assorted things

As I mentioned a few days ago, we went to the Stars and Stripes festival in Mt. Clemens - to see the fireworks - last Friday nite.  The show was a bit shorter than last year, but it was still a very good time. We stopped at DQ and got Blizzards for everyone before we got there. Then we set up camp right at Gratiot Blvd., ate our ice cream and watched the show of crazy people walk by.

The thing that amazed me the most - the amount of people walking by us while the fireworks were going off and not even stopping - not even a little bit - to look at the spectacular show in the sky. Didn't seem to faze them in the least. I know that we have all seen fireworks - some of us many, many times - but they still fascinate me - and I am a pretty normal person...what is wrong with those people? And for the record, I was not the only person who noticed this - all the adults in our group felt the same way.

And of course, Emily had to make TWO trips to the port-a-potty. The first time was no big deal. No crowds. The second time, EVERYONE was there. And of course, I picked the WORST line. I made a joke to my friend in the line next to me that I was in line behind Jon and Kate plus eight. No joke - this family has at least seven kids that I counted, and they ALL went into the port-o-let one by one. It took forever. Luckily we made it back in time before the show started.


Last Saturday was Emily's recital. I don't have any pictures of her actual performance because they don't allow cameras in the auditorium during the performance. So here are a couple I took right before we left - we were running behind schedule, and I think Em was a little nervous. Nevertheless, she did wonderful. We were all so proud.

And here are a few of Miss Paige - who will be turning 2 in a matter of weeks.


Big crash upstairs  - better get going.....

scooter trick

Emily had a blast tonight doing her scooter tricks for us in the driveway.

BUT - right before the above video, we had a bit of a mishap. No one got hurt - but I guess this is what happens when you combine an exuberant six year with a two year old who just wants her chalk...see the other video below:

And again - NO ONE GOT HURT. But Paige was removed from the driveway for all future scooter shows, and placed directly on my lap. You can hear her asking, "Can I see?" in the beginning of the first video.

bugs, chalk and a storm

What did we do on Thursday? Well, we caught bugs in our brand new bug-catcher:

(Thank you Dollar Tree)

We played with chalk.

And we had a BIG, HUGE, severe thunderstorm that seemed to come out of NOWHERE in the early afternoon. This is the aftermath. No real damage to any of our stuff, but some of our neighbors had shattered patio tables, downed trees and some other minor stuff.

Quite a few homes and businesses are still without power - we were very lucky to only have a very quick flicker of an outage. AND there's a lot of flooding around town.

I look at all this and think that we are very lucky - also, I was a very LUCKY STUPID idiot who went out in the middle of the storm to help my neighbor from losing her METAL patio table, and also to get Emily's METAL Razor scooter before it blew away. I should know better. And I promise, I won't do it again.

Off to see the fireworks in Mt. Clemens tonight. Emily is already ready - she has her toenails painted RED, WHITE and BLUE, she has her patriotic shirt and shorts on - and she's only been asking, "When do we leave?" about 10,000 times. Oh, here she comes again...

Make that 10,001.....

okay, so I was wrong

I know I have said countless times on this blog that I have a black thumb. I wasn't lying. I really thought I did. You see, everything that I have ever planted and cared for has pretty much died. That was until last year. Last year I planted some hostas and a hydrangea, watched them live out the summer, and then prayed all winter for them to come back in the spring.

Everyone around here says you can't kill a hosta - a big part of their appeal to me - but I was doubtful. And, they did come back, much bigger and prettier than last year. Now, hydrangeas are a completely different story. They are so delicate. They, or so I have been told, require a bit more care and love. And so I cared and loved my plant as much as I could.

Last night, when I was letting Max out for his final call, I peek around the corner from my front door and was delightfully rewarded with this:

It's not exactly the best lighting at this time of day, but I just had to go and take these as soon as I could this morning - I thought about it all night! Maybe MUCH later this afternoon I will be able to take a decent picture of the whole plant. It's just so beautiful. An instant mood lifter.

beating the heat

Right now I am listening to the Tiger game and the sounds of two rowdy girls play on the floor above my head. Emily said they were going upstairs to play "babies". Since when do babies jump around, and bang on the floor?

We had a quiet morning around here. Emily spent the night at my Mom's place, so it was just Eric, Paige and I. I never realized just how much noise one child can make. We did miss her although. But she had a blast with my Mom and sister - going to bed late, getting up early, and Grandma made all her favorites for a late breakfast. She's in for a rude awakening tomorrow morning - back to shredded wheat my dear!

In other news...Summer has really arrived up here in the frozen tundra. It was over ninety degrees today - and HUMID. It felt just like Florida.  

What better way to cool off from all that heat  - a pool!! 

Emily has been swimming in the pool since Monday. She's a good sport, the water has been freezing. Why is it that kids can tolerate crazy temperatures so much more than adults? I mean, she was literally shivering, and refused to come out. Crazy kid.

Today was the first day that I thought it was an acceptable temperature for Paige.

And after some initial trepidation, she was off and running. She even let me put the goggles on her. 

She is such a crazy girl. She loved when I pushed on the side an made it a wave pool. She loved just cruising around in her float. She really loves the water.

She is tall enough to stand in the pool - according to Eric - but for safety's sake, we'll continue to use the float.

She's going to be two, one month from today. TWO. How is that possible?

buckets of FUN

More bucket and water play today. Emily was swimming next door - but Paige was just happy as a clam playing with her buckets and water. She kept herself very busy for over an hour.

Summer is AWESOME!!

Daddy's Day and other Stuff

We had a very relaxing Father's Day. Just us. For a change.

I made pancakes for breakfast, and after a thorough cleaning - we put up the pool, I did some laundry, watched the Tigers win four straight, Eric cut the grass, and I made dinner - steak, waffle fries, broccoli and fresh baked bread - and brownies for dessert.

Yes, that's relaxing for us.

We ended the evening with a bike ride. Good day. Happy Father's Day Eric.

A now some pictures from the past few days...

Emily has taken to catching rolly pollie bugs with her buddy Jenna. They are in there, under the flower petals. This was Friday afternoon. This afternoon I found at them all dead in their new home. I didn't tell Emily. I am hoping she forgot about them.

We went to see "UP" - in 3D - Friday afternoon. My Mom and sister watched Paige. Emily liked it - kind of. Eric and I really liked it. I even forgot it was in 3D halfway through. Very well done.
On Saturday, I scrapbooked most of the day, and then we went to my Aunt's house for an early Father's Day dinner. My Grandpa was there, as well as my cousin Ryan. Emily and Paige played outside filling up cups and dumping them out. Paige was SOAKED, but she has a blast.
Today my day-lillies finally bloomed. So pretty.
No Father's Day would be complete without a game of catch. Emily looks so grown up here.
BTW: she got her face painted yesterday at a Cops and Kids event. She refused to wash it off last night - and since it was SO LATE when we got home, I gave in. She still refused to wash it off this morning. I finally had to make her do it tonight.



Hope you had a great weekend. Happy summer!! Yay!!

(And just in case you were wondering - these last five pictures - were taken, WITHOUT FLASH, on the longest day of the year - at 9pm. It finally got dark tonight just after 10pm....I LOVE this time of year)

Yes

In case you were wondering...I have been doing some blog updating. I was going for a more summery feel. AND I updated the slide show. It was showing pictures from October. It was overdue.

red jewels

Well, it's STRAWBERRY season up here in the Great state of Michigan. It's the official start of all the yummy things that I associate with summer. Soon, there will be green beans, peppers, tomatoes, corn, watermelon, cucumbers....I could go on and on.

Anyway...TODAY we went strawberry picking at Blake's. Blake's is best known for their apples, donuts and cider, but in the summer months they have a tremendous U-Pick business. Basically, all the stuff I have listed above, they grow and you can pick it. Pretty awesome I think.

Strawberry picking is something I always did with my Grandma whenever I stayed with her during my summer vacation. I remember putting a few in the box, and quite a few in my stomach. It was like a little buffet, just for me. We would spend a lot of time picking the very best berries - and then my Grandma would make a pie, some shortcake and lots and lots of jam. Good memories. I couldn't help but miss her out there today. Although, she was there, with us, I am sure of it.
Emily and Amanda - my sister is here for a couple weeks - had fun finding all the red ones under the leaves.
They were very serious pickers.

And, of course, I dressed Paige in her strawberry shirt. She was quite enthralled with all the berries growing all around her. I had to watch her every second. We kept her busy by handing her berries to put in the box. And of course, we allowed her to sample a few.
My Mom was definitely channeling my Grandma. I had to basically escort her from the strawberry fields. She just could not stop. The 7.5 pounds of strawberries we had when we left were testament to that. That woman was strawberry CRAZY.

Behold - 7.5 pounds of the crown jewels of summer.
And this one had way too much fun. She fell asleep in the car - my Mom got her out and put her on the couch. She slept there for 2 hours.  So sweet.

Here are a few from yesterday. Paige with her butterfly antennae.
Emily wearing my favorite rain boots.

It's late. I am tired from all that bending and picking - but it was SO worth it. So, I bid you good nite!

squirt zone

Last Friday, when we went to the beach, Emily was a little bummed out that we didn't get a chance to go to the squirt zone. She LOVES the squirt zone. So, being the cool Mom that I am, I saw the weather forecast for today - 80 and sunny - and decided that today would be a great day to go back and do the squirt zone. Emily was a BIT excited...as you can see from the above picture. 
And true to form,  being completely opposite from her BIG sister, Paige, HATED the squirt zone. She would cry in shear terror the minute I tried to take her anywhere near the water. I tried holding her, walking up with her, leaving her to try it herself...nothing worked. So, finally, I gave up and took her back to the bench to watch all the fun Emily was having. 

And I gave her fruit snacks. She was happy again. So different from Emily. Emily loves the Squirt Zone, and is not a big fan of fruit snacks. Paige HATES the Squirt Zone and would probably marry a bag of fruit snacks were it legal in this state.

But then, about ten minutes before we were about to leave, this happened:


Now Paige loves the squirt zone. Which is good because I bought an annual pass, so we can go anytime. And we will.

I had to drag her away kicking and screaming. The only thing that calmed her down was being able to pull the wagon with her big sister. I tell you, that girl WEARS ME OUT!!!
And BTW - Emily had a bag of fruit snacks on the way home. All is equal in the world again.