A Happy Birthday in an Old Model T

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to DADDY!

Rob's Officially....OLD.

(If you call 29 old, it's all relative.)

Funny (after the fact) story, I tried to find "authentic" Mexican for my Chilango who served his mission in Mexico City. So, I called this restaurant, "Mariachi, authentic Mexican Cuisine" and a man answered who barely spoke any English. He said it was a family friendly atmosphere, with a live mariachi band, and that they would give Rob a free appetizer or cake, and sing to him (I'm picturing Rob wearing a sombrero surrounded by the Mariachi band...). Sounds good, right?

Rob worked a long day on his birthday, and so I was waiting with kids in the car so we could seize the moment before bedtime crankiness found us. We show up to find a fancy restaurant, playing some local radio station (no Mexican music), overpriced food, not a Hispanic in sight, they didn't give him anything free, and no one sang to him. A waitress finally took pity on us and brought out SCRAP paper and a few crayons. The food was good, nothing special though. Oh, well.

Worth the thought?

Hopefully the blazing Homemade German Chocolate Cake, and the kids' homemade gifts made up for it!

Ellie made Rob a crown, and Ryan made him a tie.

In this picture Ellie is sporting her Clifford ears she made at Kindergarten.

Pretty sweet blow, Rob!

Ryan was pretty delighted with Dad's Caramel Jr. Mints.

Check out those hips!

We finished celebrating two days after his birthday when he had the day off (one of four all month), and we went to Greenfield Village together. It was such a WONDERFUL day! Perfect weather, and we had the park all to ourselves!

We got to ride in an old FORD Model T!

Definitely a highlight of our Michigan experience.

We also enjoyed a vintage horse and buggy ride.

Entering Greenfield Village is like walking back in time.

They have restored original buildings and artifacts such as the Wright Brother's home, workshop, and Cycle shop, the first Ford Motor Company Warehouse, and many more....

They also have a whole Craftsman Village where you can see how they make glass, pottery, weave, etc. etc. They have real craftsman working that you can watch and it is AMAZING!

Of course Trevor's favorite thing in the park was the duck.

We rode on an old 1913 Carousel, complete with an old Fair type Music Box (playing it's own drums and instruments like a one man band.)

We finished the day with a ride on the oldest Steam Locomotive in working condition in the United States.

We ate our lunch as we rode around the whole village, it was truly fabulous!

This picture is for Barbara Grandma Mom. :)

This was one of the best days we've ever enjoyed as a little family,

we learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and made a wonderful memory together.

Ellie's First Day of Kindergarten!

Here she is, Miss Kindergarten herself!

The first day of School!

(September 3rd)

She was SO EXCITED, that I didn't even cry.

I was just excited for her too!

(She's such a tough cookie that I don't have to worry about her, and that helps too.)

She gets to ride the bus with two other afternoon Kindergartners in our neighborhood;

Brody Miller, and Maya Deem.

They are such great kids, and we feel grateful to have them as our neighbors.

She loves the bus and tells us she almost bumps her head on the ceiling because it drives so fast!

Ryan and Brodey's little brother Garret wanted their pictures taken too.

They will ride the bus together to kindergarten next year (along with Maya's little brother Mason). How amazing is that?

Getting off the bus.

This is a after she'd been school a few days when we dropped her off at school.

Trevor wanted to go to school with Ellie!

He thinks he's one of the big kids,

but in my mind he's still my baby.

I'm sure it will feel like tomorrow it will be his turn!

I'm making a real effort to treasure the moments while they're here.

Pizza, Bikes, Park and DADDY!

Here's a catch-up post because I'm hoping to print my blog at the end of the year, and I don't want to miss recording the good days.

On August 16th, we had a nice night riding bikes around the Summit Lake, and having pizza at the park.

The weather was perfect, and it was so nice to be together.

We watched the ducks and had fun watching the kids play.

The best part was having Daddy with us!

If you ever want to be appreciated and loved by your family, just go through Medical School!

We love you Daddy Rob. These are the sweetest, simple joys of our lives.

Detroit Zoo with the Rama's

On August 25th, we got to enjoy one of the summer's last beautiful days with our

wonderful neighbor's the Rama's at the Detroit Zoo.

I've always wanted to go inside a butterfly house!

This is Ellie and Ryan with the cocoons.

It was beautiful! (and steamy)

There were some butterfly's that were as big as birds!

I loved it!

Ryan has a soft spot for turtles ever since we

owned one (Toby) as a pet in our backyard in Arizona.

Trevor is a turtle fan too.

My rambunctious boys with the rhino's, very appropriate.

Rub a dub dub!

Three kids in the wagon...(oh, boy I've been at this too long).

Ellie and Ben pretending to be Prairie Dogs.

Can you see the one just to the right of them?

Fun times!

Ellie and Ellie (Elaine).

Pretty flowers and prettier girls.

They have the most amazing Arctic exhibit.

Unfortunately, the polar bears were sleeping, but we did get to see the seals swim over our heads!

Of course, you can't go to the zoo without a ride on the

Zoo Train.

We even saw our first black squirrel on our way to the car!

Thanks for a wonderful outing to enjoy our last bits of sunshine,

wE loVed It!

All That! (and a Fruit Salad)

End of August, End of Summer.

Here's a catch up post of a few of our adventures that ended summer with a....

BANG!

Ellie fell out of bed and ended up with quite a shiner.

People said it was cute though,

that it made her look like a tough girl, and she is that!

Ryan grew out of his handsome little suit, and so we got him a new church get up.

He sure is a charmer, in many ways.

We had fun at a birthday party for our friend Lance that was at PUMP IT UP.

Where did my baby go?

Ellie kept telling me to watch her try out different ways to go down the slide.

Our favorites that I caught on video where the Jump' Jive n' Wail, the Pointed Poised Princess, and this one which we have named the

Downhill Can Opener with a Twist.

She's quite the creative genius!

This is Ryan having a burst of creative genius of his own.

Ellie has also enjoyed several playdates with girls who she invites over for some "girl time."

It always includes painted nails and faces, dancing, dressing up, and such.

This is Ellie's cute friend Katy Seltofer who is in our ward and in her Tap class.

We love having friends over!

Here's the rest of Katy's family, Emily (4) and Matthew (2)

we love you guys. :)

Thanks for having our kids to play at your house too!

This is Alysson our next door neighbor who the kids play with all the time in our shared backyard. She invited Ellie and Ryan to her 6 year old bowling birthday party, and they really had a great time!

We've mentioned before that Canton has a stellar library, well, as a reward for finishing the summer reading program we got to go to a free Magic Show!

It was so much fun!

The guy came into town from Chicago, and he was really funny.

Perfect for kids.

We met up with the Cardon's and the Rigby's too.

Go Canton Library!

Music Parade!

We also started up a date night co-op that has been FANTASTIC!

Rob and I love getting to go out 3 out of 4 weeks of the month,

and the kids have had fun playing together too.

I snapped a few pictures of our favorite place to shop,

Joe Randazzo's Fruit and Vegetable Stand.

Trevor is so fun to shop with, most of the time. :)

They have the best produce, some Michigan grown, for super cheap.

Every time I check out I say, "Really? Only that much?"

It really has been a find!

This picture makes me want to make a fruit salad.

Anyone want some?