Game Day with Calvin

Lee Corso may understand play making and statistics, but he's got nothing on Calvin in the enthusiasm category. While this is really his third season of  the Michigan Football Experience it is only his first truly conscious one, and that makes it especially fun for us.  Over the past few weeks we've been preparing him for the game day phenomenon by talking about college, football, college football, and, of course, the maize and blue (there is no such color as yellow).  The Friday before the first game we went to the resale shop to pick out some clothing in those particular colors and on our way out the door Calvin gave a rousing cry of "Let's Go Blue!" that he kept up through the parking lot, and I knew we had done our job well.  In good weather we start our home game celebrations with a Friday evening picnic at the Michigan Marching Band rehearsal.  The Friday evening band rehearsals are a popular Ann Arbor event and this week we spread our blanket and picnic foods out on the ground between several other families with young children and settled in for a good show (Calvin, we mean, who kept pointing out and naming all   the instruments and repeatedly remarking "they're marching down the field with their instruments, mommy!").  Calvin's favorite part of home game weekends, though, is probably the Saturday morning tailgate, where food, playmates, and adoration are all abundant.  My family has been tailgating with the same group since before I was even born, and the kids that I grew up with now all have families of their own that take part – the next generation of  the Go Blue club.  And though we don't go to the games themselves, after some great tailgating we trek back through the crowds (Calvin imparting an emphatic "Go Blue" to all we pass) to take in the action on TV.  Football games are the only television Calvin is allowed to watch (really it's the only television WE watch), and he has yet to take any interest, but it's clear that he's listening when we hear him repeat phrases such as "overthrown pass" and "missing offense."  Hopefully in years to come he'll be learning different phrases, like "great recruiting" and "experienced team."

On Safari

Today we drove into Saline to take in "preschool day" at the Saline Community Fair.   Since the fair website wasn't altogether informative as to what "preschool day" meant, I wasn't at all sure what to expect, and as it turned out I never really got a chance to find out.  The only specified preschool activiity that Calvin was interested in was the Gemini concert that was already underway when we arrived, and as soon as the performance was over he wanted nothing to do with the remaining preschool activities (which seemed to include a number of kiddie games with junk candy prizes  anyway), and instead made a beeline for the animal showing barns.  He clearly remembered the animals from the Chelsea Fair and was raring for a repeat.  I have no idea how the two events truly compare, but the barns at the Chelsea Fair felt larger, fuller, more informative, and more inviting, which, after the bombing of "preschool day", left only one major draw at the Saline Fair - the Whipsering Pines Animal Sanctuary.  When Jon and I  first became acquainted with this group several years ago, we had the opportunity to pet a juvenile Okapi, one of our very favorite (very rare) animals, and we have been fans of the event ever since.  Every year their visit is a little different, and while there were no Okapis this year, Calvin had a great time feeding and petting llamas, goats, sheep, a baby bison, and two kangaroos.  Oh, and he road a camel.  All by himself.  The man running the  exhibit was a little hesitant to put such a youngster on a camel alone, but I assured him that Calvin had ridden quarter horses with no assistance, so he tried it.  Calvin was quite at ease, and quite content, on his camel (most kids ask for ponies...we see where this is going).  The morning was so much fun that Calvin asked to take daddy back after nap time (he wanted to show him the bison and the camels), and he was such a good boy that morning  that we decided to go ahead and go.  We didn't ride any camels the second time around, but we did feed all the animals again, and got the chance to hold an armadillo (Jon) and a fenec fox (me).  Calvin wasn't so sure about the armadillo–he really kept his eye on him at all times and only gave him a brief pet–but he was much more at home with the charming little fenec fox.  Our own little zoo at home will never feel the same again.

More pictures in the Sept 2008 Album. 

Thursdays in Chelsea

Though unfortunately it signifies the coming of the end (of summer, that is), the Chelsea Community Fair has been one of our favorite August destinations since our introduction to the festivities four years ago.  Of course four years ago the purpose of our visit was to take in the Figure Eight (Demolition) Derby, while this year it was to visit the cows.  And the pigs, and the sheep, and the chickens, and the goats, and all the other 4-H animals Calvin's heart could desire.  The sheep are always some of our favorites - they are usually the  noisiest of the barn animals and that makes them more interesting - but this year we also got the chance to pet a day old chick, and to watch an egg actually in the process of hatching (I say in the process because, unlike in the books we read, a real live egg hatching can take quite some time and this one made no real progress in the 10 minutes we watched it).  Calvin also eyed such rides as the Merry-Go-Round and the Ferris Wheel with a reserved interest, but we left before he could get any real ideas and  headed for downtown Chelsea where dinner would be less expensie and less dusty.  That's when we really lucked out, since apparently summer Thursday nights are music nights in downtown Chelsea and there were performers of every kind on nearly every corner.  We enjoyed some fiddling, some rocking, some barbershop, and some zydeko all within a block or so.  Calvin also enjoyed crossing and recrossing the train tracks, and we stopped for some dinner at the new Mexican restaruant, Las Fuentes (which we can't really recommend unless it's for the impeccable service, but the food and  margaritas left much to be desired and nobody goes to a Mexican restaurant for the service.  The next time we want Mexican we'll head back to Ypsi Township to La Fuente, which we highly recommend.  Apparently one fountain is better than many any day).  As with Independence Lake, our only sadness is that we did not discover Thursday Nights in Chelsea earlier in the season.

More pictures in the August 2008 album. 

Working it all in

There is only so much summer left, so even though we just got back from a lakefront vacation, we packed a picnic this morning and headed for Independence Lake to take advantage of their splash park and sandy beaches.  We're kicking ourselves a bit for not realizing earlier that we were only fifteen minutes away from such a fun summer activity, but rather than cry over it now we'll just make a few extra trips in August!  Calvin loved it even more this time than he did the last, and because it was a Sunday morning the park wasn't even that busy yet. It's a county park, and we've been really pleased with its setup and overall cleanliness.  We are looking forward to hiking the 3 miles of wooded park trails when the cooler fall weather (and fall colors) kick in. Three cheers for the county parks and recreation!

Making a big splash

Playing in the sprinkler in our own yard was really starting to be old hat, so today we opted for sprinkler play on a larger scale at the Independence Lake Splash Zone, where we joined our friends Julie and Tyler for some swim time and a picnic lunch.  I clearly remember visits to Independence lake when I was growing up, if not with classes or camps on a picnics, then in post driving license days with high school friends, but in all that time there was  never anything more attention grabbing than the occassional lighter fluid induced, several feet high, charcoal fire.  Now the park, in addition to its kid friendly beach and various picnic and grilling locations, has a rather large and adventurous new splash zone.  It's probably meant to appeal to the younger crowd, specifically the Calvin types who are not yet at swimming age and cannot fully enjoy the lake, but I know I really enjoyed running  through the bubbling fountains and misting sprayers myself.  Calvin had a grand time running in and out, exclaiming "wheeee" with every dousing dash, and, upon noticing the lake ("that water over there") also enjoyed dashing after fish and practicing his swimming stroke (with a supportive mommy hand, of course).  This is definitely an outing that we will have to repeat before the season end is upon us.

More Pictures in the August 2008 Album.