Go blue, and happy Halloween, too.

No metal on the track

Umpteen years ago (or maybe just four), during our wild young adult years, we sat in the dust of the Chelsea Community Fair on a late summer's night taking in the sights and sounds of the Figure Eight Demolition Derby.  This year we journeyed back to the same fair, similar event, with my parents and Calvin.  It was the same food, the same animals, and the same dust–all the things I love about a good community fair!  While there Calvin got to pet a day old chick and take in a real live sheep shearing (that was cool), and we discovered that the older he gets the more expensive the fair gets.  We didn't even think to take into account the fact that he is now tall enough and brave enough to try several of the carnival rides (how many times can a little boy ride the train ride?  To infinity and beyond...), some of which must be ridden with an adult (not that Gram begrudged him a chaperone on the merry-go-round).  The demolition derby, however, was not a favorite new event for him.  The noise alone was enough to set him on edge, but he was willing to accept our calm laughter as a sign of safety until one of the cars breached the barrier of cement blocks, after which he decided that the danger was no longer contained and he needed to leave immediately.  "I think we should leave this place now" were, in fact, his exact words and emphasis.  So we left the stands after only two rounds of derby, and escaped to the quieter and calmer train ride to watch him take yet another trip around the same twenty feet of track.  Wild.

More pictures from the fair (including the sheep shearing!) are in the new August 2009, too album (we took too many pictures in August for just one album).

There's something wrong with this picture.

Uncle Curtis (while in the playhouse) "So, how does the stove work?"

Calvin "Don't be silly, that's a pretend stove."

Dazed in Dexter

Our adorable little village, population a bit over 3K, hosts a somewhat rowdy and completely underdone little festival every August.  They call this little festival Dexter Daze, and before you let your mind wander into the various meanings of that second word, let me just say that it is not a rehash of the cannabis festivus that takes place every spring in Ann Arbor.  Activities at Dexter Daze, actually, range from shopping at the "artist" tents (including everything from woodworking to Pampered Chef), entering one of several raffles (with prizes from gift cards to playhouses), enjoying live music (from Elvis outside the bakery to RFD Boys on the stage), and eating, eating, eating.  The Daze takes place over two, well, days, and we had every intention of walking down Friday night, then spending Saturday hiding from the heat in the shade of our own home, but it turned out that we just couldn't stay away.  We did walk down Friday night and enjoyed great shopping at the library's book sale, followed by brats and ice cream from the food vendors and a beautiful sunset set to the tunes of a really great blues band on stage.  It was so much fun that when boredom started to set in on Saturday morning we decided to walk back into town to eat at the BBQ chicken dinner, served at 11am at a downtown church and peruse the sales tents on the park lawn.  Strangely enough we found that several people in town recognized and "knew" us already, either me, since I run through town four mornings a week, or Calvin, since he is, apparently, a celebrity at the downtown bakery.  That feeling of small town camaraderie is one of the things we really love about our new home, and it is the reason we felt compelled to walk back downtown after naptime to enjoy the final evening of the Daze.  The music, thanks to the RFD Boys, was just as good the second night, and we were joined by my parents for pizza and drinks in the beer tent, followed by another round of ice cream (did I just admit to that?).  My only complaint was the lack of beverage selection–next year they need something other than Miller Light.

Highlights

In the absence of enough time to sufficiently and artfully update the blog, I'll let you in a few highlights from the past couple of weeks.  First, on July 25, we attended Jon's 10 year reunion, to which we might have ascribed the adjective pedestrian, had it not been for a really fun life preserver of a conversation that carried us through.  Then, on July 26, we celebrated 6 wonderful years of marriage; would it be considered a sign of comfort and bliss that we almost forgot our own anniversary?  Thanks to our parents we were showered with love at an impromptu dinner party.  Did I forget to mention that over that same weekend we scored some pretty fun diversions for the pint sized member of our family at our neighborhood wide garage sale, including an outdoor fort and a pretty awesome dollhouse style tree house?  Because we did.  And the final highlight of the past few weeks was a long weekend trip to visit family and attempt some moments of relaxation, a trip that included miniature golf, deer feeding, bird watching, and a few hours of beach enjoyment.  Those are the highlights of our past two weeks, and my excuses for not having brought them to your attention earlier.  Did you know that tree houses, even of the miniature variety, are very, very fun?