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Moms Birthday Surprise 2008
I thought James would have fun helping me decorate for a small surprise party for Mom. He was in school now but I wanted him to know we can still have a lot of fun together afterwards.
After he got home we went to the party store and got balloons, noisemakers, and cake to celebrate and decorated the kitchen table while Mom was out shopping. James and I had a blast and Mary was certainly surprised when she walked in with groceries and saw the decorations.
The candles were lit, happy birthday was sung, everyone had a great time and we wish Mom many more birthdays just like this one.
James Begins Kindergarten 2008
James did not look very happy when we dropped him off for his first day of Kindergarten. He did ok when we picked him up but we felt bad for the little guy, so we made a project for him, tinkertoys and hot wheels. Two toys that really do not go together we thought maybe James would be able to combine them into something interesting, sure enough he did.
After playing with the tinkertoys separately, then playing with the hot wheels separately, he combined the two for something original and unusual. We have added the pics to this post of his latest creation.
Originally we were hoping that James would go to St Albert like his Dad and Aunt, but unfortunately St Alberts school closed down a few years back due to lack of students.
Renee’s Vegas Wedding 2008
These pictures were sent from Ron and are of Renee’s wedding in Las Vegas. Lots of pictures of the Vegas attractions in this post as well as the wedding. It looks like a great time was had by all and we wish them all the best in their new marriage.
Both Renee and her husband are in the military and have done several tour in Iraq, the entire family is so proud of them. Later on in the year, Renee had a reception up in Gaylord MI for those who could not make it out to Las Vegas. The last few pictures are of the Gaylord event and they were taken by Peg on her visit up there.
Tony Stewart #20 Car 2008
Tony Stewart had just announced that he would be leaving Home Depot to start his own race team, so Home Depot had sort of a farewell tour for the Tony Stewart #20 car and it came to the Home Depot in Allen Park.
Tony Stewart is Mary’s favorite driver so she did not want to miss seeing the car, although she almost did, they were loading it up when we arrived but the crew was nice enough to give her a tour and she got to snap a couple pics off before they drove to their next stop.
Tony Stewart was replaced by Joey Logano who is an up and coming driver in his own rights, but Tony is still Mary’s favorite no matter what team he is racing for. He is an exceptional driver.
Jadens Birthday (a little early) 2008
James, Peg, and I went over to Natalies house to see Jaden and wish him a Happy Birthday (his actual birthday was about a week away but we would not be able to make it that day). Jaden and James played with hot wheels and watched videos and Natalie had a spread of food for us.
We played on the computer for a bit, looking at Natalies Myspace page. A fun time was had by all, we will have to get together with Natalie, Jaden , and little Katelyn more often since they only live about a half hour away.
Happy Birthday Jaden!
Remembering Virginia 1929 – 2008
Aunt Ginny as most of the family knew her, was the daughter of Ben and Millie, sister of Charles, Raymond, Dorothy, and Donald. Some of my fondest memories of Aunt Ginny was her taking to Tiger stadium for my first night game as a boy and every Christmas eve she would have pizza for us at Grandma and Grampa Kleibers.
When I went into the military, Aunt Ginny came and lived with my Mom and Dad for a few years, then with my sister Criss before getting her own place in Taylor. Her final days were in the same nursing home as Aunt Louise and she passed away while we were up north at Mackinaw.
We do not have many pictures of Virginia so if you can contribute something that would be great.
Magic Capitol 4th of July Festival 2008
After the parade we went to the festival which had plenty of games for the kids including a 4th of July putt putt where kids could put into rockets, top hats, and playing cards (Colon is the magic capitol which explains the magic theme included with the patriotic theme of the 4th). James got to go on the moonwalk a couple times, then went to the dunk tank and actually hit the button with a toss, causing the clown in the dunk tank to go into the water.
Mom enjoyed shopping at the craft show and checking out the home made items for her garden including bird houses and bird feeders. That being said I think she ended up buying a pair of sun glasses due to being out in the sun all day. After visiting the beach for a quick swim for James we went to our friends house Walter and Mary who had a barbecue going and stayed there till the evening as fireworks lit up the summer sky.
Fireworks are better in the country than the suburbs due to light pollution. They really showed up great at the Magic Capitol this Independence day.
Magic Capitol 4th of July Parade 2008
This is Colon MI, the Magic Capital of the World, and each year they have a huge parade and festival to celebrate the 4th. James has a blast each time he comes here. As the floats pass by they toss out candy to the kids so its like trick or treat in the summer. They also have people in the parade with wheel barrels full of cold water handing it out to all the spectators so that there is no worry about anyone overheating in the July sun.
Plenty of vehicles in this parade that lasted a little over an hour with a presentation at the end. Floats, tractors, homecoming queens, police and fire were all part of the show.
A great time was had by all who attended ever though it was a little on the hot side, but not too hot.
Red Wings Stanley Cup Champions 2008
The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup Championship in 2008 and the entire city celebrated. Although we did not make the parade this year, we did spent an afternoon downtown and captured the spirit of the city. I especially enjoyed seeing the big tiger out front of Comerica Park dressed up in a Red Wing outfit. James liked the Tiger too and thats why there are so many pictures of it.
Congrats to the Detroit Red Wings who have won more Stanley Cups than any other team in the United States. Hopefully they will continue to be a great source of pride for the city of Detroit.
Now, about that football team…One playoff win since 1957, really!
Oakwood Park 2008
Most weekends in the summer we make a visit to Aunt Pegs and visit the park next to her complex. James has been playing here since he was in a stroller and almost every weekend in the summer. There is a huge soccer field there also which comes in handy if we want to kick a football or shoot one of James rockets off. They have a swimming pool in the summer but we never go to it, I think you have to live in the city for that. However we seldom see anyone using the pool anyway so why bother.
James Aunt Peg sometimes shops while we are at the park, James will play for about a half hour then we go pick up Aunt Peg at the store and help her with the groceries. Its a system that seems to work for everyone.
