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Frankenmuth Spring 2016
What started out as a simple trip to the post office ended being a great time in Frankenmuth. After dropping of some packages at the Post Office James wanted to know where 1 mile is. He thought it was Ford road so we set the trip odometer to zero at Ford road and found out Ford road is actually zero mile road and Warren is 1 mile road. We kept clocking the mile roads till we got to Pontiac, then decided to head to Frankenmuth since we were already half way there. 75 North was closed so we picked up 75 in Waterford and had a great time. James bought several books at a book sale at the River Place Shops, Dad got a haunted train engine at Bronners, and Mom got to do some antique shopping. Afterward we at lunch at the Bavarian Inn (where James actually bought lunch for a horse). On the way home traffic on 75 in Pontiac again slowed us down but it hardly put a damper on a great day with great weather in a great little tourist town.
Bronners Spring 2016
Our first stop usually when entering Frankenmuth is Bronners Christmas store. Bronner’s promotes itself as the “World’s Largest Christmas Store”. Designed with an Alpine architecture and operating year-round, the building is 7.35 acres in size with landscaped grounds covering 27 acres. Here is a little trivai – The electric bill alone is $1,250 per day – John Wayne ordered his Santa Suit from Bronners in 1976 – Over 100,000 ornaments are hand painted at Bronners each year.
While primarily known for Christmas, they do have a large selection of the other holidays available year round which makes it a great place to stop for people who enjoy any of the holidays.
Pool Time 2016 Begins
Our little pool has made it to its third year, although we had to replace a hose and a pump. Still a pretty good value for us because we actually compared reviews and this pool was the only one at any price that did not get any bad reviews. This year James picked out a new light that is really cool and acts like a fountain. It’s actually on the exit side of the pump, attached with a hose, and the light is generated from hydro power in the same way bicycles generate light from peddling. In the evening it creates a colored atmosphere on the whole inside of the pool which should be handy on July 4th when James stays up late and watches fireworkds from his pool.
James spent about an hour in the pool today (mid 70’s so its still a little cool around here) and enjoyed the new sprinkling water from the pump (during the daylight you cannot even tell there are lights in it unless you look real close).
James Achievement Award Pics & Video 2016
James was honored for his work at school, specifically in Geography, and everyone was thrilled with this academic achievement. James is having a very good year at school and we expect bigger and better things from him next year. He is learning discipline, albeit somewhat slowly but he is getting there. Each morning he does his Yoga exercises before a two hour bus drive to school so his school day is a little longer than most but he has learned to make the best of it. James and his family wanted to thank his teachers for their efforts and patience with James who can be a bit of a handful at times.
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Mothers Day 2016
The weather was perfect this Mothers day. The day began with a trip to Michigan Memorial Cemetery where we put flowers on everyone’s grave. The flowers were so new that they had not bloomed yet so they should look pretty good all week. We were very pleased to see how well maintained Raymond’s grave was compared to in the past. After the flowers we went and ate lunch at Red Lobster where Mom got crab linguini, Dad got the sailors platter, and James got crab legs. The next stop was the antique store where Mom got to do a little shopping, followed by a trip to Dearborn Market for some flowers. All in all a real great day!
Abbotts Flea Market 2016
Mary and James worked a table at the 2016 Magic Flea Market which is now known as the Hank Moorehouse Flea Market and Auction in honor of the man who started it almost 40 years ago. James loves this event because he enjoys both selling and buying. The event was very well attended and had many magicians show up either selling or buying magic. In the past we have found some very good values here and sometimes Halloween stuff. After the event we traveled to the Three Amigo’s restaurant in Jackson and feasted on a late Cinco De Mayo meal that tasted that much better because we were all tired from the long day. Once we got home, Mary found a package containing a shirt she won on Ebay so it was a fitting conclusion to a very fun day.
Mackinaw In March 2016
Not a whole lot going on in Mackinaw this time of year, but James had a pretty good time shopping in Sea Shell City and visiting the shops that were open. When we first arrived you could not see the bridge because of the fog which disappointed James a bit, so we decided to eat lunch in the city (Audi’s Smelt Baskets) and lucky for us by the time we finished eating enough of the fog had lifted so that you could see the bridge (not well, but you could see the towers). We did take a couple pics of the town, since we rarely see the roads this empty and seeing all the Mackinaw ferry boats in a dry dock was a very unusual site. But its still Mackinaw and still very beautiful.
Easter 2016
It was an early Easter this year, but that did not stop the weather from hitting the 70’s and creating just the most perfect day. Our day started off early with James Easter egg hunt, however it wasn’t Easter eggs this year but rolls of coins for his coin collection. James found them all, but it took a little time and we had to give him clues (getting hotter, getting colder) for the last two. Mom made a pancake breakfast then James dyed eggs. We took advantage of the nice weather for a Spring day drive and stopped at a Dairy Queen for the first ice cream of the year. After Easter dinner we had a slice of the cake Aunt Peg got us from Swiss Colony and relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful Spring day.
James Roller Coaster Project
For the past few weeks James and other students at LPMS have been working on a roller coaster project to demonstrate potential and kinetic energy. The roller coaster could be built out of any material you like and would be a big part of his grade in class. James picked out material from home (pvc and tubing) and bought some flexible tubing at Home Depot (the kind you use for air conditioners to vent the water). James worked with other students on this project and we received this video from his school as he explains where the potential and kinetic energy reaches their highs and lows.
Leap Year Puzzle Day 2016
The weather the past few days has been warm with mild 60 degree weather. 1/15 percent to 21/300 percent of puzzle complete. We could of start a 3000 piece puzzle but it would be a 20 day early start from 2/29/2016. The 2,000 piece puzzle took 1/2 month without break from puzzle. 2000 piece puzzle time line is 9/18/2015 to 2/8/2016. The warm weather in February is awesome and we hope it continues for March, although it is expected to snow tomorrow.
