James was dropped of for his last day of finals and when we picked him up, he felt he had done very well but due to a power failure at the school (high winds throughout the midwest caused many power failures) he would not know his actual score for several days. When he did get the results we found out he had a perfect 4.0 gpa for the semester.

James was rewarded with a trip to his favorite restaurant – Bubba’s – on Eureka road just around the block from his school. Mom and Dad had several gifts for him which you can see in the pictures (t shirts, pennants, Christmas bulbs, etc.)

Later that day James made up 5 Christmas bulbs, one for each A he got that semester and placed them on his Christmas tree for display.

Continue reading “James 4.0 GPA First Semester at WCCC” →

There have been several changes with our Christmas decorations, some due to high winds, some due to props breaking, and some due to little Hoot swiping them from under our noses. Regardless we have been taking pictures and while the evolution of the decorations is subtle, we though it worthwhile to record just so we could keep up.

Our antique bicycle decoration broke after one day and we had to return it for credit, which broke our hearts since there were no more available anywhere in Michigan. We ended up getting some spiral trees to fill out the yard which gives it a nice look. Unfortunately all the snow is gone and we are hoping for a White Christmas as our outside display looks so much better with all the snowmen in the snow.

As far as inside, most of the decorations swiped by Hoot have been found, but she really has it in for signs in our little Christmas village.

Continue reading “Christmas Decorations Modified” →

After a great meal and watching the Lions lose on Thanksgiving we began putting up the Christmas decorations. This year we had to do things differently due to “Hoot” getting into everything and we certainly did not want her to get hurt. We tried to make it so she could not get into the trees by putting items around it but it did not work, she still got into everything.

We use snowmen outside because they look great if it snows, and sure enough we got snow on Saturday during the Michigan Ohio State game.

A big surprise for us came Saturday as the Michigan Wolverines beat the Buckeyes soundly in a game that they were favored to lose. Michigan did not have any plays for a loss and did not run a third down play the whole second half. It was a very entertaining game but Michigan was clearly the better team on this day 42-27.

We are off to a good start for Christmas this year!

Continue reading “Putting Up Christmas Decorations 2021” →

Christmas finally arrived and once again Santa delivered. Lots of thanks to all the friends and family who sent us cards and gifts this year. Lots of digital gifts too as most of the day after Christmas was spent hooking up printers, digital frames, ear pods, and many other items that required “work” to get them going. James got a chance to talk to both Aunt Criss and Grandma on Christmas eve which was about all the socializing we were allowed to do this year due to the pandemic.
After the gift opening we enjoyed binge watching the “God is not Dead” series of movies which were very good and inspiring especially during Christmas.

Continue reading “Christmas 2020” →

We got a very good start on the Christmas decorating partly due to the horrible Thanksgiving Day Lions loss, but we just about have it finished come Sunday. Once again we went with the snowman theme, that way if we get excessive snow in January and cannot bring in the decorations it does not look so bad since we can claim its just a bunch of snow men. We still have a few odds and ends but for the most part the decorating is done and we already got a couple slow drive by’s from cars going down our street. The forecast calls for snow this week and there really is nothing better than these snowmen decorations when their is snow on the ground so we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Continue reading “Christmas 2020 Season Begins” →

Despite the early snowfall in November, we did not get a white Christmas this year, but that was about the only thing that was not perfect this year.

Christmas Day was warm this year, so warm in fact that it could have passed as a spring day.

Lots of presents this year including a two headed monster for Dad, a karaoke machine for James, and a new computer for Mom.

Mom pulled out all the trimmings for Christmas dinner with a turkey along with stuffing and deviled eggs. A great time was had by all.

Continue reading “Christmas 2019” →

Our neighborhood is truly lucky to have probably the best decorated Christmas tree in Michigan located on our humble block. If you ever get into our neighborhood, check it out. You can see it from nearly a mile away and to top it off they shoot off fireworks there as well. The ornaments are blow molds which gives you an idea of how big this tree really is.

We included two pics, a before and after.

It was a clear and cold night this year as James and his family made the trek to see the magic forest. It was great to see so many people attending this year, by far the largest turnout since we have been coming to this event. It was also great to see people that you usually only see in the summer time during the Holiday season. Lots of fun as always and we encourage everyone who can to visit this awesome Christmas display which is at Heritage Park on most weekends during the holidays.

We did receive some bad news, that one of the parents we know very well had a stroke, fortunately he is expected to make a full recovery so our prayers our with him and his family during this Holiday season.
Continue reading “Santas Magic Forest 2019” →

After dropping James off at school, Mom and Dad had an errand to run and it took us in the area of Plymouth where we decided to take a quick walk through Kellogg Park and enjoy the “Walk of Trees”. The trees are contributed and decorated by various businesses, clubs, and individuals from the city of Plymouth. Below is the spiel for this beautiful event.

Enjoy trees lining the walkways of Kellogg Park decorated by local businesses and organizations in the Plymouth Community. The trees are officially lit the day after Thanksgiving and remain up until the New Year. Come enjoy the trees, shop for the Holidays and enjoy a wonderful meal in one of our many restaurants. Also, Santa greets families at his house in Kellogg Park on weekends during the Christmas season.

Continue reading “Plymouth Christmas Tree Walk” →

It was a different Thanksgiving this year for sure. First the bad, not a good football weekend for any of our teams so lets get that out of the way right away.

Now the good, we had an awesome meal and as soon as the Lions loss was official, began transforming the home from Thanksgiving (about 2 decorations) to Christmas (a whole bunch of decorations). We had purchased new Christmas trees at the after Christmas sales last year and this was the first time we would see what they look like. The living turned into a magic forest of its own with all the trees.

I cannot emphasize enough the financial benefit of purchasing Decorations for Holidays after the Holiday.

Continue reading “Christmas Decorations Set Up Thanksgiving Weekend” →