The Kids and the Second Tomato (06.26.2006)

The kids found a couple more ripe tomatoes on the Early Girl plant and picked them off. They're posing with the tomatoes as noses. Very cute. :OD


Cheese!

Camping in the Backyard (06.24.2006)

Here are the pictures of the first campout event. We cooked turkey dogs over the firepit, ate corn, and roasted marshmallows and made smores. The kids and their friend, Jack (Susan's nephew), also ran around catching fireflies and had a whole bunch in a glass jar (which they released the next morning). Jack went upstairs, and the kids were so exhausted that they fell asleep in the tent. I grabbed a comforter and pillow and fell asleep next to Anita.

They woke up at 6.00 AM the next morning and were raring to go. Jack and Susan came over to a breakfast of french toast, eggs, sausage and juice. It was a good time had by all! More importantly, we know the kids are ready for a real overnight camping trip.


Minnie and Anita just outside of the tent.


The kids are passed out at 11.00 PM EST.

Minnie and his Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly (06.24.2006)

Today is a beautiful day in Plymouth. The sun is out, and the temperature is so nice. Michael and I were sitting on the back deck checking out the advertisements when Minnie came running up to us holding his butterfly net yelling, "Mom, Dad I caught a butterfly!" After we found a clean glass jar, Dad put the butterfly inside where we observed it. Minnie said (and I'm not kidding), "It's a Swallowtail." He was right! It is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.

The kids decided they were going to draw the butterfly for posterity. So, out came the crayons, markers, pencils and paper. We released our winged friend by the daylillies when we were done.

Also, Dad put up his old (*OLD*) camping tent from many years ago. We used this tent when we went ice fishing earlier this year. The kids have their sleeping bags already in there. Our neighbor's nephew is coming over, and we'll most likely entertain him with Turkey Dogs, corn on the cob and smores. Pictures later!


The kids and the captured butterfly.


Minnie applying the proper method in capturing the butterfly.


Dad took a close-up of the butterfly while it was in the glass jar.


Anita & Minnie are capturing the likeness of the butterfly on paper.

Good-Bye Grandma Wagon! (06.21.2006)

We decided to donate the 1986 Ford Taurus Wagon that used to belong to Michael's grandmother to the National Kidney Foundation. It was a fairly painless process, and it was for a good cause. It was sad watching the grandma wagon leave, but we know it was the right thing to do.


Au Revoir, Granny Wagon!

IBM Family Fun Picnic (06.17.2006)

My employer sponsored a really nice picnic with great food and games. It was fun seeing and meeting the kids and significant others / spouses of colleagues. It was sunny and REALLY hot that day. Thank goodness for the Bingo tent. :O)


Cool looking shot of the IBM Southfield building.


The kids, prizes and all the cotton candy they could eat.

Academic Gardens: MRM Graduation (06.15.2006)

It's hard to believe that we are leaving the Academic Gardens family! Minnie's graduation from Begindergarten to Kindergarten made us happy, but sad at the same time. No more hearing, "Michael! Michael!" over the brick wall behind the house. It's been a great four years for our family.


Anita & Minnie at the doorstep of Central Middle School and the Academic Gardens sign.


Minnie: Class of 2019!


Awww ... sniff, sniff.


Front row: Savina, Ryan, Minnie, Caleb, & Connie

Farrand: End of School Party (06.14.2006)

The school held many end of year parties for students. There were veggies, fruits and lots of baked goods all over the school grounds. Yummers teacher walked with me to where the kids were playing and informed me that "Anita was very smart and very polite..." and went on and on. Well, that's an awful nice thing to say ... boosted my ego up a thousand percent. :O)


Anita and her Room 12 classmates are in line to get their tattoos painted.


Anita posing with her watermelon "tattoo."

Last Soccer Game (06.10.2006)

Saturday was the kids last Soccer game. They ended up losing the game, but we had a fantastic BBQ after our game where the kids played against Michael and a couple other dads. Uncle Tien was there to root for our team as well. Michael volunteered to be an Assistant Coach to Ben this Fall. Team 7 went 3 W, 3 L, and 1 T. Not too bad for the team!



Anita, Minnie, Nick and Yona on the sidelines ready to go in!

The Kids and the Nashville Peonies (06.08.2006)

Continuing with the flower theme ... We brought these peonies back from Michael's parents house last year. This year they had the largest blooms. They're gorgeous! Hope y'all are doing well!


Anita and one of the Nashville peonies.


and here's Mimi!

More Rose Pictures

Holy crap! Our Eureka rose is AWESOME! See the picture at the bottom. The other rose pictured below is doing wonderful. Roses are amazing things. :O)


This rose was at the house when we moved in, and it has done very well without much maintenance.


Wow ... The Eureka rose is certainly very pretty!

MRM's Kindergarten Orientation (06.07.2006)

Tonight was Minnie's orientation for Farrand's Kindergarten program. It was informative as usual. We're pretty excited for Minnie to begin Kindergarten in the Fall, and for the kids to be in school together again. Can you believe that next Thursday is the last day of school? (Neither can I! :O))


It's all about Minnie tonight! :O)


Min and Anita posing in front of the Kindergarten rooms.

First Basil Batch of the Season (06.05.2006)

It was time to harvest the basil plants that we purchased from this year's Eastern Market's Flower Day. So, Dad and the kids brought out a silver bowl and scissors and started trimming leaves. They brought the leaves in and prepared the pesto in the blender. Finally, Dad tossed the pesto with chicken and pasta which was delicious.


Anita & Minnie with our first basil of the season.

The Gator Express (06.04.2006)

It is a beautiful day today. While we spent the time cleaning out the garage again, the kids put together what I called "The Gator Express" with Anita driving and pulling along the Radio Flyer wagon (with Minnie in it) who was pulling Bug in the smallest wagon. It was cute! :O)


Here comes the Gator Express!

The flowers have bloomed!

After the continuous days of rain and scorching hot days, the flowers have finally bloomed around our house. Check out some pictures. No pictures of the Eureka yet as it has not bloomed ... I'll post pictures when it does. I included a bit of history about the roses we purchased at Great Lakes Nursery here.


The first peony bushes from Nashville have bloomed! Beautiful, aye? They are four - five inches wide!


Our William Baffin producing beautiful blooms.


One of our two Polaris rose bushes producing awesome white blooms. They smell great!


Our Souvenir de Mal Maison roses took a beating over the Winter. However, there are still some beautiful intricate light pink blooms.


A bright red Redwood bloom!


One of the mutant purple / yellow irises that mysteriously appeared in our front yard!