Today is a HUGE day for celebration...Keaton is now 20 years old! He's entering a whole new decade of life...his 20s. (Yikes! It's amazing how quickly the time went.) So, in honor of his birthday, I created a little slide show of his past birthdays for a trip down memory...uh, I mean birthday...lane.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KEATON!!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
A Camp Divided
A couple of weekends ago, we loaded up the motor home and hit the road to enjoy some fall camping. It was also the weekend of the big game between Michigan and Michigan State...and the weekend for HUGE winds. We parked sideways on our site to help block some of the wind. The guys created a nice cozy set-up with a canopy draped in tarps and hooked up a big TV for the big game...only to find it wasn't on any local stations. Ugh! So, we listened to the game while we all carved pumpkins and stayed warm by the campfire. We were a camp that was divided. Our friends that camped with us are Michigan State fans...the goofy people...and were sure to annoy me with their fight song on the iPod. Matt and I were decked out in our maize and blue (well, Matt grudgingly wore those colors for a photo op and then he changed colors for his beloved WMU Broncos). Even Cyrus wore his Michigan jersey...but unfortunately that didn't help Michigan beat State. Oh well. We enjoyed some good-natured bantering with our State friends and yummy football snacks. I found it so odd that (and for some reason that I just can't explain) their State camp chairs kept getting blown over while my Michigan chair valiantly remained upright all day. ;-)
Last weekend, Matt and I enjoyed some quality time at home (our first weekend home in a month) and did some pretty exciting things like cleaning out the attic, breaking down boxes and filling up the vehicle with recycling. Whoo-hoo!! It really was nice to purge. Since Sunday was absolutely beautiful, Matt and I hit the bike trails in Kalamazoo and rode 13.4 miles. Yep, my decimal point is in the right place. 13.4 Thirteen.Four. THIRTEEN POINT FOUR. With hills. BIG HILLS. I'm not quite sure what we were thinking. I've never ridden more than five miles at one time in my life. Ever. So, I was expecting some pain. I was mentally ready for it. I dreaded opening my eyes on Monday morning. When I did open my eyes on Monday morning, I patiently waited for the first wave of pain to envelop me. There was nothing. My first thought was that my body was protecting me from the pain and temporarily paralyzed me. But, I was able to wiggle my toes, then move my legs. I rolled out of bed and, hallelujah, I could stand. Even more amazing was that I wasn't in any pain. It was a miracle! I think Matt was prepared for my screams of agony and then my screams blaming him for making me ride so far. I then found out I actually could walk without any pain. I was a little stiff, but really not sore. Once I got moving around, I loosened up and was actually able to climb the stairs. Another miracle! I actually felt so good that I switched around the closets and drawers yesterday to make room for winter stuff. That involved about a dozen trips up and down the stairs...trips unbelievably without any pain or self-medication. I'm not telling Matt how good I felt though because, knowing Matt, he'll want to ride up to Grand Rapids and back this weekend.
Speaking of Grand Rapids, we enjoyed a date night on Friday up there. Our first stop was a bar to play some pinball. Then we enjoyed a nice seafood dinner at a local restaurant and hit another bar for more pinball after dinner. Matt was thrilled to discover that the bar had three more pinball machines than it did last month. He's anxious to get a pinball machine and scours the ads online and in the paper a few times a week - always on the lookout for a really good deal. I think he'll be asking Santa for a pinball machine this year!
Last weekend, Matt and I enjoyed some quality time at home (our first weekend home in a month) and did some pretty exciting things like cleaning out the attic, breaking down boxes and filling up the vehicle with recycling. Whoo-hoo!! It really was nice to purge. Since Sunday was absolutely beautiful, Matt and I hit the bike trails in Kalamazoo and rode 13.4 miles. Yep, my decimal point is in the right place. 13.4 Thirteen.Four. THIRTEEN POINT FOUR. With hills. BIG HILLS. I'm not quite sure what we were thinking. I've never ridden more than five miles at one time in my life. Ever. So, I was expecting some pain. I was mentally ready for it. I dreaded opening my eyes on Monday morning. When I did open my eyes on Monday morning, I patiently waited for the first wave of pain to envelop me. There was nothing. My first thought was that my body was protecting me from the pain and temporarily paralyzed me. But, I was able to wiggle my toes, then move my legs. I rolled out of bed and, hallelujah, I could stand. Even more amazing was that I wasn't in any pain. It was a miracle! I think Matt was prepared for my screams of agony and then my screams blaming him for making me ride so far. I then found out I actually could walk without any pain. I was a little stiff, but really not sore. Once I got moving around, I loosened up and was actually able to climb the stairs. Another miracle! I actually felt so good that I switched around the closets and drawers yesterday to make room for winter stuff. That involved about a dozen trips up and down the stairs...trips unbelievably without any pain or self-medication. I'm not telling Matt how good I felt though because, knowing Matt, he'll want to ride up to Grand Rapids and back this weekend.
Speaking of Grand Rapids, we enjoyed a date night on Friday up there. Our first stop was a bar to play some pinball. Then we enjoyed a nice seafood dinner at a local restaurant and hit another bar for more pinball after dinner. Matt was thrilled to discover that the bar had three more pinball machines than it did last month. He's anxious to get a pinball machine and scours the ads online and in the paper a few times a week - always on the lookout for a really good deal. I think he'll be asking Santa for a pinball machine this year!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Fall Fun
I love, Love, LOVE fall! I love the Honeycrisp apples. I love the crisp air. I especially love the colors of the trees. We took a fall color tour up to Mackinac Island over the weekend. It was spectacular! Every day was sunny and in the mid-70s...perfect weather for exploring Mackinac Island and taking lots and lots and lots of pictures! On the drive up, we took the Tunnel of Trees that snaked along the lake shore. The colors weren't as vivid, but the ride through the tunnel was interesting. We arrived in Mackinaw City in time to to watch a beautiful sunset from our balcony at the hotel on Lake Huron. We took a drive over the bridge to hit the casino in the U.P. where I was extremely happy to win $162 on a jackpot playing my favorite slot machine, Sex and the City. As soon as I won, I cashed out and was done playing for the night. (That's my rule for the casino...walk away when you win.) We took one of the first ferries on Saturday morning to go explore the island before the hoards of people invaded and got in the way of my camera lens. We explored the middle of the island and did a lot of hiking on many trails. (I think Matt decided to hike since this was the first time I've ever been on the island NOT wearing flip flops.) We discovered some new sights...and were surprised to find the crack in the middle of the island. Seriously, there really is a huge crack in the middle of the island...about four feet deep and a few yards long. But, as long as there wasn't water bubbling up from it, and the island wasn't sinking, we were fine with it. So, we walked and talked and took pictures. Lots of pictures. About six miles later we decided it was time to head back to Main Street and grab some lunch. After a fabulous lunch of whitefish (what else can you eat when you're near the U.P.?) and then some window shopping, we headed back to the mainland to watch the sunset near the bridge. After another gorgeous sunset, we were pleasantly surprised by a fireworks show that we enjoyed right from our balcony. We were up early to enjoy another spectacular sunrise and then it was time to grab some fudge and head home. It was an amazingly perfect weekend!
Speaking of weekends, we've had some busy ones. We had our 25-year high school class reunion in Flint the previous weekend. It was a great time and I'm happy to admit that I remembered everyone who came. (I confess I had a head start on everyone...I made a bio book for everyone who came that also included pictures of everyone.)
The weekend before the reunion, we headed up to Grand Rapids to visit ArtPrize. It's a huge art contest with over 1,500 pieces of art spread around the city to visit. There were some really interesting pieces. I liked the extra-large chair that I think would be perfect out on the pool deck. (Bonus: the extra large seat makes your seat look thin!)
This weekend is our fall camping weekend. We'll be carving pumpkins and hitting the trails for some biking and hiking. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to share...hopefully full of gorgeous fall colors!
Speaking of weekends, we've had some busy ones. We had our 25-year high school class reunion in Flint the previous weekend. It was a great time and I'm happy to admit that I remembered everyone who came. (I confess I had a head start on everyone...I made a bio book for everyone who came that also included pictures of everyone.)
The weekend before the reunion, we headed up to Grand Rapids to visit ArtPrize. It's a huge art contest with over 1,500 pieces of art spread around the city to visit. There were some really interesting pieces. I liked the extra-large chair that I think would be perfect out on the pool deck. (Bonus: the extra large seat makes your seat look thin!)
This weekend is our fall camping weekend. We'll be carving pumpkins and hitting the trails for some biking and hiking. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to share...hopefully full of gorgeous fall colors!
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