While we were visiting Annapolis to watch James receive an award, Dad took advantage of the situation and went on a little tour of his old stomping ground. Dad graduated 42 years ago from the same School that James will shortly graduate from so he knew his way around the place. The auditorium will be torn down this summer which is why there are so many pictures of the auditorium. The pool and the gym look great. We were told that the gym was remodeled a few years back which might explain why it looks so good. The school has really not changed that much since Dad graduated there in 1979 (The school opened in 1966 so its really had much more history after Dad left than before he came there). Continue reading “A Visit To Annapolis High School” →

Earlier in the week there was an honor awards event at Annapolis but they did not allow parents, instead they broadcasted the event on Facebook. This time we were able to attend an award ceremony since only two kids were receiving them. The award is the first Dale Preussner Scholarship and it was awarded to a boy and girl and was in the amount of $1,000 to be put towards his continuing education (which looks like Wayne County Community College).

James actually knew Dale Preussner and when he passed on attended the funeral to pay his respects. James said he was one of his favorites at Annapolis so it was especially nice to receive this scholarship for James. Continue reading “James Receives Dale Preussner Scholarship” →

The whole family worked on this parade. Dad took the day off so he could help Mom with the cleaning of the car, then the decorating begins and the car turned out better than we imagined. James drove in the parade but because he only has a drivers permit it meant that Dad had to accompany him on the trip.

The parade began at Mayfair where the cars lined up in the big parking lot adjacent to the board. The parade then went down Annapolis street where it turned into the old St. Albert parking lot and then went back down Annapolis to the Mayfair. It was a great time.

James enjoyed it very much and especially because he got to drive in it. It was kind of strange telling him to ignore stop signs and such as he was still learning how to drive (he has over 50 hours so he has met the state requirement, the testing facility he wants to go to (Apollo) has not opened since the pandemic so we hope that business survived. Continue reading “Annapolis Seniors Parade 2021” →

Easter weather this year was very mild despite the fact that Easter was a little early this year. The duck family made their annual visit, this time under the watchful eye of “turtle” (yes, we have a cat named turtle). The pandemic is still going on and we are pretty much not allowed much socializing in our home despite that we have all begun our vaccinations.

This year we really enjoyed the bunny blow molds in the window, I think we had them outside last year and we really do not have enough to make an effective outdoor display (and we don’t want to since we go all out for Christmas and Halloween).

Easter was great this year, but this pandemic stuff is getting old pretty fast now.
Continue reading “Easter 2020” →

VIP camp came into play this day for the first time in a long time due to the pandemic. The staff was working a booth at the National Guard in Taylor MI. It was called “Meet The National Guard” and was open to the public. Military vehicles were on display and for the first time we were able to try out the Halloween Benefit Books we made up before the Pandemic began. Later a military helicopter made its appearance and landed in the parking lot.

James helped work the VIP camp booth as his parents dropped him off and picked him up. He has his learners permit but is unable to take his test since Apollo driving school has not opened up since the pandemic closed everything down. Continue reading “VIP Camp at the National Guard” →

Dad had businessup north at Vanderbilt MI and took the opportunity to visit a friend and drop of some St. Albert aprons and such that he had picked up when St. Alberts was closing (they had a garage sale). Dad’s friend Jim M gave Dad a little tour of the coastline park which had its own clock tower sort of similar to back to the future, except there was not a court house attached to it. The weather was pretty brutal and the roads were not exactly in the best shape since it was the heart of the winter season when Dad made the trip.

Anyhow it had been a while since Dad was anywhere except work and it was nice to see a different city as the pandemic is really putting a hit on travel in Michigan. Continue reading “A Trip to Petoskey Michigan” →

Christmas finally arrived and once again Santa delivered. Lots of thanks to all the friends and family who sent us cards and gifts this year. Lots of digital gifts too as most of the day after Christmas was spent hooking up printers, digital frames, ear pods, and many other items that required “work” to get them going. James got a chance to talk to both Aunt Criss and Grandma on Christmas eve which was about all the socializing we were allowed to do this year due to the pandemic.
After the gift opening we enjoyed binge watching the “God is not Dead” series of movies which were very good and inspiring especially during Christmas.

Continue reading “Christmas 2020” →