomes another Fickel this week with the addition of “Ranger” to our home. I’m sure you’ll see many future entries with details on Ranger but as an introduction he is a German Shorthair Pointer puppy who will join us sometime this week after the vet gives the green light to leave mom and siblings. Ranger was born in July and we’ve had the delight of watching the pups in the litter grow each week as the owners have been so gracious to let us visit and acclimate the kids to the pups. The weekly changes are amazing and it has been so much fun. But we’re all anxious to have him for good even though the kids don’t have a clue what they’re in for! Still, an exciting new chapter at our house which of course brings more change. As I said to a friend recently, my life is about to go from tropical storm status to full blown hurricane overnight!! Ready or not.