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Full Rainbow Over The House
James wants to be a weather man when he gets older so naturally he is fascinated with weather, both good and bad weather. Jame’s favorite weather is a rainbow and it is rare that he see’s a full rainbow (a rainbow that goes 180 degrees across the horizon, most only go 90 degrees) and its even rarer that he see’s a full rainbow right smack dab over his own house.
James was “johnny on the spot” as soon as he spotted it hovering over the garage in the back yard. According to our calculations there should be a pot of gold on Pardee and/or Vassar as that appeared to be where the rainbow started and ended.
Summer Pool Fun 2014
With summer finally here we had a couple weeks before James VIP camp started and James took advantage of the situation by swimming in his new pool several times a day. Once VIP camp started, James continued to use the pool on a pretty much daily basis.
However in August James rarely used the pool, perhaps because there was so much going on, or perhaps because it was no longer a novelty. Regardless, the first two months of summer and the pool were a wonderful time for everyone, even though it was hard to maintain and keep clean (IE we could no longer mulch the back yard when mowing or the clippings would end up in the pool).
Chasing a Rainbow at a Softball Game 2014
James and Dad went to the park (despite a slight rain) to watch some of Dad’s friends play softball at Levigood (spelling??? The park outside Divine Child high school) park in Dearborn Heights. James spent most of the time playing in the park nearby, but was on hand when the game went into extra innings. The game went into extra inning and (unfortunately) Dad’s friends lost in the extra innings. All the same it was a fun visit for both James and Dad, who used to play softball not that long ago.
On the way home we were treated to a rainbow hovering over Dearborn Heights. James decided he wanted to chase it down so we continued past Dearborn Heights into Taylor but the rainbow continued to elude us, going more and more South the close we came to it. Although we came close, we never did catch up to the rainbow.
Finally the rainbow disappeared altogether and James and Dad returned home from a fun afternoon in “the heights”.
Continue reading “Chasing a Rainbow at a Softball Game 2014”
Bad Omen on Happy Meal Day 2014
James still likes McDonald’s Happy Meals. He still gets the smallest one they have since they are probably not that healthy, but they usually are Happy! James enjoys the nuggets and dips them in ranch dressing.
Not a whole lot can go wrong while you are waiting at the drive thru at McDonalds, but things got scary when we realized the customer ahead of us was driving a hearse.
Actually the hearse was a promotional vehicle for a Halloween event and the owners were just taking it out for a summer spin to keep it in running shape.
Despite that, the initial reaction of seeing a hearse in front of you at the drive thru is still an unsettling experience for most, but James took it in stride and wanted to know why we didn’t drive around in a hearse.
At least James got his Happy meal ok
VIP Camp 2014
After a year of waiting James got to attend his VIP camp. This year they had more field trips including the zoo, Turtle Cove, Heritage Park, and Texas Roadhouse. One of the pictures is at the Texas Roadhouse with Jame’s friend, Dynamike, who is a Master Magician in Michigan. When not on the road the kids participated in various games and crafts for a six week period. Mom and Dad had to keep up with the lunch schedule since sometimes James had to brown bag, other times he had to pay for a lunch. Lots of fun and it kind of reminded us all of school recess, except this recess lasted about six hours each day.
James plans on returning next year and participated in several fund raisers for the camp later on in the summer. Below are pics from several different days.
Garage Sale 2014
We decided to try our hands at another garage sale. Jame’s had outgrown a bunch of toys and mom and dad needed to make some room in the house. We did not have a garage sale for two years so we were due.
While the garage sale did ok, the gist of this post has to do with who visited the garage sale. The first day, Dynamo the Clown stopped by and bought a few things on the way to a show on Pelham street. We thought that took the cake, but the very next day a family showed up in a golf cart.
All in all, the garage sale was a success and we are thinking about possibly having another one in mid to late September to help us make room for Halloween, if needed. I can’t wait to see who will visit us then.
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.
