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!

Girl Scouts, Gasoline Prices and Currently on my iPod

Troop 84: Brownie Meeting
Yesterday, at the Brownie meeting, Ron and Chip from the Michigan Humane Society came and spoke with the girls about the work involved with taking care of a pet. Interesting fact: Chip is nine years old. His mother was a poodle and his father was a Chihuahua. You can see their picture. It's pretty small there. Ron apparently does a weekly show on radio and television showcasing an animal that needs to be adopted from the Humane Society. He's been working at the Humane Society for 40 (FORTY) years in various roles. Pretty amazing in my opinion.

Moving on to gasoline prices ...
After I dropped Anita at school this morning, I went to put gas in the Odyssey at $ 2.63 / gallon. While I was pumping gas into the tank, the attendant came out and started changing the prices. The same price I paid five minutes prior became $ 2.83 / gallon. Un-bloody-believable. Do you have a similar complaint where you live? Drop a comment.

Moving on to what I'm listening to on my iPod ...
It's currently on shuffle and some sample tunes include:

- Raunchy: Bill Justis and His Orchestra
- Bob Dylan: I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
- Teenage Fanclub: Discolite
- Aztec Camera: Working in a Goldmine
- Eddie Cochran: Lonely
- June Carter Cash: Keep On The Sunny Side
etc.

Have a great day, y'all!

Peg's Surprise Pre-Birthday Party (04.02.2006)

I didn't expect it when Roger and Anita were here --- but there was a surprise birthday party for me! I assumed it was an early birthday party for Minnie who also shares April as a birthday month. Check out some of the pictures. :O) I received the most awesome thing from them and Michael as a birthday present --- an iPOD!!!!! WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW! I have been going through all of my CDs and going to the library to burn songs like mad. I LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT! I look forward to the gym more 'cos I have it. Awesome! :O)


My surprise pre-birthday cake! Cool, isn't it?


The two Anitas with big happy smiles.


Minnie as Mr. Dinosaur Head.


Aren't my kids awesome? Yummer made the card on the computer. :O)


Here is what it looks like.

Another Soccer Night (03.31.2006)

Another Soccer night on Friday ... Granny and "Groom Gram" came up this past weekend to watch the kids play. Not surprisingly, with the added crowd rooting them on - they excelled and scored goals! Yeah!


Anita in her soccer gear!


Minnie: Smug Mug.


Minnie clowning around with Grandpa Roger.

Maple Sugaring Festival (03.26.2006)

The family went to the Maple Sugaring Festival at Camp Milan. This was a Girl Scouts event where Girl Scouts and their families went to see how sap from a maple tree was transferred into maple syrup. It was very interesting, and Anita received another fun patch for her Brownie vest.


Fai ... if you're reading this, I thought of you when I saw this!


Michael found this sign along the walking trail. Dunno if he actually hit the spot! ;O)

The kids on the trail.


One of the "wives" is stirring the sap and letting it evaporate to create the syrup. Did you know it takes 40 gallons of sap to create one gallon of maple syrup? Now, you know.


One of the "husbands" out hunting for food and fur.

Ryan's Birthday Party (03.18.2006)

One of Minnie's good friends at Academic Gardens is Ryan. Ryan invited Minnie and other classmates to his house for jungle fun and adventure. I stayed around to help where I could and take pictures.


Ryan's mum showing Minnie how to make it through the jungle trail. The trail is laid out with masking tape as you can see.

Postcards from the Edge and Daily Musings

This is a pretty cool concept that I found when I was reading ABC News. Folks send in postcards anonymously to reveal a secret or simply an unknown fact. This person also has a blog on Blogger and has compiled many of these into a book.

On a more local level ... It is a warm, partly sunny in Michigan. 56 degrees is the high! Next week, it's back to the high 30's and low 40's, but that's OK... We can't really complain as it has not been too much of a winter. The kids have soccer tonight, and it should be interesting to see how Anita reacts to playing in a larger group with her peers. I'll let you know later. Stay tuned for pics. :OD


so true ...

Regan's 4th Birthday Party (03.05.2006)

We received a call last week from one of Michael's old friends from Eastern, Lee. They talked for a LONG time, and Lee invited our family to his daughter, Regan's, 4th birthday party on Sunday at Pump It Up. It was a lot of fun and pretty chaotic with kids running, jumping and sliding down giant inflatable play structures. Of course, no party is complete without pizza and cake! Our kids enjoyed pizza, cake, carrots and juice / water. Anita had THREE pieces of pizza. As you can tell, she was in heaven!

After the party was over, Lee, Lala, Regan and our family went to BiBamBob for lunch. Funny thing is that we saw my cousin, Robin and my long-time friend, Loretta. The experience was pretty good overall, but more importantly, we were happy to spend time with Lee and his family. :O)


Minnie and Anita posing on one of the Pump-It-Up party structures.


Lee getting pummelled by kids... He was a great sport about it!


Anita getting ready to get into the ring....


and so is Minnie!


The happiest kids around ... and they also ate their carrots!