Recent Posts
Trick or Treat 2013
Without a doubt this was the most brutal trick or treat that I remember. The same rain the shortened the parade continued throughout the day and into trick or treat. Fortunately James was geared for the weather in his weatherman costume (he was a skeleton underneath actually so he was covered for both types of weather.
The day began with turning on the lights in the wee hours of the morning for James bus. The look of the house changes from morning to evening on Halloween night as decorations are added and some taken away. After James had his parade he came home with his parents and we began work on some pumpkins. Once the pumpkins were finished James was ready for trick or treat and was the first one on the block to do so (due to the rainy weather he was the only kid on the block for most of the night).
James made a pretty good haul considering the weather. The turnout was better as the evening progressed but would still be considered light.
Best Decorated Halloween Homes 2013
There are many houses near ours who do outstanding Halloween decorations so this year we went out a couple times throught the hood and snapped some pictures. Good thing we did this before Halloween because the weather really went bad Oct 31st.
The first trek into the neighborhood we took Aunt Peg with us so she got a chance to see some of the homes in the area. The next trek we took Mom (Aunt Peg ended up in the hospital for a couple days) so you may see a duplicate home (although we did check for duplicates, but not really hard).
Without further ado, the best decorated homes for Halloween this year in our neighborhood.
Manuels Taco Hut Halloween Display 2013
For the second straight year we visited Manuels Taco Hut a day or two before Halloween so I think that makes it officially a new Halloween tradition. We noticed a new talking skeleton that sang Thriller this year, it might have been there last year but if it was we missed it. The place was decorated from top to bottom and the line to get in wrapped outside halfway thru the parking lot. Several real cool animations and projections. The food was very good this year, Mom and Dad had the chicken burrito and James had his standby, chicken tenders and fries – the chicken tenders were shaped like dinosaurs which James enjoyed. Not a crumb was left on his plate when we left.
Manuels does a great job and one of the things they do is wall paper the restaurant in black so that no light is reflected (sort of like a black hole where no light escapes). This gives the restaurant a true Halloween haunted house effect without having any decorations so when you add the quality animations they have you really have a great effect.
For more about Manuels Taco Hut visit their webpage.
James Halloween Party 2013
James had his third annual Halloween Party and had a blast as several of his friends from Hoover and Tulane made it this year. We have the event from 2-6 pm so we never really got too crowded with folks coming in throughout the day. All together we had 20 guests and everyone got to chow on pizza and finger sandwiches along with cake and other things you aren’t supposed to eat (we did have a basket of fruit out as well). Kids played with Wii, pinball, novelties, and crafts.
We decorated the entire home including the new “zombie” room where the kids can go and play video games.
James is very proud of this event and did pretty well as host. He has already got the date for next years party which is the 18th of October. Thanks to all who came and all who helped out.
James Birthday 2013
This years James Birthday was celebrated from morning to night. It began with Mom and Dad dropping off cupcakes for James class so they could have a celebration there and continued when he got home.
James Birthday came at a time when his Aunt was in the hospital. We usually celebrate James birthday with his Aunt Peg since they fall on the same date but with Peg in the hospital it was not to be for this year. James went and visited Aunt Peg, but we decided not to exchange gifts with her till she got home.
We decorated the kitchen up with a couple helium balloons (not as easy to find helium these days, supposedly in a year or two there will not be any helium left on the planet except for the stockpile for blimps and such) and scattered his gifts all around. James received alot of cards from relatives and really did very well for himself with over a $100 in spending money (he is saving the money, which sort of surprised us, as soon as he spends it we will take pics and let everyone know what he bought with it).
After a brief birthday celebration at home we had to go to Hoover school for the Parents/Teachers meeting (which James enjoys as he gets to see some of his classmates after school hours which is always fun).
A very different birthday than the ones in the past, but still a special and fun day.
Rainbow over Home 2013
This is the first time I remember seeing a rainbow right over our own house. James thought it was great and wanted to look for the pot of gold.
Moms Birthday 2013
Mom’s birthday came (as you know she is 29) and we decided to celebrate with a trip to Frankenmuth (our anniversary is also during this time and we ate at Frankenmuth on our Honeymoon so we thought we would do that as well).
However when we arrived we found out that there was a huge festival going on and we could not even park the car because of the large crowd. The parking was completely filled up and it took us 20 minutes just to drive out of the mainstreet area. There was also an auto show going on along with the festival so it was a very busy little town. We went to Bronners for a look at the latest Christmas decorations, then went to Spirit Halloween in Bridgeport for a look at the latest Halloween decorations (Mary had a coupon for 20% off and we used it to buy a microwave cling that we will use this Halloween). We ate at a restaurant on the way home and had a great time even though it was not the chicken dinner we were expecting to have when the day started.
On the way home we stopped at a couple shops, James picked out a few things as well so it was really quite the day!
End of Summer 2013
This summer started off hot then cooled down, but James did take advantage of both the hot days and the cool days in various ways. For the real hot days he had his slip and slide going in the back yard, cooler days he would work on his chalk projects.
After the Fourth of July it seemed the weather really became mild with average temperatures in the mid 70 – mid 80. This was unusual to be this cool in July and August but opened the door for many outdoor adventures where you did not have to avoid the sunlight.
Highlights of this year for James would have to include the slip and slide days of June, Mackinaw, VIP camp, and all the fireworks on the Fourth of July (we trusted James to light a few this year).
James will begin 5th grade tomorrow and we are all looking forward to that. Mrs Jent will be his teacher again this year and we are all happy about that.
Last Spring when summer started for James he brought home a sunflower from school that he planted, shown here is James and the sunflower and how well he took care of it.
City of Detroit 2013
Dad had some business downtown and spent some time in downtown Detroit. We were right across the street from Hart Plaza and had a great view of the Ren Cen from our window.
During lunch break I was able to get some great pictures of some of the art around Detroit. To my surprise I found a bust of Abraham Lincoln in the woods (I saw it from the window and investigated it from there, you cannot see it from the street as it is surrounded by trees). I also saw the Princess boat which has dancing and a night club atmosphere, reminded me of the Boblo boats which my family road so many times in the past.
Great parking available, I parked in the center medium on Jefferson, take the Lodge to Jefferson, then right past the “fist” is an underground parking structure in the center medium that is very convenient in and out. Rates go from $5 to $15 ($15 is for a full day of parking)
Mackinaw 2013
A quick visit to Mackinac city on a beautiful summer day. James got to stop at Sea Shell City on the way up as well and picked up a new hat for his collection. We noticed that a new attraction was at Mackinaw Crossings – a Haunted House. We did not go through the house but it looked pretty cool from the outside. James and Mary spent most of the time at the beach where the air so so clear you could see past the UP as far as the horizon. We had smelt baskets for lunch, a treat for Mary and then picked up some fudge, a treat for James.
Note for historians – Why James is holding his breath and making silly faces in these pictures I have no idea.
