Memorial Day Weekend: Day 1 (Friday, 05.26.2006)

Michael's parents, sister, Marilynn, and her kids, Otto, Olivia and Amelia all made the trip from Nashville to Michigan for a Memorial Day visit. It was a short but very eventful weekend filled with an afternoon at the Compass Cafe, ice cream at the Dairy King, movies, grilling out, a sleepover, St. Mary's Polish Country Fair (AKA "America's Largest High School Fair"), Saturday Night Fish Fry, swimming at Lifetime Fitness and capping it off with the Memorial Day Parade.


Minnie looking suave with the leopard skin hat ...


and Olivia looking rather stylish with the same hat!


Cousins, Hands Up! Otto, Olivia, Minnie & Anita.


Cousins, Look Up!


Cousins, Look Left!


Cousins, look at the adults and laugh!


On our way to the Compass Cafe: Min, Olivia, Amelia, Anita and Otto.


Three generations of Michaud women (- I love this pic! -): Auntie Marilynn and the two Anitas.


Olivia & Anita on the Gator. Boys are looking for bugs in the background.


Otto and Minnie are in full bug-collecting action!


Anita ending Friday night and showing off her newly removed tooth with Min and Olivia. Minnie bonked his head against Anita's mouth and loosened up her lower tooth to the point where she pulled it out. Phew! :O)

Flower Day @ Eastern Market (05.21.2006)

We went to our second Flower Day at Eastern Market. (Read last year's entry.) Unlike last year, it was sunny the entire time we were there. However, it was almost as chilly as last year! The sun provided a wee bit of warmth.

We did really well and snagged some tomato plants (Big Boy, Early Girl and two patios), basil, parsley, cilantro, shallot and rosemary. These are already far along where we should see some good results in the next two weeks. Hurray --- fresh pesto for the kids' favourite, pesto pasta!


It was a sea of colour today ...


The kids and our well-loaded wagon.


It's Meeplie!


Minnie planting basil, cilantro and parsley.


"Job's all done!"

Bruce, Jenica, Braelynn & Morgan come vist: 05.20.2006

To cap off a day that included a soccer game, lunch at the park, checking out the Dog Jog, and panda research at the library --- Michael's cousin, Bruce, brought his girls over to our house yesterday for a wonderful way to end the evening. The girls were a bit shy at first until Michael pulled out the Gator. That was a really good icebreaker! Minnie and Anita gave the girls rides in the car.

I went out to get items for dinner, and while I was out, Anita played the piano with the kids singing "Jingle Bells." Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ... how cute! :O) We had Turkey Dogs, Turkey Pesto Burgers, strawberries, crisps and topped off the evening with S'mores. The girls were really sweet and very very polite. We're looking forward to the next visit!


Front Row: Jenica, Braelynn, and Morgan
Back Row: Yummer and Minnie

Mother's Day 2006: 05.14.2006

I had a wonderful and oddly enough laid back Mother's Day. Michael's mum and dad were here, so that was a nice enough present in itself. I received six cents, a Breaksfast in Bed bag and flowers from Minnie, a necklace with pastel-coloured beads and an ultra-cool bookmark from Anita (see below). The kids also were thoughtful enough to make a Breakfast in Bed bag for Granny, too -- including toast strips! :O) If you're a mother reading his, I certainly hope you had an equally brilliant day. (and if you're not -- I hope your mum had a nice one, too!) :O)


On Yummer's bookmark: "Moms are as sweet as a watermelon." and then ... "Girls Rock!"

Farrand Music Program: 05.17.2006

Anita's class and several others have been practicing different songs for their music program. It was very entertaining. Anita was selected to fold cloth in time with one song and direct the other students with placards. My favourite song is the one with lyrics that went, "Each of us is a flower, growing in life's garden ...." :O)


Caitlyn and Anita are posing before the music program.

Farrand Ice Cream Social (05.04.2006)

The family went to our first ice cream social at Farrand. Prior to the social, we decided this was the most opportune time to install the new Butterfly Garden sign. Dad and Yummer actually built and painted the sign last Fall. They decided to wait until the weather was warmer to install the new sign. As you can see, it turned out beautiful, and Principal Kuhn liked it, too! :O)

Oh yeah --- the social was fun, too!


Anita & Minnie with the newly installed Butterfly Garden sign.

Troop 84: Walk Against Violence event (04.30.2006)

We signed up for another Girl Scouts event which was a short 1 1/2 mile walk around Plymouth. It also involved a scavenger hunt with houses and various informational booths / games from different troops. The patch was a Converse-type shoe promoting the 2006 Walk Against Violence event. It was very cute and for a very good cause!


Anita is looking rather glamorous driving Minnie in the John Deere car prior to the walk.


Kelsey, Anita, Monique and Lauren getting ready for the Girl Scouts sponsored Walk Against Violence event starting at The Gathering in downtown Plymouth.

Troop 84: Henry Ford Field Trip (04.29.2006)

The family went on a trip with Anita's troop on Saturday. We had a great afternoon with the other parents and Brownies visiting the other areas of Greenfield Village that we missed when we went last October. It was a beautiful sunny day. One of those days in Michigan where it warmed up from the 40s to the 60s.


Troop 84 (minus one) in front of the water fountain in the main courtyard.


Anita smiling at the old ram. Michael asked if he was real at first since he was standing so still. She fed him some hay and allowed the girls to touch his forehead.


Minnie is a "cool dude" as he likes to say.


Michael took this photo of the open doors at the roundhouse. This is where the trains at Greenfield Village are housed and fixed. It's an impressively large brick building, and they allow you to view above and below the trains.


Here is the view from the inside of the roundhouse looking outside. We were on the second floor. The orange train in the background has the word, "Plymouth," on it.


Anita, Samantha, Andrea, Minnie & our guide push the orange Plymouth train around the circular track. The train is balanced precisely in the middle which allows the kids to easily move it around using the metal handle.


Anita and this fine old gentleman sang, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" while the troop was waiting their turn to get on the 1913 carousel.


Minnie is having a good time on the carousel.


Anita looking very photogenic (as usual)! Must be nice! :O)

Today is Minnie's 5th Birthday! (04.28.2006)

Today is Minnie's fifth birthday! Look how he is different from a year ago!

We started off the day with a delicious breakfast at the Grecian Cafe. Then, off to school for the kiddies. Later on in the afternoon, Michael put together the rest of the big surprise present. We also wrote down hints on cards for the big hunt which turned out to be a big hit. The kids went to three different areas around the exterior of the house which lead to the final destination --- the garage.

When Minnie opened the door, he didn't know what it was at first. You need to see the video to see that ... They started driving the car around the backyard and had a great time while Michael and I cleaned up the backyard.

Finally, we celebrated with cake and ice cream (of course). It was a perfect way to end a fun-filled day.


Anita giving Minnie a kiss after reading Granny & Groom Gram's birthday card.


Looks like we're ready to go on a treasure hunt (or more like a birthday present hunt)!


... Ladies and Gentlemen, here's the final prize! (This is from the QuickTime video we took earlier this evening.)

~~ C U R V E: R I P ~~

I set iTunes to do a "Party Shuffle" and the first song that came up was Curve's "Fait Accompli." I went to their official website to see how one of my favourite bands were doing only to find that Curve is officially no more as of last year! :O( Their material in the early 1990s made a huge impression in my life. Here was a strong female who had such strength, grace, an awesome voice, beauty ... She had the whole package. It was just what my mates and I needed being young impressionable females. My mates and I ADORED them.

We had the privilege of meeting and interviewing them for Loretta's English term paper. (She received an "A" for that one if I recall... ) It was interesting and intimidating meeting Toni at first for me 'cos she looked so imposing and had a "don't take no shit" attitude. But, she was not that way at all! Toni was sweet and genuinely pleasant. Dean and Toni treated us seriously as if we were real musical journalists and got us into the Detroit shows for free. I will never forget how humble they were.

Thank you, Toni and Dean, for adding your positive influence in my life. We know who came first and did it best. Shirley Manson and Garbage were always second rate amateurs.

Read one of my favourite articles about them in NYC (Melody Maker (June 1992)) courtesy of their official website.

There is a great Curve song called "Die Like A Dog." It's especially useful when you're hitting the 30 minute mark on the ellipitical!

"I'm just trying
not to die like a dog
end up alone
wheezing from the smog
I'm just trying
not to die in vain
gonna make my mark
stake my claim ... "


Toni and Dean.

Mr. and Mrs. Tree (04.24.2006)

Michael and I took out some small trees. The kids took the trees, pretended that the trees were husband and wife, playacting and singing. It was quite cute. :O)


The kids and their trees.

Fishing at Hines Drive (04.22.2006)

Dad took the kids fishing on Saturday while I went to get groceries at Meijer. The kids had a great time fishing and playing at the playground, and I had a great time picking up our groceries. A win-win situation!

FYI ... Yummer yanked her other front tooth out and is officially known as "Yummy Gummy" in our family. :O)


The kids fishing off the dock.


Gummy and Minnie on the tire across the lake at Hines Drive.

Easter (04.16.2006)

Easter! It was still pitch black outside when the kids ran into our room and yelled, "The Easter Bunny is heeeerrrreee!" I woke up and looked at the clock. It was 1.33 AM. Augh! Michael managed to convince the kids that they need to get back to bed and get some rest 'cos it was too early. The kids hopped into our bed to sleep and woke up again at 6.30 AM. They were thrilled to see their new bug explorer kits. As you can see, we had a very fun-filled day. :O)



It was very early when I took this picture ... :O)


The kids are outside and ready to explore the backyard.


A close up of our explorers.


Taking a break to make smores and warming up outside.


The first toad of the year!

Easter Eve (04.15.2006)

Easter Eve was a beautiful sunny day. We started off the day with a delicious breakfast that Michael made. Then, we did our customary shopping at the Meijer. Afterwards, the kids biked (we walked) to Jaycee Park not too far from the house. We did soccer drills with the kids and ate lunch. They also played on the gym structure for a while.

We also boiled eggs when we came home. For dinner, we had fish and chips outside. The kids were very excited about the Easter Bunny coming to visit the next day. More later on that.


Hanging upside down at Jaycee Park not too far from our house.


The kids on the play structure at Jaycee Park.


Colouring hard boiled eggs at home.


Getting ready to make fish and chips for dinner ...


Anita, fish and chips and her Magic Tree Hose books ...


Minnie smiling at the camera doing what he loves to do ... eat! (Dad is in the background doing the important stuff.)

Easter Egg Hunt @ Academic Gardens (04.13.2006)

Minnie's Teacher, Ms. Brandi, sent parents a link to Snapfish where she took pictures of the kids and their Easter Egg party and hunt at school. The kids had a lot of fun (so Minnie told us).


Minnie and Ryan colouring Easter Eggs at school.


Minnie and Caleb colouring Easter Eggs at school.


Minnie and classmates hunting for Easter eggs. Cute!