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4th of July 2014
James found a new way to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, in his pool. James got to witness quite a show as the rockets were red glare most of the night July 4th. The new law makes it legal to shoot off most any type of firework and to be honest it sounded like a war zone in the city. Spectacular displays as close as a few houses away made this a very special Fourth of July.
With the combination of the pool and the fireworks James agreed that this was probably one of his favorite Fourths ever. Later we set off our own fireworks out front (with the pool in the back we did not want to take any chances). Mom joined us as we stayed up till almost midnight fighting the mosquito’s and having a great Fourth of July holiday!
Everyone enjoyed sleeping in the next day as we all “seized the moment” this year!
James Graduation Gift – A Pool in 2014
As agreed upon way back in the cold days of February, James got his pool upon successful graduation and continuous good behavior at school. James was very excited about the pool and even when there was only one inch of water in it, he got in. Saturday we got the pool about half full and Sunday evening it was completely full. Monday James had to wear a white t shirt in the pool because he was getting a lot of sun, even with layers of cream on.
All in all a wonderful experience for James and he certainly has already gotten his money worth out of the pool (we actually bought the pool on a Memorial Day sale at Walmart, where we paid online and picked it up about a week later at the store).
Also, the title of this post “End of Spring” was Jame’s idea since he is ready for summer and the upcoming summer VIP camp that he is so fond of attending.
James Graduates Hoover Elementary
Wednesday June 11 at about 1:30 pm James graduated from Hoover elementary, the second Kleiber ever to do so (The first was Uncle Don a few decades earlier). James graduated with honors and we were very proud of him. James did not stay too long afterwards because he had a loose tooth and it was bothering him.
We took him to the dentist that afternoon and the dentist “wiggled” the tooth out so James had graduation and the dentist on the same day. The next day was an optional half day for kids and Jame’s whole class turned out for the optional half day, knowing that they would probably not see Hoover elementary for a while.
James was promised a lunch of his choice but because his tooth was bothering him on graduation, his special lunch was delayed for a day. He ended up at his favorite restaurant, the China Buffet.
The Hoover Times 2014
Although James will not officially graduate till the middle of next week, already he is beginning to realize that he is going to miss much about Hoover elementary. His fellow classmates, his teachers, and the good times he has had there for over 5 years.
James enjoyed a luncheon today at a restaurant (Thanks to Mrs Jent and Principle Mr. Falahee)and received a small remembrance in the form of a book called “Hoover Times”. We scanned it into pdf form and you can download it below.
Our entire family would like to thank the administrators, teachers, and students of Hoover Elementary for all their work and friendship with James. He is becoming quite the young man and we thank Hoover Elementary for helping to make him the person he is today and hopefully we (his family) and Lincoln Park Middle School can continue to guide him along this path.
Memorial Day 2014
For once we had a three day weekend where the weather lived up to the billing. Beautiful all three days and James took advantage of it. Yesterday we went to the Magic Capital and had a blast, today was more traditional as we did our traditional flowers and flags on the graves.
While at the Michigan Memorial James visited the Veteran’s Memorials and 911 Memorials. As hinted to above, we also visited our family plots to see if Aunt Louise had gotten her temporary marker yet (she did, its in the pics). On the way back we hit the many Flea Markets and Garden sales around town, Mom got some flowers, Jame’s got some toys, and Dad got a rubber skull.
Later we grilled out and had a wonderful (and traditional) Memorial Day Barbecue.
Memorial Day Trip to the Magic Capitol
This Memorial Day Weekend began a little differently with a visit to Colon’s “Magic Park” where James got to play at the playground, then it was on to the magic shop to watch some magic. We then ate lunch at Curly’s which had only opened about 2 months earlier (the entire building was ravaged by a fire about two years ago and was completely rebuilt. Curly’s is well known to magicians as they have an annual magic competition on Thursday during the Magic Get Together. The event takes place late in the evening (after the evening magic show) and since its at a bar, its usually a real fun time.,
Lots of people don’t realize that the Magic Capitol of the World is located right here in Michigan, where they have been celebrating magic at their convention since the early thirties.
St Sebastian Festival 2014
St Sebastians had their annual festival which James attended and he went on most of the rides and had a great time. Tickets were 22 for $25 or 4 for $5 and the rides cost 2,3, or 4 tickets. James went on the funhouse twice, both times with Dad. Then he went on an airplane ride, a whirli ride with Mom, then the Ferris Wheel, then the Merry Go Round with Mom, and finally a Hollywood spining ride again with Mom (Dad does not like things that spin). After all the rides we went to have a snack, Mom and Dad got funnel cakes ($6 each) while James decided on cotton candy ($5 each). A great time was had by all and although the prices seemed a little steep, the money went to a good cause. We still miss the St Albert festival, mostly because we could walk to it.
Hoover Elementary Mom and Son Game Night 2014
James and Mom attend the Mother and Son night at Hoover elementary. My understanding is it kind of makes up for the Father and Daughter dance held earlier in the year. Refreshments were available and their were many games and activities for the kids to play. James was quite proficient in explaining new games to Mom that she had never seen before and most of the time spent was playing games (I guess that’s why its called “game night”. James brought home a huge styro-foam airplane that we flew in the back yard that evening.
All in all a great time for everyone, except Dad of course.
Continue reading “Hoover Elementary Mom and Son Game Night 2014”
Mothers Day 2014
Another beautiful day for Mom, and the weather wasn’t bad either! The day started out as a typical Sunday as we took Aunt Peg shopping. Afterwards, we went out to the cemetery and paid our respects. James cleaned up some of the graves and added flowers to others. The weather was so perfect and bright that we could not see the pic in the view finder and kind of just shot blindly. We visited both the Kleiber side of the family and the Graf side of the family.
We noticed the rock around Jame’s Great Grandfather Graf is beginning to break. The grave is 70 years old so its probably not a surprise. Also Aunt Peg thought that there would be a temporary marker for Aunt Louise out there, unfortunately there wasn’t yet.
We traveled a little further South to one of Mary’s favorite antique shops where she got a little shopping spree as a Mothers day gift. We’ve pretty much done this same routine every Mothers day but deviated a little by eating at a Mexican restaurant instead of a Chinese restaurant (we had Chinese the day before on the way back from the Flea Market).
A fun time was had by all – Happy Mothers day!
Abbotts Magic Flea Market 2014
For the third year in a row, Mom worked a flea market table at the annual Abbott Flea Market in Colon Michigan. It was a perfect day and James was able to take advantage of some of the recreational activities at the new park behind the school. James was a big help as he helped label items and such, he has come a long way from his first Flea Market where he told a customer everything was a “nickel”.
In addition to helping Mom sell, James also bought a few tricks, including a glass effect that is a real fooler. Lots of fun for a kid at these events. He also was given a T shirt by one of the dealers and some candy and a “fart maker” by another dealer. How can a kid go wrong?
Afterwards we went to a China buffet and for the first time ever, Mom and Dad got the same fortune cookie message.
