Fifth Grade Camp

Didn't we go to fifth grade camp, like, last month?!  It seems like it.  We went in the winter with our friends from Cass A.C.A.T. - and Mr. C taught us to build an igloo (but he called it something else that no one seems to remember!).

Jared left for fifth grade camp yesterday...we miss our little man!  He's growing up so fast - even packed his own bag!  Well, he laid everything out and I got it all stuffed into the duffle bag.  By the time we got rain boots, extra shoes, sleeping bag, pillow, and his clothes in there, it was almost too heavy for him to lift!

I hope that he's having as much fun as I remember it being!

CINNAMON ROLLS!

Jared enjoys a giant cinnamon roll from our favorite Gaylord, MI, diner - Diana's Delights.

Wax Museum - John Glenn

The second grade wax museum was last Friday, and Owen did a smashing representation of John Glenn.  His fact-filled speech included the interesting notes that John Glenn was born in Ohio (we don't hold that against him) and served as an astronaut and senator...even ran for president.  He enjoyed civics and science classes and building model airplanes.

Owen had a great time with the presentation - I'm kicking myself that I didn't get a decent video of his performance.

And how appropriate that, on the day of the wax museum, President Obama announced that he will be awarding John Glenn and 12 others the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.

But more importantly...doesn't he look cute in his shirt and tie?!

The blonde one turns EIGHT!

Oh my, can you believe that he's EIGHT?!  Owen celebrated his 8th birthday in March, and in grand Owen style, there was a lot of junk food, partying, presents, and friends!

He started out taking a box of yummy Pinckney Bakery cookies to his class.  The box came home with only a few raisin cookies left, so I think I'll say that was a hit.

Birthday morning we woke up and the boy insisted on presents first.  Being the Pokemon-obsessed kid that he currently is, there were lots of Pokemon cards, and he got his very own baseball bag!

For his birthday breakfast, Owen chose donuts from ... the Pinckney Bakery!  They did well by this kid, I tell you!  We all love the chocolate raised, but Owen is open to mixing it up with a cinnamon swirl, a bear-claw, a "twinkee" cream filled, or even just a sprinkle.

After a trip to baseball camp in the afternoon, we met up with Owen's friends at Lazer Planet in Dexter.  I'd never been to lazer tag, but the kids knew exactly what to do, and they had a blast!!!  It was a great group of friends - lots of smiles, lots of thank yous, lots (LOTS) of silly!

You'd think that was enough, but we started all over the next day with a party for the family!  Grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles and cousins all came to celebrate the birth of our Owen.  We had spaghetti, his favorite (this week) and he chose brownies for dessert.  He got more amazing gifts, though his reaction to the NYG Manning jersey was particularly memorable.

Happy Birthday, Owen!  We love you!!!

Chicago!

The kids had a four-day weekend for President's Day, and it also happens that TR closes for that holiday.  After a little convincing, the bosses at TEK Environmental agreed to celebrate our nation's leaders and we all boarded the Amtrak for Chicago.

It was an early Saturday morning trip, but we made the most of it with movies, snacks, and Bloody Mary's (courtesy of Tyler - complete with salami, pickles, and olives).

We checked into our fantastic hotel (Embassy Suites Lakefront - highly recommended if for nothing more than the amazing free breakfast buffet!).

To maximize our Chicago experience, we purchased City Passes and headed out to see the sites.  First up...the Willis Tower (fka Sears Tower).  Owen and Brian weren't interested in the plexiglass balconies, but it was pretty neat!

We let the kids enjoy the pool and found ourselves some Chicago-style pizza to round out that long Saturday.

Sunday was a trip to the Shedd Aquarium where we saw some neat exhibits, my favorite being the snowy white Beluga Whales...so so cute!!  I also loved the jellyfish room!

We were pretty exhausted by then, so we ran into the Field Museum to just say hello to Sue and then back to the hotel to rest!!

We headed over to the Hancock Tower to put our names in at Cheesecake Factory!  Of course the wait was super long, so the guys took the elevator to the bar at the top to have a drink while Kara and I relaxed with the kiddos.  After we ordered, Kara and I took Allie across the street to visit American Girl!!!  She zero'd in immediately on the doll that was to be hers, and we were back to our table before the food arrived.  :)  We all rode to the observation deck at the top of the Hancock Tower after dinner.

Kara and I managed to finagle a morning of shopping for Monday, which sent us out to the Magnificent Mile in search of...a blue box!  Unfortunately, nothing from the beloved Tiffany & Co came home with us...but we sure had fun looking!!  We did manage to find some goodies at Coach, so our shopping experience was not a complete bust.  :)

Kara and her dream car  :)

Shopping success!

We met up with the guys and kids for lunch at Navy Pier before we headed to the train station.

I will say that the station in Chicago is CRAZY after our experience with the little station in Ann Arbor!  Everyone had a blast and cannot wait to go back again!

Go Blue!!!

We kicked off 2012 with a trip to Yost Ice Arena to see the Michigan Wolverines play LSSU.  The boys loved getting to wander around campus a bit - we stopped at the Michigan baseball field to see where that action happens.

We got to the arena early for some fun photos ops - and a chance to watch our Wolverines warm up.  A great usher in our section showed Owen right where to sit behind the net so that he could high-five all of the players as they came out onto the ice!

Being that the students were still on break, the arena was a little calmer than usual, which I suppose is a good thing, considering!  We had great seats, and our littlest hockey fan was beside himself all night!!

Otherwise Occupied

The blog has been neglected, that's for sure.  I can claim busy...too much going on...no blog post ideas...but it's all excuses in the end.  I will say that surgery in October threw me off a bit, not being able to type and all.  And, after 2010's cancer-filled holiday season, I wanted to really ENJOY the 2011 holidays.  And enjoy we did.

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving with family out at K&D's house.

We had a spectacular Christmas visiting with lots of family and friends.  The kids LOVED being off school for two weeks.

We didn't see much in the way of snow and ice, but the holidays were blessed.  I'll close with a few photos and (hopefully!) get back into more regular posting!

Visiting Santa in downtown Pinckney

Leaving cookies for Santa