MRM's Birthday (04.28.2007)

Hello fair readers:

Apologies for the delay in posting... We've been really busy with EO (end of) year activities for the kids and enjoying the weather and our backyard!

I wanted to post a few pictures of Minnie's birthday that we had at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City and time up at the cabin on Lake Leelanau. We tricked the kids in thinking that they were going to school when we actually drove directly up North to hang out at the cabin. LOL - it was awesome!

The night before we left, we stuffed both the Cruiser and Roger's truck to the brim.




On our way to get breakfast, MJM told the kids the truth.



Minnie is the center of attention as he listens to dad tell him about the rocket. We're at the Great Wolf Lodge in this picture.


The kids playing at the beach at Leland.

Troop # 84: Frankenmuth, MI (04.20.2007 ~ 04.21.2007)

This past Friday & Saturday, the kids and I visited Frankenmuth, MI or "Michigan's Little Bavaria" with Yummers' Girl Scout troop and had a wonderful time. We ate dinner, said bye to Dad (- He had to work early on Saturday morning. -) and met up with the other mothers and Girl Scouts at the hotel. The kids got into their swimsuits and splashed / swam happily for two hours. Finally, Minnie came up to me and said, "Mom, can we go back to our room?" So, I went to get Yummer who was none too pleased that she was going to be the first of her friends to leave. Later on, one of the other moms, thanked me for doing it, since she wasn't sure how she would approach getting her daughter out first! Ms. Kim (our Troop Leader) came not too long after us and gave Minnie and Yummer a visor and bag to decorate for the trip to downtown Frankenmuth and the Bavarain Inn. After an apple snack, decorating, and baths, the kids went to bed at 10.00 PM. (Way past their bedtimes as many of my fair readers know!)

After breakfast, we all met up at the the Bavarian Inn for some girl scout activities and lunch. I was very impressed with the Inn's organization and scheduling the different activities with so many troops. Lunch was also very nice. No "Meat and Three Meats" were served - just two chicken pieces, corn and mashed potates and drink.

In any case, on to the pictures!

The kids are decorating their visor and bag.


Our first activity at the Bavarian Inn - face painting and spray-on tattoos. Here is Kelsey, Gina, Yummers, Hannah and Sabrina with their face painting.


Here are the kids with the spray-on tattoo artists. Both asked for the fish design. I had thought it was one of those tattoos where you applied it with water. These looked much cooler. :O)




During lunch, this nice gentleman with the accordian serenaded us with plenty of German songs and the chicken dance. Fun!


We made pretzels for a snack later on in the day...


... and finally ended with some running / dancing.


In between these activities, we did peruse the shops ... how about some chocolate covered potato chips?


Aren't these hats cute?


Where did Yummers go?


We went to this little museum after we were done at the Bavarian Inn.


Yes, those are McCuffey's Readers the kids are handling in these school desks.

Happy Easter! (04.07.2007 ~ 04.08.2007)

It was a COLD Easter this year as I am sure many of you experienced this year. On Friday, we went to the Wayne County Marshmallow Drop where we tolerated the cold temperatures to watch a helicopter drop marshmallows. When the marshmallows hit the ground, the kids ran and picked them up for a prize in three different age groups. It was an interesting experience, and definitely kudos to everyone who all came out to participate and for those who helped put it together.


Here is the helicopter to drop the marshmallows!


Of course, the Easter Bunny was there!


Saturday, April 7, 2007
Here is a dusting of snow looking from our backyard.


The kids are colouring Easter Eggs.


The kids are writing their letter to the Easter Bunny.


The kids have their Easter Bunny letter signed, sealed and delivered.


Sunday, April 8, 2007
Here is what the kids received from the Easter Bunny on Sunday morning. Yummer woke us up at 12.05 on Sunday morning asking us if it was time to wake up and check if the Easter Bunny was there. MJM promptly shuffled her over back to her room. LOL!


The kids with their letter from the Easter Bunny.

Early Spring Fun!

Apologies for the lapse between posts. We've been busy with the house as usual and school. Here are some things we've been doing!

We've been going on walks / scootering around town now that it's been getting warmer. Here are the kids at the base of a statue commemorating Plymouth's war veterans.


Kid Power!


There was a conjoined strawberry in the pack that I bought. We thought it looked interesting. Sorry in advance that it's blurry.

Troop # 84: Cookie Booth Part II and Karate

Apologies for the delay in posting! This past Saturday, Yummers and I went to help sell more cookies at a local credit union. During the hour and a half we were there, we sold out of the Lemonade and Peanut Butter cookies. The only kind we had left were the Caramel Delights and three boxes of Thin Mints. Cool! :O)

After that, we went to get Dad and Minnie and headed over to the kids last Tang Soo Do class. They received their yellow belts at this time.

During one of the exercises prior to the belt ceremony, their instructor demonstrated how to get away from potential kidnappers. When it was Minnie's turn, the instructor asked him, "What will you do if I grab you?" Minnie replied, "I'd punch you in the face." Of course, we were mortified, but inside, we were silently dying with laughter. That got more than one chuckle from the students and parents. Good lord.

In any case, here are the new yellow belt kids!

"I'd punch you in the face."


Yummers!


Minnie (and tummy)!

Troop # 84: World Thinking Day & Cookie Booth

Besides school and homework, there were two Girl Scouts activities that we participated in after school. One was World Thinking Day where each troop from Farrand was assigned a country, and they had to design their table with books / posters / etc. Our troop also provided tea and shortbread for the treat table. Our troop was assigned England which was a cinch for an Anglophile family like ours ~ LOL. Our troop's table had books, cool knickknacks and the Yellow Submarine movie playing on a laptop.

Each troop went to a different table to make a craft and then near the end of the evening had snacks like Italian Ice, Soapillas, Kelloggs Frosted Flakes (from Battle Creek, MI) and more. This was Yummers' favourite part as you can imagine.

Then, on Thursday, Yummer, Minnie, Dad and I went to Lowe's to sell Girl Scout cookies with Maren. We had a lot of fun despite the rain and sleet from earlier in the day. One man asked Minnie what kind of cookies he would like. Minnie replied, "Shortbread!" The man bought a box of shortbread and shared with the kids. Then, another gentleman bought three boxes for the kids. It was very generous. Finally, another man asked how many boxes $ 20.00 would buy. He bought five boxes from the kids. Not too bad!

02.28.2007: World Thinking Day
Anita and our table.


The girls are acting silly.


"It's a good thing that we came tonight, mom!"


03 01 2007: Girl Scout Cookie Booth
Minnie, Yummer and Maren.


Mmmm .... The merchandise!


Here are the boxes the kids picked out on behalf of our generous patron.


Lauren and Monique join in the fun.

Valentine's Day / Chinese New Year / Bridge to Terabithia / Winter Break

I can't believe that it's been almost three weeks since I posted anything. I apologise to my dear reader(s) for that. Let me go by each event from my post's title and catch you up!

Valentine's Day
Yummers' class had their Valentine's Day party the day before Valentine's Day. Good thing 'cos Wednesday, the kids had a Snow Day so they stayed home with me. Poor Minnie didn't get to have a V-Day party in his class nor did they do any "make up" activities. We still had a nice time in the evening as a family with an impromptu pizza party.

Yummers is in pure heaven.


Chinese New Year
We went over to see Uncle Tien and Goong Goong / Paw Paw at their restaurant and had a delightful dinner. My dad was able to come out from the kitchen and spend some time with us which was really nice. We had Tender Beef with Tomatoes, Steamed Chicken with Baby Bok Choy, and Battered Lake Trout (for the kiddoes). I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of it, because it was always beautifully presented and delicious!

Bridge to Terabithia
We went to see "Bridge to Terabithia" last night due to MJM's great work on his job. This seemed to be the most appropriate movie for the kiddos. Overall, it was a good movie and very well-done. The movie theatre had the staggered seating which was really nice so short folks (like me) and kids (like Yummers and Min) can see without having to look around the person in front of us.

Did anyone else read this book besides me? :O)


Winter Break
The kids just went back to school this morning after surviving Winter Break with mom last week. The kids stayed home mostly and played indoors. They went back to school this morning. They built and knocked-down lots of block structures!

Troop # 84: Charlotte's Web at the Michigan Theatre (02.04.2007)

Yesterday, the family went to the Michigan Theatre and saw a play adaptation of "Charlotte's Web" with Yummers' Brownie Troop. I haven't been to the Michigan Theatre in years, but it still was a splendid sight to behold. The plaster medallions and details were as colourful as they were years ago. Prior to the play starting, there was an organist playing children's tunes by the stage. There were a few sound issues, but overall, it was very charming. The actress who played Charlotte captured her voice perfectly in my opinion. As an FYI, the performance troop were from NYC.

Off-topic a bit ... Michael took a picture of our external thermometer. It was ZERO degrees and 62 degrees in our house. It was bloody cold outside!


A picture of the stage and props. See the organist in the bottom left?


We had a snack and beverage at Border's across the street after the show. Then, we headed home in a mild winter storm where Yum and I dropped Dad and Minnie off. The girls headed to the store, and the boys started insulating the parlour walls.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! It's cold outside (02.03.2007)

It's been several years since we've had really cold weather as well as accumulation. The kids and dad went outside to build a little ice pond in the back. They managed to shovel the snow to form a pond. However, it was so cold that the water would not flow out of the outside spigot. Urgh. Well, Minnie kept going and shovelling snow around lasting 30 minutes before I called him inside.

Here are the kids before they went outside.


Yummers is shovelling show...


... while Minnie is adjusting his mask.

Happy Birthday, Scoog! (01.31.2007)

Today is Yummers' birthday! We made cupcakes for her class snack last night. It was fun, a wee bit messy and delicious!

More later! :O)

EDIT: Her classlmates LOVED the cupcakes. We did bring a few home and the serving tray. All cupcakes should have cream cheese frosting.

Here are a few pictures from our birthday party at home!


The birthday balloons from Granny and Groom-Gram!


Last, but not least, the birthday girl!
(If you're wondering what that long dangly silver tube is, it's part of our Unico system that provides central air in our house. It will be put back up, don't worry! :O))

The GWL Experience (01.27.2007)

We went to The Great Wolf Lodge (GWL) in Mason, OH on Saturday as a surprise for Yummers' birthday. We sent a letter to Yummers in the mail that said that there was a birthday surprise for her, but she had to solve some clues to get to the answer. She solved the questions and wanted to see Wiley Wolf and the surprise. We drove up to the GWL, and Yummers said, "I'd really like to stay here next year for my birthday" still not realising this was for her! We walked through the long corridors to get to the room where the surprise was ("Kids Kamp") and saw a present wedged in the door. The kids saw a white shoe, went inside and realised it was Granny and Groom-Gram! LOL! The kids were tricked!

It was a lot of fun going down the waterslides, and the food for a resort park was excellent. The sushi-grade tuna and greens that I had for dinner were delicious.

Anyhow, on to the picutres!

The kids at the entrance.


Yummers taking a pause in fun to pose for the camera...


and so is Minnie!


Dinner time! (Nice hat, Minnie!)


Here is the clip I took of the surprise dessert. They came earlier then I expected as you can tell! :O)