Aimee had a great idea to invite some people over for a Nintendo Wii party. Thankfully, her coworker Jen also brought over another TV, an XBox, and Rock Band, along with her boyfriend Joe. Shann brought her four boys, and Cheryl came ready for Wii yoga. It was a blast! Devon and Brendon, Shann's youngest two, spent a good amount of energy trying to keep up with the Wii fit jogging guide:
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Woodworking class
We signed up to take this woodworking course over in Saginaw back when I got my first woodworking tools from Aimee for my birthday. We learned how to make a "pie carrier," which turned out to basically be a drawer with handles cut in the sides. Also, we haven't made any pies since, but we found it's great for carrying cats. We got to fool around with the store's table saw, jigsaw, and sander. It was great fun!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Sightseeing in Midland
Alden B Dow House
Chippewa Nature Center
Tridge
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| From Thanksgiving |
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| From Thanksgiving |
Chippewa Nature Center
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| From Thanksgiving |
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| From Thanksgiving |
Tridge
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| From Thanksgiving |
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Most Awesome Package Ever!!
Straight from Kazakhstan....a Wii!! Complete with wii fit board, controllers, hand sewn package and wax seals. The packaging alone was worth the wait. Thanks so much Art!!!
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| From Thanksgiving |
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| From Thanksgiving |
Monday, December 1, 2008
Thanksgiving!
Dave and Lucy came out to visit us in Midland for Thanksgiving! They were our first visitors out here and it's been lots of fun.
We went on a snowy hike in City Forest.
And had a fantastic and delicious Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings.
We even wrestled some of the food away from Steve so we could eat too.
We went on a snowy hike in City Forest.
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| From Thanksgiving |
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| From Thanksgiving |
And had a fantastic and delicious Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings.
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| From Thanksgiving |
We even wrestled some of the food away from Steve so we could eat too.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Trip to Canada
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| From Canada |
Steve and I went to Canada with Eric and his friend Cynthia. Our first stop was in Niagara. We had a great hotel room with views of the falls. We spent the first day/night walking around the falls, eating fantastic Indian food, watching the Niagara Imax, and seeing the falls at night.
The next day we went on the Maid of the Mist tour (a little cold in October), drove to Niagara on the Lake for touristing, and had amazing Thai food in Toronto.
The next day we went on the Maid of the Mist tour (a little cold in October), drove to Niagara on the Lake for touristing, and had amazing Thai food in Toronto.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Cincinnati
John was in Sandusky on business, so we took advantage of it. We picked him up on the way to visit Max and his fiance Kate down in Cincinnati. It was great finally getting to meet her!
The big event that weekend was the Renaissance festival. We got there at lunch time, so we started the day with a nice big turkey leg each.
There were, of course, all sorts of people in costume, including (for reasons unknown) some in Victorian outfits and one kid dressed as a ninja.
In spite of John's professional experience, the rope ladder at the fair was too difficult to be conquered. They didn't even have prizes for it anyways.
At the end of the maze, a slide. Aimee said "wheeeeeeee."
Kate got a wax hand while I was eating a giant funnel cake.
One of the cooler things there was a real jousting tournament. Supposedly these guys compete in tournaments, though I'm guessing not for their full-time jobs. No one got knocked off, but it looked like you'd feel the joust hits.
On the way back, we saw a sign for an alpaca farm day, so we made a quick detour. Guess who wanted to see the alpaca. Aimee got some yarn from the brown one below, I got some mittens for driving once it gets cold here, and Max got to laugh at the alpaca that cried every time he tried to pet it.
The big event that weekend was the Renaissance festival. We got there at lunch time, so we started the day with a nice big turkey leg each.
There were, of course, all sorts of people in costume, including (for reasons unknown) some in Victorian outfits and one kid dressed as a ninja.
In spite of John's professional experience, the rope ladder at the fair was too difficult to be conquered. They didn't even have prizes for it anyways.
At the end of the maze, a slide. Aimee said "wheeeeeeee."
Kate got a wax hand while I was eating a giant funnel cake.
One of the cooler things there was a real jousting tournament. Supposedly these guys compete in tournaments, though I'm guessing not for their full-time jobs. No one got knocked off, but it looked like you'd feel the joust hits.
On the way back, we saw a sign for an alpaca farm day, so we made a quick detour. Guess who wanted to see the alpaca. Aimee got some yarn from the brown one below, I got some mittens for driving once it gets cold here, and Max got to laugh at the alpaca that cried every time he tried to pet it.
Big Person Furniture
To celebrate my job (and most importantly pay check) Steve and I finally replaced the Ikea futon we've hated for the last three years.
You know what the best thing about this couch is? Two recliners! TWO!! I'm never getting a couch without recliners again. If you come visit, just make sure not to squish a cat when you put the recliner away.
You know what the best thing about this couch is? Two recliners! TWO!! I'm never getting a couch without recliners again. If you come visit, just make sure not to squish a cat when you put the recliner away.
Dow Gardens
Here are some fun photos from the last time we went to Dow Gardens in Midland. Our favorite plants were the black decorative peppers. The peppers themselves were so reflective that from a distance it looked like the plants were full bright sparkles!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Josh and Erin's wedding in NJ
A few weeks ago, we went to Josh and Erin's wedding in Somerset, NJ. Aimee's known Josh since her wild party days in the Greek system at MIT.
Before the big event, though, we flew out a day early into glamorous Newark. Dow has a site five minutes from our hotel, so I spent that Friday meeting with people in the research groups there to talk about doing a potential rotation sometime in the next year. I don't know that I will, but I had a great time learning more about what work goes on there. Aimee got a friend from growing up, Erin (not the bride), to come down from New York and visit us for the day. They pretty much knitted and caught up with each other while I had my meetings, then we all went out for some Indian food. We like to hit up any Indian or Thai places we can find when we go out of town. Erin seems to have liked knitting enough to really take it up quickly, which always gets Aimee excited.
On Saturday, the wedding wasn't until 5, so we had time to meet up with Dan, Jackie, Molly, and baby in Newburgh, NY. It wasn't chosen for any better reason than being roughly halfway for us. We had bagels at a park, walked around the Hudson shore, and had lunch together before we had to go back to Somerset for the wedding. It was short, but great seeing them!
The wedding was fun and elegant. The ceremony was lovely, the food was fantastic, there was dancing in between courses, and it was all Mardi Gras-themed (Josh is a Louisiana boy), so we got to wear some party masks. The groom's cake was even a King Cake. They had a photo booth set up in the reception, which was a lot of fun for everyone with the masks. They looked so happy together, and we wish them the best!
Before the big event, though, we flew out a day early into glamorous Newark. Dow has a site five minutes from our hotel, so I spent that Friday meeting with people in the research groups there to talk about doing a potential rotation sometime in the next year. I don't know that I will, but I had a great time learning more about what work goes on there. Aimee got a friend from growing up, Erin (not the bride), to come down from New York and visit us for the day. They pretty much knitted and caught up with each other while I had my meetings, then we all went out for some Indian food. We like to hit up any Indian or Thai places we can find when we go out of town. Erin seems to have liked knitting enough to really take it up quickly, which always gets Aimee excited.
On Saturday, the wedding wasn't until 5, so we had time to meet up with Dan, Jackie, Molly, and baby in Newburgh, NY. It wasn't chosen for any better reason than being roughly halfway for us. We had bagels at a park, walked around the Hudson shore, and had lunch together before we had to go back to Somerset for the wedding. It was short, but great seeing them!
The wedding was fun and elegant. The ceremony was lovely, the food was fantastic, there was dancing in between courses, and it was all Mardi Gras-themed (Josh is a Louisiana boy), so we got to wear some party masks. The groom's cake was even a King Cake. They had a photo booth set up in the reception, which was a lot of fun for everyone with the masks. They looked so happy together, and we wish them the best!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Anniversary
For our third anniversary, Steve and I went north to Oscoda. We stayed two nights at a wonderful bed and breakfast called the Huron House. The room was beautiful and came complete with complimentary champaign and a Jacuzzi!
The bed and breakfast also had a beautiful garden full of flowers and sculptures and overlooking lake Huron.
While we were up north we went to the lumberman's monument. Which had period tools and dwellings and a giant lumberman statue.
We also went on a nice hike in the trees. There were tons of crickets to accompany us and even a few hills!
The Huron House had a local potters work for sale, so as a souvenir of our fun time together we went crazy and bought this lovely vase.
All in all a wonderful celebration of three great years together!
The bed and breakfast also had a beautiful garden full of flowers and sculptures and overlooking lake Huron.
While we were up north we went to the lumberman's monument. Which had period tools and dwellings and a giant lumberman statue.
We also went on a nice hike in the trees. There were tons of crickets to accompany us and even a few hills!
The Huron House had a local potters work for sale, so as a souvenir of our fun time together we went crazy and bought this lovely vase.
All in all a wonderful celebration of three great years together!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Blueberry!
Steve and I went to Russell's blueberry farm and picked ourselves a bucket of blueberries.
It was a fantastic experience. There were many different varieties of blueberries to choose from, so of course we tried them all. There were also some of the largest blueberries I have seen in my life. And they were SO sweet right off the bush and warmed by the sun. The cost was 1.65 per pound of picked berries, but when you factor in the berries we ate, it really goes down to about 1.25 per pound. I think I ate more berries in that one afternoon than the rest of my life combined! We went home with over 17 pounds of blueberries. That is more than our two cats put together!
From This:
To This:
This is what 17 pounds of blueberries look like when compared to a 9 pound cat. All those berries went into the freezer and so far have been becoming cold smoothies on hot days. If they last until winter they'll hopefully turn into pies, muffins and jam.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Tiny Horses
We went to the miniature horse show at the Midland fair grounds this weekend. We got to walk around and see all the little guys and we stayed for the pleasure driving competition. I would love to take one of those buggies around Midland and watch the jaws drop! Who knew horses could be so cute.
Pleasure Driving
Looks like the people should pull the horses
Pleasure DrivingLooks like the people should pull the horses
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