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Trick or Treat 2015
James dressed up as Luigi this year, staying with the Mario Brother theme. James set a new record by trick or treating all the way to Academy (the previous record was Grindley which is one block closer. James favorite candy was nerd candy and sometimes Dad could hear him asking “Do you have any nerds?” as he trick or treated.
Mom handed out candy and dressed up as a pizza this year. Probably an average crowd showed up trick or treating due to the light rain which was more of an irritant than anything else.
Halloween at Manuels Taco Hut 2015
Our tradition at Manuels Taco Hut continues as we at their Halloween day for lunch. The place opened at 1pm and their was a line outside well before it opened. Luckily we made it in the first seating so we did not have to wait for people to finish. We noticed a couple new things including a clown mirror, a talking girl corpse, and a un-living portrait that actually used the same program that we use, only they have it in a much larger frames. James ordered chicken nuggets and french fries while Mom and Dad got their usual burrito meal.
One thing that we noticed was missing was the singing pirate in the treasure chest, wonder if they are just rotating their props or if something happened to him? When we left it had just begun to sprinkle so it looks like we will have a wet Halloween for the 3rd year in a row.
Manuel’s Taco Hut is located on Ecorse Road in Taylor MI (just East of Pelham Road) and is open year round.
Halloween at Greenfield Village 2015
James was given 3 passes to Greenfield Village by one of his friends family (Thanks Ben’s Dad) and when we had a choice of wasting another Sunday on the Lions or visiting Greenfield Village we took the obvious choice. We were hoping to go on Saturday but because of the rain we postponed it till Sunday. James had lots of fun as usual and acted as our tour guide on this visit and used the map he was given to navigate us through the village. Pumpkins were everywhere and it was the perfect combination of Fall, Halloween, and History by the people of Greenfield Village and Ford Motor (James Grandad and Great Grand Dad both retired from Fords). In fact, we even saw Ben’s Dad there driving a horse drawn carriage. Mom’s favorite part was the Robert Frost house while James enjoyed the graveyard. Dad’s favorite was the creepy little forest with the spiders in the tree.
Everytime we go to the village or the museum here we have a great time, why we don’t go more often I will never know.
Best Decorated Halloween Homes 2015
We do this every few years and take pics of some of our favorite Halloween homes. All of these are a few blocks from James and all are unique in one way or another. There are many many more decorated homes but we only have space to put up a few of our favorites. These homes look very good in the daylight so you have to assume they look great at night. The neighborhood we live in has always been very active in decorating for every Holiday, guess we are just lucky. One of our favorites is the skeleton tree where all the skeletons are made out of gallon milk jugs.
Lincoln Park Middle School Football 2015
James and his dad went to the last Lincoln Park Middle School home football game which featured Lincoln Park vs Southgate in two football games. The first was the JV game (or 7th graders I believe) and the second was the Varsity game (8th Graders).
The event was very well organized and included a half time show by the cheerleaders and even concessions. Each quarter was ten minutes and the clock only seemed to stop when a timeout was called or when there was a possession change.
James had a blast rooting his school on and wants to see more football in the future. Maybe a trip to the “Big House” is what he needs in the future.
James Halloween Party 2015
James had his annual Halloween party and everyone had a wonderful time. Its really hard to believe that this is his fifth year of doing this, and he (or should I say “we”) are still having fun. This year we had plenty of crafts for the kids, and also a few jokes and magic effects. We often say this isn’t really a party, more of a get together or open house since we don’t have any scheduled events or anything like that. Folks can stop in from 2pm till 7pm to say hi and can stay for a few minute or a few hours, whatever their schedule allows. James is very thankful to all who did attend and plans to have his 2016 Halloween Party on Oct 22nd, 2016.
Please note that the video below is a multiple video playlist, to play from the beginning simply click play, to view the list and jump around click the upper left corner of the playlist with the three horizontal lines.
James Returns From Howell Summer Camp 2015
James returned to us today after a week camping in Howell. It was an awesome experience for him as his group leader was his 2015/2016 teacher and also his 2014/2015 teacher was a group leader. James enjoyed the fishing but said it was too noisy to catch anything and the fish stayed away. He also enjoyed the camp fires and smores as well as the zip lining where he told us he was about a 100 feet in the air. His all time favorite however was meeting all the animals at the nature preserve.
So many stories for Mom and Dad that he didn’t really know where to begin. We treated James to a Happy Meal and salad as he was pretty hungry from the bus ride and had not eaten lunch yet.
James is already looking forward to camping next year, two more weeks and he will see most of the people again as he enters 7th grade.
Continue reading “James Returns From Howell Summer Camp 2015”
James Leaves For Howell Summer Camp 2015
This was a big day for James as he headed off for a week of summer camp in Howell MI. We had to be at the school at 7am but unfortunately the bus was late and James did not actually leave until a little after 9am, but we are sure it will be well worth the wait for him as they have all sorts of cool activities planned. James was happy to see all the other kids (all from Middle School and a few from High School) especially the ones in his class like Jonathon and Dillon. This will mark the longest time James has been away from us. Looking back he spent one night with his Aunt Criss at a hotel, and he spent one day with Dad while Mom flew to Nashville, so James has not really been away from his family all that much and I am sure we will miss him this week.
Hopefully he will have many stories to tell us when he returns because he won’t have pictures since they don’t allow cell phones, computers, laptops, iPads, iPods, or anything else electronic at camp. We have to wonder who James will miss most, his family, his cats, or his iPad.
Abbotts 78th Magic Get Together 2015
As our list of annual events really takes hold in late July and early August, we made it to our 8th Magic Get Together in Colon Michigan. This time we split up as Mom stayed at the magic shop and watched a magic show there, while Jame’s and Dad went to the High School and watched another magic show there. James wanted to see the show more than ever this year because Dynamike from Detroit was performing and he is Jame’s favorite magician. James and other kids were invited onstage to see the magic closeup and James really loved that. This stage has seen Blackstone Sr, Blackstone Jr, Lance Burton, Franz Harary, and now it has seen James. After the show we all met up and went to the park, then headed back home with a stop in Jackson where James found a 5000 piece puzzle he wants for his birthday. All in all a great end to a great day.
