We Have Moved . . .

. . . items from the dining room to the den and vice versa. Earlier this week, Hallie and Sara were talking about how Hallie wanted to make a school room within the dining room, and Sara mentioned that we should switch the dining room and den. Up to this point, we have used the room with the chandelier as our dining room because, well, it had the chandelier and because our home’s previous owners had used the space as a dining room. Hallie ran the idea by Mike, who at first resisted (he didn’t reject the idea, but he wondered what a den/family room would look like with a low-hanging central light fixture in it) but then warmed up to the thought of more usable space for the kids and their toys. Hallie had also hinted that in the future whenever we got a new TV the space would make it seem less in the middle of everything, especially once we got a smaller media unit. Mike figured he could change out the lighting fixtures without too much trouble. So, over a few days Hallie and Sara (with major help from Diamond and Priscilia) moved the bookcase and toy bins into the dining room and the credenza into the den. Mike even got into the act on Thursday when he moved the dining room set into the den and the TV armoire into the dining room. After moving everything, we now have an expanded family room and an intimate dining room instead of a large dining room and a crowded TV room/toy room/den. Thanks for the great idea, Sara!

Chase in the dining room prior to the move (the boxes are part of our attempt to organize and declutter)

Of course, Mike should have figured more was afoot than a simple room change with his birthday coming up (Friday the 13th this year, woo hoo!). Sure enough, after he came home from some work on Friday, a box with a new TV sat next to the armoire. Once Mike got over the shock of the unexpected big ticket item, he set to work seeing what it could do. Later on, Hallie, who had been resting upstairs, asked whether Mike wanted to go hunting for a new TV stand. We ended up finding exactly what we needed for less than we expected to pay at Art Van’s clearance center (Mike was pleasantly surprised). After taking the kids to music class and helping Jason with a small project at his and Sara’s, Mike put the TV stand together, and the family room was (for the most part) complete!

The windows frame things in nicely. Mike has bumped his head only a few times so far.

It's a small room, so it's a bit hard to see.

As we mentioned before, Mike had his birthday this week, and he spent a little time each day through the week indulging in some of his favorite springtime activities, including going to the Henry Ford Museum, having a picnic and flying kites with Landon and Eliza on Monday. 

Landon took some pictures with his new LEGO camera: 

Once we got to the Henry Ford, we took in the activities for Macy's 2nd Monday:

At first Landon didn't really want his picture taken. 

He said he'd get his picture taken if he could take Mike's.

Eliza fell asleep on the way there. This is how she spent most of the trip.

Afterwards, we went for our picnic and kite flight. At first, it looked like the wind wouldn’t cooperate, but after a while the weather got a bit more blustery and with the approaching storm clouds came a solid wind stream. Both Mike and Landon got in on the action. 

Landon was holding his own until a gust came that yanked the string holder out of his hand and sent the kite plummeting toward Lake St. Clair. Mike hightailed it toward the water and managed to get the string. After several minutes of winding, tugging, and cajoling, we managed to fish the kite, none the worse for its dip in the water, out of the lake.   

The kite has no rigid parts (it's just a sail and strings), which is probably why we were able to retrieve it.

Mike and Hallie got some couple's time in this week too as they celebrated Mike’s day at The Melting Pot with an all-American big night out. We rolled home three hours later, too full to do much else. . . . 

Hallie is continuing to recover well from her surgery. We appreciate all those who have provided meals and other support to us. Look at one of the cute cupcakes Joy gave us for dessert! 

Little Easter lambs. Almost too cute to eat! Almost.