Day 263 Jul.7 2011

Luckily our last day in town and my brother has the day off of work.  Mom made us all breakfast and then we headed to a park in the middle of Lansing-Hawk Island.  Very cool park.  I have no idea if the lake is man-made or not.  But there are two small islands, a large swimming area, an incredibly large grassy area for laying out and running around, an enormous playground, and a pretty neat splash pad.  Caitlin didn’t want anything to do with the playground when she saw the lake/pond.  She kept giving me her sign for water, over and over.  Big surprise.  As cool and pretty as this area was, it’s kind of sad that in order for someone to want to be outside it has to be “done nice”.  Someone has to plant wildflowers, and keep the grass cut, and sidewalks swept, and paint the wood a nice deep brown to make it look like wood…The outdoors alone should be enough to keep us happy.  I guess that is the trade-off we have made for these highly evolved complicated brains…As nice as it is to have the things we have and do the things we do, sometimes I wish everything didn’t have to be so complicated and we could just appreciate things in their simplest form :)

Day 262 Jul.6 2011

We’re down to two more full days in MI.  We filled this day with many quick, yet wonderful, visits.
Mom and I spent an hour with my Grandma this morning.  She’s doing as well as most 88-yr olds.  It was a pleasant visit, Caitlin showed off her running and stuffed animal collecting skills.
I had a co-worker friend stop over and spend her lunch break with us.  Our second, short, but sweet visit.  It took me back to the days of having my own cubicle, chatting around the water cooler, and all those other wonderful things that came with a full-time, back-breaking job.
The third visit was to see my Aunt Chris and my cousin Beth.  We got a bonus visit in when my cousin Stephanie and her boyfriend stopped over for a brief moment.  The couple of toys that my aunt had waiting in her living room for us were toys that I used to play with when we visited many, many years ago…It makes me wonder if the toys that Cate plays with now will be around that long after she is done with them… :)

Day 261 Jul.5 2011

The girls hit the mall today with a military ball gown in mind…not a great place to find a non-prom dress, but we thought we’d try it anyway.  Caitlin wasn’t very helpful; she hit her max tolerance rather quickly into the start of the trip, which wasn’t very handy.  But we persevered and I found a dress for 30.00!  Yea, that’s right 30 dollars.  It needs a slight alteration, but the way the dress is constructed, it should be really easy for my Mom to do.  I even considered doing it.  But my fabric selection down here is pretty lame. 

Well, in a few short days Cate and I will head back south.  We don’t have much planned for this week so far.  I have a visit tomorrow with a good friend. But I think that’s all we have on the calendar.  We’ve had a great time on our visit in MI.  It will be weird one day when we come to visit and we don’t stay in the house that I grew up in.  I remember when my parents got rid of their land line…the first phone number I memorized…how could they get rid of it!!!  I seem to be slightly less attached to the house-which is weird, I know.  I think it helps a lot that we’ve made our house in LA into our home.  Not saying I won’t be sad when the day comes that they sell the house.  There’s a story about every wall in the house, there are multiple stories about people falling through the ceiling, finding newspaper imbedded in the hardwood floor under the carpet, sending a small little boy down into the old chimney to pull out bricks because he was the only one that fit, every tree around the house has a story.  The maple tree out front was always a meeting place or “safe” during tag.  The tree out front of the neighbor’s was the best for caterpillar food, and the birch tree in our neighbor’s backyard was also one of our favorite hangout places.  Caroline always came out to remind us not to pull the bark off the tree.  I started my tree hugging early in life, I guess :)

Day 260 Jul.4 2011

Happy 4^th of July!  This 4^th of July will probably mean more to me than any other.  Being a part of the Army for the last 2.5 years, and going through a deployment has somehow managed to stir up a bit of patriotic feelings that I never knew I had.  I don’t ever want to be one of those people who shoves patriotism down other’s throats, or holds the fact that because of my husband, you all have the freedom that you have.  I don’t believe that is fair to anyone.  Everyone makes sacrifices in their job or their life that affect other people.  The life that my husband and I have chosen just happens to be a part of a larger collective than say, the pharmacy at Walmart.  I don’t believe you can have pride in something unless you do immerse yourself in it and allow yourself to become a part of it, I understand that people not affiliated with the military may not understand why I tear up at the sound of the National Anthem, or when I see enormous flags flying over car dealerships my heart swells a bit.  I never thought these things would affect me the way they do now, but I’m glad I can be a part of it all. 

Thank you to all of those who are sacrificing-whether you’re a solider or a family member, and to those that have served in the past.  A small part of my heart goes out to you.

Day 259 Jul.3 2011

Today was a crazy, crazy day that just kept getting better with each passing moment.  We spent the morning romping around the pond and garden with Richelle.  I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get any video of Caitlin impersonating the 3 ducks that quack and waddling around the property.  We did some Quinn tackling-he loved every moment of that.

Around noon, we headed south to Beulah, MI where we met up with Chad’s life-long buddy, Collins.  The restaurant he picked was a sweet little place.  The food was delicious, and the waitress we had and manager were incredibly pleasant.  It was a nice change from the customer service I’m used to in Louisiana…After a quick visit and a great lunch, we continued south some more until we reached Muskegon, MI.  We quickly unpacked the car, changed into our swim suits and met some of my favorite people out on the Lake Michigan beach :)

And just when I thought the day couldn’t get better, Johnny mentioned that he thought he saw one of our uncles over by the rainbow umbrella.  We glanced over in the direction he was pointing and I thought I saw my cousin, Aimee…but they were so far away it was hard to tell.  Well, someone ran over there, Caitlin greeted cuncle Andy and cousin Nick, and soon, Aimee was running over to our spot on the beach with a big grin on her face.  My aunt Barb and uncle Greg (my Mom’s oldest Brother) live in Muskegon and have two children my age-ish (Joel and Jeniece), Aimee who just turned 40 I believe and Matt who is also a bit older than I as well (and then I think there is another sibling, whom I’ve never met…).  Anyway, Joel lives in Chicago, Jeniece is usually working, Aimee lives in Grand Rapids, and Matt used to live in Pennsylvania (now it’s Chicago).  My point is, these family members aren’t usually together in the same place.  As I hugged Aimee, she mentioned that all of the above mentioned people were over by the rainbow umbrella.  What?!  No way!  I had never even met Matt’s wife, Kay, or their two children-Caitlin and Elijah.  I got to meet Jeniece’s fiancé and Joel’s new girl friend too :)

To top off a great day, Chef Nick made us a delicious veggie medley while Mom grilled steak…mmmmm :)

Day 258 Jul.2 2011

Got my first hair cut today in 7 months...It is always pleasant to spend some time with Chicory and catch up on life.  A good college friend of mine got married tonight in Traverse City.  It was a great walk down memory lane.  I got to see a lot of old college friends that I haven’t seen since 2007.  I didn’t stay long at the reception; it was harder than I thought to be there without Chad.  But it was great to be there and I’m so glad it worked out so well with our vacation plans. 

Earlier in the afternoon, Rich brought in a friend from the yard.  It brought back memories of working in the Herp Lab at Central.  I’m sure I’ve mentioned that once or twice in this blog.  After that summer, I’ve always wanted an Eastern Fox Snake.  The one we had in the lab had a respiratory problem, and she “whistled” when she breathed.  It was cute.  She liked to curl up in the hood of my sweatshirt.  Even more cute.  I tried to sneak a baby ring-necked snake home from that summer too.  It escaped before I could get on the ferry.  Guess it wasn’t meant to be…:)

Day 257 Jul.1 2011

Oh, the start of a new month.
Cate and I headed north this afternoon.  I listened to Ice Age, while Caitlin intently watched it, twice.  Her focus was impressive.  I have a college friend getting married on Saturday in Traverse City.  I also happen to have family in Traverse :).  We had a casual evening with Amy & Rich and Nick & Chicory.  At 10 we got a call from my sister-in-law, Richelle who is living in Marquette now, and she was on her way down for the weekend to see Cate and I!!!  I was elated :). 

I finally got to set eyes on the car of Chad’s dreams.  Well, it’s the car of his dreams within our budget :).  When all is said and done (hopefully) it will be a 2002 Corvette inside the 1972 Firebird that Chad grew up with.  It needs a lot of work.  A lot.  We had our fingers crossed that Chad’s Stepdad would be able to get it rebuilt by the time he redeploys…but probably not.  More likely it will have to wait until after the winter, so Amy & Rich can drive it down to us in Ft. Polk, or wherever we PCS (if that happens soon).  The more I think about it, the car is becoming the car of my dreams too.  Rich is refitting it so there will be enough room in the backseat for a car seat or two-don’t everyone get excited though.  With a newer engine it will be a bit more gas efficient than if it had the 1972 engine in it, so more practical for us to drive it around town.  I love that we can do this for Chad, he’s given me everything I’ve ever asked for, it’s his turn to get something this time :)

Day 256 Jun.30 2011

I think I might have talked about our “Detroit Extended Family” at some point in this blog.  There are two couples that my Mom and Dad attended college with at CMU, and have remained close over the last many years.  Each of those couples had 4 girls, and those 8 girls have grown to be cousins to my brother and I.  The 5 of us drove down to Detroit this afternoon to spend the evening with our extended adopted family.  It was a great visit, as always, chaotic and loud, and college stories us kids have heard a thousand times.  They have a pretty large yard, so the girls took Bug out for a romp in the yard.  They all really enjoyed it :)

Day 255 Jun.29 2011

Late last night, my cuncle (long story) Andy and my cousin Nick came over and we chatted for a bit on the back porch.  Johnny and I overheard them talking about breakfast the next morning, naturally, we invited ourselves along.  We met at Golden Harvest in Old Town Lansing.  As we walked up to the front door, Johnny mentioned that the place was “eclectic”…but I could tell that wasn’t the word he wanted to use.  There wasn’t a word that would fully describe this establishment.  The walls were covered with stuff.  30-year-old plastic smurf trays, metal signs that have every explicit saying known to man, children's drawings of how much they love Golden Harvest food, Andy Warhol style pictures…and that was only the bit I could see from our small table.  The wait staff had bright pink hair and piercings and tattoos, but were the nicest, friendliest people.  And the food, holy cow!  It was diner style food, but it was amazing.  The omelet I got was enormous and full of flavor.  And they grow all of their own vegetables-hence the name of the restaurant.  One of those places where you don’t just get food, you get an experience :)

Day 254 Jun.28 2011

I am now old enough that I have a friend that I have been best friends with for 17 years.  The day I realized that, my chin hit the floor.  It was more shocking than when I realized the group of kids that are now legal to drink were born in the 90s.  I met this friend of mine in 4^th grade.  I remember hula-hopping with her a morning break in the parking lot at I.H.M.  She had a maroon winter coat that had the Eskimo fur lining on her hood.  I was jealous J.  I drove down and spent the night with Liz and her new husband in their new house.  We stayed up late talking about high school and laughing at ourselves.  We both agreed we won’t attend our high school reunion without the other.  I love that we’ve been able to maintain a quality relationship over almost two decades.  Especially when part of those years are some of the toughest to live through as adolescents :)