Adventures at Cranbrook

Busy fun day today. Penny was WIDE awake at like 6:15. I tried to feed her back to sleep, but to no avail...so, I dragged myself out of bed. I had thought about going to Cranbrook Science Museum this week...so why not today?! We got packed up and headed to Cromaine Library...they are participating in a a cool program called Detroit Adventure Pass. Basically, you 'check out' free admission to a bunch of different museums. We got our pass and hit the road. It was a pretty cool museum, although many of the concepts are a bit much for a 4 year old; however, the dinosaurs, rocks, and water pool were a hit. They had a bigger dinosaur exhibit going on, and a special place for kids to 'dig' for bones and play. Walking around in airconditioning trying to remember science concepts from high school and explaining them in 4 year old terms was a great way to spend a muggy overcast day. Drove down Woodward looking for lunch...uhhh, I'm not a fan of that area! It's crazy! And so fancy! And really hard to look for places to eat and drive with 4 lanes of traffic (and increasingly irritated kids in the back) and no way of turning around once you see something without making a bunch of turns. So, we headed back north and found Piepers Pies. How fun! They were tasty; we tried a beef one and Jane got some chili, which she's been wanting. Tried the playground in Birmingham, which was super cool; astroturf hills with cardboard for sliding down and rock chairs (Jane said King and Queen, of course). I didn't have sunscreen in the car for some reason, and it was really sunny and hot, so we didn't stay long. Naptime on the way home for Penny. And all is now quiet.

Reynolds Reunion

Penny has been teething all week; I can feel a little molar coming in, and she’s getting more of her front teeth poking through as well. The heat hasn’t helped anyone. We forgot to pack any Tylenol to help take the edge off, and she woke up in the middle of the night kind of peeved about it. She wants to nurse all night, and I was getting kind of tired, too. We finally got re-settled, but it was nice to sleep in a bit while Jane looked after Gram Sandee and Gramp Mike (haha). Of course, once we got up, the mad rush began. Mike and Dad had to load the tractor (weee-the tractor is finished and the lawn can be mowed—without the pushmower!), and I had to re-pack and get the girls put together. We finally got on the road-with Dad riding the middle between the girls, which really isn’t that bad. Jane was pretty excited to do a little fishing with Heidi once we got there. She caught a couple of big fish today! We had a nice lunch, fun to see all the different things everyone brings. Penny was pretty cranky for most of the day. She slept the whole trip out, but probably should not have woken up when we got there. A big rainstorm ended up blowing in, so we didn't go swimming. It was probably for the better that we didn't stay as late as last year; Jane and Penny were both asleep before we were out to main roads, and slept most of the trip home (as did i!). Nice to be home and to have a few weekends free before we pack up again for the Laber cottage weekend in P.H. at the end of the month. Laundry here I come!

Off to the west-side...

Road trip…what? Number 3? We’re off to Allegan to visit G&G Carlson at the lake. The cottage is up for sale, so never know how many more of these visits we’ll get! We had a fairly good trip in, only a few stops. I spent the last 30 minutes or so in back with the girls once Penny woke up, but no major flip-outs. John, Colleen, Angela, Brian, and Collin were able to join us. Fun having the kids together. Collin is a little cutie-pie; I don’t think Jane realized he’s only a little bit older than Penny. She kept trying to get him to come play with her; I think the funniest request was that he come play Monopoly! They finally did some bubbles, which was good for all the kids. Jane was super excited to do some fishing with Grandma Sandee. She and Chole really had a good time together; Chole is a great fishergirl too! Jane caught a few really small fish; it's way cute how excited she would get. We had a nice lunch of grilled chicken tacos, and then Jane and I went out swimming for awhile while Mike tried to get Penny down for a nap. Water was nice out by the raft once we got past the weeds. Ick. I thought Jane was done with her cold, but she’s got a nasty looking crusty nose now. Ugh. Hopefully all the fresh air will help clear it out. If I could just convince her that water is not poison, maybe I could get her hydrated as well. We headed back to Mom & Dad’s house for the night. Us girls all conked out in the truck. J They’ve got a great garden growing; corn is getting tall, and lots of other fun veggies poking up here and there. By the time we got the girls settled, we pretty much ended up going to bed. Long day!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4^th of July! We started early…Jane was up by 6:30. We decided to go out for breakfast and had Ron come get Averie. Who knew…a lot of restaurants aren’t open on the 4^th. We landed at Denny’s, which was not awesome, but Jane and Averie enjoyed their hot chocolate. Back to Jenny’s for some crazy running around and re-packing, and then we went to Uncle Johns. We pretty much spent the entire afternoon in the pool, which was great. It’s turning into a hot summer! Jane has been doing really good in her lifejacket, and she had a blast playing with all the cousins. We finally headed for home, both girls sleeping. Until we were almost to Flint, Penny woke up, then Jane woke up; we stopped to feed Penny, Jane had a little flip-out, and we finally re-loaded. Penny was NOT happy about being back in her seat. She got really really upset coming down 23, and I had to crawl back there…and watch her throw-up. Yum. Poor baby. I think she got kind of hot, her car seat faces backwards, and she was just not getting enough air. It’s hard, but when we’re only 10 minutes from home, doesn’t make much sense to stop and take her out and then load her back (into her vomit covered seat at that point). Super fun times.

Travelin'

We're off to P.H. for the weekend. First stop...Lake Huron-Lewis's cottage. Jane had a blast running around with all the kids; Penny finally took a little nap on Mike. We stuck around for some awesome jambalya and gumbo. Great to hang out with Gwyn and Charlie...who we don't see enough of! Watched a few fireworks from the beach, and then we headed to Jen's house. Jane basically stated that fireworks were fine, but that it was waaay past her bedtime and we needed to go home. Cute. You know she's tired at that point!

10 years...

We've been married for 10 years. How cool is that? It doesn't feel like it's been that long, but when I look at all that we've done, it's kind of amazing. We've moved twice and taken some nice trips and had two beautiful girls...just to mention a few of the big things. I'm incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful life; a wonderful family; and an amazing husband. We got to have a great anniversary dinner tonight at French Laundry. They have one of the cards with points you earn, and we got a free meal tonight. Scallops for me, and steak for Mike...a bottle of champagne (weeee!)...and creme brulee for dessert.

Just perfect.

All good things come to an end...

It's our last day already! The rain came over night, and we woke up to it. I'd planned to spend some time at the beach...hmmm, packing instead. Got quite a bit of stuff into the truck, and then Jane and I checked out the beach. She was insistent that we go in; so we went back up and got suits on. Figured I was playing the 'best mommy' card by toughing it out; it was kind of windy and chilly. However, we had a great time; maybe 20 minutes, but it wasn't that cold, and she had a blast running and jumping into the little waves. Back up to shower and pack the rest of our stuff. We then headed up and around the thumb so we could see the Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse. Jane was pretty impressed (you never know with a 4 year old!). We got to look at the staircase, but they only had like 6 rungs you could climb; the rest was closed to the public. Jane was a little freaked about the stairs, but I love the photo of her by the window. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and I took a bunch of fun photos of the girls in their dresses from Mexico. Drove for awhile and found a nice place for lunch; looked like a greasy spoon, but really had nice people and good paninis. Penny slept for most of the ride home, and Jane and Gram Nomi did good in the backseat, even though Jane was getting a little done with traveling. I've decided all parents really need a Grandma to constantly ride in the backseat with the kids. Seriously, calmest my kids have ever been.

We made it home! Had some Gus's ribs and breadsticks for dinner, then Mom and Gram Nomi got back in the car to head to K'zoo. Lots of driving, but I think we were all happy to be settled back into our 'spaces' for the evening.

Wonderful trip. I'm so mad I didn't get a pic of all 4 of us!