90th Birthday

Last weekend Josie and I took a quick trip over to Jackson to see Grandpa Jerry and Great Aunt Sue. They were visiting the mitten to celebrate THEIR aunt's 90th birthday! My Great Aunt Jean (my Grandpa Clev's sister) tunred 90! Josie was excited to see "the birthday girl" wearing a tiara. 

Oh...and it had SNOWED to our west...kind of a lot that day. Josie acted like she was happy to see it. I refuse to claim her when she pulls that nonsense.

Hoo HOO HOOOO

For Christmas this year I bought Tyson two tickets to the IU vs Michigan game in Ann Arbor. It was also a gift for myself (technically) - but I did give him the chance to take a friend. He still took me. :) We secured a sitter and headed west! The game was SUPER late - 9pm start! So we had dinner at the Jolly Pumpkin (really good!) and then went to the game.

The next day was going to be National Signing Day for College Football - so Jim Harbaugh had some VIPs in town for the game. Just below the court - you can see Jim & John Harbaugh being interviewed for ESPN. Jim Leland, Mike Shanahan, Denard Robinson, Phil Helmuth, and some other former UofM players were there, too. Star-studded night.

The game started off rough. We were surrounded by UofM fans who had NOTHING good to say about Tom Crean. They did praise Yogi for his leadership this season...but then they posed the question: "Who is worse - IU fans or Kentucky fans?" And I couldn't even. Luckily, IU only took the first 8 minutes to get themselves in shape...and it was ALL UPHILL after that.

 We were WINNING and we were happy about it.

This was about 30 seconds after the game ended. But - as you can see in the background - SO many people left! Most left at halftime after IU went on a 25-0 run. They knew it was over. The IU fans in attendance stayed until the very end...because we don't take BIG10 wins...on the road, lightly. It was definitely a good night to be a HOOSIER in Michigan.

Park Day...in February

This week we had SUNSHINE and temps above 45...so you know what that means??? We played outside! It's February in MICHIGAN and we played outside.

Josie, what are you looking at??? I'm not even sure. But - see how that coat isn't even zipped up? It's not bad parenting (although that certainly does happen) - it's just THAT warm.

These three yahoos are crazy... Look at Nolan's face. So smug. King of Everything.

Election Tuesday in the D

Yesterday was Election Day - and also "Teacher Work Day" at BOTH schools. Conspiracy. So I suggested we visit Tyson at work. We piled into my car and took off for Detroit. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. Gorgeous. We started off walking along the Detroit River and found a HUGE old steamboat called the Detroit Princess.

Make sure you click on this picture so you can see her true disappointment.

As we were walking up to the boat the conversation went like this:
Me: "Ohhhh, wow, Jos - look this is called the Detroit Princess. How cool is that?"
Josie: :SQUEAL: " I WUV PRINCESSES!!!"
We spend a few minutes looking at the boat as we walk past it. We are about to walk away.
Me: "Josie, sit down - I want to get your picture by the boat."
Josie: "I'm SO mad. I wanted to see the Princess."
Me: "It's not an actual princess, Josie, it's just a boat called Detroit Princess."
Josie: (as I'm taking this picture) "I don't like THIS princess."

We walked through Hart Plaza. It was pretty empty - but that made it even better for the kids to run through. Nolan took in the city sites.

After lunch at American Coney (because, when in Detroit...) we found the Detroit Water Ice Factory. You can read about it on the sign. Interesting idea. Love that it is benefiting the Detroit community. FYI - Josie got Pink Lemonade and it was super tasty! And pink.

I'd like to tell you it was a stress-free, fun-loving two hours with Daddy downtown - but you all know better. Why? Because. Kids.

We set off to spend time together: check.

Enjoy the weather: check.

And eat lunch: check.

Buh Bye, Halloween

I don't want to hate on Halloween - because we do enjoy it. But holy cow - this year - I feel like it lasted FOREVER. It was a LONG month. Last week alone - we had 3 different Halloween celebrations...all leading up to Halloween Night. Phew.

 Wonder Woman had a party on Thursday. She was rocking her costume like a true super hero.

Friday - Nolan, Josie, and I went to Jack's school to watch him walk in the school parade. He walked with his teacher, who dressed like a hotdog. Classic.

 Jack walked the whole way saluting people. It was hilarious.

 Then - finally - Saturday night it was GO time. It was also rainy and cold...which basically has come to mean HALLOWEEN in Michigan. (3/3 for COLD & WET.) As you can see - Charlie Brown was bundled WAY up. And please excuse the placement of Snoopy. Typical dog. Nolan was also the keeper of the Bud Lights. He got a pack of M&Ms from the first house we stopped at and ate them in the wagon for the rest of the trip. Easiest trick or treating participant ever.

Here is the Trick or Treating crew before we left. As you can see - Wonder Woman was upset. "Wonder Woman DOESN'T WEAR A COAT!!!" It's true, but I'm 99% sure she WOULD wear one IF she lived in Michigan.

And, finally, the loot. It was a fun night! But I don't hesitate when I say, "BRING ON THE PUMPKIN PIE!"

Camping...in a tent

Tyson had the bright idea that we would love to go camping. It sounded like an adventure, so we were all in. We packed up ol' Martha and headed west to Manistee, MI. 

We settled into site 33...with our barely used tent and lots of bug spray. Then we made some delicious "camping food" and set off to see Lake Michigan - which was a really short walk from our site.

Things were great until 2am when Tyson got up to pee and I landed on the ground - swallowed up by our rapidly deflating air mattress. It was all downhill from there. 

We sucked it up and headed back to the beach. The kids had a blast in the lake and the sand. Nolan was fearless - crawling straight into the cold water like it was no big deal. 

After the beach - we set off to Manistee for a quick shopping trip. Once we were close to civilization we looked at the weather and saw rain was on the way. Cue the U turn...we went back to our campsite, packed it up (as our kids, all 3 of them, napped in the car). We headed north to Traverse City for the Cherry Tree Inn. Best decision ever. Hot showers, good food, an indoor pool, and on-site laundry. I was able to get rid of about 75% of the sand & dirt...and we all smelled better, too.

It was a fun trip! We will try it again in a few years...maybe.

Pre-Camping

We have a family camping trip on the calendar. If you know me you're probably laughing right now - but once upon a time in 2008, my friend Jaime and I used our mad skills to put up a tent. And we camped. So there.

Last weekend some good friends invited us over for a BBQ and campfire. It was our trial run...minus the whole sleeping outside thing.

The s'mores and the sparklers were big hits!

Go ahead and say a little prayer for my sanity...and for no rain.

Flowers

 Last week I decided it was time to officially welcome spring - so we planted some flowers and prayed Michigan weather didn't get wacky on us. I had a couple "helpers" - who were actually only mildly helpful.

Josie excels at showing off the final product.

And Nolan was just happy to be included on the festivities. Here's to hoping we get some help from Mother Nature to keep these beauties alive. And - to clarify - I'm referring to the flowers, not the children.

Family Dinner in Milford

Nancy and Denny came for a visit last weekend. Saturday night we took them to the little town of Milford, MI for dinner and some ice cream.

Josie went for the "superman" ice cream...and I cringed because she was wearing cream pants. Mom fail.

Nolan may have had a few licks of vanilla ice cream. He *MAY* also eat other things that I NEVER would have handed Jack at 8 months old. Pretty sure he's fine.

 It was a gorgeous night and we had a fun time sitting outside.

"Do I have something on my face?"

It was a great time! We had dinner and drinks at Palate. One of our new favorites - because its great for date night and is also family friendly. Hey, Milford - two thumbs up for you!

 Sunday morning - Tyson and Nancy hashed out some lake house details.

And Denny busied himself with coloring...Josie was eager to get her "papa" involved in her art.

Dinos in AA

One of the things we love about Northville, is how close we are to Ann Arbor. As everyone knows, we fell hard for Bloomington back in the day...so AA is as close as we can get to feeling like we're in Btown - but with less Hoosier Hysteria and more "maize & blue." It's still a college town and we love visiting.

U of M has a free Museum of Natural History. We have been wanting to visit - so we packed everyone up on Saturday afternoon and walked around. We saw a lot of fun things!

Josie wanted to see if she could open her mouth as wide as this prehistoric sea creature. Nope.

And Jack stood up as tall as he could next to a giant dino leg.

This 26ft canoe had to be lifted by a crane and through a window - so it could be on display. We thought it might be a fun addition to the lake house.

The museum building itself was gorgeous! Tons of marble and intricate detail.

Before we left I had Josie stand next to the Earth and I asked her where she wanted to go. "I want to go everywhere!" she told me. For some reason I feel like I will be hearing the words "study abroad" in my future...