We're Back!

We are back from our trip to Michigan. Jack and I had a good time. I took him to my high school's homecoming game. He was pretty enthralled with the whole thing and was so cute when he shouted "Go Pennfield!". He thought the coolest thing was the Corvettes that drove the homecoming court onto the football field. And when the football players ran right by us at halftime, he told me that he wanted to be just like them. Yeah I can see my future Friday nights sitting on bleachers. It was good to see the old school and yet surreal at the same time. I am sure that there were people there that I knew, but ya know 20+ years changes people and the only person that I knew I recognized was Steve G. who now is a coach for Pennfield. And poor Pennfield lost really bad - something like 42-12. Ouchie.



The rest of the time we spent with Grammy and Papa. We went for a hike in the woods across the street from my parents. It is kind of sad that the pristine 300 acres of woods that I remember are going to be developed in the very near future. Hopefully they keep the natural beauty that is there. We took this one last chance to hike back in there for a couple of miles. Jack of course loved every minute of it and tried to carry out half the rocks. Every pocket was filled with rocks by the time we were done.



It was good to get back to Michigan. Jack was spoiled of course by Grammy and Papa.

Michigan Pictures

Grammy and Jack

Jack and Papa

Papa and Jack walking.

The pretty backyard at Grammy and Papa's.

Jack and Papa out for a walk.

Me trying to be all fancy with my camera. I thought this turned out pretty good. One of the flowers in my Dad's garden.

Papa and Jack on the hike in the woods. I love this picture.

Jack and Papa inspecting a hole in the tree. I think Jack was expecting to see Chip and Dale in there.

Picture of a fallen tree in the woods.

Picture of Deep Lake in the woods.

Picture of Goose Lake in the woods. If you walk up a hill you can see both lakes at the same time on both sides of the hill. Very beautiful.

Jack in the woods.

Jack inspecting something in the woods.

Jack and Grammy walking up the driveway.

Jack, Grammy and Papa swinging at the park.

Jack on the scary steep stairs to the twisty slide.

Grammy and Jack at the Bridge Park. Cute picture.

Jack at the Bridge Park.

Papa and Jack at the Bridge Park.

Grammy and Jack on the bridge at the Bridge Park.

Throwing sticks into the river.

Jack plays with the blocks that Papa made for him.

And We Are Off

Jack and I are off to Michigan tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, Jim has to stay home and work. The life of a cop. And somebody has to take care of the gazillion animals we have!

I am hoping to meetup with some high school friends (Amy and Stef) and even catch my old high school homecoming game. I think Jack might get a kick out of that.

I do have to say that I am actually sorta looking forward to this plane ride with Jack. I think I brought enough stuff for him to do that he won't get too bored (dvd player and a bunch of movies). It is so much easier to take off with him these days than when he was a baby. I still remember going back to Michigan with him by myself when he was seven months old and having nightmares for weeks beforehand about the whole plane ride. And then there was the time when we were coming home with him having a 102 fever - that was the worst ever. So dare I say I might even be able to sit back and read a magazine?!?

Back Home

The big reason Jack and I went to Michigan was because of Papa's big birthday. He turned 80 years old. He is quite a celebrity in town because he was the first baby born in the local hospital and thus a local hero and part of local history. Here is a link to the newspaper article about him. Of course you can't trust the media these days because they have my age wrong at 32 instead of almost 40 (gasp). Hehe I can take a wrong age that way any day.

We are very happy to have Papa still with us because if we were betting people, we would not have bet 25 years ago, he would still be with us at 80. He has 20% left of his heart after a massive heart attack, but he is still doing great and still able to get out in the snow and play with Jack. He even helped us build a snowman. Happy Birthday Papa!

We had the opportunity to tour a local fire station while in Michigan, thanks to my 2nd cousin Steve, who is a "real fireman". Oooohhh. WoW! He was so nice to us and we all got to ride on the big fire truck, even Grammy and Papa and Mama! Of course, Jack was all smiles while on the truck. Steve showed us all kinds of neat fireman gadgets that Jack just thought was the neatest things since trains!

Jack, the real fireman, putting on his mask and air tank. Yes, he was very thrilled.

Jack playing with the hoses, just like a real fireman.

Jack and Cousin Steve the Fireman looking at the thermal image camera, which by the the way, was totally cool.


We arrived back home last night. Of course, the plane was late leaving Grand Rapids, which meant we missed our flight out of Atlanta. In fact, as we were pulling up to the gate in Atlanta, I watched my Gulfport bound plane taxi away without me and Jack. So then we had to wait almost 3 hours in Atlanta, during which time, Jack and another little boy crawled all over the floor playing trains. Jack was absolutely filthy by the time we finally got home.

My husband, being the greatest husband in the world, cleaned the house from top to bottom. It was absolutely spotless when we walked through the door. However, Jack could not let it stay that clean for more than a few minutes. It is back to having trains, trucks, cars, and tractors strewn all over the place. But there was a few minutes there where it was clean. I can say that I DID have a clean house at one point in time.

More Michigan Fun

We are still in Michigan having all kinds of Michigan fun. Yesterday Jack had the opportunity to ride Papa's tractor and ride in the bucket. Kind of a full circle moment for me because I rode in that same tractor bucket as a kid many times myself and thought it was more fun than any Disney ride. Jack, of course, thought it was pretty cool also.

Jack also figured out the joys of sledding on snow. We went up and down the hill many many times. Of course, the going down part is lots of fun.

But there is always the proverbial "walk up the hill dragging your sled". Jack had quite the difficult time walking up the little hill beside the house. The snow was almost up to his butt. However, he was willing to do it over and over and over again.

SNOW!

Jack and I arrived in Michigan on Thursday. It was a balmy 15 degrees that day and I think Jack was a bit speechless for a few minutes after venturing out into the cold. However, the boy LOVES snow. Here are a few pictures of him playing in Grammy and Papa's yard.

Grandpa and Jack  

Grandma and the sleeping Prince Jack 

Pretty Michigan fall colors 

Grandma and Grandpa's backyard - pretty fall colors