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Dads Birthday 2013
It was a busy day today for everyone with work, school, and Santa’s Magic Forest so its no wonder that we got a late start on Dads birthday.
As usual, Dad got a special chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and everyone enjoyed a late birthday snack on this cold December day. 53 years ago Dad was born, kind of amazing how the time flies when you are having fun.
Dad gets most of his gifts the day after Halloween, when Mom goes to the after Halloween sales and picks up whatever Dad needs for the next Halloween party. Still, plenty of gifts to open today for Dad.
Santa’s Magical Forest 2013
James and his family visited Santa’s Magic Forest at Taylor’s Heritage park and he caught up with several of his friends from summer VIP camp. Talking to the people who put this on they explained some of the decorations are from the old Hudson’s Christmas display that many adults remember fondly. It is all volunteer work (20 some setup days, 20 some people and 486 man hours) and the money raised helps several local food pantries.
James had a blast not only seeing friends he had not seen since summer but also with the elaborate animatronic displays and even a visit to ol St Nick. Big thanks to our friends at VIP camp for putting this event together. For more information about this event you can see the flyer, they are open till Dec 22nd this year.
Pearl Harbor Remembered in Original Christmas Poem
Mom tells the tale of “One Magical Christmas” which tells how a small town in Michigan reacted to the 1941 attack. Based of facts that she researched from that time period.
Thanksgiving Visit to Detroit’s Henry Ford Hospital 2013
Aunt Peg was at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit over the holidays and James and his Dad made a visit to see her and were surprised at all the magnificent Christmas decorations that were on display there.
Dad was born at Henry Ford Hospital (and so was his Dad James Grandpa and both Aunt Peg and Aunt Criss – the place has been around since 1915 or so) so it has a special meaning to him (although he does not remember his last visit here, it might have been when he was born).
Aunt Peg was doing ok but was very tired and not interested in taking pictures, however she would recover and a few weeks later we picked her up here and took her back to her apartment in Oakwood.
The one thing that is frustrating about this hospital is paid parking, I never liked that at a hospital but in Detroit or any major city I guess its necessary due to the high population vs park spots.
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After Halloween Sale 2013
As I am sure it has been pointed out before on this blog, Dad get his Christmas and Birthday gift from Mom each year Nov 1, a shopping spree consisting of Kmart, Walmart, Joanns, and Spirit Halloween. This year was no exception, best deals we found were 70% off, but the rest was 50% off. However I think the best deal was the T-shirts, which were only a couple dollars each.
It may take a little longer to get decorations this way, but if you pack them away then open them a year later, its no different than if you bought them just then, this way you save a ton.
This year James got to join in on the fun as he was off from school for scheduled school admin stuff, so he picked out a few things as well including an Angry Bird Pig pumpkin carving set (you stick the parts into the pumpkin and you are done, no muss, no fuss).
After shopping Mom took the family out to Big Boy for the breakfast bar, a great day with lots of great values.
Hoover Elementary Halloween Parade 2013
Not the best conditions for a parade as it rained all day on Halloween. The parade was originally planned to go around the block but because of the poor conditions they only had the kids march around the school. Lots of great costumes despite the weather conditions. Speaking of weather, James decided on his costume a couple days before the event, he wanted to go not as a monster or politician or celebrity, but as a weather man. We made up a thunderstorm weatherman outfit for him with raindrops falling from the umbrella (as if we needed them today) and a thunderstorm cloud as well. Due to the weather it worked out well as he was dressed head to toe in wet weather gear, simulating a weatherman broadcasting from a hurricane area.
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.
