Easing into February

We had a really low-key week, or at least one without too many activities besides the ones normally on the schedule. The one addition was that Landon started his Spanish class at Barnes School on Wednesday. Our friend from church, Priscilia from Venezuela, came over and helped us take care of a couple of projects at home, and she and Eliza had fun chatting together in Spanish as well. Here are pics from this week's music class: 

We have had a surprising yet welcome stretch of relatively warm weather. In fact Mike and the kids even managed to get some bike time in. We also finally set off our Mentos rocket again, after waiting for the city crew to clean out the storm drain.

The kids loved watching the big truck with the giant vacuum pump. Eliza had never seen anything like it. 

On Friday, Mike had lunch with a work friend down in Corktown at Astro near Slow’s BBQ. He took a side trip over to Mexicantown and La Colmena (Honey Bee) Market, where he stocks up on his Latino foods (among other things, they have tasty fresh-made pico de gallo, tamales, and Goya products imported from Mexico and Central and South America). Alas, this time they had no yerba mate! Please don’t let this be the trend for the future.

Later in the evening after Eliza went to bed, Landon and his parents had a movie night with Mary Poppins and movie treats. Partway through the movie, it hit Mike that Mary Poppins, a movie Mike always felt was “old,” was made only nine years before he was born (we’ll let you do the math). For Landon, this would be like a movie made in 1998 (A Bug’s Life, for instance). 1998 was not very long ago, right?! Oh, help. Someone feels a bit older than he did before that movie started. . . . Anyway, rather than focusing on that, let's focus on the kids!

Little prima ballerina

Look at these curly locks!

On Saturday, we went to pick up a hand-knitted Minnie Mouse cap for Eliza in preparation for her first birthday party. 

That night, the women from church had a ladies’ night at the Detroit Institute of Arts, where they saw the exhibition Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus. Meanwhile, Mike stayed home with the kiddos, and he and Landon made stamped sugar cookies in the shape of characters from the movie Cars 2.

The word sugar always reminds Mike of an old story: George Bernard Shaw was at a party, and a brash young man, thinking he knew something very clever, came up to Shaw and asked, “Did you know that sugar is the only word in the English language where the letter ‘S’ makes the sh sound?” Mr. Shaw, without missing a beat, replied, “Are you sure?” (For you wordsmiths, it turns out sumac can also be pronounced with the sh sound. Who knew? Well, Shaw, probably.)

OK, can't resist one last pic of our Minnie Mouse lookalike dressed in her Sunday best:

We Just Keep Rolling Along

Hallie and the kids started the week by getting out of the house and heading with Sara over to the Eastland Mall’s playscape.

Later, we celebrated our 13th anniversary with the kids at Landon’s gymnastics class. This was not a romantic activity at all, but Hallie did get some beautiful flowers and a fun tablet, and there is still some time before Valentine’s Day, right?

These kids of ours are a crack-up. Eliza has discovered the bathroom and every little thing in it. Every time we forget to close the door, she reminds us.

Landon discovered the wax lips we bought at the Woodward Avenue Candy Shop:

He wears them well, it would appear.

Apparently we’re way too much in parent mode of late. Anyway, here’s something cute we hear on the Kids Place Live radio station as we drive the kiddos around town:

The Mom Song

   

. . . and here’s the Dad version.

   

Mike had a particularly busy work week. He has started a new project that had him traveling this week down nearly to Toledo and up past Pontiac. In addition, he was involved with his division’s interviews for a potential new faculty member. All this traveling has meant that Hallie has had to fend for herself more at home. It’s a lot easier to double team or play one-on-one than have to resort to a zone defense, especially with our active little ones. Mike was able to take Landon with him to work for part of the day on Wednesday, and he passed the boy back to Hallie at the Somerset Collection. Mike even got a LEGO set out of the deal (late anniversary gift??):

Fortunately, on Thursday night, Hallie did get to put Mike in charge and have a girls’ night out with Sara (late anniversary gift??). After the kids went to bed, Mike set to work on the LEGO street scene.

On Friday the kids and Hallie had a play date at Janel’s with other kids from the branch while Mike worked on campus. Hallie has found some new ways to keep Landon’s active mind and body stimulated, and she heard about using a box filled with rice or beans or sand. Landon really seems to enjoy digging through the rice box, drawing his letters, and making believe that it’s raining or that he’s doing construction projects.

Bright and early on Saturday, Landon and Mike helped a group of church members to tidy up our meetinghouse. As our friend Derek noted (quoting John Heywood), “Many hands make light work.” True that. After cleaning, we hammered together a wooden build-a-saurus at Lowe’s before joining Hallie and Eliza at the kids’ new music class at the MSU Extension Center in Detroit’s Brush Park neighborhood. Mike does not know where Hallie finds all these fun things for the kids to do, but these rolling stones gather no moss thanks to her efforts.

It snowed today. That’s it. And Bryan got baptized. Congratulations, Bryan!

Cutie pie dressed in her Sunday best

Extreme Gyms, Parties, Pajamas, and Sweat Treats

Landon started gymnastics (Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!) on Monday at Extreme Gymnastics USA.

Quianna, a young lady from our branch, came over and helped Hallie out around the house while Mike was at work on Tuesday and Wednesday. We got some snow on Thursday that continued off and on with accompanying cold weather through the weekend. Looks like winter has finally arrived. Let’s hope it just plans to stay for a short visit!  

On Friday afternoon, we went to the Woodward Avenue Candy Shop. We had read on the store’s website that each day has a theme, so we took the kids in their fuzzy footed PJ’s. Landon got a kick out of being out of the house and dressed for bed, which added to the fun of our visit. Right as we entered, we were warmly greeted by Janie, the owner. She explained how she wants every guest who comes into the store to feel right at home. She was very attentive and positive, and we had a great experience.

(Photos from the store's Facebook page)

Saturday dawned in a blanket of snow. Mike and Landon shoveled and played in it until it got too cold.

Our friend Bryan celebrated his 8th birthday with a party at Continental Lanes in Roseville, a perfect venue for a family of avid bowlers.

While the rest of the crew partied, Mike attended an all-day meeting. Katelyn looked after the kids that night while we went out to dinner for our anniversary. Hard to believe we’ve already been married 13 years! 

New Routines for a New Year

The new year has brought with it a few new activities for family members. Mike started teaching classes Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and Hallie and the kids settled into a few routines of their own.

Hallie and the kids went with Sara and Chase to Macy’s 2nd Monday at the Henry Ford, where they explored the world of airplanes and took in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz exhibit a second time.  

Landon started pipsqueak PE with Ms. Suzanne again on Tuesday. He'll start gymnastics next Monday to put even more of that boundless energy to work! So far, Eliza is content to use the home as her gym.

Landon takes to daredevil tricks on his trampoline like a bird takes to flight.

Fortunately, he is very patient as he teaches Eliza how to use it.

She learned how to bounce by watching him. 

Hanging upside down she learned all on her own. 

Hallie, the kids, Sara, and Chase went to Play Central at Barnes Elementary on Wednesday. Play Central is a nice blend of activities and academic centers for preschoolers, so this activity looks like it will be fun to continue! 

Our nephew Haydn celebrated his 12th birthday and Eliza celebrated 11 months this week. How the time has flown by! We still remember when he was as small as she is now (and she's getting bigger by the day! She had two more teeth break through this week). 

Palling around as Eliza shows off her waving skills

(Her curly locks really show after a bath.)

On Friday, the 13th, we got our first snow that stayed. Dad had bought some conversation hearts at the local bulk foods store, and Mom and Landon used them to decorate the gingerbread house we did not get put together after the New Year. Now we have a cozy romantic cottage (that is rapidly being dismantled). 

In the evening, we went down to El Barzón in southwest Detroit for some authentic Mexican cuisine with a bit of an Italian influence.

On Saturday, the kids and Mike built a castle at Lowe’s while Hallie returned for her second chiropractic visit this week (this is not a welcome routine, but it does make her back feel better). We spent a chunk of time getting the upstairs spiffied up and the kids' rooms organized. We'll get to work on the downstairs tomorrow!

(Slowly) Getting Back into the New Year’s Groove

After our fireworks extravaganza, we caught a few Zzz’s before going to church and visiting one more time with friends in Bridgewater. We had hoped to make it to the Kentville Ward, but we weren’t able to this trip. Next time, then.

With misty eyes, we hit the road again on Monday to return home. It was as if the weather itself reflected our mood as we drove through driving rain through the morning. We reached St. John, New Brunswick, by the afternoon. After a dip in the pool with the kids and some dinner, Mike ventured out to Freak Lunchbox. We ran out of time to go inside the one in Halifax when we went to the Discovery Centre with Janelle, so Mike was happy to get the chance to see what the buzz was all about. This candy store has a wide variety of common and uncommon loose and pre-packaged candies and other treats. Lots of fun! Mike bought a few treats for the family to try on the road.

We woke up Tuesday to a cold blast and a return to real winter. Our journey brought us down from St. John through to the LL Bean flagship store (among others) in Freeport, Maine, and on to Rochester, New Hampshire.

Yes, those are real fish (trout) swimming in a special tank that makes them feel like they are swimming in a river. 

This clock chimes a tune every hour that you can see play in this large clockwork display. 

The cold continued Wednesday as we drove from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York before ending our time on the road in Warners, New York.

We ended up passing up several interesting sites, including Palmyra and Niagara Falls, as we jetted through New York and Ontario on our way home on Thursday. We were definitely ready to be done with traveling by the time we got home in the afternoon. Hallie pinched a nerve in her back or something and was in a bit of pain, and the kids (troopers through it all) had finally gotten road weary (we’ve put 7,500 miles on the van since October—the van might be a bit weary too). Diamond and Miles helped ensure that everything was clean and in good working order when we got there (thanks so much!). Mike unpacked the car, and we crashed for the night in our own beds for the first time in three weeks.

Mike has been working while we have been traveling, doing some writing and getting classes ready for next semester. Friday he was able to get some work done in earnest in addition to getting things unpacked and put away. The kids played with their new presents. Hallie ran a bunch of errands and visited with friends in the evening.

Landon drew this picture of the four of us.

You can see full faces, and everyone has their arms and legs. Quite the artiste!

Eliza got a big kick out of her new Superstar Stage.

Dancing to the music

Then again, climbing seems fun too!

Diamond headed off to college at BYU-Idaho while we were away (Yay, Diamond! You rock!). As a result, Eliza now has a room of her own again. On Saturday, we spent some more time settling back in and moving Eliza back into her nursery/Mike’s office/Diamond’s old room. Mike and Landon also put together a new dresser for the boy that we had purchased before the trip. His old one, which has seen its share of wear (including being dropped from a moving pickup truck), finally appears to have given up the ghost. Mike’s convinced that the old dresser still has some life to it, but he could just be feeling sentimental because he put the old one together and painted it, so maybe he’ll repurpose it in the basement for a bit.

Hallie’s back pain has continued to persist through today, and after church she holed herself up in the bedroom with some pain killers and muscle relaxers in the hope that something would help. Poor Hallie!

Wrapping Up Another Year

On Christmas Sunday we listened to Neil and other ward members sing and present a beautiful Christmas program. After we got back to the house, we gathered around the tree to open gifts. Landon and Eliza had gotten pretty overstimulated by the end of the day, and they had a hard time going to bed. Austin received the Monopoly Deal card game, and some of us played it to wind up the night.

Santa found Landon and brought him a Buzz Lightyear!

"These aren't the droids you're looking for."

"Try not! Do, or do not. There is no try."

We received a Christmas pickle to hide in the tree. Landon found it and got an extra treat!

Each year, the kids make a train. This time Landon and Eliza got to join in.

Monday was Boxing Day (practically speaking, it’s a lot like Black Friday in the US) and the third day of a four-day weekend, as most Canadians received both Monday and Tuesday off. A bit of new snow fell again overnight, so Landon and Mike played out in it, and a little later Austin came out to join us.

Heh, heh, heh!

Is this why you should never eat yellow snow?

That evening Neil pulled out the Anomia card game, a great Frenchys find (Neil finds the most amazing things at that store. It advertises itself as a used clothing store, but it is much, much more). Between Hallie calling out the category in addition to naming the item from that category and Mike reaching for the card as he was naming his items, we proved to be unconventional card players.

On Tuesday, Mike and Landon shot his bungee rocket in the back yard. That thing could get some real air and distance, even after it came apart. Later on, Mike, Hallie, Kathy, and the little ones went to Lunenburg for Hallie and Kathy’s spa treatment at EmOcean Spa. While the ladies indulged, Mike took the kids around town. Unfortunately, all the shops and museums, including the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic and the Bluenose II restoration, were closed. Still, we managed to see a few things.

Some of the characteristic architecture that helped put Lunenburg on the map as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Note the "Lunenburg bump," a uniquely local feature, on the front of the house.

The harbor at low tide. The red building is the Fisheries Museum.

That evening the Christmas tree came down. Bryce, Janelle, Austin, and Mike pulled out the LEGO VW camper van he received from Landon and Eliza (wink, wink) and had an epic three-hour LEGO build.

1332 pieces; . . .

. . . where to begin?

The engine and dashboard

Interior detail in progress

The camper top raises and lowers. Ooh! Aah!

Janelle and Austin's half: Completed!

With Bryce and Mike's half: The final result.

LEGO sets should definitely be built with friends. Great work, everyone!

Wednesday rain washed most of the previous days’ snow away. Mike, Kathy, and Neil worked, the boys hung out at home, and the girls and kids went to Halifax. Later, Hallie and Kira went over to Kathy’s mom’s house to complete work on a quilt Hallie and Neil had started work on a few days earlier.

We woke up Thursday to no lights. Power came back on before7 AM, but we had the chance to experience near pitch blackness out here in the country. Landon did not understand why we could not either watch TV or go on the Internet. The weather had cleared up, bringing in its wake sun, wind, and chilly temperatures. We wanted to get the kids out of the house to burn off some energy, so we headed to town in the afternoon. Austin came with us as we had lunch and visited Neil where he works at the local hospital cafeteria. From the hospital, we went to the DesBrisay Museum, a true gem of local history.

We've already seen one of these up close and personal this week!

After going to the DesBrisay museum, we drove over toward Lunenburg to see the Halifax and Southwestern Railway Museum. This labor of love has an S scale (1/64 scale, the same as Hot Wheels cars) model of the H&SW Railway as it looked during its heyday. The curator, Duane Porter, knew all sorts of information about the historic railway. In fact, he even said he had a degree in bovine scatology!

We went back to Lunenburg and Mahone Bay on Friday after Hallie spent some more time with Hazel on her quilt. As we drove down to Lunenburg, we took the LighthouseRoute from Bridgewater along the LaHave River and the coast, a very picturesque trip full of scenic waterways, secluded inlets, and brightly colored houses. As we reached the top of a rise near the Topmast Motel, we were treated to an incredible view of Lunenburg Harbour:

We caught up with our friends, the Jewers from Lunenburg and the Davisons from Mahone Bay, and the kids had a chance to show off and get to know everyone. We missed seeing Janelle as she headed back up to Dal while we were out, but we’re glad to know we’ll still be able to keep up with her on Skype.

The last day of the year started cloudy with the threat of rain. We got the house ready for a party to bring in the New Year. Hallie, Kathy, Hazel, and later Neil all collaborated to finish off Hallie’s quilt. Here is the finished result:

Yes, they're American lighthouses,

but there's a Nova Scotia tartan on the back!

Landon, Austin, and Mike took a break to launch Landon’s Mentos and soda geyser.

For some strange reason, soon after we opened the soda bottle it started to foam, so Mike quickly clamped on the Mentos tube, dropped the Mentos in, and jumped back just in time to get this shot without getting too wet.

In the afternoon it finally did start to rain. Landon had some chocolate milk and had produced for himself a wicked good mustache. He didn’t want his picture taken, so Mike showed him how to make a finger moustache.

I mustache you a question, . . .

. . . but I'll shave it for later.

We popped open some Christmas crackers in the early evening.

Is someone afraid of the big, bad noise?

What kind of cheese isn't yours? Nacho Cheese!

As midnight approached, the Dorey kids and their dad fired off this set of fireworks:

Happy New Year 2012!

Reflecting on the year, we’ve had some ups and downs, and we’re glad to report that the ups have outnumbered the downs. We posted less than half as many entries this year as last, but they are full of memories to last a lifetime! Among the highlights: Eliza came into our lives and has grown from a tiny infant to a fast and curious (almost) toddler. Landon continues to amaze. Among his many accomplishments, he learned how to ride a big boy bike, graduated from his speech class, and appeared in a commercial. We were able to do a fair bit of traveling, again having visited both coasts of North America and spent time with family and friends in places both familiar and new. We have made new friends and hard decisions. We successfully sold the condo. We bought a new car. In sum, a lot of what went on this year was pretty ordinary, but we feel so grateful for each bit of it, ordinary and otherwise. We know 2012 will bring more dramatic changes, because that's how we seem to roll. As always, we’ll keep you posted.