(almost) Everyone wins

Yesterday, Michigan suffered an (almost) unexpected loss to Notre Dame.   It was a rather wet road game – when I say wet I mean wring your socks out before the next play kind of wet – and between the pouring rain and the poor officiating any effort by our inexperienced offense was really for naught.  Thankfully, while we were subjected to the rather wet weather, we were not forced to endure much of the game because we were off enjoying some much coveted child free time at a family wedding (the  wedding of Mark Karow, whom Curtis and I grew up with, to his bride CJ).  Rain or shine weddings are always enjoyable - who can say no to doing the Thriller dance with a pink flip-flop clad Curtis?  Or a little disco, a little swing, a little foxtrot, right after devouring wedding cake, of course.  And before anyone accuses us of leaving Calvin out of all the fun, he was home enjoying a visit with his Aunt Ann and his Grandma and Opa, who we hear  showered Calvin with affection, fun, gifts, and games.  To hear him tell it this morning they had an all out fiesta while we were gone, complete with a pizza party.  That must be the real way to ensure we get to go out every once in a while without much fussing - make sure the kid at home is having even more fun than we are.  Thank you Aunt Ann, Grandma, and Opa  =o)

On a collision course with the photographer

Impact in T minus 3.... 2.... 1....

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. 

Who ordered the heat on Labor Day?

If you know us at all then you've probably noticed that we didn't visit the zoo as often this summer as in previous years.   Instead, the majority of our summer weekends and other free days were taken up with house  and garden care, both old and new, and we just didn't get out to visit our animals as often as we would have liked.  We are trying to make up for it now, though, and on Labor Day we took Gram and Grandpa to visit our favorite animals–the  ones at the Detroit Zoo.  I'd like to say that by waiting until later in the season we were able to enjoy cooler weather and more active animals, but alas, Labor Day this year ranked right up there with some of the hotest summer weather we had experienced, and we found ourselves seeking escape from the ninety degree heat in the air conditioned polar waters tunnel.  All the same, we had a really good time; the tiger was up and about, the snow  monkeys were surprisingly active, the seals were a big hit while we took our short polar air break, and even the aardvark put on a good show.   Ever the opportunist, Calvin took advantage of having so many doting wagon pullers by stretching out, leaning back, and enjoying the sights at his leisure from behind his cool dude shades.  Oh if only they offered that service for all visitors.  For more pictures, visit the September 2008 album.