Random Acts of Kindness

Before I update with more Bubbie and Poppie pictures, I thought I'd share something wonderful that witnessed today.

We have a Meijer in town that I absolutely, positively loathe. It's the only major grocery store in town and it is always, always crowded. It takes just as long to get through the checkout lane as it does to get through the entire shopping list. I hate it and only reserve going there for absolute necessities. Today was one of those days. I had to go by myself with the kids.

We have strategic stopping points (read: bribes) throughout the store. The half-way point is the lobster tank where we stare and the poor guys and gals as they await their delicious fate. K and O of course do not know this fate, only that for some reason, live lobsters hang out at the grocery store.

The other stop, when we are all finished, is a ride on the mechanical horses. I cringe because of how disgusting and germ filled these horses likely are...it goes way past the "a little dirt don't hurt" theory. But, the kids love them and if it keeps them quiet through the checkout, we can always use purell and handiwipes.

Well, as we were loading back up in the cart to go out the car, a little old lady was hovering behind us. After we left, she quietly deposited coins into each horse so that whoever rode next would get a free ride. This really touched my heart. The rides are only one penny each, but it goes to show that kindness doesn't really cost a thing. If we all could be so sweet and thoughtful, wouldn't this world be a better place?

Bubbie and Poppie

How many people get to have their 82 year old grandmother and 86 year old grandfather hop on a plane and come for a visit? Well, Bubbie and Poppie made the treck up North and didn't disappoint (and we hope we didn't disappoint either). Throughout the week, we ventured out to many of the places that Paul, the kids and I love. We wanted to show off this beautiful town and truly act like tourists. Paul was of course deployed again, but got to do a fly over as he headed out on Wednesday.

I had two major concerns about the trip.

Concern #1: Security at the Airport

Bubbie and Malcolm making it through security at the airport. Bubbie hasn't flown since pre- 9/11 security times...remember, when we didn't have to take off our shoes or have plastic bags handy? Well, silly me. Those who have met my grandmother have learned that she has a clear affinity for plastic bags and clear packing tape. Any opportunity to use plastic bags, much less be required to use plastic bags, was likely a thrill for her! All went well with security and they made it here and back without a hitch. I'm now working on them taking a trip to Houston to see their other great-grandchildren.

Concern #2: Transportation

Our car is very comfortable for the four of us and even Eddie when we decide to take him along, but five people, to of whom must sit in carseats is really pushing it. I once had to ride all the back from Ann Arbor sitting between the car seats, and let me tell you, it's not very comfortable. I had in the back of my head that if it was too rough, I would just rent a mini-van (oh, the horror!) so we could all be comfortable. I learned Bubbie is a real trooper. Also, Malcolm likes to still cop a feel at 86 years old. Let me explain. Bubbie had to wrangle herself up into the SUV then twist around to squeeze herself between the carseats. She needed a boost from behind and Malcolm happily obliged. Kailey even tried to get in on the action, which only made matters more difficult because everyone was laughing so hard. Once Bubbie managed to get in the car, she was actually quite comfortable and a great sport!

Here's a picture of Bubbie squeezed in like a sardine.

My concerns were completely unneeded as everything was perfect and wonderful. I'll be posting more about our adventures...

Suckers 'R Us

Okay, I'm the first to admit that I got suckered in to many, many unnecessary baby products. I did my research diligently and tried to figure out what was 'best' for my family. (What does that mean anyway? Car seats are good for my family and not yours?). Ultimately, I ended up with a lot of useless crap. Anyhow, I stumbled upon the "20 Baby Products Great for Traumatizing Your Baby."

http://www.cracked.com/article_16475_p2.html

The comments are hysterical.

Enjoy!

Cherry Parade

We finally did it. I actually walked in the Cherry 'Royale' Parade and they don't call it Royale for nothing! The first year, I was hugely pregnant with Owen. Last year, Paul was gone and I didn't want to do it alone. So this year, even though Paul was on duty, I huffed it with the kids, clear across town, to meet the helicopter and all of the other families to walk in the parade. We were stationed about half way through and were #50 in line! It was a long parade, but so worth it.

There were some great things to point out:

As we waited, the Michigan State University band was there, which was pretty exciting. However, not nearly as pleasing as when one of the high school bands started playing 'Hail to the Victors' (The U of M = huge OSU Rival) and Kailey, without prompting, I kid you not, COVERED HER EARS! I'm sure it was just a coincidence...but was it?

We saw some very interesting belly dancers. There were even some very pregnant belly dancers. Yep, this cherry festival has got it all!

The big dragon balloon's head really deflated, so we got a good laugh at the dragon shaking his booty while we waited...for an hour...before it was our turn to join the parade.

The best part was the reception we received from the crowds. This isn't really a military town. We don't get the warm, cozy, thanks for all that you do, from this town that we have in other places we've lived. We even had a chat by one of the higher ups about not responding to any negative criticism. Well, there was no need. As the helicopter started to roll (it was being pulled...obviously not flying), the crowds started to cheer. They stood up, they yelled thank you, and were incredible. It felt really good for them all to be acknowledged, as they should be. I think we were all a little shocked because it was that way for the entire route. Kailey again, kept yelling, "Coast Guard to the Rescue!" (And Owen slept). Too bad Paul missed it, but it was pretty awesome.

Oh, and our sweet Megan, the Mermaid/Cherry Princess won and is now the National Cherry Queen and won a $10,000 scholarship! See, it pays to be nice to three year olds!

Cherry Connection

We headed up to the hills to the Cherry Connection, which really means, less crowds, just as much crazy, interesting cherry foods. Here, we sampled everything from chocolate or yogurt covered cherries, cherry BBQ sauce, cherry salsa, cherry mustard (which strangely, is really, really good), cherry ice cream and of course, nice, plump, juicy cherries. We also took a wagon ride through one of the cherry tree fields, which also houses grapes and apricots. We heard about all of the ways they grow and pick cherries and had some gorgeous scenery to look at.

We concluded our adventure with the mini-petting zoo. It was mini, simply because there were only sheep and geese. Oh, and of course two little monkeys who loved everything!

S'mores on the Deck

We concluded the weekend with a cookout on the deck complete with S'mores. Since it was pretty hot outside, lighting the Chiminea wasn't an option. So, I cooked the S'mores ghetto style over the gas grill, but no one seemed to mind. It was truly a weekend of firsts for Karel. It was the first time seeing Paul fly AND her first time ever tasting a S'more! I think she decided she was really missing out, can you imagine, 64 years without ever tasting a S'more? I'm glad she enjoyed them.

Incredible Weekend- Part III

Quite the Air Crew!

Showing Miles the ropes around the air station.

A-1o's
"Fat Albert" - Blue Angels C-130
Pre-show maintenance
Hanging out, waiting for the show to begin.

Formation and Walk to the Aircraft.

All ready to go!
So Cool!
And they're off!
It sure was loud!

Please forgive the delay in the final weekend post. I'm in the midst of finals and wanted to take a quick break in all of the yucky, research writing, and a blog post is the perfect solution!

Paul had duty on Sunday, so we took our new neighbors over to the air station to watch all of the air craft launch for the Sunday air show. We saw it a few years ago, but not this up close and personal. I guess since Paul isn't the new guy this year, he decided it would be okay to take us, along with all of the other families into the hangar to see all of the air craft. It was WAY cool! (Loud too!).

Overall it was such an incredible weekend. This place is truly wonderful in the summer and the only way to enjoy is to get out and do as much as possible. It's going to be hard to top this weekend!

Incredible Weekend- Part II

Saturday was the big day. But, before I start to share any of our adventures, I have to give a birthday shout-out to my sweet niece, Hannah, who turned 12!!!! (gasp!!!). She is growing up so fast and I'm sad about the miles between us. When she was first born, I took great pride in the title of Aunt Jenny. I got to spend a lot of time with her when she was tiny, but now, the years go faster and faster. I hope we are able to live close again, who knows, maybe we'll be Texans too! Yeehaw! Happy Birthday, Hannah! We love you!

Saturday was the opening day of the National Cherry Festival. The festival brings in approximately $25,000,000 to the local economy and about 500,000 people in one week. Needless to say, it's huge. Every year, the festival opens up with Air shows. This year was a Blue Angels year, so the show attracts people from everywhere. But the Blue Angels weren't the #1 attraction in our house. Nope, it was the Coast Guard featuring our very own Paul! Since he was flying in the show, he scored us some VIP tickets to sit at show center, complete with excellent seating areas and free food and drinks. Since it was almost 90 degrees, it was great. We went with Karel and Howard and the kids were pretty antsy due to the heat. Finally, Owen fell asleep...yes, fell asleep despite the A-10s and F-15s flying overhead.

While we waited, Kailey's dreams came true as she was able to meet one of the Cherry Princesses (they are each vying to be next year's Cherry Queen...again, huge). This young lady spotted Kailey out of the crowd because of her fancy Cherry hat. Kailey was stunned because the Princess had a similar resemblance to Ariel (the Little Mermaid for those not up on their Princesses). I thought Kailey was going to cry she was so excited. Princess Megan was lovely and kind and she is our favorite to win Queen. (That and because we didn't really meet any others).

Finally, it was Coast Guard time. I've seen the SAR demonstration before, but this is the first time Karel has ever seen Paul fly. Very exciting. They announced Paul's name as the Co-Pilot and of course, we all cheered. But then, suddenly we heard the announcer say, "Okay, we're going to try to talk to them, Paul is that you?" And there he was. Kailey screamed, "That's my Daddy talking, that's my Daddy talking!" He was brilliant. He was chatting with the announcer from the aircraft and the entire crowd was cheering for him. We were overwhelmed and of course all got teary-eyed when he said hi to us. Our shy Paul is shy no more. He was amazing, charismatic and a true professional while he spoke to the crowd of 50,000. If I can figure it out, I'll post the video for everyone to hear.

And oh yeah, the Blue Angels performed. Owen woke up and absolutely loved them. For Kailey, the Princess and Daddy's voice over the speakers by far, trumped the Blue Angels. (Me too!)

Treat #2 came when we arrived home after a long, long day in the sun. Date night #2 and Paul took me to see "Sex and the City." Yes, it's my guilty pleasure. I can watch every episode over and over and over. I really wanted to see the movie, but with his deployments, I didn't think it was going to happen. It was awesome, I loved it and Paul even laughed too! SUCH an amazing day, and we're STILL not done with this incredible weekend!

Incredible Weekend- Part I

We have had the most incredible few days! Paul finally came home on Wednesday and normal felt soooo good. As the kids get older, they miss him so much and it was good to have him home. On Thursday, we went downtown for a real steam train ride. There is a mini-steam train by the museum and the kids were so excited, they could hardly contain themselves. Thursday was also the day that the Blue Angels arrived for their practice runs, so everyone was out watching the big blue jets fly over. K and O call them, "Big Jet" because he is a character from one of their shows who looks just like a Blue Angel Jet. They were fast and loud and everyone loved them. We walked around town and played at the park along with, what seemed, everyone else who lives here. I wish I had pictures, but I didn't charge the battery on the camera. D-oh!

On Friday, we celebrated Independence day with a nice, relaxing cookout as we anxiously awaited the arrival of Karel and Howard. Treat #1 occurred when Karel said she'd watch the kids so Paul and I could go and see the fireworks. That was HUGE. I haven't seen fireworks since we saw a show in D.C. from really, really far away in 2003 and Red, White and Boom in Columbus in 2002. So, 5-6 years depending on how you look at it. I was overjoyed. The fireworks don't start here until 10:30, so we had a little time to walk down to the beach and do some good people watching. The show was pretty good, although, the grand finale was pretty rotten. But, who cares, I got to see fireworks!