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Christmas at the Magic Capitol 2012
Once again we attended the Colon Christmas Celebration. James got plenty of treats as pretty much everywhere you went there were cookies, juice, cocoa, and even a chilli contest. Mary got to shop at the antique stores and James got to see Santa and also pet the live reindeer that were outside the library. Inside the library James got to pick out a free book – he chose a Madlib book. Outside the library James got to pet a couple live reindeer!
The elementary school had a craft show which included some awesome tasting snacks and some homemade Amish bread. A Santa parade went down mainstreet and there were carolers on the corners. A fun time was had by all.
Below is a demonstration of the virtual Santa that we got from Abbotts, it makes it look like Santa is really in your window.
Thanksgiving 2012
It was a traditional Detroit Thanksgiving for us. First James watched the parade and enjoyed it, later Dad watched the Lions lose (again) on Thanksgiving (this time in overtime, an agonizing defeat). The meal Mom cooked was delicious and everyone gobbled their share of turkey, stuffing, and deviled eggs. Later we pulled out the Christmas decorations (at James request) and got to work on setting up Christmas inside and outside.
The highlight for James was setting up his Christmas countdown ornament which is on its third year. Mary and James will add more bulbs and ornaments later in the week and we will be all set for Christmas 2012 (assuming the Mayans are wrong).
The small collection of pictures we have here are of James and his Mom making devil eggs for our Thanksgiving feast!
After Halloween Sale 2012
Each year Mom goes out and buys Dads birthday gifts at the After Halloween sale. People often ask where we get the Halloween props and the secret is to purchase it after Halloween when everything is 50 – 70%.
This year we went to the Halloween store the day before to see what they had left and decided on 3 new animations that we felt would fit into our display. The next day we got there about 50 minutes early to wait for the half price sale to begin (we were third in line).
Our 3 main items were “The Howler” werewolf to go with our other werewolf. The “Popping Goblin” which is really nothing more than one of those plastic pumpkins, except the back moves out and a Goblin pops out of it.
The Witch from the Wizard of Oz was the final one on our list. The Halloween store had two left and when Mary lifted the top one, another person immediately lifted the one below hers so it took about two seconds to sell out. Good thing we got there early and waited.
We also stopped at Jo Ann Fabrics and picked up some Halloween crafts and decorations at 70% off and Marshalls where Mary bought a bunch of stuff for $12.
James came home from school and one of the Hoover teachers (we don’t know if the teacher wants us to use her name or not) gave us a haunted house cookie jar!
Finally, KMart had one Jason left at 60% off and that concluded our after Halloween sale. Our next purchases for Halloween will be in the Spring when the garage sales come around again.
Hoover Elementary Halloween Parade 2012
James and the entire Hoover Elementary class participated in their annual Halloween Parade. James went as skeleton (as he did last year) because he figured there would be many Mario’s (which is what he is trick or treating as tonight).
The parade went into the residential area which was different than previous years. It was also held on Halloween day, Oct 31st, which I don’t think it was in the past. The parade stretched well over a block in length and was very impressive to see.
Great time by all and the weather, although 42 degrees and slightly wet, was good enough to get the event in.
Trick or Treat 2012
What a busy day this Halloween was for us. After a quick visit to see Peg we went to James’ school Halloween parade, grabbed a buffet lunch, got home in time to greet James coming home from school still in his skeleton costume, took some pics of him in his skeleton costume, gave him a bite to eat, took some pictures of him in his Mario costume, turned on the decorations, and it was off trick or treating for 2012.
This year we made it from Parker to Lincoln, not a whole lot of kids on the streets this night probably due to the weather but there were still enough to know that it was Halloween.
Probably due to the so so turnout, James ended with a lot more candy than he usually gets. He also got to interact with the people more since there were very few lines this year.
Mom handed out candy while Dad and James brought home the candy. Mom said the house got more compliments this year probably because you could see more (we did not put the inflatables out this year due to the weather).
Halloween at Manuels Taco Hut 2012
At James Halloween Get Together one of our guest tipped us off to this little gem of a place. During the year its Manuels Taco Hut, but they close for one week in the Fall and decorate the entire restaurant for Halloween. Its a great atmosphere with black walls, plenty of Ultra Violet lighting, and creepy skulls, ghost, and skeletons adorn the entire restaurant.
Mom and Dad had chicken burritos and beans while James stuck with his usual chicken nuggets and french fries. The food was great and nothing was left on anyone’s plate at the end. Mom liked the animated Michael Meyers best, Dad liked the talking sculpture best, and James liked the singing pirate skeleton in the treasure chest the best.
Manuels Taco Hut is on Ecorse road between Pelham and Allen road on the North side. We heard from their website that they do something similar for Christmas.
James Halloween Party 2012
James held his second Halloween Get Together in as many years on Oct 27th and he did a real nice job as host. The event lasted from 2 – 7 and we refer to it as a Get Together because there are no scheduled events or time frames. People can stop in and say hi and leave or people can stay for hours. No need for families to have to hurry to meet a time frame, simply show up and stay as little or as long as you like.
This year we decided to decorate the entire house for the party, even though the party was held mostly down stairs. Our bedroom became the “Exorcist room”, our office room became the “Bates Motel Office”, the kitchen became “Hades kitchen” etc.
The kids appeared to have a good time, playing games, making Halloween crafts, eating Halloween cake, etc. Big thanks to all who attended especially James’ teachers from Hoover Elementary. Grandma came by to help upstairs, unfortunately Aunt Peg could not make it but was there in spirit by providing a whole bunch of candy for the kids.
After the event, James continued to work on some of the projects and crafts in the Un-Living room.
James Birthday Surprise 2012
James gets a surprise in a card from Uncle Ken and Aunt Criss
Pocono Speedway 2012
While driving along on the Pennsylvania interstate we saw a sign for the Pocono Speedway Exit and Mary immediately recognized the name since she is an avid Nascar Fan. We took the exit and went a few miles then came across the raceway. There is a real nice gift shop that seems to be open most of the year and sells souvenirs, shirts, etc.
The Pocono Speedway also known as The Tricky Triangle among Nascar fans, its one of the few tracks located in the mountains, actually in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania to be specific. The race track is one of only three NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation, the dominant track owners in NASCAR. The other two tracks that hold this distinction are Dover International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A Drive Through Pennsylvania 2012
About half the drive from Michigan to New York is through Pennsylvania which has the highest elevation on I80 East of the Mississippi. The terrain is nothing but hills and is very beautiful to say the least. We were fortunate enough to see the sun rise in this beautiful country and the next day watch the sun set in the same terrain. Some of the highlights of the trip were a stop in the Pocono’s to visit the Nascar speedway there. Mary has often said the only Nascar track she has ever seen in person was Michigan so now she can no longer say that. Also the Deleware Water Gap, a National recreation area where the Deleware river cuts through the Appalachian mountains on the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey was quite spectacular. The early morning mist settling in the valleys as we drove through the high land of Pennsylvania was truly beautiful and haunting.
