After about 18 years the fence to the backyard was taken down and for the first time we saw the neighbors back their instead of just hearing their voices. We estimate the fence was put up in the mid nineties around 96-98 by James’ Grandma (on the Kleiber side). The neighbors behind us have lived their 17 years and have never seen our side of the fence so we know the fence is at least 18 years old, probably older. Speaking with our neighbors on this side of the “wall” we were all amazed that it has been almost two decades since seeing that side of the block.

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James was rewarded for good attendance with a trip to Cedar Point. This would be his second field trip in as many days, the other being Greenfield Village yesterday. We had to drive James to school so that he would be on the bus at 7:15am, then we picked him back up at school at about 10:00pm that night so the kids really got their money’s worth out of the event. The weather could not have been more perfect and James said he enjoyed the roller coasters the most which continues a great tradition of roller coaster riders in the family. In addition to his Mom and Dad both enjoying roller coasters, his Aunt Criss and Cousin Ron are also big time roller coaster fans. Big thanks to his teacher Mr Jernigan for the pictures toward the end of the gallery, the beginning of the gallery are general Cedar Point pics that day taken by Dad who was working in Cleveland that day.

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Recently on a visit to Henry Ford Museum James saw a shovel in cement with Thomas Edison written in the cement celebrating a ground breaking ceremony that happened nearly a century ago. Right after that we saw the entrance to the new Beatle exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum and asked James if he knew who the Beatles were. James replied “yes, they are the ones who wrote their name in cement”. With that answer we knew the Beatle exhibit was not for James but on a recent field trip to Henry Ford for James’ 7th grade class we took the Beatles tour while he was with his classmates and took the following pics.

Continue reading “Greenfield Village Beatles Magic History Tour 2016” →

James got to go on a field trip with his seventh grade class and had a blast. Mom and Dad picked him up at the village to save him the long bus ride home from school (James does not care for the long afternoon bus ride although he does not seem to mind the early bus ride to school). The night before James said he was “tasked” with providing orange drink for the class and bought a pitcher and made everyone orange drink. Mom and Dad were a little suspect as he added more sugar but he claimed he knew what he was doing and it was his special recipe. We packed his orange drink in a cooler but to be safe we went out and added a couple packs of those fruit drinks just in case. Big thanks to his teacher Mr Jernigan for the pictures.

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For the second Sunday in a row we decided late that a trip to Greenfield Village would be a good choice. Today was mostly rainy and we felt that anything outside would be wet, but we saw a couple hour window and took advantage of it. We road the horse carriage, train (where it did rain pretty hard), Model T, and Merry Go Round and had a fun time on each one. Because of the poor weather there were no lines for any of the rides (last week we waited a half an hour to ride the Model T, this time they were waiting on people). On the way back we went through the museum and checked out the train display and the civil rights exhibit.

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Each year on the first Saturday in June Dearborn has its historical district garage sale. The main area is Edison street and surrounding blocks. These blocks are located between Beech, Nowlin, Military, and Monroe so for those familiar with our area drive down Monroe past Outer Drive toward Michigan Ave and turn left on Gregory or Edison which are a few blocks past Outer Drive (although you probably won’t be able to park on either street).

James and I went last year as well, Mom was working our own garage sale that weekend so this year was the first year we went together as a family and while we did not buy much, we saw some interesting sights and had a great time. Plus all the walking had to be good for us.

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While at Greenfield Village on Memorial Day 2016 Mom had her family background checked and found a likely relative who fought in the Civil War. Here is what the research said.

Residence was not listed;
Enlisted on 7/30/1862 as a Hospl Steward.

On 7/30/1862 he mustered into Field & Staff TN 63rd Infantry
He was Surrendered on 4/9/1865 at Appomattox Court House, VA
(Estimated date of enlistment)

Promotions:
* Asst Surgeon

Other Information:
died in 1920 in Gainesville, TX

After the War he lived in Gainesville, TX

Here are 3 links to all the data we have, the pdf was given to us by the people at Greenfield Village.
http://www.civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?SoldierHistory?C&775293

http://www.civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?RegimentHistory?1491&C

Civil-War-History-Landis PDF

Greenfield Village had a re-enactment of the American Civil War and James got a chance to see a bit of how life was like as a soldier in those days. The entire village was an encampment for both the North and South and bivouac tents were everywhere. We took the train around the park and could see the artillery demonstration (cannons firing) from the train. We then stopped off at the historical tent where they check and see if you have any relatives that fought in the Civil war. While Dad’s family moved here after the Civil War, Mom’s family has been in Tennessee for centuries and they found a picture of Mary’s great grandfather from the civil war. They printed out a bunch of documents that we will post here as soon as we get a chance to scan them. After the historical tent we took a ride on the Model T and then went back through the museum to avoid a rain shower. We took a pic of Thomas Edison autograph in cement and of the Beatle exhibit. On the way home we asked James if he knew who the Beatles were and he said “yes, they are the ones who wrote their names in cement”, obviously confusing the last two exhibits.

A great time was had by all and a little Civil War remembrance to help our celebration of Memorial day.

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This week the roads were kind to us. After last weeks construction everywhere we hit very little traffic all day this beautiful Memorial day Saturday. Our first stop was Canterbury Village in Orion Michigan, just a stones throw (about 3 miles) from the Palace. We stopped in at the cider mill, the gift shops, the Christmas shops, and the Department 56 store (which had some pretty good sales going on). The Merry go round store was open as well and its always interesting visiting a store with a huge merry go round in the center of it. We did make a few purchases at the Dept 56 store as they had two bins of items half off. A great start for the Memorial Day weekend.

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Our next stop was three miles down the road to Michigan’s larges outlet shop, Great Lakes Crossing. Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is the market’s dominant retail outlet and entertainment destination, attracting customers throughout the Midwest and Canada. With 185 manufacturer’s outlets and traditional retail stores, Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is Michigan’s only enclosed value-regional mall. With all that going for it I don’t think I have ever bought anything here, however James bought a hat and Mom bought some things at Victoria Secrets so it was a worthwhile trip.

The place is truly gigantic (we walked from the aquarium entrance to the Saks fifth avenue entrance and back again) and despite it’s huge size, it was still packed with people.

The new thing this year is the Aquarium which we will have to visit soon. The picture out front with the giraffe (James is beneath the giraffe to give you a perspective of the size) is actually made completely of Lego’s.

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