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Parks of the Magic Capitol 2012
James did such a good job helping out at the Flea Market we figured he could take a nice long break and play at the parks in Colon Michigan, which is exactly what he did. He really loved the new slides and went up and down each one multiple times, but he still likes the original park which is made of wood and is quite old, or at least it appears to be old, that might be the design.
After James had his fill of parks, and after the flea market was over, the entire family went about exploring the Magic Capitol locations including the library and the flower sale that was going on outside the school (It was the day before mothers day so I bet they made a good profit).
Abbott’s Flea Market 2012
The family went up to Colon Michigan to participate in a Magic Flea Market and Auction. We go to this almost every year primarily to look for Halloween stuff which shows up from time to time. This year was different because Mary had a Flea Market table. Mary sold some used magic, posters, and books that were supplied to her from the magic shop hosting the event and she had a great time selling and interacting with the visitors, some who came as far away as St Louis to attend this. James and I did manage to find a couple things to buy for Halloween but mostly spent our time outside at the playgrounds. They also had a flower sale going on that day so it was a very busy day in the Magic Capital Colon Michigan.
After the Flea Market we ate a buffet in Coldwater then went to the antique shops in Allen MI (From the Magic Capital to the Antique Capital). Ironically Mary found a Phantom of the Opera poster framed which we will show you once Halloween rolls around. A fun day for everyone.
Oakwood Commons Park 2012
When it comes right down to it, Oakwood Commons has to be about the prettiest rehabilitation center I have ever visited. There are nature trails, playgrounds, rivers with wild life, and rolling hills. Since Aunt Peg has been in the place it has been too cold to take advantage of these things on our visits but the last couple times the temperature has been mild (and dry) enough so that James can play outside there.
James always visits Aunt Peg first before playing, unfortunately Aunt Peg cannot see him from her window. Whenever James visits Aunt Peg she always has a goody for him (Aunt Peg plays Bingo at Oakwood Commons and sometimes wins prizes for kids)
Aunt Peg hopes to be out of Oakwood Commons between the middle of May and the 1st of June.
If you look closely at the picture of the river you will see a goose swimming in it.
Easter 2012
Both James and his Mom were a little under the weather today, but besides that it was a great day. James had a great variety in his baskets this year including three books to read along with the standard candy and toys. I went and visited Peg and she had a small basket with candy for James, unfortunately James had to stay home with a slight cough, however You can see a picture of James holding the basket in the gallery. While visiting Peg she made a short video wishing everyone a Happy Easter (which I uploaded to Facebook).
Both James and Mary felt better as the day progressed.
What a weekend for the Tigers who won their first 3 games of the 2012 season. The first game was a 3-2 thriller with a walk off hit, the second a 10-0 victory, and the third featured 2 comebacks in their last at bats to win, a 3 run homer by Miguel Cabrera to tie it in the 9th and a 2 run homer by Alex Avila to win it in the 11th. After Avila’s walk off home run to win it the announcer said “Happy Easter Detroit”.
Henry Ford Museum Titanic Exhibit 2012
Titanic has come to Dearborn MI. James got to see the new Titanic exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum and enjoyed it immensely. Pictures were not allowed inside the exhibit but there were a couple photo opportunities where you could buy pictures they took of you (ala Cedar Point roller coasters). James is shown here in one of those pictures. There were many artifacts that had been brought up from the sunken ocean liner including equipment, jewelry, money, and personals of people who were on the ship. They also had a real iceberg (similar to what they have at the polar bear exhibit at the Detroit zoo) so that people could feel just how cold the water was that fateful April night 100 years ago. The final part was (of course) the souvenir store where James could hardly control his glee at all the great Titanic gifts. James got a postcard book, reprints from 1912 newspapers, “polar ice”, and a titanic coloring book.
After Titanic we took a quick trip around the museum, James got some pictures taken in the Rosa Parks bus, in front of the JFK assassination car, in front of the worlds largest locomotive, and a few other places before we left.
Reading Night at Hoover Elementary 2012
James had a fun time at the Hoover Elementary Reading night. First he met up with a couple of his class mates then got to be entertained with “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis. After that James went to his first reading destination which was Ms. Frizzle’s Castle which was read by Mrs Jent, his regular teacher. After reading a story the kids got to make tiaras, wands, and shields. James made a shield and you can see it as the last picture in the gallery. The S in the upper left hand represents what James wants to be in life…a School teacher. The K in the upper right represent his family K=Kleiber. The lower left H represents Espirit Decorp, mainly Hoover elementary, and the J represents James. The Kleiber Crest looked great on his practice sheet, however when he went to put it on his Shield he put the crest on the Titanic! A thousand years from now when they discover the Kleiber crest they will see the Titanic on it.
James second destination was Dinosaurs and Reptiles, and had several living creatures including salamanders, lizards, and turtles. The instructor talked about extinction and the idea that dinosaurs are not really extinct but live on in birds. He showed several dinosaur skulls then the kids got to pet the lizards and the animated triceratops.
Afterwards all the kids got ice cream sundaes. What a way to spend an evening!
Getting Ready For Titanic 2012
Yes, Titanic is coming to Dearborn, well actually its coming to The Henry Ford Museum.
James was under the weather the past few days and we took him to the doctors just to make sure everything was ok. The doctor said it was nothing to worry about and gave him some cough medicine. On the way home we stopped at Henry Ford so James could see the setup for Titanic. The exhibit does not open until March 31st and is really supposed to be spectacular, however they do not allow pictures so we are not sure how much we will be able to post here.
James posed for a couple pictures in the lobby then we went into the museum and took a couple pictures where the exhibit was being built. They also will have the Titanic movie in 3D and several documentaries going on in April so it looks like April will be Titanic month, and why not, it was 100 years ago this month that Titanic began its maiden voyage which ended in disaster.
Nashville Phillips Toy Mart 2012
It is so nice to escape the cold weather of Michigan in January and head to the more “calmer” temperature of Nashville. It was so nice out that we stopped at Phillips Toy Mart to pick up some outdoor game that James could play while we were visiting Grandpa and enjoying this moderate temperature (we have to figure that it may be months before James will be able to play outside in Michigan with the possible exception of building snowmen or snow forts).
James got to climb up and be the conductor for the train while visiting the store. We found several things for him to play with outside (there is a wide open field outside of where Grandpa is staying that is ideal for this) and ended up with a light up frisbee like saucer that we ended up tossing to each other. Grandpa was able to go outside but whether or not he could see the light up frisbee flying through the air I can’t say for sure.
Thanks for having the right toy at the right time Phillips
Nashville Visit To Grandpa 2012
We never officially planned this trip, but it was in the back of our minds for the last month. Due to James school having a longer than usual Christmas break we decided that if we got halfway decent weather we would make a quick break down to Tennessee to visit Mary’s dad. Problem is, the weather would have to be halfway decent for four states and three days. Luck must have been with us because all three days were perfect and Friday it hit the mid sixties in Nashville. The schedule was drive ten hours the first day, then visit Mary’s dad in the evening, spend the second day with Mary’s dad, then return the third day after visiting in the morning. The trip went exactly as planned and a great time was had by all including James.
In addition we stopped in to visit our cousin Lynn who is actually in the same facility on the same floor. Quite a coincidence having a member from each side of the family in the same facility that is 10 hours away from Michigan. Lynn agreed to let me take her picture so Peg could see what she looks like (she hasn’t seen Lynn since they were kids).
Dinosaur World Kentucky 2012
Being from Michigan we have many tourist locations up North, but many close for the winter season so on our drive down to Nashville we thought that Dinosaur World (a place James loves to stop at) would be closed but possibly the souvenir store would be open. When we got there we found out that the whole thing was open including the outside tour. We knew that Friday was going to be a super day in January with the highs in the sixties so we told James that if he was good we would also stop on the way back and go on the outside tour. Needless to say James was pretty good on the trip (he usually is) and it gave us a little break on the way home to take advantage of a gorgeous January day in Kentucky. When we arrived we were the only ones in the entire park so James had the entire Dinosaur world to himself for the day.
