Fun in the summer sun

When it's hot, it's time to hit the sprinkler.  And then have a picnic.  So that's what we did today. 

Fireworks, grilling, and mud wrestling

What do you do with a three day holiday weekend if not scads of back breaking yard work?  Or maybe that's just us, but it has definitely become a trend this year at our house.  Memorial Day weekend saw us ripping sod and moving bushes, and the Fourth of July weekend found us digging a massive mud pit in our backyard.  A massive mud pit, you ask?  Well, what started out as a not so dry creek routing the downspout and sump pump water in the direction of the drain in our back yard quickly went from a two day project to what I can only assume is going be at least a two week project when we decided to add an 8x16 (that's feet, not inches) rain garden at the foot of said not so dry creek.  It's a well meaning effort, meant to lessen our contribution to the polluted rain runoff in our waterways while beautifying our backyard view, but the process can only be described as dirty and exhausting - removing sod, digging down eight inches, building up a berm, hauling rocks, hauling compost, sand, and dirt, all while the sump pump continues to send water in our muddy direction - and the project is as yet unfinished.  Now that the three day weekend is drawing to a close... we are definitely ready for next weekend to be here.

Of course, we did get in our fair share of partying, grilling, and great company this weekend, too, which are probably the more common Fourth of July activities across the board.  We partied Friday night with our family, Calvin's second cousin Iris and her family, a frog pool, a golf set, a T-ball set, some great grilling, and strawberry shortcake.  That was so much fun that we repeated the celebrations on Saturday with our family, our friend, Patty and her family, more water fun, more great grilling (smoking, actually), and more strawberry shortcake.  And we topped both nights off with sparklers and fireworks, which Calvin found to be "banging banging eek banging banging" fun.  Now if only we could manage at least one three day festive weekend every month...

More pictures in the July 2008 album.

Happy Fourth of July!

We hope you all had a safe and festive Fourth of July!

At our house we learned that, although Calvin is deathly afraid of the siren on the firetruck, he has absolutely no concerns about fireworks and the noises they make.  More on that note later.

The Milkman Cometh

Tuesday is now officially delivery day at the Ophoff household.  For well over a year now we've been enjoying fresh, organic, mostly local fruits and vegetables delivered right to our door every Tuesday afternoon.  The produce has always been phenomenal and comes in at prices far less than what we would be paying at places like Whole Paycheck Foods (if your curiosity has been triggered you can look up Door to Door Organics to see if they have a hub in your area).  Now Tuesdays will be seeing a second delivery man at our door - the milkman.  I've always gotten a kick out of my father sometimes talking about the milkman coming to his house when he was just a boy, but now Calvin will be able to do the same.  Far from being a milkman, of course, he will bring with him, according to our order, a wide variety of dairy products, all of which are organic, Michigan made (visit Calder Dairy for info), and, again, at a price below what we would pay in the store.  The milk is even delivered in glass jars and a wire basket, and to top it all off, the milkman is very friendly.

Summer entertainment

We mentioned recently that our calendar had been briefly taken over by Calvin's various "end of the year" events, and today marked the conclusion of that situation with a picnic and drum circle for his music class participants.  This was our first time taking part in a real honest to goodness drum circle, and it really was delightful for all three of us.  If you are wondering what a real honest to goodness drum circle is, we couldn't really tell you, but we can tell you that this one involved all the kids and their family members sitting in a circle around a big pile of rhythm instruments, and a rhythm leader who kept a steady and interesting beat for us as we made our way through such child and rhythm friendly songs as Funga Alafia and the ABCs (which can, yes, be quite rhythmic if done right way).  We all got the chance to use many different rhythm instruments from around the world and to pick songs to sing and perform.  It was truly impossible not to get swept into the movement, singing, and rhythm of the circle, and, after a wonderful potluck lunch, we all went home and collapsed at nap time.

Our evening entertainment wasn't nearly as coo, but it did involved some rhythm and dancing (at least on Calvin's part).  With so much to do in our own little village we hadn't ventured into Ann Arbor town for its many activities yet this summer, but after reading about tonight's entertainment at Top of the Park, we figured we'd better check it out.  As it turned out, Heliosphere, performed by a group called Dream Engine, was too loud, too short, and too repetitive and not nearly as much as the band that came after.  And, actually, it wasn't so much the band itself as watching Calvin dance that made that part of the evening riotous.  He enjoyed Heliosphere just fine, but when the music came on he got up and started shaking it right in the middle of the crowd.  He had quite the audience, too.  It's amazing what self-assurance we are born with that is ultimately replaced by a sense of propriety, but at Calvin's age all the world is his stage for sure.

More pictures:  June 2008, too album.