Thanksgiving in Nashville

We are back from our fun and short time in Nashville this past week. The kids had THREE sleepovers with their cousins (one at Granny's and two at Auntie Marilynn's house). They had loads of fun building bridges and islands at the creek and playing RV. Also, Diana and Geoffrey came to visit from England during this time. It was really nice seeing them again!

Yummer and Minnie snoozing on the way to Nashville.


Yummer, Granny and Diana.


Uncle Geoffrey & the kids.


The cousins.


Dr. Evil and his twin.


Granny and Amelia.


The lovely table settings on Thanksgiving Day at Auntie Marilynn's house. Dinner was delicious!


Building the hunter's lodge behind Granny's house takes teamwork!


Holiday themed Gibson at the Charlie Daniels Band museum in downtown Nashville.


Two blonde bombshells.


Geoffrey is in front of a firetruck. The firefighters were inside Hooters picking up their lunch as we walked by. Woooarghh! ;O)


We had to get a picture with Santa.


I FINALLY was able to have a look in the Hatch Print shop. Every time we go to downtown Nashville, it is usually closed. They made the posters for all of the Grand Ol' Opry shows in their distinctive block print images.


We took in a show at Layla's Bluegrass Inn (Yes, you were right, Geoffrey). Jypsi were performing, and they were quite good!


The Batman (i.e. BellSouth) building behind downtown Nashville's strip.


Geoffrey is caught looking in the rubbish bin. LOL!

Captain Picard & The Royal Shakespeare Company (11.12.2006)

Michael and I went to see Patrick Stewart and The Royal Shakespeare Company at the last performance of the RSC residency at the University of Michigan. We went to see The Tempest, and it definitely did not disappoint. They are heading back to Newcastle and London for further performances.

While he was in town, he also conducted the University of Michigan marching band's "Hail to the Victors" during a home game at Michigan Stadium. This is a prelude to the Michigan and Ohio State game this Saturday. GO BLUE!

Troop # 84: 14th Annual Native American Pow Wow Festival (11.11.2006)

Yummer and her Brownie group went to the Southfield Pavillion for the 14th Annual Native American Pow Wow Festival. It was really special to watch the different ceremonial dances. We did a totem pole craft, sampled some Native American food and visited many booths selling Native American clothes, jewelery, and wares.

Fancy a bear or buffalo robe?


The kids by a replica of a tepee where storytellers regaled the kids with stories.


The kids with several of the Native American dancers.


The kids just finished painting their totem pole crafts.


I found this sign quite amusing ... LOL

Troop # 84: Brownie Investiture Night (11.08.2006)

Tonight was the investiture night for Troop # 84. For returning Juniors / Brownies / Daisies, it was reaffirming that they were returning for another year. Yummers was given the honour of walking the colours flag in the procession into the gym. :O) It was pretty cool. I have video of the procession as well that I may post later. Anyhow, enjoy the photos! :O)

Yummers & Sabrina before the ceremony began!


Here is the troop right before the procession.


Here are the girls after the affirmation with bookmarks from Troop Leader Kim.

Singin' In The Rain

It's raining here today on Election Day. I've got Gene Kelly and this wonderful movie on my mind! We've been pretty busy the past couple days with our everyday stuff (school / homework / work / cleaning up) since we've moved back into the house. I'll update with pictures later on some of the temporary insulation measures we've taken.

In the meantime, enjoy the late great Gene Kelly at his prime in 1952's "Singin' in the Rain" (and don't forget to vote!)

Halloween: Character Parade and Trick or Treat (10.31.2006)

This morning the kids of Farrand had their annual character parade. Here are some pics from this morning below. Minnie's class was the first one out of the door. There were cars lined up and down the street! Neighbors and parents were all craning their eyes for a glimpse. It was a very fun event! :O)





After dinner tonight, we got the kids ready in their costumes and prettied up the Gator Ghost Ship. Away, the pirates, dad, Groom Gram and I went! We received lots of compliments from kids, parents, and folks who were handing out the treats. "Now, *THAT'S* cool!" "Awesome" "Someone had too much time on their hands ..." Adults and children of all ages loved it... It was the hit of Plymouth!

Here is video of the pirate ship launching:










Farewell, mateys!

Devil's Night and the Gator Ghost Ship (10.30.2006)

Well, Roger ("Groom Gram") drove in last night on the day of his birthday! We went to Denny's for a celebration dinner. Roger, Minnie and I had breakfast for dinner. It was really tasty, and we had a good time, too.

This evening after work and working around the house for the adults, we had a pizza party and built the spooky Gator Ghost Ship. You can see the progress below.

Groom Gram and kids are getting the cardboard in place to size and trim.


It took a whole bunch of duct tape, wire, screws, washers and wood to keep this spooky ship together. Now, Groom Gram and kids are painting the ship with this $ 2.00 paint that we picked up at Lowe's over the weekend! We can't wait to see it go around the neighborhood tomorrow! :O)


Here is the video of us just starting the project.

Pizza Pumpkin Night (10.27.2006)

Tonight was the 16th annual Pizza Pumpkin Night event at Farrand. It was very entertaining to see all of the kids greet each other in cute costumes. We went from room to room presenting our tickets and winning prizes. This year the kids are dressed as pirates. Although we didn't win as many cakes or huge prizes like last year, we still had a lot of fun!

Smiling pirates!


The pirates with their booty next to the "Trick or Treat" sign by the cafeteria.


The kids are "fishing" for prizes.

MRM Halloween Party (10.27.2006)

Minnie's kindergarten class had a Halloween party this afternoon, and I attended for an hour. There were crafts on every table such as decorating a pumpkin, making a Frankenstein face, glueing eyeballs on a spider, and finally decorating a cupcake for snack. The kids had a great time, and I think the moms did, too. I know, I sure did!

Here is Minnie's cupcake. Cool ,eh? :O)


Minnie and his classmates decorating their spiders.


Minnie and his decorated pumpkin.

Pumpkin Picking (10.15.2006)

Earlier this year, Yummers brought home some seeds from her Brownies' field trip to the Matthaei Botanical Garden in Ann Arbor. We planted the seeds and now we have two pumpkins as a result! They are really cute. The green one reminded me of the one that Minnie picked out a couple years ago. :O)

ACLS Game 4 2006: Magglio Ordonez Game Winning Run

I finally found the broadcast of Magglio Ordonez's game winning homerun on youtube this morning. We watched the game at home and had a pizza party with the kids. It was absolutely amazing. We were screaming and yelling when we realised it was a homer. Congratulations to the whole team for a great year!

If you didn't see it, here it is:

"It is Fall" / Colour Tour in Leelanau County

Again, apologies for the long delay in posting ... We are getting ready for the BIG house renovation project this weekend. Plus, we have a lot of other stuff going on like school and extracurricular activities with the kids.

2006 10 03 MRM Fall Sign
Minnie made a sign for fall while it was still warm outside which I thought was really cute.


We went up to the cabin for the last time this year before it got "really" cold. It was chillier the weekend we went than in the past. My ears were frozen while jogging around the park. The colours were spectacular, and we had a wonderful time in our old favourite towns and a new favourite, Northport.

2006 10 06 MJM B-Day
We spent Dad's birthday at the cabin in Lake Leelanau. We went driving around looking at the colours and started off in Leland. Later on, we ate pizza from Pete's Pourhouse and indulged in birthday cupcakes from the Cupcake Station. Below are pictures from the dock of The Bluebird Restaurant about 10 minutes from our cabin. You can actually drive up Lake Leelanau to the restaurant for a meal.





Later during the day, the kids made a bowling alley across from the house. They had a lot of fun! :O)




2006 10 07 Colours Tour
Here is the REAL colours tour ...














We also went up to the Dune Climb again. I climbed twice, and the kids climbed four times and ran around gathering tumbleweed to make Tumbleweed Village.

Neat picture of the Dune Climb's reflection captured in water.


The kids are up on the second small climb after the big one. There is Glen Lake in the background.


Another view from the second small climb between the grass.


The kids and Tumbleweed Village.


Here are the kids pulling Granny up Stop # 9 of the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. (This is the one with the 450 foot drop overlooking Lake Michigan!)


The view again of Lake Michigan. Wow. It was really windy that day, and the sand was just kicking everyone in the face. Still - it was just an amazing sight.


2006 10 08 Northport
We went to Omena and Northport this day and headed up to the very tip of Leelanau County where the Grand Traverse Lighthouse is located.

Here we are trespassing on someone's private beach to capture this pretty of Grand Traverse Bay.


Downtown Northport


Here are two strange men at the Northport's rock shop.


While we were in the rock shop, Roger told us that we needed to see something. We looked over the bridge(covered in flowers - see above photo) and noticed lots of salmon trying to make their way up to spawn (i.e. lay eggs). Minnie was so excited, and he wanted to go down to catch them. Dad and I didn't want to go ... Then, all of a sudden, we all see Roger go down to the river and pluck out a salmon!!! Minnie started yelling, "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! GRANDPA GOT A FISH!" So, we nonchalantly got in the van and drove behind the street where Roger was waiting with the fish. It was about 16 inches and weighed 20 pounds! Roger put it in the back of the van with eggs splattering.



We then headed for a quick visit to the Grand Traverse Lighthouse.






Roger realised while we were in the van that he was missing his mobile phone, so we headed back to the creek. He found the phone lying in the creek as wet as it could be! Michael also found this poor creature we called, "Duffy the Squirrel."